The CNC specialist NUM has launched a “radically new” CNC platform that combines CNC and PLC functions in one device, and is it claimed to set new performance benchmarks for machine control. Compared to the company’s previous Flexium+ CNC system, the new FlexiumPro platform is more than 10 times faster – from boot time and block-per-second execution, to axis control, PLC/CNC data exchange, robot and peripheral I/O interfaces. It is also said to offer significant advances in connectivity and reliability.
ABB has announced a five-axis delta robot which, it claims, is the fastest in its class for handling lightweight packaged products such as chocolates, small bottles and parcels. The five-axis IRB 365 robot has a 1.5kg payload, and is suitable for a variety of picking and packing applications in the food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods markets, where high production line speeds and adaptability are needed.
Motion plastics specialist igus has announced a gantry robot which, it claims, is up to 60% cheaper than rival machines. The drylin XXL robot has a working envelope of 2 x 2 x 1.5m and is particularly suitable for palletising loads up to 10kg. The robot is available from €7,000 / £8,000 including the control system, and comes as a DIY kit that can be set up and programmed without needing a system integrator.
The German machine vision specialist IDS (Imaging Development Systems) has announced a camera that, it claims, closes the gap between consumer Webcams and industrial vision systems.
ABB Robotics has launched a new generation of ready-to-deploy application cells at the Automatica exhibition in Germany. The cells, to be marketed under the OmniVance brand, are designed to be easy to program and set up. At Automatica, ABB demonstrated a machining cell that can handle eight different applications, as well as a space-saving welding cell.
The Danish collaborative robot (cobot) pioneer Universal Robots has announced its most powerful cobot to date – a 20kg-capacity arm with a new joint design that will cut cycle times by up to 65% as well as being able to handle heavier loads. The cobot, unveiled at the Automatica show in Germany, has a 1,750mm reach, allowing it to work to the full height of a standard Euro-pallet, while its small footprint will allow users to achieve more in an existing production space. UR’s previously most powerful cobot had a 16kg capacity.
At the recent Hannover Messe, Lenze launched a decentralised frequency inverter which performs several tasks simultaneously, including acting as an sensor that collects data and forwards it on to IIoT platforms and edge systems. The i-series motec inverter allows direct access to drive data via several communication interfaces, including an IO-Link master, providing machine operators with high-quality information. The sensor data can be analysed in real time, paving the way for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance functions.
The German sensor developer Ege-Elektronik Spezial-Sensoren has announced a device that converts signals from traditional analogue sensors to noise-free digital IO-Link signals. Depending on its configuration, the IOL-KONV-UIS-01 converter takes one or two analogue values (0-10V or 4-20mA) or switching signals from a sensor and converts them into digital signals, which it transmits to an IO-Link primary device.
SKF has joined forces with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a wireless technology which, they say, reinvents the fields of industrial machine reliability and predictive maintenance. The automated condition-monitoring system, called Axios, promises manufacturers a simple, affordable wireless technology for monitoring more of their rotating equipment.
The Italian gears, motors and drives manufacturer Bonfiglioli has announced a series of decentralised inverters for controlling asynchronous and synchronous reluctance motors. The DGM Modular inverters have embedded EMC filters and on onboard PLC that can be used to customise the inverter functions.
Panasonic Industry has entered the motion controls market with a compact controller that combines motion functions with typical PLC functions such as positioning, networking, modular I/Os and a high-frequency counter. The company says that the GM1 controller will save cabinet space and can handle demanding applications with up to 32 axes and response times as low as 0.5ms.
The industrial sensing and protection company Sensata Technologies has teamed up with the Canadian-Indian machine health monitoring specialist Nanoprecise to offer a monitoring and predictive maintenance system for rotating machines that allows plant managers to detect early-stage faults and extend the working lives of their machines.
Interroll has launched a platform-based material-flow system that, it says, will boost the productivity of manufacturing processes “significantly”. The modular, plug-and-play LCP (light conveyor platform) system allows integrators to implement scalable belt conveyor sections quickly to satisfy the automated material-flow requirements of individual customers.
Rockwell Automation has announced a pair of micro-PLCs that, it claims, will allow machine-builders to design and program machines more efficiently. As well as releasing the Allen-Bradley Micro850 and Micro870 2080-Lx0E controllers, Rockwell has also updated its Connected Components Workbench software which, it says, will simplify the development of machines using the microcontrollers and cut development times by boosting upload data transfer rates by 23%, and download rates by 40%
Beckhoff is offering a new operating system for some of its industrial PCs as a lower-cost alternative to full Microsoft Windows packages.
