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.