Where Innovation Meets Imagination
Kuka is to combine its Chinese general industry business and the Chinese Swisslog business by setting up joint ventures with Midea Group companies. The respective shareholders of the joint venture companies will each have a stake of 50%.
The Robotics joint venture will be controlled by Kuka and the Chinese automotive business will fully remain with Kuka.
These joint ventures will significantly increase market penetration in China and expand Kuka’s Chinese business.
If you’re an enthusiast who occasionally makes a YouTube video, you probably use the webcam integrated with your computer.
But if you’re more serious, you probably buy yourself good-quality video and audio equipment and your productions are of a higher standard.
Take one step further on from that and what’s possible is that you avail yourself of the services of a camera operator, someone who can move the camera to follow you around as you show us how to make that croissant and coffee we all so desperately need first thing in the morning. [Read more…] about Robotic arms being employed as camera operators
Plastic Molded Concepts, a plastics injection molding manufacturer, has installed Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer robot at its Eagle, Wisconsin facility to drive business growth and offer high-quality jobs for workers. (See video below.)
Rethink claims that PMC has found that using Sawyer “increases throughput efficiency and job quality” in its facility.
PMC has turned to automation to boost the productivity of its 38 molding machines. As a first step, Sawyer is making parts for a pressure gauge.
Larry Floyd, president at PMC, says: “We qualify our success in terms of efficiency, and there’s no better solution to efficiency than automation. [Read more…] about PMC ‘increases efficiency and quality’ with Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer
Universal Robots says it has reached 25,000 unit sales of its collaborative industrial robot range.
The company has now achieved the same unit sales as Omron, according to the Robotics and Automation News list of top robot companies with the most installations.
The figure for Omron has not been updated for a while, but that does not diminish Universal Robots’ achievement. [Read more…] about Universal Robots sells 25,000 units
To celebrate the sale of 25,000 cobots worldwide, Universal Robots is giving away its first and only Gold Edition cobot, shipped free of cost, to the lucky customer who orders the 25,000th cobot.
With its joints painted in a gold-coloured finish, this Gold Edition cobot will be available in the UR3, UR5 or UR10 model.
“With this historic milestone, we celebrate not just the success of Universal Robots in empowering customers, but also the successes of our customers in innovating and changing their workplace with collaborative robots,” said Jürgen von Hollen, President of Universal Robots.
Industrial robot gigantico Fanuc has launched an offline robot simulation program called RoboGuide.
The company says RoboGuide is a robot simulator that simulates both the robot’s motion and application commands, significantly reducing the time it takes to create new motion setups.
To ensure minimal impact on production, cells can be designed, tested and modified entirely offline. [Read more…] about Fanuc launches new robot simulation software RoboGuide
Fanuc America says its Robot LINKi Zero Down Time (ZDT) service is now available to all automotive and non-automotive manufacturers who purchase Fanuc robots.
Launched in 2015 in collaboration with Cisco, ZDT is a predictive analytic service that identifies potential failures so customers can schedule maintenance and repairs, avoiding unexpected breakdowns during production. ZDT received a General Motors Innovation Award in 2016.
Today, over 16,000 robots in the automotive industry are operating with ZDT.
Since its introduction, Fanuc estimates that ZDT has saved customers over 1,300 hours of unexpected production interruptions, which equates to more than $4 million. [Read more…] about Fanuc launches new version of Zero Down Time service
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) used in logistics applications are forecast to enjoy massive growth in the next five years and grow ten-fold to exceed $3bn in 2022, according to a new report from Interact Analysis.
Despite the market being worth just $300m in 2017, the report forecasts that more than 400,000 mobile robots will be installed by the end of 2022.
Whilst AGVs have long been used in manufacturing environments to lower costs and improve efficiencies, logistics and fulfilment centers are a relatively new opportunity.
[Read more…] about New study: Mobile robots in logistics centres to exceed $3 billion in 2022
Universal Robots will showcase its collaborative robot arms in new application, at Modex, from April 9-12 in Atlanta, USA.
Warehouse processes such as order fulfillment require the ability to recognize and pick a wide range of items that are different sizes, weights, and materials, often jumbled together in bins.
While traditional industrial robots usually stay bolted down in protective cages, dedicated to one handling task only, collaborative robots, or cobots, effectively address this automation challenge with flexible implementation and low upfront cost.
[Read more…] about Universal Robots debuts at US supply chain expo Modex
Europe’s second-largest car manufacturer, PSA Group, is increasing factory performance and reducing production costs, using Universal Robots (UR) as part of its “Excellent Plant” initiative.
Results of the new robotic assembly system include improved worker ergonomics and cost savings of two to eight Euros per car, which represents up to 400,000 to 1,600,000 euros in initial cost savings.
“We chose the UR10 robot for its reach, ease of programming and safety, but we’ve been extremely impressed with how quickly this initiative paid for itself,” said Cedric Grandjean, Architect Element Specialist, Finish Assembly Line at Groupe PSA. [Read more…] about PSA Group modernises its European manufacturing with UR cobots
