Automation

ROBONANO comes to America

For 10 years, FANUC Corp.’s highly accurate ROBONANO automated milling machines have been in use in Japan’s semiconductor industry. Now the newest iteration of the machine is in the U.S. to help researchers studying emerging materials and manufacturing processes.

Taking a break from breakdowns

12/01/2016

Author:

Alan Richter

END USER: lllinois Carbide Tool Co. Inc., (800) 323-2414, www.crobaltusa.com, www.brakedrumtool.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Agathon Machine Tools Inc., (203) 730-8741, www.agathon.com. CHALLENGE: Keep up with increasing production demands for carbide brake lathe inserts. SOLUTION: A 4-axis grinding machine that enables lights-out production.

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Performance Micro Tool is in the Chips

The Janesville, Wis., micromanufacturer Performance Micro Tool is part of a Janesville Gazette feature on local companies increasing their use of automation. The article notes that a recent source of revenue for the company is a tool contract with a company that makes the tiny housings in credit cards that hold those now-ubiquitous micro chips.

NIST: Fortify Manufacturing, Save $100 Billion, by Closing Tech Gaps

To spur significant innovation and growth in advanced manufacturing, as well as save over $100 billion annually, U.S. industry must rectify currently unmet needs for measurement science and "proof-of-concept" demonstrations of emerging technologies. This is the overall conclusion reached by economic studies funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of four advanced manufacturing areas used to create everything from automobile composites to zero-noise headsets.

Collaborative robots boost Whirlpool's Mfg. capabilities

In the past 18 months, several Whirlpool Corp. plants have added collaborative robots to the assembly process. Collaborative robots are at the forefront of manufacturing technology and are designed to work alongside their human counterparts. "Collaborative robots allow us to be much more flexible,” says Eric Howe, Whirlpool senior engineer and automation lead.

‘Nano-cutter’ to Boost Materials Research at UW-Madison

The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering is the new home of a unique machine that is capable of 3D milling precise to one nanometer. The machine, called the ROBONANO α-0iB, is the first of its kind in North America, and it brings extremely advanced technological capabilities that could represent the future of advanced manufacturing. The ROBONANO, which is on a multi-year loan from the Japanese robotics manufacturer FANUC, is housed in the laboratory of Sangkee Min, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UW-Madison. The ROBONANO’s extremely precise capabilities offer Min and colleagues new research opportunities, which he hopes will open up improved and novel approaches to manufacturing.