Industrial Robot: Volume 18 Issue 4

ABB GOBBLES UP US COMPETITORS: MILACRON, GRACO ACQUISITIONS ARM THE SWEDES FOR A RUN AT GMF

Dave Fusaro

Just a few years ago, at what then was the annual American robot exposition and conference in Detroit, the head of a US robot firm remarked sullenly that the robot industry might…

ROBOTS AND SOFTWARE AT WELDEX '91: ROBOT WELDING WAS A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT FEATURE OF THIS YEAR'S EXHIBITION AT THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTER

Jack Hollingum

Despite the poor state of manufacturing business, the WELDEX '91 Exhibition last September was the largest yet staged in this four‐yearly series, with 26 per cent more exhibitors…

JAPANESE ROBOTICS DISPLAYED AT SCIENCE MUSEUM

Jack Hollingum

An imaginative presentation of the past, present and future of robotics in Japan was held at the Science Museum in London during September and October as part of the Japan…

THE FUTURE OF ROBOTICS RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS

Cheryl Pellerin

More than 100 engineers and researchers from industry and from government and academic laboratories met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in September at the Fourth World Conference on…

THE SALISBURY HAND

Cheryl Pellerin

In the early 1980s, mechanical hands were little more than two‐fingered grippers, or quick‐disconnect wrists with different tools for each job. Today, thanks to engineering…

KREMA AUTOMATES: USING A VISION‐ASSISTED ROBOT IN THE HANDLING OF BAGS OF SWEETS

Anna Kochan

Machine vision is helping General Foods subsidiary Krema to solve an innovative automation problem: the handling of floppy plastic bags of sweets. An environment where hard…

ELEPHANT TRUNKS: AN UNFORGETTABLE ALTERNATIVE TO RIGID MECHANISMS

J. Bruce, C. Davies

Existing devices such as robots and machine tools rely on motion generators that have been developed almost entirely from existing technology, e.g. electric motors…

ROBOTIC COMPLIANCE CONTROL USING MEMORY FOAMS

G.J. Monkman

Shape adaptive gripping techniques are becoming increasingly important in robotics as the handling of more delicate or irregular shaped objects are tackled. The use of compliance…

SIMULATION SLASHES WELD LINE DESIGN TIME: DESIGN TIME FOR STATIONS IN ROBOT WELDING LINES HAS BEEN CUT BY THE USE OF SIMULATION SOFTWARE

Michael G. Yocum

Most of the business of Koltanbar Engineering is designing large automated welding lines producing body assemblies. In the past, designing a welding station for one of these lines…