There was no shortage of robotics suppliers at The ASSEMBLY Show last October.

ANN ARBOR, MI—Fueled by strong demand from manufacturing companies in all sectors, the North American robotics industry is off to its fastest start ever in 2014, according to the Robotic Industries Association.

Once found mostly in high-volume manufacturing environments, robots are now being used in smaller organizations, and in a wider variety of applications.  

 A robot equipped with an adaptive gripper can provide an alternative to maintaining multiple jigs for automated welding. 

RSS Manufacturing & Phylrich is a manufacturer of high-end plumbing fixtures and fittings for decorative faucets. It specializes in short-run production, with turnaround time as quick as 24 hours.

When specifying a motion control system for, say, a pick-and-place application on an automated assembly line, engineers have two choices.

EPSON’s new robot can withstand exposure to vapor-ized hydrogen peroxide gas.