Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

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ABB to introduce cable protection with smart devices

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The new Cable Protection System smart sensor technology, currently under development in ABB’s Research & Development facility in Switzerland, will be designed to sense such problems as condensation or rising temperatures in the conduit that protects critical electrical cables.

Using the analytical power and secure cloud-based communication of the ABB Ability platform, the system will remotely report and analyse data, allowing facility managers and engineers to keep tabs on their electrical cable protection through smart phones, laptops or other remote devices.

ABB is already producing smart sensors for motors, pumps and mounted bearings, which effectively converts them into smart, wirelessly connected devices.

[Read more…] about ABB to introduce cable protection with smart devices

IMTS: ABB to showcase robot solutions for ‘high-mix, low volume production’

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ABB says its robots are helping machine shops meet the challenges of high-mix, low volume production – or the “new normal”, as the company puts it.

The company will showcase solutions to increase machine tool utilization and unlock the full potential of the flexible, connected and collaborative factory at IMTS, the world’s largest industrial technology show, due to be held in Chicago next week.

With more efficient and advanced machine tools entering the market, the demand for more intelligent and flexible robotic automation for machining applications is ever increasing.  [Read more…] about IMTS: ABB to showcase robot solutions for ‘high-mix, low volume production’

ABB Ability opens ‘marketplace’ for its electrical and industrial apps

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ABB has launched an app store, or marketplace, in which the company now includes its Electrical Distribution Control System and other industrial apps.

The ABB Ability Marketplace has a European version and a US counterpart, Ability being ABB’s industrial internet of things platform.

The company says that, with the unveiling of the ABB Ability Marketplace, in a primary release, ABB is making available its software services in one central online location, offering customers full flexibility to purchase and tailor their digital solutions portfolio.  [Read more…] about ABB Ability opens ‘marketplace’ for its electrical and industrial apps

Koki connects all 60 of its industrial robots to ABB’s Ability internet platform

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Koki Transmission has connected all 60 of its industrial robots to the ABB Ability internet platform.

The company is said to have connected its robots for the purposes of condition monitoring and diagnostics.

This is designed to address previous problems which were leading to unplanned downtime in material handling.  [Read more…] about Koki connects all 60 of its industrial robots to ABB’s Ability internet platform

ABB claims its ‘world first’ digital connected paint atomizer can save ‘millions of dollars’

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ABB has launched what it claims is the “world’s first digital connected paint atomizer”, adding that the technology could potentially save “millions of dollars” for users.

The new solution – the ABB Ability Connected Atomizer – combines “state-of-the-art hardware” with ABB Ability digital platform to achieve “breakthrough paint performance”, says ABB.

The connected, sensor-equipped, robotic paint atomizer allows for real-time smart diagnostics and precise paint control to optimize painting quality, says ABB.  [Read more…] about ABB claims its ‘world first’ digital connected paint atomizer can save ‘millions of dollars’

ABB establishes global digital solutions centre in Singapore

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ABB is expanding its presence in Singapore with the establishment of a new process control and automation hub for the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

ABB is setting up a new “Digital Solutions Center” in Singapore to drive innovation and bring pioneering solutions to its customers worldwide.

Scheduled to open by the end of the first quarter of 2018, the center is part of ABB’s Control Technologies business.  [Read more…] about ABB establishes global digital solutions centre in Singapore

ABB partners with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to bring IoT intelligence to industrial plants

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Companies say the new partnership will provide “actionable insights across industrial plants, cloud and on-premises data centers for higher productivity and innovation” 

ABB and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have agreed a strategic global partnership that combines ABB’s digital offerings, through ABB Ability, with HPE’s hybrid information technology solutions.

The companies say the partnership will provide customers with solutions that “generate actionable insights from vast amounts of industrial data” to increase the efficiency and flexibility of their operations and create competitive advantage.

The companies say they will combined ABB’s “deep domain expertise” in operations technologies and HPE’s expertise in information technology to provide an integrated OT-IT solution to customers.  [Read more…] about ABB partners with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to bring IoT intelligence to industrial plants

Paperful office: An overview of the global forestry, pulp and paper industry

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Back in the old days, everybody would buy newspapers and magazines. Some would buy dailies, others would buy weeklies, while millions more would buy monthlies. And no one would quibble about having to pay for them, probably because most people sense that a physical, tangible object has a greater intrinsic value than a digital one. 

That old print media reading culture has all but gone now, thanks largely to the internet and the worldwide web making all manner of information available largely free of charge. No one expects, or wants, to pay for news and content any more, probably because most people think digital media should be free because they know how easy it is to make copies of digital files.

There are still many printed publications doing very well and selling in large quantities, and a list of some of the top 10 is offered below, but even the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun – which holds the world record at 13 million copies sold in one day – has lost huge numbers of readers.  [Read more…] about Paperful office: An overview of the global forestry, pulp and paper industry

General Electric deepening its interest in the software business

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General Electric claims it was the first company to have launched an industrial internet of things platform when it released Predix last year.

The company’s software business unit, GE Digital, has been generating revenues of more than $4 billion a year, and looks like it’s strongly influencing the future direction of the overall business.

Another of the big ideas at GE is the “Brilliant Factory” concept, which is essentially the digitalisation of anything and everything that can be digitised in a manufacturing or industrial process.  [Read more…] about General Electric deepening its interest in the software business