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Taiwan credits ‘Smart Machinery 4.0’ campaign for success of growth in plastics products

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Taiwanese industrial associations are crediting their “Smart Manufacturing 4.0” campaign with bringing success for the plastics sector in the country.

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra) claims that the country is now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plastics products.

Last year, the country generated more than $1.9 billion in revenue, positioning the country as the world’s sixth largest exporter of the plastics and rubber processing.  [Read more…] about Taiwan credits ‘Smart Machinery 4.0’ campaign for success of growth in plastics products

Soft Robotics raises $20 million in ‘oversubscribed’ funding round

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Industrial robotics company Soft Robotics has raised $20 million in what it says was “an oversubscribed funding round”.

The new investors include Scale Venture Partners, Calibrate Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, Tekfen Ventures, Yamaha Motor, with Hyperplane Venture Capital leading the round.

Existing investors include Material Impact, ABB Technology Ventures, Taylor Farms Ventures and Haiyin Capital.  [Read more…] about Soft Robotics raises $20 million in ‘oversubscribed’ funding round

The collaborative robotics revolution: A panacea for low productivity and an ageing work force?

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By Andrew Dyer, investment manager at Baird Capital

Industry 4.0, the catch-all phrase to describe industry’s embrace of Big Data, the internet of things and robotics, tends to inspire equal feelings of excitement and anxiety.

Excitement for the manufacturers who dream of lower costs, greater efficiencies and faster and greater outputs, anxiety for the millions of workers around the world who fear that the robotic revolution will leave them without a job.

A new study by the OECD suggests, however, that they needn’t be too worried. Whereas previously pundits warned that close to 50 per cent of American jobs would soon be lost to automation, the OECD now predicts just 14 per cent of jobs in OECD countries could now be lost to robots.  [Read more…] about The collaborative robotics revolution: A panacea for low productivity and an ageing work force?

EQT sells industrial automation company Piab

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The EQT VII fund has agreed to sell Piab Group AB to Patricia Industries for an enterprise value of SEK 6,950 million. Piab, headquartered in Sweden, is a global technology pioneer within industrial automation and robot components, and provides smart solutions for the automated world.

Piab was acquired by EQT VII in January 2016. From 2015 to March 2018 LTM revenues, including full-year effect of acquisitions, increased from SEK ~700 million to SEK ~1.2 billion and adjusted EBIT increased from SEK ~200 million to SEK ~330 million.

With the support of EQT VII, Piab has accelerated its strong organic growth and captured market shares across the globe.

[Read more…] about EQT sells industrial automation company Piab

Hannover Messe: Bosch takes lead with 5G connectivity for industry and invests $100 million in new ‘smart factory’ in Mexico

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Industrial giant Bosch is taking the lead in 5G connectivity in partnership with Nokia.

The two companies have been demonstrating a number of 5G projects at Hannover Messe, probably among the first of their kind in the industrial sector.

One of the experts working on the project explained that “most of the industry is cabled”, meaning that robots and other machines, whether they are mobile or stationary, tend to be connected via cables, such as Ethernet, for example. [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: Bosch takes lead with 5G connectivity for industry and invests $100 million in new ‘smart factory’ in Mexico

Hannover Messe: A new software paradigm for industrial hardware

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Within every intelligent machine, such as an industrial robotic arm, there is, of course, software.

The software is what enables it to operate according to its requirements.

And as the machines get more sophisticated, so does the software. [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: A new software paradigm for industrial hardware

Teradyne becomes leading power in collaborative robotics. Now owns MiR and Universal Robots

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US industrial giant Teradyne has become a powerful force in the collaborative robotics sector with the purchase of Mobile Industrial Robots, the maker of warehouse robots.

The new acquisition adds to Teradyne’s existing purchase of Universal Robots, which is the leading supplier of collaborative industrial robotic arms. Teradyne, which specialises in supplying automatic test equipment, generated approxmately $2.2 billion revenue in 2017.

Teradyne announced the acquisition of privately held MiR of Odense, Denmark for €121 million ($148 million) net of cash acquired plus €101 million ($124 million at current exchange rate) if certain performance targets are met extending through 2020. [Read more…] about Teradyne becomes leading power in collaborative robotics. Now owns MiR and Universal Robots

Moving with the times: Exclusive interview with Mobile Industrial Robots CEO

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Judging by the number of people who visit this website to read about warehouse robots, the interest in the sector has grown dramatically over the past year.

Automated guided vehicles have been around for a long time, but they required markings and sometimes rails to be placed on the ground in order to inform of their route, and there was nothing autonomous about them.

They did their job of moving material from place to place within a facility effectively enough, but the new generation of machines are autonomous and allow for far greater flexibility. [Read more…] about Moving with the times: Exclusive interview with Mobile Industrial Robots CEO

Audi opts for FRS Robotics quality control on car doors

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FRS Robotics has introduced a new adaptive robot cell that automates the highly sensitive ultrasonic inspection of fold glue joints of Audi vehicle doors.

Vehicle door types consist of metal sheet inner and outer parts which are glued, plied and welded along the door edges. Ultrasonic inspection is performed manually to verify correct glue bonding.

Audi asked FRS Robotics to automate the highly sensitive ultrasonic quality control of the doors’ fold glue joints.

[Read more…] about Audi opts for FRS Robotics quality control on car doors

Shipbuilders set to increase use of robotics and automation technologies

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Parts of the shipbuilding sector has for many years used robots for tasks such as welding and blasting, things that industrial robotic arms are particularly good at. 

There has also been a type of exoskeleton developed for shipbuilding work which is worn by workers to help with heavy lifting to reduce the physical stress of what can be a demanding job.

But shipbuilding remains a human labour-intensive sector, and companies are looking to increase their utilisation of robotics and automation technologies.  [Read more…] about Shipbuilders set to increase use of robotics and automation technologies