Recycling is not a new idea, but there is a new recycling machine in town. A French company, Cetia, has developed a machine which can automatically separate shoes’ soles from their uppers, identify the fiber content of fabrics automatically, and automatically sort out zippers, buttons, and other notions and remove them from the recycling stream…. Read more »

15 years ago, Paro the therapeutic robotic seal came on the market, and it began to seem possible that elder care and perhaps even childcare could be automated. Since then, there have been multiple new ideas as well as many expressions of concern about the practical and ethical consequences of giving these tasks over to… Read more »

For Women’s History Month, we offer a few of the most important female inventors in manufacturing! Ada Lovelace The daughter of Lord Byron, Lovelace is credited with developing the first computer program. While her algorithm for calculating Bernoulli numbers was strictly mathematical, she is also recognized as the person who first theorized that a computer… Read more »

Indramat servo motors have a rich history, dating back to 1958 when the company, Indramat GmbH, was founded in Germany. Pioneering the development of industrial servo drives and motion controls, they revolutionized various industries, including: Machine tools: Ensuring precise and smooth movements of cutting tools and robotic arms. Machine presses: Enabling accurate control of stamping,… Read more »

Large language model generative AI tools like ChatGPT work by predicting the statistically most likely next item in a sentence or string. They look like they’re thinking or talking or doing some other human brain type task. They’re not. But they do look that way, so it should be no surprise that researchers want to… Read more »

Manufacturing slowed in January with harsh weather conditions but perked up again in February, according to S&P Global. In fact, manufacturing reached a 17-month peak this month. The manufacturing PMI clocked a 51.5, the best since 2022. Employment in manufacturing rose, as did new orders, but price jumps settled down, limiting concerns about inflation. Production… Read more »

Indramat Error Code F860 is a critical error code for Indramat drives, indicating Overcurrent: Short in Power Stage. This means the transistor current in the power stage has more than doubled the device’s peak current rating, triggering a shutdown to prevent further damage. Causes Several factors can trigger this error: Short circuit in the motor… Read more »

Neuralink, a brain chip startup founded by Elon Musk in 2016, offers a revolutionary technology: brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). These devices aim to create a direct communication channel between the human brain and external systems, bypassing the limitations of our natural senses and muscles. While still in its early stages, Neuralink carries immense potential, sparking both… Read more »

Rosie the robot maid is not available for purchase and most experts don’t expect to see anything like her in the next decade. But a new take on a home service robot is providing some optimism. Stretch, an off-the-shelf robot, paired with open source AI, can now respond to commands like “Pick up the brown… Read more »

The imminent end of the human workforce is a recurring news headline. Any advancement in automation, robotics, or artificial intelligence is usually followed with predictions of low-skill workers ultimately being forced into unemployment. Nobody knows what the future holds, but there’s certainly good reason why people are concerned about automation’s effect on employment. There are… Read more »