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Yusen Logistics awards Swisslog automated warehouse contract in Singapore

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Yusen Logistics, a provider of contract logistics and air and ocean freight forwarding, has selected Swisslog warehouse and distribution Solutions to deliver the “innovative AutoStore Automated System” in Singapore.

The autonomous robots, which sit on the top of an aluminium grid as part of the innovative storage system, is expected to go into operation in 2017.

This light goods automatic storage and retrieval system (AutoStore) investment is a result of Yusen Logistics’ insight into the philosophy of the shared economy and the need to manage rising business costs in the current global, lower-growth economy. [Read more…] about Yusen Logistics awards Swisslog automated warehouse contract in Singapore

Raspberry Pi partners with RS Components to expand manufacturing operations to Japan

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raspberry pi starter kit

New manufacturing hub in Japan complements UK production operation and expands capacity for famed Raspberry Pi microcomputer

RS Components and the Raspberry Pi Foundation have agreed a deal which will see the latest iteration of the Raspberry Pi 3 credit-card-sized single-board computer being manufactured in Japan under a local contract manufacturing arrangement.

This increase in global production of Raspberry Pi is to serve large and increasing demand for the popular platform in the Asia Pacific region.

William Chong, head of product, supplier, inventory and pricing management, Asia Pacific, RS Components, says: “Existing models of the Raspberry Pi will continue to be manufactured in South Wales, UK, with the dual manufacturing locations in place to cater for future demand growth globally.

“Asia Pacific is a significant growth market for Raspberry Pi, and this new ‘Made in Japan’ element means that we are now geared up for this growth.”  [Read more…] about Raspberry Pi partners with RS Components to expand manufacturing operations to Japan

Opinion: Industry 4.0 is transforming manufacturing – but the cyber threats are increasing

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By Mirko Brandner, technical manager, Arxan Technologies 

If you attended this years’ Hannover Messe, the leading international trade fair for industrial technology, you will have seen fully developed “Industry 4.0” techniques on demonstration. Coined at the Hannover Messe five years ago, Industry 4.0 represents the fourth industrial revelation, driven by data and automation.

This futuristic idea has now become a reality and these new techniques are leading the way to a fully digitised, intelligent manufacturing plant. Mobile ultrasound measuring devices for foresighted machine maintenance, smart liquid analysis, driverless forklifts and even collaborating robots – these were just a few of the new systems and equipment on show.

To remain competitive, companies need to embrace digitisation. The fusion of IT and automated engineering has resulted in intelligent collaboration of all components involved in the production process, this promises an increase in efficiency, flexible resource management and the individualisation of mass production.  [Read more…] about Opinion: Industry 4.0 is transforming manufacturing – but the cyber threats are increasing

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

Mercedes research boss prioritises artificial intelligence

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Daimler – the parent company of Mercedes-Benz – is placing artificial intelligence at the centre of its plans going forward, says its head of research, Anke Kleinshmit, at the company’s Future Talk conference

How is artificial intelligence influencing tomorrow’s mobility? How can we use its ideas today? How intelligent will the car of the future be? And above all: what role will people play in this?

These were the central questions discussed by Mercedes-Benz experts at the fourth Future Talk in Berlin in dialogue with scientists, engineers and journalists. In the past few years the Mercedes-Benz Future Talk has dealt with the subjects of utopia, robotics and virtuality. This time, the focus was on the integration of artificial intelligence in the field of mobility and the interaction of humans and machines.

Already in the 1960s researchers expected a major breakthrough in the development and application of artificial intelligence, but the human world still proved too complex for digital computers. However, due to the triumph of the internet, the mass of data that has become available with this and the huge increase in computing power of today’s computers, artificial intelligence is now entering people’s lives and also offers big opportunities and potential for the future of the automobile.  [Read more…] about Mercedes research boss prioritises artificial intelligence

Mitsubishi says it has 70,000 industrial robots installed worldwide

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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.

Etalex increases sales by ‘40 per cent’ by using robotics and automation technology

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Canadian company Etalex says it has achieved a 40 per cent increase in the past year, partly as a result of integrating collaborative technology from Universal Robots into its process

Founded in 1966 in Montreal, Canada, Etalex manufactures commercial interiors, specializing in metal fixtures, shelving, wood furnishings and heavy-duty racking systems. The company has 120 employees and has been mainly concentrating on the Quebec market. 

Etalex says it has introduced robotics and automation technology into its production and this resulted in increased competitiveness and a 40 per cent rise in sales last year.

As a result of its growth, the company says it is now ready to compete in the New York and Ontario markets as well.

  [Read more…] about Etalex increases sales by ‘40 per cent’ by using robotics and automation technology

Zeiss opens car body and automated inspection center in Michigan

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Zeiss Car Body and Automated Inspection Center in Michigan. (PRNewsFoto/Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology)

Zeiss Industrial Metrology has opened a new facility in Wixom, Michigan, that the company says is dedicated to the latest developments for the process chain in car body metrology and automated inspection.

Bob Wasilesky, key account manager for automated inspection at Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology, says: “This center helps us illustrate how to make production more efficient in line, in the measuring room, and in-between.

“This means production and quality can find solutions to problems anytime, from anywhere in the manufacturing facility. Zeiss also showcases solutions for robotic inspection, quality and process data mining, plus measurement planning and offline programming.”  [Read more…] about Zeiss opens car body and automated inspection center in Michigan

Cambridge Consultants demonstrates tiny robot small enough to assist in eye operations

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Cambridge Consultants has been demonstrating a tiny robot which is small enough to assist in eye surgery. (See vido below.)

The company says the “Axsis” robot heralds “the next wave of surgical robotics innovation.

Propelling surgical innovation to the next stage, product design and development firm Cambridge Consultants is showcasing Axsis – one of the smallest known robots for surgical use. With an external body the size of a drinks can and instruments only 1.8 millimetres in diameter, Axsis provides a glimpse into the future of surgical robotics.  [Read more…] about Cambridge Consultants demonstrates tiny robot small enough to assist in eye operations