Machine Language, The Manufacturing AUTOMATION Podcast

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Melonee Wise, CEO of Fetch Robotics, who discusses key features of the new ANSI standard for industrial mobile robots. Wise discusses what R15.08 means for mobile robot manufacturers, end users and the market, plus misconceptions about mobile robot safety.

Setting a new safety standard for mobile robots

We are in an era of increase of IoT devices and the introduction of industrial IoT devices into manufacturing environments. How do you secure this equipment when mixed with legacy equipment that has been running for 10, 20 or more years in production? William Noto, Global Director of Operational Technology Product Marketing at Fortinet, discusses concerns impacting manufacturing organizations when introducing IoT devices to the environment; risks that arise when modern technology is mixed with legacy technology and much more.

William Noto of Fortinet discusses endpoint detection and response

Lauren Tedesco, senior vice-president at the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association or APMA joins as the guest for this episode of Machine Language. Tedesco discusses APMA’s Digital Learning Program. She explains how this program benefits the workforce in the auto parts manufacturing space by offering certification and courses that can be pursued without any time constraints. She talks about who can participate, how they can do so and the program’s role in strengthening the automotive manufacturing sector.

Lauren Tedesco on Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association’s Digital Learning Program

The Canadian manufacturing industry is facing unprecedented challenges. IIOT solutions can prove to be of great help in speeding up the recovery process and equipping manufacturers with the tools to grow further. Bassam Zarkout, chair of the digital transformation working group at the Industry IoT Consortium joins Manufacturing AUTOMATION for this episode of Machine Language to discuss how IIOT solutions can help Canadian manufacturers stay competitive even in trying times.

How IIOT solutions can help Canadian manufacturers recover quickly and grow further

Machine Language

Cobots are commonly used across multiple industries as an important automation solution. Primarily manufacturers use them in applications like machine tending or end of line packaging.
 
Rob Sepa from Omron Automation joins us for this episode to discuss how cobots can strengthen the medical devices manufacturing sector.
 
Sepa talks about how cobots help in automating repetitive mundane tasks, how they can improve production efficiency in medical devices manufacturing, the different benefits of adding cobots to the process of manufacturing medical equipment that have very small and delicate components and how they help in ensuring quality of the end-products, which is extremely critical in medical devices.

Using collaborative robots to strengthen medical devices manufacturing

Future automation systems need to be more intelligent and interconnected. An advanced control platform to create an environment that integrates logic, motion and drives, robotics, safety, visualization, sensing and information technologies in a single project, could drastically reduce the learning curve and the intra-operative software costs.

Thomas Kuckhoff from Omron Automation joins us for this episode of Machine Language to discuss advanced system control platforms and their role in improving efficiencies in a discrete manufacturing setting.

Thomas Kuckhoff has pioneered the design and performance of innovative products across business portfolios in industrial automation. His current role at Omron Automation is to lead the automation and controller business as product manager for the Americas. While Kuckhoff’s role is product manager, his passion is to grow his team to achieve world-class results as a respective and inclusive collective.

Advanced system control platforms: Benefits, implementation and use-cases

Robots have been an essential part of automating manufacturing facilities for a while now. In recent years, collaborative robots or cobots have made it easier to deploy automation quickly, easily and cost-effectively when needed. They are suitable for manufacturers of all sizes, whether small, medium or large. Cobots work in tandem with human workers on the factory floor, often taking on the tedious repetitive tasks and allowing the workers to perform more value-added work.
 
For this podcast, we have with us three experts from Omron Automation Americas’ team to discuss collaborative robots – Adrian Choy, Mike Warren and James Mortell. We talk about collaborative robots, safety standards and regulations, selecting the right cobots, risk assessments, integrating cobots on the factory floor, training personnel and more.

Automating with cobots 101: Selection, integration, addressing challenges and safety considerations

Machine vision technologies are of paramount importance to manufacturers today. They enable precise and automated quality control, ensuring products meet high-quality standards. By automating inspection processes, these technologies increase manufacturing efficiency, reduce labor costs, and minimize errors. Additionally, machine vision ensures regulatory compliance and traceability. The data and analytics capabilities of these systems support continuous improvement efforts, optimizing production processes, reducing downtime, and bolstering the overall productivity and growth of the manufacturing industry.

For this podcast, we have with us two experts from Omron Automation Americas’ team to discuss collaborative robots – Thomas Kuckoff and Ryan Marti.

In this episode, we discuss machine vision technologies available today, How an All-In-One industrial control platform can help in mastering machine vision and extracting the most out of this technology, selecting the right platform, integrating a vision system, best practices and more.

Leveraging machine vision with all-in-one-platforms: A guide for manufacturers

There are different types of maintenance strategies for a manufacturing facility. Predictive maintenance is a condition-based type of strategy, focused on implementing IoT sensors that read data at all times, enabling an intelligent data acquisition that helps address the issue of having a maintenance worker onsite to monitor or read specific data out of a machine.
Industries are looking to implement IIoT strategies through data acquisition, cloud monitoring and big data.
 
In this episode of Machine Language, Juan Carlos Garcia from Omron Automation joins us to discuss how predictive Maintenance helps address the initial stages of moving towards IIoT by acquiring data.
 
We discuss role of IoT sensors in predictive maintenance, communication protocols, the concept of on-the-go analytics, examples where predictive maintenance has led to significant cost and time savings, how predictive maintenance acts as a crucial stepping stone for industries looking to implement IIoT strategies, and more.

Predictive maintenance in manufacturing: An IIoT journey

Software-defined manufacturing (SDM)offers a way to organizations to better orchestrate work between man and machine and kickstart the long game of effective technology investment to future-proof IT and OT operations. It has the potential to help manufacturers address challenges, satisfy customer needs and create competitive advantage.

In this episode of Machine Language, Tim Gaus, Smart Manufacturing Leader at Deloitte, joins us to discuss how software-defined manufacturing can be a game changer. He explains why Software-Defined Manufacturing (SDM) is gaining traction in the manufacturing industry, how it helps manufacturers create smart factories, its key benefits, how it can address  long-term issues such as supply chain challenges and more.

Smart factories, smart decisions: Exploring the benefits of software-defined manufacturing

The debut episode of Machine Language features an interview with Shelley Fellows, chair of Automate Canada, and Mike Bilton, chair of the Canadian Association of Mold Makers. The sister associations have been working together to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on the mold, tool and die, and industrial automation sectors through weekly surveys of their members.

Fellows and Bilton discuss some of the major concerns brought forth by manufacturers, and some unexpected positive impacts of the coronavirus crisis. They also highlight health and safety best practices, and dig in to how Industry 4.0 technologies will help manufacturers become more resilient long-term.

Machine Language: Will the pandemic lead to more automation on the factory floor?

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Andre Vittorio, president and founder of Idealogical Systems Inc., a Toronto-area IT services provider for manufacturers. We discuss the rise in cybercrime during COVID-19, the weakest links in factory networks, the steps manufacturers need to take to make threat detection part of their network architecture, and new technologies that SMEs should be aware of when it comes to cybersecurity.

Machine Language: How manufacturers can protect themselves from cyberattacks during COVID-19

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Jonathan Gross, managing director of Pemeco Consulting. We discuss how the pandemic is necessitating digital transformation projects, what short-term changes manufacturers can make as they work on developing long-term digitalization plans that incorporate automation, software, and supply chain needs, and how to pay for it all.

Machine Language: COVID-19 puts pressure on digital transformation timelines

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Sundeep Ravande, CEO of Innovapptive Inc. Ravande discusses how the proliferation of technologies such as the cloud, wearables, AI and machine learning will result in “the connected worker.” We explore the business challenges of communication in factories, how the COVID-19 era has affected standard operating procedures – and what can be done to move your machines into Industry 4.0 without forgetting your plant’s most valuable asset – its workforce.

Machine Language: How to connect your plant’s most valuable asset

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Michelle Chrétien, director of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies at Sheridan College, which connects SMEs with manufacturing partners and students to advance industry projects. She discusses innovation in automation, how post-secondary institutions can play a valuable role in ideating, testing and developing new concepts, and provides some key tips on how to establish partnerships.

Machine Language: How to develop manufacturing partnerships to boost innovation

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Francois Simard, co-founder of Omnirobotic, a Quebec-based start-up that has developed technology to give vision to industrial robots using artificial intelligence. We discuss the use of AI in the robotics space, and how companies looking to automate for high-mix, low-volume custom manufacturing processes will benefit from this made-in-Canada solution.

Machine Language: How self-programming robots enable high-mix manufacturing

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Dana Parmenter, vice-president, industrial at CSA Group, which recently opened a dedicated lab in Toronto for manufacturers to get personal protective equipment (PPE) tested and certified by CSA for sale in Canada. Parmenter discusses why Canada needed its own PPE testing facility, the process for manufacturers to certify their PPE and things manufacturers should keep in mind as they ready their products for certification.

Machine Language: How Canadian manufacturers can test and certify new PPE

This episode of Machine Language features an interview with Mihaela Vlasea, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo in the Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Laboratory, and Diana Facchini, team leader at the National Research Council in Mississauga, Ont. They discuss a new seven-year research partnership aimed at reducing the cost of metal additive manufacturing for manufacturers, and walk through the challenges and benefits of the production with 3D printing.

Machine Language: Metal 3D printing – Reducing costs for manufacturers

This special episode of Machine Language celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8 by focusing on some of the challenges and opportunities for women in the sector. Jenan Abderrahman, an engineer and part-time robotics teacher, discusses her work in engineering, process control and automation, the challenges she's faced along the way, and the role she currently plays in getting kids and young women interested in robotics and science.

Machine Language, The Manufacturing AUTOMATION Podcast

Annex Business Media