Is your factory making an effort to go paperless? There was a time when it was thought that computers would lead to fully paperless workplaces, but that obviously hasn’t happened. Why might you want to go paperless? Environmental factors are one reason that companies try to reduce paper use at work. Some 40% of the… Read more »
One of the problems with getting the younger generation of workers to embrace factory work is that it has the reputation of being hard, dirty work. We need a way to change the reputation of manufacturing and make it more appealing to younger workers. A reality show or a weekly TV drama series set in… Read more »
Rotation can be the key to keeping things fresh. You rotate players in sports, you rotate records in a playlist, and you rotate produce in a grocery store. Rotation is also how Sercos International, the company behind the Sercos automation bus, stays fresh and innovative in robotics. Rotation in robotics — at least the kind… Read more »
There has been a lot of hype surrounding 3D printing. It’s definitely an exciting technology. There are plenty of amazing things that can be created using 3D printers, and it’s increasingly available across the nation and around the world. Even though it is a growing technology with huge potential, though, 3D printing probably won’t be… Read more »
Robots that can see have been a long time coming and they’re steadily becoming a regular sight in automation and manufacturing operations. With all of the technological advancements that have been made over the years, it was only a matter of time before vision equipped robots were commonplace. In robotics prices have gotten cheaper, hardware… Read more »
Rexroth recently reported that 65% of electronic drive repairs in the UK are done by “gray repair” shops. That is, rather than providing factory repair with original parts, they just fix ’em up in their shop. Rexroth doesn’t sell parts to these shops. Just the words “gray repair shop” conjure unsettling images. It sounds like… Read more »
You always hear the words “new” and “improved” paired together. That’s why people assume that the latest technology is the greatest technology. But there are plenty of new things that aren’t any better than the old. In fact the new stuff can often times be inferior to the old (just look at New Coke). A… Read more »
You might have seen Nike’s short, The Last Game. It’s basically looking at human soccer players that are pitted against soccer playing machines. This is a fun way of looking at soccer, however fanciful and unlikely. But is it that far-fetched? The RoboCup is a real thing; little machines designed to play soccer competing with… Read more »
We want our manufacturing machinery to last forever. The longer it stays in service, the better the ROI. It would be a dream come true if you could purchase a single machine and have it last forever. You wouldn’t worry about when or how you would replace it because you wouldn’t have to. It’s fun… Read more »
2013 was a big year for robotics. According to the International Federation of Robotics more robots were sold in 2013 than in any other year. Not only that, the future looks like it will only get brighter for the industry. When you ask someone to describe a robot, they might tell you that robots are… Read more »
