With increased competition, often on a global scale, manufacturers need to differentiate themselves by tailoring products more closely to customer demand. This, of course, carries with it an implicit reduction in batch sizes and has seen the rise of ‘high-mix, low-volume production. Cobots can enable manufacturers to effectively meet individual customer requirements with greater product variety in smaller batches.

Mitsubishi Electric Ireland Automation Partner, Ashdale Engineering, located in Northern Ireland, has designed a highly accurate control system for an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. The precision process control is achieved using Mitsubishi Electric automation components and is vital to ensuring continued operation of the live AD process, enabling the generation of heat and electricity that the plant operator now plans to sell to the grid.

Mitsubishi Electric’s range of automation products have helped to create the first fully automated Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved post-processing machine for 3D printed plastic parts. Sheffield-based Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) has teamed up with Mitsubishi Electric to further advance its innovative chemical vapour smoothing machine, PostPro 3D, by developing an integrated automation solution.

Mitsubishi Electric has released a comprehensive OEM developer’s kit aimed at both first-time automation users and experienced engineers. The kit consists of a PLC, HMI and programming software that can be used to develop new machines for a wide range of manufacturing and process industries. 

Mitsubishi Electric’s new MELSERVO MR-J5 series of TSN-compatible servo drives meet today’s exacting requirements for precision, dynamics and multi-axis synchronisation in applications such as; food and beverage, life sciences and printing/converting production. The MR-J5 series also integrates a full suite of safety functions as standard and embedded predictive maintenance functions give users the tools they need to increase machine ...

Mitsubishi Electric and AR Controls have provided a steel sheet press automation solution for Unipres. The upgrade allowed the car part manufacturer to significantly increase the uptime, productivity and energy efficiency of its transfer press, while also empowering operators to have greater insight and control over the production processes.

Mitsubishi Electric has announced a new collaboration with Radiflow, a provider of OT cyber security solutions for industrial automation networks. The collaboration will help businesses leverage industrial automation solutions within a secure framework. Customers also benefit from a single point of contact to create smart manufacturing solutions with secure Operational Technology (OT) networks.

Mitsubishi Electric UK has announced a new network of Drive Solutions Centres (DSCs). Each one sharing technology, experience and ideas to focus on providing a full service offering for the entire lifecycle of larger capacity low voltage and medium voltage variable speed drives.

The new inverter FR-E800 is a highly flexible, compact variable speed drive (VSD) series with multiple built-in networks, including TSN (Time Sensitive Networking) without the need for costly option cards and has been released by Mitsubishi Electric to support the needs of smart factories. 

It has been announced that a joint solution for easy integration of vision technology is now available as SICK has joined Mitsubishi Electric’s e-F@ctory Alliance. Machine builders, systems integrators and end users can now quickly realise inspection, validation, position detection and quality control applications built around SICK cameras and Mitsubishi Electric Devices.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has developed new models of hobbing and gear shaping machines with highly accurate machining to manufacture precision reduction gears for robots.

Cobots hold the promise of increasing the efficiency and quality of human work, bringing greater reliability, consistency and precision to a variety of manufacturing and assembly operations. However, do these potential benefits hold true for all users?

Mitsubishi Electric’s new collaborative robot, the MELFA ASSISTA, has been developed to work alongside human operators without the need for guards or safety fences, while meeting new requirements for adequate distancing of workers in manufacturing sites. 

From voice control to the implementation of 3D vision, the pace of development in robotics is accelerating rapidly. But perhaps the most significant trend right now is the embedding of artificial intelligence into mainstream robotic systems. This is delivering extended capabilities and enabling the full potential of predictive – even prescriptive – maintenance to be realised.

Applying new technology to a physical process or manufacturing system is an essential part of progress, however the practical side of implementing the latest Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Smart Technology solutions is bringing its own unique challenges. That in turn is leading to new automation solutions.

These smart technologies are extending traditional machine control architectures with more enhanced data processing, learning and decision-making capacity. They hold the potential of increased availability, efficiency and reliability through predictive and prescriptive maintenance, as well as improving productivity with the ability to make autonomous decisions.

The current trend of robot control is changing with PLC-based solutions offering different benefits and opportunities over the traditional dedicated robot controllers. So what needs to be considered when selecting the right solution for the application? Here Barry Weller, Product Manager at Mitsubishi Electric, looks at how to determine which robot control option is best.

The MR-J4 servo amplifier series from Mitsubishi Electric incorporates a multi-network interface called ‘Servo Open Network’. It enables the user-friendly drive to be compatible with all relevant motion control systems worldwide. Machine manufacturers who offer their solutions globally will benefit from the open network connection feature of the MELSERVO MR-J4 amplifier series. 

Mitsubishi Electric has released the company’s smallest and most powerful compact PLC to date, the FX5UC series Micro PLC. Its diminutive size is set to help machine builders and manufacturers pack ever more functionality into a smaller space - while also providing the web access and network connectivity demanded by the latest Smart Factory applications.

Faster time to market and increased production flexibility can be achieved using Mitsubishi Electric’s M8 Series CNC controllers with Direct Robot Control (DRC) functionality. Both the large touchscreen M800 and the M80 models offer DRC as standard. It allows machine tool operators to program and use robots quickly, direct from the CNC panel without specialist robot programming expertise.