Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!
Happy New Year!
Monthly Archives: December 2021
Does Amazon Have Too Much Power over Manufacturers?
There was a time when manufacturers made products, then sold them to retailers, who sold them to consumers. Consumers might want something different, but they basically had to choose from among the available products or do without. You could have a Model T in any color, as long as it was black. Retailers gradually gained… Read more »
Merry Christmas
Automation for COVID-19 Tests
Preparation and production of COVID-19 vaccines broke records, and now with the new Omicron variant, COVID-19 testing needs to speed up, too. Automation is making it happen. Automated PCR testing Japanese chemical company Fujifilm had an automated system for tuberculosis testing. They have been able to adapt it to test for COVID-19. Testing is normally… Read more »
Getting to Know Rexroth Indramat Error Messages
Rexroth acquired a company called Indramat in the 20th century. This company became the electric drive and control division of Rexroth. There are still legacy Rexroth Indramat machines in service today. Since they rarely have problems, you might see that Indramat name for the first time when something breaks down and you have to open… Read more »
Robots Fight Off Invasive Species
Invasive species are a big problem all over the world. From potbelly pigs in Puerto Rico to kudzu in the American South, life forms that get out of their natural environments can cause big problems. Mosquitofish are an invasive species that gets less press than feral swine, but they create problems all the same. When… Read more »
Got Manuals?
For some industries, the insane push to manufacture and ship everything for fourth quarter is past, and it’s time to clean up the debris and breathe a little. For others, it’s time to ramp up production to feed the consumer demand that reaches its peak over the next few weeks. Either way, it would be… Read more »
Robot Butchers
The pandemic pushed many factories and even entire industries into automation. Perhaps one of the most significant is meat processing. Workers stand close together and work directly on animal carcasses with sharp implements, racking up more injuries and illnesses than miners, loggers, or construction workers. During the pandemic, COVID-19 made working conditions even worse, as… Read more »
Automation Improves Workers’ Lives
We may joke about seeing all our jobs overtaken by robot overlords, but automation usually has beneficial effects, making work safer and less arduous for human workers. We wouldn’t really prefer to do all the work that robots do with our own hands. or to make all those consumer products that automation produces so much… Read more »
Animatronic Christmas Trees
All you want for Christmas is a talking robot Christmas tree? No problem. Instructables has instructions for making one yourself from a cheap artificial Christmas tree, wire, a breadboard, copper piping, a bunch of other stuff you may have hanging around the house, and a couple of servo motors. Servo motors are key. This is… Read more »