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HP launches print-to-order book manufacturing services

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HP has introduced HP Piazza, a set of independent and interlocking cloud-based services that it says will enable publishers to make book manufacturing and distribution more time- and cost-efficient.

Publishers can build a virtual warehouse for the management, automation, distribution, print, and direct fulfilment of book orders, while holding zero inventory.

Bridging the worlds of book publishing and digital book printing, the Piazza platform focuses on the needs of publishers in a world where short-run digital production is an everyday reality.

[Read more…] about HP launches print-to-order book manufacturing services

Markets and politics contributing to the rise of Chinese robotics companies

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Commercial opportunities and government directives are coalescing to create a vibrant robotics and automation industry in China, according to a new report by ABI Research

Historically, the industrial robotics space has traditionally been dominated by Japanese and European vendors, while the commercial robotics has been the stronghold of robot startups from the United States and Europe.

However, recent developments suggest that Chinese vendors are staking a claim in the robotics territory, says ABI Research, a market research and advisory company.

Lian Jye Su, principal analyst at ABI Research, says: “The top four Chinese industrial robotics vendors reported a topline growth of 20 per cent year-on-year in 2016 and a similar figure is expected for next few years.  [Read more…] about Markets and politics contributing to the rise of Chinese robotics companies

Injection moulding company Romeo RIM awarded by Spartan Motors

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Romeo RIM, a provider of custom reaction injection molding and composite solutions, has been named a Diamond Award winner by Spartan Motors, a company which specialises in chassis and vehicle design, manufacturing and assembly.

The Diamond Award is Spartan Motor’s highest award level, recognizing top-performing suppliers and key supply chain partners instrumental in helping the company continue to improve supplier quality.

Romeo RIM CEO and president Tim Howell accepted the award on behalf of Romeo RIM along with vice president of business development Matt Getty at at the Spartan Motors 15th Annual Supplier Conference held recently.  [Read more…] about Injection moulding company Romeo RIM awarded by Spartan Motors

ABB to invest €100 million in global innovation and training centre at B&R location

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One year after announcing its acquisition of Bernecker + Rainer Industrie-Elektronik, ABB is to invest €100 million in Austria to build a state-of-the-art innovation and training campus at the home of B&R in Eggelsberg, Upper Austria.

It is the largest organic investment in industrial automation in ABB’s more than 130-year history and lays the foundation for around 1,000 new high-tech jobs in Austria.

The new innovation and training campus will develop technologies for the factory of the future, based on ABB Ability, in which production will be undertaken autonomously by smart and cloud-connected machines and robots.  [Read more…] about ABB to invest €100 million in global innovation and training centre at B&R location

Siemens uses additive manufacturing to produce gas turbines

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Siemens says that additive manufacturing has the potential to become a new key technology, opening up new attractive prospects in the manufacture of gas turbines. The company has been investing in this technology right from its inception, and is now driving the industrialization and commercialization of these processes.

Additive manufacturing is a process that builds parts layer-by-layer from sliced CAD models to form solid objects, which enables highly precise solutions to be formed from powdered high-performance materials.

Siemens is a pioneer in additive manufacturing and already uses the technology for rapid prototyping. The company is now developing solutions ready for series-production for manufacturing gas turbine burner nozzles and repairing burner heads.

[Read more…] about Siemens uses additive manufacturing to produce gas turbines

DHL expands e-commerce fulfilment internationally

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DHL Parcel and DHL eCommerce are now offering online retailers a global solution for their e-commerce fulfilment needs with a global fulfilment platform and new fulfilment centers in the UK, Americas and South-east Asia.

Today’s e-commerce market is placing aggressive demands on the retailer to provide fast fulfilment and delivery, and doing so without increasing costs. This is simply not possible for most merchants because they lack capital or the ability to manage the complexity.

DHL has built a new IT platform that provides access to a network of fulfilment centres and is closely integrated with DHL’s shipping capabilities to allow our customers to meet their fulfilment and shipping requirements in a much more efficient fashion.

[Read more…] about DHL expands e-commerce fulfilment internationally

Amazon plans fulfilment centre in Missouri, US

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Amazon.com, Inc.  is planning its first Missouri fulfilment centre in St. Peters, creating more than 1,500 full-time jobs and opportunities to engage with Amazon Robotics in a highly technological workplace. Amazon currently operates a sortation centre in Hazelwood, where it employs hundreds of associates.

Amazon employees at the more than 800,000 square foot fulfilment centre will pick, pack and ship small items to customers such as books, electronics and toys.

The facility will feature innovative technology such as Amazon Robotics that will assist employees in fulfilling customer orders.

 

Omron to show factory automation solutions at WCX

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Omron Automation will demo its wide-ranging innovations in robotics, sensing, control, safety, vision and more at the SAE World Congress Experience (WCX) this April in Detroit, USA..

One of the company’s key demos at WCX 2018 will feature the FH vision system, a powerful solution for high-speed inspection for automotive and electronic applications.

The LD Mobile Robot exhibit will show how self-navigating autonomous intelligent vehicle (AIV) can adapt to a wide variety of applications and payloads.

[Read more…] about Omron to show factory automation solutions at WCX

Fujitsu partners with FamilyMart to trial robotic grocery store

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Fujitsu and FamilyMart have started a field trial to introduce digital technologies including robots and blockchain at a FamilyMart shop in Taiwan.

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Taiwan will deliver a customer experience that includes store guidance using the communication robot, Robopin, a content delivery service, FlowSign Light, which utilizes visible light communications, and the video communication solution FlowSign Video.

A “stamp rally” promotion will also be conducted that makes use of blockchain technology.

[Read more…] about Fujitsu partners with FamilyMart to trial robotic grocery store

ABB cobots and software on show at Pack Expo East

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ABB will feature robotic and motion technologies such as the YuMi collaborative robot and the ABB IRB 460 palletizing robot for packaging and warehouse distribution applications at Pack Expo East 2018, April 16-18 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, USA.

For food & beverage, an ABB demo will feature an IRB 360 FlexPicker® with PickMaster™ software and an IRB 910SC SCARA robot working together to pick and place apples from a randomized infeed flow.

Both the FlexPicker and the SCARA robots feature Soft Robotics grippers, a technology that can manipulate items of varying size, shape and weight with a single device.

[Read more…] about ABB cobots and software on show at Pack Expo East