Robotics & Automation News

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ABB opens $100 million global innovation and training campus for machine automation at B&R in Austria

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ABB opened its new global innovation and training campus at the headquarters of B&R in Eggelsberg, Austria, its global center for machine and factory automation. B&R is a subsidiary of ABB. 

The new campus will create up to 1,000 additional high-tech jobs and includes world-class research and development laboratories, as well as global training facilities for up to 4,000 people per year in collaboration with universities. ABB invested EUR 100 million ($103 million) in the expansion of the B&R headquarters.

Campus innovations around artificial intelligence and machine and factory automation will play an essential role in unlocking the potential of future industrial production – in sectors such as electronics, e-mobility, food and beverage, recycling, logistics, or agriculture. [Read more…] about ABB opens $100 million global innovation and training campus for machine automation at B&R in Austria

ABB and SKF increase collaboration on industrial automation

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Industrial automation giant ABB and SKF, one of the world’s largest suppliers of bearings, have agreed a partnership to explore the possibilities for a collaboration in the automation of manufacturing processes.

The agreement was signed at ABB’s Robotics Experience Center in Västerås, Sweden, by ABB CEO Björn Rosengren and SKF CEO Rickard Gustafson.

Following the successful delivery of a number of projects in SKF’s global manufacturing network, including in Gothenburg, where a fleet of industrial robots from ABB are installed in the bearing manufacturer’s state-of-the-art factory, the two companies are now taking the next step in their collaboration. [Read more…] about ABB and SKF increase collaboration on industrial automation

ABB joins Berkshire Grey’s tech alliance program to deliver AI-enabled robotic solutions

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Berkshire Grey, a developer of AI-enabled robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, says that industrial giant ABB has joined Berkshire Grey’s Technology Alliance Program to provide more customers with AI-enabled robotic solutions that improve e-commerce fulfillment throughput and warehouse efficiency while driving down operational costs.

The companies say ABB’s expertise in providing automation solutions to global e-commerce merchants, retailers, and third-party logistics complements Berkshire Grey’s extensive portfolio of AI-enabled robotic automation solutions for eCommerce fulfillment, store replenishment, back-of-store order collection, and package handling.

Berkshire Grey has extensive experience in incorporating ABB robotic technology into enterprise-scale automation solutions in production environments. [Read more…] about ABB joins Berkshire Grey’s tech alliance program to deliver AI-enabled robotic solutions

ABB launches new, ‘fastest’ five-axis Delta robot

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ABB has launched a new five-axis Delta robot which it claims is “the fastest for lightweight product picking, packing and reorientation”.

The new machine is part of the FlexPicker Delta robot portfolio and is called the IRB 365. With five axis and 1.5 kg payload, the IRB 365 is both flexible and the fastest in its class for reorienting packaged lightweight products such as cookies, chocolates, peppers, candies, small bottles, and parcels.

Responding to the rise in e-commerce and growing demand for shelf ready packaged goods, the IRB 365 has been developed for applications including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods, where production line speed and adaptability are essential. [Read more…] about ABB launches new, ‘fastest’ five-axis Delta robot

ABB wins Red Dot award for FlexPacker industrial Delta robot

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ABB’s IRB 390 FlexPacker industrial Delta robot designed for ultra-fast packing has been chosen for the Red Dot Product Design Award – the second ABB robot to receive the prestigious award in two consecutive years.

The global Red Dot Design Awards recognize achievements in product design, with the jury – comprised of over 50 international design experts – testing and evaluating thousands of entries every year.

In 2022, the Red Dot Award panel looked for products that showed design quality and a high degree of innovation – attributes that informed the FlexPacker’s development from the beginning. [Read more…] about ABB wins Red Dot award for FlexPacker industrial Delta robot

ABB and Red Hat partner to develop scalable digital solutions across industrial edge and hybrid cloud

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ABB and Red Hat have agreed a global partnership to enable industries using ABB’s process automation and industrial software to scale rapidly and flexibly leveraging Red Hat’s industry leading enterprise platforms and application services built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The collection, management and analysis of industrial plant data is critical to improve the efficiency of operations while addressing safety, security and productivity needs. This is consistent with ABB’s strategy for the evolution of process automation.

The partnership enables virtualization and containerization of automation software with Red Hat OpenShift to provide advanced flexibility in hardware deployment, optimized according to application needs. It also provides efficient system orchestration, enabling real-time, data-based decision making at the edge and further processing in the cloud. [Read more…] about ABB and Red Hat partner to develop scalable digital solutions across industrial edge and hybrid cloud

Majority of US businesses looking to bring production closer to home

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Some 70 percent of US businesses are looking to bring production closer to home, according to a survey by industrial automation giant ABB.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical disputes, raw materials shortages and trade issues that have rocked global economies and supply chains, a majority of US-based companies are planning to relocate production closer to their facilities in America.

Surveying 1,610 executives in the US and Europe, ABB found that 70 percent of US businesses are planning changes in their operations, with 37 percent planning to bring production back home and 33 percent looking to nearshore and shift their operations to a closer location. [Read more…] about Majority of US businesses looking to bring production closer to home

ABB’s unveils new robotic machining cell and software

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ABB has launched its OmniVance Machining Cell and Machining Software solutions, bringing greater flexibility and simplicity to a range of applications including sanding, polishing, cutting, and surface finishing.

Part of ABB’s new OmniVance portfolio of standardized application cells, the new Machining Cell is the first to market that can perform up to eight different applications in one cell, while its intuitive Machining Software simplifies programming and reduces set-up time by up to 92 percent.

Marc Segura, ABB’s robotics division president, says: “The OmniVance Machining Cell and Machining Software are our latest innovations in ABB’s growing robotics portfolio to make automation more accessible, flexible and faster. [Read more…] about ABB’s unveils new robotic machining cell and software

ABB launches new robotic depalletizer to ‘reduce complexity and improve efficiency’

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ABB has launched the “ABB Robotic Depalletizer”, a solution for handling complex depalletizing tasks in the logistics, e-commerce, healthcare, and consumer packaged goods industries.

Using machine vision software, ABB’s new solution can quickly assess a wide variety of box types, enabling customers to efficiently process assorted loads with very little engineering effort and short set-up time.

Marc Segura, ABB’s Robotics division president, says: “Changes in consumer behavior are leading to a rise in new sales channels such as omni-channel, direct to consumer and e-commerce. [Read more…] about ABB launches new robotic depalletizer to ‘reduce complexity and improve efficiency’

ABB Robotics unveils world’s first robot-painted art car

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ABB Robotics has collaborated with two world-renowned artists – eight-year-old Indian child prodigy Advait Kolarkar and Dubai-based digital design collective Illusorr – to create the world’s first robot-painted art car.

ABB’s award-winning PixelPaint technology has, without human intervention, perfectly recreated Advait’s swirling, monochromatic design as well as Illusorr’s tri-color geometrical patterns.

Equipped with 1,000 nozzles in the printer head, ABB’s IRB 5500 paint robots were able to complete the highly complex artworks in less than 30 minutes. [Read more…] about ABB Robotics unveils world’s first robot-painted art car