Whether it’s grabbing, holding or turning, touching, typing or pressing — in everyday life, we use our hands as a matter of course for the most diverse tasks. In that regard, the human hand, with its unique combination of power, dexterity, and fine motor skills, is a true miracle tool of nature. What could be…

The 2019 edition of the Fluid Power Technology Conference will be held on May 14 and 15 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Kern Center. Each day of the conference will open with exiting keynote presentations about how fluid power manufacturers can be leaders in robotics and automation technologies. The Fluid Power Technology Conference brings…

Last week, Soft Robotics Inc. released its mGrip modular grasping system. The Bedford, Mass.-based company said its “on-demand” system will help soft robotics proliferate and allow users “to build, validate, and install production-ready systems in minutes.” Soft Robotics designs and sells soft manipulators using patented technology based on research by Prof. George M. Whitesides at…

The Post-Star is reporting that SUNY Adirondack—a public college in Queensbury, N.Y. with 3,000 students—is planning to add associate degree programs in robotics and mechanical technology to meet the needs of local employers. The paper noted that the school’s board of trustees approved creating an associate degree program in mechatronics last week and that existing […]

Tactile sensing and force feedback are – and have been – problem areas for robot grasping. Humans could see, select and pick so much faster. Yet to handle the millions of different everyday items in our factories and warehouses, costly positioning and camera systems have been required. These systems made it easy for fast robots with…

AccuFast™ II, an economical laser-based seam finder for Yaskawa Motoman’s arc welding robot line, features improved sensor capabilities. The improved sensor offers increased performance by providing more reliable and repeatable feedback to the robot controller regarding part position. It also provides readings on a variety of materials and at angles of measurement that were not […]

There is growing demand for more flexibility in factories and shops. Collaborative robotics, a sub-set of service robotics in labs, manufacturing and material handling, is where the action is today because co-bots are meeting these new demands, while caged legacy robots are not. Service and assistance robotics, with and without mobility, are an emerging and somewhat futuristic field, albeit one…

Stäubli will showcase a variety of industry-defining products, including its new TX2 line of collaborative robots, at the Automate trade show in Chicago this April.  Stäubli is an innovative mechatronics solutions provider focused on connectors (both fluid and electrical), robotics and textiles. The company is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. Automate 2017 will be held […]

The new SCHUNK SHS manual tool change system is perfect for flexible production with a large range of products, where reliable, manual tool changing is required. The SHS has integrated pneumatic feed through for a safe power supply for tool handling and optional electric feed through. The locking lever doesn’t need to be rotated, only […]

ST Robotics announced today the addition of the new ST R17HS—a high speed version of their five-axis vertically articulated R17 robot arm. The ST R17HS is one of the industry’s fastest robots: standard tool speed is over four times as fast as the nearest competitor, yet it’s less than half the price: Compare the R17HS to […]

SCHUNK has introduced several improvements on the original PGN-Plus and has announced the newest generation gripper, PGN-Plus-P. Enlarged supporting dimensions between the six load-bearing shoulders of the multi-tooth guidance allow higher moment capacity which can accommodated longer fingers and greater loads. Permanent lubrication is provided through  continuous lubrication pockets in the guidance. For short strokes […]

Among the difficulties in  mechatronics are the many relationships within any given system.  In most cases we approach each application from a certain perspective and somewhat randomly try to sort out he most important relationships in terms that are familiar to us as individuals.  For the mechanical engineer it is easiest to interpret mechatronics as […]

How we do work has changed dramatically over the last few hundred years.  We can arbitrarily refer to the Industrial Revolution using steam power as Industrie 1.0, irrespective of the fact that we should really be talking about Industry 2.0 or 3.0 based on a more appropriate historical context. Even assuming 1.0, Industrie 2.0 would […]

The EGP from SCHUNK is the electric small part gripper with the most compact performance on the market. SCHUNK expanded the EGP series with a smaller size (25) which weighs 110g and has a stroke of 3 mm per finger. Furthermore, SCHUNK has developed an optional “speed” version of the EGP 25. By reducing the […]

The latest acquisition is Gimatic, an Italian pneumatic and electric grippers, sensors and positioners maker, by Agic Capital. The Financial Times reported the sale price to be between $112 and $169 million. Gimatic is an Italian supplier of robotic end-of-arm tools. Annual sales have grown more than 20% over the past three years, with most of its business coming from Europe. Asia, accounting for less than 1/10 of Gimatic sales, is seen as the market with the biggest potential. Gimatic's gripper product line is of direct interest to Chinese robot manufacturers. Agic Capital, together with China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) and Chinese state fund Guoxin International Investment Corp,…

Festo introduced today the Handling Guide Online configurator for Cartesian robots. This new productivity tool significantly reduces engineering overhead for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and speeds delivery to laboratory equipment, electronic light assembly, end of line packaging, food and beverage, automotive, and machine tool manufacturers. More after the jump. Equipped with basic application information such […]

At the recent A3 Business Forum — held in conjunction with the Robotics Industries Association, or RIA, the Automated Imaging Association, or AIA, and the Motion Control & Motor Association, or MCMA, I got the chance to interview some robotics experts about the current state of technology. Nigel Smith, President and CEO, and Ryan Guthrie, […]

Kurt ToolBlox feature an open-cage design weighing 30% less than a solid tombstone with Aluminum subplates, making easier handling for the CNC machine table and shuttle systems. The ToolBlox class 30 Grey Iron iron construction continues to provide the vibration dampening for a rigid setup even compared to much heavier tombstone alternatives. Each Toolblox face […]

Control system hardware is a very diverse business.  Siemens, ABB, Eaton, Rockwell and a universe of suppliers make up a marketplace of approximately $200 billion.  At the supplier level the definition of control is pretty much anything from medium voltage switchgear, transformers, insulators and everything needed from the electric utility supply down to a 5 […]

The competition to bring a mass produced electric car to the market is really heating up.  There is an underlying assumption that, like flat screen TVs, this thing is going to happen.  Like seeing flat screens in science fiction movies, electric cars have been part of the cultural consciousness for more than 35 years, since […]

The EGP from SCHUNK is the electric small part gripper with the most compact performance on the market. SCHUNK expanded the EGP series with a smaller size (25) which weighs 110 g and has a stroke of 3 mm per finger. Furthermore, SCHUNK has developed an optional “speed” version of the EGP 25. By reducing […]

Mechatronics, like every other field of human endeavor, is undergoing rapid change driven in large part by the availability of increasingly more powerful processor technology.  In the September 2013 issue of Design World the cover article features a “toy” robot based on an inverted pendulum control system.  The robot is able to move on a […]