Okuma’s 5-Step Pre-Automation Checklist to Maximize Productivity August 19, 2020 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.
Making Robots Smarter and Safer August 19, 2020 COVID-19 has taught manufacturers a valuable lesson: when humans fall ill, machine tools and equipment sit idle. Granted, they already knew it, just as they knew that employees take lunch breaks and vacations, arrive late because their car won’t start, and go work at the shop down the street for fifty cents more an hour.
Adaptive Robots: BFFs for Small-Batch Automation August 18, 2020 Manufacturing engineers, information technologists, and “smart” robots in flexible manufacturing cells are working ever more closely in manufacturing companies around the world.
Advanced Robotics for Industrial Manufacturing August 6, 2020 Manufacturing is moving towards high-mix production different products in very small lots. Advanced robotics may be needed to get there.
The Heart of Modern Manufacturing August 3, 2020 Controls help make modern manufacturing go. Controls help shop floor employees monitor Industry 4.0 technology. Controls also boost productivity on the shop floor. Technology companies are highlighting improvements designed to maintain the forward momentum of advanced technology.
Ford Leases Boston Dynamics Robots July 28, 2020 Ford Motor Co. is leasing four-legged robots from Boston Dynamics as part of a program to reduce cost and boost efficiency.
FANUC Recognized by General Motors as a 2019 Supplier of the Year Winner July 22, 2020 FANUC was named a GM Supplier of the Year by General Motors during a virtual ceremony honoring the recipients of the company’s 28th annual Supplier of the Year awards on June 24.
CESMII’s SMIP shines in test drive July 15, 2020 In a recent demonstration of the vendor-agnostic Smart Manufacturing Innovation Platform (SMIP) from CESMII, project partners first helped managers of North Carolina State University’s water purification plant get off the dime and analyze the data they were collecting with smart instruments.
The Growing Role of Automation in Finishing Operations July 15, 2020 Finishing operations have traditionally been manual, but automation and robotics are making major inroads in this key manufacturing process. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine talks with Normand Stoycheff, Business Development Manager for AV&R, and Giovanni Bevilacqua, Business Development Manager also with AV&R about emerging trends in automation/robotics; the main reasons allowing robotics to evolve from traditional pick-and-drop usage to more elaborate processes; how robots help the surface finishing process throughout the industry; and how surface finishing operations are developing the capability to inspect and repair.
Mitsubishi Electric Automation Announces New Key Leadership Personnel July 9, 2020 Mitsubishi Electric Automation has appointed new executive personnel to grow and increase its presence in the Americas. In a series of hires and promotions, Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc. (MEAU) has named key personnel to new executive positions detailed below.