Robotics World articles from July 2001

Robotics World archives from July 2001

Quality of Leads Was Key to Latest Robots & Vision Show.
July 1, 2001... Going into the International Robots & Vision Show, those in the robotics industry were concerned that a drop in orders in the first quarter would translate into reduced enthusiasm for flexible automation. Instead, the biennial show, sponsored...

Thorpe Chosen to Head Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute.
July 1, 2001... Pittsburgh -- Charles "Chuck" Thorpe, a principal research scientist in Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and founding head of its robotics master's program, has been named as the institute's new director. He replaces Takeo...

Robot-Aided Stroke Therapy Introduced.
July 1, 2001... Cambridge, Mass.--Interactive Motion Technologies Inc. recently demonstrated its InMotion2 Shoulder-Elbow Robot, a new tool in the treatment of stroke and other neurological disorders, at the American Soclety for Neurorehabilitation meeting....

Fiberoptic Automation Expo to Be launched At ATExpo.
July 1, 2001... Norwalk, Conn.-Reed Exhibition Cos. has created the Fiberoptic Automation Expo and co-located the show with its flagship Assembly Technology Expo, Oct. 2-4, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. "Fiberoptic...

People.
July 1, 2001... Leroy Rodgers has been appointed vice president of customer support for KUKA Robotics, where he will be responsible for engineering, training and service activities at the Sterling Heights, Mich., facility. Before joining KUKA Robotics, Rodgers...

USCAR Consortium Successfully Demonstrates SRIM Technology.
July 1, 2001... Southfield, Mich. -- The United States Council for Automotive Research has demonstrated the capability to mold large structural reaction injection-molded (SRIM) parts through the work of the Automotive Composite Consortium. SRIM is a...

Illinois Tool Works Inc.
July 1, 2001... Illinois Tool Works Inc. has purchased four welding component businesses from DovaTech Ltd., a subsidiary of Dover Corp.: Bernard, PlazCraft, WeldCraft and K&K Welding.

Bosch Automation Technology.
July 1, 2001... Bosch Automation Technology and Rexroth have merged to form Bosch Rexroth Corp. The new company consists of six divisions: Industrial Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Mobile Hydraulics, Electric Drives and Controls, Assembly and Linear Technology and...

Nitta (Japan).
July 1, 2001... Nitta (Japan) and Tecnomors (Italy) both have made an equity investment in Applied Robotics (Glenville, N.Y.), forming a global alliance among the three companies.

Asyst Technologies Inc.
July 1, 2001... Asyst Technologies Inc. has acquired GW Associates Inc. $32 million.

Roper Industries Inc.
July 1, 2001... Roper Industries Inc. has consolidated digital video camera makers Roper Scientific MASD Inc. and Redlake Imaging Corp. to create Redlake MASD Inc.

Scientific Technologies Inc.
July 1, 2001... Scientific Technologies Inc. has completed its acquisition of all the outstanding stock of Dunn Sales Inc., a privately held company that offers both safety and machinery services.

Flow International Corp.
July 1, 2001... Flow International Corp.'s Spearhead Automated Systems division has changed its name to Row Robotic Systems. Spearhead joined the Flow International group of companies in November 1999 and recently relocated its Michigan operations from Novi to...

Panasonic Industrial/Medical Group.
July 1, 2001... Panasonic Industrial/Medical Group has changed its name to Panasonic Vision Systems Group/OEM to more clearly define its broad base of end users and OEM customer applications.

Schunk Inc.
July 1, 2001... Schunk Inc. is tripling the size and capacity of its North American manufacturing facility, where it will produce all of its standard TENDO hydraulic products.

Pilz Automation Safety.
July 1, 2001... Pilz Automation Safety has announced the formation of a North American branch of the SafetyBUS p Club, an independent users group of companies that use and promote safe automation technology and develop related standards.

Automated Production Systems Corp.
July 1, 2001... Automated Production Systems Corp. has opened a robotic system testing center at its headquarters in New Freedom, Pa. The center is capable of demonstrating the use of robots in palletizing, order picking, industrial material handling, bottle...

UPMC Health System.
July 1, 2001... UPMC Health System has installed McKessonHBOC Automated Healthcare's ROBOT-Rx, a centralized robotic drug distribution system that automates storage, retrieval and dispensing of inpatient medications.

Spectra Technologies.
July 1, 2001... Spectra Technologies has been awarded the Technology Award from Adept Technology Inc. for innovative use of Adept flexible automation products to create leading-edge solutions to manufacturing problems.

The University of Pittsburgh.
July 1, 2001... The University of Pittsburgh has become the first center in the United States to use the Computer Motion Inc.'s ZEUS Robotic Surgical System during a beating-heart cardiac bypass operation.

ACS Group.
July 1, 2001... ACS Group is the new name for the companies formerly referred to as AEC/Sterling/Cumberland.

Lamb Technicon.
July 1, 2001... Lamb Technicon has reorganized its internal structure. All business units will adopt the Lamb Technicon name, and original unit names will designate product brands. The exception is Lamb Technicon Body & Assembly.

Adept Technology Inc.
July 1, 2001... Adept Technology Inc. has started a program to provide robotic hardware, controllers and software to colleges and universities. Four system configurations are available with this offer, at discounts up to 80 percent.

Adept Technology Inc.
July 1, 2001... Adept Technology Inc. has launched an e-catalog and e-commerce site for Adept SmartModules at www.adept.com. Adept also has launched Knowledge Express online technical documentation, which includes all Adept User Guides and Reference Manuals....

FANUC Robotics.
July 1, 2001... FANUC Robotics North America has launched its Customer Resource Center Internet site at www.fanucrobotics.com, a subscription-based site that supports online parts ordering, access to customer support information and order tracking for...

Robots & Vision Show a Success in Chicago.
July 1, 2001... More than 5,000 manufacturing professionals attended the International Robots &Vision Show in June to see the latest robots, vision systems and related factory automation products. "We've had terrific feedback on the show and conference,"...

Pepperidge Farm Wins User Recognition Award.
July 1, 2001... Pepperidge Farm Inc. received the 2001 Robots & Vision User Recognition Award for its innovative use of these technologies in cookie packaging. The company was presented the award at the International Robots & Vision Show. "Pepperidge Farm...

Vision East Conference Papers Sought.
July 1, 2001... The Vision East Show & Conference is nearing a sellout, according to the Automated Imaging Association, the event's sponsor. The show takes place at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Oct. 30-Nov. 1. "We've already sold 20 percent more...

Reading the Signs.
July 1, 2001... Know When It's Time to Switch to Robotics Talk to a few manufacturers who have switched from manual labor or hard automation to robotics, and you'll get a variety of reasons for making that change. The mix of justifications differs from...

Robots Add Flexibility to Machining, Machine-Tending Applications.
July 1, 2001... Robots aren't likely to replace CNC milling machines any time soon, but you can find them increasingly doing machining operations. "A robot is not as rigid as a five-axis CNC machine," said L.P. Musunur, engineering manager for material...

ARC-WELDING PACKAGE.
July 1, 2001... PAC-MIG Inc. and Applied Robotics Inc. have teamed up to offer an end-of-arm package for robotic arc welding. PAG*MIG manufactures a patented line of robotic GMAW welding guns that are cooled by pressurized/shop air. Applied Robotics...

SIX-AXIS ROBOTS.
July 1, 2001... DENSO Sales California Inc. has introduced a new line of six-axis assembly robots: VS-6556E and VS-6577E. The new VSE attributes include a 5 kg payload, reach of 650 mm and 850 mm and faster top speed (0.49-second standard cycle time). Enhanced...

SHEET-METAL HANDLING.
July 1, 2001... Schmalz has introduced SAF and SAB Treadtech suction cups for handling sheet metal. The new cups, ranging in diameter from 30 mm to 125 mm, are characterized by a tire-like tread design on the contact surface that permits displacement of oil...

COMPACT PALLET CELL.
July 1, 2001... Motoman has introduced Pallet WorldLite, a compact, integrated workcell featuring the Motoman UP20 robot with a 20 kg payload and 1,658 mm reach. The cell is designed for low- to medium-volume case palletizing, up to 8-12 picks per minute, and...

HIGH-FLEX CABLE.
July 1, 2001... W.L. Gore & Associates Inc.'s high-flex-life cables and cable assemblies can withstand demanding environments found in automation applications, whether engineers are designing equipment for pick and place, linear motion, robotics or...

PC-BASED ROBOT CONTROLLER.
July 1, 2001... Staubli's new CS8 is an easy-to-use, compact, PC-based controller designed to complement the Staubli line of six-axis robots in material-handling applications. The CS8 features a new programming language, VAL 3, which permits multi-tasking...

QUICK CHANGE TOOLING.
July 1, 2001... Genesis Systems Group has introduced Quick Change Tooling, which is ideal for any industry that has a medium to high mix of parts and/or high changeover applications. Quick Change Tooling offers rapid tool changeover for optimal machine use and...

COLOR VISION SENSOR.
July 1, 2001... Cognex Corp. has introduced the Insight 1000C, a low-cost, self-contained machine-vision sensor for verifying and sorting parts based on their color. The sensor is designed to perform a wide range of color inspection tasks, such as checking the...

PLASMA CUTTING SYSTEM.
July 1, 2001... Hypertherm Inc. has introduced the first HyDefinition plasma cutting system with 100 percent duty cycle at 200 amps to deliver excellent cut quality on a wide variety of metals, from 26 gauge to three-quarters of an inch, and it can pierce and...

VISION CD-ROM.
July 1, 2001... DVT Corp. has introduced the DVTVirtualTour, a free CD-ROM featuring an interactive version of the company's award-winning training program with video, 3-D virtual reality and stereo sound. DVT VirtualTour features in-depth product knowledge,...

WEB-BROWSING PENDANT.
July 1, 2001... FANUC Robotics North America has introduced the i Pendant with an integrated web browser. The new graphic user interface device to the FANUC System R-J3I Model B robot controller is based on Internet technology and includes an integrated...

16-AMP SAFETY RELAY.
July 1, 2001... Pilz Automation Safety has introduced the first 16-amp safety relay. The PNOZpower series provides the ability to monitor higher-amperage machinery without the need for additional equipment, such as external contactors or related accessories...

300MM SORTER.
July 1, 2001... Brooks Automation has introduced its new 300 mm sorter product family, MapTrak Express systems. The new product family represents the integration of Brooks' newly acquired sorter business unit, Irvine Optical, with Brooks' robotics, air flow...

3-D VISION SYSTEM.
July 1, 2001... Braintech Inc. has created a 3-D vision-guided robotic system for parts handling. The system's architecture, using a single conventional CCD camera, is built using novel 3-D parts location and orientation science. A major advantage of...

INDUSTRIAL SMART CAMERA.
July 1, 2001... Vision Components has introduced the VC 2065 industrial smart camera. The VC 2065 features a 32-bit Texas Instruments C6 DSP processor, capable of processing up to 54 parts/second with full resolution and up to 216 parts/second when processing...

SMART POSITION SENSOR.
July 1, 2001... Vishay Intertechnology Inc. has introduced the Vishay Spectrol 601-1045 smart position sensor, a self-contained device that provides an analog electrical output over a 360-degree range without requiring any external components. It will be used...