Robotics & Automation News

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Omron to showcase 16,000 factory automation products

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One of the world’s leading robotics and automation systems manufacturers, Omron, says it will introduce a total of 15,583 models in seven categories in its second wave of factory automation control devices built on a common design platform for unified product specifications.

Omron says it has been continuing to work for the innovation of making control panels which house and control factory automation devices on the production front line.

The company unified the design and size of factory automation devices, and introduced products in April 2016 which are built with the company’s proprietary wiring technology “Push-In Plus Terminal Block” for device and control panel makers in need of “downsizing and space-saving” of factory automation devices and control panels, “expedited delivery”, and “response to globalization”.  [Read more…] about Omron to showcase 16,000 factory automation products

Chinese whispers: The most populous nation on Earth wants to replace millions of human workers with industrial robots it plans to manufacture

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Towards the end of last year, the nominally communist Chinese government announced that it wants China to become the world’s largest producer of industrial robots. 

In comments made in the past few months, China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have clearly stated their intention to embrace robots and the new industrial revolution brought about by internet connectivity and artificial intelligence.

In a speech to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jinping called for a “robot revolution”, saying: “Our country will be the biggest market for robots, but can our technology and manufacturing capacity cope with the competition? Not only do we need to upgrade our robots, we also need to capture markets in many places.”

And speaking at the China Association for Science and Technology conference in Beijing, Keqiang said the conference will “spur the the growth of the emerging robot industry and create the world’s largest robot market”.  [Read more…] about Chinese whispers: The most populous nation on Earth wants to replace millions of human workers with industrial robots it plans to manufacture

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