Robotics & Automation News

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mechanical

MIT develops thread-like robot that can slip through brain’s blood vessels

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Scientists at MIT have developed a thread-like robot that can be steered using magnets and slip through the brain’s blood vessels. 

The university’s website reports that, in the future, this “robotic thread” may be paired with existing endovascular technologies, enabling doctors to remotely guide the robot through a patient’s brain vessels to quickly treat blockages and lesions, such as those that occur in aneurysms and stroke.

Xuanhe Zhao, associate professor of mechanical engineering and of civil and environmental engineering at MIT, says: “Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. [Read more…] about MIT develops thread-like robot that can slip through brain’s blood vessels

Scurrying cockroaches help researchers steady staggering robots

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Ew, a cockroach! But it zips off before the swatter appears. Now, researchers have leveraged the bug’s superb scurrying skills to create a cleverly simple method to assess and improve locomotion in robots.

Normally, tedious modeling of mechanics, electronics, and information science is required to understand how insects’ or robots’ moving parts coordinate smoothly to take them places.

But in a new study, biomechanics researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology boiled down the sprints of cockroaches to handy principles and equations they then used to make a test robot amble about better. [Read more…] about Scurrying cockroaches help researchers steady staggering robots

Want to know how safe your warehouse job is? There’s an app for that

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In 2017 there were nearly 350,000 incidents of workers taking sick leave due to injuries affecting muscles, nerves, ligaments or tendons – like carpal tunnel syndrome – according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Among the workers with the highest number of incidents: people who work in factories and warehouses.

Musculoskeletal disorders happen at work when people use awkward postures or perform repeated tasks. These behaviors generate strain on the body over time. So it’s important to point out and minimize risky behaviors to keep workers healthy on the job. [Read more…] about Want to know how safe your warehouse job is? There’s an app for that

Subsea valve actuator ‘reduces energy consumption by up to 75 per cent’, says Rexroth

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Launched less than a year ago, Bosch Rexroth’s innovative Subsea Valve Actuator (SVA) – an entirely new concept for underwater actuators which offers SIL3 safety levels and up to 75 per cent lower energy consumption – has been granted a Mechanical Engineering Design Award.

The SVA was developed to help address some of the challenges and shortcomings associated with either purely electromechanical or electrohydraulic actuator technology used on the sea floor for oil and gas exploration and production systems.

Until now, underwater actuators required large, central hydraulic power units above water. Designed to supply the actuators with fluid, the fluid-lines themselves can be miles long. [Read more…] about Subsea valve actuator ‘reduces energy consumption by up to 75 per cent’, says Rexroth

Autodesk to bundle Nastran simulation and manufacturing software free with Inventor

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Autodesk is planning to include simulation and computer-aided manufacturing software into its Inventor mechanical design suite of applications, according to a report on Engineering.com. 

Autodesk Inventor is generally used by engineers in mechanical design, and was available for $2,500 a year through the company’s website.

Autodesk’s senior director of manufacturing business strategy, Stephen Hooper, told Engineering.com that the company would now include Nastran and HSMWorks in an Inventor suite.  [Read more…] about Autodesk to bundle Nastran simulation and manufacturing software free with Inventor

Microtechnology exhibition to showcase innovations in watchmaking and medicine

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epjh entrance

It’s not one of the most famous exhibitions in the world, and not the biggest, but that’s probably appropriate for EPHJ, because it’s all about small things, or – more accurately – what’s called the “microtechnology” sector. 

Microtechnology includes such things as watchmaking, jewellery making, and precision instrumentation for medicine, all of which are relatively large business sectors in Switzerland, where EPHJ is being held, on 20-23 June 2017 – Geneva, to be exact.

Now in its 16th year, the event is described as “an unmissable event for high-precision manufacturers, with exhibitors from the worlds of watchmaking and jewellery, microtechnology and medtech”.  [Read more…] about Microtechnology exhibition to showcase innovations in watchmaking and medicine

Curtiss-Wright launches contactless proportional rocker

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curtiss wright jc040

New model expands joystick range and offers non-contact proportional control for hand-grips and HMI consoles

The industrial division of Curtiss-Wright has launched the JC040, a single-axis, Hall-effect proportional rocker suitable for arduous applications in specialty off-highway vehicles.

The JC040 builds on the success of legacy potentiometric versions available from the Corporation’s brand family of Penny & Giles, and uses non-contacting, Hall-effect sensing technology for long-life integrity of the output signal.  [Read more…] about Curtiss-Wright launches contactless proportional rocker

Rough seas: Resistors for severe environments

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Container ship New Orleans

Resistor liquid cooling boosts 3.3kV medium voltage loads, and slashes resistor footprint in industrial and marine applications, as David Atkins, projects director at Cressall Resistors explains

In motor driven applications like cranes, lifts, hoists and conveyors, air cooled resistors are common, but in medium voltage, high power applications liquid cooling wins out.

A medium voltage drive running off a 3.3kV supply to turn a 500kW motor will put a severe heating load on the application’s power transistors – hence the need for water cooling.

The new EV2 advanced water cooled modular resistor range for low and medium voltage applications is especially designed to function in severe environments, like the ones marine systems have to function in.

This patented design encapsulates and completely separates the resistor elements from the coolant.  [Read more…] about Rough seas: Resistors for severe environments

Watchmaking robots: It’s a small world

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When Apple wanted to launch a watch, most people may have thought the company would name it iWatch, to go with iPhone, iPad and iLife. 

However, Swatch raised a legal objection on the grounds that it had the rights to a product called iSwatch, and Apple’s iWatch would be too similar. This week, the courts agreed and banned Apple from using the name.

But Apple had already changed its mind some time ago, and went with Apple Watch, which has gone on to sell 13 million units in its first year, estimated to be a faster sales rate than the iPhone.

But as a total, 13 million is barely a drop in the ocean of the global watch market.  [Read more…] about Watchmaking robots: It’s a small world

Stainless steel belts in robotics applications showcased at M-Tech 2016

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belt technologies automated-assembly-metal-timing-belt

2016 marks the third year Belt Technologies has attended the Mechanical Components & Materials Technology Expo.

The event, also referred to as “M-Tech”, is held annually each June at Tokyo Big Sight in Japan and is one of the world’s largest exhibitions of mechanical and processing technology.

Alan Wosky, president of Belt Technologies, says: “M-Tech has been a great experience each year that we’ve attended. [Read more…] about Stainless steel belts in robotics applications showcased at M-Tech 2016