While fears of recession, trade frictions and Brexit seem to be slowing down the economy in Europe, for the Industrial Robot market the overall picture stays bright. In some parts of Europe a strong growth trend is continuing. “In the first half of our current fiscal year our order volume in all Europe rose by […]
Until recently, the Industrial Revolution was largely associated with drastic engineering efforts that transformed Britain’s industry. Two centuries later, we are experiencing another shift in global manufacturing, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Nigel Smith, managing director of industrial robot distributor TM Robotics, explains how Britain can reclaim the robotics revolution with simplified robot programming. According […]
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 […]
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 […]
Motion plastics and low-cost automation at MACH 2026
igus returns to MACH with a comprehensive range of engineering innovations designed to improve machine reliability, reduce downtime and deliver long‑term cost savings for manufacturers across all industry. With the UK operation based in Northampton, igus develops lubrication‑free motion plastics that replace traditional metal components, increasing performance while eliminating the need for grease and maintenance. […]
RBTX DOBOT partner launch hailed a success
igus UK marks a major milestone in accessible automation with the successful launch of its RBTX partnership with DOBOT Robotics. The event brought together engineers, system integrators, manufacturers and automation specialists to explore how flexible robotic solutions can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively, without the complexity traditionally associated with industrial automation. Live demonstrations showcased collaborative […]
What role does AI play in art?
The River of Light festival in Liverpool showcased ‘Face Value’, a captivating installation co-created by PhD student Emma Brass from the University of Liverpool and Venya Krutikov, co-founder of The Kazimier and Invisible Wind Factory. Blending artificial intelligence, robotics, and visual art, Face Value invites visitors to confront how technology perceives and redefines reality. The […]
Automating with robotics at MachineBuilding.South
Industry commentators agree that UK manufacturers will need to increase their investment in robotics if they are to keep up with international competition. At MachineBuilding.South you can find out how, with numerous exhibits from robotics, control, automation and safety specialists. LG Motion (Stand 46) will be showcasing Techman Robot (TM Robot) collaborative robots at MachineBuilding.South with […]
Annual robot shipments to top 760k units in 2030
The industrial robot industry saw 5.1% growth in 2025, following a contraction of -2% in 2024, Interact Analysis reports. The market is now forecast to record steady growth out to 2030, at an average annual rate of 6.7%, rising from 549,555 units in 2025 to 761,303 units in 2030. The latest industrial robots report from […]
Universal Robots hosts Food & Beverage Masterclass
The Food & Beverage Masterclass, hosted by Universal Robots in June, 2026 at Riseholme Park in Lincoln, brought together industry professionals for a practical and engaging half-day event focused on end of line automation with collaborative robots (cobots). Designed to give attendees a clear understanding of how automation can be successfully implemented in food and […]
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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Gourmet-food-maker automates packaging process
Rockwell Automation has announced that Cranswick, one of Britain’s leading manufacturers of premium gourmet foods, has commissioned a new robotic end-of-line pick-and-place system using autonox Robotics. Every year, Cranswick produces millions of “pigs-in-blankets” (sausages wrapped in bacon) for the Christmas market. The final stage of the process – picking the sausages off the conveyor belt […]
Universal Robots hosts Food & Beverage Masterclass
The Food & Beverage Masterclass, hosted by Universal Robots in June, 2026 at Riseholme Park in Lincoln, brought together industry professionals for a practical and engaging half-day event focused on end of line automation with collaborative robots (cobots). Designed to give attendees a clear understanding of how automation can be successfully implemented in food and […]
Universal adaptive gripper for faster, gentler picking
Festo has introduced the HPSX Universal Adaptive Gripper, a pneumatic soft gripper engineered to improve speed, hygiene and flexibility in demanding food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics applications. Combining robust design, food-safe materials and adaptive silicone fingers, the HPSX directly addresses long-standing automation challenges where rapid, precise and gentle product handling is essential. “In developing the HPSX, […]
Quick wins to reduce your overheads and improve profits
In January we all tend to review the previous year to see how we can improve this year, so these ‘quick wins’ on how to reduce your production overheads should come in useful. The first category outlines ways to directly reduce your overheads, whilst the second and third categories are items that are often not […]