TECHNOLOGY | ROBOTS AND AUTOMATION


Right: Fanuc is integrating the Wandelbots Teaching platform with its robots, providing ease-of-pro- gramming and use


mance of the manufacturing company, Bosl says. The Mirai system allows every robot to learn and adapt in real time to changing conditions. The robots can handle variance in shape, lighting, position, and colour. In a demonstration, a Fanuc robot with the Mirai system is presented with a free-hanging flat ribbon cable with a connector plug, used in an electronic or automotive connector application. The robot, using its camera and the software, finds the ribbon cable in the 3D space and identifies the cable head (plug) at the end of the cable. The software directly controls the movement of


the robot and robot grip in real time until the robot is in the correct position to precisely grip then insert the plug/connector into a target. Such tasks are difficult for a robot as they typically require a high degree of flexibility to accommodate shape instability. Micropsi Industries plans additional task-specific automation projects with Fanuc that will expand the range of applications for its industrial robots, including its cobots.


Below: Comau is integrating its robots with Siemens control software


No-code platform Fanuc formed a strategic partnership with the Dresden, Germany-based robotics software developer Wandelbots that will allow the company to integrate its no-code Wandelbots Teaching platform with its robots, providing ease-of-pro- gramming and use. The software minimises the need for hiring an experienced program developer to create each step of a robotic process. The Wandelbots Teaching program allows users to map out and adjust the robot’s path using Wandelbot’s TracePen technology and an app. The TracePen tracking lets users plan out the path of the robot down to the millimetre level. The Wandelbots Teaching platform is based on agnostic software with an easy-to-use interface and is designed to work the same regardless of the robot type being programmed, which allows users to work independently to control various robot


models without having prior programming knowledge, says Christian Piechnick, Wandelbots founder and CEO. Users can transfer a program created through


the software to any other robot. “The labour shortage in the United States is severe right now and getting worse. Wandelbots can help to face this challenge and support US companies on their way towards automation and digitalisation of manufacturing processes,” says Piechnick. The integration of the Wandelbots Teaching


platform with Fanuc robots is still in development but the first Wandelbot-enabled robot versions are expected to be launched by Fanuc into the market in 2023. Wandelbots has a similar strategic partnership


with Yaskawa America and its Motoman Robotics division. Wandelbots recently opened a U.S. headquarters in Chicago to expand its global operations and accelerate its human-centered robotics solutions in the manufacturing industry. Fanuc America, the US subsidiary of Fanuc, broke ground on a new 800,000 ft2


(74,322 m2 )


facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, last November. It will compliment Fanuc’s existing 460,000 ft2 (42,735 m2


) North Campus facility and along with


manufacturing, engineering and R&D operations will house the largest corporate automation training operation in the US when it opens in the spring of 2024. Fanuc will move its Customer Training Academy to the new West Campus facility, which will be redesigned with more classrooms for better learner-to-instructor interactions and increased lab space for hands-on training. Industrial robot and automation producer


Comau formed a collaboration with technology company Siemens to demonstrate how it is


16 INJECTION WORLD | April 2023 www.injectionworld.com


IMAGE: COMAU


IMAGE: FANUC


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