Adam Hansel, chief systems and sales officer, DMG Mori (Hoffman Estates, IL) sums it up perfectly: “Go into any shop. Ask them if they want to automate. The answer is yes. 100%.”
While EDMs offer the benefits of holding tight tolerances, working on nearly any metal, and being well suited for delicate or fragile parts, knowledgeable operators for the machines are increasingly hard to find and robots can’t always fill the gap. Automated processes in the machines, newer designs and features of Industry 4.0 are helping to solve the problem.
2017 will be an historic time for TDM Systems. We have released our next generation of products that includes two product areas of our software portfolio—standard server/client TDM with TDM 2017 and a new flagship cloud-based software, Global Line.
Today’s products require high finishes, burr-free edges, freedom from contamination, and often close tolerances. Electropolishing provides all of those conditions and more in a matter of seconds for many metal parts. It is a process that has been used for more than a hundred years. It is widely known and the science is widely discussed, but its ability to run job shop lots and high-precision high-volume parts in the same equipment makes it a bit unique.
Claudia Jarrett, U.S. country manager at automation parts supplier EU Automation, explains why robots are more than affordable for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).
ATI Industrial Automation’s QC-7 Robotic Tool Changer is a solution for automatic end-effector exchange.
CNC Software Inc., developers of Mastercam CAD/CAM software, and FANUC America, a supplier of factory automation solutions, have introduced a new post processor designed to optimize five-axis capabilities in FANUC CNCs.
As cobots work their way into machine shops, users are finding many new jobs for them.
The robotics and machine automation supplier says its new cobots can handle payloads of up to 12 kg.
There could be a better way for manufacturing. One that teams additive manufacturing (AM) with green materials, while promising to erect structures much faster and cheaper.
