Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Industry

US President Donald Trump pressures automakers to increase production in the US

by

By David Shepardson and Roberta Rampton, Reuters

US President Donald Trump pushed the chief executives of General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler to increase production in the United States and boost American employment.

Trump opened a meeting with GM CEO Mary Barra, Ford CEO Mark Fields and Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne at the White House by saying he wants to see new auto plants built in the United States.

The new Republican president vowed to cut regulations and taxes to make it more attractive for businesses to operate in the United States. He promised frequently during his election campaign to be a job-creating president and stressed that message in his inaugural speech last Friday.  [Read more…] about US President Donald Trump pressures automakers to increase production in the US

US President Donald Trump orders reduction of manufacturing and construction bureaucracy

by

Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump has signed an order aimed at reducing the amount of bureaucracy involved in getting permissions and licences in the manufacturing and construction sectors. 

Trump got elected partly on a platform to rejuvenate manufacturing and industry – or his “make it in America” mantra – and these first few days have seen some big changes proposed.

The order he signed is designed to streamline the administrative process, which Trump said was “incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible”.  [Read more…] about US President Donald Trump orders reduction of manufacturing and construction bureaucracy

Siemens, Strata and Etihad team up to create 3D printed interiors for planes

by

etihad

Siemens, Strata and Etihad Airways have signed an agreement to work together to develop the first 3D-printed parts for aircraft interiors in the Middle East and North Africa.

The partnership aims to “revolutionize” the aerospace industry, leveraging additive manufacturing, known as 3D printing, to help airlines to improve their designs, including making complex parts on demand and manufacturing discontinued parts.

Under the partnership, a pilot project will develop 3D printing solutions for aircraft cabin interior products for Etihad, the UAE’s national carrier.  [Read more…] about Siemens, Strata and Etihad team up to create 3D printed interiors for planes

Denso opens automotive research and development lab at Michigan university

by

university-of-michigan

Global auto supplier Denso has opened a new research and development lab at the University of Michigan, in the US. 

Denso, which used to be part of Toyota, says the new research facility will “accelerate development of new auto safety technologies and create new research opportunities for engineering students”.

The company says the Denso R&D Lab gives Denso an opportunity to more closely collaborate with the university and North American automotive manufacturers on key safety technologies like machine learning, advanced driver assistance systems, and automated drive.

As part of the lab, 12 university students have been selected to participate in research projects, which will begin this month and run throughout 2017.  [Read more…] about Denso opens automotive research and development lab at Michigan university

Biopharmaceuticals manufacturing: Strict but supple

by

Robert Harrison, pharmaceutical industry manager of industrial software expert Copa-Data, explains how industrial automation solutions could change the face of biopharmaceutical manufacturing in the years to come

Despite producing innovative drugs that save millions of lives, the pharmaceutical sector is one of the most conservative areas of industry. This cautious approach to new technologies is particularly clear in pharma’s less matured subsectors, including biopharmaceuticals.

Biopharmaceuticals represent the fastest growing sector of the pharmaceutical industry, making up about 20 per cent of the market. Annual growth rates of the biopharma subsector are around eight per cent – double that of more traditional pharmaceutical sectors.  [Read more…] about Biopharmaceuticals manufacturing: Strict but supple

World’s largest manufacturing companies

by

samsung chip

It’s a couple of years old, and we will update it as we go along, but this list provides an overview of the global manufacturing landscape over the past few years.

It shows that traditional companies – meaning those with a long history – are still dominant. Giants like Samsung, Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, General Electric, and General Motors have each been around for a century.

Samsung is relatively young, having been established in 1938. And it’s probably perceived as being even younger, since it’s the world’s largest manufacturer of smartphones, a product which has been in existence for barely a decade.  [Read more…] about World’s largest manufacturing companies

Siemens to invest $133 million in Canadian operations

by

siemens and seneca college canada
Last year, Seneca College and Siemens Canada opened what they said was Ontario’s first Mechatronics Simulation and Demonstration Centre

Siemens plans to invest $110.6 million in research and development activities at its plant in Dorval, Canada to design and make improvements to aero-derivative gas turbines.

These turbines are used for, among other things, the production of electricity, and serve as a backup source in the event that the existing network is unable to meet the demand.

The engineering company also plans to invest $22 million to launch a platform of expertise related to Industry 4.0 and the implementation of a training system integrated into the workplace.  [Read more…] about Siemens to invest $133 million in Canadian operations

Don’t let harmonics get you down: Top tips for choosing the right harmonic filter

by

 

John Mitchell, global business development manager of supply, repair and field service specialist, CP Automation, shares his top tips for companies that want to commission or replace harmonic filters

In 1976, it was discovered that the bacteria causing Legionnaires disease, an atypical strain of pneumonia, had always been present in water, but it was the precise temperature of the water in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that facilitated the bacteria’s maximum reproduction levels. This is just one example of the unintended consequences of technology.

A similar and more recent story comes from the world of industry and features the growing problem of harmonic currents and utility level voltage distortion, as a result an increasing number of non-linear loads in industrial and commercial environments.  [Read more…] about Don’t let harmonics get you down: Top tips for choosing the right harmonic filter

Hannover Messe: Smart materials paving the way to 3D printing and to the ‘microfactory’

by

3d printed supercar

Get your complimentary ticket to Hannover Messe 2017

There may or may not be slight differences between what’s called “3D printing” and “additive manufacturing”, but essentially both are advanced techniques that could spell the end of assembly lines as we know them. 

It’s a widely known historic fact that giant car companies pioneered what we now known as the assembly line, where a product – such as a car or any other complex item – would move along production line, where different workers and teams of workers would do their jobs and eventually a finished product would be the result.

This process, however, is now being reconsidered in an age where customers are asking for increaing amounts of customisation and new technologies such as 3D printing and additive manufacturing are making this customisation possible.  [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: Smart materials paving the way to 3D printing and to the ‘microfactory’

ABB to invest $90 million in new research centre in Canada

by

abb montreal

Engineering giant ABB is to invest another $90 million into a research and development centre in Canada. 

The Swiss company, which also is one of the world’s biggest industrial robot manufacturers, is to establish its new North American research and development facility in Montréal.

As a result of the investment, Canadians will develop next-generation solutions for electric vehicles, says the government in a statement. [Read more…] about ABB to invest $90 million in new research centre in Canada