Automating Job Shops? You Bet! February 28, 2019 If “automation” is the constant drone you hear from practically everyone in metalworking these days, job shop owners might be the only people yelling “No!” Or at least “Wait!” How, they ask, can you cost-effectively automate low-volume, high-mix parts? Yet it’s not only doable but probably necessary.
READY TO SHARE: MetraLabs Robots Poised to Grease the Skids for Automotive Suppliers in an AI World November 27, 2018 Cofounder Johannes Trabert, who lives a poetic life in the Thuringian Forest, says the future will be focused on ‘the clever share of work’ between humans and robots.
Price Downturn Leads Shale Producers to Greater Efficiency November 15, 2018 After petroleum prices collapsed in the mid-2010s, shale oil and gas producers responded to the down-swing by borrowing techniques and technology from the energy sector’s offshore well operations, manufacturing, and even the medical industry to increase efficiency.
Energy Industry’s Up-and-Down Cycle Continues December 6, 2018 The energy industry is often at the forefront of our minds as we watch fuel prices climb and then celebrate when they come down. We continually find ways to be as energy efficient as possible in our homes and workplaces. Media outlets keep us constantly informed of this often-volatile industry’s ups and downs.
Digitalization Boosts Auto Parts Cell Production By 20% September 5, 2018 Increases in size and quantity of its orders led Wisconsin-based auto parts manufacturer Felss Rotaform LLC (New Berlin, WI) to expand operations through a new dual-robot machine-tending cell. The company is a supplier of precision parts using its rotary swaging, axial forming and tube end-forming processes.
Universal Robots Sells 25,000th Cobot, Launches Next Evolution September 11, 2018 Universal Robots (UR, Odense, Denmark) was one of the pioneers of today’s modern field of collaborative robots (cobots) with the launch of the UR5 robot in 2008, however the company didn’t rest on its laurels at IMTS 2018 in Chicago.
CIMdata Report: Mastercam Retains No. 1 Ranking for CAM Software September 7, 2018 According to CIMdata’s latest report, Mastercam is the No. 1 CAM software used worldwide. CIMdata also ranked Mastercam’s global support network as the largest in the field of CAM.
Industries Still Struggle With Automation, Consulting Company Says October 11, 2018 Various industries are still struggling with automation despite long-standing efforts, consulting McKinsey & Co. said in a report.
CAD/CAM Programs Get Parts On, Off Machine Faster, More Efficiently August 29, 2018 Ask almost any CAD/CAM vendor what they’re focused on and they’ll tell you it’s the same today as it was five years ago, and it’ll be the same in five years: Get the part onto the machine as fast as possible and get it off the machine as fast as possible. Here’s the current state of play in those two main areas.
Collaborative Robots: Hype or Hope? August 29, 2018 Ask the owner of any machine shop or sheet-metal house to name the biggest obstacle to company growth and you’re likely to receive the same answer—it’s not a lack of working capital that’s slowing them down, nor a shortage of advanced technology, but something far more basic: the need for someone to push a green button or pack boxes. “We can’t find enough people,” you’ll hear.