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19 March, 2024

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Rockwell and autonox marry controls with robot mechanics

24 May, 2023

Rockwell Automation has formed a strategic partnership with German-based autonox Robotics, which specialises in manufacturing control-independent robot mechanics. They are combining Rockwell’s Kinetix motors and drives with autonox’s robot mechanics to offer complete systems with a single catalogue number.


Cobots will capture 20% of industrial robot market by 2032

22 May, 2023

Collaborative robots (cobots) will account for more than 20% of all industrial robot sales by 2032, according to a new study from Interact Analysis. The cobot market is expected to expand at around 20% a year until then, driven partly by new applications and the growing importance of the logistics market.


Mitsubishi takes stake in motion software developer Movensys

22 May, 2023

Mitsubishi Electric has formed a partnership with the Korean company, Movensys, which develops motion control software for AC servomotors and sells it mainly in Asia. The partnership, which includes Mitsubishi taking an equity stake in Movensys, will strengthen collaboration between the two companies’ AC servo and motion control businesses.


Google’s robot software arm unveils easy-to-use platform

17 May, 2023

Intrinsic, the robotics software company launched by Google’s parent Alphabet in 2021, has announced a robotics development platform that it believes will speed up access to industrial robotics for many more developers. Intrinsic has also announced that the Italian robot manufacturer and systems integrator Comau is its first industrial partner.


Industrial Ethernet exceeds two thirds of comms market

05 May, 2023

Profinet and EtherNet/IP have reinforced their position as joint leaders of the industrial communications market, with each accounting for 18% of new factory automation nodes installed in the past year, according to HMS Networks’ annual survey of the industrial communications market. Their market shares have increased slightly from 17% each last year, while EtherCat has also added 1% to its share, taking it to 12% of the global market.


AMRs and AGVs will push ULV drives sales to $3.1bn by 2027

03 May, 2023

Global sales of ultra-low voltage (under 60V) drives are set to soar from $753m in 2021 to $3.1bn by 2027 – a CAGR of 25.9% – according to Interact Analysis. The growth is being driven by the rapid take-up of battery-powered AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) and AGVs (automated guided vehicles).


Siemens links up with Microsoft and IBM to deliver its vision

02 May, 2023

At the recent Hannover Messe, Siemens announced partnerships with several key players in the OT/IT world, including IBM and Microsoft, aimed at promoting its vision of the future of manufacturing.


Rexroth wins Hermes award for giving robots a human touch

17 April, 2023

The winner of this year’s Hermes technology award at the Hannover Messe is Bosch Rexroth for its Smart Flex effector compensation module that gives industrial robots a sense of touch similar to that of the human hand. The 2023 Hermes award for start-ups has gone to a Dutch company, MantiSpectra, for its ChipSense product – a near-infrared sensor-on-a-chip, claimed to be the smallest on the market, which can spot production-line defects as soon as they occur, allowing savings to be made through immediate quality control.


Industrial AI and IT portfolio includes ‘first virtual PLC’

14 April, 2023

At this month’s Hannover Messe, Siemens is unveiling an open portfolio for automating and operating industrial production. Called Industrial Operations X, the interoperable portfolio brings cutting-edge IT and AI technologies to industrial automation. It is part of Siemens’ Xcelerator digital business platform, which brings together software, hardware, an ecosystem of partners, as well as a marketplace.


Global manufacturing turndown will arrive two years early

13 April, 2023

Updated research by Interact Analysis indicates that the current economic turbulence will continue to have a dampening effect on the global manufacturing industry. Just three months ago, the analyst had been predicting a global slowdown in manufacturing in 2026, but now thinks that this will occur in 2024, two years sooner than originally expected.


Emerson buys NI for $8.2bn to expand into T&M automation

13 April, 2023

Emerson is buying and National Instruments in a transaction that values NI at $8.2bn. The aim is to expand its activities to include test and measurement automation and to target high-growth markets.


Wago is first to adopt Bosch Rexroth’s open real-time OS

11 April, 2023

Bosch Rexroth’s ambition for its ctrlX OS operating system to be adopted by other automation suppliers has been given a boost by the German automation and connection technology specialist Wago deciding to use the real-time Linux-based OS for its future mid- and high-performance controllers.


nVent buys US electricals supplier ECM, for $1.1bn

04 April, 2023

The electrical connection and protection systems supplier nVent Electric is buying ECM Investors – which owns the US-based connectors, tools, test instruments, and cable management specialist ECM Industries – for $1.1bn.


Regal Rexnord buys Altra Industrial Motion for $4.95bn

03 April, 2023

Regal Rexnord has bought Altra Industrial Motion, closing a deal that was signed in October 2022 and values Altra at $4.95bn. Regal Rexnord says that the merger will transform it into a global automation supplier with more than 70% of its sales in expanding markets, as well as combining the companies’ “complementary” power transmission portfolios. It is aiming for revenues of around $8.3bn by 2025 and expects costs synergies worth $160m within four years.


BMW runs new plant virtually, two years before it opens

22 March, 2023

The German car-maker BMW has started to “operate” a new plant virtually, more than two years before the real factory begins production. In what it calls a “revolution in factory planning,” virtual manufacturing is already underway for its Debrecen factory in Hungary, which is due to start producing BMW’s next generation of all-electric models, the Neue Klasse, in 2025.


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