Zebra makes investment in Apera AI

Zebra Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Zebra Technologies Corp, has made a strategic investment in Apera AI, a provider of 4D Vision for industrial robots. This venture investment reinforces Zebra’s focus on digitising and automating workflows to accelerate frontline operations for organisations in the manufacturing and logistics industries and beyond.

Apera AI’s 4D Vision system equips robots with real-time visual intelligence, enabling them to locate, identify and manipulate complex parts with speed, precision and reliability. Apera AI uses light-resilient stereo vision and AI models to function reliably in dynamic, real-world factory conditions, adapting to shifting bins, changing lighting conditions, worn grippers and complex part geometry.

More information www.zebra.com

New MD named for FANUC UK and Ireland

Factory automation specialist FANUC has named Andy Armstrong as the new managing director of FANUC UK and FANUC Ireland, effective immediately. With a long history in the automation sector and over 40 years of experience in engineering and sales, Armstrong has spent the past two years as vice MD for FANUC UK and FANUC Ireland. The appointment will see him continue positive steps taken by previous MD Tom Bouchier to support FANUC UK’s continued growth and alignment with the company’s broader European goals. Tom will now focus on his role as FANUC’s cluster co-ordinator for northern Europe.

More information www.fanuc.eu

UK Manufacturers Outpace Peers

New analysis from FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics produced for the recent National Productivity Week shows the UK manufacturing sector has achieved sustained growth in output and productivity over the past five years, despite a smaller workforce and historically high levels of inflation. FourJaw’s analysis of the world’s largest manufacturing economies found that UK output in 2025 was 6% above 2020 levels, after accounting for inflation.

This real-terms growth outpaced that of peers such as the US (+4%) and Japan (+2%), while Germany saw a 6% decline. Despite a 4% reduction in the UK factory workforce, output has continued to rise, suggesting increased adoption of automation, robotics and data analytics to drive efficiency. In 2025, only factories in the US (£449k per worker) and France (£339k per worker) produced more output per worker than in the UK (£253k per worker).

More information www.fourjaw.com

Boosting efficiency with automated robot welding system

Panasonic Factory Solutions has implemented its TAWERS G4 Welding Robot System for Stadler Anlagenbau, helping to automate manual welding processes, significantly reduce cycle times, and increase production efficiency and scalability.

Stadler manufactures specialist systems for turnkey recycling and waste sorting plants, with all systems and components produced in-house. The company already uses Panasonic G3 systems to manage welding across conveyor belt frame systems, pre-assembly and final assembly operations.

The new TAWERS G4 Welding Robot System further improves welding process management by combining control functions into a single system for high-quality arc welding. It features greater controller processing power, faster axis speeds and optimised controller-to-robot communication. In addition, the system includes a high-resolution touchscreen for simplified programming, while enhanced contact tips improve welding quality and reliability.

Before installation, Stadler carried out extensive simulations and test welds at Panasonic’s Robot & Welding Test Centre in Neuss, with employees receiving specialist training to maximise the system’s capabilities.

Bruno Stützle, head of production at Stadler, says: “Panasonic’s robot welding systems are easy to operate and maintain. As a result, the cycle and throughput time for some products, including all preparation, has been reduced to one-third of the original time. Apart from scheduled maintenance cycles, the G4 has exhibited faultless reliability since installation.”

Stadler also uses Panasonic’s Desktop Programming & Simulation (DTPS) software across its production line, providing remote digital access to real-time production and operating data. The system allows simultaneous planning and simulation of manufacturing processes, improving flexibility while saving time and resources.

The addition of a third TAWERS Welding Robot System has significantly increased Stadler’s production efficiency, giving the company greater scalability as it expands internationally and explores new opportunities.

More information www.bit.ly/4tHK6fy

Helping aero plants automate high-mix, large-scale inspection

Hexagon has unveiled new laser-guided solutions that make it possible, in some cases for the first time, to automate inaccessible and large-scale quality inspections in labour-intensive operations such as aircraft assembly, shipbuilding and wind turbine manufacturing.

Large-scale manufacturers are under growing pressure to increase output, but the inspection of safety-critical components often requires workers to check features manually from cherry pickers over multiple shifts, creating delays and interrupting production. Building on its laser tracker technology, Hexagon’s Leica Absolute Tracker ATS800, launched in 2025, introduced high-resolution direct scanning from distances of up to 40 m. The latest development expands its capabilities with a new AI-based computer vision feature called FeatureDetect.

FeatureDetect automatically identifies circular features such as bolt holes and mating points using the tracker’s onboard camera, reducing set-up time before laser scanning begins. This capability is particularly valuable for manufacturers working from CAD files, as well as for contract inspection, MRO and large raw casting measurement.

The ATS800 is a lightweight, battery-powered portable device that can be mounted by one person and used across multiple locations on site. From a single position, it can assess features and surfaces within large structures at high resolution.

Measurement specialist ARGON has also developed semi-automated inspection solutions using the ATS800, integrating it into a forklift-based measurement station for large components, while Geert Creemers, founder and managing partner at ARGON, says: “We call it automation without robots. In most cases, we achieve efficiency gains of 5-10 times.”

Hexagon reports the system can reduce inspection times from multiple days to just hours, while enabling safer, more reliable and even overnight automated inspection processes.

More information www.bit.ly/41Y0rjP