Optimism Sensed at ATI Open House

By Brian Huse, Director, Marketing & PR, Robotic Industries Association

As usual, ATI Industrial Automation brought together a good crowd of robot makers, integrators and users at its summer open house in Orion Township, Michigan. Guests hailed from far and wide, with interests ranging from oil drilling in Alberta, Canada to press handling in the Great Lakes states and beyond.

With expertise in tool changers, collision sensors, deburring tools and force/torque sensors, ATI is well known in a wide variety of applications and industries. Their Michigan office, near the Palace of Auburn Hills, makes it convenient for industry giants and key players in the robotics industry to gather and exchange ideas and see old friends.

An open house like this is a good way to get insight into trends. There was a general feeling that an economic rebound is on the horizon, and if pent up demand is about to break out then ATI has many ways to help customers make up for lost time.

Is wireless technology ready for primetime in the manufacturing sector? ATI experts looked at this issue and the more traditional network backbones found in Ethernet and Profibus. How refined is robotic deburring and material removal? Thanks to ATI force/torque sensors and products like Flexdeburr and Speedeburr there are many success stories in this area.

Classic products like tool changers and collision sensors were on display as were several new devices. Some will have seen the new giant tool changer used for heavy payloads during the International Robots, Vision & Motion Control Show. Their tool changers are even used by medical robots and their new force/torque sensors work under water.

Some of ATI’s visitors have a long journey back home and others were practically within walking distance, but all were treated to a good networking event and a chance to see new technology that can make them more competitive. We were honored to see a large plaque declaring RIA membership since 1995, and salute everyone that made time in their schedule to go to their open house.

Rank higher in Robotics Online search results with free POP points!

By Brian Huse, Director, Marketing & PR, Robotic Industries Association

 

For a limited time, you can get free POP points that allow you to rank higher in Robotics Online searches. Normally $495, POP points are included at no charge with any advertising bundle order in October.

 

What is a bundle?

Qualified members get free or deeply discounted ads in the Robotics Industry Directory. A bundle upgrades these ads from good to better and includes online ads at discount rates. Bundle advertisers save money and stand out online and in print.

 

What is a POP point?

Similar to how AdWords work on Google, POP points increase your visibility to Robotics Online users through a weighting system that jumps member content ahead of those with less points in a category. You choose the categories and apply the POP points yourself. Order an ad bundle and get FREE POP points!

 

Why October?

Robotic Industries Association goes into production for its 2009 Robotics Industry Directory soon. Members must tell us now of any plans to use their ads. For most, that is free. The bundle is for anyone anticipating 12 months of online ads beyond the print Directory and interested in an arrangement that saves money. POP points are for good customers and a way for us to give sincere thanks.

 

Order Bundle by                   Get this many POP points

October 10                             10 ($4,950 value!)

October 17                             8 ($3,960 value!)

October 24                             6 ($2,970 value!)

October 31                             4 ($1,980 value!)

 

How to order a bundle

Call me and I’ll handle the paperwork (see below for rates). At some time, the process will be run from the Member Control Panel. Soon, it will be so you can purchase and manage your ads in full from this dashboard. Until then, please contact me at 734/994-6088 or by email.

 

For people in the business, Robotics Online is the number-one website on industrial robotics technology and generates thousands of advertising clicks every year. According to Google Analytics, some 18,000 “Absolute Unique Visitors” come around each month and do so much they make better than five times their mass in “Pageviews” running toward 98,000 per month. Thanks to search engine optimization, it is common to see member content indexed by Google and served up from Robotics Online in their searches. POP over and see what you get – great things are waiting for you.

 

FYI – Bundle Rates

Bronze Supplier: $1,500 ($2,160 in pieces)

Silver Supplier: $7,900 ($11,420 in pieces)

Gold Supplier: $7,500 ($10,135 in pieces)

Platinum Supplier: $7,300 ($11,535 in pieces)

 

Integrators: $3,910 ($5,535 in pieces)

 

Sincerely,

Brian Huse

Director, Marketing & PR

Robotic Industries Association

900 Victors Way, P.O. Box 3724, Ann Arbor, MI 48106

734/994-6088

bhuse@robotics.org

 

Robots Chip Away at Machining

by Brian Huse, Director, Marketing & PR (RIA) 

Robots are chipping away at CNC type jobs. So far, inroads are modest, but examples are building and interest is growing. We saw some of this at RIA’s Robotic Grinding, Deburring & Finishing Workshop, and just recently Design News published an article that also examines these issues. (Robots Loosen Up)

A lot of RIA members are mentioned in the article, and it also highlights the Association’s new study on hybrid sensors, which is another trend worth watching.

In the Design News article, it mentions how a robot workcell is used to cut stone. Funny … one of the speakers at the Robotic Grinding, Deburring & Finishing Workshop was telling me that stone and granite cutting technology has become so advanced and efficient that products such as countertops are driving a surge in sales for that industry. (Amazing what you can learn while networking at RIA events!)

Soon, RIA will carve out a new series of application workshops for 2008. Machining and related topics will be under consideration. Let us know if you have any special interests for our courses. You can reach me at 734/994-6088 (bhuse@robotics.org), or leave a comment below.

Robots in the Foundry Business

Many days my job has to do with “selling” memberships and other Association business, but recently I was selling robots. (Fade in “Mr. Roboto,” by Styx, since I’m only half serious about the selling thing.)

Anyway, Larry, a guy I know at our office building, stopped me on the way in one morning and asked if I could help him find a robot for a coating application in a foundry. Thank goodness for our printed Directory and online Buyer’s Guide! I was able show him these resources and talk a little about his needs.

He really should talk to an expert, I told him, but I was curious to learn more about what he was looking for. So, I grabbed the Directory plus a printout from the Robotics Online Buyer’s Guide with a list of companies in the Coatings category and headed to the third floor to see Larry.

Larry’s company is involved in the foundry business, and he is a big believer in robots. He said he sees them by the dozens when he visits clients. We talked about the demanding environment where castings are made, and he remarked that robots have gotten much better at handling the dirty, harsh settings of these businesses and are now quite essential in this industry.

It turns out that one of his clients is having trouble with how a core wash is applied. Right now, he said, a person at the factory uses a paint brush to dab the coating in a small area of the sand casting, and drips get into all the wrong places. Worse, he explained that the core wash hardens so much that it can break expensive machining bits, so problems with the application are quite significant.

This situation with the core wash is one that can be a real pain for a company like Larry’s, because if he gets involved, a customer is apt to blame him for the expensive breakage of bits (no matter that the real problem has to do with the manual application of the coating). This fact makes it a dicey proposition to try to help the customer, since it could lead to additional acrimony if something goes wrong. But Larry is convinced that a robot would solve his customer’s problem with the core wash, and he feels so strongly that he wants to find a robot company that will help him and his client.

With all the top-notch manufacturers and integrators that belong to RIA, I am confident that one of them will be able to help Larry’s company. He didn’t want to go on a mailing list, so I have to withhold his contact information, but please let me know if you want me to pass anything on to him.

Remember, I gave him the Directory and a printout of companies that selected the “Coatings” category for their listing in the Buyer’s Guide. If you haven’t updated your listing lately, don’t wait. RIA gets lots of these kinds of inquiries, and this is one of the main ways we respond.

Disclaimer: I don’t have extensive knowledge of the foundry business, so if I garbled any details I apologize in advance. Feel free to enlighten me. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

– posted by Brian Huse, Director, Marketing & PR, RIA (bhuse@robotics.org, 734/994-6088)

Robotic Grinding, Deburring & Finishing Workshop Dates Set

September 17-19, Minneapolis, Minnesota

If you haven’t looked at robots for finishing applications (i.e. material removal), or if you wonder what’s new and possible, now is a good time to see what 3M and Robotic Industries Association are doing to bring you an all-new Robotic Grinding, Deburring & Finishing Workshop. We just booked the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis as the site of this year’s RGDF Workshop, September 17-19, and there will be new sessions, new information and lots to do. 

We will look at new techniques and technology for robotic finishing since the last time we held this Workshop, which was in 2005 – already two years ago! Once again, 3M will open its robot labs for hands-on demonstrations, and tabletop exhibits will showcase top vendors in this specialized field.

A working group of RIA members and industry experts is planning the itinerary of topics, and speakers can submit abstracts now. 

Click here to see the program from 2005. 

By the way … for those of you who came last time, you’ll be happy to learn the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis is a bigger hotel than we had before with more classroom space and more guest rooms, too. (As you know, we were busting at the seams in 2005 when some 150 people packed the event.) Plus, we will be right downtown with plenty to do after hours! 

For more information, contact Brian Huse (bhuse@robotics.org, 734/994-6088).