Smart manufacturing for connected production, robotic automation, data-driven processes, IoT, predictive maintenance and flexible industrial systems. Technical articles, application insights and automation guidance from URT.
Software flexibility does not remove the physical constraints of a robot cell Software-defined automation can change how manufacturers configure, program, connect, and adapt industrial robots. However, it does not make the physical production process programmable by default. A plant may gain more flexibility at the software layer while tooling, fixtures, part presentation, robot reach, safety … Read more
Digital Product Passports Could Reduce a Familiar Used-Equipment Risk For buyers of used industrial equipment, digital product passports matter only if they reduce uncertainty about a machine’s history. A digital record can provide useful evidence about configuration, maintenance, and previous changes. It cannot prove current mechanical condition or suitability for a new production process. The … Read more
Moving computation closer to a robotic cell sounds technically attractive, but proximity alone does not make a system more useful. The practical question behind edge computing in robotics is which workloads gain something measurable from running locally instead of depending on a remote server, cloud platform, or higher-level plant system. In a real production environment, … Read more
A robot that has run reliably for years does not necessarily need to be replaced because the plant wants better production data. In many cases, legacy robot connectivity can extend an existing robotic asset into a more connected production environment. The difficult question is not simply whether data can be extracted, but whether the connection … Read more
Choosing the first process to robotize in a manufacturing plant is one of the most consequential automation decisions a company makes — not because the first project is the largest, but because it sets the internal reference point for every project that follows. A first project that delivers clear, measurable results builds the organizational confidence … Read more
Not only the choice of the robot, but also its maintenance throughout its entire lifecycle, is a critical factor in achieving high performance within automated industrial production lines. To maximize the availability and reliability of automated systems, traditional maintenance approaches—whether preventive or reactive—are often not enough. For this reason, more and more industrial sectors are … Read more
In many industrial environments, energy efficiency is often perceived as a trade‑off: lowering consumption usually means reducing performance. However, in modern robotic automation, this is no longer true. Optimizing the energy consumption of industrial robots without sacrificing speed, precision, or productivity is entirely achievable—as long as you address the right factors. The key is not … Read more
Collaborative robotics has positioned itself as an attractive solution for many industries: promises of safety, flexibility, fast deployment, and the ability to work side by side with operators. However, on the shop floor a critical and completely legitimate question arises: How do I know if my process can truly become collaborative without sacrificing safety, production … Read more
Failure detection in production has historically relied on a combination of human inspection, statistical controls, and traditional sensors. However, the increasing complexity of processes, the pressure to reduce scrap, and the need for real-time traceability have highlighted clear limits in these approaches. In this context, a frequently asked question on the shop floor is: How … Read more
In many automation projects, the real bottleneck is not hardware selection or mechanical integration. It is robot programming. Fine adjustments, repeated trials, last-minute changes, and dependencies with PLCs, vision systems, fixtures, and operators often extend commissioning far beyond the original plan. For engineering and production managers, the practical question is not simply how to program … Read more