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ABB upgrades its IRB 1300 robot with new protection for harsh and cleanroom applications

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ABB’s 6-axis IRB 1300 industrial robot includes new protection elements that enable it to be used in tough industrial applications and contamination-free production processes.

ABB says this opens up new opportunities for increased productivity, improved product quality and reduced cycle times in a variety of industries including electronics assembly, automotive and metals fabrication, amongst others.

Originally launched in 2020, the IRB 1300 is now available in IP67, Foundry Plus 2 and cleanroom ISO 4 versions. This will expand its use in tough environments, with high levels of liquids and dust. [Read more…] about ABB upgrades its IRB 1300 robot with new protection for harsh and cleanroom applications

ABB robot enhanced with protection for harsh and cleanroom applications

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ABB says its 6-axis IRB 1300 industrial robot now includes new protection elements that enable it to be used in tough industrial applications and contamination-free production processes.

The company says the enhancements open up new opportunities for increased productivity, improved product quality and reduced cycle times in a variety of industries including electronics assembly, automotive and metals fabrication, among others.

Originally launched in 2020, the IRB 1300 is now available in IP67, Foundry Plus 2 and cleanroom ISO 4 versions. This will expand its use in tough environments, with high levels of liquids and dust. [Read more…] about ABB robot enhanced with protection for harsh and cleanroom applications

How Water-Resistant Face Masks Repel Airborne Particles

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With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, people across the globe are advised to wear a face mask to prevent disease-carrying contaminants from entering the body.

Face masks have been around for a while with East Asians using them on a regular basis; however, they have now become a necessity due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

Whether you are healthy or infected, you must wear a face mask to prevent the spread of this disease that has created havoc on a global scale. [Read more…] about How Water-Resistant Face Masks Repel Airborne Particles

San Francisco looks like a scene from Blade Runner

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The original Blade Runner film was regarded as a cinematic classic partly because of its depiction of an eery, dystopic world where the sky is permanently a dark, dusty orangey colour, possibly suggesting acid rain or something slightly toxic in the air because of the dirty and polluting machines and factories down on the ground. 

It was a ground-breaking, startling view of the future and was in complete contrast to the vast majority of science fiction films that came and went before it as they mostly showed the future as relatively bright and pollution-free, or at least the colour of the sky wasn’t a consideration as such.

Now, in the real world, modern San Francisco is shrouded in a blanket of cloud that looks quite similar to the world of Blade Runner. The dramatic change has been caused by the “worst wildfires in the history of the state of California”, according to those who are tasked to deal with them. [Read more…] about San Francisco looks like a scene from Blade Runner

Sudden increase in air pollution threatens economic recovery, says report

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There has been a sudden increase in air pollution which is threatening economic recovery in many countries, according to a new report by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

The environmental research organization estimates that “health damage from air pollution” has cost between 0.4 percent and 6 percent of annual GDP in the world’s leading cities in the first half of 2020.

By “health damage” CREA means such things as absence from work as a result of respiratory problems such as asthma, a particularly pertinent point at a time when a respiratory disease called coronavirus has ravaged the entire world’s population and caused untold economic damage. [Read more…] about Sudden increase in air pollution threatens economic recovery, says report

Arctic pollution: Air quality monitoring at 40°C below zero

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Most people think of the Arctic as a highly pristine clean environment, but this is not always the case. During the long dark Arctic winter, the urban atmosphere can become extremely polluted.

Indeed, at some point during the year, the remote Alaskan city of Fairbanks turns into the most polluted city in the whole of the US.

This is due to the very cold Arctic winter when emissions of gases and particles (such as from wood-burning stoves, traffic, power stations) can become trapped locally at ground level due to the very stable meteorological conditions, with poor vertical mixing. [Read more…] about Arctic pollution: Air quality monitoring at 40°C below zero

BMW applies AI dust particle analysis to ‘increase paint shop quality’

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BMW says it uses an “ongoing algorithm-based analysis” of dust content in vehicle paint booths and compares them to a database to predict the quality of coating it applies to cars

Artificial intelligence can bring even greater precision to controlling highly sensitive systems in automotive production, as a pilot project in the paint shop of the BMW’s Munich plant has demonstrated.

Despite state-of-the-art filtration technology, the content of finest dust particles in paint lines varies depending on the ambient air drawn in. If the dust content exceeded the threshold, the still wet paint could trap particles, thus visually impairing the painted surface.

AI specialists from what BMW calls its “central planning” and the Munich plant have now found a way to avoid this situation altogether: every freshly painted car body must undergo an automatic surface inspection in the paint shop. [Read more…] about BMW applies AI dust particle analysis to ‘increase paint shop quality’