While the use of robotics and automation in the UK food and drink industry has been steadily growing over the past decade, Britain is still lagging behind many of its international counterparts. As the lowest G7 nation, UK sits 22nd in the world robot league table with just 71 robots per 10,000 workers, behind nations […]
Time and again we are reminded that we are in the age of automation. Annual statistics prepared by the International Federation of Robotics paints a positive picture for 2017, with a 31% increase in annual global shipments. However, the UK doesn’t make the top ten countries for investment. And despite an annual 19% increase, food […]
We know robots can benefit manufacturing through speed and accuracy, but they can also drive improvement in less obvious areas like safety and data capture. The UK Government’s ‘Made Smarter’ review estimates that automation and robotics present an £183.6 billion opportunity for the British economy. Yet British industry’s uptake of robotics lags behind other advanced […]
In this interview, we talk about robotic grippers with the experts at Schunk, whose Co-act EGP-C gripper has now also been DGUV certified for HRC operations by the German Social Accident Insurance, following the certification of the SVH 5-finger hand. Why is certifying individual components so important for you, when it is actually the entire […]
As the plant floor has become more digitally connected, the relationship between robots and machine vision has merged into a single, seamless platform, setting the stage for a new generation of more responsive vision-driven robotic systems. BitFlow, a global innovator in frame grabbers used in industrial imaging, predicts vision-guided robots will be one of the […]
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 […]
Robot tax? A tax on robotics is as absurd an idea as a tax on pencils. As Britain’s political parties discuss a potential tax on automation and robotics, Nigel Smith, managing director of Toshiba Machine partner, TM Robotics, explains why slowing down the machine economy would lead to a productivity disaster. The world’s first robot […]
The use of collaborative robots can be considered to be part of the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0. ISO 8373 defines an Industrial Robot as: “An automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications.” Collaborative Robots, sometimes […]
David Jahn, director at packaging automation specialist Brillopak, examines how robotics can help food manufacturers and packhouses to seize the opportunities presented by disruptive packaging trends. Environmental concerns have been a consideration in packaging development for some years, but events in recent months have brought about a paradigm shift on packaging sustainability. Blue Planet II’s […]
ChocoMatic comes to life with igus 7th axis
When customers tap a screen to choose their favourite chocolates, Roose Automation’s ‘ChocoMatic’ robot arm travels along a linear track, selects each chocolate, and delivers them without human intervention. Behind this playful, hygienic automation lies a clever piece of engineering: the 7th axis from igus. Roose Automation wanted to give its robot arm the freedom […]
Cost-effective robotic automation products
Mouser Electronics announces a distribution agreement with igus, a global leader in industrial and automation products. With over 60 years of design experience and a strong reputation for quality, igus offers a range of technically advanced “motion plastics” designed for Industry 4.0 and 5.0. The igus product portfolio includes flexible cables, robotic components, motor control […]
igus makes predictive maintenance simple
Now more than ever, downtime is costly. To combat this, igus developed i.Cee, a smart plastics system that turns passive components into intelligent assets. By analysing data from sensors embedded in energy chains, bearings, and cables, i.Cee enables dynamic service life prediction, real-time alerts, and automated maintenance scheduling. Whether you are running high-speed packaging lines […]
ChocoMatic comes to life with igus 7th axis
When customers tap a screen to choose their favourite chocolates, Roose Automation’s ‘ChocoMatic’ robot arm travels along a linear track, selects each chocolate, and delivers them without human intervention. Behind this playful, hygienic automation lies a clever piece of engineering: the 7th axis from igus. Roose Automation wanted to give its robot arm the freedom […]
Cost-effective robotic automation products
Mouser Electronics announces a distribution agreement with igus, a global leader in industrial and automation products. With over 60 years of design experience and a strong reputation for quality, igus offers a range of technically advanced “motion plastics” designed for Industry 4.0 and 5.0. The igus product portfolio includes flexible cables, robotic components, motor control […]
See automation in action at MachineBuilding.Live
As a result of their popularity at the 2024 event, the number of Action Areas at MachineBuilding.Live 2025 has been increased. On these special stands, leading experts from across the machine building and factory automation spectrum will be providing live demonstrations of their latest technologies and innovations. Many of them will be making their UK […]
Customised robotics and automation systems: Astech Projects is an award-winning provider of advanced automated solutions. We work with clients worldwide to design and build robotics and automation systems that meet
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FANUC robot pairs hygiene with high performance
To meet the growing demand for food and cleanroom applications, FANUC has unveiled the latest model in its LR Mate industrial robot range. The compact and powerful LR Mate 10-11A Food/Clean has a 10kg payload and is compliant with ISO 4 Class cleanrooms. This makes it ideal for use in highly controlled environments across sectors […]
ChocoMatic comes to life with igus 7th axis
When customers tap a screen to choose their favourite chocolates, Roose Automation’s ‘ChocoMatic’ robot arm travels along a linear track, selects each chocolate, and delivers them without human intervention. Behind this playful, hygienic automation lies a clever piece of engineering: the 7th axis from igus. Roose Automation wanted to give its robot arm the freedom […]
OMRON robots automate poultry packing line
CP Foods UK is a major poultry producer supplying leading retailers, manufacturers and foodservice operators across the UK. With operations rooted in food safety, quality, and adaptability, the company constantly seeks ways to respond to shifting retailer and consumer demands. In its UK facilities, CP Foods UK prepares and packages chicken products for a dynamic […]
Cobots and the future of maintenance
Unplanned downtime is one of the biggest problems in manufacturing. Recent research by the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) estimates that downtime can cost manufacturers anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000 an hour. The question is, how much can manufacturers reduce this figure with new technology? Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete industrial parts supplier EU […]