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Virtual factory: Manufacturing improvements with PLM

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Adam Bannaghan, technical director of Design Rule, discusses three ways that the digital continuity of product lifesycle management helps manufacturers deliver high quality innovative products with ease

No one hates being faced with a problem they weren’t expecting more than manufacturers. During the design and build process, unplanned events can increase cycle times and have a detrimental impact on the management of materials and working hours.

There is now a demand in the manufacturing sector for a system that provides real-time visual status and control, alongside product quality predictions. Enter, product lifecycle management (PLM).

PLM is used by different sectors for various reasons. For manufacturers, the virtual production element is used to improve the planning, management and optimisation of industrial operations.  [Read more…] about Virtual factory: Manufacturing improvements with PLM

Husqvarna launches virtual reality game for lumberjacks

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husqvarna limberjack

Husqvarna, which makes robotic lawn mowers and demolition robots among other things, has launched a virtual reality game for lumberjacks.

Probably intended to test the market for future products such as smart glasses featuring augmented reality, aimed perhaps at the forestry and logging industry, the game is called Limberjack and is available through Steam.

The company says the game is aimed at anyone who wants to test their chainsaw skills or, to be precise, “limbing” skills. Limbing is the process of removing branches from the stem of a fallen tree.  [Read more…] about Husqvarna launches virtual reality game for lumberjacks

Offline programming software for industrial robots from RoboDK offers hundreds of virtual industrial robots from top robotics companies

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  • Offline industrial robot programming software, RoboDK, now has hundreds of virtual robots from all the leading industrial robot manufacturers, including ABB, Fanuc, and Kuka
  • RoboDK’s online library has more than 200 industrial robots, tools and external axes, which can be accessed directly from within the cross-platform application
  • Albert Nubiola, founder and CEO of RoboDK, talks to RoboticsandAutomationNews.com about offline programming and how RoboDK can play an increasingly important role in a market where other solutions can prove far more expensive 

Offline programming software for industrial robots

Offline programming for industrial robots seems like such a logical method of managing industrial robots that it’s difficult to find a good enough reason to do it any other way. Offline programming for industrial robots, mostly in the form of industrial robot simulation software, is a relatively new development in industrial robotics but it has been gaining popularity over the past few years.

However, offline programming software for industrial robots is still not as widespread as perhaps one would expect it to be. The majority of robots were programmed using the teach pendant method. A teach pendant, also known as a “teach box”, is a hand-held device often attached to the robot which has numerous buttons and a screen with which to program the robot, usually on-site, requiring the robot to be isolated from the production line and not do any work. [Read more…] about Offline programming software for industrial robots from RoboDK offers hundreds of virtual industrial robots from top robotics companies