Industry News


Drive specialist Maxon and robotic startup ANYbotics partner up


Drive specialist maxon, renowned for its Mars motors, is joining forces with the robotics startup ANYbotics and will in future supply the drive systems of the autonomous ANYmal inspection robot. The robot will soon be marketed in large quantities. This cooperation will also benefit maxon, since ANYbotics provides important robotics know- how and is currently the most successful young company in this field.


A solid partnership: maxon and ANYbotics are entering into a close, long-term collaboration and are thus strengthening Switzerland as a prime location for robotics. One of the decisions made by the two partners is that maxon, as global drive specialist, will handle the future development and production of the actuators for ANYmal. ANYmal is an autonomous, four-legged robot that is capable of inspecting and monitoring industrial systems and is destined to also take on dangerous maintenance tasks in the future. The robot can even cope with difficult infrastructures such as stairs and inclines, and is used in a wide variety of industries. The maxon Group contributes 60 years of experience in drive technology to the


partnership, as well as a global production infrastructure and validated processes, and will help to advance the industrialization and commercialization of ANYmal – with competitive, high-performance drive systems, twelve of which are used in each robot. “In maxon, we have found the ideal partner for taking care of our drive technology as we transition from small series to mass production. With maxon’s expertise and infrastructure, we will be able to further optimize a core element of our robots and access state-of-the-art production methods,” says Peter Fankhauser, CEO of ANYbotics. ANYbotics recently won the Swiss Economic Award 2020 and has been chosen as the best young entrepreneur in Switzerland in the Hightech/Biotech category. The company has valuable experience in robotics – a market that offers great potential for maxon. Eugen Elmiger, CEO maxon Group, says: “By collaborating with ANYbotics, we are merging know-how from different worlds.”


Curtis Packaging takes control with new Kama ProCut 76 Foil


Luxury printed packaging company Curtis Packaging has revealed that its investment in a new Kama ProCut 76 Foil punching, embossing and finishing machine has allowed it to take more control over its specialist finishing service.


Purchased through Friedheim International, which distributes


Kama technology in the UK market, the Kama ProCut 76 Foil is now running alongside two Heidelberg cylinders at the company’s facility in Redhill in Surrey. The decision to invest in the new machine was in response to


customer demand at Curtis, with a large number of its clients using hot foil to enhance their cartons. For many years, the company sent this process out to a third-party. While the company brought this finishing process in house


through investment in two older Heidelberg cylinders, such was the level of demand that James Williams, managing director at Curtis, said the business needed a faster solution. “Though these machines are great, they are slow and as the business grew the need for a faster machine became apparent,” Williams said. “We find that smaller-format foiling and embossing allows us greater quality control and the size of the Kama suited us perfectly. Following a comprehensive demonstration and testing in Dresden, we were very confident that the Kama would provide excellent quality and better productivity.” In terms of how fast Curtis is now able to carry out the hot foil


process, Williams said its sheets-to-floor average now stands at 3,000 per hour, compared to 1,000 per hour when using the older cylinders. Williams also praised the camera registering system and how this will assist with its quality control, adding that the long- term aim of the business is to increase its customer base. “Fingers crossed in the current climate, but the machine will certainly help our sales team highlight the quality of work we can produce,” Williams said.


     


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48