Automation & Controls

SIMATIC Robot Pick AI (robot skill) is a pre-trained, deep-learning-based vision software for advanced robotics applications like goods-to-robot order bin picking that provides out-of-the-box cognitive performance for selecting robust pick points (6-DoF grasp poses) for arbitrary "unknown" items at runtime.

The automotive industry has the largest number of robots working in factories around the world. Operational stock has hit a record of about 1 million units.

The Swissbit Device Manager is the systematic further development of the successful Swissbit Lifetime Monitoring Tool, whose feature set and ease of use have now been expanded even further. All the benefits of a complete monitoring and system tool are provided by the SBDM. This includes both the standard S.M.A.R.T. parameters (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) as well as the utilization of the individual flash blocks. Important telemetry data, general device information like serial number or firmware version, utilization statistics like NAND flash erase cycles, and ECC/CRC counters are all visualized using SBDM. The history of all these values is recorded for each memory device.

Built upon established and trusted Renishaw technology, this product line for industrial robotics brings the company's metrology expertise to an industry that has significant challenges with performance accuracy and repeatability. Categorized as either 'in-field' or 'in-process' products, the new RCS products help to simplify robot set-up, health checks and recovery of robotic applications following collisions. Working with Renishaw's new intuitive robotics software, RCS Software Suite, the products support robots from a wide range of manufacturers.n

The AI wizard is called Éncy (pronounced like [ˈɛnsɪ]) and it greets the user with the following message: "Hi, I'm Éncy, your SprutCAM X AI assistant. Ask away, and I'll be happy to help!" The AI assistant is powered by the OpenAI API, which uses deep learning models to understand and generate natural language. Engineers can communicate with the AI assistant using text commands in multiple languages, and the AI assistant responds accordingly.

PVI Esskå in Landeryd, Sweden, manufactures chassis and body parts for trucks and uses hydraulic presses supplied and installed by AP&T. In summer 2022, AP&T upgraded and future-proofed one of the company's press lines by rebuilding the control systems and installing new automation equipment. The investment reduced the line's cycle times by about 50% and increased production capacity by about 500 hours a year.

The Kentucky-built Mazak Ez series comes to Canada for the Western Manufacturing Technology Show in Edmonton from May 30 to June 1.

Robotmaster 2024 is designed for users who need to program multiple robots to perform a variety of processes within the same cell environment. The ability to program multiple robots enhances the programming workflow and gives the user a single view of the entire system to review the workspace for collisions. In addition, users can now leverage Robotmaster's powerful programming capabilities and unmatched optimization strategies to shorten cycle times and increase output in multi-robot cell environments.

Within the solution package, the safety laser scanner PSENscan enables safeguarding and productive area monitoring of mobile platforms. On guide path AGVs, PSENscan detects objects along the route, even at high speeds, and adjusts warning and safety zones in a functionally safe manner. PSENscan provides up to 70 protected fields. These enable dynamic protected field adjustment, even on free-nav AGVs

Video supplement to the "Automated Payback" cover story in the May 2023 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine. Playlist includes videos from Stäubli Corp. and Universal Robots USA.

The MC3603 which owing to its compact size is ideal for integration in equipment manufacturing and medical technology applications. With 36 V and 3 A (peak current 9 A), the new Motion Controller covers the medium power range up to approx. 100 W. It is suitable for "normal" DC-motors with encoder, brushless drives and linear motors. The I/O options and encoder interfaces are the same as the rest of the product family.