Robotics World articles from March 2000

Robotics World archives from March 2000

Innovative Ideas at ISR Offer Hint of Future Applications.
March 1, 2000... In May of this year, the world's leading robotics researchers and teachers will gather in Montreal for the International Symposium on Robots. Robotics World will be on hand to cover this annual event, and our reportage will appear in the...

Amir Novini Named Chairman of Automation Technologies Council.
March 1, 2000... The Automation Technologies Council has elected Amir Novini, president of Applied Vision Corp. in Akron, Ohio, as its new chairman. He succeeds Charlie Duncheon of Adept Technology, who served in 1998-1999. "As we start this new century,...

Modern Marketing Conference Expanded.
March 1, 2000... "Modern Marketing: Winning Strategies for the New Millennium" will build on its successful first year by providing new and expanded sessions for industrial-automation marketers looking for the latest marketing strategies. The conference...

Robots & Vision Show Moves to Chicago; Exhibit Space Selling Quickly.
March 1, 2000... Exhibit space is going fast for the biennial International Robots & Vision Show, to be held June 5-7, 2001, at the Rosemont Convention Center in Chicago. According to Donald Vincent, executive vice president of the RIA, more than 60...

Harrelson Named SME President for 2000.
March 1, 2000... Ronald Harrelson, a training manager at Caterpillar Inc. in Morton, Ill., has been named president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers for 2000. Harrelson, who joins three officers and three elected directors to form the SME Executive...

1999 RI/SME Technology Trends Report Available to Members.
March 1, 2000... Trends in robotics technologies are strongly related to the exponential growth in computer performance, open architectures and industry standardization. Robots are moving faster with greater path optimization. Multi-processor and multi-tasking...

Schunk, Inc. Wins DPI's "Name the Puppy" Contest.
March 1, 2000... Schunk, Inc. won the 1999 "Name the Puppy" contest sponsored by Douglas Publications Inc. (DPI), publishers of Robotics World. Schunk suggested the name "Pilot" for the canine that will be trained by Guiding Eyes for the Blind thanks to a...

World Robot Orders Booming.
March 1, 2000... Geneva--Drivenbya 60 percentincrease in industrial robot orders in North America, worldwide orders for industrial robots increased by 20 percent last year, according to the annual report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. ...

ISR 2000 Set for May 14-17.
March 1, 2000... The 31st International Symposium on Robotics will take place May 14-17 in Montreal. Hosted by the International Federation of Robotics and the Canadian Federation for Robotics, the symposium will run in conjunction with the 10th Annual...

RadiSys Honored by Forecasters Group.
March 1, 2000... Hilisboro, Ore. -- RadiSys Corp., a designer and manufacturer of embedded computing solutions, was recognized as a leader in the CompactPCI and VME single-board computer markets for 1999. These findings, published in the market study...

Steeplechase, Bradley Ward Announce Partnership.
March 1, 2000... Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Steeplechase Software Inc. and Bradley Ward Systems have announced a partnership to provide complete plant floor automation to the food and beverage industry. Bradley Ward Systems, long known for food and pharmaceutical...

Brooks Automation Completes Two Acquisitions.
March 1, 2000... Chelmsford, Mass.--Brooks Automation Inc. has completed the acquisition of both AutoSimulations Inc. and Auto-Soft Corp. from Daifuku America Corp., the U.S. affiliate of Daifuku Co. Ltd. of Japan. The purchase adds two leading automation...

Tecnomatix to Acquire Majority Interest in Fabmaster.
March 1, 2000... Meylan-Grenoble, France -- Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd., a provider of digital factory software, will acquire a majority interest in Fabmaster S.A., a provider of computer-integrated manufacturing electronics assembly, for approximately $12...

Lincoln Electric Increases Holdings.
March 1, 2000... Cleveland -- Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. has acquired a 35 percent stake in the Kuang Tai Metal Industrial Co. Ltd., a Taiwan-based producer of mild steel and stainless steel welding wires in Taiwan and the People's Republic of China....

Adept Announces New Business Unit Structure.
March 1, 2000... San Jose, Calif.-Adept Technology Inc. has a new organizational structure that includes the creation of four new business units and the appointment of managers of the new business units. The company's new business units and their managers...

Amtech Systems Cracks Japanese Market.
March 1, 2000... Tempe, Ariz. -- Amtech Systems Inc. has secured its first IBAL order from a well-known semiconductor fabricator in Japan. Because Japan represents approximately one-fourth of the worldwide market for semiconductor production equipment,...

Carnegie Mellon's Nomad Robot Finds Meteorites in Antarctica.
March 1, 2000... Pittsburgh -- Carnegie Mellon University's Nomad robot, which conducted an autonomous search for meteorites inAntac tica Jan. 20-30, has successfully completed [ts mission, examining more than 100 indigenous rocks, studying about 50 in detail...

FMC Proposes to Acquire Advanced Machine Vision.
March 1, 2000... Chicago -- FMC Corp. has proposed to acquire Advanced Machine Vision Corp. for $1.75 per share in cash, or an aggregate of approximately $27 million. "We believe this transaction makes great sense from the standpoint of both companies,"...

PEOPLE.
March 1, 2000... Rod Powell has been named divisional chief executive of Invensys' Controls Division. He replaces Bruce Henderson, who was named divisional chief executive of the Intelligent Automation Division in October 1999. RickArmbrust has been appointed...

Adept Technology.
March 1, 2000... SIG Pack, a provider of packaging machines and systems based in Switzerland, will use Adept Technology's Adept-Motion VME controllers in its new RoboPack automated packaging system, which also will use ABB Flexible Automation's FlexPicker...

Adept.
March 1, 2000... Adept, which recently was awarded ISO 9002 certification for its corporate San Jose location from TUV Reinland or North America, also has selected Marketech International Corp. to market and sell Adept automation hardware and software...

M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd.
March 1, 2000... M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Ltd. has named Reptron Electronics Inc. as a distributor for the company's flash-based local storage products.

Integrated Surgical Systems Inc.
March 1, 2000... Integrated Surgical Systems Inc. is working with Zimmer Inc. to add the NexGen Complete Knee Solution to the menu of products that can be used with ISS's ROBODOC Surgical Assistant System. The companies also have agreed to add the Zimmer...

Nyquist Industrial Control of Eindhoven.
March 1, 2000... Nyquist Industrial Control of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, has agreed to package and resell Cimetrix Inc.'s CODE software as an integrated package with the Nyquist NYCe family of advanced motion controllers.

Intercon 1 division of Nortech Systems Inc.
March 1, 2000... The Intercon 1 division of Nortech Systems Inc., which produces aftermarket CCD camera cables for robotic and other industrial applications, has achieved certification under ISO 9002.

SmithKline Beecham, Merck, AstraZeneca, Parke-Davis and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
March 1, 2000... The Automation Partnership is collaborating with SmithKline Beecham, Merck, AstraZeneca, Parke-Davis and Bristol-Myers Squibb to co-develop a new flexible cell-culture system for drug-discovery applications.

Hypertherm Inc.
March 1, 2000... Hypertherm Inc. was No. 1 in the "10 Best New Hampshire Workplaces" annual feature article in Business NH Magazine.

It's a Dirty Job[ldots].
March 1, 2000... Benefits of Welding Robots Are Expanding Beyond Traditional Automotive Applications and Into General Industry In the history of industrial robotics, welding has played a prominent role, and it maintains its preeminent position to this day....

Welding Case Studies.
March 1, 2000... Fanuc Robots Weld Wheelchairs When Quickie Designs Inc. introduced a new line of lightweight steel and aluminum wheelchairs, eight workers were assigned the job of brazing all of the frame components. Production rates in the first year...

Prevent Robotic Welding 'Indigestion' Choosing the Right Welding Wire Spells Relief From Downtime.
March 1, 2000... Robotic welding equipment is a good production investment -- when it's welding. But the second the arc starts to wander, the minute there is too much spatter, the more often liners need cleaning out, you start to lose money to downtime. You...

General Industry Case Studies.
March 1, 2000... Durable goods is a term that covers a lot of ground. And robot manufacturers and integrators hope to cover a lot of that ground with flexible automation systems. While robots got their start in welding and material handling in the automotive...

ESD-Safe Lighting The Not-to-Be Forgotten Part of ESD-Safe Working Environments.
March 1, 2000... Electrostatic discharge (ESD), the transfer of electrostatic charge between objects at different potentials, is a modern-day challenge in many high-tech manufacturing and inspection environments. Yet, it also has a history rooted in the ancient...

The New Robot Safety Standard New features in the design and installation of industrial robots.
March 1, 2000... The Robotic Industries Association has been pursuing an aggressive campaign to "get out the word" that the new robot safety standard, ANSI/RIA R15.06- 1999, has been approved and published. We see daily examples that the updated standard is...

Total Process Integration The Next Step in Productivity Gains.
March 1, 2000... First the good news in robotic welding. Welding robots work better than ever and weld process equipment gets better every day. Robotic welding workcells are vastly improved and the price has decreased. Integration of these components is the...

ABB Flexible Automation.
March 1, 2000... ABB's Welding Systems Division manufactures a number of robots for all types of welding applications and FlexArc robotic arc-welding workcells. The FlexArc cells incorporate flexible packages of equipment, including robots, positioners, power...

Fanuc Robotics.
March 1, 2000... Fanuc Robotics has standard welding workcells, peripherals and a family of welding robots that includes the ARC Mate 50iL, which has a double-jointed design that gives it an advantage in overhead welding situations. The six-axis, modular,...

Motoman Inc.
March 1, 2000... Motoman Inc. offers welding robots and a family of standardized welding cells, including FabWorld II, designed for the low-to medium-volume manufacturer and ideal for welding large parts; ArcWorld III; and WorldLite, a low-cost solution that...

OTC Daihen.
March 1, 2000... The latest members of the OTC Daihen family of standard welding packages are the E- 100 and E-100L. The cells use stationary tables for part positioning, which eliminates indexing time and there increases production. The E-100 can be cc figured...

Panasonic Factory Automation.
March 1, 2000... Panasonic manufactures a line of robots that can perform welding applications and a line of PerformArc robotic welding systems, including the PerformaArc 52, which is completely assembled and prewired for fast installation. The PerformArc 52 is...

Reis Robotics.
March 1, 2000... Reis Robotics manufactures welding robots, compact welding workceils and custom-designed systems for large welding jobs. In addition, the company offers workpiece positioners, fully automated welding fixtures, custom tooling and other...

KUKA Robotics Corp.
March 1, 2000... KUKA makes robots suitable for all types of welding applications, and the company's engineers work closely with customers to design and build welding systems and custom welding machines. The company also offers the necessary peripherals for...

Nachi Robotics.
March 1, 2000... Nachi manufactures robots, weld guns with servo technology and peripherals for spot-and arc-welding applications, including the SC06F robot, which is suited for confined spaces and can be mounted on the floor or wall, inverted or at an angle....

Transgun Tool Changer.
March 1, 2000... ATIIndustrialAutomation has released a new tool changer that is specially designed for transgun resistance welding with less maintenance. Dealing with robotic tool changers with high-power contacts usually involves disassembling the high-power...

Dust-Collection System.
March 1, 2000... Experience in robotic welding is incorporated into the design of Micro Air's dust collectors to provide efficient cleaning of robotic weld smoke from weld cells and ambient plant air, which helps to keep optics clean and equipment functioning...

Welding Power Source.
March 1, 2000... Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. has introduced Auto Invision, a robotic welding power source that combines Miller Electric's Invision 456P wire-welding power source with the Robotic Interface II in one package. The "one-box" solution...

Robotic Gauging System.
March 1, 2000... Servo-Robot's Flexcell is a flexible robotic gauging system designed to inspect welds, examine holes, verify bracket presence and other functions on various types of parts, such as automobile frame assemblies. The system uses Servo-Robot's...

Laser-Welding System.
March 1, 2000... GSI Lumonics has introduced the AM Series, a new class of completely modular high-power lasers that use the features of the MultiWave-Auto laser systems for automotive welding. The AM102 is designed for medium-volume automotive applications...

Brush-Pack Let-Off System.
March 1, 2000... The Brush-Pack system, manufactured by National-Standard, offers a consistent wire tension using just a few ounces of drag. With no moving parts, no liners to replace and no tools for installation, this system can reduce changeover/setup time...

High-Speed 4-Axis Robot.
March 1, 2000... Toshiba Machine has added an even more compact variant to its HSP Series Scara robots in the SR-424HSP. With an arm length of just 420 mm, the robot can work within an area the size of a pallet. The new model is fast and accurate, offering...

Adhesive Dispenser.
March 1, 2000... Sealant Equipment & Engineering's See-Flo Integrated Pneumatic Dispense System is designed to spray or stream high-viscosity single-component mastics or sealers in automated or robotic applications. The system is temperature-conditioned to...

Miniature Sprue Picker.
March 1, 2000... Sprue pickers for small machines typically were adaptations of robots made for bigger tonnages and did not fit small machines well. By designing a small, yet high-performance robot, the mini-HOPIII series. Yushin America has solved that...

LAN Data Cables.
March 1, 2000... Cablemaker elocab has carved out a new niche by creating a line of tailor-made LAN data cables for gruesome high-flex applications. Conventional, unshielded twisted-pair cables cannot withstand continuous movement and flexing caused by sensors,...

Position Feedback Grippers.
March 1, 2000... Zaytran Inc. has introduced a new measuring technology for large robotic grippers. The Position Feedback grippers provide information about the size of the part that the gripper is holding, with an accuracy of [pm]0.125 mm. The Zaytran XRAY...