NASA, Made in Space think big with Archinaut, a robotic 3D printing demo bound for ISS
Debra Werner for Space News: Â Within five years, companies could begin in-orbit manufacturing and assembly of communications satellite reflectors or other large structures, according to Made in Space, the Silicon Valley startup that sent the first 3D printer to the International Space Station in 2014.
As Made in Space prepares to send a second 3D printer into orbit, the company is beginning work with Northrop Grumman and Oceaneering Space Systems on Archinaut, an ambitious effort to build a 3D printer equipped with a robotic arm that the team plans to install in an external space station pod, under a two-year, $20 million NASA contract. The project will culminate in 2018 with an on-orbit demonstration of Archinauts ability to additively manufacture and assemble a large, complex structure, said Andrew Rush, Made in Space president.
NASAs selected the Archinaut project, officially known as Versatile In-Space Robotic Precision Manufacturing and Assembly System, as part of its Tipping Points campaign, which funds demonstrations of space-related technologies on the verge of offering significant payoffs for government and commercial applications. Archinaut was one of three projects NASA selected in November that focus on robotic manufacturing and assembly of spacecraft and structures in orbit.  Cont'd...
Republican-Leaning Cities Are At Greater Risk Of Job Automation
​ By Jed Kolko for Five Thirty Eight: More and more work activities and even entire jobs are at risk of beingautomated by algorithms, computers and robots, raising concerns that more and more humans will be put out of work. The fear of automation is widespread — President Obama cited it as the No. 1 reason Americans feel anxious about the economy in his State of the Union address last month — but its effects are not equally distributed, creating challenges for workers and policymakers. An analysis of where jobs are most likely to face automation shows that areas that voted Republican in the last presidential election are more at risk, suggesting that automation could become a partisan issue.
So-called “routine” jobs — those that “can be accomplished by following explicit rules” — are most at risk of automation. These include both “manual” routine occupations, such as metalworkers and truck drivers, and “cognitive” routine occupations, such as cashiers and customer service reps.1 Whereas many routine jobs tend to be middle-wage, non-routine jobs include both higher-wage managerial and professional occupations and lower-wage service jobs. Cont'd...
The making of: BionicANTs
What do ants and Industry 4.0 have in common? What challenges faced the engineers when it came to developing these delicate technology platforms? Take a look behind the scenes and dive into the world of the Bionic Learning Network... ( cont'd )
Becoming the Factory of the Future: How to Prepare Now for the Industrial Internet of Things
The Internet is not going to hit the factory all at once; the transition to global connectivity will be gradual. In the meantime, businesses have a chance to prepare their operations to integrate seamlessly with this new era of industry by taking steps now to implement digital, automated, connected devices and services.
Industrial IoT Market Nears $132 Billion in 2020: Technavio
Pedro Hernandez for Datamation:  The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to have a major, efficiency- and productivity-enhancing impact on how manufacturers and other companies in industrial settings conduct businesses. A new forecast from market research firm Technavio paints a rosy picture for IT vendors that specialize in industrial IoT.
According to the analyst group, the market for industrial IoT software and services will reach nearly $132 in 2020. Between now and then, the market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7 percent.
In terms of demand, Technavio has identified the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region as the largest market for industrial IoT.
Last year, the industrial IoT market generated $38 billion in sales in the region, a number that will reach $54 billion in 2020. APAC countries are investing heavily, including South Korea, which plans to pour over $3.6 billion into the IoT by 2020. Â Cont'd...
Innovation in Creation: Demand Rises While Prices Drop for 3D Printing Machines
Declining 3D printer prices will prompt innovations at a faster rate in downstream markets, making customization the new norm for a wide variety of products.
Shootout: Fiber Laser Vs Vertical Milling In 3D Deep Engraving
Fonons Canyon 3D Deep-Engraving System cost is less expensive, deep-engraves at almost 2X the processing speed, requires no consumables and is 100% maintenance-free. There is no workplace or environmental hazards with a superior quality of workmanship when compared to vertical milling machines.
Nobilia uses IoT to create smart factory
Kitchen maker Nobilia has rolled out IoT and automation systems in its German factories to enable real-time tracking of furniture as it progresses through the manufacturing process.
The company, which has distribution in Australia, is using Beckhoff automation technology that is powered by Intel processors.
A barcode that is attached to furniture is encoded with details including processing steps, components required to be added to complete it, and logistics information such as where the finished product is to be delivered.
“Each processing machine scans the barcode and retrieves the associated machining data from a central database. Data connecting the whole factory together makes it possible to produce 2700 kitchens daily,” Intel said in a blog post.
“Through real-time tracking enabled by Intel IoT technologies, Nobilia knows exactly where each part is in the production process at any time.
“If one of the manufacturing lines shuts down, parts are automatically rerouted to another line.”
Riddle of Cement's Structure is Finally Solved
From MIT News:
Concrete is the world’s most widely used construction material, so abundant that its production is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet answers to some fundamental questions about the microscopic structure and behavior of this ubiquitous material have remained elusive.
Concrete forms through the solidification of a mixture of water, gravel, sand, and cement powder. Is the resulting glue material (known as cement hydrate, CSH) a continuous solid, like metal or stone, or is it an aggregate of small particles...
... Roland Pellenq, a senior research scientist in MIT’s department of civil and environmental engineering, director of the MIT-CNRS lab 2 hosted by the MIT Energy Initiative, and a co-author of the new paper, says the work builds on previous research he conducted with others at the Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) through a collaboration between MIT and the CNRS. “We did the first atomic-scale model” of the structure of concrete, he says, but questions still remained about the larger, mesoscale structure, on scales of a few hundred nanometers. The new work addresses some of those remaining uncertainties, he says. ( full article )
Who Is Adopting IoT and Why?
We all know the Internet of Things is set to revolutionize the manufacturing industry but how will this happen? A new study of manufacturers across 12 different countries has provided quantified answers to the questions the industry is asking.
Three Reasons Why Advanced Manufacturing Institutes Matter
American manufacturing is surging with almost 900,000 new jobs created in the past six years. While thats incredible progress, how do we take manufacturing to the next level?
Industry 4.0: What businesses need to know
By Barclay Ballard for ITProPortal: In order for businesses to prepare for Industry 4.0, they first need to understand the technological driving forces behind it, including the Internet of Things. Although mainstream examples of IoT devices are relatively limited at the moment, in the future connected objects are expected to revolutionise a whole host of business sectors. In the same way that new manufacturing processes brought about huge upheaval during the Industrial Revolution, the Internet of Things is also predicted to bring wholesale changes to industry.
“The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has been described as a crucial step in the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0,” explains Martyn Williams, managing director of industrial automation software expert, COPA-DATA UK. “Using IoT technology, organisations are developing smarter infrastructures and building connected networks across entire manufacturing processes.”
Some of the key changes predicted to emerge as the Internet of Things is adopted by industrial firms include the following: Cont'd...
Four Points You Need to Consider when Thinking About Automating or Robotizing Your Operations
If your products have regular and stable characteristics, hard automation makes sense. If however each product is different, flexible automation or robotics should be favored.
Japan Embracing Industry 4.0 And IoT To Leap Into Next Industrial Automation
The challenge ahead is that not only manufacturing technologies will change drastically but the whole business environment, in which Japan may have to strive to overcome other than IoT super next generation automation.
UK 'risks losing out in Industry 4.0 race'
By PRW: A leading trade body has warned that a lack of government planning was threatening the UK’s position at the forefront of Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution.
A number of plastics companies in the UK and on the Continent have begun to develop products and processes that take into account developments in and around Industry 4.0 – also known as the ‘Internet of Things’.
However research conducted by manufacturers’ organisation the EEF found that while 91% of companies surveyed believed that internet access was as important to their business as electricity and water supplies more than half reckoned connectivity was inadequate for the future.
While the awareness of how important the internet was to a company’s operation was seen as a positive, the EEF highlighted that poor digital connectivity may prove to become a drag on future growth.
Many companies were already having to pay a premium to ensure they had high-speed access, the trade body said. Cont'd...
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