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manufacturing

Industrial internet: 42Q launches new protocol capability for factory automation

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42Q, a provider of cloud manufacturing execution systems (MES), has introduced Semiconductor Equipment Communications Standard, Generic Equipment Model (SECS/GEM) protocol capability.

SECS/GEM is an industry standard factory equipment interface protocol for equipment-to-host data communications.

In securing SECS/GEM capability, 42Q says it greatly simplifies the implementation of factory automation, machine to machine (M2M) communication, real time in process data collection and data analytics, all key elements of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Several factories using 42Q have already deployed this new protocol in their operations, sasy the company.  [Read more…] about Industrial internet: 42Q launches new protocol capability for factory automation

University receives $1 million grant to improve collaborative robotics

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The envisioned intelligent material delivery system: a robot will sense when skilled workers need materials, and deliver them in advance. This will help reduce worker frustration, stress, and talent loss, and save approximately $1.7 million dollars an hour by reducing work stoppage problems, according to UC San Diego.

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have been given $1 million to research how to improve the way robots interact with people in US factories

Laurel Riek, a roboticist at the UC San Diego, will lead a three-year, $1 million project funded by the National Science Foundation to help change the role of robots in factories and make it easier for machines to work alongside people.

The goal of the project is to design an intelligent material delivery system, which supports and closely integrates with skilled workers in factories.

The researchers will investigate innovative, multi-disciplinary approaches to dramatically advance the state of the art in smart manufacturing and human-centered robotics.  [Read more…] about University receives $1 million grant to improve collaborative robotics

Startup claims launch of ‘world’s first robot to sew complete garment’

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Sewbo says its development is a major breakthrough in clothing manufacturing 

A startup company in America is claiming to have developed a robotic system which can make complete garments. 

The simple combination of a robot and a sewing machine has resulted in what the owner, Jonathan Zornow, says is “the world’s first robotically-sewn garment”.

Zornow says: “Many people are surprised to learn that this is the very first time that a robot has sewn a piece of clothing.

“Despite decades and millions of dollars worth of industrial research, the big hurdle has been that robots can’t reliably handle fabrics.”  [Read more…] about Startup claims launch of ‘world’s first robot to sew complete garment’

Tag Team Manufacturing says using Rethink Robotics machines has improved performance by 25 per cent

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Tag Team Manufacturing, a specialist in precision production runs and prototype work for original equipment manufacturers, says deploying Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer for large production jobs at its facility in Parker, Colorado, has led to significant improvements in its productivity.

Tag Team uses Sawyer in an effort to help decrease client costs while shortening the delivery times to market. Sawyer enabled Tag Team to work 24 hours per day, seven days per week to meet the condensed delivery window that otherwise would have required an addition of five machinists in a very tight labor market.

Within weeks of deployment, Sawyer bolstered Tag Team’s production figures by 25 percent, says the company. Sawyer operates a Tag Team computer numerical control (CNC) mill, constantly executing replicable tasks.  [Read more…] about Tag Team Manufacturing says using Rethink Robotics machines has improved performance by 25 per cent

Koops embarks on $5 million industrial automation expansion journey

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Factory automation specialist Koops says its $5 million expansion plan will eventually double its production capacity

Preparing for the increasing global demand for industrial automation systems, Michigan-based automation company Koops broke ground on a new 40,000-square-foot plant expansion that will nearly double production capacity.

The $4.9 million expansion to its current plant at 987 Productions Court in Holland, Michigan, is in response to growing global demand for automation equipment that is expected to hit $200 billion in sales in the next few years.

“Growth in the automation systems industry is on the rise because manufacturing companies worldwide are seeking ways to lower production costs while improving quality through expanded automation processes,” said Koops CEO Paul Brinks at last week’s groundbreaking.

[Read more…] about Koops embarks on $5 million industrial automation expansion journey

Renishaw to present latest in advanced manufacturing technology at IMTS

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renishaw am 500 3d printing machine

Renishaw, one of the world’s leading engineering and scientific technology companies, will present the latest thinking and developments in metal additive manufacturing at the 2016 Additive Manufacturing Conference (AMC), September 13-14, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. 

Marc Saunders, director of Renishaw’s global solutions centres, will deliver a talk on industrialising additive manufacturing at 11am, on Wednesday 14th September, Room W375B.

Marc will explore the chains of linked processes and tools that are required to create an integrated manufacturing process with AM at its heart, and the controls that must be employed to make AM a mainstream manufacturing process.

This year’s AMC is co-located with the International Manufacturing Technology Show (ITMS), where Renishaw will be exhibiting its additive manufacturing systems and metrology products on Booth E-5509.  [Read more…] about Renishaw to present latest in advanced manufacturing technology at IMTS

Taiwan to showcase new Industry 4.0 projects at IMTS 2016

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Chicago, USA. Picture credit: Pixabay.com

Leaders of Taiwan’s machine tool industry will unveil a series of smart manufacturing initiatives for applications ranging from aircraft part machining to automotive component production at a press conference at the 2016 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

More than 110 Taiwanese companies will also be exhibiting at the show from September 12-17, including 19 in the Taiwan Pavilion, reflecting the country’s status as the world’s fifth largest exporter of machine tools and components.

The presentation, New Initiatives in the Taiwan Machine Tool Industry, will take plat at
1.30 to 3pm local time, Wednesday, September 14, at the South Building, Level 4, Conference Room S402-A.  [Read more…] about Taiwan to showcase new Industry 4.0 projects at IMTS 2016

Mantaro launches ‘rugged’ telepresence robot for industrial settings

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mantaro telepresence robot teletrak

Mantaro says its MantaroBot TeleTrak telepresence robot is designed for rugged industrial, manufacturing and construction environments

Mantaro, a developer of mobile telepresence products, has launched a new addition to the MantaroBot TelePresence Robot lineup, the MantaroBot TeleTrak.

With the introduction of a tracked based drive system, Mantaro says the user can drive the TeleTrak to monitor projects in rugged terrain and dynamic environments remotely, locations they could not do so before.  [Read more…] about Mantaro launches ‘rugged’ telepresence robot for industrial settings

Be part of our new publication: Industrial Internet

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Contribute articles and advertise in our new digital publication

Robotics and Automation News is planning a new ebook with the working title Industrial Internet.

The digital publication will be distributed through Apple and Amazon stores. Moreover, advertisers and commercial partners will have their content featured on the RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com website and Sensor Data, the accompanying newsletter.

The publication is planned to contain features about the following subjects:

  • Industrial Internet of Things
  • Machine-to-Machine Networks
  • Industrial Networks
  • Wireless Networks
  • Industrial Computers
  • Human Machine Interface
  • Control Systems
  • Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
  • Ethernet
  • Programmable Logic Controllers
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Deep Learning
  • Machine Learning
  • Manufacturing
  • Smart Factories
  • Transportation
  • Logistics
  • Cyber Security
  • Data Management

These are the subjects which are planned. However, it partly depends on you. If you are interested in other subjects we have not listed, contact us and let us know.

If you would like to be featured within any of the features listed or any new ones we develop in co-operation with you, we can agree a structure for a commercial partnership.

An example of a typical partnership would be: Article and Advertising package – from $500.

For more information, contact us: sales[at]roboticsandautomationnews.com

 

Exclusive: Seiko Epson boss looks to robots for 70 per cent growth within 10 years

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Minoru Usui, president, Seiko Epson
Minoru Usui, president, Seiko Epson

Exclusive interview with Seiko Epson president Minoru Usui 

The president of Seiko Epson says he wants to increase the company’s total annual revenues by 70 per cent within 10 years, and believes industrial robots will be one of the fastest-growing business units, with a 500 per cent hike in that time.

In an exclusive interview with Robotics and Automation News, Minoru Usui says Seiko Epson is hoping to achieve a dramatic expansion of its robotics division in the next decade, and “take the company from being a 1-trillion-yen-a-year business to being a 1.7-trillion-yen-a-year business”.

Epson Robots is one of the top industrial robot manufacturers in the world, and Usui is keen to build on this success.

In its annual report, the company lists robots in the “sensing and industrial solutions” business segment, which accounts for approximately $2 billion revenue a year. Seiko Epson’s total revenue is approximately $10 billion a year. [Read more…] about Exclusive: Seiko Epson boss looks to robots for 70 per cent growth within 10 years