Robotics Assembly

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Robots used to be thought of strictly as stationary machines. They were bolted to a floor, table, ceiling or wall and that’s where they stayed. But, that’s beginning to change.

One of the main challenges in forestry is removing bark from freshly cut logs. For many decades, the standard method involved loading logs into a hopper with a conveyor belt that moves the logs into a ribbed drum.

Robots are increasingly being made to mirror humans. The best example of this is the dual-armed robot—such as ABB’s YuMi and Rethink Robotics’ Baxter—designed specifically to work closely with people on the assembly line.

If Ohio ever needs a catch phrase to promote its manufacturing success, “five out of eight is great” would be appropriate. The reason is because Ohio is home to five of Whirlpool Corp.’s eight U.S. assembly plants. Those five factories are located in the Ohio cities of Clyde, Findlay, Greenville, Marion and Ottawa.

When one thinks of Italy, several things immediately come to mind. There’s wine and pasta, world-class soccer and gondoliers singing in Venice. Another thing that symbolizes Italy is Maserati, the manufacturer of technologically advanced sports cars.

Robotic tool changers provide flexibility to robotic applications by enabling the robot to change end-effectors automatically (e.g.; grippers, vacuum cup tooling, pneumatic and electric motors, weld guns, etc.).