One of the most cost-effective ways to obtain the benefits of automation is by adding a bar feeder to a CNC lathe or other bar machine. Costing anywhere from about $10,000 to $40,000 depending on configuration, the devices can add hours of untended operating time for part volumes of a few hundred to tens of thousands.
Vecna Robotics’ David Clear and SVT Robotics’ TJ Fanning go into reasons manufacturers might want to consider automation and AI. They also look at how to test assumptions and scale with so many variables changing moment by moment. The adage “change is the only constant” has never been more apropos. So, it’s a great time to hear what separates a complex system from a complex adaptive system.
Catalytic CEO Sean Chou explains the difference between process automation and robotic automation, as well as what it looks like to use automation to augment existing workflows. Importantly, he describes how manufacturers can use automation to do more with less—to lessen supply chain pressures that have grown because of globalization and the Covid-19 crisis. And he details which processes manufacturers can automate to optimize resources and productivity.
Whether transmitted through wires or the air, data collected from older factory devices can help a shop owner make smarter business decisions.
This year’s RAPID + TCT show signaled a new wave of users, with 35 percent of the audience being new to adopting additive manufacturing technologies.
Digitization and data dominated the discussion as EASTEC returned to West Springfield, Mass., after its 2020 pandemic hiatus.
Lights-out metrology for inspection is a natural entry point into automation as it is less disruptive to implement than other manufacturing operations.
An intelligent and highly flexible transport system enables a wide variety of production steps to be flexibly combined in a modular, powerful and versatile machine for the assembly of automotive fuel lines.
Why don’t more manufacturers in the United States use smart manufacturing technologies like AI and machine learning to reduce waste, achieve predictive maintenance and enhance their automation systems? Five CESMII roundtable panelists share their insights.
AP&T provides a case study of the work it did at a plant in Italy of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis).
