Audi has been demonstrating its advanced manufacturing technologies, much of which went into building its newly opened smart factory in Mexico, where the automaker’s Q5 vehicle is being produced. [Read more…] about Audi shows off its smart factory technologies
OR Laser launches new metal additive manufacturing system
OR Laser has launched a new direct metal additive manufacturing system which it says is “more accessible and more affordable for more companies”.
The company says the Orlas Creator metal additive manufacturing platform is “smarter, simpler, faster and more cost effective than any other metal additive manufacturing system currently available on the market”.
OR Laser says the system uses a “unique” circular build-platform design, which enables up to 30per cent faster production speeds compared with comparable platforms. These speeds are facilitated by a proprietary, rotation-led precision coater blade. [Read more…] about OR Laser launches new metal additive manufacturing system
Connected devices, industrial control systems expose manufacturers to cyber threats, say Deloitte and Mapi
Intellectual property theft tops manufacturers’ concerns, says new report, which identifies measures to control cyber risks associated with advanced manufacturing
Nearly half of surveyed manufacturing executives lack confidence their assets are protected from external threats, according to a new study from Deloitte and the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (Mapi) on Cyber risk in advanced manufacturing.
Study results indicate nearly 40 percent of surveyed manufacturing companies were affected by cyber incidents in the past 12 months, and 38 percent of those impacted indicated cyber breaches resulted in damages in excess of $1 million.
Trina Huelsman, vice chairman, Deloitte & Touche and US industrial products and services leader, says: “Manufacturers are innovating at an unprecedented rate, integrating cutting-edge technologies in products, automating the shop floor, connecting supply chains, and increasingly investing in valuable intellectual property. [Read more…] about Connected devices, industrial control systems expose manufacturers to cyber threats, say Deloitte and Mapi
nuTonomy to test its self-driving cars on public roads in Boston
On-street testing will begin before the end of 2016 in Raymond Flynn Marine Park
nuTonomy, the developer of software for self-driving cars, has signed a deal with the City of Boston and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that authorizes nuTonomy to begin testing its growing fleet of self-driving cars on specific public streets in a designated area of Boston.
nuTonomy will begin testing its self-driving Renault Zoe electric vehicle before the end of the year in the Raymond L Flynn Marine Park in the Seaport section of the city.
nuTonomy outfits its vehicles with a state-of-the art software system, which has been integrated with high-performance sensing and computing components, to enable safe operation without a driver. [Read more…] about nuTonomy to test its self-driving cars on public roads in Boston
Equashield claims ‘world first’ with new drug robot
Equashield says it’s the world’s first robot with closed system transfer device to further protect pharmacy staff during hazardous drug compounding
Equashield, a provider of “closed system transfer devices” for safe and simple handling of hazardous drugs, is expanding its range of solutions and products offered by entering the field of automation.
Its newest product, a compounding robot named Equashield Pro (pictured), will be introduced at the upcoming ASHP Midyear Meeting.
Marino Kriheli, founder of Equashield, says: “The throughput capacities of current compounding robots and their ability to prevent contamination by hazardous drugs is near its peak efficiency, defined – and limited – by the robotic ‘arms’ mimicking dose preparation with a needle and syringe.” [Read more…] about Equashield claims ‘world first’ with new drug robot
Swisslog signs ‘major contract’ with tire manufacturer Michelin
Michelin, the tire manufacturer, has selected Swisslog warehouse and distribution solutions to automate a new distribution center in the US.
The order value of the automation project amounts to a high multimillion-dollar range and was booked in the second quarter of 2016.
The new distribution center will supply passenger and truck tires throughout North America, allowing the company to meet its ambitions for responsible logistics. [Read more…] about Swisslog signs ‘major contract’ with tire manufacturer Michelin
Daimler sets its sights on vision of smart factory
At Daimler, the “smart factory” is the centrepiece of the digitalisation of the entire company. In the smart factory, the products, machines and the entire environment are networked with each other and connected to the internet. Integration of the real world into a functional, digital world enables a so-called “digital twin” to be created, which allows the real-time representation of processes, systems and entire production shops.
“Digitalisation enables us to make our products more individual, and production more efficient and flexible. The challenge is to plan for the long term while remaining able to respond rapidly to customer wishes and market fluctuations,” says Markus Schäfer, executive board member Mercedes-Benz cars production and supply chain management.
“The working environment in the automobile industry is facing major and very rapid changes,” says Michael Brecht, chairman of the Daimler works council. “We want to be actively involved in shaping these changes. One key to this is undoubtedly the systematic, far-sighted training of the current and future workforce.” [Read more…] about Daimler sets its sights on vision of smart factory
Accenture makes business life easier with automation
Interview with Manish Sharma, senior managing director and group operating officer, Accenture Operations. This article is republished from the original source, em360tech.com
If business was easy, everyone would be doing it. Running a business is a complex and sometimes difficult thing to do.
The more experience one has, the more they can make it look easy. But no matter how experienced you are, and how much you can “routinise” your workload by yourself, a robot and software could probably do those things better.
That might sound disheartening for some, but for others, it provides an opportunity to become more productive, and in ways that are more creative and rewarding.
Here, we speak to Manish Sharma, senior managing director and group operating officer, Accenture Operations, about how the company itself uses automation to streamline its processes.
[Read more…] about Accenture makes business life easier with automation
The Rubik’s Cube phenomenon: One for the all-time pop charts
lockTo date, more than 400 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. As such, the puzzle game is one of the biggest-selling products in history.
Not bad for a toy which its inventor, Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik, says he didn’t even plan to make.
He was working as a professor of architecture at the Budapest College of Applied Architecture at the time, in 1974, and built the cube with the intention of “searching to find a good task for my students”. [Read more…] about The Rubik’s Cube phenomenon: One for the all-time pop charts
Infineon chip solves Rubik’s Cube in about one half of one second
Lightning fast machine sorts out the squares in 637 thousandths of a second
The Rubik’s Cube is one of the world’s most famous puzzles, and one of the best-selling products in history.
Tens of millions – possibly hundreds of millions – of people have tried to manipulate the cubic puzzle to manoeuvre the colours so they match on all six sides. And millions have succeeded.
But it would impossible for any human to do what a machine did earlier today at the electronica trade fair, where a machine called “Sub1 Reloaded” pulled off the feat with the help of microchips from Infineon in less than a second – 637 thousandths of a second to be exact. [Read more…] about Infineon chip solves Rubik’s Cube in about one half of one second