Industry News

As the cover indicates, the February issue will include a focus on automation. In addition to Contributing Editor Kip Hanson’s cover story about automating CNC lathes, I wrote about the productivity gains Camcraft Inc. is realizing after installing a Makino Machining Complex (MMC2) flexible manufacturing system.

The advantages and benefits of the industrial internet of things all start with communication. In industrial applications a simple event increases the advantages as it goes wireless.

The growing use of work robots and the deployment of artificial intelligence have been most disruptive in just those areas of the country that provided President Trump with crucial margins of support in 2016.

Robots don’t take away jobs.
When companies lose to their competition, that’s when workers lose jobs.
There seems to be this idea: If the robots hadn’t shown up, the jobs would have stayed. But nothing could be further from reality.
Here’s the truth: We aren’t using enough robots.

Odense, Denmark, December 5, 2018: When Linatex, a Danish supplier of technical plastics and rubber for industrial applications, bought a UR5 robot arm from Universal Robots (UR) to automate CNC machine tending in December 2008, they did something unthinkable.

In connection with my article about flexible manufacturing systems for the February issue, I visited Camcraft Inc., which has a Makino Machining Complex (MMC2) automated pallet-handling system. Four Makino 4-axis a51nx horizontal machining centers are integrated into the system.

Odense, Denmark, November 13, 2018: Universal Robots (UR) is hiring 20+ Rethink staff members, merging UR’s Boston office with Rethink’s former headquarters in the Seaport area in Boston, USA, with immediate effect.

Coldwater, Ohio, Nov. 8, 2018  – Coldwater Machine Company has hired Christopher May as a program manager overseeing assembly automation projects for the company.

DALLAS, TX — OCTOBER 25, 2018 — OnRobot, a specialist in end-of-arm tooling for collaborative robots, has opened its first US headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

HARTLAND, Wis., (October 25, 2018) — Darren McKune has been named Regional Sales Manager covering Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi for Dorner.

Sometimes manufacturing can feel like a battle between David and Goliath. But in the era of automation, think Industry 4.0, manufacturers are discovering the advantages to being smaller. Automation technology has leveled the playing field and now smaller means nimble, niche and, for the first time, heading in the same direction as the big guys.

Equipment manufacturers, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies, and power and process plant owners and operators commonly face the challenge of keeping their fleet, machinery, and other assets working efficiently, while also reducing the cost of maintenance and time-sensitive repairs. Considering the aggressive time-to-market required for industrial products and services, it is crucial to identify the cause of potential faults or failures before they have an opportunity to occur. Emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, big data analytics and cloud data storage are enabling more vehicles, industrial equipment and assembly robots to send condition-based data to a centralized server, making fault detection easier, more practical and more direct.

Olis Robotics, a leader in next-generation remote robotics software, announced its selection as a subcontractor by Tethers Unlimited as part of the NASA FabLab prototype project. The FabLab will be used on missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to demonstrate orbital recycling and reuse capabilities by providing on-demand manufacturing of mission-critical parts. It’s a first step toward on-demand orbital manufacturing through reclamation, recycling and 3D metal and plastics printing.

October 9, 2018 - Haas Automation and MachiningCloud jointly announce that they have partnered to offer Haas CNC machine tool product data, including a comprehensive collection of 3D CAD models for the complete line of Haas CNC machines, on the MachiningCloud platform.

Coldwater, Ohio, Oct. 3, 2018  – Coldwater Machine Company, an engineered solutions company that manufactures and integrates assembly automation and special machines for a variety of industries, has hired Gordon Mattix as its engineering manager.

From assembly and pick-and-place to material handling and packaging, the use of robots is on the rise in factory automation. Extremely customizable in even the most complex applications, automation systems are beneficial for a variety of reasons. Taking the plunge into automation, however, can be confusing and daunting. With so many factors to consider, you may be wondering where to start. This guide is a broad overview, but can serve well as a starting point for those new to automation.

While attending The Assembly Show, it seems that I saw robots and other automation equipment everywhere I turned. The trade show and conference took place Oct. 23-25 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

ODENSE, Denmark – Sept. 5, 2018 – Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), a global supplier of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), announced six new distributors in the US, Mexico and Argentina to help meet the ever-increasing demand for its robots worldwide.

SUDBURY, MA. U.S.A. (September 4, 2018) – Methods Machine Tools, Inc. (www.methodsmachine.com), a North American supplier of precision machine tools and automation, has announced that Mr. Sergio Tondato has been appointed as Nakamura-Tome Product Manager.

Accenture believes that investment in artificial intelligence has the potential to double the annual economic growth rates of major developed economies, such as Germany, and triple Japan’s economic rate by 2035. In the manufacturing industry, Accenture believes that the power of AI technologies will increase profitability by 39 percent, boosting gross value added by almost $4 trillion in 2035.