The Need for Speed - Manufacturers Must Adapt Workers’ Skills for Fast Covid-19 Recovery
Claudia Jarret, US Country Manager | EU Automation
The “new normal” COVID-19 era demands faster production speeds, as well of quality, of US industrial manufacturers. Here, Claudia Jarret, US country manager at EU Automation, explains that if manufacturers want to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, they mustn’t overlook the importance of reskilling their workforce for maximum economic recovery.
Manufacturers have faced both high and low demand scenarios during the coronavirus pandemic. On the one hand, production of high-tech equipment has risen as the demand for computers, peripherals, communications equipment and semiconductors reaches an all-time high as has demand for appliances. Automotive manufacturers are filling order backlogs that have accumulated during lockdown.
Framatome has announced the completion of a key milestone in the development of a robotic-assisted handling system to support decommissioning and waste management for the nuclear industry. Testing has confirmed the operation of robotic systems for handling and sorting high-level waste components, paving the way for increased automation.
Staubli Rolls Out 5 New Models of Robotic Tool Changers
Q&A with Denny Savage, Robotic Tool Changer Business Unit Manager | Staubli
Tell us about yourself and your role with Stäubli.
I have been involved with automation components for 35 years and I am currently the robotic tool changer Business Unit Manager for North America with Stäubli Corporation. I’m responsible for all projects related to the tool changer product line.
Give us some details about robotic tool changers and where they are being used?
It is a mechanical quick disconnect device that structurally handles the robot load while having the capability to switch out different EOAT. With that, it passes the utilities required to operate the EOAT. Tool changers offer additional flexibility to robots. The flexibility comes from a single robot changing tools to handle multiple operations. Another major consideration when deciding on whether to include robotic tool changers in your factories is when
Bringing sweet tea and juice to the market requires palletizing the cases filled with respective bottles to be palletized for transportation to retail outlets. Due to their perishable nature, they are stored in cold rooms. A customer turned to Motion Controls Robotics Inc (MCRI) from Fremont, OH, to replace an inefficient existing system, in which the vacuum cups and pumps utilized did not cope well with the average temperature in the cold room of 35°F (1.7°C). This caused vacuum cups to become rigid and pumps to not provide enough vacuum to hold cases leading to regular drop downs. A better system had to be found to handle cardboard cases weighing up to 42lbs (19kg).
Google Cloud and Siemens, an innovation and technology leader in industrial automation and software, have announced a new cooperation to optimize factory processes and improve productivity on the shop floor.