Automation
ABB Robotics Teams Up with Okuma, Becomes a Partner in THINC
ABB Robotics, a leading supplier of industrial robots, has joined Partners in THINC, creating a strategic alliance with Okuma, a world leader in the development and production of machine tools. Okuma is unique in the world of machine tools in that the company also develops and manufactures the control, drives a
Read MoreCompact, Maintenance-Free Conveyors
InnerDrive belt conveyors from QC Industries feature a 24vdc motor placed inside a low-profile conveyor frame to save space.
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Oil Drill Coupling Production Gets Automated
Sponsored by Okuma. A manufacturing cell combines lathes, gantry robot and conveyor system to enable automated production of oil drill couplings.
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Cells To The Max
Brad Hart, president of Roberts Tool Company, in Chatsworth, California, believes that automated cells are the key to survival for companies likes his that machine complex, high-precision parts for aerospace and defense. Cellular manufacturing makes it possible to reduce lead times dramatically and minimize labor input while increasing throughput and improving quality, he says. In his shop, a cell consisting of two Toyoda HMCs and a dozen pallet stations epitomizes the lean manufacturing concepts that Mr. Hart finds so compelling. However, he says that shop owners have to get out of the business of making parts and into the business of building processes--processes such as those embodied in a lean manufacturing cell.
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Robots Make A Clean Sweep
A plant already effective at using robots for work handling applies robots to the end of the process as well, using them to clean and deburr intricate parts.
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Successfully Feeding The Medical Market
This medical shop has adopted five-axis, bar-fed machining technology to adapt to compressed delivery schedules and increasingly complex part geometries.
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