Robotics & Automation News

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Industrial robots

Case study: A task for two collaborative robots

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Vision-guided collaborative robots deliver fast return on investment in production of firehose valves

Task Force Tips, a manufacturer of firefighting equipment, wanted to promote and maximize their personnel tending machining cells into more complex tasks while keeping spindle time up and product quality consistent.

The Indiana-based manufacturer has now installed four collaborative Universal Robots delivering savings resulting in a return on their investment in only 34 days.

CEO of Task Force Tips, Stewart McMillan, still remembers his father looking up at him with pen in hand asking, “Are you sure about this?”, when the family-owned company bought their first CNC machine 40 years ago.
  [Read more…] about Case study: A task for two collaborative robots

Robomotion and Sotec demonstrate cloud-connected Kuka industrial robot work cell

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The first KR 3 Agilus is handed over to Dr Andreas Wolf, of Robomotion (second from left) and Florian Holz, of Sotec (third from left)

Industrial robotics and automation solutions provider Robomotion and software company Sotec have demonstrated a robotic work cell which they built around the Kuka KR Agilus robot.

The companies claim the cell is an example of “hands-on Industrie 4.0”.

The KR 3 Agilus is at the heart of the demo cell developed by Robomotion and Sotec, and the companies say the cell “demonstrates how the flow of data between robots and the cloud can work”.

Florian Holz, CEO of Sotec, says: “We want to give people an opportunity to experience the technology of Industrie 4.0 that we developed together at first hand.”  [Read more…] about Robomotion and Sotec demonstrate cloud-connected Kuka industrial robot work cell

Connecting revolutions: Exclusive interview with Stäubli Robotics automotive boss

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A range of Stäubli robots
A range of Stäubli robots

Stäubli is one of the first industrial automation companies, having been established all the way back in the late-1800s and quickly developing what was then advanced technology for the weaving industry before the century was out. The company even owns Jacquard machines, Jacquard being the pioneering manufacturer of looms that defined the original Industrial Revolution – and the inventor of punched cards to control machines, from which flowed computer programming principles. 

Then in the early 1980s, Stäubli bought the Unimation business from Westinghouse, Unimation being the company which developed the first industrial robot arm, the Unimate.

Today, Stäubli is still one of world’s largest industrial robotics and automation companies, and its product manager in the US is Paul Deady.  [Read more…] about Connecting revolutions: Exclusive interview with Stäubli Robotics automotive boss

Yaskawa showcases Neocortex robotic work cell for material handling

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Yaskawa has introduced a new robotic work cell developed in partnership with Motoman and Universal Robotics.

Yaskawa says the Neocortex Goods to Robot Cell is a “complete, pre-engineered adaptive picking solution”.

The system is the result of a collaboration between Yaskawa America, Motoman Robotics Division and Universal Robotics.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa showcases Neocortex robotic work cell for material handling

Video: Latest list of the world’s leading industrial robot manufacturers

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Mitsubishi currently has 70,000 industrial robots installed worldwide, Robotics and Automation News has learned.

As a result, the company is now included in the Robotics and Automation News list of the world’s top industrial robot manufacturers.

Other companies in the new list are Stäubli and Universal, which makes collaborative robots.  [Read more…] about Video: Latest list of the world’s leading industrial robot manufacturers

Mitsubishi says it has 70,000 industrial robots installed worldwide

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Mitsubishi Robotics currently has 70,000 industrial robots installed around the world. 

A reliable source close to the company made the information available to Robotics and Automation News exclusively on condition of anonymity.

Mitsubishi Robotics is now the eighth-largest industrial robot maker on the Robotics and Automation News list of the top industrial robot manufacturers in the world.

Etalex increases sales by ‘40 per cent’ by using robotics and automation technology

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Canadian company Etalex says it has achieved a 40 per cent increase in the past year, partly as a result of integrating collaborative technology from Universal Robots into its process

Founded in 1966 in Montreal, Canada, Etalex manufactures commercial interiors, specializing in metal fixtures, shelving, wood furnishings and heavy-duty racking systems. The company has 120 employees and has been mainly concentrating on the Quebec market. 

Etalex says it has introduced robotics and automation technology into its production and this resulted in increased competitiveness and a 40 per cent rise in sales last year.

As a result of its growth, the company says it is now ready to compete in the New York and Ontario markets as well.

  [Read more…] about Etalex increases sales by ‘40 per cent’ by using robotics and automation technology

Chinese company Delta launches new industrial robot

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Delta has unveiled the latest version of its articulated industrial robot.

The Chinese company says its DRV90L / DRV 70L series can be “perfectly integrated with AC motor drives, motion control systems, sensors, machine vision systems, advanced host controllers and more, to construct high-end automation machines and systems”.

Delta’s senior vice-president, Simon Chang, says: “Our articulated robot solutions are already applied at our factory in China and have proven to enhance productivity and product quality.  [Read more…] about Chinese company Delta launches new industrial robot

How to make the most of robotics and automation in your manufacturing business

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Barry Crackett is a product designer at Brushtec, a brushware manufacturer which has benefitted greatly from embracing robotics and automation. In this article, he explains how your business could also benefit from automation.

The UK is falling far behind much of the industrialised world when it comes to embracing robotics and automation, according to The Telegraph.

There are reportedly 500 robots for every 10,000 manufacturing employees in South Korea, 300 in Germany and 200 in Denmark and Sweden.

In stark contrast the UK has just 71 for every 10,000 workers, which means that our manufacturing industry might struggle to catch up if companies don’t start taking stock of the situation and putting more effort into adapting to survive.  [Read more…] about How to make the most of robotics and automation in your manufacturing business

Huge reboot: What Trump’s aversion to trade blocs could mean for the US robotics, automation and manufacturing industries

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The US automotive manufacturing industry is probably going through some angsty times right now, what with president-elect Donald Trump reiterating his campaign pledge to repeal or at least renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and any other free-trade deal previous administrations have signed up to. 

For a highly globalised industry like the automotive sector, which sources parts from all over the world and may assemble its vehicles in any number of countries simultaneously based on a common platform, this is perhaps one election promise which it would rather not be kept.

However, Trump has already produced a presidential address style video in which he says: “I am going to issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country.

“Instead, we will negotiate fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores.”  [Read more…] about Huge reboot: What Trump’s aversion to trade blocs could mean for the US robotics, automation and manufacturing industries