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Software for smart beverage production

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Software maker Copa-Data has demonstrated new solutions for smart breweries, comprehensive energy data management, flexible batch production and efficient filling lines.

Copa-Data also says the system has interoperability with the Weihenstephan and OMAC PackML standards, as a result of which machines and equipment can be more quickly integrated into existing manufacturing infrastructures.

Emilian Axinia, industry manager for food and beverage at Copa-Data, says: “Our software innovations for the smart production of beer and other drinks… demonstrate flexible batch production using an equipment model controlled by zenon. These are smart and field-tested software solutions from soft PLC, through ISA-88 Batch Control to mobile technologies.”  [Read more…] about Software for smart beverage production

Boeing completes prototype parts for 777X wing at new billion-dollar advanced manufacturing facility

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Boeing says it has completed prototype parts for the wing of its new 777X Dreamliner aircraft. 

The company is using advanced manufacturing methods, including additive or 3D printing, in the construction of the passenger plane at its new $1 billion Everett, Washington facility.

When completed, the wing for the 777X will be the largest wing Boeing has ever built.  [Read more…] about Boeing completes prototype parts for 777X wing at new billion-dollar advanced manufacturing facility

Yaskawa to invest €25 million to expand manufacturing operations in Europe

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yaskawa
Yaskawa management gave details of the planned strategic investments in Europe at a press conference in the presence of Slovenian guests.  (Source: Yaskawa)

Industrial robotics and automation giant Yaskawa is expanding its manufacturing operations in Europe.

The company says it aims to become one of the two leading manufacturers of industrial robots in strategic target markets in the medium term.

The company outlined its vision at a press conference hosted by Hiroshi Ogasawara, representative director and president of Yaskawa Electric, and Manfred Stern, president and CEO of Yaskawa Europe and Corporate Vice President Yaskawa Electric.  [Read more…] about Yaskawa to invest €25 million to expand manufacturing operations in Europe

HIT Robot Group unveils intelligently-controlled automatic jade production line

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HIT Robot Group, which claims to be China’s leading robotics developer and manufacturer, has launched a configurable and flexible automatic production line for high-precision jade processing.

This company says the intelligent production line exemplifies “a revolutionary transformation in design concept” from centralized control to enhanced decentralized control, which leads to scalable customization, greater flexibility for users, and therefore rapid response to market.

HRG says it has channelled its expertise in intelligent processing management into the new production line to achieve productivity and flexibility.  [Read more…] about HIT Robot Group unveils intelligently-controlled automatic jade production line

Tesla begins production at its Gigafactory – said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world

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tesla gigafactory
Tesla’s Gigafactory has almost 5 million square feet of operational space and when it’s completed, it will be the largest building in the world

lockTesla has started making lithium-ion battery cells at its brand new “Gigafactory” in Nevada, US. 

At almost 2 million square feet, the facility is said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world – and that’s just for starters.

In a statement, Tesla says: “The current structure has a footprint of 1.9 million square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space across several floors. And we are still less than 30 percent done. Once complete, we expect the Gigafactory to be the biggest building in the world.”  [Read more…] about Tesla begins production at its Gigafactory – said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world

Foxconn to replace all humans with robots

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Hon Hai Precision, better known as Foxconn, says it will replace all its human workers with robots, according to a report in Futurism.com. 

Quoting DigiTimes.com, Futurism says Foxconn has announced a three-part plan to fully automate its factories in the hope of achieving 30 per cent automation by 2020.

Foxconn currently has about 40,000 robots – or Foxbots – working in its factories. The company says it has the capacity to produce 10,000 Foxbots a year.  [Read more…] about Foxconn to replace all humans with robots

Predictions for the future of manufacturing

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industrial trends

Martyn Williams, managing director of industrial software expert Copa-Data UK, examines three of the most prominent automation trends of 2017 and discusses how these trends are changing manufacturing operations

As manufacturing facilities incorporate greater levels of automation, the demand for new technologies continues to grow.

Recent years have seen several trends create a shift in the way the industry operates.  [Read more…] about Predictions for the future of manufacturing

Daimler develops ways for industrial robots and factories to save energy under Areus project

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Saving energy has been a serious preoccupation of many industrial companies for many years, but especially in recent years with prices of fuel fluctuating and public concern about the environment growing. 

In the auto manufacturing sector, which buys the most number of industrial robots and uses vast amounts of energy, companies such as Kuka have been looking to make their automation systems more energy efficient.

Now, in the European Union, a project called Automation and Robotics for European Sustainable Manufacturing, or Areus, says it has developed the components of an energy-efficient automobile production system of the future.  [Read more…] about Daimler develops ways for industrial robots and factories to save energy under Areus project

Case study: A task for two collaborative robots

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Vision-guided collaborative robots deliver fast return on investment in production of firehose valves

Task Force Tips, a manufacturer of firefighting equipment, wanted to promote and maximize their personnel tending machining cells into more complex tasks while keeping spindle time up and product quality consistent.

The Indiana-based manufacturer has now installed four collaborative Universal Robots delivering savings resulting in a return on their investment in only 34 days.

CEO of Task Force Tips, Stewart McMillan, still remembers his father looking up at him with pen in hand asking, “Are you sure about this?”, when the family-owned company bought their first CNC machine 40 years ago.
  [Read more…] about Case study: A task for two collaborative robots

Lowering the entry barriers of additive manufacturing

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renishaw

Marc Saunders, director of Renishaw’s Global Solutions Centre, explains how additive manufacturing is moving from the world of rapid prototyping into series production

A famous quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin says: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

Although in reality Franklin never said these words, the quote has become extremely popular because its message resonates with anyone who has ever tried to make sense of new technology.

To a large extent, the quote also applies perfectly to additive manufacturing (AM).  [Read more…] about Lowering the entry barriers of additive manufacturing