Robotics World articles from March 2004

Robotics World archives from March 2004

Cognex Corp.(Events)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... Cognex Corp. will host a new series of free machine vision seminars. The "Understanding and Applying Machine Vision Sensors" half day events show how vision sensors can perform automated inspection tasks in the automotive, medical,...

Lincoln Electric.(Events)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... Lincoln Electric will conduct three welding seminars this year: Omer Blodgett's Welding Design, April 20-22 and Oct. 12-14; and Fracture & Fatigue Control In Structures, Oct. 26-28. For information, call 216-3832240 or visit...

Ed Craig will lead a robot weld process control workshop May 12-13 at Wolf Robotics in Fort Collins, Colo.(Events)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... Ed Craig will lead a robot weld process control workshop May 12-13 at Wolf Robotics in Fort Collins, Colo. For information, visit www.weldreality.com.

Bosch Rexroth Corp.(People)
March 1, 2004... Ken Gazda has been named director of sales for the Linear Motion and Assembly Technologies business unit of Bosch Rexroth Corp. Gazda has held a number of sales and sales management positions since he joined Bosch Rexroth Corporation 13 years...

Flexicell Robotic Solutions.(People)
March 1, 2004... Dave Wood has been named sales manager, Central United States, for Flexicell Robotic Solutions of Richmond, Va.

Kaman Industrial Technologies.(People)
March 1, 2004... Roger Jorgenson has been appointed vice president, finance, for Kaman Industrial Technologies. The company also appointed Steven Kennedy to the position of district manager for Kaman's Southern New England district.

Thermadyne Holdings Corp.(People)
March 1, 2004... Paul Melnuk had been named CEO of Thermadyne Holdings Corp., and will remain chairman of the company.

SKF Precision Technologies has acquired the assets of Twentieth Century Machine Co.(Acquisitions / Agreements)
March 1, 2004... SKF Precision Technologies has acquired the assets of Twentieth Century Machine Co. and is integrating its line of ground ball screws with SKF's product line.

Through a new strategic alliance, Applied Computing & Engineering will provide Adept Technology customers with software enhancements.(Acquisitions
March 1, 2004... Through a new strategic alliance, Applied Computing & Engineering will provide Adept Technology customers with software enhancements and direct support for Adept Digital Workcell, CimStation Robotics and Production PILOT software products.

Stirling Engineering Inc. has become a Certified Vision Integrator.(Acquisitions
March 1, 2004... Stirling Engineering Inc. has become a Certified Vision Integrator for Cognex Corp.

Macomb Community College's Michigan Technical Education Center has formed a new partnership with General Motors Corp. and Comau PICO.(Acquisitions
March 1, 2004... Macomb Community College's Michigan Technical Education Center has formed a new partnership with General Motors Corp. and Comau PICO. Two training laboratories and three training cells have been installed in Macomb's MTEC to support the...

Action!(News)
March 1, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman may have had top billing in the futuristic action movie, "Paycheck," but two high-tech robotic heroes steal several scenes in the film. Early in the film, a Motoman UP50 robot...

Flex-N-Gate, a manufacturer of bumper systems, has used Delmia Corp.'s Ultra Paint robotic simulation and offline programming package to optimize the paint cells at its Peterborough, Ontario, factory.(Orders)
March 1, 2004... Flex-N-Gate, a manufacturer of bumper systems, has used Delmia Corp.'s Ultra Paint robotic simulation and offline programming package to optimize the paint cells at its Peterborough, Ontario, factory. The line consists of 20 ABB robots in five...

Robohand.(Orders)
March 1, 2004... Robohand has been granted ISO 9001:2000 certification following a quality management system audit conducted in December by TUV Management Services.

Rixan Associates.(Orders)
March 1, 2004... Rixan Associates, the exclusive North American distributor for Mitsubishi Robotics, has announced that all Mitsubishi Electric robots now come with a two-year "no strings attached" warranty.

Motoman Inc.(Orders)
March 1, 2004... Motoman Inc. is among 23 finalists for the Automotive News PACE 2004 Awards, which recognizes out standing automotive suppliers who have excelled in adapting and reinventing their companies or their products and processes to meet the growing...

Frost & Sullivan.(Orders)
March 1, 2004... According to a new report from Frost & Sullivan, rapid industrialization, an expanding economy and greater customer understanding of the technology are creating a buoyant market for variable speed drives in China. Supported by these trends, the...

The U.S. District Court in Las Vegas ruled in favor of Cognex in its lawsuit against the Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation.(Orders)
March 1, 2004... The U.S. District Court in Las Vegas ruled in favor of Cognex in its lawsuit against the Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation. The chief judge held that the claims of 14 patents asserted by the Lemelson Partnership are invalid and...

NEMA.(Orders)
March 1, 2004... Sales of industrial control products have typically been the slowest in the fourth calendar quarter of each year, and 2003 was no exception. NEMA's Primary Industrial Control index dipped 3.9 percent from its third-quarter level in the fourth...

Trade shows.(News)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... MARCH * WESTEC: March 2-25, Los Angeles Convention Center www.sme.org/westec. * ISR 2004, the 35th International Symposium on Robotics: March 23-26, Paris www.isr2004.com. * NA 2004, The Material Handling & Logistics...

FANUC expands Brazilian operations.(News)
March 1, 2004... FANUC Robotics America Inc. has expanded its Brazil operations with a move to a 22,000-square-foot facility in Sao Paulo. "The move to a larger facility was prompted by steady growth in our systems business," said Jose Teixeira, general manager...

2005 Robots & Vision Show co-locates with ATExpo.(RIA update)
March 1, 2004... The International Robots & Vision Show, which usually takes place every other June, will co-locate in 2005 with the Assembly Technology Expo. The shows will take place Sept. 27-29, 2005, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont,...

North American robot orders jump 19% in 2003.(RIA update)
March 1, 2004... North American manufacturing companies ordered 19% more robots from North American robotics suppliers in 2003 than in 2002, continuing evidence of the upturn in the robotics market, according to new figures released by the Robotic Industries...

DALSA founder, Cognex honored by AIA.(RIA update)
March 1, 2004... Dr. Savvas Chamberlain, CEO and chairman of DALSA Corp., has received the AIA's Achievement Award for Industry Leadership, the machine vision industry's highest honor. The award was presented Feb. 5, during the annual AIA Business Conference....

Association events.(RIA update)(Calendar)
March 1, 2004... The Vision Show East May 4-6 Hynes Convention Center Boston Robots 2004 Conference June 8-l0 Ypsilanti (Mich.) Marriott at Eagle Crest Resort National Robot Safety Conference Oct. 18-21 Ypsilanti...

SCARA robots getting competition from six-axis arms, but don't count them out just yet.(Feature Story)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2004... True or False: Six-axis articulated robots have become so fast and the price has dropped so much that Selective Compliance Assembly Robotic Arms (SCARAs) will eventually become obsolete. OK, it's true that six axis robots have gained a lot...

PID for the mathematically challenged.(Motion Control)
March 1, 2004... Are you wanting to tune a servo, but finding yourself a bit challenged by Bode Plots, Poles and Zeros and differential equations? Knowing the mathematics behind control theory is essential to stabilizing complex loads, but a few simple tips can...

Hybrid linear actuator.(Products)
March 1, 2004... Haydon Switch & Instrument now offers a Size 11 hybrid external linear actuator, which features a rotating stainless steel acme lead screw incorporated into the motor's rotor. Shaft-to-lead screw couplings are not needed with this design, thus...

Brush motors.(Products)
March 1, 2004... ThinGap Motor Technologies has introduced the TG3300-63 Series Brush DC motor with 495 watts of continuous shaft power, peak torque of 425 oz-in., maximum speed of 13,000 rpm and efficiency up to 90 percent in a rugged package. using Thin-Gap's...

Direct-drive spindles.(Products)
March 1, 2004... Aerotech's ASR series direct-drive spindles were designed to provide superior angular positioning and velocity control for applications including disk drive testing, imaging applications and precision wafer inspection. Matched angular contact...

Miniature accelerometer.(Products)
March 1, 2004... Kistler Instrument's new ultra-miniature triaxial accelerometer, the 8764A500, has a measure range of plus/minus 500g in the x, y and z axes. The shear element construction ensures high immunity from base strain and thermal transients....

Magnetic encoders.(Products)
March 1, 2004... Using new magnetic technology, Phoenix America Inc. has developed a rugged, industrial grade tachometer/encoder that addresses the inherent weaknesses of the more frangible optical encoder counterpart. Key features of this magnetically actuated...

Accelerometers.(Products)
March 1, 2004... Analyzing the vibration signal from an accelerometer does not always require expensive or complicated analysis equipment. Built-in signal conditioning in Honeywell's Model MA15, MA321, MA322 and MA52 accelerometers provides a 4-20mA output that...

Valve diagnostic system.(Products)
March 1, 2004... A production plant needs to operate smoothly, as any machine downtime costs money. In the event of a failure, every piece of relevant information about the fault or breakdown is valuable. The new DDL (Drive Diagnostic Link) pneumatic valve...

Machine-vision inspection.(Robotics Case Studies)
March 1, 2004... IBM Corp. recently installed a new quality assurance system, using machine vision hardware and software that not only detects and removes nonconforming parts, but also provided a return on investment just over a month after installation. Among...

Trans-gun tool changing.(Robotics Case Studies)
March 1, 2004... Robotic spot welding has become the metal joining method of choice in many manufacturing operations, primarily the production of automotive body parts. To keep robots flexible and make the best use of limited floor space, robotic tool changers...

Robotic weld cell air filtration.(Robotics Case Studies)
March 1, 2004... Concord Tool & Manufacturing, a tier one supplier to the automotive industry; manufactures stampings and assemblies. Within the last 12 years, the company increasingly has moved into spot welding, MIG welding and fabricating. The move to...

Robot deburring tool.(Products)
March 1, 2004... Flexdeburr 340, a patented deburring tool that satisfies 90 percent of all robotic and automated deburring applications, is now available from ATI Industrial Automation. The Flexdeburr has an air-turbine motor and spindle arrangement mounted...

Servo gearheads.(Products)
March 1, 2004... Neugart USA has extended the product range of its Right Angle Bevel Planetary Servo-Gearheads WPLE. This product is now available in four sizes, from 40 mm (NEMA 17) to 120 mm (NEMA 42), with 22 ratios, from 3:1 to 512:1. The WPLE gear-heads...

End-effector drawing services.(Products)
March 1, 2004... >SAS