Robotics & Automation News

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When Automation Works Alongside Humans

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When we talk about automation, we often imagine a future in which everything we do will be almost entirely handled by machines. Cars will drive themselves. Management decisions will be handed over to an AI. Even the creative arts might one day be taken over by robots.

But for the time being, automation isn’t quite there. And so, some compromise between machine and human worker is needed. A synergy between the two has already yielded great results – just think about an autopilot guiding a plane for the majority of a flight, and human pilot intervening only for take-off and landing.

A more commonplace example of machine-assistance comes in the form of a spell-checker on a word-processing program. And these are getting more sophisticated. Apps like Grammarly and ProWritingAid not only identify grammatical or spelling errors; they now also identify more stylistic problems, and help us to make writing clearer and more concise, even when it isn’t technically wrong. [Read more…] about When Automation Works Alongside Humans

Industrial measurement and testing: Faster commissioning results in quicker time to market

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Bosch Rexroth provides insight into measurement and testing processes

To ensure consistency, repeatability, quality and compliance with regulations, many companies employ rigorous testing and measurement processes.

Kraus automation technology (KAT), specialises in providing tailored testing systems for life-span, fatigue and material tests.

To offer testing systems which meet the needs of their diverse customer base, KAT use National Instruments’ LabView software to create custom user interfaces for engineers. [Read more…] about Industrial measurement and testing: Faster commissioning results in quicker time to market

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

Siemens partners with ExOne for industrial 3D printing and Industry 4.0 initiatives

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ExOne, a specialist provider of industrial sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting technology, has formed a partnership with engineering giant Siemens that the two companies say “will benefit industrial customers in the foundry, aerospace, automotive, energy and other markets”.

Siemens’ Digital Enterprise Portfolio of software and automation technology including MindSphere are fully implemented on the all-new S-Max Pro sand printer, which is said to be capable of achieving print speeds of up to 135 l/h (18 s/layer).

The S-Max Pro was launched at the 2019 GIFA International Foundry Trade Fair last week. [Read more…] about Siemens partners with ExOne for industrial 3D printing and Industry 4.0 initiatives

Bühler launches ‘Digital Cell’ for die-casting

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Bühler has launched what it describes as a “Digital Cell” for the die-casting industry.

Die-casting is similar to injection moulding, but while die-casting uses metals, injection moulding mainly uses plastics.

Bühler says its Digital Cell aims to deliver:

  • 0 per cent scrap;
  • 40 per cent less cycle time; and
  • 24/7 uptime.

Bühler says these benefits will make the die-casting industry “more profitable and efficient”. [Read more…] about Bühler launches ‘Digital Cell’ for die-casting

Six innovative companies nominated for grand prize at microtechnology trade show

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Six innovative companies have been nominated for the grand prize at the microtechnology trade show EPHJ, the leading showcase for watchmaking, jewellery, and micro- and medical technologies sectors.

The jury of experts of the 2019 EPHJ-EPMT-SMT Trade Fair has selected six highly innovative projects for the Exhibitors’ Grand Prix to be voted on by the exhibitors to select and announce the winner at the show, which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 18-21 June.

Levitation of machines, the green properties of supercritical CO2, machine learning algorithms, new hope for the 16 million people suffering from retinal vein occlusion, a machine that is mightier than a spark and a new fine-layer treatment process are just a few of the spectacular innovations proposed by the six nominees for the 2019 Exhibitors’ Grand Prix selected by the Jury for the EPHJ-EPMT-SMT Trade Show. [Read more…] about Six innovative companies nominated for grand prize at microtechnology trade show

B&R expands its library of HMI widgets

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The new Skyline widget from B&R‘s mapp View HMI software package displays a clear overview of extensive manufacturing systems.

The widget can also be linked to an alarm system. With important information about their machines available at a glance, plant operators are able to react promptly to error messages. This prevents downtime and increases the productivity of the plant.

The interactive HMI element is suitable for modular machines and plants in any industry. The developer simply drags the widget into place on the HMI screen and configures it as needed.

[Read more…] about B&R expands its library of HMI widgets

John Deere adds more automation to combine harvester range

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John Deere has announced updates for Model Year 2020 S700 Series Combines, which include upgrades to improve automation, data management and residue placement.

Combine Advisor and HarvestSmart have been updated to further automate these machines.

Combine Advisor uses ActiveVision cameras and sensors to identify changes in crop conditions and automatically adjust the combine to maintain the operator’s settings for optimal performance in varying conditions.

[Read more…] about John Deere adds more automation to combine harvester range

MHI Machine Tool produces commercial metal 3D Printer using laser beams

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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Co., Ltd. has commercialised a metal 3D printer applying laser-based metal additive manufacturing technology.

The first unit was delivered in March to the Industrial Research Centre of Shiga Prefecture, in Ritto, Japan.

The commercial model is capable of laminating diverse metal materials at high speed, through use of a proprietary Directed Energy Deposition (DED) method in which metal powder material is continuously fed by nozzles to the laser fusing point.

[Read more…] about MHI Machine Tool produces commercial metal 3D Printer using laser beams

NXP and Microsoft demonstrate edge-to-cloud machine learning solution for predictive maintenance

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NXP Semiconductors has agreed a collaboration with Microsoft to bring artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for anomaly detection to Azure internet of things users.

By combining complementary strengths – NXP’s offline machine learning capability and embedded processing with Microsoft’s cloud expertise – the two companies jointly demonstrates a new Anomaly Detection Solution for Azure IoT at Microsoft Build in Seattle recently.

The solution consists of a small form factor, low power system-on-module powered by NXP’s i.MX RT106C Crossover Processors, a full suite of sensors, and an associated Anomaly Detection Toolbox.

[Read more…] about NXP and Microsoft demonstrate edge-to-cloud machine learning solution for predictive maintenance