Industry News

umati - universal machine tool interface goes live at EMO Hannover 2019 from Sept. 16 to 21 with an exciting presentation. "Around 50 machine tool manufacturers from all over the world will be joining forces to show how umati makes machine data usable," says Dr. Alexander Broos, umati project manager and head of research and technology at the EMO organizer VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association). Trade show visitors will experience live the benefits the standardized interface offers.

Minneapolis, MN – Industrial Tool, Inc., a specialist in robotic automation systems, workholding fixtures, turnkey applications, and custom machining centers names Nick Archer as Team Leader for the ITI Sales Department.

Fetch Robotics announced the results of the inaugural FetchIt! Mobile Manipulation Challenge. The competition was designed to advance the state of technology for applying mobile manipulators, which are autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) fitted with robotic arms, for use in manufacturing and related applications.

Temperance, Mich. – TTG Automation, a Tooling Tech Group (Macomb, Mich.) company and supplier of secondary tooling, fixtures and automation solutions, has announced the appointment of Tyson Stoll as general manager.

SAVAGE, Minnesota – Beckhoff Automation is pleased to announce that Kevin Barker has been appointed the new president of Beckhoff Automation LLC to manage Beckhoff business operations across the US.

Birmingham, AL – Motion Industries, Inc., a distributor of maintenance, repair, and operation replacement parts and a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (GPC), announced today the that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Axis New England and Axis New York (“Axis”), an automation and robotics company based in Danvers, MA.

Hermle AG will welcome over 1,000 companies and 3,000 visitors from across the globe to its annual Global Open House event in Gosheim, Germany. from May 8-11, 2019. Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with more than 20 machine models in various configurations and with complementary equipment from high-tech industries to demonstrate the vast range of capabilities provided by Hermle products.

The rise of the robots is pervasive across all verticals, including the cutting tools industry. As more and more manufacturers turn to leaner processes robotics have been seen as a way to increase productivity, improve precision and reduce labor costs. It’s led to some asking whether robotics will replace humans completely. It’s also led others to ask if the benefits are just too good to be true.

Based on the high level of traffic and activity that I saw at Automate 2019 combined with a U.S. unemployment rate of just under 4%, my hunch is that robot manufacturers will report impressive sales figures this year. This guestimate is a result of a conversation I had with Joseph Gemma, CEO of division industries – Americas for KUKA Robotics Corp., Shelby Township, Michigan. According to Gemma, as the unemployment rate decreases, robot sales increase. He emphasized that automation is changing jobs—not taking them away.

Leoni, a global provider of energy and data management solutions in the automotive sector and other industries, and relayr, specialist in industrial solutions involving the Internet of Things (IoT), are entering a strategic partnership. The companies announced joint development work on linking intelligent cable and automation systems with innovative IoT technologies. The upcoming solutions are aimed at enabling carmakers and their suppliers to reduce unplanned downtime of robotic manufacturing lines and raising production efficiency thereby improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

Industrial robotic applications have been growing exponentially across multiple industrial ecosystems, as value-addition to the existing operational paradigms become imperative. Rising eminence of collaborative robots (cobots) in the future is not surprising as automation continues to lie at the heart of industrial spaces for both regular and complex applications. Cost is also a key factor responsible for the rise of industrial robotics, owing to the fact that the average selling prices of robots have come down significantly over the past 20 to 30 years.

MIAMISBURG, Ohio – UNITED GRINDING North America earned recognition for the outstanding growth of its sales of FANUC robotic systems at the 20th annual FANUC Authorized Systems Integrators (ASI) Meeting.

North American sales of machine vision components and systems that provide vision intelligence to robots and other machines reached $2.874 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.2 percent over 2017 and a new record for the market. According to statistics from the AIA, the industry trade group and part of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), application-specific machine vision (ASMV) systems led the growth with $1.998 billion in sales in 2018, an increase of 7.8 percent over 2017, followed by smart cameras with $466 million, an increase of 14.2 percent.

Minneapolis, MN – Industrial Tool, Inc., a specialist in robotic automation systems, workholding fixtures, turnkey applications, and custom machining centers names Patrick Hjelm as CEO and President.

FLORENCE, Ky. – With an aggressive plan in place, Mazak Corporation has announced it will invest $8.5 million in new manufacturing technology for its Florence, Kentucky, Mazak iSmart Factory operations.

KMC Global, a group of wholly owned, autonomous companies—including PRAB Inc.—that manufacture equipment designed to enhance how industries process material, announces the expansion of its Controls & Automation division to serve outside markets.

AXYZ International, a leading global manufacturer of CNC machines and CNC knife systems, announced the launch of a new brand identity and logo. AXYZ Automation Group is now the official name that represents all three of their brand identities: AXYZ, WARDJet and CNCshop.com.

Scappoose, Oregon – The Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center Research and Development (OMIC R&D) is excited to welcome ZOLLER as its newest member.

Birmingham, AL – Motion Industries, Inc., a distributor of maintenance, repair, and operation replacement parts and a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, announced the promotion of Randall (Randy) P. Breaux to President on December 12, 2018.

SUDBURY, MA. U.S.A. – Methods Machine Tools, Inc. (www.methodsmachine.com), a North American supplier of precision machine tools and automation, has announced that Mr. Jon Dobosenski has been appointed as General Manager of Methods' new Memphis Technology Center.