The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) announced three longtime industry pioneers as the winners of the 2024 Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards, the world's most prestigious robotics honor. 

AD Mexico was thrilled to commemorate its 10th anniversary at the 2024 AD Mexico Spring Network Meeting, hosting the AD Mexico Divisional Board, Industrial and Safety Steering Committee, and Supplier Advisory Council, along with 120 AD Mexico electrical and industrial & safety members and suppliers to engage in networking opportunities and discussions on the achievements of 2023 and plans for expansion into new markets in 2024.

LexxPluss is investing heavily in the US to provide its autonomous mobile robots (AMR) technology. The Japanese automation solutions provider has recently announced a new US demo space to showcase the capabilities of its flexible robotic fleet solutions and the flagship 30x30 ft facility is located in the Indiana IoT Lab, in Fishers, Indiana.

For this paper, the digital twin refers to a digital asset that exists alongside the physical asset during its operational life, providing insight into and feedback on the physical asset’s performance and health. Thus, the focus is on the DTI, with the potential to aggregate data into a DTA for the gearbox design being considered, and within the DTE set up by Hexagon.

In respect of the physical asset across its life, nothing is more important about its performance than its ability to function, i.e., reliability, and for CAE, nothing is of greater importance than to be able to predict the reliability of a product being designed. Thus, for this study, whilst gearbox noise, efficiency, and thermal behavior may be of interest, the primary interest is fatigue and reliability.

At the AGMA/ABMA annual meeting (held March 15–17 in Napa, CA), gear manufacturers, bearing manufacturers and industry suppliers spent a lot of time talking about one of the key issues affecting all of industry: finding and retaining skilled employees.

I hear about a lot of different approaches people are taking, including cooperations with local educational institutions, such as high schools, community colleges and technical trade schools. I heard the competition for dedicated young employees who are interested in joining a manufacturing team is so fierce that many companies who want to hire simply can’t. Some have even begun creating their own in-house training and education programs at least partially in order to bypass that competition and find and develop the necessary talent.

Hanging above my desk is a quote from Nikola Tesla that reads, “Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe.” What this means to me evolves daily. For example, I was walking the dogs over the weekend, and I noticed a gray piece of plastic on the lawn. My first instinct was it must go to a toy of some kind. I have been trying to imagine all week what it might go to.

There is no compromise to safety in robotic applications. Lightweight robots or collaborative robots (cobots) are capable of complex and unexpected movements and need to stop immediately ensuring the safety of human operators. This is where smart couplings and smart brakes provide intelligent flexibility and guidance.

In the highly competitive gear manufacturing industry, Master Power Transmission (MPT) recognized the need for innovation. To achieve this, MPT partnered with Ready Robotics, undertaking a transformative journey into advanced automation through their Automation Readiness Assessment (ARA).

Automate 2024 (Chicago) offers comprehensive automation education and new developments in robotics, vision, AI, motion control and other technologies. Automate delivers the latest innovations in manufacturing automation technology from more than 800 exhibitors. If the robotic and automation highlights aren’t enough, the show also hints at the evolution of AI, IIoT, e-Mobility, condition monitoring and intuitive software. This article previews the show floor topics reshaping manufacturing for the foreseeable future.