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
With its intelligent production and research centre in Augsburg, KUKA aims to introduce 5G autonomous private wireless networks, intelligent robots and automation technologies. The campus networking and application platform for Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) will start supporting product development immediately. The most significant advance in industrial networks is 5G, which should be widely available
According to the IFR’s World Robotics 2021 Industrial Robots study, there are more than three million industrial robots in use in factories around the world. By 2020, Spain will have 3,400 new robot installations globally, out of a total of 384,000 units supplied. By 2021, 12,000 industrial robots were deployed in agriculture and the food
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 MX3D robot arm has been designed by Altair engineers, 3D printed and serves as a spare part for an ABB robot. The large-scale optimised part was first presented to the public back in November 2019, just before its installation. After a pause in the project due to the crown crisis, the installation has now
Typically, a gantry-type (also known as Cartesian, linear or transverse) top-mounted three-axis robot is used to demould injection moulded parts. Pick-and-place automation is commonly used to demould injection moulded parts. According to Fanuc Robotics programme manager for the plastics industry, Joseph Portelli, the demand for part orientation capability is increasing. However, today’s moulders are looking
Constance, Germany-based startup Fruitcore Robotics has announced a €23 million Series B funding round for its industrial robotics and automation business. A robust, affordable and easy-to-use industrial robot. With this seemingly simple business concept, German robotics company fruitcore robotics is invigorating the robotics sector. These intelligent and ingenious technical aspects make this exceptional price-performance ratio
US-based Motoman Robotics presents its new collaborative robot (cobot) for the first time. The HC20XP cobot’s extended reach makes it ideal for end-of-line palletising applications. The cobot can reach entire 80-inch pallets thanks to its extended reach and without the aid of a lift or hoist. At the same time it can move heavier boxes
Leading online retailer Amazon has unveiled a new industrial robotic arm capable of handling millions of different objects. It calls it the Sparrow robot, a new intelligent robotic device that speeds up the fulfilment process by moving individual products before they are packed, an important step towards cutting-edge technology and helping our workers. With considerable
