Robotics & Automation News

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Magna to develop ‘affordable’ electric motor

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Magna has been awarded a grant by the US Department of Energy to develop and “auto-qualify” advanced electric motor technologies for next-generation vehicle propulsion systems.

In partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology and University of Wisconsin-Madison, Magna is applying its powertrain, electronics and full-vehicle expertise to deliver an automotive-grade, high-performance electric motor that aims to achieve increased power density and reduced cost compared to current e-motors.

The project objective is to develop an electric motor that is half the cost and eight times the power density, while delivering 125 kW of peak power – similar to packing a gallon of milk into a pint-size container. [Read more…] about Magna to develop ‘affordable’ electric motor

Epson Robots to launch new parts feeding solution at Assembly Show

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Epson Robots will demonstrate its latest robots that benefit a wide variety of parts assembly applications at the upcoming Assembly Show event.

The company will also announce an IntelliFlex Feeding System line expansion with a new feeder size that can accommodate part sizes between 30-150 mm.

In addition, Epson’s Rick Brookshire will lead a discussion on Introduction to Parts Feeding: Parts Singulation for Robotic Automation. [Read more…] about Epson Robots to launch new parts feeding solution at Assembly Show

Ket-Met reduces machine costs by more than 40 percent, says Universal Robots

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Ket-Met has been able to reduce machine costs by more than 40 percent through the application of collaborative robots, according to a case study by Universal Robots

Ket-Met is a Finnish subcontract machine tooling shop.

Until recently, the company had progressively lost its cost competitiveness – the main reason for this was that its traditional way of using CNC machines required too much manpower.

Machine hour costs were reduced by over 40 percent due to Universal Robots’ cobots.

This helped the company win new orders. [Read more…] about Ket-Met reduces machine costs by more than 40 percent, says Universal Robots

How AI Could Boost Business Customer Service

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From forecasts to spam filters, artificial intelligence has long been used to help companies across industries. Within recent years, it’s begun to play a key role in a major business area: customer service. 

Though it’s widely seen as a human-led sector, this form of tech could simplify a number of B2C tasks, likely boosting overall client experience as a result. In turn, this may very well improve brand reputation as well as profit turnover.

Let’s explore the main ways in which AI stands to enhance customer service within a business. [Read more…] about How AI Could Boost Business Customer Service

AI driving actionable sales intelligence in manufacturing

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By Barrett Thompson, Zilliant Business Solutions

The manufacturing plant floor has been automated and optimized for years; yet revenue and profit growth remain stagnant.

Seemingly everything has been process-improved with lean manufacturing principles; however, the cost of doing business remains high and the C-Suite continues its demands for an increase in revenue per transaction and gross margins.

Two functions at manufacturing organizations are prime for process improvement:

  • selling; and
  • pricing.

A closer look at the selling function reveals that despite reducing labor costs via transformational automation solutions, sales teams still manage large, antiquated portfolios. They are expected to increase their book of business while retaining current customers. [Read more…] about AI driving actionable sales intelligence in manufacturing

CP Technologies claims to be ‘first’ rugged computer manufacturer to expand into full rack integration

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CP Technologies, a provider of ruggedized computers, is claiming to have become the “first” rugged computer manufacturer to expand into full rack integration. 

The company’s president and CEO, Mike McCormack, gave Robotics and Automation News an interview some time before the latest development in which he explained that the company’s background in the military is useful for the industrial and commercial markets. (See video below.)

For over 20 years, CP Technologies – formerly Chassis Plans – has been designing and manufacturing computers, servers, LCD displays, storage arrays, and human interface devices to defense and industrial customers. [Read more…] about CP Technologies claims to be ‘first’ rugged computer manufacturer to expand into full rack integration

Bosch to cooperate in large-scale production of fuel cells for trucks and cars

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Bosch is entering the market for mobile fuel cells and paving the way for the breakthrough of this technology in trucks and cars.

A crucial component is the stack. As the core of the fuel cell, is converts hydrogen into electrical energy.

To further improve and manufacture these stacks, Bosch has now formed an alliance with Powercell Sweden AB, the Swedish manufacturer of fuel-cell stacks.

[Read more…] about Bosch to cooperate in large-scale production of fuel cells for trucks and cars

Sick launches new compact image-based code reader

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Sick has launched a new compact image-based code reader, Lector621, for reliable detection of 1D, 2D, stacked codes, and plain text.

The high-performance DPM – direct part marking – decoder can read laser or dot-peened codes perfectly, even in the case of low contrast levels, contamination, or poor code quality.

This fills a gap in Sick’s existing portfolio of code readers, by providing a compact solution with increased reading distance, resolution, field of vision, and scanning frequency. [Read more…] about Sick launches new compact image-based code reader