production

Electric jet startup Lilium to use carbon fibre from Toray

July 14, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Lilium, a German aerospace startup developing a small vertical-lift electric jet aircraft, and Toray Industries, a manufacturer of carbon fiber, have signed an agreement for the supply of “higher performance” carbon fiber composite.

The Lilium Jet is a five-seater, emissions-free aircraft that can take off and land vertically and is designed to provide high-speed regional connections of up to 300km in under 60 minutes.

The aircraft’s primary structures, such as the fuselage, wings and flaps will all be made from carbon fiber. [Read more…] about Electric jet startup Lilium to use carbon fibre from Toray

Okuma launches new robotics technologies

July 13, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

Industrial machine builder Okuma has launched a new range of robotics technologies to complement its current offerings.

The company says its new “ROID” series of products offer seamless integration with Okuma machine tools.

The new line of robotics products join Okuma’s extensive line of CNC metal cutting machines and technologies. [Read more…] about Okuma launches new robotics technologies

SICK shrinks its PowerProx sensor to miniature size

July 7, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

SICK has shrunk its versatile, high-performance PowerProx sensor into a space-saving miniature housing to reach the longest distances ever achieved with such a compact device.

The tiny SICK WTT4SL PowerProx Mini photoelectric sensor measures just 12.2 x 41.8 x 17.3 mm yet delivers outstanding performance to detect objects up to 1.3metres away. It is therefore ideal for high-speed production and logistics applications.

The PowerProx mini can be integrated into tight machine spaces such as the grippers of picking robots or for materials handling duties in AGVs, as well as for empty bay and clearance detection in high-bay warehouses. [Read more…] about SICK shrinks its PowerProx sensor to miniature size

Intelligent image processing supports production workers in Industry 4.0 applications

July 3, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Automation plays a major role in Industry 4.0. Cost reduction, increased productivity and zero-defect quality are factors that are increasingly prompting companies to digitise their processes.

But often full automation also means high investments. At the same time, the focus will continue to be on the human being in the interaction between man and machine.

Given the prevailing shortage of skilled workers and high standards of industrial safety, this is no easy task for companies. [Read more…] about Intelligent image processing supports production workers in Industry 4.0 applications

Elementary Robotics raises $13 million for its machine learning and computer vision offerings to industry

July 1, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Elementary Robotics, a Los Angeles-based robotics startup, has raised $12.7 million in its Series A funding round led by Threshold Ventures, an early-stage investor in technology companies.

Founded in 2017, Elementary has built a hardware and software platform for applying machine learning and computer vision to the industrial world for intelligent automation of quality and traceability workflows.

The new capital, which also had participation from existing investors Fika Ventures, Fathom Capital and Toyota AI Ventures, is being used to allow Elementary Robotics to continue developing and installing its automation products at scale. [Read more…] about Elementary Robotics raises $13 million for its machine learning and computer vision offerings to industry

BMW opens new $17 million additive manufacturing facility

June 30, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

BMW has officially opened its new “Additive Manufacturing Campus”.

The new centre brings together production of prototype and series parts under one roof, along with research into new 3D printing technologies, and associate training for the global rollout of toolless production.

The facility will likely 3D print parts for the Rolls-Royce Phantom, BMW i8 Roadster and MINI John Cooper Works GP, which contains no less than four 3D-printed components as standard. [Read more…] about BMW opens new $17 million additive manufacturing facility

Robots provide opportunities for restart after coronavirus pandemic, say industry leaders

June 29, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Robots provide opportunities for a restart of the economy after the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry leaders surveyed by Automatica, one of the largest industrial automation trade shows in the world.

Messe Munchen, which owns Automatica, says it did a survey and found the following:

84 percent of decision-makers expect more robot automation in German SMEs;
77 percent of decision-makers rely on mobile robotics to convert production quickly; and
76 percent of employees in SMEs want robotics training.

Even before the corona pandemic, the manufacturing industry in Germany was highly automated according to figures from the International Federation of Robotics and ranked third in robot density worldwide behind Singapore and South Korea. [Read more…] about Robots provide opportunities for restart after coronavirus pandemic, say industry leaders

Siemens provides its expertise to Volkswagen to develop digitized electric car production

June 25, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Volkswagen’s first new generation electric car is being built with Siemens automation and digitalization technologies.

The two companies say they are developing a standard for the upcoming Volkswagen electric car generation.

Volkswagen aims to increase the degree of automation in the body shop to 89 percent and to 28 percent in final assembly. [Read more…] about Siemens provides its expertise to Volkswagen to develop digitized electric car production

Grote automates sandwich production using Stäubli robot to make one per second

June 24, 2020 by Sam Francis Leave a Comment

US-based company Grote specializes in automating production lines that slice, fill and cut sandwiches. Until recently, the upper and lower halves of the sandwich were put together manually. Now, Grote has managed to automate this process as well, using a Stäubli TX2-60 HE six-axis robot with wash-down capability.

Filling a sandwich is not a particularly arduous task. That is, unless it is being done on an industrial scale with a throughput of thousands of sandwiches per hour.

The raw materials – slices of sausage, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce – can be difficult to handle and the assembly process consists of many steps that can vary for each product. [Read more…] about Grote automates sandwich production using Stäubli robot to make one per second

Festo launches lab automation ‘superconductor’ system that moves objects without contact

June 18, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Festo has launched a lab automation “superconductor” system that moves objects without contact.

The company says its “SupraModule” concept enables wireless control of functions on a magnetic, floating carrier with an autonomous energy supply.

In future-oriented fields such as laboratory automation or biotechnology, the requirements placed on the cleaning of production facilities and their purity are very high. [Read more…] about Festo launches lab automation ‘superconductor’ system that moves objects without contact