Multi-axis robot arms perform a wide variety of processes in automotive assembly plants, including painting, welding and fastening.

The distinction between AC induction motors and permanent-magnet DC servomotors was once fairly clear. AC motors were for high-horsepower applications, such as compressors, pumps, blowers and bulk-handling conveyors. DC servomotors were for applications requiring low horsepower, high torque, high cycling and precise positioning, such as machine tools and pick-and-place machines.

HAMILTON, OH—The 14,000-pound Turf Muncher from Mitchell Machine Works rides on wheels made in the USA by Hamilton Caster.

Forty years ago this month, the Skydeck at the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower) was opened to the public. The observation floor remains one of Chicago’s most famous attractions, drawing nearly 1.3 million visitors annually.

For many years, plant managers told assemblers to “work smarter, not harder” without providing them the proper tools to achieve this goal. This was especially challenging for workers who had to lift heavy objects around their workstations.

Assembly machines are dumb. They can only do what they’re told, over and over again. Without a sense of sight or touch, they can’t know if parts or pallets are where they’re supposed to be.

All professors are teachers, but some are also entrepreneurs. Three of note are mechanical engineering professors Stephen L. Dickerson, Wayne Book and Nader Sadegh, who together founded CAMotion Inc. in 1997 while working at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

HUNTINGTON, IN—PHD Inc., a supplier of industrial automation components, is investing $4.18 million to expand and re-equip its manufacturing facility here, creating up to 22 new jobs by 2017. The company is installing multi-axis CNC equipment in the coming weeks, with plans to begin insourcing production of CNC-machined parts.

LEXINGTON, KY—The former pneumatics business unit of Bosch Rexroth Corp. is now a standalone company operating under the name Aventics. The company’s U.S. headquarters will remain in Lexington, while its global headquarters will be in Laatzen, Germany.

Linear motor pallet-transfer systems have been around for more than a decade.