All articles by AMS – Page 25
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4th gen A-Class at Valmet Automotive
Finland – Having built the previous A-Class generation, the Finnish contract manufacturer said that only limited changes were needed at its Uusikaupunki plant to produce the new A-Class. The bodyshop has seen the most upgrades, where all manual workstations are now automated, increasing the number of body shop robots to ...
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BMW & Great Wall in electric vehicle JV
China – BMW Group and Great Wall Motor have signed an agreement to produce MINI electric vehicles through a new 50:50 joint venture based in China. This new joint venture, “Spotlight Automotive Limited”, will also produce electric vehicles for Great Wall, and the partners intend to build a new state-of-the-art ...
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VW starts assembly in Kigali
Rwanda - The OEM has unveiled plans to expand its activities in Africa. As well as launching an app-based car- and ride-sharing scheme, it has started assembling the latest generations of its Polo and Passat models at a facility in Kigali - Rwanda's capital city."Rwanda has great potential," noted Thomas ...
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Robot mounted ultrasonics
Telsonic says its ultrasonic modules and systems are designed to be applied in a number of ways. The company offers the example of mounting a Telsonic converter and sonotrode arrangement to a robot wrist.The robot-mounted system incorporates ambient and chilled air-cooling to allow repetitive welding on polymer materials and says ...
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Universal compliance compensator
The new U1-050 Universal Compliance Compensator from ATI Industrial Automation is said to combine a variety of features making it adaptable to tasks such as automated assembly, bin picking, loading and unloading machines and robotic finishing.The company claims the unit’s mechanism is suitable for high-endurance applications and offers simultaneous X-Y ...
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Simulation-driven design software
Altair has released its Inspire 2018 simulation-driven design software. The company says features of this new version include generating optimised lattice and mixed solid structures, visualising simulation results in 3D and exporting lattice designs in .stl file format for 3D printing.Other new features include design for additive manufacturing with overhang ...
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Cooper Standard builds rubber facility
Mexico - The company has started building a new rubber mixing facility in Aguascalientes. The plant represents an investment of US$11m, covers an area of 100,000 sq. ft, and will employ around 100 people when operating at full capacity."The opening of our new in-house mixing facility in Mexico is an ...
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Manipulation of heavy workpieces
Roemheld says the articulated arms on its new Centrick manipulator allow workpieces of any shape weighing up to 2 tonnes to be continuously rotated and tilted by up to 90°.The company claims this latest addition to the Modulog range is ergonomic and space saving, and it moves components close to ...
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AAM builds new powertrain plant
Spain - American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) has started construction of a new 15,000 sq.m facility in Viladecans - a town located 20km southwest of Barcelona. The company says it will house the production of powertrain components for several car makers, such as Renault, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Audi and Ford.“As ...
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Bandsaw for additive manufacturing
The KASTOwin amc automatic bandsaw has been designed to increase productivity in the additive manufacturing sector, claims Kasto. The company says this saw incorporates a 180° turning device that allows 3D-printed parts on their build platform to be inverted so that the components fall into a container after they have ...
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Two-stage, VCR connecting rod
The FEV Group and Hilite International are partnering to develop and manufacture a two-stage, variable compression ratio (VCR) connecting rod. The partners say the goal of this collaboration is to leverage synergies in the development of the product and devise a cost-efficient solution for serial production.The VCR technology meets the ...
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Light curing adhesive for hard to bond plastics
Panacol says it has developed a new light curing adhesive (Vitralit UV 4802) for the purpose of bonding high temperature resistant thermoplastics, such as Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) with other non-compatible materials.The company says this light curing adhesive based on acrylate resin, which it’s claimed offers excellent adhesion to many plastics such ...
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New compact robot series
Fanuc says its compact, general purpose robots are suited to smaller, narrow work spaces and top-mount applications. The company claims its M10iD/12 model is an easy-to-install robot solution for factories and production lines, particularly those with limited floor space.Features include hollow arm, wrist and body, which allow cables and hose ...
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Water based cleaning systems
For water-based part cleaning processes, Ecoclean says it offers an extensive range of both standard cleaning systems and customer-specific designs. The company’s EcoCflex 3 features the Scara manipulator, which it says has been developed specifically for use in cleaning equipment, replacing the conventional adapted six-axis articulated arm robot. Made with ...
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Gantry-type machining centre
The DMU 340 Gantry has a one-piece, thermo-symmetrical EN-GJS-600 cast iron machine bed featuring cooling for rigidity and accuracy, claims DMG Mori. Working volume is 3,400 x 2,800 x 1,250mm, expandable to 6,000mm in the X-axis and 1,500mm in Z.The company claims the standard machine version with 4,400 x 2,700mm ...
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Ford hits production emissions target
US - The OEM has achieved its goal of reducing global CO2 emissions from manufacturing operations by 30% per vehicle, eight years earlier than expected. The target was set back in 2010 and was originally planned for completion in 2025.“We are proud of the work we have done to achieve ...
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Conti increases NOx sensor production
Czech Republic - Continental has opened a new production hall at its plant in Trutnov. Covering an area of 8,000 sq.m, the facility houses nine new production lines dedicated to churning out nitrogen oxide (NOx) sensors. 200 new employees are working at the facility."With this investment in Trutnov in the ...
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Lear names new CTO
US - The seating and electrical system supplier has announced that John Absmeier is its new chief technology officer. He joins from Harman, where he was responsible for the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous business unit."We are delighted to welcome John with his industry-leading technology and business expertise ...
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Groupe PSA adds shifts to LCV plants
France - The OEM has recently hired a new team of 225 people to work a third shift at its Mangualde plant, and another of 900 for a fourth shift at its Vigo plant. This is part of its plan to strengthen its market share in Europe's van segment (B-LCV), ...
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Mercedes invests in East London plant
South Africa - Mercedes-Benz Cars has announced plans to produce the next generation of its C-Class in East London - a city on the southeast coast of South Africa in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. To do so, it will spend €600m (US$528.84m) to construct ...