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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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kuka sotec robomotion
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

There will be data: Exclusive interview with Honeywell UOP cloud boss

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The oil and gas industry is the lifeblood and oxygen of the modern world. It produces the stuff that powers the power stations, providing the energy on which we all depend if we live in a country with even a moderate infrastructure. 

Much as we’d all like to live on fresh air, and run our iMachines on the light that shines in through our windows, the harsh reality is that the dirty and dangerous business of fossil fuels is still the biggest generator of energy in the world today.

No developed or developing economy on Earth can do without oil and gas, and no oil and gas plant can do without systems to prevent downtime. Every second of unscheduled downtime can cost the oil and gas company millions of dollars. Not only that, the secondary effects on all the businesses connected to the oil and gas company’s supply lines – which basically permeate the whole of society – could be devastating to a nation’s economy and wellbeing if those seconds turn into minutes, hours or days.  [Read more…] about There will be data: Exclusive interview with Honeywell UOP cloud boss

Lowering the entry barriers of additive manufacturing

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renishaw

Marc Saunders, director of Renishaw’s Global Solutions Centre, explains how additive manufacturing is moving from the world of rapid prototyping into series production

A famous quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin says: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

Although in reality Franklin never said these words, the quote has become extremely popular because its message resonates with anyone who has ever tried to make sense of new technology.

To a large extent, the quote also applies perfectly to additive manufacturing (AM).  [Read more…] about Lowering the entry barriers of additive manufacturing

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

Maxim Integrated launches new PLC development platform

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Maxim says its new platform transforms traditional manufacturing processes with real-time intelligence, adaptive manufacturing, and distributed control

Maxim Integrated has launched a new Pocket IO programmable logic controller development platform which its says can significantly increase manufacturing productivity.

The company says the platform provides customers with the ability to achieve the smallest form factor and highest power efficiency for next-generation PLC designs.

Lost productivity is a common concern for Industry 4.0 designers challenged with keeping a manufacturing line running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  [Read more…] about Maxim Integrated launches new PLC development platform

Technical insight: Innovative hole drilling tools increase automobile industry profitability

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automotive engineering drawings

By Paul Best and Todd Cox, product specialists at Allied Machine & Engineering Corp

Hole drilling plays a critical role in automotive manufacturing. Hundreds of holes must be drilled for each vehicle that’s manufactured, including those in transmission shafts, engine blocks, air bag propellant chambers, camshafts, and other internal engine parts.

In any automotive vehicle part production line, conveyor belts are running nonstop and efficient tools are a key aspect of profitability. Every minute a spindle is not drilling holes or is not efficiently evacuating the chips formed from drilling, is a minute when money is lost.

Manufacturers must take advantage of seemingly small tooling changes because they can make a huge difference in hole making efficiency. Innovative technology is now available that can be integrated right into a process seamlessly without shutting production down. Adopting these innovations that decrease costs can significantly increase margin dollars for the company.  [Read more…] about Technical insight: Innovative hole drilling tools increase automobile industry profitability

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-robots

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.