Automation & Controls

The ThyssenKrupp Crankshaft Co. in Danville, Illinois, operates up to 21 shifts per week to produce forged crankshafts for the North American heavy-duty automotive, truck, and engine markets. Meeting production needs requires precise technology, including a Zema Numerika GH1500 grinding machine from Junker.

After 265 laps, car No. 96 crossed the finish line at the Hollywood Casino 400 race, finishing at 27, garnering 10 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, and capping off a successful first weekend with GF Machining Solutions as the car's primary sponsor.

Automating two mills in a six-machine cell, we could turn around his inconsistent output.

With Universal Robots' ActiNav kit, shops can automate without major integration and programming efforts.

Jorgensen Conveyors and Filtration Solutions in Mequon, Wisconsin, has made several promotions and a key new hire within its sales and management teams.

Fastems Group will host an online Open House & Conference entitled "Productivity Beyond Machine Tending" that will showcase the latest developments in automation and surrounding technologies.

Industrial automation is changing the way cutting tool manufacturers operate. Machines can take on the heavy lifting at each stage of production letting workers get on with less repetitive tasks. And while automation may sound costly and complex to implement, it's not reserved just for big business.

With the highly dynamic, EtherCAT-based AX8000 servo system, new setpoint values can transfer every 62.5 μs from the motion controller in the Industrial PC to the servo drive, along with μs motor current scans. Comparable control systems usually operate with a cycle time of only 1 ms. Now the AX8000 firmware also supports oversampling technology, which is well known from Beckhoff EtherCAT I/O devices. This feature enables multiple samples of process data within a communication cycle with an oversampling factor of up to 128 and the transfer of all data in an array via EtherCAT.

With 360 degree rotation range and 20N load capacity, the RS-40 V7 stage boasts high angular velocity of 20°/sec and minimum incremental motion and repeatability of 87 µrad. The 110, M-111 and M-112 vacuum linear stage series provide travel ranges of 5, 15 and 25mm and are suitable for vacuum up to 10-6 hPa.

Watch a Cobotics Corner demonstration that helped a shop increase productivity by 34% using a Universal Robots UR5e arm and a Robotiq Dual Hand-E gripper on a 2012 Haas ST20SS, according to Fusion OEM.

Fusion OEM recently came to the aid of a family-owned contract machine shop that was ready to automate. After visiting the shop, Fusion worked with the owner to automate two mills in a six-machine cell. Watch a brief demonstration of a robotic CNC machine tending operation on a Haas Mini Mill with a Universal Robots UR5e and Schunk dual pneumatic parallel gripper.

The Integrex i-H series of multi-tasking machines from Mazak was designed to allow for additional automation technologies to be added onto the machine after purchase as a company's production needs grow and change.nn