Automation

The assets of injection molder Core Systems LLC (Painesville, OH) are set to go up for auction again following the company's February closing after the Whirlpool Corporation terminated its contract with Core. The molder had two plants, one in Mount Gilead, OH and the company's headquarters plant in Painesville, OH.

The biggest and splashiest exhibit at BIOMEDevice in Boston this week was staged by a company that didn't even exist a year ago.

Rethink Robotics attracted crowds anxious to see activities of the new humanoid robot Baxter, which has been a big hit in the plastics processing industry since its launch late last year.

2012 was a capital year for North American plastics capital equipment, with orders for injection molding machines, blown-film lines, auxiliary equipment, thermoforming equipment, and hot runners all up compared to 2011. Even for single-screw extruders, where annual orders were down, albeit less than 2% (13 units), the full-year dollar value was up a gaudy 38% compared to 2011. The only market truly off in 2012 was the blowmolding segment. There, the total number of new of blowmolding machines ordered in 2012 was 67 units, down 18 from 2011, with the full-year dollar value off 34%.

Do you remember the one about the manufacturing plant of the future? The manufacturing plant of the future will have two employees: a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog’s job is to bite the man if he touches the machines.

Welcome to Plastic Components Inc.'s (www.plasticcomponents.com) newest facility. According to PCI’s President, Tom Duffey, since the plant’s opening on September 11, 2011, it has been running around the clock, fully automated 23 hours and 30 minutes each day with no one in the building.

The annual Federal Government Advocacy Survey taken in December by the National Tooling and Machining Association and the Precision Metalforming Association, and released last week, underscores the lack of skilled labor in the metal working trades. Responses from 199 metal working manufacturers who averaged 77 employees in 2012, show that 91% are experiencing challenges finding qualified employees; 42% of those companies are having “severe challenges” finding employees skilled in the metalworking trades.
   

Anaheim, CA—Coming off its best year ever, automation supplier Sepro America LLC (Pittsburgh, PA) announced the addition of two new regional sales managers, effectively doubling its staff as its recent push into the smaller robot market gains traction. "[Sepro] sees a lot of growth potential here on the West Coast; that's why we added [Paul Rudzinski and Lorne Burke]; customer-driven demand," explained Jim Healy, VP sales and marketing for Sepro America.

On the North American market for four months, Universal Robots is expanding its reach into the U.S. after a positive response for its Danish designed "collaborative" robots. Conceived in 2003, the Danish company was created with the intention of  marketing a line of "light and relatively inexpensive robots, that are easy to install and program."

France's Sepro Robotique is gunning for the number one market share slot in Europe, announcing new controls, products, and German headquarters at Fakuma 2012 (Oct. 15-19, Friedrichshafen, Germany).

Advanced Molding Technologies (AMT) is now expanding its factory floor space in a Minneapolis suburb from 35,000 sq ft to just under 50,000 sq ft and adding 12 injection molding machines over the next 24 months.

"We're growing. Business is strong," Steve Jenkins, business development manager said in an interview with PlasticsToday. Two-thirds of the company's business is in medical. All of the new presses are electric.

Rethink Robotics (Boston, MA) is making extensive use of plastics in its new humanoid robot called "Baxter" to reduce costs and improve quality.