All Robotics articles – Page 9
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ArticleFord hopes new top team can Hackett
US – Replacing Mark Fields, who is retiring after 28 years with the company, Jim Hackett will become president and CEO, reporting to executive chairman Bill Ford. The OEM also named Jim Farley, Joe Hinrichs and Marcy Klevorn in new leadership roles under Hackett.Hackett held senior positions outside the automotive ...
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ArticleRed-hot robots
AMS takes a look at the latest installations and innovations in the world of robot arms and automation used for welding applicationsAccording to the International Federation of Robotics, 50% of the world’s robots are used for welding. Moreover, a recent report from BCC Research reveals that the global automated/robotic welding ...
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ArticleWelding robotics power source
Fronius says it has expanded the range of functions of its TPS/i Robotics power source. The company says this system can now be equipped with the Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) welding process using an additional package.The modular system consists of interconnected, synchronised components and is designed to meet the demands ...
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Article
Honda to establish new R&D centre
Japan – The vehicle-maker announced that it would set up R&D Center X to take a “non-traditional approach” toward “new value” areas including robotics, mobility systems and energy management. The facility will officially be launched in April this year.R&D Center X will initially focus on researching autonomously operated machines and ...
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ArticleThe 60% saving challenge
South Korean automotive parts manufacturer Ecoplastic and special-purpose machine supplier B+R Maschinenbau have both had their stringent demands met by ABB RoboticsIn South Korea, 370km south-east of Seoul, the coastal city of Gyeong-ju is located among widespread low mountains at the East Sea of Korea. Commonly referred to as “the ...
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ArticleVision of the future
OEMs' use of optical metrology techniques in fully automated robotic cells has increased significantly in the last couple of years aided by the development of a number of essential technical capabilitiesVolkswagen’s latest plant at Wrzesnia in Poland is one site where the use of vision-based inspection systems for quality control ...
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ArticlePrincipled reasoning
Investing €500m to expand its operation at Leipzig means that, for the first time, Porsche can take three models on a single route through identical stationsSince production of the Macan began in 2014, Porsche Leipzig has operated as a fully-fledged production facility with a modern paintshop and a dedicated bodyshop. ...
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ArticleConnected services for robot systems
Connected Services are a suite of resources designed to help UK manufacturers maximise robot uptime using data access and problem resolution says ABB Robotics. Delivered via the company’s single interface called MyRobot, Connected Services will make actionable data immediately available to plant engineers, maintenance staff and managing directors via smart ...
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ArticleKaizen in Karben
As one site in a huge global network, Continental’s plant near Frankfurt provides a fine example of how improvement by knowledge sharing comes in forms both old and newEvery morning at 9am, the managing director of Continental’s plant at Karben, Germany takes a gemba walk. Following a different route each ...
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WebinarKUKA podcasts: A robotic future
Over the course of three podcasts Kuka’s Corporate Innovation manager, Dominik Boesl discusses the precedents, current trends and future innovations that have and will continue to shape the future of robotics. Dominik explains why today we are seen as a generation of “robotic-immigrants” ...
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Webinar
KUKA podcast: A robotic future, episode 2
Over the course of three podcasts Kuka’s Corporate Innovation manager, Dominik Boesl discusses the precedents, current trends and future innovations that have and will continue to shape the future of robotics.Dominik explains why today we are seen as a generation of “robotic-immigrants” but how our grandchildren will grow up as ...
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Article
Layer upon layer
Researchers at Ford Dearborn are keen to see additive manufacturing move on from its prototyping origins and into the mainstream volume production processIn itself, there is nothing new about the automotive industry’s use of the set of techniques generally known as additive manufacturing or 3D printing, in which objects are ...
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ArticleStackers of steel
Six Kuka KR 1000 titan robots are providing new flexibility in production at steel supplier MannstaedtBased in Troisdorf in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mannstaedt can trace its origins back nearly 200 years. Today, the company is part of the Georgsmarienhütte Group and specialises in the manufacture of hot-rolled ...
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ArticleLayer upon layer
Researchers at Ford Dearborn are keen to see additive manufacturing move on from its prototyping origins and into the mainstream volume production processIn itself, there is nothing new about the automotive industry’s use of the set of techniques generally known as additive manufacturing or 3D printing, in which objects are ...
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ArticleKeeping up with demand
Upgrading its San Luis Potosi plant, Plastic Omnium asked robotics experts at ABB to fit out the new paintshop for automotive components productionWhen Plastic Omnium (PO) realised that many of the world’s major vehicle manufacturers were upgrading or building new plants in Mexico, it decided to respond. The likes of ...
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WebinarKUKA Webinar: Future of Robotics
We are all regularly presented with inventions and disruptive technology that prompt us to ask, are they fads or here to stay? Whether it was radio, micro-computers or even the internet, predicting which technology trends would become indispensable always made for fascinating discussion. In automotive manufacturing, an essential innovation under ...
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Article
Fazendo o trabalho leve
Forte, rígida e leve, estas propriedades tornam o ferramental para peças compostas uma proposição atraente como apoio de fabricação e de produçãoPara formação de chapa de metal, matrizes de resina epóxi foram utilizadas pela primeira vez na década de 1950. Estas eram muitas vezes preenchidas com pó de aço ou ...
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Article
Utillaje de material compuesto
Resistencia, rigidez y ligereza. Estas propiedades hacen que los materiales compuestos sean una propuesta muy atractiva para la fabricación de utillaje y ayudas a la producciónEn el conformado de chapa, las matrices de resina epoxi se utilizaron por primera vez en la década de 1950. Estos materiales termoestables a menudo ...
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ArticleKia's brave new world
The South Korean OEM has just opened a state-of-the-art factory at Pesquería in Mexico, but political problems are preventing this first Latin American manufacturing base from reaching its full potentialA sun-scorched hilltop in Monterrey provides the perfect view of Kia Motors’ first Latin American factory: a gleaming white press shop, ...
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Article
- 轻量的功效
强硬、坚韧、轻质，这些性能使复合材料成为制造商在制模和生产过程中最为看好的性质。在薄钢板成型上，环氧树脂首次应用于20世纪50年代。这些热固性塑料通常会填充钢粉或沙子，来提高耐磨性和机械性能。灌注聚氨酯（PU）是从20世纪70年代开始使用。最近，高性能聚酰胺（PPA）开始被应用。这些热固性塑料因为玻璃纤维和很多填充物提高了耐磨性、机械强度和润滑性。这些模具生产起来比金属的要更快、更便宜。尽管好处诸多，但是高分子复合材料模具比原来的模具材料缺乏强度。此外，因为还不清楚这种材料失败的作用机制，模具仍然是在经验和直觉的基础上设计出来，通常情况下都是采用金属模具的设计规律制造的。所有这些都说明，使用复合材料塑模很大程度上都是受到小批量生产和制造原型零部件的限制。 Audi says that it achieved an energy saving of over 10% through the use of these tools采用复合法但是用“复合材料的方法”制造金属成型工具 — 即在适当的地方使用适当的金属 — 能够产生牵引力，并且结果非常良好。在德国因戈尔施塔特冲压车间，奥迪公司使用了多金属物质结构生产模具，据称要比传统方案在重量上轻20%，稳定性上增加10%。传统的冲压模具词用铸铁，重量会达到45吨。通过选择性使用铸铁、铝和塑料 — 以及增材制造等技术 — 奥迪公司将这些模具的重量能降低到8吨。此外，奥迪公司从根本上改变了设计，提高了模具的稳定性。在冲压上，一个模具能够承受最高2,500吨的压力。压力会随着不断重复塑形和切削加工而加大。为了解决这个问题，传统的模具都是铸铁十字螺纹的形式，这种配置也在板料冲压生产中使用。在奥迪轻量模具中，基础结构中的共性能够产生高水平的稳定性，从而提高了力的传递。有些形状源于自然，模仿树叶或人的骨头。这就能保证刚度，并减少近20%的材料。改进模具效率奥迪公司称，新的模具在加工板材是能够更快，更精确，而且磨损更好。总体来讲，公司称这些模具能够节省10%以上的能源。奥迪公司工具制造部长Michael Breme说：“有了这种轻量复合结构，我们能够在Audi Toolmaking制定新的标准。我们就可以生产更加复杂、更加高效、高质量模具，从而进一步优化我们的制造程序。”"碳纤维非常理想，因为它大力提高了工序效益，降低了偏差、振动，而且轻质" - Toni Roda, ABB Robotics复合材料在钻模生产中的潜力巨大。这种潜力首次体现在北美所使用的碳纤维增强复合材料（CFRP）钻模上，这在10年之前Ford Mustang汽车的阀盖安装上有采用过。该项目主要研究人员，即西华盛顿大学汽车研究学院（VRI）主任Eric Leonhardt说：“在我们制造发动机钻模时，我就意识到英国的另一个应用，即在汽车装配上使用复合材料模具。”在密歇根福拉特洛克的Auto Alliance International（AAL）公司，Ford Mustang团队计划使用一种方型焊接管来支撑阀盖，在安装到汽车上。模具轻量化但是这种钻模重大16.8公斤，单独一名操作员在使用过程中要在8个小时中要举起比正常更高的重量。当然可以采用高架平衡杆来解决这个问题，但是这就需要在装配车间投入大量额外的资金，减缓发动机盖的安装速度 — 因而操作员使用的几率反而减少。针对这个问题，VRI团队开发了一个清凉钻模，综合了预制碳纤维蜂窝芯材的中间区段，有两个机器加工熟铝尾端件连接在每端。最初的基础重量为3公斤。铝的定位特点就用螺栓定在这个结构上，增加钻模的重量，达到约5.4公斤 — 这个重量足以让一名操作员在没有任何帮助的情况下肚子操作。自从2006年已经设备开始，成千上万辆汽车都使用这种高复合材料发动机罩钻模。瑞典公司TETRAFIX已经开发了一种系统，能够使用CFRP管来制造复杂的组合夹具框架。使用框架设计可以减少材料所需数量 — 降低了重量和成本。公司称，制造出来的结构绝对强韧而稳定。少量夹具就很容易移动；公司最重的夹具 — 比如汽车车身 — 重量只有40-60公斤。大部分夹具都比较轻，容易搬动，而大型夹具都安装了轮子 — 就没有必要使用起重机或其他重型起重设备，从而减少了更换时间，这也比传统的金属夹具好得多。减少夹具校订瑞典公司TETRAFIX已经开发了一种系统，能够使用CFRP管来制造复杂的组合夹具框架。使用框架设计可以减少材料所需数量 ...