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SoftWear Automation raises another $4.5 million and pledges to help bring back manufacturing to the US

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SoftWear Automation, an Atlanta-based robotic sewing firm, has received $4.5 million in financing from existing investor, CTW Venture Partners.

The company says funding will accelerate the company’s development of fully automated sewn good worklines specifically for apparel production in the United States.

Additionally, the company plans to add 20 employees to keep pace with growing customer demand.  [Read more…] about SoftWear Automation raises another $4.5 million and pledges to help bring back manufacturing to the US

ABB’s YuMi collaborative robot rings opening bell at Nasdaq stock market

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Collaborative robot YuMi was the – arguably oblivious – guest of Robo Global, creator of the world’s first robotics and automaton investor index series

ABB’s YuMi dual-arm, collaborative robot rang the opening bell today at the Nasdaq MarketSite Studio in Times Square in New York City to start the trading day.

YuMi was a guest of Robo Global, which offers The Robo Global Robotics and Automation Index Series, the world’s first benchmark index series to track the global robotics and automation market.

Greg Scheu, president of the Americas region for ABB, joined YuMi and Robo Global executives at the podium for the ceremony.  [Read more…] about ABB’s YuMi collaborative robot rings opening bell at Nasdaq stock market

Universal Robots and partners to demonstrate ‘next generation’ collaborative robot technology at ATX East

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jacob-javits convention centre

Universal Robots is planning to showcase a range of new technologies and partnerships at ATX East, said to the largest annual design and manufacturing event on the US East Coast.

This year, the keynote speaker at the event will be Steve “Woz” Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and currently chief scientist at Primary Data.

Attendees at UBM’s ATX East in New York City, June 13-15, will be greeted by three collaborative robots from Universal Robots at the expo entrance.  [Read more…] about Universal Robots and partners to demonstrate ‘next generation’ collaborative robot technology at ATX East

Opinion: North America and its chief robotics officers will drive ‘Industry 5.0’

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By Matt Rendall, CEO and co-founder of Otto Motors, and host of the forthcoming Drive Manufacturing Summit

Manufacturers in North American know robotics and automation; they have studied and put into practice the Ford Production System and the Toyota Production System to continuously improve operations, with much of those improvements made by the use and integration of automation.

As such, the sector has traditionally been one of the first industries to grab hold of burgeoning robotics technologies and incorporate them into process.

This said, something has changed in the last 10 years – while manufacturers have focused on continuous improvement within their space, the technology sector has also been making leaps and bounds in innovation, with new capabilities spanning cloud computing, big data, and mobile computing.  [Read more…] about Opinion: North America and its chief robotics officers will drive ‘Industry 5.0’

MIT spin-out Tulip raises $13 million to ‘digitally transform manufacturing’

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tulip manufacturing app warehouse

New Enterprise Associates leads $13 million round, with participation from Pitango, to expand product research and development and continue growing customer support capabilities

Tulip, the MIT spin-out which has developed a Manufacturing App Platform, has raised $13 million in Series A financing.

New Enterprise Associates led the round with participation from Pitango Venture Capital and many returning angel investors.

Tulip says it will use the capital to grow its world-class product, design, and research teams, while expanding its customer support capabilities in response to significant customer growth.  [Read more…] about MIT spin-out Tulip raises $13 million to ‘digitally transform manufacturing’

Opinion: Is digitalisation the key to remote plant operation?

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3d printing

By Eric Duchesne, SVP technology experts for Total, who will be addressing at the ERTC Ask the Experts conference in Cologne on 20-21 June 

There have been many advances in the field of digitalisation in recent years.

As the industry moves towards remote operation it is plant optimisation and integrity management which will provide the tools to enhance safety and anticipate potential problems within the plant, ensuring that the right human assets and replacement parts are available when required.

Today, there’s lots of talk about big data, but before we start to consider how we use big data we can dramatically improve the performance of our plants through the more effective interpretation of data that already exists. We need to become proactive rather than reactive.  [Read more…] about Opinion: Is digitalisation the key to remote plant operation?

Self-steering Volvo truck set to increase Brazil’s sugar-cane harvest

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Volvo Trucks has developed a new self-steering truck that it says could become a significant productivity booster for Brazilian sugar-cane growers. (See video below.)

The truck, which is used to transport newly harvested sugar-cane, is steered with “great precision” through the fields in order to avoid damaging the young plants that will form the following year’s crop.

At present, about 4 per cent of the crop is lost as young plants are run over and the soil is compacted by moving vehicles. This can translate into tens of thousands of US dollars in lost revenue per truck per season.  [Read more…] about Self-steering Volvo truck set to increase Brazil’s sugar-cane harvest

Robotic Vision Technologies and Universal Robots introduce 3D cobot packaging application

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robotic vision technologies

Robotic Vision Technologies will be a co-exhibitor at EastPack 2017, on June 13-15, 2017 with the world’s largest collaborative robot maker Universal Robots.

RVT will be demonstrating its new collaborative 3D vision guidance software on a Universal Robot UR5. The 3D cobot packaging solution can be seen at EastPack ATX 2017 in East Booth 2529 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

RVT, a leader in vision software for industrial applications, has been integrated into Universal Robots’ cobot arms to demonstrate precise pick-and-place items off a conveyor in 2.5D and onto a movable tray in 3D.  [Read more…] about Robotic Vision Technologies and Universal Robots introduce 3D cobot packaging application

Nidec says demand for robot parts has grown by seven times

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Nidec factory
Nidec will add equipment to increase production of speed reducers. Picture: Nikkei

Nidec, a Japanese electric motor manufacturer, says demand for its speed reducers has grown seven-fold. 

The increase in orders has led the company to invest an additional $36 million in new equipment at its factory – operated by subsidiary Nidec-Shimpo – to produce more of the component.

Speed reducers are a core part in robots, and are used to control robotic limbs and give them power.  [Read more…] about Nidec says demand for robot parts has grown by seven times

Manufacturing industry critical to economic prosperity, say Americans

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national assn manufacturing pic

The vast majority of Americans believe manufacturing plays a vital role in safeguarding US economic prosperity and maintaining their quality of life, according to the 2017 Manufacturing Perceptions Survey from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute.

The study found more than three-quarters (76 percent) of Americans surveyed believe the US should invest further in the manufacturing industry.

Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, says: “Modern manufacturing has captured the imagination of the American public and our elected leaders.

“This important research indicates public opinion of the future of the industry has taken a measurable, positive jump as people acknowledge the strong connection between this industry, the US economy and the American way of life.

“As we have done with our Creators Wanted video series, manufacturers are taking it upon themselves to tell the story of our industry and the lives we touch. It’s encouraging to see that our story is resonating.”  [Read more…] about Manufacturing industry critical to economic prosperity, say Americans