CAMBRIDGE, MA—In a perfectly capitalist system, increased profit produced by automation flows to the owners of the business, not the workers, argues one analyst.

CAMBRIDGE, MA—Researchers at MIT have developed a robot that can mimic silk worms and spiders and weave a cocoon-like structure with a little programming help from humans.

BERLIN—Swiss automation company Mikron Automation has acquired German systems integrator IMA Automation.

DRACHTEN, Netherlands—Philips Electronics has installed a flexible, robotic assembly line to produce electric shavers.

WALTHAM, MA—Excelitas Technologies has implemented a state-of-the-art high-speed automated assembly system to produce laser irradiance detectors.

CLEVELAND, TN—Procter & Gamble Duracell will invest $36 million over the next three years in its two assembly plants here, create 60 to 80 additional jobs.

 

SCHAUMBURG, IL—Many motion control applications such as machining spindles and scanning equipment require more than just position values from the motion feedback device. It is also imperative to know what velocity the axis is running, as there may be a need to control the velocity from one speed to another rapidly, or to maintain a constant speed because other operations and triggers need to occur based on the constant velocity.

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well at conveyor supplier Dorner Manufacturing.

LONDON, ON—Systems integrator Edge Automation has designed an multistation automated assembly system that can produce a sophisticated golf ball-sized transmission sensor every 10 seconds.