Automation & Controls

Small job shops struggling with the budget, programming and space requirements of traditional welding robots now have an alternative solution: The new SnapWeld Collaborative Robot Welding package developed by ARC Specialties Inc. and Universal Robots is a cobot-assisted, interactive welding system that can be deployed easily and flexibly in existing, manual welding booths, eliminating the need for costly new robotic cells.

Aerotech's HEX RC is a 6-axis motion controller ideal for controlling robotic systems like hexapods. The HEX RC is 4U rack-mountable and compatible with the Automation 3200 (A3200) motion platform.

What if collaborative robots didn't just stop at collision but avoided collisions altogether? And while doing that kept performing the task they set out to do? That's the premise for Universal Robots' new trade show demo where a UR5 robot arm will pick "widgets" out of a feeder that moves around and is dynamically tracked by the vision-guided cobot.

The new GT 112-E automatic magazine bar feeder from LNS is suitable for sliding headstock machines running unattended or lights-out production using small bar stock with diameters from 0.8 mm to 11 mm (12.7 mm with bar preparation).

New software from NUM enables CNC machine tool builders and retrofitters to provide their customers with easy-to-use workpiece programming and machine control facilities for precision grinding applications. Forming the latest application-specific addition to NUM's Flexium CAM suite of CNC software, the new NUMgrind package simplifies machine tool programming for an extensive range of tasks, including external and internal cylindrical grinding, surface grinding, wheel shaping and dressing.

The online magazine Fast Company reports that while the rest of the auto industry increasingly uses robots in manufacturing, Toyota has taken a contrarian stance by accentuating human craftsmanship: "The central role that people play in this corner of [Toyota's] Georgetown plant is repeated throughout the factory and exemplifies the uniqueness of Toyota's manufacturing philosophy."

Drake Manufacturing Services Co. LLC, Warren, Ohio, has been sold in a court-ordered receivership.

The global ceramics market is expected to reach $287 billion by 2022, according to a recent report by Grand View Research Inc. Furthermore, advanced ceramics are expected to be the fastest-growing segment in terms of volume at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 9 percent through to 2022.

ANCA Inc. custom-designed and built a new industrial robot loader for exhibition and demonstration purposes and is currently not available for sale.

Precise Automation has introduced the PF3400 Industrial Collaborative SCARA Robot. Its inherently safe design allows the PF3400 to achieve speeds and accelerations much faster than any other collaborative robot while still limiting forces to ISO collaborative robot standards, according to the company.

HEIDENHAIN offers its Connected Machining system of production in which all work steps are networked - from the design to the deliverable component – via the company's TNC control. It can access all order-related information in a company network, enabling efficient exchange of data.

With the DF32, Nanotec has presented a flat and compact external rotor motor. The eight-pole brushless DC motor with a diameter of 32 mm and a height of 18 mm achieves a rated power of 7.4 W.