Manufacturers continue having trouble filling all their jobs. Packaging World’s 2019 Robotics Report shared the experience of an Illinois food packer. They could fill the ongoing jobs, they said, but ramping up for a seasonal surge was a problem. Unemployment is so low in much of the United States that workers can pick and choose… Read more »
Automation continues to increase in manufacturing. It’s growing by leaps and bounds in warehouses, too. What’s the effect? One effect is greater safety for workers. The top cause of sick leave for American workers is back pain. Robots, conveyor belts, and other automated systems can make back injuries from overexertion and repetitive motion a thing… Read more »
Here’s a recent conversation about Rexroth Indramat drives. “I hate those things!” one guy said. That’s what caught my attention. Naturally, I love them. The conversation went on, with everyone singing the praises of the performance of Indramat drives. “Incredible performance.” “Amazing performance.” “The performance is astonishing.” So why the hatred? It’s simple. Rexroth Indramat… Read more »
Downtime is always a problem in a factory setting. Having your human workforce stand around being paid while hundreds or thousands of products don’t get made on time is costly and frustrating. In today’s JIT environments, the cost of downtime is unacceptable. Cost of downtime How unacceptable? $21,800,000 a year on average. That’s $16,000,000 a… Read more »
Comedian Whitney Cummings had a robotic version of herself built for her new Netflix special. It was entertaining. Funny? You decide. The footage from the robot factory might be the most intriguing part of the shtick. But at the end of the day, it’s a robot programmed by a human being to do specific things… Read more »
Apart from manufacturing, where automation is ubiquitous, autonomous vehicles are one of the most highly anticipated areas of real-world automation. Where the vast majority of robots in the news are proof of concept, early research, and likely to make a big difference in our lives someday, self-driving vehicles exist in the real world and could… Read more »
Industry Week‘s new survey of manufacturers has uncovered a lot of tech procrastinators. When it comes to the Industrial Internet of Things, 75% of respondents from companies with revenues under $100 million are either in the planning stages or waiting for the right time to start planning. 30 percent of companies larger than $100 million… Read more »
You’ve tracked the problem down to a Rexroth device — or it may say “Indramat” or even “Rexroth Indramat.” In any case, it’s showing you an error code. Now what? First question: do you have the manual? Rexroth electric motion control is the best motion control on the planet. Servos, drives, and controls often work… Read more »
Much of the excitement in automation at this point has to do with sensors. A new collection of sensors is being developed to provide a new way to communicate with robots. Researchers at the University of Houston gathered strain sensors, temperature sensors, and UV light sensors. Then they incorporated all these elements, along with things… Read more »
Rexroth power supply modules won’t play nice with a pacemaker. In fact, many of the components of your industrial motion control and machinery in general can create problems with pacemakers. Here are some of the things that can cause interference with pacemakers: Large motors Large power supplies Electromagnets Generators (including your power supply module, which… Read more »
