Robotic powder coating improves efficiency at Electrolux
12 March, 2010Every second of every day in any year around the world, Electrolux sells two of its products. This requires state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, such as the fully automated and flexible powder-coating facility for oven and grill cavities recently installed at Electrolux’s manufacturing plant in Dudley Park, South Australia.
Robotic automation enabling SMEs to compete on global market
05 March, 2010Industrial robots, once the preserve of large-scale manufacturers, are increasingly being seen in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Sticky fingers? Tiny robots to grip nanotubes
25 February, 2010How do you handle the tiny components needed for constructing nanoscale devices? A European consortium has built two demonstrators that include microrobots equipped with microgrippers to automatically pick up and install carbon nanotubes thousands of times thinner than a human hair. They have even tackled that ever-present bane of nanotechnology - sticky fingers.
National Instruments LabVIEW Robotics 2009
15 February, 2010LabVIEW Robotics 2009 is designed to provide a standard development platform for designing robotic and autonomous control systems. NI LabVIEW Robotics 2009 provides an extensive robotics library with connectivity to standard robotic sensors and actuators, foundational algorithms for intelligent operations and perception and motion functions for robots and autonomous vehicles.
ABB IRB 2600 robot range
07 February, 2010 byABB has introduced the IRB 2600, which features an optimised, design that offers a high payload capacity of up to 20 kg and an ultra-wide working range. The robot is designed to be suitable for machine tending, materials handling and arc welding; as well as other process applications.
Kawasaki RS10L, RS20N, RS50N and RS80N robots
13 November, 2009 byA range of Kawasaki six-axis articulated arm robots has been announced by JMP Engineering. The R-series offers advanced performance and functionality, and are designed to replace the existing F-series robots.
Gantry-mounted robot
10 November, 2009 byABB has launched its first robot combining the advantages of an articulated robot and a linear gantry for improved flexibility and cycle times.
Compact robot
26 October, 2009 byABB has launched its smallest ever multipurpose industrial robot, the compact and lightweight six-axis IRB 120. Available with a new compact version of the IRC5 controller, the robot weighs just 25 kg and can handle a payload of 3 kg (or 4 kg with a vertical wrist) with a reach of 580 mm.
Robot range
31 August, 2009 byThe Kuka KR5 sixx CR cleanroom robot features a 5 kg payload and is available in two versions: the KR5 sixx R650 CR with 650 mm reach and the KR5 sixx R850 CR with 850 mm reach. Both are compact, high-speed robots that meet ISO Class 3 requirements and are double foil packed under cleanroom conditions.
Robot
31 August, 2009 byCama’s latest robot, the Triaflex, is a custom-made robot that can reach speeds of up to 150 cycles/min, with the capability to function on a single or double line tracking system and carry out tasks which are particularly complicated technically, such as managing and loading products on continuous motion machines.
Robot solves skills shortage for coatings specialist
27 August, 2009Finding specialised qualified staff and the need for greater efficiency in an increasingly competitive marketplace motivated Peter Harrison, the General Manager of Melbourne-based Hilustre Coatings Pty Ltd, to investigate the possibility of using a robot at the company’s spray painting facility.
Smarter robotic palletising
14 July, 2009More and more, customers are wanting to automate the palletising function within their production facilities but are often unable to provide space for such a system. And in today’s current economic conditions, customers are becoming even more focused on the return on investment of their capital equipment purchases.
Smarter robotic palletising
25 June, 2009More and more, customers are wanting to automate the palletising function within their production facilities but are often unable to provide space for such a system. And in today’s current economic conditions, customers are becoming even more focused on the return on investment of their capital equipment purchases. The result is that customers now seek quality equipment with excellent performance specifications and a predictable commissioning timeline, all at a reasonable price.
SPC Ardmona cans in safe hands
25 June, 2009When Australian company SPC Ardmona switched its palletising system, it found other advantages than just packing more pallets. The new system also opened up opportunities for new business.
With a human touch — how robots have learned to polish
14 April, 2009 by Xianjie Bao, Wen Peng, Xingguo Yin, Xinyu Fang, Hui Zhang*An apparently simple operation to polish a work piece is in fact highly complex. A skilled person with a long experience in this process can do it very well and most of the handling is based on ‘feeling’.
