With rising international wages and increasing transportation costs forcing companies to reconsider the merits of maintaining production facilities overseas, the groundwork has been laid for the offshoring of US manufacturing. An important component of the equation is the newer generation of robots, and the environment in which this shift will occur reflects new economic realities.
With a manufacturing output of £183 billion, the UK ranks ninth in the world, but due to its slow adoption of industrial automation, its position at the top is in jeopardy. Even countries such as Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Hungary are catching up with the UK in the use of robots. The UK automation community
Through the Renewable Energy Sources Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive, the European Union has set as its main objective to maximise the energy efficiency of its Member States. By 2030, it aims to reduce primary energy use by 39% and final energy use by 36%. Energy efficiency is increasingly crucial as industry becomes more
The company said the SWIFTI CRB 1300 robot arm bridges the gap between industrial robotics and collaborative robotics, and ABB unveiled it. The SWIFTI CRB 1300 can be used for a range of manufacturing and product handling applications, including pick-and-place, bolting and palletising, with a payload capacity of up to 11 kg (24.3 lb). ABB’s
Skyline Robotics (a company that, with the help of robotics, software engineering and mechatronics, brings together a group of creative programmers who have a shared vision of a day when robots help people with everyday tasks and employment) created “Ozmo”, a technology that combines an industrial robot, a computer vision system, artificial intelligence (AI) and
In Kangqiao, Shanghai, China, ABB formally opened its state-of-the-art, fully automated and adaptive robotics plant. The 67,000 sqm manufacturing and research facility, in which ABB invested $150 million (RMB 1.1 billion), will use its digital and automation technologies to produce next-generation robots, reinforcing its position as a leader in robotics and automation in China. Sami
Without the need for new hardware, Yaskawa offers a technical solution for recovering the robot’s braking energy into the mains power supply. The latest YRC1000 robot controllers and all larger Motoman robot series are capable of directly converting the kinetic energy of downward and lateral movements into 400 V AC at 50 Hz. These Motoman
The PL800 is a versatile and powerful 4-axis robot that offers high performance in palletising applications and many other logistics applications for automation and end-of-line packaging options. The North and South American markets for the Yaskawa Motoman PL800 palletising robot are now open. The robot has been created for “palletising applications, layer picking and other
The smallest industrial robot ever made by ABB has been unveiled, opening up new opportunities for the creation of faster, more adaptable and higher quality smart wearable devices. Thanks to its small size, extraordinary payload and unmatched precision, the new IRB 1010 offers electronics manufacturers the ability to automate the manufacture of products such as
Two automated cells from KUKA Robotics were brought to The Vision Show, where they showcased automated mobility with one being used for automated mobility and the other for container collection. The public was able to see a transportable robotic solution created in collaboration with the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers. They will also be able to
