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Axiomtek launches industrial gateway that enables ‘faster’ connection to the cloud

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Axiomtek, a provider of industrial internet of things technologies, has launched a new gateway that it claims enables devices to connect to the cloud faster.

Aiomtek says the ICO120-83D is an industrial IoT gateway designed to simplify device-cloud connection and accelerate industrial internet of things development.

It was specifically designed for smart energy and smart automation fields that need to collect and transfer data from large numbers of end devices.  [Read more…] about Axiomtek launches industrial gateway that enables ‘faster’ connection to the cloud

Genuine Parts Company subsidiaries make acquisitions in industrial and automotive sectors

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Two subsidiaries of Genuine Parts Company are making acquisitions in the industrial and automotive sectors. 

GPC has a market capitalisation of approximately $13 billion, employs almost 40,000 people, and owns at least four subsidiary companies.  [Read more…] about Genuine Parts Company subsidiaries make acquisitions in industrial and automotive sectors

Emerson to acquire Paradigm for $510 million

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Industrial automation company Emerson has reached a deal to acquire Paradigm, a provider of software solutions for the oil and gas industry. 

The purchase price is $510 million, which Emerson says reflects a multiple of 13 times expected 2017 EBITDA.

Emerson says it will combine Paradigm with its existing Roxar software business to provide an exploration and production software portfolio with offerings spanning seismic processing and interpretation to production modeling.  [Read more…] about Emerson to acquire Paradigm for $510 million

Software developer Veo Robotics raises $12 million in funding

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Veo Robotics has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Lux Capital and Google Ventures, which is now called GV. 

GV’s Andy Wheeler and Lux’s Bilal Zuberi will join the Veo board of directors.

Siemens, through its company Next24, which previously invested in Veo, also participated in the latest funding round.  [Read more…] about Software developer Veo Robotics raises $12 million in funding

China’s largest industrial robot maker Siasun opens new facility in Shengyang

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Siasun Robot and Automation, which is claimed to be China’s largest industrial robot manufacturer, has opened a new facility in Shengyang, north-east China. 

Siasun became the first member of the US Robotics Industries Association when it joined the industry body last month.

The company has invested more than $300 million in its new Shengyang industrial park, according to Chinese news agency XinhuaNet.  [Read more…] about China’s largest industrial robot maker Siasun opens new facility in Shengyang

‘Virtual dashboard’ sounds better than ‘human-machine interface’

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A human-machine interface is a computer screen through which a human can control a machine. It can be a screen on a tablet computer or a desktop computer, or even a wearable, like a smartwatch.

The majority of HMIs in the industrial sector take the form of tablet computers, though there are also many desktop HMIs, and an increasing number of developers are releasing wearable HMIs, although they are few in number at the moment.

The reason why mobile HMIs seem to be favoured is that they can be located near the machine, or the user can be near the machine when using the device, to either directly control it in realtime or programme it to perform whatever operations at a subsequent time.  [Read more…] about ‘Virtual dashboard’ sounds better than ‘human-machine interface’

Apple and General Electric to bring Predix industrial apps to iPhone and iPad

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General Electric has reached a partnership agreement with Apple to develop industrial apps for iOS devices – iPhone and iPad, according to a report on 9to5Mac.com. 

The website says Apple has been “looking to the enterprise sector as a key market for growing iPad sales which have slipped in recent years”.

Apple and GE said they will deliver “powerful industrial apps designed to bring predictive data and analytics from Predix, GE’s industrial internet of things platform, to iPhone and iPad”.  [Read more…] about Apple and General Electric to bring Predix industrial apps to iPhone and iPad

Worldwide spending on robotics to exceed $230 billion in 2021, says IDC

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A new update to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Semiannual Commercial Robotics Spending Guide forecasts worldwide purchases of robotics, including drones and robotics-related hardware, software and services, will total $97.2 billion in 2017, an increase of 17.9 per cent over 2016.

IDC expects robotics spending to accelerate over the five-year forecast period, reaching $230.7 billion in 2021 with a compound annual growth rate compound annual growth rate of 22.8 per cent.

“The convergence of robotics and artificial intelligence & machine learning are driving the development of the next generation of intelligent robots for industrial, commercial, and consumer applications,” said Dr Jing Bing Zhang, research director, robotics at IDC manufacturing insights.  [Read more…] about Worldwide spending on robotics to exceed $230 billion in 2021, says IDC

From two months to a few seconds: A brief overview of automotive robotic painting systems

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Painting was one of the first applications for industrial robots, but it didn’t start well. 

When they were first introduced in the 1980s at General Motors’ Michigan plant, the robots initially painted each other, according to an article on industrial robot history, published on Robots.com.

The complexity of painting is probably under-estimated because humans can do such tasks with relative ease.  [Read more…] about From two months to a few seconds: A brief overview of automotive robotic painting systems

Latest NSK spindle bearings feature high-speed, high-precision machining

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The recent EMO 2017 exhibition in Hanover, Germany provided a platform for NSK to showcase a number of innovations for the machine tool market.

Principal among them was the Robust series of angular contact ball bearings, which features NSK’s new SurSave cages that have been developed specifically to match the application profile of main spindle drives.

Robust bearings with SurSave cages create the condition for spindles to achieve high rotational accuracy, thus facilitating high-precision machining even at very high speeds.  [Read more…] about Latest NSK spindle bearings feature high-speed, high-precision machining