Strong 2022 results for Kuka

Robot manufacturer Kuka won more orders than ever before initslatest financial year: at €4.46billion, the company achieved the highest order intake in its history, an increase of 25.1% compared with the previous year. Demand for Kuka products and solutions was particularly high in China. However, customers in the US also invested heavily in Kuka systems, especially for the production of e-vehicles. Sales were 18.6% higher than in the previous year (2021), while in the first three months of the current financial year, Kuka again exceeded the results of the same period last year across all divisions.
For further information www.kuka.com

Hyfore Workholding expands portfolio with Heimatec

Hyfore is expanding its diverse range of work-holding and tooling solutions by becoming the exclusive UK distribution partner for the Heimatec brand of precision tools and systems.

Founded in 1987 in Germany, the first activities of Heimatec GmbH included the production of carrier tools for indexable inserts, which expandedrapidly into the manufacture of specialist radial drilling heads, quick-change tooling systems for driven tools and then complete tool-changing systems.

Now, the Heimatec portfolio includes a programme for static and driven tools for turning centres. This incorporates everything from axial, offset, angled and swivelling driven-tool stations, as well as static VDI and BMT toolholders for boring, turning, bar pulling and cut-off holders. Also in the turning range are multi-spindle heads and high-speed tools with gearing ratios of 1:4 for machining up to 48,000rpm, and a complete range of accessories such as bar pullers, reducing sleeves, collets and collet chucks, shrink and tapping collets, sealing disks clamping nuts, and arbors.

The German tool-holding expert also manufactures a complete tooling programme for Swiss-type turning centres with live, static and customised tools supported by a diverse range of standard and special accessories that can accommodate users of Citizen sliding-head machine tools.

In addition, Heimatec’s portfolio encompasses a complete range of solutions for machining centres. The live tooling options include 360° turnable angle heads, axial drilling and milling heads, multi-spindle heads, and double-spindle and offset heads, to list but a few. Alongside a comprehensive programme of standard angled heads, Heimatec offers a compact, high-performance slim design range.Developed for difficult contours, the slim design series is suitable for small immersion diameters and large immersion depths.
For further information www.hyfore.com

Unused vision hardware should not go to waste

In many plants there are cameras, lighting and other hardware that once formed part of a visual inspection system that is no longer fit for purpose. Zohar Kantor, vice president of sales at visual inspection software company Lean AI, explains why equipment-agnostic software technology could breathe new life into existing machine vision hardware.

Estimates suggest that between 2017 and 2020, approximately 270,000 machine vision systems were installed around the world. How many of these are still performing as intended? A common issue is the lack of interoperability between different hardware components, or between hardware and software. Some software solutions are vendor-specific,requiring the purchase of new cameras and other sensors.

Quality managers and plant managers are unfortunately not fully aware that there is an alternative solution in retrofitting. If a software solution is equipment-agnostic, meaning it can operate with hardware from different vendors, it is possible to bring new capacity to old investments.

If the existing image acquisition equipment is perfectly acceptable in terms of image quality and illumination, then software was the problem. Why not leverage existing hardware by finding a software solution that will work in tandem? Lean AI is currently putting this theory into practice with a leading powder metal company in Canada. Lean AI’s artificial intelligence algorithms work with any hardware, so the company can make use of cameras and computer hardware already in the plant, removing the need for the customer to rip it out and start again. Retrofitting in this way saves time, money and risk.
For further information www.lean-ai-tech.com

Doors set to open at LAMIERA 2023

LAMIERA 2023 will open its doors this week (10-13 May) in Milan, Italy. As the only exhibition in Italy that focuses on the sheet metal-forming industry, LAMIERA meets high demand for machinery of this type across the country. In the 10 years from 2011 to 2021, the consumption of metal-forming machinery in Italy climbed from €704m to €1.7bn, reports the LAMIERA organiser. Italy now consumes 35% more metal-forming machine tools than Germany.

Entrance to the exhibition is free for those registering online, with opening hours extending from 09:30 to 18:00 on each day of the show, which takes place at the Fieramilano venue. LAMIERA will combine its exhibition with cultural and thematic insights developed through a programme of conferences on specific topics and side events that will host discussions with opinion leaders and experts.
For further information www.lamiera.net

Collaboration helps UK manufacturers find robots

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and HowToRobot are entering a new partnership aimed at increasing the adoption of robots among manufacturing businesses in the UK.The collaboration will bring together HowToRobot’s global automation marketplace and the MTC’s expertise to connect businesses with the right automation solutions and suppliers.

Any UK-based business considering automation can get free help with finding solutions and suppliers as part of the collaboration. The business simply describes the automation requirement on HowToRobot’s platform. Suppliers then reply with tailored proposals on possible solutions. The business can consult with experts from the MTC to help specify its needs and get automation advice, including how to develop solutions that are not yet commercially available.

Søren Peters, CEO of HowToRobot, says: “Many businesses struggle with getting started on automation because they don’t have an overview of the many robot technologies and solutions that exist today. With our knowledge of over 16,000 suppliers and MTC’s technology experts, we can help them find the solution they need.”

The MTC says that businesses in the UK still have largely untapped potential for automation. Compared with the global average, British industry still has few robots in operation. Speeding up the adoption of automation technologies is essential.

By tapping into HowToRobot’s platform and MTC’s expertise, businesses can quickly get an overview of their automation options without having to undertake market research alone.
Businesses can get started with exploring their automation options by submitting their request on HowToRobot’s platform for free.
For further information www.howtorobot.com/get-quotes