Six-axis cobots serving as automation ambassadors
Have collaborative, six-axis robots reached a tipping point in establishing their niche in manufacturing? And could they be opening doors for manufacturers to adopt automation overall?
Have collaborative, six-axis robots reached a tipping point in establishing their niche in manufacturing? And could they be opening doors for manufacturers to adopt automation overall?
I’ve had quite a month, again, covering clever software and gadgets that continue to inch their way into performing tasks once reserved for humans. These tasks range from mundane material handling to highly skilled engineering design. It has made me think quite a bit about how our world of manufacturing and engineering will be affected by all this artificial cleverness.
With a shortage of young workers willing and able to do today’s factory jobs, manufacturers are taking steps to retain the older workforce already punching in.
These days mirror the late 1990s, when the Internet evolved to widespread use—and the topic bedeviled many. But others—in banking and entertainment, for example—who quickly learned the new lingo and jumped at the chance to explore the Web’s potential benefited greatly. Today’s tantalizing topic: blockchain.
With the potential for a 30% productivity increase or even more, there's a strong incentive for automating CNC machining processes. But before you flip the switch on that robot, you’ll need to check out the surrounding tools and processes.
Contract manufacturers, aka job shops, are the heart and soul of US manufacturing. Their survival and success are imperative.
The “Global Robotics Report 2019” found that 79 percent of automation distributors do not believe their customers understand the safety requirements of installing a collaborative robot, or cobot.
Hitachi Powdered Metals (USA) Inc. began a gradual investment in industrial robots at their Greensburg, Ind. plant in 2005, driven by the emergence of a tightening labor market and the opportunity to produce an extremely fragile product.
While water and fire tube boiler power plants may be considered archaic, they now power much of North America and will for some time, even as newer, cleaner, greener tech transitions into the mainstream and becomes practical.
According to a survey conducted by ISM, 75 percent of U.S. manufacturing companies experienced delayed resources and materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak has forced manufacturers to rethink supply chains to allow for product diversification.