Automation blog
Traditional factories have data needs too
18 March 2022 The right tools and tech can enable advanced predictive maintenance, bottleneck prevention and optimization. Find out how digitalization is bridging the gap between legacy systems and Industry 4.0.
Fuel for the future: What to look out for in fuel cell production
10 March 2022 When people talk about sustainable mobility, the first thing that comes to mind is battery-powered e-cars. Fuel cells or direct hydrogen burners are complementary technologies that often fade into the background, yet have a lot to offer when it comes to CO₂ reduction and market options.
Mastering packaging and intralogistics challenges in eCommerce
24 February 2022 Robot-assisted packaging enables fast and cost-efficient scalability upward and downward to handle swings in demands from the supply chain.
Green packaging industry: How to achieve sustainable manufacturing
09 February 2022 Sustainability in the packaging industry is one of the key aspects in fighting the plastic waste issue and ultimately climate change. The challenges that this presents, require flexible and powerful automation technology.
Hanover Displays automates PCBA testing with cobots
31 January 2022 UK-based Hanover Displays Limited needed a new system for testing printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) and selected OMRON TM cobots for the job, supplied and installed by Absolute Robotics, part of the Absolute Automation Group.
Five challenges in High-Mix, Low-Volume (HMLV) packaging and palletizing processes
21 December 2021 The new product has just left the factory, in a shelf-ready package in the specified mixed ratio to meet customer needs. The packaging has actually been handled by another company: a co-packer. Co-packing can be found in all Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) markets, but especially in the higher-priced product segments such as personal care or confectionery, to name a few examples. It is a fast-growing activity to satisfy the consumer demand for more variety.
Productivity Peaks: Moving Maintenance From Preventive to Predictive
17 December 2021 Maintenance is a vital key to a thriving business, especially in manufacturing where 24/7 plant equipment uptime is often expected as standard. As any established enterprise knows, keeping production lines and systems running optimally requires more than a skilled maintenance team. It also involves careful planning, tight scheduling, constant vigilance, a willingness to change out unworn parts, and a readiness to respond to unplanned events. At least, it used to.
Finished seals in less than 10 seconds: Robotics Integrated Controller ensures harmonious control
24 November 2021 Trelleborg Livorno has updated a robotic cell for the finishing of polyurethane gaskets for the sustainable wind energy market. The cornerstone of the solution is OMRON's Robotics Integrated Controller that ensures integration and synchronization of all automation components, including robots, logic, motion, safety and user interface.
FasThink optimizes Garnet's intralogistics with mobile robots
02 November 2021 Garnet relies on FasThink to innovate its logistics and production processes.
Intelligent System Solutions with Autonomous Mobile Robot: AM-Flow and OMRON
27 October 2021 Industry 4.0 brings the promise of streamlined processes, big data insights and production lines running 24/7 with zero downtime. Unlike historical ‘industrial revolutions,’ this one offers the luxury of time and choice for manufacturers. That’s because the benefits of automation can be embraced incrementally or fully, whether it’s a new state-of-the-art facility or something retrofit-installed into a more traditional production setup. Making it easier to make the move is AM-Flow, an entrepreneurial start-up currently making waves in providing its solutions to the new tide of producers coming ashore in the world of additive manufacturing.
Fuelling the success of local battery cell production
20 September 2021 Expert and automotive manufacturers alike agree that e-mobility is the future. Batteries and battery manufacturing are central to this development. In this context, the global market for lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow from 44.2 billion US dollars (2020) to 94.4 billion dollars (2025). The transformation of the automotive industry from internal combustion engines to battery or hydrogen-powered fuel cells is presenting companies with immense challenges.
Developing digital capability: how any factory can be smart
16 September 2021 Thankfully, the headline-grabbing ‘Industry 4.0’ isn’t reserved exclusively for the high-tech giants that span the globe, nor is the term ‘smart factory’ applied only to brand-new installations. In truth, any traditional factory can in principle take steps on the smart factory journey, by applying modularity to the existing installation.
The power of collaboration between machines, people and teams
01 October 2019 With today’s rapid advances in technology, the manufacturing sector needs to be increasingly agile, ready to adapt to changing demands. Production lines must be more flexible, so that they can cope with shorter production runs, more varied products and tight deadlines. So how can manufacturers address these challenges? The solution lies in more advanced, interconnected and intelligent systems that can be programmed to handle a range of tasks.
Mobile robots speed production at new ‘smart factory’
26 September 2019 Showcasing flexible production in real life, a new ‘Smart Factory’ in Norway uses a variety of robots in a system developed and implemented by system integrator Intek Engineering.