An Igus 7th axis on a collaborative robot working alongside staff at German screening machine manufacturer Rhewum is helping to increase the workspace from 1300 to 5500mm.

An automotive manufacturer is relying extensively on the reliability of Contrinex’s robust and high-performance inductive sensors in the automated assembly of engines, where cylinder heads are transferred for mounting on the engine.

Since the integration of its first Kawasaki robot, storage tank manufacturer Haase has not only been able to significantly optimise its production and efficiency, but also to support its sustained growth in many industries and international markets.

When Danish ventilation fan manufacturer Novenco needed an electric motor to drive the largest fan in its ZerAx range, it turned to Nidec Leroy-Somer.

When Naperville, USA-based industrial lead-acid battery manufacturer Battery Builders (BBI) decided to upgrade its facility, it seemed like an obvious choice to include its six-station COS (Cast-On-Strap) machine in those upgrades. It worked with robotic integrator MAC Engineering to install a Kawasaki large payload robot with a robotic cell consisting of six process stations.

TLM Laser’s Andy Toms looks at combining robotics with the laser marking process to achieve flexibility within a UDI compliance marking environment.

When a refinery was experiencing accelerated wear on its coke cutting jet pump, which was incurring significant costs with a mean time between failure (MTBF) of six to ten months, it turned to Sulzer.

Dave Walsha, sales manager at precision drive system supplier EMS, explores the technology that’s revolutionising Irish farming.

In the eyes of some manufacturers, installing an industrial robot can seem intimidating. Misconceptions of having to rebuild everything from the ground up and having to adopt a completely new process can make automation seem like a bigger endeavour than it truly is.

When UAE Dubai-based Precision Industries (PI) won a bid for a very high capacity – 3000 kVA – generating set for a diversified and integrated group of energy companies in Abu Dhabi, it turned to Nidec Leroy-Somer for the perfect alternator.

When an automotive manufacturer needed robust, high pressure inductive sensors for use in its punch-riveting in their prototyping area, it turned to Contrinex.

When Constant Group, a Manchester-based supplier of sheet metal parts, components, and fully assembled fabrications pieces were let down by their previous service provider for onsite high-pressure nitrogen generation, they turned to Atlas Copco for help.

Thanks to the adoption of NSK’s linear guides with K1 lubrication units, a timber manufacturer managed to reduce conveyor downtime by a factor of more than 12, prompting annual cost savings of more than €77,000.

Automating production is becoming the focus of many companies and Axis Harvesting is no exception. From weighing to packaging the punnets, automation helps alongside humans to process over 90 tonnes of mushrooms per week.

Emka developed a special type and size for leading enclosure OEM Rittal, with the company completely relaunching its range of small and compact enclosures with the new AX and KX series.

A series of trials by Anglian Water, during which variable speed drives (VSDs) were used to control the speed of Archimedes’ screws, has resulted in a £26,000 energy saving in three months across three wastewater treatment sites.

Siemens Digital Industries Software reports that Nemo’s Garden, a startup focused on sustainable underwater cultivation of crops, has deployed Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio of software and services to shorten its innovation cycles and move more rapidly towards industrialisation and scale.

Swing handles and hinges from Telford-based access hardware manufacturer Industrilas have been specified as part of a new, automated smart wastebin that is delivering significant cost savings to municipal authorities – as well as helping to keep towns and cities tidier. MR Fill is a unique waste bin which harnesses solar power to drive a compactor that compresses the litter which people feed into it. By reducing down the volume of the rubbish in this way, a typical MR Fill bin can hold up to five times as much as an ordinary standard bin of the same size – which results in far fewer visits being needed to empty it. Some of the numbers involved in the collection of this type of waste are surprising – in Amsterdam the council empties normal bins up to seven times a day, a number that is now massively reduced thanks to the MR Fill solar powered compactor bins. So the advantages seen from this clever design include reduced vehicle emissions by cutting down council truck journeys, less ...

Brainware Solutions needed a safety system for machines that test automotive door trims, which could guarantee a fast-running test routine while giving operators unobstructed, safe access to both test systems, so that they can be loaded and unloaded in time. For a solution, it turned to Pilz, which supplied a PSENscan safety laser scanner, combined with the PNOZmulti 2 configurable small controller, offering effective but not obstructive protection, so enabling minimum test times. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Brainware Solutions specialises in the manufacture of automated test systems. At the automotive supplier, Brainware Solutions’ test system is part of the production line, and the shortest possible test time is the top priority: only 23 seconds are envisaged for alternately loading and unloading the untested and tested door trims, plus the test itself. The challenge is that the rear access areas also have to be protected. On their own, however, the pair of safety light curtains p...

Transparent plastic packaging is commonly used in the packaging of a wide variety of products. However, it poses a challenge for high-speed automated packaging machinery, which was the challenge faced by a manufacturing packaging medical products. For a solution, it turned to Contrinex’s family of transparent-object detection sensors which utilise UV light. The clear plastic thermoformed blister packs formed in this application are used to hold pharmaceutical and surgical products. They typically comprise a recessed, semi-rigid tray base, vacuum-formed from clear thermoplastic material, into which the product is placed, before it is sealed with a metal or plastic film to provide hygienic packaging. Typically, blister-packaging lines for surgical products operate in sterile conditions and therefore minimal manual intervention is permitted, to minimise the risk of contamination. If defective bases are identified and rejected after forming, the flow of tray bases to the loading station...