Automation

Keeping steel wheels spinning

Since 1910, Simmons Machine Tool Corp., Albany, New York, has built machine tools and measuring machines for producing and maintaining railway wheel sets. The company also manufactures automation systems.

Each wheel traditionally is placed on a machining center using a forklift, a crane or another manual handling method — a slow, inconsistent process in which worker safety is a concern. Simmons Machine Tool sought to boost productivity and improve worker safety when loading and unloading railways for repairs in a vertical CNC lathe.

Taiwan Excellence to hold online press conference and virtual pavilion

Taiwan Excellence, an international campaign to promote Taiwan's products, will host the Taiwan Excellence smart machinery online press conference June 2 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Stay-at-home machine monitoring

06/16/2020

Author:

William Leventon

As the pandemic forces remote machining operations, Balance Systems Corp. is at the ready with its B-Safe spindle monitoring system.

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Coolant bucket brigade be gone

05/19/2020

Automated coolant delivery system enables unattended machining

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Pepperl+Fuchs Inc. extends live chat hours for customer support

TWINSBURG, Ohio (May 2020) — As COVID-19 has significantly altered the way that business is conducted, Pepperl+Fuchs Inc. is striving to keep the needs of customers at the forefront. To this end, the company has announced extended hours for its live chat customer support.

Smart manufacturing systems: The COVID-19 comeback

The impact of COVID-19 has changed the way we conduct business and illuminates more than ever the need for manufacturers to assess their processes and implement smart manufacturing technology. The challenges that manufacturers face daily have been only exacerbated by the pandemic. Adding value to machinery to allow unattended operations and improve productivity without relying on operators to perform every function is even more imperative in today’s climate.

Robotics reimagined for job shops

05/05/2020

Author:

William Leventon

With many job shops shying away from robots because of integration and programming difficulties, a machine tool builder introduces products offering an easier path to automation.

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Presenting an automated coolant delivery system

Precision Tool Technologies Inc., Brainerd, Minnesota, developed the FullShop automated coolant delivery system to eliminate manually monitoring and replenishing coolant so that the shop could enable unattended machining. This video, presented as a video supplement to CTE's May 2020 Productive Times article, offers a quick overview of the company's FullShop system, which monitors coolant usage at a machine tool sump and automatically replenishes coolant before it runs low.

Tolomatic Inc. develops open-source, low-cost ventilator actuation prototypes for COVID-19 patients

In an effort to support the global need for medical ventilators, Minnesota-based Tolomatic Inc. has dedicated a team of engineers to the development of highly efficient emergency ventilator concept systems using electric linear actuators. The proposed technologies are the first step in creating innovative emergency ventilators for patients around the world.