Robotics & Automation News

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Trimble’s GNSS positioning helps bring Super Cruise to the road

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General Motors’ is using Trimble RTX (Real-Time eXtended) technology as the GNSS/GPS correction source to deliver absolute positioning to vehicles equipped with GM’s Super Cruise hands-free highway driving system, now available on the 2018 Cadillac CT6.

Super Cruise featuring Trimble RTX technology plays an important role in maintaining lane position for hands-free driving on divided highways.

Trimble has a long history of pioneering automation and vehicle autonomy to improve productivity—from providing positioning solutions for some of the earliest robotic applications in the 1990s to delivering automated steering for farm tractors, automated blade control for earthmoving equipment and providing advanced positioning technology for fully autonomous trucks.

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Arburg to show digital transformation in plastics processing at Hannover Messe

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Arburg will present the multiple-variant injection moulding of elastic tension straps ‘on demand’ as well as current Industry 4 components for the ‘smart factory’ at the Digital Factory, on stand J10 in hall 6, at Hannover Messe.

“We regard ourselves not only as a supplier of machines, but also as a technology partner, efficiency promoter and pioneer in the plastics industry with regard to the topic of digital transformation,” explains Heinz Gaub, Managing Director Technology & Engineering at Arburg.

From the smart machine and host computer system to the smart factory and smart services, Arburg has a large range of offerings for ‘smart’ injection moulding companies in order to enhance added value, production efficiency and process reliability in networked and flexibly automated production.

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TUG mobile robots check in at Sheraton hotel

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The Sheraton Los Angeles San Gabriel Hotel is first in the U.S. hotel industry to use eight TUG robots. The robots were developed by Aethon, a provider of autonomous mobile robots.

Known for its service in healthcare, Aethon’s robots have been introduced at Sheraton’s newest Los Angeles property, located in San Gabriel.

Visitors to the 288-room stylish hotel are greeted by Aethon’s four-foot high TUG robots, whether looking for directions to elevators or receiving an in-room delivery.

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Nordson EFD releases new automated fluid dispensing system

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Nordson EFD, a major precision fluid dispensing systems manufacturer, has introduced the new RV Series 4-axis automated dispensing system.

The system features proprietary DispenseMotion software and a fully integrated CCD smart vision camera for best-in-class fluid placement accuracy and control at any angle along the 360° rotational plane.

Nordson EFD vision-guided dispensing robots use fiducial marks to automatically offset the dispense program and compensate for slight shifts in workpiece orientation or location.

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KHS launches new labeling machine for food industry

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The KHS Group has launched the Innoket Roland 40 compact labeler to market. With a capacity of 2,500 to 25,000 containers per hour, it is specifically tailored to the requirements of the food industry. It can be fitted with various labeling stations.

The machine is specially geared towards lines with a low output, so is aimed at craft breweries and manufacturers of canned food, sauces or dressings.

In its standard version the Innoket Roland 40 comes with two cold glue stations. This allows shoulder and neck labels to be applied at two levels by the first station, with the second station affixing back labels to the bottles.

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Kawasaki robots take the biscuit

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Fox’s, a UK biscuit brand, has replaced SCARA type robots with Kawasaki robots to overcome efficiency issues relating to obsolescence.

Back in 1989, Fox’s Uttoxeter facility first implemented robotic handling of wrapped biscuits, reducing operators from 34 to just 14, using SCARA configuration robots.

Out of three replacement options proposed to Fox’s, Kawasaki suggested a move back to conventional six axes arms. Through simulations, Kawasaki Robotics UK was able to illustrate that the RS-20N Robots would cost effectively match, and exceed if required, the output of the existing SCARA robots.

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KEB America releases new safety products for automation systems

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KEB America, Inc. has released new safety automation products for the North American market. Safety PLC, Safe I/O modules, and Safety PLC programming software are now available as part of a full system solution designed by KEB.

KEB’s Safety PLC is a Fail Safe over EtherCAT (FSoE) master that is used in tandem with the machine PLC to execute and monitor the safety functions of the machinery.

FSoE uses a black-channel approach and can be used with other bus systems. KEB’s Safety PLC connects with other FSoE slave modules like Safe I/O and Servo Drives with Safe Motion functionality.

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Steel fabricator makes intelligent upgrade

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Zalk Josephs Fabricators is a structural steel fabricator that specializes in the commercial market in the upper Midwest of the USA. It uses CNC systems for sawing, drilling and plate processing. It wanted to move to a more integrated and automated approach.

Chris Simonson, president of Zalk Josephs Fabricators, says: “Ficep was able to assist in this process by going through numerous plant layouts where the Ficep software was used to simulate past jobs showing real time productivity and exposing material handling bottlenecks.

“As we were going from stand-alone machines to combined drill/saw and drilling/coping, we needed to be convinced that we could achieve the throughput required to feed our fit up area.”

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Kawasaki ‘Successor’ to expand human-robot remote collaboration

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Kawasaki Heavy Industries has a new robot system, Successor, that reproduces the movements of expert engineers through remote collaboration.

The company is first introducing the system into the robot manufacturing line at its Nishi-Kobe Works and will begin limited sales to select customers in FY2018, followed by general sales in FY2019.

Successor is a system that features newly-developed remote control devices that enable remote collaboration. Remote control will make it possible to apply robots to a wide range of fields, and the system is compatible with a wide range of Kawasaki robots.

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Universal Robots opens repair center in Shanghai

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Universal Robots‘ newly renovated location in Shanghai will handle all repair requests as well as house a complete inventory of spare parts for Universal Robots collaborative robot arms, servicing the entire China mainland region.

Universal Robots General Manager in China, Adam Sobieski, said: “In China, which is developing very fast, not only the system integrators but also the end users prefer just-in-time services and solutions,” he says.

With the 200 sqm new center in Shanghai and support from a local technical and application team, Universal Robots China says it is able to deliver a timely after-sales service locally.

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