Expert interview with Professor Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bauernhansl / Robotics and automation technology on the rise Robots are taking the production halls by storm and are being integrated in machine tools and automation systems to create plug-and-play modules. The increasing networking and platform connection leads to completely new control architectures. In brief: The world of machine tools is experiencing dramatic development. This will trigger plenty of discussion between exhibitors and (…)

At the EPHJ/EPMT/SMT show Kuka presents its new sensitive robot, the LBR iiwa. According to the discussions on the booth and the various demonstrations to see there, this robot opens completely new fields for robotics. The LBR iiwa represents the fulfillment of Kuka’s promise to the market to present a lightweight industrial duty robot. Kuka engineers have developed a machine that opens the door to completely new automation possibilities. With mechanical and drive systems designed for (…)

LBR iiwa – intelligent industrial work assistant – is KUKA’s new lightweight robot. Equipped with industrial duty mechanics and drive systems, it is sensitive, yielding, precise, flexible and can be used to automate delicate, complex assembly tasks that were beyond the capabilities of robots to date. Design based on the human arm LBR iiwa has seven axes and was designed to replicate a human arm. It can be operated in position and yield control mode, and thanks to integrated sensors, the (…)

Ten years ago, the NASA rovers Opportunity and Spirit landed on Mars. It keeps going and going and going. "It is equipped with maxon brushed DC motors" the company proudly announced recently. Today, Opportunity is still exploring Mars – an unbelievably long time, considering the robot was only designed to last about 90 days. It has covered a distance of approximately 39 kilometers so far and continues to roam around a vast area. On board, 39 maxon brushed DC motors can be found. On (…)

Delcam has launched the PowerMILL Robot Interface for the programming of robots for multi-axis machining operations. The new PowerMILL Robot Interface makes programming a robot as easy as programming a five-axis machine tool. This approach makes it as easy to program a robot for machining as it is to program a five-axis machine tool. With the Robot Interface being a fully-associated application inside PowerMILL, users have access to all the multi-axis machining strategies within PowerMILL (…)

A project team with experts from science and industry, including the drive specialist maxon motor, is developing a new humanoid robot: “Roboy”. On March 9, 2013, “Roboy” will be presented to the public at the “Robots on Tour” international robotics fair that will take place in Zurich as part of the 25th anniversary of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AI Lab) of the University of Zurich. . Since June 2012, the project team has been busy implementing the latest knowledge in the (…)

The flawless launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 22, 2012 is another successful step for maxon motor ag in the use of high precision motors in the astronautics industry. The crucial tasks of the maxon motors in the SpaceX mission included orienting the solar arrays of the Dragon spacecraft towards the sun to provide the power supply. View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the station’s robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the (…)

KUKA Roboter GmbH presents a new small robot family: the KR AGILUS robot series. The agile KR AGILUS is showing itself to be the all-rounder for small spaces in all environments. The new compact member of the KUKA robot family is characterized by its speed, short cycle times and high level of precision and safety. Compact, precise, agile and fast: the robots of the KR AGILUS series are the new masters of speed. When it comes to handling tasks, especially Pick&Place, the KR AGILUS (…)

We can speak about microtechnology, automation, assembly, robotics, peripherals of machines and many other applications where a precise linear motion is required; it is likely to find linear ball bearings of the Swiss company Sferax. Indeed this manufacturer is specialized in the guidance of linear movements for the industry for more than 50 years. The transmission of a linear movement can be done in different ways, for example with a ball screw. With respect to guidance, there are many (…)

Robots from Stäubli can now be directly operated with B&R controllers. This is possible thanks to a Powerlink interface on Stäubli’s uniVAL drives that allows Generic Motion Control programs from B&R controllers to be transferred to the robots. In this way, robotics engineers can use the uniform programming and operating environment provided by B&R controllers. The easy integration of Stäubli robots is guaranteed using uniVAL drives and Powerlink networks. Robots are connected (…)