The Selfridges store in London’s Oxford Street has long been known for showcasing the latest innovations. Throughout its 109-year history the famed department store has played host to a variety of new technologies including the Bleriot XI airplane, the first to cross the English Channel; the first ever public demonstration of a television set; and […]
Pre-impregnation composite materials – or pre-preg composites as they’re usually known – typically take the form of heavy, floppy sheets that resemble the thick felt used for roofing purposes. Their flexibility and weight means that pre-preg composites are notoriously difficult to handle. When a pattern maker asked Simmatic to devise a reliable way of lifting […]
Fold it, seal it, tape it, box it, pick it, place it – automate it. No, these aren’t Daft Punk lyrics, but the separate processes that Finland-based Orfer Oy needed to automate to speed up its packaging operations. However, automating these processes without expanding on factory floor space was no easy feat. For a new […]
Online sales show no sign of slowing and the growth is driving demand for fulfilment operations to pack and ship all those ordered goods. The work is repetitive, however, and requires high accuracy to reduce costly errors or returns. That means that jobs in picking and packaging items for shipping aren’t particularly desirable, especially in […]
A crucial factor for driving comfort and safety within motor vehicles are suspension components. A renowned automotive manufacturer therefore tests each component thoroughly at its research centre. Within the facility the company operates state-of-the-art test rigs, including a hexapod test bench: the characteristics of suspension elements as well as their transmission function are determined here. […]
Telsonic’s ultrasonic modules and systems have been designed to be applied in a diverse number of ways. For many applications, where there are few variations in part type or size, a dedicated automation solution is often the most appropriate. However, where ultimate flexibility is required, either due to the complex shape of a part or […]
Two Universal Robots UR10 articulated arms are capturing the attention of those passing the display window of a prestigious new store in London’s West End. Global sportswear giant ASICS has recently opened its flagship European retail premises on Regent Street, where front-of-house UR10 robots – supplied and commissioned by RARUK Automation – are engaging shoppers […]
When a leading automated packing and packaging machine manufacturer was searching for a compact, yet high-precision servo drive package, it found the ideal solution from Yaskawa. For its new production line, Ixapack Global based in Western France selected the current dual-axis modules of the Sigma-7 Servo Systems from Yaskawa. For over 40 years Ixapack Global […]
Highly commended at the 2017 PPMA Group Industry Awards for robotic innovation, an automated turnkey installation from end-of-line automation specialist Brillopak has provided McVities with a flexible, small footprint, multi-line palletising solution that has paid for itself within 15 months through reduced labour costs. The seven Brillopak C2 KT400 robotic palletisers, located on a mezzanine […]
New Zealand based plastic manufacturer Talbot Technologies combines plastic thermoforming and injection moulding technologies to deliver a wide range of high quality products. In the past, the company relied heavily on manual handling of products. However, due to the rapid growth of the company production had to be streamlined. Having tried a fixed rail robot […]
Mitsubishi mobile robots put manufacturing on the move
An autonomously guided vehicle (AGV) equipped with a robot arm has been developed by Mitsubishi Electric and Mirage, making it possible to deploy the same robot at multiple workstations. The system has been designed to give unprecedented flexibility to assembly lines and boost plant productivity. An articulated arm robot fixed in a static position can […]
Mitsubishi’s enables intelligent, flexible conveying
Mitsubishi Electric’s latest Linear Transfer System (LTS) with Smart Carriage technology can increase productivity and flexibility, while maintaining plant safety and improving responsiveness. The innovative line transfer solution, combined with the unique Smart Carriages, provides an intelligent transport system for the integration of production and packaging lines. The LTS and its Smart Carriages bring product […]
Mitsubishi pictures the factories of the future
Factories populated by autonomous vehicles delivering parts and sub-assemblies across the shop floor, robots working alongside human operators to assemble customised products – all scheduled automatically by live orders placed online. While this is a utopian vision of manufacturing for many and there are certain industry sectors where the journey to smart manufacturing is a […]
ABB’s YuMi serves coffee at Smartech Selfridges
The Selfridges store in London’s Oxford Street has long been known for showcasing the latest innovations. Throughout its 109-year history the famed department store has played host to a variety of new technologies including the Bleriot XI airplane, the first to cross the English Channel; the first ever public demonstration of a television set; and […]
Igus makes automation easy with new motion concept
New from Igus is robolink Apiro, a new modular motion system which enables design engineers develop low-cost automation systems. Consisting three lubrication-free worm gears for standard movement, inverted movement and linear movement, the system can be configured to perform simple linear motion to complex humanoid and animatronic robotic tasks. “The name says it all: Apiro […]
ABB launches single-arm YuMi cobot
ABB has expanded its collaborative automation offering with the launch of a new single-arm YuMi robot. The IRB 14050 single-arm YuMi is ABB’s most agile and compact robot and is designed to easily fit into existing production lines to increase flexibility while working safely alongside people. The new collaborative robot is one of the first […]
Robotics and automation solutions: RARUK Automation is a long established expert in the supply of a wide variety of industrial robot and automation solutions for a myriad of customer applications. Among
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Robotics is the future for the food and drink industry
According to a market research report by Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies entitled Trends in Food Processing Operations, half of the companies surveyed will be increasing their level of automation over the next three to five years. Despite this, many manufacturers admit they don’t know where to start. Here, Nigel Smith, CEO of industrial […]
Food and beverage solutions at Automatica 2018
In September 2017, VDMA increased its growth forecast for the current year for German robotics and automation from 7% to 11%. The industry is also booming internationally. With this positive outlook and numerous innovations ready to be shown, the world’s leading companies are going to meet at Automatica in Munich from June 19 to 22, […]
Brillopak and Omron highlight smarter factories
In food produce environments and packhouses, the benefits of automation when it comes to workforce health and safety are uncontended. From eliminating arduous and repetitive tasks to working uninterrupted within inhospitable chilled settings, robots are most certainly the future. Case loading specialist Brillopak and industrial automation pioneer Omron explore how smart robots, hardware and software […]