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Industrial robots

Rethink Robotics signs exclusive distribution deal with Hunan Cothink in China

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Hunan Cothink will distribute Sawyer and Baxter robots throughout the country

Rethink Robotics has reached an exclusive agreement with collaborative robotics provider Hunan Cothink Robotics Technology Company to distribute its robots to the entire Chinese manufacturing community.

Rethink Robotics and Hunan Cothink originally announced a partnership in February of this year that awarded Hunan Cothink distribution rights in northern and southern China, but the success of the relationship and the demand for Rethink Robotics’ smart, collaborative robots has led to a new, exclusive deal that covers the entire Chinese geography.

Earlier this year, Hunan Cothink was formed as a separate division with a new sales and support organization that is designed to bring Rethink’s robots to the Chinese market and help Chinese manufacturers build smarter factories. Hunan Cothink also distributes Rethink Robotics’ Baxter robot worldwide.  [Read more…] about Rethink Robotics signs exclusive distribution deal with Hunan Cothink in China

Chinese energy company employs Sawyer industrial robot from Rethink Robotics

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Five Sawyer robots power flexible production in smart metering, power distribution and energy management 

Wasion Group, a provider of integrated solutions in smart metering, smart power distribution and energy management in China and international markets, has deployed Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer industrial robot on its assembly line for manufacturing single-phase energy meters.

Wasion is moving forward with smart manufacturing initiatives by leveraging smart, collaborative Sawyer robots that are easy to deploy and can meet the precision specifications for the companies’ factories.

Wasion is said to produce 35 million units of various smart metering, power and energy management equipment annually. With a diversified product portfolio, Wasion’s production lines need to accommodate a variety of products in lower volumes.  [Read more…] about Chinese energy company employs Sawyer industrial robot from Rethink Robotics

Yamaha develops its own ‘Advanced Robotics Automation’ internet of things platform to connect its new industrial robots

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Yamaha Motor says its internet of things automation system enables integrated control of multiple robot products with one controller

Yamaha has developed a new Advanced Robotics Automation platform – essentially an internet of things system for connecting machines together. 

This integrated control robot system enables building advanced automated production lines at low cost, in short time frames, and provides a “remarkable increase in compatibility with IoT”, says Yamaha.

The company adds that the newly-developed integrated controller delivers comprehensive coordination and synchronous control of an entire automated system, including transport of pieces, handling, image recognition, and control of peripheral devices.  [Read more…] about Yamaha develops its own ‘Advanced Robotics Automation’ internet of things platform to connect its new industrial robots

Yamaha launches new SCARA robot and ‘advanced’ robotics automation platform

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Company claims its robot has the industry’s fastest motion performance of a 0.28 seconds standard cycle time, and it targets unit sales of 2,800 at an open price

Yamaha has introduced a “new full model change” SCARA Robot YKX Series, which is compatible with its own “Advanced Robotics Automation Platform” – essentially an internet of things platform for its machines. 

Yamaha will formally launch the new YKX series of SCARA robots and its the newly-developed Advanced Robotics Automation Platform integrated control robot system on December 1, 2016.

With this “full model change”, as Yamaha calls it, the YKX series has achieved even higher rigidity and high-speed motion through drive system upgrades and Yamaha Motor’s “unique” motor-reduction gear direct connection structure – a completely beltless structure, says the company.  [Read more…] about Yamaha launches new SCARA robot and ‘advanced’ robotics automation platform

Foxconn reaches 40,000 industrial robot installations

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Foxconn, the Taiwan-headquartered industrial robotics and automation company which makes a lot of Apple’s devices including the iPhone and iPad, says it has now installed 40,000 industrial robots in mainland China.

This is according to a report on the Next Big Future website, which adds that company plans to increase that figure ten-fold.

The robots are built almost entirely in-house with the exception of some components like servo motors and speed reducers, said Foxconn’s Dai Chia-peng to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, as quoted by DigiTimes.  [Read more…] about Foxconn reaches 40,000 industrial robot installations

Collaborative robot: Human-machine harmony

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An illustration of CanisDrive, a new range of compact hollow shaft servo actuators launched by Harmonic Drive

Richard Hurst, product manager at Harmonic Drive looks at the latest technological advancements, such as high precision gears, that are allowing these trends to move from the periphery of the industry into the mainstream

The biggest trends in the robotics industry include collaborative robots (CoBots), a move towards high precision applications and the rise of the Internet of Robot Things (IoRT). 

Between 2010 and 2014, robot sales reached 171,000 units globally, a rise of 48 per cent on the previous four years and representing a compound annual growth rate of 17 per cent.

This is according to research by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which also identified China as the world’s biggest buyer of industrial robots with a 25 per cent share of the worldwide market.  [Read more…] about Collaborative robot: Human-machine harmony

HIT Robot Group to showcase Nano-Robotic Manipulation system WRC

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The Nanomanipulation System has four arms in operation. (Picture: HIT Robot Group)

One of China’s leading robot producers, HIT Robot Group, is to showcase its latest “nanomanipulation system” at the 2016 World Robot Conference in Beijing from October 20-25.

Since its debut last year, HRG’s Nano-Robotic Manipulation System has received wide attention for the possibilities it opens up regarding manipulation of materials on a nano level.

Through years of research, HIT Robot Group made a breakthrough in integrating position sensors to nanomanipulating systems in a scanning electron microscopy vacuum environment.  [Read more…] about HIT Robot Group to showcase Nano-Robotic Manipulation system WRC

Lucas presents Comau to France

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Robotics and automation distributor Lucas is presenting Comau robots to its French market at an event this week.

Lucas signed a deal with Comau as an official distributor of its robots in France. Lucas, is a long-established French company based in Bazas, and has been active for over 50 years in manufacturing and supplying linear axis and Cartesian robots.

Lucas organized an open house October 12 and 13 in order to present the new partnership with Comau, and a series of products and active robot cells to the market and French media.  [Read more…] about Lucas presents Comau to France

Universal Robots launches in Sri Lanka

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The pristine island of Sri Lanka with its serene Buddhist culture will make way for a technology pit-stop for one of the world leaders in the concept of collaborative robotics.

Universal Robots, which claims to have pioneered collaborative robots or “cobots” as they are sometimes called, has launched its machines into the Sri Lankan market and talked about the availability of this technology to various industries.

The event was attended by the key stakeholders that define this technology, including the general manager of the company in the India and Sri Lanka region, and a host of other dignitaries representing the government and customers.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots launches in Sri Lanka

Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer signs deal with Korean company TPC Mechatronics

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Rethink Robotics has reached a deal with a South Korean pneumatic equipment manufacturer and distributor. 

TPC Mechatronics will utilise Sawyer collaborative robots from Rethink Robotics in its own facility, as well as the facilities of its customers, in “an effort to move the entire industry toward smarter factories”, according to the companies.

The exclusive distribution partner of Rethink Robotics in Korea, TPC Mechatronics’ core customer base consists of a wide range of industrial manufacturers.  [Read more…] about Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer signs deal with Korean company TPC Mechatronics