Automation & Controls

On Robot ApS, a Danish manufacturer of grippers for collaborative robots (cobots) that was founded in 2014, is introducing its technology to the North American market and has appointed Gary Eliasson as its general manager for North America. He will be based in Charlotte, N.C. "My goal is to set up a North American distribution channel," he said.

On Robot is bringing its technology to North America to provide manufacturers with more user-friendly, safe and flexible grippers for collaborative robots (cobots). On Robot's two-finger RG2 grippers—available in both single and dual versions—mount on the arms of cobots without any external wires; for robots that have infinite rotation of the last joint, this enables unprecedented flexibility and productivity, according to the company.

In its continuing effort to help manufacturers leverage Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) opportunities to improve productivity and reduce manufacturing costs, Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc. introduces an MTConnect adapter to facilitate shop floor monitoring. MTConnect is an open standard that allows the sharing of a common language between machines and other electrical equipment from various manufacturers.

The U.S. manufacturing industry is rushing to embrace technology as a critical part of its processes and plans to make new technological investments in 2017, but barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption still exist, according to Automation Alley's 2017 Technology Industry Report. According to the report, 85% of national manufacturing executives said their company plans to increase budgets for technological advancements; nearly a third of them plan to increase their budgets by 10% to 15%.

Omron Adept Technologies Inc.'s LD-series mobile robot can gather information about its surroundings and automatically generate a map with just one run through any given environment.

The major wire EDM builders are still in competition, of course, but on other playing fields. The latest developments in wire electrical discharge machining focus on throughput, ease of use and automation.

One of the activities I enjoy most in connection with my job is visiting production facilities, because I get a chance to see how parts and products are made and have face-to-face interactions with talented metalworking professionals—not to mention that it gets me out of the office now and then.

For machine types STUDER S31 and STUDER S33, United Grinding offers a loader solution featuring a portal loader system with dual grippers. The loader system is said to be suitable for shaft components up to a part length of 300mm and a grip diameter of 4mm to 75mm, which covers the majority of the spectrum of parts produced on these machines, according to United Grinding North America.

In a recent article, a few Forbes Technology Council members examined what jobs they think will be automated in the next five to 10 years. But what about the flip side of the issue: What kind of positions or work will be safe from the automation process?

FANUC America has developed a new machining simulator that encompasses the complete manufacturing process from part design and engineering to CNC programming to virtual production simulation. The FANUC Machining Simulator features Autodesk Fusion 360 CAD/CAM/CAE software and a custom machining simulation program designed by ModuleWorks.

Siemens announces the launch of its Sinamics V20 Smart Access web server module, designed to mount directly onto the drive, transforming a mobile device or laptop into a virtual operator panel for drive control. By providing a wi-fi hot spot, the wireless connection on this module facilitates setup, programming, commissioning, production monitoring and maintenance on a variety of machines and production equipment.

Learning how to set up and program a collaborative robot – or cobot – no longer depends on real-life access to a robot or a training class. Now everybody with a desire to learn the concepts of cobots can log in to the Universal Robots Academy and get the introduction necessary to master basic programming skills.