Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

iiot

Comau Robotics launches IIoT platform to create digital factories

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Comau Robotics has unveiled a new solution to create digital factories. The company calls it ‘in.Grid’ and describes it as an industrial internet of things platform.

In the digital factory everything is connected: the machines, the robots, and the individual production units that communicate with each other and with the operators.

Elements transfer data in real time to a central system capable of interpreting and analysing them, thereby making the whole process workflow more efficient.

[Read more…] about Comau Robotics launches IIoT platform to create digital factories

Elisa and NVision partner to provide IIoT and AI for manufacturers

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Elisa and NVision Czech Republic have launched a reseller and customer agreement to bring actionable, real-time insights to customers in manufacturing and industrial process businesses based on Elisa’s Smart Factory solution.

The solution automates customer data collection and integration, creates a 3D visualization of the factory and detects failures and bottlenecks in production.

Kari Terho, general manager, Elisa Smart Factory, says: “We are taking the complex process of messy industrial data into rich insights and visualizing it in a compelling, easy-to-understand way for factory management, production supervisors and operators. [Read more…] about Elisa and NVision partner to provide IIoT and AI for manufacturers

Fanuc showcases ‘Zero Down Time’ IIoT solution

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Fanuc America demonstrated its Zero Down Time (ZDT) Industrial IoT solution at Automate 2019 .

The company’s augmented reality (AR) experience featured manufacturing situations where ZDT could help. The experience included six common manufacturing challenges printed on two graphic display panels that simulated manufacturing facilities.  

ZDT’s predictive analytics have already saved millions of dollars by preventing unexpected down time in the automotive industry, says the company.

In addition to reducing unexpected down time, ZDT allows users to maximise production throughput, optimise maintenance costs, increase the life of their robots, and access data from anywhere via the ZDT web portal.

Since its introduction in 2015, ZDT analytics have successfully identified potential equipment issues, and notified customers to take corrective actions and avoid unexpected down time in over 600 cases, saving companies more than $75 million, adds the company.

“The value of ZDT applies to every manufacturer,” said Joe Gazzarato, director of engineering, ZDT Product Development, Fanuc America. 

“No matter what industry you’re in, the prospect of maintaining consistent production uptime and reducing costs equates to a competitive advantage – which is what ZDT offers our customers.”

 

Mitsubishi Electric hosts its first ‘e-F@ctory Alliance’ in Singapore

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Mitsubishi Electric Asia’s Factory Automation Division partners with emerging industrial internet of things innovators in first e-F@ctory Alliance in Singapore

Mitsubishi Electric Asia, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, a manufacturer of electric and electronic equipment, is collaborating with partners and experts to form the first strategic partnership in Singapore, e-F@ctory Alliance.

The alliance is intended to help companies embark on a journey towards developing the internet of things and digital transformation.

Hosted by the Factory Automation division of Mitsubishi Electric Asia, the Alliance saw more than 20 companies present at the inaugural ceremony held at Shangri-La Hotel this afternoon, including Advantech, Hitachi Asia, Oracle and Sato Asia Pacific, among others. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi Electric hosts its first ‘e-F@ctory Alliance’ in Singapore

General Electric to connect 10,000 Aggreko assets to its IIoT network

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General Electric has signed a multiyear supply agreement with Aggreko, a supplier of temporary power and temperature control solutions.

The plan is to connect up to 10,000 assets to GE’s Distributed Power myPlant Asset Performance Management (APM) solution over the next five years.

GE says its myPlant APM is an “original equipment manufacturer-agnostic”, industrial internet of things solution for reciprocating engines and generators, which will provide Aggreko with a digital toolset to manage its equipment fleet.  [Read more…] about General Electric to connect 10,000 Aggreko assets to its IIoT network

Smart manufacturing platforms: Industrial giants face diverse competition

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Whether you call them IIoT platforms or smart manufacturing platforms, large industrial companies are finding themselves competing with each other but also new companies from different markets, specifically the computer tech world

Every factory is different. It’s in a different location, makes different things, and uses different methods and systems. 

However, every factory shares some aspects of its operation with every other factory.

At the base level, it obviously requires a building. That building needs to have power and other utilities supplied to it. The machinery – whether it includes robotics and automation equipment or not – these days, are more than likely connected to computing devices and the internet.  [Read more…] about Smart manufacturing platforms: Industrial giants face diverse competition

GE and Microsoft extend partnership to accelerate industrial IoT adoption

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GE and Microsoft Corp. have announced an expanded partnership, bringing together operational technology and information technology to eliminate hurdles industrial companies face in advancing digital transformation projects.

As part of the union, GE Digital plans to standardise its Predix solutions on Microsoft Azure and will deeply integrate the Predix portfolio with Azure’s native cloud capabilities, including Azure IoT and Azure Data and Analytics.

The parties will also co-sell and go to market together, offering end customers premier Industrial IoT (IIoT) solutions across verticals.

[Read more…] about GE and Microsoft extend partnership to accelerate industrial IoT adoption

Opinion: The intersection of paperless work instruction and IIoT cobots

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By Randy Blaylock, VP of sales for eFlex Systems

Interoperability has arrived and the ability of machines, devices, sensors, and people to connect and communicate with each other via the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is no longer conceptual.

It is practised every day on plant floors worldwide. Information systems can create a virtual copy of the physical world by enriching digital plant models with sensor data.

This requires the aggregation of raw sensor data to higher-value context information.  [Read more…] about Opinion: The intersection of paperless work instruction and IIoT cobots

42Q launches new IIoT cloud solution for manufacturers

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42Q, a provider of cloud manufacturing solutions, has released its Rapid IIoT Cloud Solution.

The company says the new solution “easily connects production equipment such as PLCs, SCADA servers, IIoT devices, smart sensors and more to 42Q’s cloud manufacturing platform”.

The Rapid IIoT Cloud Solution includes shop floor connectivity, real-time storage of factory data, statistical process control, and end-user analytics and reporting, all designed specifically to simplify digital factory transformation and implementation of the industrial internet of things.  [Read more…] about 42Q launches new IIoT cloud solution for manufacturers

Lantronix launches its first embedded Ethernet gateway XPort Edge

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Lantronix has launched the XPort Edge, the company’s first embedded Ethernet gateway, as part of its XPort range.

The xPico 250 embedded wireless gateway, and the new Lantronix Gateway Central device management software-as-a-service offering is powered by Lantronix’s MACH10 industrial internet of things platform.

Lantronix, which is a specialist provider of secure data access and management solutions for the industrial internet of things, launched the XPort Edge at the recent Embedded World Conference, in Germany.  [Read more…] about Lantronix launches its first embedded Ethernet gateway XPort Edge