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Ford installs team of collaborative robots on Fiesta assembly line

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Automaker Ford has for the first time introduced a team of collaborative robots that works alongside engineers in Cologne, Germany, to ensure every Ford Fiesta has a perfect finish.

The six cobots complete a choreographed sequence to sand the entire body surface in just 35 seconds. The initiative does not replace employees but allows operators to use their time on more complex tasks and avoid suffering the strains associated with performing repetitive tasks.

Dennis Kuhn, senior manufacturing engineer, paint shop, Ford of Europe, says: “The cobots can feel when more force needs to be applied, just like we can, and they can more easily get to hard-to-reach places, like the centre of the roof.” [Read more…] about Ford installs team of collaborative robots on Fiesta assembly line

Stop & Shop installs robotic bakery ‘Breadbot’ at its Massachusetts store

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Stop & Shop has teamed up with the Wilkinson Baking Company to install the Mini Bakery, also known as “Breadbot”, at its Milford, Massachusetts, store.

Stop & Shop is the only grocer on the East Coast with The Mini Bakery, offering sandwich-style bread that is fresh-from-the-oven, delicious and affordable.

The Mini Bakery – which is described as a “robotic bakery” by some – mixes, forms, proofs, bakes and cools 10 loaves of artisan bread per hour. [Read more…] about Stop & Shop installs robotic bakery ‘Breadbot’ at its Massachusetts store

Škoda opens new $200 million paint shop featuring 66 robots

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Škoda Auto has opened a new automotive paint shop at its main plant in Mladá Boleslav, in the Czech Republic, featuring 66 industrial robots configured for applying the paint.

Up to 168,000 car bodies will be coated with paint there each year, taking the plant’s total annual painting capacity up to 812,000 vehicles.

Škoda Auto has invested €214.5 million in the new building, creating more than 650 new jobs. (See infographic below.) [Read more…] about Škoda opens new $200 million paint shop featuring 66 robots

GM to invest additional $20 million in Texas plant

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General Motors is investing an additional $20 million at Arlington Assembly to upgrade plant conveyors in preparation for the launch of GM’s new SUVs.

GM has invested more than $1.4 billion in Arlington Assembly since 2015 to build a new paint shop and for body shop and general assembly area upgrades.

The new upgrades at Arlington are scheduled to be completed next year.

[Read more…] about GM to invest additional $20 million in Texas plant

355 welding robots at new Byton car plant in China

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Byton, the electric vehicle maker, has announced it will complete its Round C fundraising in mid-2019 with support from multiple investors and shared further details of its Nanjing factory.

Construction of the plant, which started in September 2017, is nearing completion and trial production of the M-Byte SUV will start in the third quarter of 2019.

The installation and commissioning of key equipment has already begun in the five major workshops: stamping, paint, welding, battery, and assembly.

[Read more…] about 355 welding robots at new Byton car plant in China

First JAL A350-900 rolls out of Airbus paint shop

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The first A350 XWB for Japan Airlines (JAL) has rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse, France.

The A350-900 is the first ever Airbus aircraft to be produced directly for JAL and features a special A350 XWB red logo on the fuselage.

The aircraft will now proceed to ground and flight tests, before delivery to JAL in early summer.

[Read more…] about First JAL A350-900 rolls out of Airbus paint shop