New software updates have added some 50 operational and ease-of-use features to the line of OB7 collaborative robots from Absolute Machine Tools’ partner Productive Robotics. The software enhances cobot connectivity, expedites integration with other equipment and facilitates real-time stat

Designed for the Performance-Line and High-Performance-Line of five-axis machining centers, Hermle’s HS Flex Heavy work handling system can move workpieces ranging to 1,200 kg (including pallet) between setup station, storage modules and work area. The system enables precise crane loading

  People ask me what's going on in manufacturing — what I'm seeing in my travels to manufacturing facilities and what I'm learning in my conversations with the people who lead them. In broad terms, my answer doesn’t change. It’s been the same for several years n

  Hurco Companies Inc. is partnering with BMO Automation. The Hurco/BMO Automation partnership is intended to provide customers with a tested automation solution that requires minimal integration and provide increase productivity without disruption. “Our customers tell us

  The FMB Turbo 3-38 from Edge Technologies is an automatic bar-loading magazine feeder designed for feeding round, square and hexagonal barstock into CNC lathes. Quick-change polyurethane guide channels promote quiet operation at high turning speeds, the company says. This

Early this month, I attended Fritz Studer AG’s annual Motion Meeting at its headquarters in Thun, Switzerland. (Studer is a member of the United Grinding Group.) This year’s event theme was “art of grinding,” and I learned a good bit about the state of the company, rece

  Absolute Machine Tools Inc. (Lorain, Ohio) is offering engineering and custom turnkey automation, robotics and machining systems in response to what it sees as a shrinking pool of skilled labor and growing pressure in the industry for cost reduction measures. Among the services on offer

Although Modern Machine Shop focuses on CNC machining, the application pictured here is worthy of attention. Consider for a moment the difficulties inherent in automating a task like inserting Ethernet cables. A host of variables, from differing socket positions to the unpredictable flex of the co

If there’s one takeaway I garnered from attending DMG MORI’s recent open house event in Pfronten, Germany, it’s that the company is investing heavily. It’s investing in its facility, its consolidated product line, and three key technologies that show promise in movi

Erowa’s Robot Easy 800 is capable of transferring workpieces with a maximum weight of 800 kg, a maximum diameter of 850 mm and height of 1,000 mm. A compact design and high configurability are said to make the model a cost-effective option for automating a production cell.  The

After Rapid Design Solutions’ Troy Ojalehto (left) developed the initial application, Toolcraft’s automation engineer Brian Laulainen was able to handle the daily operation in addition to developing a parts rinsing and drying station as an application add-on for the UR5e, a cobot from

  The Tracer Minibar, a hydrodynamic magazine bar feeder from CNC Indexing & Feeding Technologies, is engineered to feed barstock diameters ranging from 0.8 to 12 mm in diameter and up to 12 ft. in length. Designed for economy and efficiency, the bar feeder enables fixed

Mazak’s Quick Turn 200/250 series of multitasking turning centers can be configured with a GR100 gantry robot for complete part machining and fully automated loading/unloading. The company engineered the GR100 to easily integrate into any of the Quick Turn 200/250 models, including the two

Capturing in a single photo what’s inside of a 461,000-square-foot facility is impossible, but here’s my attempt at it while touring FANUC America’s new North Campus in Auburn Hills, Michigan: The North Campus houses several of the company’s departments, including engine

The success machine shops increasingly are having today with lights-out machining is the result of various advances that have come together: more systemized processes plus more accessible automation technology plus machine tool monitoring. After reading my recent article describing this point, Steve

Orderfox.com has launched a free RFQ placement service designed to assist buyers in creating requests for quotes. The move is in line with the company’s goals of digitizing manufacturing work processes by giving buyers access to manufacturers’ extra capacity.  “Provi

Our successful, third annual Top Shop Conference held in Cincinnati this past September opened with a keynote presentation from Steven Kline, Jr. Steven is the chief data officer for Gardner Intelligence, and I’ve worked with him on our Top Shops benchmarking program since its inception nearly

The large-capacity Tracer 65V/80V hydrodynamic-magazine bar feeder from CNC Indexing & Feeding Technologies can accommodate bars up to 12 ft. long in diameters ranging from 10 to 65 mm (or up to 80 mm using a different channel). The feeder holds multiple bars, depending on the diameter size. For

I might be dating myself a bit here, but back in the 1980s, there was a belief among machinists like myself that robots were for repetitive work. They were for big companies (with deep pockets) entrenched in automation and efficiency. We pictured car assembly plants with continuous streams of parts

The role and usefulness of the internet wasn’t fully realized until smartphones arrived. Mobile devices carry that usefulness farther. Ditto, cellphones were not complete until they became smartphones leveraging the internet. Both inventions—mobile devices and the global network—we