A new record number of 422,000 industrial robots were shipped globally during 2018 – 6% more than the previous year – according to new figures released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). But the organisation expects shipments to stagnate this year for the first time in many years as a result of the US-China tariff dispute and a downturn in key user industries.
Schaeffler is entering electric motor manufacturing with a family of modular motors aimed at electric vehicle applications. The motors, in ratings from 20kW to more than 300kW, at voltages from 48 to 800V, are being designed for efficiency and a good price/performance ratios. Volume production is due to begin in 2021.
Siemens has announced an integrated portfolio of software, services and an application development platform to help companies of all sizes to become digital enterprises. Called Xcelerator, the portfolio combines Siemens’ software for design, engineering and manufacturing, with an expanded version of its Mendix low-code, multi-experience application development platform, which now includes cloud and app services for digital engineering and Internet of Things (IoT), powered by Siemens’ MindSphere cloud-based, open IoT operating system.
The US-based Timken Company is buying the German automated lubrication specialist, Beka Lubrication, for around $165m. The acquisition will make Timken the world’s second-largest producer of industrial automatic lubrication systems.
More than half of all cybersecurity incidents involving industrial networks last year were caused by errors or unintentional actions by company employees, according to a new survey of 282 industrial organisations around the world. A report based on the survey blames this phenomenon on the growing complexity of industrial infrastructures, a shortage of professionals who understand how to detect threats, and low levels of awareness among employees.
Aerotech and Micronix USA have formed a global partnership under which they will offer complementary precision systems for industry and research – in particular, for precision nanopositioning. By working together, the companies hope to expand their core competencies, while advancing the development of new applications which need powerful, user-friendly nanopositioning technologies. They say that by cooperating, they will be able to offer a wider array of stepper motors, controllers, drives and software for positioning applications.
The market for collaborative robot (or cobot) arms will become increasingly mainstream over the next 10 years, with annual sales soaring from $711m in 2019 to reach $11.8bn by 2030, according to a new analysis by ABI Research. If revenues from related products such as end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) accessories and software are included, the cobot ecosystem will mushroom from just over $1bn in 2019, to $24bn by 2030 – a CAGR of 28.6%.
ABB is setting up a research centre in Texas where it will develop collaborative robot (cobot) technologies for non-surgical roles in laboratories and hospitals. Currently, the number of patients that can be treated using high-tech treatments, such as the cancer therapies, is limited by the need for skilled medical experts who spend much of their day doing repetitive, low-value tasks, such as preparing slides and loading centrifuges. Using robots to automate these tasks would allow them to focus on more skilled and productive work, and could help more people to receive treatment by speeding up the testing processes dramatically.
More than 30 companies and organisations involved in industrial automation and communications have come together to draw up a standard interface for industrial cloud communications that will ensure interoperability between factory systems and cloud platforms.
A group of German robotics suppliers has joined forces to create a platform where users can create low-cost robots by choosing compatible components from different suppliers “with just a few clicks”. Initial supporters of the platform, called RBTX.com, include igus, ifm, Schunk, Servotronix, Schmalz and Commonplace Robotics.
National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a subsidiary of the Chinese group Evergrande Health, has acquired the British pioneer of in-wheel motors (IWMs) for electric vehicles, Protean Electric. The acquisition is part of Evergrande’s strategy to become a major player in the global EV industry, and paves the way for NEVS to use Protean’s in-wheel electric drive technology, ProteanDrive, in future products.
The British engineering and industrial group, Langley Holdings, has bought the Italian electric motor and generator manufacturer, Marelli Motori, from the private equity investor, the Carlyle Group, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction includes the repayment of Marelli’s bank debt of €55m.
Mitsubishi Electric is acquiring the remaining shares in Iconics Inc, the US industrial software developer that focuses on Scada, IoT, mobile, analytics and cloud software products for the manufacturing, industrial and building-automation markets. Mitsubishi has held a 19.9% stake in Iconics since 2011, and the new deal will make the US business a 100% subsidiary. The financial details of the acquisition have not been revealed.
Sales of industrial fieldbus nodes fell for the first time last year, as industrial Ethernet continued to establish its dominance of industrial networking, according to the latest annual survey of the market by the Swedish industrial networking supplier, HMS Networks.
Mitsubishi Electric and Schaeffler Technologies have formed a global strategic partnership that will build on existing collaborations between the two companies under Mitsubishi’s e-F@ctory Alliance, which they have both been members of since 2010.
