Smart Manufacturing

Next-generation sorter for supply chain automation

The Körber Crossbelt Sorter empowers businesses to create truly unified automation solutions to excel in today’s increasingly complex supply chain landscape. Supply chains must handle more products, more suppliers and fulfill through various channels. Consumer expectations for choice, convenience and speed add to this complexity. To maintain a competitive edge, businesses need automation technologies to handle the evolving challenges of ecommerce and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). “Körber has the goal of strategically aligning supply chain technologies and expertise to the needs of customers and the industry,” says Stephan Gӧttsche, chief executive officer at Körber Supply Chain – Automation. “The Körber Crossbelt Sorter exemplifies this. One in three companies still manages supply chain processes manually. This is one of many initiatives we are taking to expand our portfolio and capitaliSe on our 30+ years of expertise in system integration to design automation systems for today and tomorrow’s demands.” The Crossbelt Sorter seamlessly integrates with any materials handling equipment (MHE) to create unified automation systems. Be it conveyors, shuttles, or beyond, the Crossbelt Sorter uniquely links the MHE of different functional areas – receiving, storage, multi-stage picking, or dispatch. Hence, the Crossbelt Sorter dynamically distributes goods based on any criteria to the proper destination at any stage in the process. Furthermore, the sorter’s modular design enables quick and simple integration with the existing system landscape. The result is a higher level of automation, enabling shorter reaction times, increased efficiency and higher throughput. Examples of success include transport of up to 14,000 containers per hour, carrier changeovers in only 10 minutes, and conveying speeds of 1.8 m/s. “Conquering today’s supply chain complexities requires higher levels of automation,” said Pieter Feenstra, chief sales officer for Körber Supply Chain – Automation. “Intelligently linking different material handling components is necessary to excel in today’s market. Körber […]

OnRobot intelligent screwdriver for fast and easy deployment

The new OnRobot Screwdriver can be deployed and redeployed for different applications in minutes, with built-in smart features—including precise torque and embedded axis control—that simplify programming and drive productivity, quality, and ROI The screwdriver allows manufacturers to automate a wide range of assembly processes quickly, easily, and flexibly. This provides welcome relief for manufacturers who are eager to automate repetitive, unergonomic, and often inconsistent manual screwdriving processes, but who struggle to integrate and program typical piecemeal screwdriving systems. Programming the screwdriver is as easy as entering the appropriate screw length and torque value into the user interface that is integrated into the teach pendant of any leading robot. With precise torque control and embedded axis, the screwdriver automatically calculates the speed and force required for consistent, accurate screwdriving. The Screwdriver can detect incorrect screw length, which can help improve overall quality and reduce scrap. With the Screwdriver’s unique “z-axis,” screws are retracted inside the tool and driven automatically once the robot arm moves into position, which reduces robot arm movement and additional programming. Screws up to 35mm long are retracted completely inside the Screwdriver when moving until the screwdriving process is safely initiated, enhancing its collaborative capabilities. The Screwdriver can handle a wide range of screw sizes and lengths, from 1.6mm to 6mm diameter, and up to 50mm long. With its simple programming and easily exchangeable bit system, the Screwdriver can be quickly changed over to a different screw size, length or product line in minutes, which minimizes downtime and improves productivity. “This is one of our most advanced products to date,” says CEO of OnRobot, Enrico Krog Iversen. “We’ve designed an automated screwdriving tool that simplifies a highly complex process for our users, making it cost-effective and easy for manufacturers to see fast results in terms of higher uptime, […]

Proximity sensing, alerting and contact tracing software launched

Timely solution helps customers implement comprehensive reopening strategies. Zebra Technologies Corporation has launched Zebra MotionWorks Proximity. The solution offers proximity sensing with user-level alerting and contact tracing to enable employers to help protect their employees’ health while in the work environment. Governments around the world have issued guidelines requiring employers to develop and implement appropriate policies such as, but not limited to, social distancing, contact tracing and disinfection. Zebra’s MotionWorks Proximity solution meets the requirements outlined in the guidelines and the needs of many enterprises looking for a viable option to enhance their reopening strategies. “The health and safety of our employees has been our utmost priority and Zebra stands firm in protecting our front-line workers and those returning to the offices,” said Fang-How, Lim, Regional Director for Southeast Asia, Zebra Technologies. “Various teams across our company came together to define, develop and deploy a proximity tracing, alerting and contact tracing solution within one of our largest distribution facilities. It is currently available for our customers to deploy and protect their employees working in manufacturing and warehouse environments.” Zebra’s solution provides proximity and contact tracing insights, dashboards and reports to employers as well as individual proximity alerts for the employees. The data is tied to an employee ID or anonymised user ID, allowing for actionable insights by the employer while allowing for the privacy of individuals, unlike other public contact tracing solutions. Accurate, automated contact tracing can help companies quickly identify exposed employees for testing, potentially limiting widespread facility closures. Leveraging Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) and WiFi, the software solution is hosted in the cloud, implemented quickly and managed remotely by Zebra, eliminating on-site professional services. It doesn’t require new infrastructure and can be leveraged on existing supported Zebra Android devices or new devices available in different form factors and price […]

Gage ideal for these times

The accurate 3D portable coordinate, measurement machine the Faro Gage, is. ideal for small and medium-sized businesses performing high-accuracy tasks. The Gage is the most intuitive, ergonomic, and versatile articulated portable FaroArm, enabling machine shops to perform their most demanding 3D inspections in record time. The all-in-one-solution also reduces calibration costs and minimises clutter, replacing traditional hand tools such as calipers, micrometers, and height gauges, while providing 20 percent more reach than the previous-generation Gage arm. Lightweight and portable but with the precision of a lab instrument and the ruggedness of a shop floor device, the Gage sets up in seconds, reduces inspection time, and delivers quality results with exceptional flexibility, resulting in increased speed and productivity. When it comes to measurement equipment value; accuracy, portability, speed and affordability matter, Too often machine shops rely on expensive and hard-to-use fixed CMMs that take up valuable floor space or a multitude of hand tools that slow down the process. The Gage eliminates these inefficiencies. As a result, inspection bottlenecks are greatly reduced, measurement accuracy is improved, and operator variability is significantly minimised. As the world begins emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, the value proposition for such a product could not be clearer. While global industry is presently suppressed, economists predict a robust recovery by Q3 and Q4. That means that many machine shops now operating at half speed will rapidly ramp up production. Demand will surge and products will require fast-tracked release. The Gage achieves this aim by improving efficiency and productivity. That efficiency begins with setup. A universal quick mount ensures compatibility with a variety of mounting options that allows it to be set up anywhere, including on-machine. A simple 2-button design, 6-point articulation and built-in counterbalance deliver exceptional ease of use and fatigue-free operation. Its […]

NetFoundry announces game-changing partnership with dtac

NetFoundry, leaders in cloud-native networking, has announced that it is entering a partnership with one of South Asia’s leading telecom operators, dtac. Together the companies are introducing a new network service to the industry: SmartConnect. dtac today serves millions of customers in Southern Asia addressing their business networking and cloud connectivity needs. dtac has built a robust and fully redundant network that runs on 90% fibre. They are the first and only operator to deploy TDD & Massive MiMo, strengthening their position as the most advanced operator in Thailand for 5G readiness. SmartConnect is set to put dtac on course to become the leader of 5G and cloud transformation in Thailand through NaaS, Infrastructure as a Service and its IoT and SaaS applications. The partnership in particular is set to focus on a game-changing outlook on NaaS which will combine service bundling with cloud and connectivity to increase the value proposition substantially. Furthermore, dtac’s influence in the telecom sector will be significantly enhanced by utilising NetFoundry’s global partnership with Amazon Web Services, Google and Azure by progressing the way in which service users can access and operate within the cloud. “dtac’s capacities and solutions are enabling the seamless communication modern workers need to operate at a new ‘normal’, – particularly in light of COVID-19 – enabled by a reliable and secure network. Our new partnership with NetFoundry will make this possible and boost our 5G capabilities to new levels. With SmartConnect our networks are quicker, safer and easier to operate than ever before” said Rajiv Bawa, Chief Business Officer of dtac. “With the launch of dtac smart connect services, our first priority will be to give the “remote worker enablement “ a new face via this next generation solution for the enterprises & SME of Thailand market who are struggling […]

The iTRAK 5730 small-frame intelligent track system can improve throughput in multi- product applications

Food and beverage manufacturers are constantly under pressure to package a wider variety of products in more types of packaging without compromising productivity. Now they can answer these trends while increasing throughput using the new iTRAK 5730 small-frame intelligent track system from Rockwell Automation. The system uses independent cart technology to support smart, flexible and efficient machines. Independent cart technology offers many benefits over traditional gear, chain and belt conveyors, including unlimited machine flexibility, better traceability and increased uptime. By using magnetic propulsion, the individually controlled carts can quickly start and stop with high precision, which reduces machine wear and is highly energy efficient. The technology also quickly manages changeovers using pre-configured move profiles that can be implemented with the push of a button from an HMI. The iTRAK 5730 system has the smallest footprint within Rockwell Automation’s independent cart portfolio. It has a 50 mm minimum pitch that makes it ideal for primary packaging applications, such as flow wrapping, end load cartoning, and form-fill-and-seal pouching. The system also easily integrates into a manufacturer’s architecture, providing analytics that help optimize energy use, monitor parts wear and reduce downtime. “The iTRAK 5730 system extends the flexibility and productivity benefits of iTRAK to meet the growing demand for customized food and beverage products,” said Michaela Kaufmann, iTRAK product manager at Rockwell Automation. “The technology is truly scalable. Your system can have as little as a 50 mm pitch in a small, standalone machine, or be as large as 100 meters and part of a large, complex line.” “We are always exploring ways to enhance our offering and better support our machine assembly, food and beverage manufacturing customers; enabling them achieve their manufacturing and throughput goals without restriction,” added Max Kiah, Independent Cart Technology Sales Manager, Asia Pacific at Rockwell Automation.“The new iTRAK […]

Transforming the Smart Grid with Fibocom 5G modules

Fibocom, a leading provider of cellular embedded wireless module solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), announced in April that its two 5G supported IoT modules, FM150(W) and FG150(W), had completed the first successful data call using an end-to-end data transmission service under a Chinese Standalone (SA) Structured 5G network. Download speeds skyrocketed, exceeding more than 2.5Gpbs under the ENDC mode. 5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular networks. Its objective is to support three generic services with vastly heterogeneous requirements: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (uRLLC). These capabilities make future scenarios more flexible, reliable, and secure when providing diverse services in the intended usage scenarios. Both the Fibocom 5G modules FM150(W) and FG150(W) support 5G standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) network architectures, provide an integrated multi-network compatibility with 5G Sub 6 and millimetre-wave bands and work both with LTE and WCDMA standards. This gives customers an edge in harnessing the full power of 5G networks’ faster data transmission, vast network capacity, and ultra-reliable low latency. The applications of Fibocom’s 5G smart modules bring efficient cost-effective advantages to a vast number of industries. In this paper, we will look at the application of these 5G modules in the utility industry, specifically in smart grids. 5G network slicing meets the needs of smart grid effectively The term “Grid” refers to an “Electric Grid” fundamentally describing the complete network which includes transmission lines, transformers, distribution substation and all accessories that are used for delivery of electricity from generation plants to home and commercial scale. These services require a flexible and orchestrated network, high reliability, and millisecond ultra-low latency for its diverse needs. Smart grid systems have provided the possibility of enabling two-way communication between electricity consumers and the distributor, thereby allowing distributors to manage […]

A glimpse into BYD’s Blade Battery Factory in Chongqing

On June 4, 2020, over a hundred members of the media and industry experts were given on-site access to the FinDreams Battery Factory in Chongqing that produces the BYD Blade Battery. This is the first factory tour that BYD has conducted since it debuted the Blade Battery on March 29, presenting the factory’s intelligent manufacturing capabilities. Located in the city’s Bishan District, the factory is currently the only production base for the Blade Battery. It possesses a highly demanding production environment and much of BYD’s self-developed Blade Battery production equipment. The factory has a total investment of 10 billion yuan with an annual production capacity of 20GWH. The nature of the factory’s environment can be seen in the core production process. For example, requirements necessitate that within one cubic meter space, fine particles equivalent to 1/20th of a single hair (or a 5-micron particle, as a hair is 100 microns), cannot exceed 29, reaching the same standards as LCD screen production. The overall allowed humidity is limited to below 1% (the average daily humidity being 60-80%), and the humidity during a core production process cannot exceed 0.05% of the average moisture level. In addition, the temperature is kept constant at 25 degrees Celsius. According to Sun Huajun, the Vice General Manager of FinDreams Battery, these demanding conditions are a “necessary foundation” to the Blade Battery’s high safety standards. “The nearly one-meter-long pole piece can achieve tolerances of within +/-0.3mm, and the accuracy and speed of a single-piece lamination have an efficiency of 0.3s/pcs. This is the first of its kind in the world. This form of lamination comes from BYD’s completely independent development of its equipment and cutting-edge solutions – aspects that are uncopiable,” he said. In addition to laminations, the mixing of ingredients as well as the coating, pressing, […]

A resilient return for Asia’s manufacturing and supply chains?

By Didier Chenneveau, Matteo Mancini, and Sahil Shinghal Asia shows an early glimpse of how manufacturing and supply-chain leaders are responding to disruption caused by the pandemic. The Asia-Pacific region is at widely varying points on its journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. China is broadly beginning to restart its operations amid recovering domestic demand, while other geographies, such as Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea, are still tackling cases and under a range of control measures to help stop the spread. To understand the differing sentiment and responses among manufacturing leaders across the whole region, we surveyed more than 200 manufacturing and supply-chain leaders across industries including advanced industries; consumer goods; chemicals; metals and mining; oil and gas; construction, engineering and infrastructure; and transportation and logistics. Recovery is coming, but isn’t here yet Overall, 39 percent of respondents are confident that the manufacturing sector will recover rapidly from disruptions caused by COVID-19, estimating that as little as two to three months will be sufficient. However, 61 percent expect that recovery will take at least six months. Once we looked at responses split by subregions across Asia Pacific—Australia and New Zealand; China; Japan and South Korea; South Asia; and Southeast Asia—we saw that optimism closely aligns with the stage of progression through the pandemic timeline. Nearly half of respondents in China expect rapid recovery, possibly because the country is further along the timeline in its pandemic response. Responses from Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea, on the other hand, report markedly lower confidence in a swift recovery. The majority of these regions are still tackling cases and only just beginning to ease lockdown measures—South Korea is currently preparing to slowly and cautiously proceed to the next normal under “everyday quarantine” measures. Japan’s lack of confidence is worth noting, as the country has a […]

Suprema further enhances cyber security with new BioStar 2 release

Suprema, a global leader in security and biometrics, has released a new version BioStar 2 platform, enhancing the cyber security features. Suprema BioStar 2 is a web-based, open, and integrated security platform that provides comprehensive functionality for access control and time & attendance. In addition to existing encryption of personal data, used for authentication with passwords, fingerprint templates and face templates, BioStar 2 now encrypts every data available that may potentially link to any specific individual. With this enhancement in BioStar 2 v2.8, this upscaled security will be made available not as an option but a default feature of the system. Introducing this new update, Young S. Moon, CEO of Suprema Inc., remarked, “We place absolute top priority to strengthen security measures and reinforce our security framework. Along with the current update of BioStar 2, we will continue to strive to make our solutions secure to make sure our customers’ personal data is protected.” Suprema Inc. is a leading global provider of security and biometrics technologies. Suprema’s extensive range of products includes biometric access control systems, time & attendance solutions, mobile authentication solutions and embedded fingerprint solutions. Suprema has No.1 market share in biometrics access control in EMEA region and has worldwide sales network in over 130 countries.

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