Software directs robotic pelletizing.(PRODUCTS OF THE MONTH)

Although the basic configuration of Programmable Logic Controllers has not changed much in three decades, the way they are constructed and programmed has evolved. Today’s PLC circuits are more robust and resistant to harsh industrial environments. Programming languages and methods enable PLCs to be used in applications that make them ......

HEADNOTE Robots have been used in warehouses to increase speed and accuracy, improve ergonomics, and reduce labor costs. Which distribution challenges today are robots being asked to solve? IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH 3 FANUC Robotics' Random Order PalletTool software allows robots to pick random box sizes and build efficient pallet loads. (www.fanucrobotics....

HEADNOTE German Iron Foundry Automates Gebrder Gienanth-Eisenberg GmbH, a German foundry, produces gray iron, ductile iron, and compacted graphite iron castings, including crankcases for high-performance six- and eight-cylinder engines. In preparation for producing these crankcases, Gienath manufactures approximately 400 sand cores every day. Because the foundry promotes a strategy of ......

Finding the right robot for a task and programming it remain key issues facing the industry. Developers, meanwhile, are striving to embed more applications knowledge in robot controllers using high-level languages and autonomy. ALTHOUGH ROBOT COMPONENTS such as motors, arms, and sensors have become highly advanced, the control software and ......

Facing mounting public pressure to either meet rapidly growing order complexity with an outdated order fulfillment system, or be forced to privatize liquor distribution, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) elected to transform its entire operation from an aging, paper-based, manual order-filling facility into a new, highly automated distribution ......

Trip report drop boxes, document imaging and related services are expediting the flow of paperwork in some fleets. Next to load delivery, the second most important delivery for a fleet is paperwork from the driver through billing. Fleets need timely and accurate data to complete billing. Truckload Management Inc, (TMI), ......

Two major limitations often make digital inspection systems impractical on the shop floor: they're slow, and they tend to get beat up by rough handling. Most systems are slow because the software that drives them was written to measure, not locate points. They put the responsibility on the inspector for ......