Automation – Page 405
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ArticleFronius orbital welding system
For improved process reliability in an automated welding, Fronius has released the FPA 2030 AC/DC automated orbital welding system. Featuring an integrated knowledge base and control technology, the system reportedly returns high-quality welds with reduced production times, resulting in lower costs to the end user. The equipment may also be ...
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GE Fanuc introduces new Gigabit Ethernet switches
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms has launched the NETernity RM980RC and RM982RC 6U VMEbus Gigabit Ethernet switches. Both units are RoHScompliant, and are capable of Layer-2 switching and routing at wire speed. Transition modules of 12-, 22-, and 24-ports are available, the latter two requiring two chassis slots, while all are ...
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ArticleNew ultrasonic sensors from Pepperl+Fuchs
Pepperl+Fuchs has introduced a new range of F12 Series ultrasonic sensors. Fitted with automatic synchronization capability, up to 10 sensors can operate in close proximity without any potential for interfering cross talk.Programmed via a push-button system that offers user-selectable beam widths, the new sensors provide reliable detection over a wide ...
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ArticleNew ESAB MIG welding machines
For efficient welding of high-alloy materials, ESAB has launched the Origo Mig 3001i range of welding machines. Depending on the control panel used, these compact machines are suitable for MIG, MAG, pulse MIG, MMA and TIG welding, plus carbon arc gouging.Typically the 300A Origo Mig 3001i machines will be used ...
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ArticlePlastic laser sintering by EOS
EOS has introduced the EOSINT P 800, said to be the first laser sintering machine in the world capable of producing plastic components from high-performance polymer powders at temperatures up to 385C.Exact physical replicas of a CAD model are built up layer by layer in the P 800’s sealed, nitrogen-fi ...
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Dual-Phase steels from Corus
Corus has announced the availability of production-ready coils of Dual- Phase 600 Hot Rolled Steel (DP600HR). This latest dual-phase steel product has been designed to help carmakers meet emissions targets by reducing vehicle weight. Crucially, the new hot-rolled product will allow customers to benefi t from the material’s enhanced properties ...
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ArticleControl Fair 2009 preview
The Control exhibition gives carmakers the chance to get upclose and personal with quality management tools. Hexagon MetrologyGE Sensing & Inspection TechnologiesMitutoyoMinitabDakota UltrasonicsUndeniably one of the premier events in the quality assurance calendar, the 23rd Control International Trade Fair is scheduled to take place at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre from ...
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ArticleHannover Fair 2009 - an automatic choice
A look at what is sure to interest carmakers at the upcoming Hannover FairSiemensABBFronius InternationalArcelorMittalDespite the recession, the Hannover Fair 2009 international trade exposition, taking place 20-24 April, looks set for a bumper year. This year’s show sees the regular portfolio of annually-held trade fairs —INTERKAMA+, Factory Automation, Industrial Building ...
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ArticleStaying on top at Maruti
Maruti Suzuki has topped India’s JD Power customer satisfaction survey for the ninth year in a row. AMS visits the company’s Gurgaon plant to talk with the company’s manufacturing guru, M.M. Singh, about this, the largest Suzuki manufacturing facility outside Japan.The importance of defining rolesHarmonizing labour and automationFactory layoutIn-house production ...
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ArticleEditor's Note: Surviving in weak markets
The knock-on effect of the downturn in carmaking has started to take its toll on major suppliers to the auto industry. With an estimated 33% drop in orders over the last 12 months, Corus Steel has announced it plans to layoff 3,200 employees. Bought in 2007 by Tata Steel, the ...
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ArticleBuilding trust to invest in Canada
Size mattersLooking aheadThreat from the southProvoking union ireBuyers are the solutionThrow a stone seemingly anywhere in Ontario and chances are it will land somewhere near either a parts or vehicle manufacturing facility. Home to OEM operations of companies such as GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota and Suzuki, plus Tier suppliers ...
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ArticleInnovation in induction
Engineers are using technology rather than displacement to achieve required levels of engine performance, and the changing designs have affected unit productionGrowth potential remains positiveComplex technologies to achieve complex goalsEngine management and monitoring capabilitiesResurgent superchargingPackaging issues are crucialThe future of forced inductionSo is there no substitute for cubic inches? With ...
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ArticleJoined at the edge
The growing domination of roller hemming in automotive production, its advantages and drawbacks in comparison with other hemming techniquesDefining roller hemmingAdvancing tool technologiesThe case for clinchingImproved strength characteristicsIn of itself, hemming as a joining technique is unexceptional. The basic concept involves folding the overlapping edge of an outer panel over ...
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ArticleTailor made by laser
New laser joining techniques, steel grades, and how laser ablation can improve welded joinsLaser dominationFull process cost is keyPreparing to weldAchieving parity of speedThe concept of the tailored blank is generally acknowledged to have its origins back in the 1980s in the German automotive sector. Its central idea is extremely ...
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ArticlePressing ahead at Volvo
Volvo Car’s new transfer line is the latest interpretation of so-called classical manufacturing. AMS talks with Jonas Knutsson about the technologies that make it possibleNew take on an old ideaHaste makes no wasteAlist of the attributes of a classical manufacturing ‘transfer line’ reads like a litany of everything that modern ...
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ArticleKeeping it together
The benefits of replacing traditional body welds with adhesives, fixings and fastenersCounting the costSticking pointsChoices, choices, choicesMaterial worldNot so long ago, the idea of using adhesive for body-in-white assembly operations would have been deemed unrealistic. However, slowly but surely, the numerous advantages of adhesives have ensured this innovative joining technique ...
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Krafcik promoted to CEO and president of Hyundai Motor America
Fountain Valley, California – Hyundai Motor Corporation promoted John Krafcik, one of the longest-serving executives at the South Korean carmaker and one of the industry’s leading manufacturing experts, to Acting President and CEO Hyundai Motor America.He steps in for former Hyundai Motor America President and CEO Jong Eun Kim, who ...
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Lindquist takes the CEO position at PIAB
Täby, Sweden – PIAB, a global leader in industrial vacuum technology, has appointed Per- Erik Lindquist to the position of CEO as the company continues its worldwide expansion and ongoing capture of new market segments. With more than two decades of experience at global companies in related industries, Lindquist will ...
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ArticleStanding the test of (development) time
Metrology, measurement and testing play a critical role in production development, where process accuracy and repeatability are paramount.Sparkling performanceSeal of approvalQuality control and testing have never been the most expedient of processes in the automotive manufacturing environment, but the advent of technologies such as digital inspection and 3D laser scanning ...
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ArticleSize matters
Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions Division has announced a compact, lightweight addition to its range of high-resolution industry-standard Camera-Link-equipped camera modules. The XCL-U100 features a selectable Power on Camera Link (PoCL) and measures just 29x29x30mm, shrinking the footprint to just one-third of Sony’s XCL-5005 and the overall volume to one ...