Automation & Controls

Shrinking availability of skilled labor and continual cost-reduction pressures are magnifying the importance of manufacturing systems, services and integrated solutions, according to machine tool importer and distributor Absolute Machine Tools Inc. During more than three decades of selling and supporting a comprehensive selection of machine tools, Absolute has participated in wide-ranging changes in the manufacturing industry.

OnRobot has launched a compact, single-pad version of its innovative Gecko no-mark adhesive gripper. The new Gecko Single Pad (SP) gripper brings the same capability to new automation applications with small footprints and lower payload.

Dual-wire EDM automation cell helps Twin City EDM meet customer needs.

Automation enables part manufacturers to boost efficiency, but limitations remain.

Orion, Michigan-based Applied Manufacturing Technologies (AMT), an independent automation engineering company supporting manufacturers, robot companies, systems integrators, line builders and users of robotic automation worldwide, announced the promotion of Rick Vanden Boom to vice president of sales and the hire of Mark McGinnis as director of systems engineering.

igus has released a new collaborative robot cable management kit with universally-designed hook-and-loop mounting brackets and more than 100 links of the company's innovative triflex R cable carrier, which offers enhanced cable protection compared to corrugated tubes.

RobotWorx, an Ohio based company that focuses on quality industrial robotic solutions and customized integration, has announced a strategic partnership with Octopuz Inc. The new collaboration will allow RobotWorx to expand its service offerings into offline robot programming with a leading software creator.

Enabling end-to-end factory manufacturing through total solution offerings, Panasonic offers its new autonomous delivery system. Fully integrated with the company's PanaCIM Solutions Ecosystem, the autonomous delivery system provides improved efficiency and lower total costs for virtually any manufacturing environment. Best-in-class partner solutions powered by Panasonic's software to create a complete material management solution will also be on display during the show.

With financial backing from their joint U.S. parent company Teradyne, Mobile Industrial Robots and Universal Robots have acquired a 50,000-sq.-m building site in Odense, where $36 million will be invested in the construction of a major cobot hub in the "cobot capital" of the world.

Many manufacturers are still using hand tools like calipers, micrometers or height gages for parts measurement, causing problems with consistency and measurement for complex geometries. 3D scanning provides a more comprehensive inspection report for in-process and final verification for a wide variety of industries.

Universal Robots' OEM partner Columbia/Okura's new miniPAL is a mobile palletizer product that can be powered by the UR10e cobot arm. The flexible miniPAL with a footprint of 11'x13' can palletize at two pallet locations for optimized operation.

Fastems has launched three new products to enable educational institutions and manufacturing enterprises to benefit from its advanced digital manufacturing (DM) solutions for factory automation. In addition to functioning as a classroom teaching and learning tool, DM enables companies to do training and testing before ramp-up and simulation during production, for example.