Blog
Sweethearts Conversation Hearts Automates to Make Seasonal Demand Efficient
Within an expansive 816,000-square-foot facility, New England Confectionery Co. (NECCO) in Revere, MA, engages in the production of a diverse range of treats, including renowned candy wafers, chocolate bars, thin chocolate mints, and private-label brands. Among its popular offerings are Valentine's Day candies known as Sweethearts Conversation Hearts.The production of Sweethearts candies exceeds 8 billion annually, with manufacturing taking place from late February to mid-January of the followin
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Feb 14th 2024
So Easy a Three Year Old Can Do It! Universal Robots: Come for the Safety, Stay for the Ease of Use
In the past 20 years, properly programming an industrial robotic or motion control solution required a well-trained person. During this time, robot and motion control vendors would pop up to brag about how much easier it was to program their products with the addition of setup wizards, the transition to IEC61131, or something else. Although these enhancements have made customers' and support engineers' lives easier, none of them offered an out of the box solution that could be used by someone wi
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Apr 13th 2022
How to Choose Between Cobots and Industrial Robots
When choosing between a collaborative robot and a traditional industrial robot, one must consider all aspects of the application. No one solution is better for all applications.Advantages and Disadvantages of Robot TypesCobots offer increased safety and ease of use while traditional robots come with higher speeds and payloads. Cobots use little to no safety cage guarding while traditional robots nearly always do. One advantage of collaborative robots is the availability of integrated force contr
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Jul 21st 2021
4 Ways Robots Deliver ROI to Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers
Robots present a common conundrum for small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs). On the one hand, they can help smaller operations improve efficiencies and become more competitive within their industry. But are they worth the initial investment, time, resources, and risk to implement?According to the U.S. Census Bureau, SMMs (manufacturing organizations with under 500 employees) make up nearly 99% of all manufacturing organizations in the United States, yet they are often the least likely to t
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Oct 16th 2019
Global Running Day
Global Running Day inspires everyone to get up and moving. Whether you are running around with your dog or around the block, the goal is to increase activity while having fun and get others to join you. This year's Million Kid Run aims to get children excited about fitness by living ac active lifestyle. As personalization becomes more and more popular with younger markets, Adidas is harnessing this trend in their SpeedFactory which allows users to digitally create the perfect customize
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Jun 5th 2019