Robotics World articles from April 2001

Robotics World archives from April 2001

Robotics World Introduces Its New Internet Directory.
April 1, 2001... Few technologies have had the impact of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The Internet evolved from the ARPANET, commissioned by the Department of Defense in 1969 and designed to allow researchers to share information and remote computers....

Robotics Industry Posts Second Best Year Ever.
April 1, 2001... North American robotics industry posted its second best year ever in 2000, according to new statistics released by the Robotic Industries Association. RIA member companies reported 12,744 units booked for North American consumption during...

RIA Announces Staff Appointments.
April 1, 2001... New staff appointments at the Robotic Industries Association include the appointment of Brian Huse, director of marketing and public relations; and Kelly Johnston, marketing manager; and new responsibilities for Susan Haynes, formerly the...

Conference Preview.
April 1, 2001... The International Robots & Vision Conference in Rosemont, Ill., June 4-7, will examine a diverse range of practical issues for current and potential users of robotics and machine vision. Among the highlights are sessions geared to top...

Ford Donates $5 Million to Purdue University.
April 1, 2001... West Lafayette, Ind.--Ford Motor Co. will donate more than $5 million to Purdue University to support a new laboratory and expand robotic research. The donation will create the Perception Based Engineering Laboratory, where researchers...

ABB Unit to Support International Student Exchange.
April 1, 2001... Norwalk, Conn.--The U.S. unit of ABB announced a three-year commitment to support the Global Engineering Education Exchange, an international program that allows undergraduate engineering and computer science students to study for credit...

Mobile Robot Sales Expected to Soar.
April 1, 2001... Peterborough, N.H. -- Sales of mobile robots are expected to soar to nearly 866,000 units worth more than $17 billion by 2005. This is up from an estimated 11,000 mobile robots worth $1.2 billion that were installed at the beginning of 2000....

Adept Technology Inc.
April 1, 2001... Adept Technology Inc. has completed a public offering of shares of common stock totaling $36 million. The company anticipates using the proceeds for general corporate purposes and to pursue possible acquisitions of complementary products,...

Computer Motion Inc.
April 1, 2001... Computer Motion Inc. has raised $9 million through the private placement of convertible preferred stock with mandatory conversion. Societe Generale is the lead investor.

Integrated Surgical Systems Inc.
April 1, 2001... Integrated Surgical Systems Inc. reported that the Nasdaq Listing Qualification Office has decided to delist the company's securities from the Nasdaq stock market. The company also received a letter from Easdaq that it has decided to launch...

Tasty Fries Inc.
April 1, 2001... Tasty Fries Inc. has received the National Automatic Merchandising Association Letter of Compliance for its robotic french fry vending machine.

People.
April 1, 2001... Janice Culpepper has been appointed vice president of genomics for Structural GemomiX, where she will be responsible for evaluating and implementing new technologies and robotics.... James Schemenaur has joined Robotic Vision Systems Inc. as...

Asyst Technologies Inc.
April 1, 2001... Asyst Technologies Inc. has completed its acquisition of Semifab Inc. Semifab is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asyst.

Eutech Engineering Solutions Ltd.
April 1, 2001... ABB has agreed to buy Eutech Engineering Solutions Ltd., the international engineering consultancy subsidiary of ICI Group of the U.K.

Newport Corp.
April 1, 2001... Newport Corp. has acquired Design Technology Corp., a privately held systems integrator specializing in the use of robotics and flexible automation solutions for manufacturing processes, including those required in the assembly and testing...

EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc.
April 1, 2001... EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc.'s affiliate, Burleigh Automation Inc., will purchase substantially all of the assets of Vanguard Technical Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of DT Industries Inc. and a manufacturer of ultra-precision assembly...

Wonderware Corp.
April 1, 2001... Wonderware Corp. will acquire certain assets of Industrial Communications Group AS, its distributor in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The acquisition will enable Wonderware to sell its FactorySuite 2000 and MaintenanceSuite industrial automation...

IFS and ABB Automation.
April 1, 2001... IFS and ABB Automation have formed an alliance to integrate and market solutions blending ABB's Industrial IT platform with IFS business applications. Under the partnership, IFS software components for Enterprise Asset Management will be...

Robotics Case Studies.
April 1, 2001... MATERIAL REMOVAL Problem: The end user, a medium-sizec business, works in three shifts throughout the year, producing toboggans and child seats. The company manufactures 70,000 to 80,000 toboggans per season. After plastic parts go through...

Wired to the Web.
April 1, 2001... Robotics Industry Leverages the Power of the Internet The dot-com industry may be struggling these days, but that doesn't mean the Internet is going down the tubes. Much of the bad news comes from companies that are true dot-com companies,...

REMKE'S TUFF-FLEX CONNECTORS.
April 1, 2001... Repetitious movement of control and power cables can have devastating effects. Users can avoid cable casualties with Remke's new Tuff-Flex cord grip connectors. For applications where cable flex is an issue, the Tuff-Flex rubber flex sleeve...

BIW TAMAQUA'S AUTO-FLEX.
April 1, 2001... BIW Tamaqua Cables, a Draka USA company, is the manufacturer of Auto-Flex CF, a continuous flex control cable. Auto-Flex is designed and manufactured with reduced diameters for use in continuous flexing and high-speed automated and robotic...

MULTI-CONTACT CONNECTORS.
April 1, 2001... Multi-Contact manufactures primary circuit connectors used in industrial robotics applications. With the use of these connectors, the connecting cables from the switch gear cabinet along the robot arm to the welding transformer can be divided...

ELOCAB'S ROBOTICS CABLES.
April 1, 2001... Elocab's tailor-made robotics cables offer extremely high bending strength, superior mechanical durability and long service life. Incorporating high conductor stranding and unique designs, elocab's engineers can reduce the diameter of their...

ALPHA'S WIRE CABLE.
April 1, 2001... The new Alpha Wire Industrial Series of high-performance cable systems for the automotive and advanced technology manufacturing industries sets a new standard for durability and superior performance under harsh shop-floor environments. Series F...

MONTROSE's HIGH-FLEX FIRE WIRE.
April 1, 2001... Montrose/CDT has introduced a high-flex-life version of IEEE 1394 Fire Wire for high-speed digital transmission for robotics and digital video applications. The high-speed, serial bus cable has two data pairs and one power pair, all...

C&M'S MEGAFLEX CABLE.
April 1, 2001... C&M Corp. offers cable assemblies for high-flex industrial applications using the company's Megaflex cable. The assemblies provide power and signal for all levels of machine tools, robotics and other industrial equipment Engineered to provide...

ARC-WELDING ROBOT.
April 1, 2001... Panasonic Factory Automation Co. has added the PanaRobo VR-004 to its VR-series of arc-welding robots. The new six-axis robotic welding system offers a 4kg load capacity; a wide working envelope; compact design; and a dustproof and waterproof...

ROBOTIC BAG PALLETIZER.
April 1, 2001... Fully integrated bag-palletizing systems from Columbia/Okura can stack bags weighing up to 100 pounds in an overlapping bag pattern at a rate of up to 1,600 cycles per hour. Robotics systems are capable of handling a wide variety of bag types...

HEAVY-PAYLOAD ROBOT.
April 1, 2001... FANUC Robotics North America has introduced the new R-2000i/165F heavy-payload industrial robot and the FANUC System R-J3i Model B robot controller. The six-axis R-2000i is a more compact mechanical unit than its predecessor, with a 10 percent...

WELDING WORKCELLS.
April 1, 2001... Genesis Systems Group recently introduced the Versa RC3 workcell, which features a flexible, three-axis turntable. The robot is mounted in the center of the turntable, placing it closer to the workpiece, which allows a smaller, less-expensive...

MULTI-MACHINE LOAD SYSTEM.
April 1, 2001... EROWA Technology Inc. has introduced the ERS Robotic System, which loads and unloads workpieces on multiple pallets and can be configured to a customer's specifications. A typical multi-machine cell might feature a single ERS transferring...

WELDING POWER SOURCES.
April 1, 2001... Motoman has introduced the new MotoWeld family of power sources designed for robotic welding a wide range of applications. The MotoWeld A300 is a dual-pulse, AC/DC welder for aluminum, capable of making TIG-like beads. It is ideal for...

MICRO-FOCUS LASER.
April 1, 2001... StockerYale has developed the world's thinnest laser line, a new model of Lasiris Micro-Focus Laser (MLF) Series. This model projects a 5.5 micron [+ or -]0.75 micron line at 1/e2, out of a fully operational 5 degree fan angle laser line...

DISPENSING ROBOT.
April 1, 2001... The I&J2300 benchtop dispensing robot from I&J Fisnar Inc. is 560 mm wide and 529 mm deep, has a working area of 300 mm by 320 mm and weighs 35 kg. It comes with ready-to-use dispensing software, tech pendant, RS232C lead and memory card for...

WELDING POWER SOURCE.
April 1, 2001... The Lincoln Electric Co. has introduced the Power Wave 455/R power source. The digitally controlled inverter power source, when coupled with the Lincoln Electric Power Feed 10R wire feeder, is capable of multi-process operations ideal for...

WELDING POLLUTANT CAPTURE ARMS.
April 1, 2001... Micro Air provides clean air solutions at the source for any type of welding application, including MIG, MAG, GTAW, GMAW and robotic welding. Welding pollutants, such as smoke and fumes, are removed with Micro Air Source Capture Arms, lowering...

Online B2B...Deja Vu?
April 1, 2001... A high-tech industry begins to capture the minds of the media, analysts and manufacturers alike as market projections reach billions of dollars. Startup companies emerge and later launch IPOs prior to profit records. Companies begin forming...

Integral Vision Inc.
April 1, 2001... Integral Vision Inc. has granted a nonexclusive license to Coreco Inc., permitting Coreco to use Integral Vision's patented VisionBlox Technology in its software product line.