By developing a robot barber that cuts your hair, inventor Shane Wighton, of YouTube channel Stuff Made Here, has already achieved internet fame. He did nothing more than wait for the robot to do the job, praying that it wouldn’t “form” its face in the process, with its head sticking out of a hole in
Between 2021 and 2026, the automated material handling equipment market is forecast to grow at a steady 12.0% CAGR. Manufacturers are using cheaper, more adaptable and agile robots to meet demanding requirements and remain competitive in the face of the global pandemic and beyond. This is especially true for applications involving material handling, such as
Metallic and non-metallic materials are being moulded by robots more frequently, with the latter being processed according to hardness, geometric complexity, physical tolerance and desired surface polish. Industrial robots now have better mechanical capabilities and can produce goods at higher speeds thanks to recent technological advances. Worldwide, the use of robotics in production is steadily
The vast majority of jobs still require manual programming, although new offline robot programming tools are evolving and becoming more widely used. The industry standard for CNC machine programming is to employ robust, easy-to-use offline software. As a result, overall manufacturing costs have been reduced, accuracy has improved, machine downtime has been reduced, more complex
Numerous statistics suggest that the majority of companies in a variety of sectors intend to increase their use of automation and robots. Seventy per cent of US companies are planning changes to their operations, with 37% planning to bring production back in-house and 33% looking to offshore and move their operations closer to home. ABB’s
Since 1817, the Parthenon marbles, which date from 447-432 BC, have been in the British Museum. While serving as an envoy to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin bought the marbles, which some say were looted. Greek advocacy groups have urged Britain to return the artworks, claiming that the Turks were violating the wishes of the
An industrial pick-and-place robot is used to handle and place products on a production line. They are typically used in high-volume manufacturing environments where they can quickly and accurately load products onto conveyor belts or other production tools. This may involve actions such as removing products from one machine and placing them on the conveyor
One of the UK’s leading bespoke furniture manufacturers is upgrading its end-to-end manufacturing capabilities with the help of a KUKA robot. The Jali factory in Kent has installed the 7-axis, 100kg payload KR100 model in an automated production cell. It has a flexible end effector that can hold the wide variety of tools required for
The sealants are applied at Ford via a KUKA LBR iiwa cobot. Without the requirement for safety fences, it works alongside human workers and provides relief during the work process. Workers at Ford’s Cologne plant benefit from the adaptability, sensitivity and learning ability of the lightweight KUKA LBR iiwa robot. According to Michael Koch, production
A solid-state joining technique called friction stir welding creates full contact joints with exceptional integrity. There is no need for external filler materials, flux or shielding gases for friction stir welding. All in-process control and quality control is automated, the process is fully repeatable and machine controlled. How does it work? When two workpieces rotate
