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 »
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 »
Happy 4th of July! If you need us, call. If not, enjoy your holiday!
It doesn’t matter what industry you look at, improving throughput is a common and desirable goal. It’s almost a no-brainer really. Better throughput brings with it lower costs and higher profits. You’d be pressed to find someone who would object to that. And it doesn’t always take drastic measures to accomplish this. Sometimes improving throughput requires… Read more »
Summer brings to mind, sunglasses, ice cream, hot days and heat-caused failures to Indramat servo drives. Heat can lead to different problems with drives, but the most common is failure of the powered fan. Fan failure can be a big deal. If the fan stops working the drive will age at an accelerated rate. Every week that… Read more »
Servo motors are different from your ordinary motor because they are controlled by feedback. The most basic type of motor provides power so that a machine will run: the motor is switched on, it provides the kind and amount of power it was built to provide, and the machine uses that power to do whatever… Read more »
Nike has cut some 106,000 jobs and closed 125 factories, thanks to increased automation in shoe manufacturing. The result: a cut in their workforce of nearly 10%, along with a rise in profits and revenue. The company says they’re looking to work with “fewer, better” manufacturing partners. Sounds like a happy ending, doesn’t it? The… Read more »
