Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Anna

Silicon Labs acquires Sigma Designs’ Z-Wave business

by

Silicon Labs has completed the acquisition of Sigma Designs’ Z-Wave business, including a team of approximately 100 employees, for $240 million in an all-cash transaction.

Z-Wave is a leading mesh networking technology for the smart home. More than 2,400 certified, interoperable Z-Wave devices are available from the Z-Wave Alliance of more than 700 manufacturers and service providers worldwide.

Combining Z-Wave’s mesh technology and product interoperability focus with Silicon Labs’ multi-protocol expertise gives smart home developers access to a large, varied network of ecosystems and to a full range of end-node technology options.

[Read more…] about Silicon Labs acquires Sigma Designs’ Z-Wave business

Honeywell offers new visualisation technology for batch operations

by

Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) has introduced a control technology solution that it claims increases productivity for batch operations and speed-to-market of batch products.

Honeywell’s Experion® Batch uses patent-pending visualization technology to allow operators to “look ahead” into their processes and see an intuitive and comprehensive timeline of every task required to complete a product batch.

This approach provides operators with insights into upcoming events or potential delays, which make it easier for them to conduct multiple tasks, take appropriate actions sooner and adjust next steps accordingly.

[Read more…] about Honeywell offers new visualisation technology for batch operations

Komatsu acquires forest machine simulator firm Oryx Simulations

by

Komatsu Ltd. has acquired Oryx Simulations through Komatsu Forest AB, a wholly owned subsidiary in Sweden. Oryx Simulations, headquartered in Umeå, Sweden, designs, develops, manufactures and sells simulators of forest machines.

Oryx Simulations has been developing forest machine simulators in collaboration with Komatsu Forest AB since the 1990s. As the operation of forest machines such as harvesters is very complicated, the use of simulators is indispensable for operator training.

The company designs, develops, manufactures and sells operator training simulators of forest machinery and construction equipment. Oryx Simulations has sold two harvester simulators in Japan so far.

[Read more…] about Komatsu acquires forest machine simulator firm Oryx Simulations

Panasonic to show connected supply chain solutions for Industry 4.0 at Hannover

by

Panasonic Corporation will be exhibiting its full range of logistics solutions at CeMAT 2018, the trade fair for the intralogistics and supply chain management sector, which will be held from April 23-27 in Hannover, Germany.

Panasonic will use live demonstrations and video displays to introduce its solutions to maximize operational efficiency at each step of the supply chain, from labelling and dispatch error detection at factories, to sorting and loading at distribution centres, on to transport and proof of delivery.

A video display at the front of the booth will illustrate the flow of logistics information and material tracking processes from the point of receiving an order all the way to delivery, highlighting the various products and solutions that Panasonic offers to contribute to supply chain operations. [Read more…] about Panasonic to show connected supply chain solutions for Industry 4.0 at Hannover

Schunk demonstrates how the electronics industry can be made more collaborative

by

Schunk is now showcasing on a demo system to show how depanelling machines can be made collaborative for the electronics industry.

The depanelling machine, from its subsidiary Schunk Electronic Solutions, uses a robot arm for the loading and unloading processes, so that a single employee can operate up to five machines simultaneously.

The automated system consists of the SAR 1700 depanelling machine and a UR5 six-axis robot arm from Universal Robots equipped with a Schunk Co-act EGP-C gripper.

[Read more…] about Schunk demonstrates how the electronics industry can be made more collaborative

Construction starts at the world’s largest hydrogen pilot plant

by

An EU-funded flagship project, the H2FUTURE project consortium, has officially given the go-ahead for construction of the world’s largest pilot plant for the production of “green” hydrogen at the Voestalpine site in Linz, Austria.

With a capacity of 6 megawatts, this is the most effective and advanced plant of its type. It is scheduled to be fully operational by spring 2019.

The partners,  consisting of Voestalpine, Siemens, Verbund, and Austrian Power Grid, together with the research partners K1-MET and ECN, will use this facility to research into future breakthrough technologies which are needed for a CO2-reduced energy future and the decarbonization of steel production to meet global climate goals over the long-term.

[Read more…] about Construction starts at the world’s largest hydrogen pilot plant

Universal Robots presents mobile plug-and-produce solutions at Hannover

by

At the Hannover Messe 2018, which takes place on April 23-27, Universal Robots will be demonstrating how ‘Plug-and-Produce’ facilitates simple and flexible automation solution implementation.

The company will be displaying practical application examples to show how versatile, swiftly integrated components are allowing companies to successfully meet challenges, such as a growing variety of products and increasingly flexible batch sizes. Most of the applications’ accessories come from Universal Robots+ ecosystem.

“At our booth, fair visitors will see for themselves that ‘Plug-and-Produce’ is a reality, thanks to our UR+ ecosystem. It offers access to a constantly growing number of grippers, sensors, software and additional accessories, all of which are guaranteed to be implementable via Plug-and-Play, says Helmut Schmid, General Manager for Universal Robots in Western Europe.

[Read more…] about Universal Robots presents mobile plug-and-produce solutions at Hannover

Kärcher advances its digital transformation with Dassault Systèmes

by

Cleaning technology company Kärcher has adopted Dassault Systèmes‘ 3DExperience platform to digitally transform its existing processes worldwide for its cleaning systems, products and services.

Kärcher will rely on the “Single Source for Speed” industry solution, based on the 3DExperience platform. The company can integrate its product development processes, improve collaboration and knowledge sharing for up to 1,200 employees, and reduce product development and production costs.

“We planned to deploy the 3DExperience platform on premise to strengthen our brand performance, innovation and quality, but once we understood the values and benefits that the 3DExperience platform on the cloud can bring to our business, we clearly chose the cloud,” said Michael Stritzelberger, Executive Vice President, Kärcher.

[Read more…] about Kärcher advances its digital transformation with Dassault Systèmes

Skycatch and DJI to deliver drones for Komatsu Smart Construction sites

by

Commercial drone data company Skycatch, and drone manufacturer DJI have extended their partnership to manufacture and deliver a fleet of high-precision drones for Komatsu Smart Construction.

Each DJI drone is fitted with specialized Skycatch technology, the first time DJI has manufactured a custom drone for a partner.

The Skycatch Explore1 drone autonomously flies over job sites to create accurate 3D site maps and models and will be deployed on Komatsu job sites.

[Read more…] about Skycatch and DJI to deliver drones for Komatsu Smart Construction sites

New micro PLC to reduce complexity of large standalone machines

by

Machine designers can use a new micro programmable logic controller (PLC) to help optimize the control architecture in large standalone machines or systems.

The new Allen-Bradley Micro870 PLC can support smart micro applications that require up to 304 I/O points, 280 KB of memory and 20,000 program instructions.

“Designers today use several PLC sizes for their automation projects” said Yeow Keng Teh, product manager, micro controllers, Rockwell Automation.

[Read more…] about New micro PLC to reduce complexity of large standalone machines