Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

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Small-batch medical shop triples production with robotics

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Figuring out how to meet rising production demand can be deceptive. On the surface, it’s a simple math problem. If you have one machine on the floor and it makes eight parts per day, and you need to produce 16 parts per day, just add another machine, right?

Meeting demand in a consistent, cost-effective manner is a bit more complicated. Sometimes, it takes a little more due diligence to uncover the best way to increase throughput or meet rising demand.

The operations group at Ultradent Products, a leading developer and manufacturer of high- tech dental materials and devices, faced such a problem. In 2017, the company sought to increase production of its industry-leading Valo curing light, used by dental clinicians to cure dental composites, sealants, and various other chemistries. [Read more…] about Small-batch medical shop triples production with robotics

Soft assistive robotic wearables get a boost from rapid design tool

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Scientists created a new design and fabrication tool for soft pneumatic actuators with integrated sensing, which can power personalized healthcare, smart homes, and gaming.

Soft, pneumatic actuators might not be a phrase that comes up in daily conversations, but more likely than not you might have benefited from their utility. The devices use compressed air to power motion, and with sensing capabilities, they’ve proven to be a critical backbone in a variety of applications such as assistive wearables, robotics, and rehabilitative technologies.

But there’s a bit of a bottleneck in creating the little dynamic devices that have advantages like high response rates and power to input ratios. They require a manual design and fabrication pipeline, which translates to a lot of trial and error cycles to actually test and see whether the designs will work. [Read more…] about Soft assistive robotic wearables get a boost from rapid design tool

Ranpak launches new automated packaging machine

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Ranpak, a provider of paper-based packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, has launched “Flap’it!”, a highly efficient machine that automates the packing of a variety of small products.

The Flap’it! solution automatically adapts to the height of the item and secures the product in place with inner-flaps and integrated cushioning bumpers at the corners. This ensures that products are protected during shipment, significantly reducing costs, damage and product returns.

The system is run by a single operator and can easily be moved around the facility; additionally, it includes a number of safety features and has a small physical footprint. Flap’it! can pack up to 540 packages per hour, nine packages per minute – “five times faster than manual packing”. [Read more…] about Ranpak launches new automated packaging machine

FORT Robotics raises $25 million in Series B funding

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FORT Robotics, a pioneer in communications and control for smart machines, has closed a $25 million Series B funding round, led by Tiger Global.

The company will use the funds to accelerate the rollout of its machine communications platform, which aims to make autonomous machines safer and more secure.

Samuel Reeves, founder and CEO of FORT, says: “Smart machines are transforming the world, but they come with unprecedented safety and security risks. [Read more…] about FORT Robotics raises $25 million in Series B funding

Chalmers University selects Lenovo and Nvidia to build Swedish national supercomputer

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Chalmers University of Technology is using Lenovo and Nvidia’s technology infrastructure to power its large-scale computer resource, or supercomputer, Alvis.

The project has seen the delivery and implementation of a clustered computing system for artificial intelligence and machine learning research, in what is Lenovo’s largest high-performance computing cluster for AI and ML in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Alvis – old Norse meaning “all-wise” or “all-knowing” – is a national supercomputer resource within the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC). [Read more…] about Chalmers University selects Lenovo and Nvidia to build Swedish national supercomputer

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’

Reasons Why You Need to Buy a Rotary Fill and Seal Coffee Packaging Machine

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Coffee lovers know that the best way to make coffee is the most convenient. The easiest way to make coffee is with a good coffee machine and an appropriate local supermarket.

But many don’t know that there are also other ways to make a great cup of coffee Choice of coffee packaging machine can be an excellent addition to your home, providing convenience and efficiency with every cup. [Read more…] about Reasons Why You Need to Buy a Rotary Fill and Seal Coffee Packaging Machine

Absolute Machine Tools agrees to partnership with Scytec Consulting

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In its continual pursuit to transform shop floors across the world, Scytec has agreed a partnership with Absolute Machine Tools.

This exciting partnership between two industry leaders will see Scytec’s revolutionary data collection software, DataXchange being provided with CNC machines being sold by Absolute Machine Tools for maximizing machine uptime and opening the door to hidden revenue streams for end-users.

Partnering with Absolute Machine Tools is another leap forward in Scytec’s mission to modernize the manufacturing industry by utilizing and leveraging data collection and it is paramount to the next big step in digital transformation. [Read more…] about Absolute Machine Tools agrees to partnership with Scytec Consulting

Edson unveils robotic system for towel and tissue industry

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Edson has unveiled a new robotic top-load case packer aimed at small to midsized companies that manufacture a variety of SKUs within the away-from-home towel and tissue industry.

Edson’s new 4000TL-Robotic will be debuting the new 4000TL-Robotic on March 16-18 in booth D10 at Tissue World Miami.

The 4000TL-Robotic is a cost-effective machine that uses a Fanuc M-710iC/50 FP robot to provide a flexible top-load case packer with different end-of-arm tool options to efficiently handle specific applications. [Read more…] about Edson unveils robotic system for towel and tissue industry

Biggest FinTech Trends of 2022

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The pandemic and fast technology development made their impact on many traditional businesses, including the financial services industry.

Nowadays, companies need to come to terms with new realities and increased customer requests.

Meanwhile, a new generation of tech-driven startups keeps making breakthroughs, changing the rules of the game forever. [Read more…] about Biggest FinTech Trends of 2022