Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Engineering

Why most automation programmes plateau between cell and line

by

A Tier 1 automotive supplier with three plants across central Europe finished its 2025 capex review with a slide that had been written four years running.

Eighty-six robots installed across the body-in-white area, cycle time at every cell inside its commissioning envelope, OEE figures the line manager could quote without checking.

Then, on the next slide, a line-level throughput figure that had moved 4% in three years against a planned 22%. The robotics team was performing. The line was not. The audit, when it came, traced the same pattern across all three plants. [Read more…] about Why most automation programmes plateau between cell and line

How FEA Software Improves Structural Design Accuracy

by

The FEA (finite element analysis) software market sits at $7.82 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $14.72 billion by 2031. Structural analysis takes 55.83% of that volume.

Accuracy in steel structures, offshore platforms, and ship hulls has stopped being an academic question. It’s an everyday engineering reality.

This piece walks through why a numerical model often turns out accurate only on screen and how modern software closes the three main sources of FEA error: the mesh, material properties, and boundary conditions. [Read more…] about How FEA Software Improves Structural Design Accuracy

How Advanced Collision Repair Technology is Transforming Vehicle Restoration

by

Modern cars now use smart electronics, sensors, and strong materials. Because of this, fixing cars after a crash is now a high-tech job. It uses robots, smart test tools, and special machines that work with great care.

These new ways are making repairs better and helping keep people safe. They also make it faster and smoother to get cars back on the road. [Read more…] about How Advanced Collision Repair Technology is Transforming Vehicle Restoration

Key Advantages of Professional Collision Repair for Vehicle Safety and Performance

by

Today’s cars come with many safety features, light parts, and well-planned builds. When they get in a crash, fixing a car is about more than how it looks. You need to bring back the safety, the way it drives, and its lasting worth.

A skilled repair makes sure that every part of your car, like the frame and all the high-tech pieces, gets fixed the way the maker wants. [Read more…] about Key Advantages of Professional Collision Repair for Vehicle Safety and Performance

The Hidden Ingredient Layer Behind Automated Food Processing

by

Food factories love visible progress. A new robot arm. A cleaner packaging cell. A faster conveyor. A vision system that spots defects before a human operator would even notice them.

But a surprising amount of automation performance is decided before any of that equipment touches the product.

It starts in the mix tank, the formulation room, the chilling step, the coating drum, the dough sheet, the marinade, the binder, the stabilizer, and the moisture level. The boring stuff, basically. The stuff that doesn’t photograph well at trade shows. [Read more…] about The Hidden Ingredient Layer Behind Automated Food Processing

Factory Automation Requires Precision Parts: How Robotics OEMs Are Qualifying Chinese CNC Suppliers in 2026

by

A collaborative robot arm contains hundreds of custom machined components. Actuator housings, gearbox flanges, joint brackets, and end-effector mounts each carry tight dimensional tolerances that determine whether the assembly performs to specification or introduces compounding error across the kinematic chain.

For robotics OEMs scaling from prototype to production volume, finding a CNC supplier that can consistently hold those tolerances is not a sourcing exercise – it is an engineering qualification process.

In 2026, a growing share of that qualification work is being directed at Chinese CNC manufacturers. The combination of machining capacity, material range, and unit economics makes China’s manufacturing base attractive for robotics hardware – and a new generation of structured platforms offering access to a verified CNC machining supplier network, where factories are pre-screened for equipment capability, tolerance range, and certification status before any RFQ is released, is changing how OEMs approach the search. [Read more…] about Factory Automation Requires Precision Parts: How Robotics OEMs Are Qualifying Chinese CNC Suppliers in 2026

Ency updates hybrid robot programming platform with multi-brand and 3D vision capabilities

by

Ency Software has released a major update to its Ency Hyper platform, adding support for mixed-brand robot cells, SCARA robots, and integrated 3D vision.

The Cyprus-based company says the latest version strengthens its hybrid programming approach, which combines offline simulation with real-time interaction on physical robots.

The system allows users to prepare and verify programs digitally before refining them on the shop floor, aiming to reduce downtime and speed up deployment. [Read more…] about Ency updates hybrid robot programming platform with multi-brand and 3D vision capabilities

Why material selection mistakes in corrosive environments still lead to avoidable operational risk

by

Corrosive environments continue to create challenges across many industrial sectors. Components may be exposed to moisture, chemicals, heat, pressure, or aggressive media for long periods of time, and that places constant demands on material performance.

In these settings, operational risk does not only come from equipment failure or process instability. It can also start much earlier, with the wrong material choice.

A product may look suitable on paper, yet still prove to be a weak fit once real operating conditions begin to take effect. That is why material selection remains an important part of risk control in corrosive environments. [Read more…] about Why material selection mistakes in corrosive environments still lead to avoidable operational risk

10 Automation Trends Shaping Skilled Trades

by

Automation is not replacing the trades. It is upgrading them.

Robots, sensors, and AI systems are showing up across job sites and factories, but they still depend on skilled workers to install, program, and maintain them. Here are 10 automation trends reshaping what welders, electricians, and refrigeration techs do every day. [Read more…] about 10 Automation Trends Shaping Skilled Trades

Cadence and Nvidia expand partnership to advance AI-driven engineering and digital twin technologies

by

Cadence and Nvidia have expanded their long-standing partnership to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence, physics-based simulation, and digital twin technologies across engineering workflows, targeting industries ranging from semiconductor design to robotics and hyperscale AI infrastructure.

The collaboration brings together Cadence’s expertise in electronic design automation (EDA) and system design with Nvidia’s accelerated computing, CUDA-X libraries, and Omniverse platform, aiming to increase productivity and shorten development cycles across multiple engineering domains.

Anirudh Devgan, president and chief executive officer of Cadence, said the partnership reflects a broader shift taking place across the industry. [Read more…] about Cadence and Nvidia expand partnership to advance AI-driven engineering and digital twin technologies