Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

Archives for November 29, 2017

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens launch electric hybrid plane

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Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens have teamed up to for what they call an “electric future partnership”, and have launched the E-Fan X hybrid-electric flight demonstrator

The electric revolution shows no sign of cutting out. Indeed it is accelerating and intensifying. 

New electric planes may mean quieter skies and fewer complaints from people living near airports.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens have formed a partnership which aims at developing a near-term flight demonstrator which they say will be “a significant step forward in hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial aircraft”. (See picture and infographic below.) [Read more…] about Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens launch electric hybrid plane

ABB unveils newest product in the YuMi industrial robot range – this one has a single arm

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ABB Robotics has unveiled a new single-arm collaborative robot at the International Robotics Exhibition (iREX) 2017 in Tokyo.

The company says it is building on the success of YuMi, the dual-arm industrial robot which ABB describes as “the world’s first truly collaborative”.

ABB says the new single-arm collaborative robot “combines industry-leading capabilities with a much smaller footprint” (see video below).  [Read more…] about ABB unveils newest product in the YuMi industrial robot range – this one has a single arm

Technical guide: Fanuc panel keyboard keys overview

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Contributed by MRO Electric, an independent factory automation distributor 

Fanuc Alarm keys: These keys are located on the machine panel that displays alarm intelligence for the machine panel. MRO Electric has several Fanuc part numbers starting with A06B, A20B, and A16B in-stock here. These keys differ from the alarm keys correlated with the control panel.

Fanuc Auto key: This is the key on the CNC machine (including the A16B, A17B & A20B product line) that reshapes the operation mode to automatic. Automatic mode authorizes an operator to contact and execute a part program stored in memory. Automatic mode is called memory mode on some CNC controls at times.

A safety function that determines if the tool has moved beyond its set boundaries. Forbidden zones can be programmed to specify areas where the tool can and cannot enter.  [Read more…] about Technical guide: Fanuc panel keyboard keys overview

Siemens links MindSphere to AWS, and says new industrial challenges can ‘only be resolved through digitalisation’

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Siemens makes latest version of its industrial internet of things platform MindSphere available on Amazon Web Services

Research conducted by Siemens suggests that many of the new demands faced by industrial companies can only be met with increasing computerisation of traditional industry. 

Siemens says increasing demands by consumers for individual, high-quality products at favourable prices are posing new challenges for industrial enterprises which can only be resolved by digitalisation.

Siemens, which offers a wide range of digitalisation solutions for industry, suggests it now has a portfolio – collectively called Digital Enterprise Suite – that conforms to Industry 4.0 expectations.  [Read more…] about Siemens links MindSphere to AWS, and says new industrial challenges can ‘only be resolved through digitalisation’

ABB partners with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to bring IoT intelligence to industrial plants

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Companies say the new partnership will provide “actionable insights across industrial plants, cloud and on-premises data centers for higher productivity and innovation” 

ABB and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have agreed a strategic global partnership that combines ABB’s digital offerings, through ABB Ability, with HPE’s hybrid information technology solutions.

The companies say the partnership will provide customers with solutions that “generate actionable insights from vast amounts of industrial data” to increase the efficiency and flexibility of their operations and create competitive advantage.

The companies say they will combined ABB’s “deep domain expertise” in operations technologies and HPE’s expertise in information technology to provide an integrated OT-IT solution to customers.  [Read more…] about ABB partners with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to bring IoT intelligence to industrial plants

Sony launches the third generation of its image sensors

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Sony Semiconductor Solutions has launched its third generation image sensors, IMX421 and IMX422, for “high-speed automation”.

Framos, a supplier of the technology, says the Sony Semiconductor Solutions feature its high-performance third generation CMOS Global Shutter with the brand-new IMX421 and IMX422 image sensors.

Both of these two high-speed sensors are designed for machine vision and factory automation, says Framos, and come with a pixel size of 4.5 µm for “high sensitivity and low noise”.  [Read more…] about Sony launches the third generation of its image sensors

Kyocera breaks ground on new manufacturing plant

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Kyocera has ceremonially broken ground on a new manufacturing plant for ceramic structural components in Kagoshima, Japan. 

The new facility will produce durable, high-precision components for semiconductor and LCD manufacturing equipment, says the company.

Kyocera held a groundbreaking ceremony last week, attended by the company’s president, Hideo Tanimoto.  [Read more…] about Kyocera breaks ground on new manufacturing plant