Choosing the Right Robot

whitePaper | August 30, 2022

Unexpected change costs in automotive manufacturing investment projects can quickly lead to spiraling costs and delays in production unless carefully managed. Any changes to production schedules and machinery must be meticulously planned. But without the correct information to base a plan, problems may multiply instead of being resolved.

whitePaper | June 1, 2022

In the field of multi-axis robots, industrial integrators are faced with the unique challenge of selecting and managing cables to be run on the outside of a moving six-axis platform. The complex movements made by six-axis robots require special consideration when deciding on how to manage their cable systems. “There are many unsuitable ways to accomplish this, from corrugated tubing used in static wiring, to on the fly fixes such as duct tape andbungee cords,” Don Nester, Product Manager for Chainflex® Continuous flex cables at igus® explained.

whitePaper | March 29, 2023

Smart factories have various areas of strengths and weaknesses, just as people do. Strengths bring the opportunity for positive differentiation, whilst weaknesses offer challenges to address in order to deliver consistently on expectation. Many people like to measure their IQ to see how they compare in terms of being “Smart”— so why should we not do the same for the data-driven Smart assembly factory? This helps reveal both strengths and weaknesses, builds the roadmap for improvement and development, increases visibility of unique values, and eliminates risk derived from bottlenecks and inefficiencies. It is time to put our Smart, data-driven manufacturing operation to the test, ensuring preparedness as the industry transforms toward the elusive Industry 4.0.

whitePaper | August 1, 2022

The story of manufacturing is one of constant technological change and evolution. It is also a story with a sweeping geopolitical arc from the industrial revolution in 19th century Britain to modern day China accounting for nearly 30% of the world’s manufacturing1 . The march of the machines is relentless and for large portions of society, alarming. Today’s technology is even imbued with the ability to learn – Blake Lemoine, a software engineer at Google, believes a chatbot his firm has created is capable of conscious thought2.

whitePaper | May 21, 2020

We are living through a historic time, when advanced technologies continually change how a manufacturer generates value. This new digital era is the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” (4IR). Companies see new technologies accelerating strategic, tech-enabled transformations. Regardless, many manufacturing companies are stuck in the proof of concept (PoC) phase or are running projects that are delivering results far from revolutionary. Add to that the COVID-19 tsunami, a crisis that changed the world in a matter of weeks. It is difficult to predict every aspect of the post-COVID-19 era, but it is already clear the world will never be the same. Even the most conservative industrial player will need to adapt to the “new normal”, with the importance of digital rapidly increasing for the entire value chain. Executives are expected to speed up digital transformation initiatives, changing the operating model forever.

whitePaper | January 11, 2022

While the technological maturity of AM has been demonstrated in specific industries, individual firms still struggle with its adoption and implementation at industrial scale. Companies underestimate the extent to which the adoption of AM is first and foremost a learning process that involves the entire value chain and requires specific AM expertise that needs to be acquired. Throughout this learning process, a wide range of challenges may hinder the progress and success of implementation.