Automation & Controls

More than 150 U.S.-based robotics researchers contributed to the 2016 edition of the report titled "A Roadmap for US Robotics From Internet to Robotics." Released Oct. 31, the document calls for improving policy frameworks to safely integrate new technologies, such as self-driving cars and commercial drones, into everyday life.

Manager's Desk Columnist Keith Jennings discusses the benefits of being the face of your company in the January 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Robot use is set to accelerate: Worldwide spending on robotics and related services will more than double by 2020, growing from $91.5 billion in 2016 to more than $188 billion in 2020, according to the newly updated Worldwide Commercial Robotics Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC).

Mencom Junction Blocks offer a range of circuit configurations in 7/8-16 MINI series, M12 & ½-20 Micro series, M8 Nano series and DeviceNet series. They feature a homerun connector (cable, cable with connector, receptacle or field wireable), which easily routes signals from multiple inputs back to the main control system.

The world of robotics and automation is changing fast. International Data Corp's (IDC) Manufacturing Insights Worldwide Commercial Robotics program peeks over the horizon with predictions for the world of robotics in 2017 and after.

With total monitoring feedback, a maximum clamping power of 20,000 N and enhanced precision, the new MTS 2.0 (Modular Tooling System) fulfills even the most exacting machining demands. The use of state-of-the-art ceramic lock balls combined with innovative springs increase clamping power while allowing an opening pressure of only 6 bar.

END USER: lllinois Carbide Tool Co. Inc., (800) 323-2414, www.crobaltusa.com, www.brakedrumtool.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Agathon Machine Tools Inc., (203) 730-8741, www.agathon.com. CHALLENGE: Keep up with increasing production demands for carbide brake lathe inserts. SOLUTION: A 4-axis grinding machine that enables lights-out production.

After robot builder MegaBots Inc. determined that its Mk. II robot was unsafe for the two human pilots to operate during the upcoming Giant Robot Duel against Japan-based Suidobashi Heavy Industry's Kuratas robot, the Hayward, Calif.-based company decided to build a new robot from scratch.

As useful and commonplace as robots are in manufacturing, buying one is rarely a one-stop shopping experience. However, robot manufacturer Universal Robots A/S has launched a new service, UR+, which may change the way robots are bought and sold.

For 10 years, FANUC Corp.'s highly accurate ROBONANO automated milling machines have been in use in Japan's semiconductor industry. Now the newest iteration of the machine is in the U.S. to help researchers studying emerging materials and manufacturing processes.

The Janesville, Wis., micromanufacturer Performance Micro Tool is part of a Janesville Gazette feature on local companies increasing their use of automation. The article notes that a recent source of revenue for the company is a tool contract with a company that makes the tiny housings in credit cards that hold those now-ubiquitous micro chips.

To spur significant innovation and growth in advanced manufacturing, as well as save over $100 billion annually, U.S. industry must rectify currently unmet needs for measurement science and "proof-of-concept" demonstrations of emerging technologies.