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Latest News

China's Rare Earth Monopoly is Diminishing

Jun 11, 2019
China's Rare Earth Monopoly is Diminishing
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Rare earth elements, which are important in the development of microchips, electronics, and electric motors, have become extremely sought after, and for decades, these elements were almost exclusively sourced in China. Nevertheless, several nations have, in recent years, either initiated production or increased their current production, resulting in a considerably more diverse rare earths market. 
 
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that China was still in control of even more than two thirds of global production; however, it has also become clear that many countries are skeptical of depending on China's supply of rare earths, suggesting that other producers of the elements may have a market advantage. 
 
While China has the largest known deposits of the elements, Brazil, Vietnam, and Russia are believed to have plenty of untapped potential. The U.S., which produced rare earths previously for use in the military, has recently reentered the market as rare earths continue steadily to become more lucrative and crucial in the implantation of technology.

 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

Balluff BVS Industrial Cameras and SmartVision Controller

Jun 11, 2019
Balluff BVS Industrial Cameras and SmartVision Controller
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These machine vision processes provide flexibility and ease of operation, while extending a manufacturer's vision capabilities in terms of resolution, speed, interfaces, and flexibility. These solutions give powerful visual quality control, identification, error proofing, traceability, and image processing.
 
Among their many uses, Balluff machine vision is ideal for:
 
Optical-based traceability
Verifying automated processes
Vision-guided robotics
Our image processing products can be set up without the need for prior knowledge of these systems. The industrial cameras are ready in color and monochrome and four different image resolutions, allowing for great flexibility in installation.
 
Camera Features:
Available in GigE and USB3
GigE industrialized M12 connector is more robust than common RJ45 connectors
Controller Features:
Standardized industrial network interfaces, such as Ethernet IP, Profinet, TCP/UDP
Flexible for applications with single or multiple cameras
Fast data processing based on the user-friendly BVS Cockpit interface



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

DENSO Invests $1.95M to Open Technical Training Center in Battle Creek

Jun 11, 2019
DENSO Invests $1.95M to Open Technical Training Center in Battle Creek
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DENSO, the world's second largest mobility supplier, has invested $1.95 million to open the North Technical Training Center at its Battle Creek, Michigan, facility. The center is developed to be at the front of automated and data-rich manufacturing, also recognized as Industry 4.0, and will act as a training hub for DENSO technical talent. It's an urgent resource for the company as automotive and manufacturing technology speedily develops and is created with DENSO's Long-Term Policy 2030 in mind, which aims to create new value for advanced mobility.
 
As the auto industry steps toward electrification and automated driving, DENSO is devoted to providing advanced, tech-forward training grounds for its employees. DENSO's Battle Creek training center is the third of its kind for the company, with others in Tennessee and Mexico. It will serve employees in technical fields, such as skilled trades, machine technicians and engineering. Employees identified for training will get a customized plan to create new technical skills, gain new understanding of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and improve production efficiency - all of which are key factors in boosting functional productivity and profitability.
 
'It's a vital time in the auto industry and we cannot transform manufacturing and engineering without our people. That is why DENSO is concentrated on introducing our employees to new technologies, delivering cross training for collaboration and developing skills that breed innovation,' said Kenichiro Ito, senior executive officer for DENSO Corporation and chief executive officer of DENSO's North American Headquarters. 'The gifted workers who learn at the Technical Training Center will come out with new ways and creative ideas to change the world through manufacturing.'
 
Kevin Carson, president of DENSO's thermal manufacturing facility in Battle Creek, said, 'When most of our work force was in school, there was no such thing as IoT, automation or Industry 4.0. The automotive industry is greatly changing and that means our machines and the technology that powers them must change.
 
'We are committed to supporting our employees and ensuring they have the resources necessary to stay nimble, learn new skills and flourish in their careers.'



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

Lufthansa Technik Group Embarks on Digital Transformation Journey

Jun 11, 2019
Lufthansa Technik Group Embarks on Digital Transformation Journey
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PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) today announced that Lufthansa Technik Group has picked the Windchill® Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and the ThingWorx® Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platforms as the main technology to digitally transform its product development and engineering processes.
 
Windchill will serve as the engineering backbone, enabling R&D and manufacturing to work concurrently and improve collaboration both internally and among its many suppliers. Windchill's secure data repository will also help assure that Lufthansa Technik's intellectual property is protected across its global supply chain. ThingWorx will enable Lufthansa Technik to monitor its workshops, advance automation, and increase data-driven decision making. Together, Windchill and ThingWorx will let the Group to considerably increase the level of digitalization within its activities, improve interfaces between customers and suppliers, and make new innovative digital business models to generate new revenue streams.
 
'Lufthansa Technik stands for state-of-the-art workmanship and the very best quality. The magnitude of our organization together with the difficulty of the procedures and projects we drive, made the dedicated step to across-the-board digital transformation imperative,' said Dr. Severin S. Todt, senior director IT completion and design solutions, Lufthansa Technik AG. 'Lufthansa Technik carried out a complete and extensive assessment of competitive PLM and IoT systems before selecting PTC. The Group chose PTC technology dependent on its world-class architecture and the seamless integration between Windchill and ThingWorx. Mixed, the robust data management backbone and award-winning IIoT platform will enable a new level of collaboration both internally and externally, protect our IP, and help us measure and keep the greatest possible quality at all times. The PTC Customer Success program delivered great support during our first IoT projects and supplied us with technical expertise as required from highly experienced technical experts. With guidance from PTC's Customer Success organization, we were able to perfectly reach our project goals on time.'
 
'Enabling digital transformation for the Aerospace and Defense market is a big focus for PTC. We're excited to be working with Lufthansa Technik as they enter on their transformation journey,' said Kevin Wrenn, divisional general manager, PLM segment, PTC. 'This world-class organization's selection of Windchill and ThingWorx is indicative of large enterprises favoring scalable, out-of-the-box solutions that associate well with other enterprise domain systems in an open, modern architecture.'



This article is originally posted on 
manufacturingtomorrow.com

Three Things OEMs Need to Know as They Make the Switch

Jun 10, 2019
Three Things OEMs Need to Know as They Make the Switch
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Servitization — where companies shift from firmly new product sales to rather selling the outcome a product delivers — and change go hand-in-hand. And, we all know that without regard for the circumstances, change can be unnerving. The manufacturing industry particularly has remained relatively unchanged for decades, but this new era is demanding original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to entirely upend the status quo. 
 
For several years, the onus has been on end-users to absorb the brunt and costs of regular maintenance and repairs. Resulting from the boom in servitization however, it is now the OEMs that have to take over the responsibility of making sure that equipment is up-and-running as much as possible — bringing about an increased focus on optimizing product uptime and pre-emptively repairing equipment before it ever fails.
 
This has evident upsides, as the OEM is in the best position to safeguard the products are designed and manufactured in the best way to optimize uptime. Unfortunately, this shift also means that OEMs are no longer making money on selling highly expensive spare parts — but rather that the equipment works and deliver its output. This means the whole business logic and incentive structure changes dramatically and will require OEMs to redefine the way they operate.
 
Here are three key things OEMs need to do as they shift to a servitization-centered business model:
 
Invest in workforce training.
Most of the companies have an inclination to gives importance to quick onboarding versus comprehensive workforce training. But, the companies that trade in hurried, one-off onboarding and focus on continuous training and development will have a competitive edge. People are a company’s best asset. Therefore, taking the time to provide good training simply makes sense to help them feel comfortable, thrive and achieve the results that a company is aiming to through this new business model.
 
Bring in far-reaching service technology.
Numerous after-sales service businesses still manage their service parts supply chain efforts through time and labor-intensive processes. In the shift to servitization, however, OEMs needs to take a lot more comprehensive look at their operations and invest in the proper technology that can help them manage the real-time service needs that arise in a servitization-centered world.
 
Always question.
Why are we doing things this way? Are the processes we have in place delivering the results we need? Are they helping us to be in the best position to tackle the problems of tomorrow? These are thoughts that leaders at global OEMs need to be questioning themselves every day. Mainly because a specific method has worked for years, doesn’t automatically mean it’s the right way today – or mainly for the future. It is relevant to always keep thinking critically about what can be done to improve and to empower other team members to question and deliver new, more effective solutions.
 
Servitization brings with it a variety of exciting opportunities, but that does not necessarily mean the transition is easy. Inspite of any apprehension to change, OEMs can begin taking small steps today to lay the foundation for a successful servitization-centric approach, and more importantly, situate their businesses for the next iteration of the manufacturing industry.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

Industry 4.0 Data Challenges for Manufacturers

Jun 10, 2019
Industry 4.0 Data Challenges for Manufacturers
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Industry 4.0 brings relatively numerous opportunities, including seemingly unrestricted choices, for technology investments. Here are just some of the many challenges companies face when looking to deal with Industry 4.0:
 
-Adopting new technology
-Reorganizing processes to leverage better outcomes
-Considering new business models/strategies
-Helping others in the company understand where action is needed
-Connecting departments
-Recruiting, developing, and maintaining new talent
 
What should manufacturers be keeping in mind when answering these challenges?
 
Rethink Your Business
 
According to McKinsey, “Industry 4.0 disrupts the value chain and requires companies to rethink the way they do business. They need to drive the digital transformation of their business to succeed in the new environment.”
 
McKinsey cites five pillars that will be fundamental for this transformation:
 
-Companies need to manage and treat data as one of its most valuable business assets.
-Companies need to build digital capabilities.
-Companies need to initiate and enable collaboration.
-Companies need to manage cybersecurity.
 
The focus on data and data quality may be the most important one.
 
“Anyone designing systems should not underestimate the complexity of getting the quality right, and the need to not just have good data, but to provide that data with its full provenance (where did it come from) and security (who can see it or use it),” says MarkLogic Chief Strategy Officer Matt Turner. “The data quality aspect of the job is likely the largest effort and is often overlooked.”
 
Turner also reports a different consideration is to make the data reusable. Leading enterprises like AIRBUS and Autoliv pioneered the idea of a data hub as a place to integrate data, maintain that provenance and deliver it with security to multiple downstream systems. 
 
“Taking this approach to handling data means that any investment in restoring bad data can be used for numerous, extra purposes. As an illustration, instead of just addressing data quality for one digital twin system, a data hub can enable that verified data to be shared with other processes,” says Turner. “This reusability is key to using data to improve products, increase efficiency and better operate in increasingly complex environments. By building in good data management from the start, organizations can use their data to deliver long term value.”
 
Based on McKinsey, “to leverage these multiple opportunities, companies need to embark on a digital transformation journey: a continuous, long-term effort is needed to successfully navigate the changing industrial environment of Industry 4.0.” If companies can bring these several different activities partnered with a focus on the data, they will be in position to take advantage of the many opportunities of Industry 4.0.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

Advance Your Project With Advance Work Packaging

Jun 10, 2019
Advance Your Project With Advance Work Packaging
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Advance Work Packaging (AWP) is built on the premise that aligning engineering and procurement packages results in more powerful productivity.
 
The AWP process is an industry response to a decline in resources and in overall cost and capital of projects.
 
By setting up these packages to deliver work, industrial projects can be delivered at better quality, even faster, and with less cost. Here are fine points on advantages, key solutions to challenges, and insights for today’s leaders.
 
Advantages
 
The good points of AWP are the alignment of engineering work packages with construction work packages. Combining the various sectors results in collaboration in delivery and creates a mutual respect between design and construction through the course of a project, culminating in its completion.
 
As AWP matures, so too will process align and integrate with present and future technologies. Projects are not going to focus exclusively on process design, but also building design. As project teams begin to grasp the relationship between preparation and productivity, project teams will be better able to expedite the process.
 
Challenges + Solutions
 
The key challenges facing industry today deal with the current contracting strategies. In a perfect world, project team professionals wish to openly share information, yet industry contracts don't always support this sort of collaboration. 
 
The current context for contracts is the design-bid-build scenario, which is certainly not typical in the AWP realm. With AWP, there is more of a design-build or CM at-risk delivery method that takes a top-down approach to detect how risk is dealt with. In today's context, there is more fiscal risk connected to who controls the project. AWP creates a shared risk/reward scenario in a jv between all parties irregardless of whether the project calls for an IPD or IFOA contract.
 
AWP changes this dynamic. With AWP and the right contracts in place, decisions that need to be made can be streamlined to release work, in so doing restricting waste. In doing this, AWP aligns with LEAN project delivery methodology.
 
To appropriately employ the AWP approach, project team members need certainly to understand how the work is presently being done and how it needs to be done. This approach, which allows teams to assist one group without disenfranchising another, means all players must be involved to make certain that the success of the project.
 
AWP focuses on collaboration and joint ownership between all parties. It shifts reward and risk to all parties, which opens the realm of collaboration.
 
Collaboration is vitally crucial. On a recent project, project team members formed a packaging scheme and how they would deliver the work. The packaging scheme and work delivery split up the work in a fashion that made it easier to contact to subs helping construction, though it put more burden on the design entities as it increased extra coordination and took decisions out of sequence.
 
Sometimes such a plan can look sound in theory but does not consider the intricate details of how a team puts together the complete design project, certainly one that supports a process design. Process decisions weigh very heavily on openings and additional supports, and when those decisions are not looked at in the beginning, teams are left to respond with bulletins, change orders, and other issues that impact schedules and costs.
 
The main intent in this case was to give a plan that addressed all design requirements. Depending on how a team breaks up work influences procurement, bidding, etc. If a team is thinking about one package separated out, the team sets the expectation of when design work needs to be finished.
 
Insights + Strategies
 
Picking out the right people is answer to the success of a project. If leaders are just selecting on price, stakeholders will certainly not have the right people involved to work in this collaborative environment. It’s about qualifying, evaluating, and selecting people who believe in the AWP process.
 
Using technology that integrates is another especially key element. Teams can plan the packages but much of the coordination relies on different software for different disciplines. This challenge can be tackle but requires upfront planning on how data will be exchanged as packages are created. It is crucial to determine boundaries and expectations depending on what needs to be done with data.
 
Qualifying requirements must be outlined on what technology is needed to deliver work. While being price conscious and having the right engineering qualifications is vital; success necessitates selecting the suitable tools and the right people to use those tools.
 
The AWP process uses a variety of tools such as procurement tools, bidding tools, documentation tools, and collaboration tools. There is many redundancy across sectors but teams who are doing it well are streamlining the process. Apps are responding to that need as well.
 
One example is the RFI submittal process. Earlier submittals were a transactional, correspondence-heavy communication process that registered everything. The transactions created a paper documentation log. Now, industry leaders see a move in this behavior as team members are using apps and mobile activity to expedite decision making. This method maintains project momentum.
 
Another example are as-built drawings. Today leaders request as-built drawings, which can take anywhere from two days to three weeks to receive. Then a team needs to validate those drawings. During that time period, team members have to have already established working to complete design development to meet the deliverable. Project teams don’t have time and resources to do it twice if there are errors. To expedite design development prior to receiving the drawings, teams can implement laser scanning for a preliminary layout. When the drawings arrive, the project team validates the layout against the reality capture data which tends to almost always be more precise and up to date. While the wait may be frustrating, stakeholders want to take into account that they may spend a bit more to have a more accurate design and stay on schedule.
 
Project team leaders are incorporating visual tools such as KanBan Boards or Commitment-based online software to display deadlines and weekly workloads and look aheads. As applications emerge, savvy teams test and analyze them to find the best solution. The tools should give flexibility in a transparent environment so all contributors know what is expected and if they are meeting project commitments.
 
It's critical to set expectations with project stakeholders so as that information can be used in the next part of the work lifecycle. This approach links back to contract alignment and contract language, which are a key to integrating the many sectors in a collaborative process that results in success of the project—advancing your project with advance work packaging.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

4 Ways Manufacturers Can Flip the Script on the IT Outsourcing Conversation

Jun 10, 2019
4 Ways Manufacturers Can Flip the Script on the IT Outsourcing Conversation
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One of the primary misconceptions in manufacturing is that outsourced IT only solves back-office struggles. With greater regularity, it is seen as an approach to establish workflows for preventable concerns, whether they're routine updates or break-fix employee tickets.
 
Fortunately, increasing awareness of cloud technologies is alternating the way industries across the board are participating with outsourced IT experts. Now, in the place of operate on a reactive cycle, companies should seek tailored cloud solutions that enrich performance officewide.
 
Why It Seems IT Outsourcing Is Dwindling
 
A recently available Computer Economics report showed the cost of this misconception. Between 2017 and 2018, spending on outsourced IT gone down from 11.9 percent to 9.4 percent. Along with relegating outsourced teams to maintenance roles, companies are recruiting more in-house IT teams, making outsourced support seem not so much critical.
 
At the same time, experts foresee that using on cloud infrastructures will account for close to $1 trillion of overall IT spending by the year 2020. Together, increased cloud usage and higher spending on in-house tech teams has produced a sense that outsourced IT just can't offer the equivalent level of assistance across departments. This simply isn't true.
 
For example, outsourced IT experts can focus on larger-scale security initiatives that prioritize the entire health of your network, as well as identify pain points. After a macro-assessment, these experts can take measures to harden the network, such as working with HR to set access levels based on employee status and tenure.
 
Switching focus from security to production, outsourced IT can employ platforms that streamline product development and shipping while increasing overall efficiency. A recent report found that when utilized throughout the supply chain, streamlined IT solutions can improve productivity by around 30 percent and save up to 25 percent in expenses. This layered IT strategy is very important for building and maintaining vertically integrated, organizationwide benefits.
 
Building an Adaptable Hybrid IT Team
 
The adaptability of outsourced IT specialists is just one reason they’re key players on your team. They have skills and familiarity with other platforms and the abilities to recognize which best serve employees in particular departments. They can recognize opportunities for optimization and security pain points for each facet of your business.
 
If you happen to be looking to implement an IT strategy that optimizes both in-house and outsourced experts, think about the following strategies:
 
1. Divide efficiency needs by department.
 
Take time to estimate the efficiency and needs of your organization department by department and bring on outside help if you feel like you need it. You should have a common understanding of your employees’ experience with the technology they currently use. This is specifically important if you have mobile or remote employees, whose concerns can’t always be immediately remedied in the office.
 
2. Take a long-term view of your tech partnership.
 
The technological partners you seek will need to have the breadth and width of experience that creates long-term success, besides quick efficiency. This necessitates a thorough knowledge of security threats, solutions, regulatory and legal compliance, and specific needs within the manufacturing industry.
 
3. Allow room for a thorough system review.
 
Executing an in depth review of your systems can help you develop an ideal plan to increase both daily workflows and the overarching network posture. This plan should be the foundation as your company implements updates and should consist of clear timelines and departmental benefits for each upgrade.
 
4. Let employees learn and buy into new systems.
 
If you require employees to take in a new way of doing things, be sure to support them. Provide additional training and acknowledge the learning curve. If they view outsourced IT as both a source of education and a partnership in which they can be actively involved, they’ll be better able to recognize how a hybrid IT system can serve their unique needs.
 
About 78 percent of companies that choose to outsource vital IT processes are more than contented with the benefits they see. In the place of phase out cloud technologies, companies should utilize more of them and grow in-house responsibilities to successfully integrate outsourced IT into comprehensive hybrid teams. The benefits will allow your manufacturing operation to run more smoothly and powerfully across departments.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

To Fly Solo, Racing Drones Have a Need for AI Speed Training

Jun 10, 2019
To Fly Solo, Racing Drones Have a Need for AI Speed Training
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Drone racing’s ultimate vision of quadcopters weaving nimbly through hurdle courses has attracted far less excitement and investment than self-driving cars directed at reshaping ground transportation. But the U.S. military and defense industry are betting on autonomous drone racing as the next frontier for developing AI so that it can handle high-speed navigation within tight spaces without human involvement.
 
The autonomous drone challenge needs split-second move-making with six degrees of freedom instead of a car’s mere two degrees of road freedom. One research team developing the AI necessary for controlling autonomous racing drones is the Robotics and Perception Group at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. In late May, the Swiss researchers were among nine teams revealed to be contending in the two-year AlphaPilot open innovation challenge sponsored by U.S. aerospace company Lockheed Martin. The winning team will walk away with up to $2.25 million for defeating other autonomous racing drones and a professional human drone pilot in head-to-head events.
 
“I think it is crucial to first point out that with an autonomous drone to finish a racing track at high speeds or even beating a human pilot does not imply that we can have autonomous drones [capable of] navigating in real-world, complex, unstructured, unknown environments such as disaster zones, collapsed buildings, caves, tunnels or narrow pipes, forests, military scenarios, and so on,” says Davide Scaramuzza, a professor of robotics and perception at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. “However, the robust and computationally efficient state evaluation algorithms, control, and planning algorithms formulated for autonomous drone racing would represent a starting point.”
 
The nine teams that made the cut—from a pool of 424 AlphaPilot applicants—will compete in four 2019 racing events organized under the Drone Racing League’s Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing Circuit, says Keith Lynn, program manager for AlphaPilot at Lockheed Martin. To guarantee an apples-to-apples comparison of each team’s AI secret sauce, each AlphaPilot team will upload its AI code into similar, specially-built drones that have the NVIDIA Xavier GPU at the core of the onboard computing hardware.
 
“Lockheed Martin is providing mentorship to the nine AlphaPilot teams to assist their AI tech development and innovations,” says Lynn. The company “will be hosting a week-long Developers Summit at MIT in July, devoted to workshopping and improving AlphaPilot teams’ code,” he added. He notes that each team will keep the intellectual property rights to its AI code.
 
The AlphaPilot challenge takes determination from older autonomous drone racing events hosted by academic researchers, Scaramuzza says. He credits Hyungpil Moon, a professor of robotics and mechanical engineering at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, for having organized the annual autonomous drone racing competition at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems since 2016.
 
It’s no easy task to build and train AI that can perform high-speed flight through intricate environments by relying on visual navigation. One big problem comes from how drones can accelerate sharply, take sharp turns, fly sideways, do zig-zag patterns and even perform back flips. That means camera images can suddenly appear tilted or even upside down during drone flight. Motion blur may occur when a drone flies very close to structures at high speeds and camera pixels collect light from multiple directions. Both cameras and visual software can also challenge to compensate for sudden changes between light and dark parts of an environment.
 
To lend AI a helping hand, Scaramuzza’s group recently exhibited a drone racing dataset that contains sensible training data taken from a drone flown by a professional pilot in both indoor and outdoor spaces. The data, which consists of complicated aerial maneuvers such as back flips, flight sequences that cover hundreds of meters, and flight speeds of up to 83 kilometers per hour, was offered at the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
 
The drone racing dataset also features data grabbed by the group’s special bioinspired event cameras that can identify changes in motion on a per-pixel basis within microseconds. By comparison, common cameras need milliseconds (each millisecond being 1,000 microseconds) to compare motion changes in each image frame. The event cameras have already proven capable of helping drones nimbly dodge soccer balls thrown at them by the Swiss lab’s researchers.
 
The Swiss group’s work on the racing drone dataset obtained funding in part from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which acts as the U.S. military’s special R&D arm for more innovative projects. Exclusively, the funding came from DARPA’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy program that envisions smaller autonomous drones capable of flying at high speeds through cluttered environments without GPS guidance or communication with human pilots.
 
Such speedy drones could serve as military scouts checking out dangerous buildings or alleys. They could also someday help search-and-rescue teams find people trapped in semi-collapsed buildings or lost in the woods. Being able to fly at high speed without crashing into things also makes a drone more excellent at all kinds of tasks by making the most of restricted battery life, Scaramuzza says. After all, most drone battery life gets used up by the need to hover in flight and doesn’t get emptied much by flying faster.
 
Even if AI manages to conquer the drone racing obstacle courses, that would be the end of the beginning of the technology’s development. What would still be involved? Scaramuzza specifically singled out the need to handle low-visibility conditions involving smoke, dust, fog, rain, snow, fire, hail, as some of the biggest challenges for vision-based algorithms and AI in complicated real-life environments.
 
“I think we should develop and release datasets containing smoke, dust, fog, rain, fire, etc. if we require to allow using autonomous robots to complement human rescuers in saving people lives after an earthquake or natural disaster in the future,” Scaramuzza says.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

binder USA Introduces New Snap-in IP67 Twin Distributor

Jun 10, 2019
binder USA Introduces New Snap-in IP67 Twin Distributor
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Camarillo, CA - June 5, 2019 - Binder USA, LP has integrated to its 720 Series of tiny round connectors with a new snap-in IP67 twin distributor. The new twin distributor - a single male connector into two female connectors - provides a welcome new option for designers and installers who want a miniature circular connector for today's machine building and automation applications. The new twin distributor features 3 and 5 gold-plated contacts rated up to 7A at 250V (5A at 125 V). The twin vendor is also a streamlined robust splitter, the ideal solution for splitting off a connection with two covered paths.
 
The IP67 protection rating makes the binder Twin Distributor ideal for use in applications where a simple waterproof connection is recommended. Medical grade versions are also available.
Product highlights consist of:
binder Series: 720
Twin distributor: male connector into two female connectors
Wiring: 1:1
Contacts: 3 and 5
Degree of protection: IP67
Rated voltage: 250 V - 125 V
Rated current: 7 A - 5A (per conductor)
Contact plating: Au (gold)
Colors: Black (standard), red, blue, or green



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

Omron to Release New E2E NEXT Proximity Sensors

Jun 10, 2019
Omron to Release New E2E NEXT Proximity Sensors
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Hoffman Estates, IL., June 7, 2019 - Industrial automation solutions provider Omron Automation Americas has included more than 2,500 new models to its E2E NEXT line of proximity sensors. Highlights of the new models come with an increased sensing distance that minimizes place contact during output and IoT capabilities for improved predictive maintenance.
 
Contact avoidance is crucial for maximizing uptime. Seventy percent of unexpected equipment downtime is triggered by component failures, of which proximity sensors account for a large proportion. E2E sensors are designed to help manufacturers reduce possibilities causes of unexpected downtime while benefiting from the sensors' environmental resistance.
 
The improvement of IO-Link functionality allows the sensors to decrease recovery time by indicating the location and cause of deficiencies. They can also notice warning signs of impending failures and notify users via the network. The combination of IoT capabilities, long sensing distance, and oil resistant sheathing reduces the risk of sudden equipment shutdowns by a factor of three.
 
In recap, Omron's new E2E proximity sensors are:
 
•              Stable. The E2E NEXT line's long sensing distance prevents unexpected equipment downtime caused by target contact, making the continued operations more stable.
•              Flexible. The extra-long sensing distance makes it possible to solve size-limited applications with smaller form factor sensors.
•              IoT-enabled. The DC 3-wire models use IO-Link to help identify the location and cause of failures in real time.
•              Oil-resistant. E2E sensors are resistant to cutting oil, which accounts for approximately 30% of unexpected component failures.
•              Easy to use. The sensors' user-friendly design makes it easy to confirm detection status and ensures that your facility can recover quickly without requiring advanced support.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

KLM Airlines Partners With University on Fuel-Efficient V-Shaped Passenger Plane Design

Jun 7, 2019
KLM Airlines Partners With University on Fuel-Efficient V-Shaped Passenger Plane Design
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Every now and then an experimental plane is displayed in an endeavor to display the innovative spirit of the organization building it, as part engineering experiment and part marketing project. The latest display is a university student’s design picked up by the national carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
 
In the statement from CNN on Tuesday, KLM shows off policies for the Flying-V aircraft, designed by Justus Benad of the Technical University of Berlin and developed further by a research team at the Delft University of Technology. It looks like a mixture between a stealth aircraft and a passenger jet, with the passenger seating, cargo hold, and fuel tanks all incorporated into the wide, V-shaped wings.
 
The Flying-V can transport 314 passengers, very similar to the Airbus A350, although use 20 percent less fuel. Although it looks wide, the 213-feet width is well within standard airport infrastructure. The fuel efficiency comes from both the shape and the relatively light weight, said Roelof Vos, project leader at the Delft University of Technology.
 
'Aviation is contributing about 2.5 percent of global CO2 emissions, and the industry is nonetheless growing, so we really need to look at more sustainable airplanes,' said Vos in a statement to CNN. 'We cannot simply electrify the whole fleet, as electrified airplanes become way too heavy and you can't fly people across the Atlantic on electric airplanes — not now, not in 30 years. So we have to come up with new technologies that reduce fuel burn in a different way.”
 
Up to date, the university team has worked on making certain the fuselage shape actively strengthens the life of the aircraft. They have done mathematical testing and early wind tunnel tests so far, but are still working on creating a full-scale, flyable model. If that goes according to plan, it will see its maiden flight in September.
 
“We need to do much more testing in wind tunnels—high speed and low speed—to demonstrate that this airplane is efficient as we think,” Vos told CNN.
 
And if that doesn’t get off the ground, there’s always the marketing angle—a mock-up of the plane’s cabin will be open to the public at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam in October, to help ring in KLM’s 100th anniversary.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

Industry 4.0: Why Manufacturers Need to Keep Their Eye on the Long Game

Jun 7, 2019
Industry 4.0: Why Manufacturers Need to Keep Their Eye on the Long Game
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An industrial revolution is an essential shift in the way industry works that forever changes the way manufacturing is done. Nevertheless, besieged by bright shiny objects of Industry 4.0, manufacturers should focus on lasting goals other than being swept up by the abundance of new technologies, such as cloud, big data, IoT, mobile, location, additive manufacturing, edge computing, miniaturization, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and robotics.
 
Without a doubt, the blossoming of new disruptive technologies has increased the bar on what customers anticipate, putting pressure on manufacturers to deliver more product options quickly and more conveniently. Still very much like the first three industrial revolutions, it is this communication and collaboration that drive a great deal of the business value that Industry 4.0 offers.
 
We are all aware the history and impact of past industrial revolutions: Industrial Revolution 1.0 (1760-1830) was defined by mechanization powered by steam, which set the stage for bridges, trains, and shipbuilding; Industrial Revolution 2.0 (1870-1914) was driven by the development of mass production powered by electricity and the assembly line. But it was the Industrial Revolution 3.0 (1970-2000) referred to as the “computer revolution” that really helped to set the stage for the next iteration. This revolution supplanted analog, electric, and mechanical devices with digital, and was very quickly followed by the invention of the internet. Barely is it over and we have plunged into the fourth revolution. The next seismic shift in manufacturing and development is the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (2010-?), which is driven by a multitude of technologies, but in general, is known by a marriage between cyber-physical systems. New technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and the Internet of Things (IoT) interact to create smart factories, devices, and self-regulating systems.
 
According to Deloitte’s Forces of Change, “Industry 4.0 … marries advanced manufacturing approaches with the Internet of Things to form a digital manufacturing enterprise that is not only interconnected, but communicates, analyzes, and uses information to drive further intelligent action back in the physical world.”
 
Additive manufacturing, robotics, and automation all have a direct impact on the manufacturing process and are a key force behind Industry 4.0. The results of these technologies in manufacturing are undeniable. Here is an example, the athletic shoe company New Balance uses 3D printing, not just for design prototypes, but also to customize parts of their shoes for athletes. But concentrating on these immediate and obvious benefits of these technologies in isolation obscures the bigger picture, where huge opportunities lie. 
 
Thinking Outside the Silo
 
Though every bit of these technologies is powerful by itself, the real power of Industry 4.0 comes from the positive reinforcement, the virtuous circle that together they create. Unlike the previous industrial revolutions, the convergence of these technologies amplifies the power of each, to produce a powerful wave of transformation.  
 
As Bernard Marr writes in his article What is Industry 4.0?, “Ultimately, it's the network of these machines that are digitally connected with one another and create and share information that results in the true power of Industry 4.0.” 
 
The impact of this Industry 4.0 unsung hero, the digital business network, is observable in the consumer realm. Consider AirBnB and Uber. Demand and supply are disintermediated and decentralized. Both sides, consumers and service providers, connect directly to schedule and execute the service, to settle payment, and to review and rate the transaction. Equally, Uber’s network collapses the chasm between demand and supply, while mediating the allocation of supply to demand autonomously with AI. The benefits of this direct matching of supply to the demand are tremendous and undeniable. Dropping costs, delays and making for a much more frictionless transaction.   
 
An Intelligent Network for Manufacturers
 
Manufacturers can generate the technology of Industry 4.0 enabled by a digital business network, to realize equivalent, if not greater, advances in their industry, as there are numerous points of friction. Therefore, some of the biggest opportunities for transformative advances, lie outside the four walls of the manufacturer, and in better coordinating and optimizing the manufacturing supply network.
 
From the buyer to the factory floor, and back through layers of suppliers, the business-to-business (B2B) value chain is even more challenging, with multiple parties in multiple tiers, creating endless points of contact and more friction. Similar to the Uber and AirBnB examples, and driven by AI, these global real-time networks connect all parties to automatically match supply to demand at all nodes of the supply network.  
 
Multi-party digital networks, connect customers, manufacturers, suppliers, and logistics providers in real-time creating an intelligent network comprising factories, machines, vehicles, and devices and streaming services which include weather and traffic. The network maintains an authoritative, single version of the truth to ensure critical information about demand, supply and logistics is propagated in real-time across all tiers. Manufacturers and their trading partners need only connect once to the network, then all connections between these partners are handled virtually by the cloud platform, getting rid of challenging IT connections and highly-priced projects.
 
These networks enable much broader collaboration and coordination of manufacturers, suppliers, and logistics partners, which results in a smoother supply to factories while reducing inventory and expedited freight expenses. Additionally, they support multi-tier planning, including supplier capacity representation to enable supply-demand matching to reflow supply autonomously, to where demand is most critical. AI-powered intelligent agents consistently monitor and incrementally plan and execute across the network to help accomplish optimal service levels at the lowest cost. This just isn’t feasible without near-real-time connectivity between all parties and all systems. Higher “Altitude,” Higher Value.
 
The powerful “meshing” of these technologies with the power of machine learning and AI, provides a complete, global view and enables these technologies to communicate and regulate processes autonomously. It promises to deliver serious and essential insights about where value lies, and identify countless value “leaks” across the ecosystem.  
 
Here, AI, IoT, and the network play a key role in connecting all parties in real-time so they can detect issues ahead of time, intervene, and collaborate to resolve them to enhance safety and performance, as well as improve products and run the factory more efficiently and safely.    
 
Fundamentally, Industry 4.0 is about a constellation of technologies that perform optimally when interconnected and smartly coordinated across the parties and across the cyber-physical divide. It is this communication and collaboration that drive much of the business value that Industry 4.0 offers. When better connected, manufacturers are better positioned to leverage the power of Industry 4.0, within the factory through 3D printing, robotics, and IoT, and they’re better positioned to align objectives and resources across the value chain to deliver the most value to the end customer at the lowest cost.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

How Safety Can Increase Adoption of New Technologies

Jun 7, 2019
How Safety Can Increase Adoption of New Technologies
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The concern that technology will swap a job or worker has existed for centuries. The infamous example of Luddites breaking textile machinery to preserve their jobs perhaps have happened in the 19th century, but many in the 21st century still react to change with defensiveness and concern.
 
This is merely natural. Humans are hardwired to scrutinize new information. There are several techniques that help ease transitions — introduce something new with something familiar, for example, or have a leader show his commitment to the technology by using it first. But the simplest way we've found to transition employees to new technology is to demonstrate to them how the tech will keep them safe.
 
In a variety of ways, automation and wearables accomplish that goal and more. Our MARK 2, for example, allows for improved attention and focus on tasks, as it is handsfree. What's more, it avoids repetitive stress injuries from pulling on a scangun thousands of times throughout a day.
 
In other examples, vests connected to forklifts could also notify the drivers when someone is in proximity, lessening the number of possible accidents. And using tools to help place packages reduces the risk of a pallet collapsing, as they can place packages in less precarious positions.
 
The examples go on, as new wearables and technologies are emerging constantly to enhance worker safety and productivity. Human-centric design satisfies both of these needs, and puts the employee at the heart of the process; instead of being a person to be replaced, he or she is someone to be empowered.
 
In addition, the advantages of focusing on safety stretch far beyond the introduction of new technologies. In a now-famous story of ALCOA, the aluminum manufacturer, paying attention on safety created a incredible benefit for the company itself. As workers began to think that their safety came first, they cared more deeply about the company and turned in a better product as a result. Problems, once identified, would instantly be slated for improvements — and as the company began to reinvest in its workers, their habits changed and improved. After just a couple of years, ALCOA began to deliver record profits and revenues. The workers lifted the company, which profited from the change.
 
Today, lots of companies feel pressure to innovate. They see the rise of technology companies and the ability for technology to improve bottom lines and profits, but a lot of workers would perceive such arguments as insensitive to their needs and obligations.
 
Actually, the fastest way to get buy-in from men and women on a factory floor is to demonstrate the benefits directly to your employees — that these technologies make good on the promise that they will go home from work in the same conditions they arrived.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

Amazon Says Drones Will be Making Deliveries in 'Months'

Jun 7, 2019
Amazon Says Drones Will be Making Deliveries in 'Months'
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Amazon stated Wednesday that it plans to use self-piloted drones to supply packages to shoppers' home in the upcoming months.
 
The online shopping leader just didn't give specific timing or say where the drones will be making deliveries.
 
Amazon explained its new drones use computer vision and machine learning to recognize and avoid people or clotheslines in backyards when landing.
 
'From paragliders to power lines to a corgi in the backyard, the brain of the drone has safety covered,' said Jeff Wilke, who supervises Amazon's retail business.
 
Wilke said the drones are entirely electric, can fly approximately 15 miles (24 kilometers), send in 30 minutes and carry goods that weigh approximately 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms), like a paperback or toothpaste.
 
Amazon is actually working on drone transporting for years. Back in December 2013, Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos told the '60 Minutes' news show that drones would be flying to customer's homes in five years. But that deadline passed due to regulatory hurdles.
 
The Federal Aviation Administration, which often regulates professional use of drones in the U.S., didn't instantly answered to a request for comment Wednesday. In April, a subsidiary of search giant Google received approval from the FAA to make drone deliveries in parts of Virginia.
 
Wilke said that the company is working with several regulatory agencies to get approval. 'We expect to do it within months,' he said
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

Amazon Uses 800 Robots to Run This Warehouse

Jun 7, 2019
Amazon Uses 800 Robots to Run This Warehouse
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At Amazon’s re:MARS seminar in Las Vegas today, who else but Amazon is introducing two new robots designed to make its fulfillment centers even more satisfying. Xanthus (named after a mythological horse that could very temporarily talk but let’s not read too much into that) is a thoroughly redesigned drive unit, one of the robotic mobile bases that carries piles of stuff around for humans to pick from. It has a thinner profile, a third of the parts, costs half as much, and can wear different modules on top to perform a much wider variety of tasks than its predecessor.
 
Pegasus (named after a mythological horse that could fly but let’s not read too much into that either) is also a mobile robot, but much smaller than Xanthus, designed to help the company quickly and effectively sort individual packages. For Amazon, it’s a totally new large-scale robotic system involving tightly coordinated fleets of robots tossing boxes down chutes, and it’s just as fun to watch as it sounds.
 
Amazon has 800 Pegasus products just deployed at a sorting facility in the United States, adding to their newly updated total of 200,000 robotic drive units worldwide. If the Pegasus system looks familiar, it’s because other warehouse automation companies have had something that’s at least superficially very similar up and running for years.
 
But the most interesting headline that Amazon made, kind of low key and right at the end of their re:MARS talk, is that they’re working on ways of making some of their mobile robots actually collaborative, leveraging some of the technology that they acquired from Boulder, Colo.-based warehouse robotics startup Canvas Technology earlier this year:
 
“With our recent acquisition of Canvas, we wish to be able to combine this drive platform with AI and autonomous mobility capabilities, and for the first time, let our robots to move outside of our robotic drive fields, and interact collaboratively with our associates to do a number of mobility tasks,” said Brad Porter, VP of robotics at Amazon.
 
At the moment, Amazon’s robots are actually separated from humans except for one hugely structured station where the human only communicates with the robot in one or two very specific ways. We were told a few months ago that Amazon would like to have mobile robots that are able to move things through the areas of fulfillment centers that have people in them, but that they’re (quite rightly) worried about the safety aspects of having robots and humans work around each other. Other companies are already doing this on a smaller scale, and it means developing a reliable safety system that can deal with randomly moving humans, environmental changes, and all kinds of other stuff. It’s much more difficult than having a nice, clean, roped-off area to work in where a wayward human would be an exception rather than just another part of the job.
 
It now sounds like Canvas has delivered the secret sauce that Amazon wanted to launch implementing this level of autonomy. As for what it’s going to look like, our best guess is that Amazon is going to have to do a little bit more than slap some additional sensors onto Xanthus or Pegasus, if for no other reason than the robots will almost certainly need more ground clearance to let them operate away from the reliably flat floors that they’re accustomed to. We’re expecting to see them performing many of the tasks that companies like Fetch Robotics and OTTO Motors are doing already — moving everything from small boxes to large pallets to keep humans from having to waste time walking.
 
Of course, this all feeds back into what drives Amazon more than anything else: efficiency. And for better or worse, humans are not distinctively good at moving things from place to place, so it’s no surprise that Amazon wants to automate that, too. The good news is that, at least for now, Amazon actually needs humans to babysit all those robots.
 



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

Amazon's New Prime Air Drone Features a Weird Tailsitter Design

Jun 7, 2019
Amazon's New Prime Air Drone Features a Weird Tailsitter Design
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Amazon has been working away at its Prime Air urban and suburban drone delivery for years. Many years. It’s been at least half a decade now. And for the entire time, we’ve been complaining that Amazon has been focusing on how to build drones that can physically transport objects rather than how to build drones that can safely and reliably transport objects in a manner that makes economic sense and that people actually need.
 
At its re:MARS conference today, Amazon showed off a brand-new version of its Prime Air drone. The design is really unique, highlighting a hybrid tailsitter design with 6 degrees of freedom, but people have been futzing with weird drone designs for a long time, and this may or may not be a.) what Amazon has really settled on long-term or b.) the best way of doing things, versus other strategies like Google Wing’s dangly box.
 
What’s much more fun is that Amazon looks to now be addressing the issue of safety, and has added a comprehensive suite of on-board sensing and computing that will help the drone deal with many of the complicated barriers that it’s likely to encounter while doing its job.
 
We should point out right away that Amazon’s soothing piano music signifies that you cannot hear what this drone sounds like in flight, and noise is turning out to be one of the biggest problems with urban and suburban delivery drones, as Google Wing has noticed in Australia. Amazon seems to be taking the same “oh people will just get used to it” approach as Google is, and for better or worse that’s probably what’s going to end up happening. Sigh.
 
The pretty cool bit about today’s announcement is the addition of sense and avoid to Amazon’s drones, which Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s chief executive for worldwide consumer, detailed in a blog post. This is a good start, although I would push back a tiny bit on the assertion that Wilke ends with that “our drones are safe.” This technology undoubtedly has the potential to make Amazon’s drones much safer than they were before, but my guess is that statements like “our drones can recognize and avoid wires” would probably be more precisely written as “our drones have the ability to understand and avoid wires most of the time when conditions are favorable.'
 
Our drones need to be able to identify static and moving objects coming from any direction. We employ diverse sensors and advanced algorithms, such as multi-view stereo vision, to detect static objects like a chimney. To notice moving objects, like a paraglider or helicopter, we use proprietary computer-vision and machine learning algorithms. For the drone to descend for delivery, we need a small area around the delivery location that is clear of people, animals, or obstacles. We determine this using explainable stereo vision in parallel with sophisticated AI algorithms taught to identify people and animals from above.
 
A customer’s yard may have clotheslines, telephone wires, or electrical wires. Wire detection is one of the hardest problems for low-altitude flights. Through the use of computer-vision techniques we’ve created, our drones can know and avoid wires as they descend into, and ascend out of, a customer’s yard. This is a good start, although I would push back a little bit on the assertion that Wilke ends with that “our drones are safe.” This technology definitely has the potential to make Amazon’s drones much safer than they were before, but my guess is that statements like “our drones can recognize and avoid wires” would probably be more properly written as “our drones have the capability to recognize and prevent wires most of the time when conditions are favorable.”
 
And even with all this progress, I can’t help but come back to the fundamental question of whether this kind of drone delivery is actually worth it. I love robots, and I’m having a truly hard time thinking of this as anything more than a novelty, especially considering the growth of both autonomous vehicles and sidewalk robots (which Amazon is also working on). Amazon brings up the environmental impact of delivery as another argument in favor of drones, suggesting that “an electric drone, charged using sustainable means, traveling to drop off a package is a vast improvement over a car on the road.” Likely true, as long as the car is delivering just one package—I’m not sure how the numbers work out if you’re comparing drones to a loaded delivery van, though. And again, noise pollution needs to be thought about, too.
 
Delivery drones are the right answer, I think, in some cases. Medical supply delivery is one. Remote delivery is another. It’s less clear whether suburban delivery really fills a long-term need, or whether companies like Amazon and Google are mostly just doing it because they can. But either way, it’s great to see Amazon acknowledging these hard problems, and we’re looking forth to seeing some of their technologies, like obstacle avoidance, in action, which Amazon says could happen within months.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

Fastems Introduces New Robot Cell for a Wide Range of Workpieces

Jun 7, 2019
Fastems Introduces New Robot Cell for a Wide Range of Workpieces
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[WEST CHESTER, OH - JUNE 2019] The Fastems RoboCell One sets new requirements in respect to incredibly adaptable and flexible machining, specially heavy workpieces within batches of various sizes. The easy-to-configure robot cell is basically fashioned for handling heavy workpieces weighing up to 176 lbs. (80 kg) and for automating up to two machine tools of the same type - either lathes or milling machines. The solution consequently comes into its own at the point where existing automation systems reach their limits solely due to the maximum weight of the workpiece.
 
The RoboCell One has been exclusively manufactured for the versatile production of different batch sizes such as a wide variety of components. A special feature of the robot cell is an optional, automated gripper change system for the versatile handling of workpieces and the simple implementation of new components - without interrupting production operations. The robot can correctly be mounted with single, double, or special grippers. Up to six different grippers may be used for handling workpieces in specific production operations.
A single robot that can be handled in one linear axis is able to provide two devices with workpieces in a flexible manner. Further, different products can be simultaneously produced by using both machines together. To accomplish this scenario, the robot automatically transforms its grippers for loading/unloading the respective unit. The result is optimal use of machine capacity, even when orders are frequently adjusted.
Above all, through its use in combination with the Fastems Manufacturing Management Software (MMS) for controlling the robot cell and the machines that are connected to it, RoboCell One provides virtually unrivalled advantages for production operations. The MMS automatically plans the entire production plan dependent on the production orders, including the changes of workpieces for batches of different sizes, and taking account of all the resources that are necessary. In addition, the software shows the current production status in real time (order progress, schedule, etc.), it computes the machinery capacities for exceptional orders, and it shows the operator in advance the machinery retooling operations that are needed. This means that not only are production costs per workpiece reduced, throughput times are also cut thanks to the anticipatory MMS detailed planning.
When the RoboCell One is first switched to the production of a new workpiece, virtually no knowledge of robotics is necessary. This greatly simplifies production, particularly in the case of groups of components. Instead of the robot having to be laboriously taught, it is configured through parametric programming via the MMS. The necessary values and/or parameters for workpiece handling are stored in the control system via the intuitive MMS interface. This means that new parts master data and orders can be produced both quickly and simply during production operations, i.e. whilst the machine is actually moving.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

AMADA MIYACHI AMERICA announces high-resolution MM-L300A Laser Weld Monitor

Jun 7, 2019
AMADA MIYACHI AMERICA announces high-resolution MM-L300A Laser Weld Monitor
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MONROVIA, CA - AMADA MIYACHI AMERICA Inc., a leading manufacturer of resistance welding, laser welding, marking, cutting, and micromachining equipment and systems, announces the new MM-L300A Laser Weld Monitor. The high-resolution and compact MM-L300A offers operators real-time feedback on laser weld quality, fashioned to recognize production errors such as gaps between parts, missing parts, over-penetration, incorrect focus, and cover gas absence. The compact, lightweight unit supports laser welding technologies for spot or seam welds.
 
This high-accuracy monitor is best for process development and quality control applications of laser welding. The MM-L300A decides weld success by discovering and recording a thermal signal from the area of laser interaction and provides an output waveform around which limits (max/min or envelope) can be set. Once the limits are set, the unit compares a new weld waveform in real time to identify good or bad weld. Providing high temporal resolution—down to 1 microsecond the MM-L300A with the SU-N300A committed thermal sensor allows precision monitoring of both CW and pulsed lasers.
The MM-L300A features easy-to-use software for quick sensor configuration, waveform envelope limit set-up, and real-time or saved waveform analysis on Windows® PCs. Plus, with machine-selectable setup schedules, the unit can monitor different welding conditions. For process design flexibility, this approximately 7 lb (3 kg) system reduces set-up space when integrated into a production line, and the sensor mounts either on the optical axis of the laser or in an off-axis position.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

Fictron IS KEB HOMAG INVERTER AUTHORISED REPAIR CENTER in MALAYSIA

Jun 6, 2019
Fictron IS KEB HOMAG INVERTER AUTHORISED REPAIR CENTER in MALAYSIA
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Fictron IS KEB HOMAG INVERTER AUTHORISED REPAIR CENTER in MALAYSIA
 
Repairs and Services by Fictron Professional Team
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Mali, Bamako
Malta, Valletta
Marshall Islands, Majuro
Mauritania, Nouakchott
Mauritius, Port Louis
Mexico, Mexico City
Micronesia, Palikir
Moldova, Chisinau
Monaco, Monaco
Mongolia, Ulan Bator
Montenegro, Podgorica
Morocco, Rabat,
Mozambique, Maputo
Myanmar (Burma), Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw
Namibia, Windhoek
Nauru, Yaren
Nepal, Kathmandu,
Netherlands, Amsterdam
New Zealand, Wellington
Nicaragua, Managua
Niger, Niamey
Nigeria, Abuja
Norway, Oslo
Oman, Muscat
Pakistan, Islamabad
Palau, Ngerulmud
Panama, Panama City
Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby
Paraguay, Asuncion
Peru, Lima
Philippines, Manila
Poland, Warsaw,
Portugal, Lisbon
Qatar, Doha
Romania, Bucharest
Russia, Moscow
Rwanda, Kigali
St. Kitts and Nevis, Basseterre
St. Lucia, Castries
St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Kingstown
Samoa, Apia
San Marino, San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe, Sao Tome
Saudi Arabia, Riyadh
Senegal, Dakar
Serbia, Belgrade
Seychelles, Victoria
Sierra Leone, Freetown
Singapore, Singapore
Slovakia, Bratislava
Slovenia, Ljubljana
Solomon Islands, Honiara
Somalia, Mogadishu
South Africa, Pretoria
South Sudan, Juba
Spain, Madrid
Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte
Sudan, Khartoum
Suriname, Paramaribo
Swaziland, Mbabane
Sweden, Stockholm
Switzerland, Berne
Syria, Damascus
Tajikistan, Dushanbe,
Tanzania, Dodoma
Thailand, Bangkok
Togo, Lome, 824,738
Tonga, Nuku?alofa
Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain
Tunisia, Tunis
Turkey, Ankara
Turkmenistan, Ashgabat
Tuvalu, Funafuti
Uganda, Kampala
Ukraine, Kiev
United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi
United Kingdom, London
United States, Washington, D.C
Uruguay, Montevideo
Uzbekistan, Tashkent
Vanuatu, Port Vila
Vatican, Vatican City
Venezuela, Caracas
Vietnam, Hanoi
Western Sahara, El Aaiun
Yemen, Sana'a
Zambia, Lusaka
Zimbabwe, Harare
 
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