Articles by John Sprovieri

Vision systems play a vital role in automated assembly systems. They can check for the presence or absence of parts or materials. They can measure key dimensions of assemblies. They can tell robots the precise location of parts. They can even read 1D and 2D codes.

Laser welding is one of the newest technologies for joining thermoplastic parts. This noncontact process has many advantages. It’s fast and precise, and it doesn’t generate flash or particulates.

Approximately 2 percent of adults aged 45 to 54 have disabling hearing loss. That rate increases to 8.5 percent for adults aged 55 to 64, 25 percent for those aged 65 to 74, and 50 percent for those who are 75 and older.

Welding of one sort or another has been the No. 1 application for industrial robots almost since the technology was invented.

One way for a manufacturer to enter a new market is through acquisition. However, one downside of the strategy is that the manufacturing assets you acquire do not always mesh perfectly with how you like to do things.

Some 45,000 manufacturing engineers and managers from 47 countries attended Automatica 2016, which took place June 21-24 at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in Germany.

Engineers at a major manufacturer of portable electronic devices had a problem. They needed to rivet a small, thin electrical contact to the device’s charger subassembly, but how could they head the tiny rivets—0.02 to 0.03 inch in diameter—without crushing the assembly?