Editorial archive;
Features - Mitsubishi shows ‘flexible location robots’ at Automatica Exhibition in Munich 14/06/2010
A newly-developed process combines advanced sensor technology and real-time control so that flexible location robots can quickly react to changes in their environment and adapt their trajectory to suit — even after the arm has already started its motion. The surprising thing is, there’s no machine vision involved. It's all done with sensors.
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News - Opinion: Using Machine Controls for ‘Energy Engineering’ 01/02/2010
We are constantly being urged to fit inverter drives and save energy. But Jeff Whiting, energy spokesman for Mitsubishi Electric’s Energy Centre, says we should not overlook their sister technology – controls.
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News - PLC to . . . Blackberry 07/12/2009
Mitsubishi Electric’s e-F@ctory Alliance partnership scheme has come up with an interesting new collaboration with Schad GmbH.
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News - New microPLC doubles speed, I/O 13/07/2009
Mitsubishi Electric has expanded its MELSEC FX3 series of microPLCs with the FX3G, a compact unit with 128 I/O that can be expanded to 256 I/O with the CC-Link Remote I/O network. It has a more powerful CPU, and easy add-on configuration through clip-on application modules.
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News - Mitsubishi extends reach in Europe 18/05/2009
Mitsubishi Electric has strengthened its presence in Europe with the acquisition of two of its distribution partners, MPL Technology Sp z o.o. and MPL Tech Group Sp z o.o. The Japanese technology giant says the acquisitions are part of its ongoing strategy to double its share of the European industrial automation market.
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News - Mitsubishi faces energy and safety demands 24/10/2008
Safety and energy efficiency were the key words on Mitsubishi’s lips as they launched a range of inverters and safety relays. The D700 inverter range is claimed to be powerful despite its small size. The company also says that its safety relays integrate protection and performance of safety circuits with diagnostic capabilities of PLCs.
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Features - Power control at the NEC 20/10/2008
Severn Controls eased stand wiring at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), UK with an automated control system that is claimed to ‘maximise user friendliness’. The Gloucestershire, UK company installed the system, at the Birmingham venue, and has obviated the need for thousands of temporary cables installed for each exhibition.
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Features - Danish water system gets CC-Link control 10/10/2008
A CC-Link control system has allowed a water supply network in the West Jutland region of Denmark cope with variable demand, according to CLPA (CC-Link Partner Association). The system has integrated eleven boreholes and will help combat problems sparked by a swell in tourists to the region.
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Products - Robots get own iQ 16/09/2008
Mitsubishi Electric’s iQ PAC (programmable automation controller) can now integrate all production processes, including robots in a single, interdisciplinary, automation platform.
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News - Mitsubishi puts four controllers on a single platform 11/08/2008
Microprocessor technology in Mitsubishi Electric’s new iQ platform unites four different controller types—PLC, CNC, motion control and robot control—in a single integrated automation platform.
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News - Mitsubishi’s Development Team 11/08/2008
Six engineering leaders involved in the development process at Mitsubishi’s Factory Automation headquarters in Nagoya, Japan met together recently to discuss how their new creation came into existence.
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News - Mitsubishi’s Development Team Discusses Their New iQ Platform 11/08/2008
Six engineering leaders involved in the development process at Mitsubishi’s Factory Automation headquarters in Nagoya, Japan met together recently to discuss how their new creation came into existence.
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News - Technical Discussion: Mitsubishi’s Next Generation Of Factory Automation 11/08/2008
This article is for readers who want more specialised in-depth information from an engineer’s perspective on Mitsubishi Electric’s iQ platform. This section describes the positioning of the iQ Platform, its technical overview, and the specifications and characteristics of the compatible products. For links to related articles, see the end of this article.
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News - Wonderware announces 2008 conference tour 28/07/2008
As the WonderWorld Global Industry Conferences are poised to kick off in Las Vegas on October 6, 2008, organiser Wonderware has revealed the conference’s theme, ‘Enabling Innovation for Real-Time Operational Excellence’.
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Features - Connecting the Plant to the Enterprise 01/03/2008
Japanese industrial automation engineers are working to link the shop-floor with enterprise-level networks.
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Features - The deadliest deadline 01/02/2008
Sometimes we need an approaching deadline to galvanise us into action. But there isn’t a natural deadline for reducing carbon emissions to a sustainable level. Mitsubishi’s Energy Spokesman, Jeff Whiting contemplates manufacturing one.
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Features - Designing for robotic assembly 01/02/2008
Mitsubishi’s Himeji Works assembles a wide range of automotive alternators and other products via a production line that is so automated, it requires a team of of only eleven employees to assemble thousands of alternators every day.
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Features - When NOT to automate 01/02/2008
Humans should do only those jobs that robotic equipment cannot, or that are too complex to program effectively. For example, at Mitsubishi’s Himeji Works automated winding machines form the stator windings from copper wire, but it takes exquisite eyehand co-ordination to slip the wire ends into the connectors. Current-generation robots can’t do it, so people must.
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