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Structured light systems measure surfaces by projecting a pattern of fringes, then using cameras and sophisticated software to convert them into point clouds of metrology data. Accuracy can reach the single-digit microns over millions of points.

Most anyone who’s worked in a machine shop for any length of time has at some point attended a trade show or machine tool distributor’s open house. There they see canned demonstrations of CNC machines busily carving up chunks of brass, mild steel, or aluminum into business card holders and tic-tac-toe games.

Today’s virtual technology enables faster and better product development. Planes, trains and automobiles are defined in CAD, subjected to virtual tests to see how they might fail, re-designed, virtually manufactured and virtually shown to customers to confirm market acceptance.

As a provider of automation equipment and software, our company is immersed in this ongoing, revolutionary, data-driven ride, and we’re anticipating a new trend: our customers are not just automating their traditional subtractive methods.

The U.S. auto industry has been automated for decades. Production of cars and trucks is associated with large, hulking robots fenced off from human employees. Inside those fenced off areas, tasks such as welding are performed. The industry, though, is advancing on the automation front.

Canadian based 7D Kinematic Metrology Inc., has acquired Nikon Metrology’s iGPS dynamic tracking business. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place on March 31.

Manufacturing automation is trickling down from the massive automotive assembly lines toward the “mom and pop” machine shop. As you take your first look at automation, consider the benefits of and barriers to this technology.

Cheaper robots with more functions, along with more flexible work cells and installations that facilitate robotics, are accelerating the growth of automated manufacturing facilities in the non-automotive sector. Ideas on whether robotics and automation lead to lights-out manufacturing on the shop floor, though, are mixed.

Unlike other forms of automation and what we now think of as ‘traditional’ robots, cobots are much safer for humans to interact with them. They can work side by side with humans. But this leads to new ways of thinking about automation. And there are misconceptions that persist around cobots.

Jeff Huerta, Senior VP for Sales at Vecna Robotics, speaks on how successful companies are advancing their operations with fully autonomous material handling equipment, and how some facilities are achieving very quick ROI. He also describes the differences between an AMR and an AGV, and addresses the topic of safety. Lastly, he prescribes ways to get started with this equipment, including what upfront costs companies should be prepared for.