Trying out different behaviours is one of the classic learning methods. Success or failure decides which behaviour is adopted. This principle can be transferred to the world of robots.

For decades, many manufacturers have counted on robots to tirelessly produce parts of predictable quality. One of the key attributes of robots is their repeatability, which means that their tool tip will return to the same pre-programmed location with a known and relatively small error.

Gear and gearbox manufacturer Katsa Oy commissioned Flexmill Oy to design and build a robotised cell to finish- machine and deburr gears ranging in size from 50 mm to 1.5 m diameter.

Russ Hudyma, Chief Technology Officer with Navitar, discusses the benefits of precision lens-to-sensor active alignment within the field of machine vision for high-end inspection.

The MD&M East, Atlantic Design & Manufacturing, EastPack, ATX East, PLASTEC East, and Quality Expo came to New York this week.

Compared to CMMs and articulating arms, laser trackers constitute a fairly young technology. In use for about 30 years, these increasingly portable and flexible devices are known for measuring large objects by determining the positions of optical targets, usually spherically mounted retroreflectors (SMRs) that a technician holds up against the objects.

The Automate Show brought thousands of robots to Chicago this week. The robots were serving ice cream and beer, playing music, and in one case, boxing. They were wowing attendees with their speed and service, musical skills (the KUKA ones wore bows for their performance), and fight demos. Machine vision and image analysis was also on display.

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. It’s a famous line from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” uttered by a more-than-thirsty sailor on a ship bereft of fresh water as he is forced to stare at an ocean of sea water he cannot use to satiate his need. 

The explosive growth of robots shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, especially in manufacturing. We are not quite to the level of a ‘90s action movie, but robots are certainly popping up in a lot more places these days. What may come as a surprise is the many ways companies are now using these robots, especially when it comes to metrology.