Editor’s Pick

Dugard introduces Hanwha ‘cobot’ range

The latest HCR range of Hanwha collaborative robots (‘cobots’) is now available from Dugard.

Hanwha HCR cobots prioritise safety while offering installation costs that are up to a third lower than regular industrial robots. Dugard will be showing off the range at the Robotics and Automation 2018 exhibition, which takes place at Arena MK in Milton Keynes on 10-11 October, as well as at the Dugard open house in Hove on 17-18 October.
Regarding safety, the user-friendly series of Hanwha cobots offers collision detection at 25-150 Nm. Moreover, each cobot is built with joint rotation limit, joint speed limit, TCP speed limit and a virtual safety fence. The range starts with a small, lightweight model and extends up to a heavy-duty cobot with a large working radius. Suitable for all kinds of loading, unloading, picking and packing operations, Hanwha HCR cobots provide positional accuracy of 0.01 mm.
For further information sales@dugard.com

Degree for a digital future

Tooling specialist Walter is preparing people for an Industry 4.0 future via a new Bachelor of Science course at Baden-Württemberg Co-operative State University (DHBW) in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany.

Industry 4.0 means that mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and information technology are growing closer together to form an intelligently networked production scenario, says Walter. According to the company, the interlocking of the analogue and digital world requires a lasting change of attitude, not just in companies, but also in universities.
The new co-operative Bachelor of Science in Business Information Studies will commence in autumn 2018, combining scientific study with Walter’s practical experience. Students will switch between the university and Walter AG every three months. In this way, they will gain knowledge, professional experience and so-called soft skills in equal measure. After a three-year study programme and a thesis, graduates will complete their education with the academic title Bachelor of Science.
For further information www.walter-tools.com

Record-breaking day at showroom opening

XYZ Machine Tools officially opened its new showroom at Slough earlier this month, an event that resulted in a record-breaking day for machine sales.

“This is the best one-day open house that we have ever seen, with over 50 companies taking the time to visit XYZ and see what was on offer,” says managing director Nigel Atherton. “By lunchtime we had already taken orders for 15 machines, with the afternoon proving just as popular when a further eight machine orders were taken. The total value of sales was just shy of £800,000.”
The new showroom is located just off the M4 motorway and is available for customer demonstrations and training, being a relatively short drive for customers from across the southeast and central England regions. “Visitor numbers at this opening event shows that we have selected a good location,” says Atherton. “This will allow more customers the opportunity to see demonstrations of XYZ machines, as well as receive training once they have made a purchase.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Machine tool museum set to open

Yamazaki Mazak is set to open its own historic machine tool museum on the 100th anniversary of its founding.

The museum, which will open in autumn 2019, is located in Minokamo, Japan, within the newly renovated underground factory of Yamazaki Mazak Optonics Corporation, currently home to the company’s laser manufacturing operations.
Mazak’s interactive museum will give visitors the opportunity to see, touch and learn about machine tools and their history, with the overall aim being to celebrate the history of machining and educate the next generation of engineers. The museum will exhibit traditional machine tools in operation, as well as showcase the many products they produce. In addition, the museum will be equipped with an FMS area, where the latest machine tools with integrated Industry 4.0 capability will be displayed.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

Workpiece palletising and handling systems

1st Machine Tool Accessories has introduced a range of workpiece handling cells that allow components to be clamped manually on to pallets, automatically loaded into store and subsequently retrieved for robotic transfer into and out of machining centres.

The equipment, which is manufactured by French company Engineering Data, is suitable for long periods of unattended and lights-out running. According to 1st MTA, the modular pallet-handling systems are said to increase production output from non-pallet-change machining centres by up to 50%.
A representative model, EasyBox T30, was demonstrated on the 1st MTA stand at MACH 2018 in April. The compact system with a footprint of just 2 sq m can be configured to feed a machine from the left, right or front. Two versions are available for storing 42 or 64 pallets. They are equipped with a three-axis robot capable of handling components up to 200 x 200 x 180 mm, and a maximum load of 30 kg, including workpiece, fixture and pallet.
Half a day training is all that is needed for an operator to be conversant with the system, which is designed to automate small to medium batch production. The single load/unload station is positioned at an ergonomic height at the front of the store for convenient workpiece clamping and unclamping. An adjacent touch-screen panel for operating the robot is easily interfaced with all major types of machine tool control including Heidenhain, Siemens, Fanuc and Mazatrol.
A larger EasyBox T100 in a compact version for handling 100 kg pallets is also available. Additionally offered are: a rail-mounted linear version, L-range, for feeding up to six machining centres; and a 350° R-range rotary version for feeding one or two machining centres.
For further information www.1mta.com