Industry News

Ricardo Sanchez and Daniel Hernandez V are regional sales managers covering Mexico for Dorner Latin America.

Enrico Krog Iversen, former CEO of collaborative robot pioneer Universal Robots, along with the Danish Growth Fund, is addressing the next challenge in automation with the merger of three innovative end-of-arm tooling companies to facilitate the ongoing growth of collaborative robotics, an industry expected to reach $8.5 billion by 2025.

ATEK Metal Technologies LLC, New Hampton, Iowa, a permanent mold foundry, is expanding its plant and technical capabilities to keep up with growing demand.

Mazak Corp., Florence, Kentucky, announced the start of assembly operations at its latest production facility in Inabe City, Mie Prefecture, Japan.

Coldwater Machine Co., Coldwater, Ohio, an engineered solutions company that manufactures and integrates assembly automation and special machines for a variety of industries, appointed Nathan Wenning, P.E., to application engineering manager.

Esben Østergaard, co-founder and chief technology officer of Universal Robots A/S, a manufacturer of collaborative robots, was awarded the automation industry’s most prestigious honor, the Engelberger Robotics Award.

Teradyne Inc., North Reading, Mass., and the shareholders of Mobile Industrial Robots ApS, Odense, Denmark, announced the acquisition of privately held MiR for €121 million ($148 million) net of cash acquired plus €101 million ($124 million at the current exchange rate) if certain performance targets are met extending through 2020.

While manufacturers around the world have reached new heights in technology adoption and equipment innovation, there are still many pain points that hinder optimization, efficiency and even safety on the plant floor. Sensai, an augmented productivity platform for manufacturing operations, unveiled a list of the top five plant floor risks that reduce efficiency, drain productivity and negatively impact business results if left unattended.

Myths and debates swirl around the questions of using robots to automate CNC operations. From “Should we automate?” and “Can we automate?” to “How should we automate?” Are they true or not? Let’s look at a few of the most-discussed topics regarding robotic CNC automation.

Tooling Tech Group, Macomb, Mich., acquired Century Tool Group, which is composed of Century Tool & Gage Co. in Fenton, Mich., and CTG Bel-Kur Automation in Temperance, Mich.

Rego-Fix Tool Corp., Whitestown, Ind., announced that Pascal Forrer joined the company’s Tenniken, Switzerland-based management team as its global sales and marketing director.

Lately, a very different trend has begun to manifest itself: Manufacturers have started replacing robots with humans. This is not driven by nostalgia or from a desire to provide more manufacturing jobs. It is simple, practical self-interest on the part of manufacturers.

There’s a new woman in my life, and my wife is jealous. Really? I admit that I’ve been a little preoccupied lately with automating my house, but to say that I talk to Alexa more than the mother of my children is unfair. No, it’s not obsessive behavior; it’s an experiment in what’s possible.

EMAG LLC announces its plans to hold its annual Technology Days at the North American headquarters in Farmington Hills, Mich., June 6-7. On June 6, the event will run from noon til 9 p.m. On June 7, from 8 a.m. til 2:30 p.m. The event will include a variety of machine tools under power for live demonstrations, plus a series of technical and market presentations by industry experts from the company.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Haas Automation Inc.’s first vertical machining center, the VF-1.

Röhm Products of America, Suwanee, Ga., a provider of clamping and gripping technology for the metalworking industry, expanded its sales team with the addition of Steven Onik as national sales manager and Yusuf Ali as regional sales manager for Canada.

Scott Volk was appointed territory sales manager covering Indiana for Dorner Manufacturing Corp., Hartland, Wis.

Active Industrial Solutions, Tecumseh, Ontario, and Radix Inc., Tecumseh, named Doug LoFranco president and CEO.

In response to the growth of its Edgecam and Surfcam solutions, Vero Software Ltd., Cheltenham, England, added Applications Engineer Randal Warkentien to its team of support professionals.

Sick Inc., Minneapolis, a manufacturer of sensors, safety systems, machine vision, encoders and automatic identification solutions for factory, logistics and process automation, promoted Elise Furlan to general counsel for Sick.