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Robots in the manufacturing environment are not new, so what is preventing some companies from adopting the latest collaborative robots? Some believe that this is primarily due to a basic lack of familiarity with the technology.Safety is a major issue that is cited by those who object to robotic assistance in manufacturing. This perception of robots may stem from the fact that historically robots have been secluded behind safety guarding and operated separately from workers. The idea that these …

Subsidies have been introduced that would allow companies to take immediate expensing of high-cost assets, such as robots, instead of depreciating them over time. This plan works to the advantage of companies struggling to either find or keep their workforce which is currently needed to perform jobs that could be automated. Rather than expensing wages as they are paid over time, companies could purchase robots and take the deduction right away. This makes an investment in automation a much …

Forty years ago, US-based clothing industry moved manufacturing overseas to take advantage of cheap labor. Only about 3% of today’s apparel is domestically manufactured, but that is changing with the adoption of automation.With the fashion industry’s trend toward automation solutions that trend toward flexibility, decreased time to market, and carrying smaller inventories, regional sourcing for apparel offers a competitive advantage.Another advantage of reshoring manufacturing in the appar …

At Atria Scandinavia in Sweden, 30 employees work alongside three collaborative robots to increase efficiency in the line where gourmet and convenience foods are packaged. The company has deployed two Universal Robots UR5 robots and one UR10. Johnny Jansson, Atria’s Technical Manager, says “Our goal is to get reliable product lines where we can produce efficiently and effectively while keeping our staffing costs down. As a food producer, it is extremely important for us to min …

The marijuana industry has embraced automation in nearly every aspect of production, safety and security. Traditional, human-staffed outdoor crop security is “fraught with human error,” says Todd Kleperis, Chief Executive Officer of Hardcar Security, marijuana industry security provider. “At night guards sleep, they play video games and spend time on social media.” When violent breaches happen, “these robots can take a gunshot better than a human. If you’ve ever been shot, it’s very sc …