Robotics & Automation News

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Manufacturing

RE2 Robotics joins PPE Connect PGH to help manufacture face shields

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RE2 Robotics, a Carnegie Mellon spinoff and a provider of robotic mobile manipulator arms, has begun to fabricate face shields for small- and medium-sized clinics in collaboration with PPE Connect PGH and its coalition of local universities and manufacturers.

The goal of PPE Connect PGH is to help healthcare workers on the front line in the fight against Covid-19 to locate sources of existing idle Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Funding for the PPE Connect PGH effort is being provided by the Allegheny County Medical Society Foundation (ACMS) Covid-19 Front Line Relief Fund. [Read more…] about RE2 Robotics joins PPE Connect PGH to help manufacture face shields

Selling an Efficient Manufacturing Company in the Covid-19 Era

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First Order of Business is Occupational Health and Safety. By Frances A. Brunelle

Due to Covid-19, more small and midsized manufacturers ($2 million to $20 million) will either close or be sold. For those owners who are thinking of selling their manufacturing operation, occupation health and safety should be #1 on the list of issues to address when preparing their company for sale.

With so much of the world on lockdown, more industrial enterprises are using Q2 2020 to evaluate the short-term game plan. Companies will enter Q3/Q4 2020 and all of 2021 with one thought: acquire or be acquired.

Manufacturing occupational health and safety processes prevents or lessens the risk of workplace injury, illness, and even death. These are the right actions to take, whether a manufacturer is looking to be acquired or not. [Read more…] about Selling an Efficient Manufacturing Company in the Covid-19 Era

How Automation is Disrupting All Kinds of Manufacturing in 2020

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We are entering an era of smart factories and automated manufacturing. While many speculate it to be the end of manual labor as we know it, the evidence points in a different direction.

Industrial automation has ushered new ways that machines and human effort can collaborate to increase efficiency and drive down complexity.

This is especially true for the emerging automation technologies which, in the past few years, are disrupting all kinds of manufacturing. [Read more…] about How Automation is Disrupting All Kinds of Manufacturing in 2020

Farewell to the old assembly line: Automation is changing manufacturing processes in the automotive industry

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The world’s leading trade fair for intelligent automation and robotics, automatica, will take place in Munich from June 16 to 19.

One main focus of the event will be on making automobile production more flexible.

Numerous exhibitors will present alternatives to conventional assembly line production with stationary conveyor technology, for example driverless transport systems and, of course, cobots for human-robot collaboration applications. [Read more…] about Farewell to the old assembly line: Automation is changing manufacturing processes in the automotive industry

InoBat Auto secures funding from Slovakian government to build €1 billion ‘Gigafactory’

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InoBat Auto, a battery production company providing new energy solutions for electric vehicles, has secured funding to build a research and development centre to support the construction of a 10 GWh Gigafactory in Slovakia – the world’s biggest car producer per capita.

The investment from the Slovakian Government has contributed to the €100 million first-phase fund raising to deliver the Gigafactory, which will deploy state-of-the-art battery technology with the potential to provide an estimated 240,000 electric vehicles with cutting edge batteries by 2024.

InoBat Auto says its planned Gigafactory will catapult Europe to become a leading global force in the electric vehicle battery industry. [Read more…] about InoBat Auto secures funding from Slovakian government to build €1 billion ‘Gigafactory’

Die Casting 101: Learn More About its Process and Advantages

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Have you ever wondered how intricate automobile parts like starter motor brackets, flywheel, solenoid valves, and the likes are produced?

Or, perhaps, the massive machine and equipment parts?

How about those Hot Wheels toy car collections that kids love? The answer: die casting.

Die casting is an industrial manufacturing process that uses tool dies, which produce metal parts that are too geometrically complex to be produced by any other means.

This process makes use of molten alloy or metal injected into a die at high pressure, which is exactly what Chicago White Metal Castings does. [Read more…] about Die Casting 101: Learn More About its Process and Advantages

Bright Machines launches ‘Microfactory-as-a-Service’

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Bright Machines made it easier for manufacturers of all sizes to procure and deploy next-generation factory automation with the introduction of Bright Machines Select.

Bright Machines Select is a new microfactory-as-a-service model which brings all of the benefits of Software-Defined Manufacturing to manufacturers without the upfront costs associated with traditional automation equipment purchasing.

With simplified financial evaluation, budgeting and contracts, Bright Machines Select also removes friction and streamlines the purchasing process for manufacturers looking to deploy intelligent automation to improve their lines. [Read more…] about Bright Machines launches ‘Microfactory-as-a-Service’

Robotics Plus named in top 50 agritech companies list

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Robotics Plus, an agricultural production automation company, has been named in the Thrive Top 50, an annual ranking of leading global AgTech companies exemplifying the best in agriculture innovation.

Robotics Plus, the only New Zealand company to make the 2020 Top 50 ranking, was just one of five companies featured in the Robotics & Automation category.

Robotics Plus CEO Dr Matt Glenn says it’s a “huge honour” to receive a coveted spot on Thrive’s Top 50 global list. [Read more…] about Robotics Plus named in top 50 agritech companies list

Continental builds new US plant to make advanced driver assistance systems

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Continental is to build a new plant to make advanced driver assistance systems.

The new plant will be located in New Braunfels in the US state of Texas.

The purpose of the new building is to expand its capacity for the production of radar sensors, says Continental. [Read more…] about Continental builds new US plant to make advanced driver assistance systems

8 Trends in 3D Printing

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HP has released its list of predictions for 3D printing and digital manufacturing in 2020.

Informed by extensive interviews with a team of experts, this year’s research identifies top trends that will have a major impact on advancing Industry 4.0 such as the need for more sustainable production, how automation will transform the factory floor, and the rise of data and software as the backbone of digital manufacturing.

Pete Basiliere, founder, Monadnock Insights, says: “The year ahead will be a time of realizing 3D printing and digital manufacturing’s true potential across industries. [Read more…] about 8 Trends in 3D Printing