ANN ARBOR, MI—Foxconn vice president Chia Day has won 2016 Engelberger Robotics Award for automating electronics assembly at the contract manufacturer’s electronics factories in China.
MUNICH—Some 248,000 industrial robots were purchased worldwide in 2015, a record high and a 12 percent increase from 2014. Global sales of robots have increased four-fold since 2009.
Today, GM's Lordstown assembly plant is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Although the facility appears to have a bright future, it also has a checkered past.
Airbus is investing in automation to tackle huge backlogs for its commercial jetliners. Bernard Duprieu, head of manufacturing technologies research at the Airbus Centre of Competence, Industrial Strategy and System, tells ASSEMBLY about the company’s FuturAssy automation strategy.
When it comes to developing new production tools and assembly processes, it’s hard to beat Boeing. The company has always been ahead of the curve implementing new technology on its assembly lines.
DETROIT—The automotive industry will account for half of the 31,000 industrial robots expected to be sold worldwide in 2018, according to the International Federation of Robotics.
CUPERTINO, CA—Apple Inc. has developed a large-scale robotic line to disassemble returned iPhones. The line’s 29 free-standing robotic arms remove SIM card trays, screws, batteries, cameras and other parts for recycling.