Industrial Control and the Advanced Manufacturing Expo Launch New Machine Vision & Robotics Summit in Grand Rapids on April 19

Industrial Control has organized a daylong series of free seminars on April 19 in Grand Rapids, Mich. with demonstrations on the use of robotics, machine vision, automated gaging and self-guided vehicles to reduce manufacturing costs and improve efficiency.

Industrial Control, a leading supplier of factory automation components in West Michigan, has organized a daylong series of free seminars on April 19 in Grand Rapids with demonstrations on the use of robotics, machine vision, automated gaging and self-guided vehicles to reduce manufacturing costs and improve efficiency.


"These seminars quickly give attendees good insight into how proactive manufacturers in the Midwest are using factory automation and disruptive technology to improve their businesses," Industrial Control Vice President and expo founder Mark Ermatinger said. "We know that manufacturing and quality control engineers and project engineers are strapped for time, so weve organized a series of 45-minute-long seminars packed with information that they can apply immediately to their particular situations."

The seminars will be held on the hour at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 5700 28th St. SE, starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m. in six classrooms, each addressing a different subject. Seating for each seminar is limited to about 20 people per classroom, so individuals are encouraged to register in advance by visiting the Advanced Manufacturing Expo (AME) website at http://www.AdvancedManufacturingExpo.com. Individuals can attend without registering on a first-come, first served basis.

Free pizza will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. so attendees neednt waste time by leaving the venue.

Ermatinger noted the six main seminars feature experts in:

Self-driving mobile industrial robots that deliver parts throughout the factory floor 24/7 - MiR Inc.
Collaborative robots and how to program them using smartphones or tablets -- Precise Automation.
6D machine vision guided solutions that are used to pick parts off racks - Recognition Robots.
3D machine vision guided solutions to pick loose parts from bins - Canon USA.
3D machine vision large part scanning to compare physical parts with their CAD files - Bluewrist.
2D sorting solutions that recognize thousands of parts in milliseconds, without barcodes - Datalogic Inc.
To preview the video trailer of these technologies, visit http://www.AdvancedManufacturingExpo.com

"There is no other event in this area that offers you a way to learn about so many new technologies in one place, in one day," Ermatinger said. "Presenters will be giving real-life examples of how companies are using these technologies on shop floors every day and what the expected returns on investment may be for particular situations."

For example, the use of self-guided or autonomous driving robots to move parts from one operation to the next has virtually exploded in West Michigan during the past year as the cost of the technology has come down and reliability improved, he said. Companies are seeing very healthy returns on their investments over relatively short periods of time because the robots can be coordinated to run synchronous manufacturing operations round the clock to reduce lead times and accelerate the flow of materials.

Throughout the day, additional 15+ other high technology vendors will have exhibits with experts on hand in the atrium, such as Mecademic, Nachi, IAI, Asyril, Husky Rack & Wire, SmartVisionLights, LMI Technologies, Spectrum Illumination, Opto Engineering, QC Industries and others to discuss specific components and applications.

Ermatinger said attendees of the robotics conference can expand their knowledge base further by attending the AME-West event being held Aug. 23 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the DeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center in Grand Rapids or AME-East being held Aug. 21 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Novi.

AME will showcase factory automation and manufacturing solutions that are being used every day by West Michigan companies to cut costs, improve quality and boost efficiency. Both AME-East and AME-West are open to the public with free admission and free parking.

For more information on the seminars, interested individuals can access the website at http://www.AdvancedManufacturingExpo.com or contact Ermatinger at mark(at)industrialcontrol(dot)com and (616) 836-5536.

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