Automation

BAIII Cartesian Robot Series

TM Robotics, in partnership with Toshiba Machine, announced the newest in Toshiba Machine’s BA Cartesian series, the BAIII. Unlike most Cartesian suppliers, the Toshiba Machine solution is a plug-and-play offering as all cables, junction boxes, brackets, motors and controllers are supplied with the actuators. This means there’s no need for calibration between the motor and the actuator or between the motor and the controller, which enables users to reduce their engineering costs – saving both time and money – and use the BAIII as soon as it’s installed.

Robotic Bin Picking System

A new vision system from Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH is based on the triangulation method, which reportedly improves bin picking by ensuring greater accuracy, better component recognition and faster handling. The smart removal of workpieces from a random arrangement, so-called “bin picking,” is a classic automation application. It provides higher productivity, less burden on human resources and lower unit labor costs.

‘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.