Heard of the hover fly? Adorned with black and yellow stripes, these creatures take advantage of the wasp’s fearsome reputation by using mimicry to repel predators. Deception in nature is fascinating, but in the industrial equipment world, false imitation can be problematic. Here, Nigel Smith, Managing Director of Shibaura Machine robot distributor, TM Robotics, explains why counterfeit parts could present a ticking time bomb for manufactur...

Heard of the hover fly? Adorned with black and yellow stripes, these creatures take advantage of the wasp’s fearsome reputation by using mimicry to repel predators. Deception in nature is fascinating, but in the industrial equipment world, false imitation can be problematic, especially when it comes to counterfeit parts.

Google Trends data demonstrates that web searches for the phrase, ‘how much does a robot cost?’ have doubled since 2009. Determining the total cost and return on investment (ROI) of a robot isn’t straightforward, as Nigel Smith, managing Director of Industrial robot upplier TM Robotics, explains.

The earliest printed circuit boards, patented by Austrian inventor Paul Eisler in 1943, were assembled by hand. The tedious method involved manually cutting, trimming and soldering numerous wires. The process was slow and prone to error and unfortunately, it hasn’t evolved much since.

Recent results from the Global Robotics Report 2019 has identified that 79% of automation distributors do not believe their customers understand the safety requirements of installing a collaborative robot. As one of the fastest growing sectors of the robot market, this lack of knowledge could be dangerous. Nigel Smith, Managing Director of TM Robotics, quashes some common misconceptions about collaborative robot safety.

  Toshiba Machine partner, TM Robotics, welcomed three new partners to its distributor network at Automate 2019. Production Components Inc (PCI), BlueBay Automation and Global Manufacturing Incorporated (GMI) officially signed distributor contracts at the show, which was held on 8th-11th April, 2019 at McCormick Place, Chicago.

TM Robotics is bringing its robot sketching demonstration to Automate 2019, held at McCormick Place, Chicago, from 8th-11th April 2019. TM Robotics will exhibit a range of Toshiba Machine’s robots, including the THL500 SCARA, which will be creating free artist impressions of visitors at booth number 6763.

It has been announced that Toshiba Machine partner, TM Robotics, has partnered with ELMOTEC to develop robotic soldering technology using Toshiba Machine robots. The soldering machines allow customers to fully automate soldering applications, increasing efficiency of soldering for electrical and electronic components manufacturing.

At PPMA 2018, with UK distributor, RARUK Automation, TM Robotics will demonstrate Toshiba Machine’s THL700 SCARA robot. The robot will operate in collaboration with the Flexibowl feeding system to exhibit a fully automated pick-and-place system. The demonstration will be held at the RARUK Automation stand, E20 from 25th to 27th September 2018. Toshiba Machine boasts one of the largest SCARA robot ranges on the market.

Humans shed and re-grow outer skin cells every 27 days, equating to around 1,000 new skins in an average human’s lifetime. Even in a clean room environment, a worker will shed 600,000 particles of skin per hour. With this flakiness in mind, Nigel Smith, managing director of Toshiba Machine partner, TM Robotics, explained how clean room robots can eradicate the risk of human contamination.

TM Robotics launched Toshiba Machine’s latest industrial robots and machinery to the European market at Automatica 2018. Held from 19th-22nd June, 2018, Automatica welcomed over 40,000 visitors to witness demonstrations of the newest innovations in smart automation and robotics. Toshiba Machine’s wares were exhibited from the TM Robotics booth in Hall B5, stand 304.

Did you know that over 1.7m new industrial robots will be installed between 2017 and 2020? Collaborative robots (cobots), machines that work harmoniously alongside humans, account for 3% of this market, but will reach 34% by 2025. Nigel Smith, CEO of TM Robotics, explains what manufacturers need to understand before they jump on the cobot bandwagon, as this investment may not be as low risk as it first appears.

Toshiba Machine’s latest range of six-axis robotshas been launched by TM Robotics, Toshiba Machine’s EMEA and US partner.Toshiba Machine’s six-axis TVM range will be used in a variety of industrial applications, including manufacturing for automotive components, plastics, medical, packaging and the pharmaceutical sector.

  Robot tax? A tax on robotics is as absurd an idea as a tax on pencils. As Britain’s political parties discuss a potential tax on automation and robotics, Nigel Smith, Managing Director of TM Robotics, explains why slowing down the machine economy would lead to a productivity disaster.

TM Robotics is launching Toshiba Machine’s latest industrial robots and machinery to the European market at Automatica 2018. Held from 19th-22nd June 2018, Automatica will welcome over 40,000 visitors to witness demonstrations of the newest innovations in smart automation and robotics. Toshiba Machine’s wares will be exhibited from the TM Robotics booth in Hall B5, stand 304.

  Fold it, seal it, tape it, box it, pick it, place it - automate it. No, these aren’t Daft Punk lyrics, but the separate processes that Finland-based Orfer Oy, needed to automate to speed up its packaging operations. However, automating these processes without expanding on factory floor space was no easy feat.

  Toshiba Machine partner, TM Robotics, will kick start its collaboration with Fegemu Automatismos at BIEMH, the International Machine Tool Exhibition 2018. The exhibition will be held from 28th May until 1st June, at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC), Spain. TM Robotics and Fegemu will be demonstrating the latest Toshiba Machine robotics in hall 3, stand number F-04.

  TM Robotics will be attending MACH 2018 supporting its new UK distributor, RARUK Automation on their stand: H19-238. The exhibition, taking place at the NEC Birmingham from 9th-13th April 2018, is the UK’s premier event for engineering-based manufacturing.

  RARUK Automation has teamed up with TM Robotics to offer the Toshiba Machine SCARA, Cartesian and 6-axis robots. The systems complement the company’s established product programme that has been focused on collaborative and mobile transport robots, automation systems and feeding solutions.

  TM Robotics has introduced the new TSAssist software; a powerful programming tool from Toshiba Machine. The software offers powerful assistance to all phases of automation, including planning, design and improvement. The next-gen of robot software comes at a time where more businesses are turning to high performance 3D simulation for manufacturing.