Internet page

Citation

Rigelsford, J. (2003), "Internet page", Industrial Robot, Vol. 30 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2003.04930dag.001

Internet page

Keywords: Robots, Grippers, Internet

http://www.genmarkautomation.com/Genmark Automation, Inc.

Genmark Automation, Inc. was established in 1985 and it designs, develops and manufactures high-precision robotics, motion control and integrated tool automation solutions. It supplies the global semiconductor, data storage and flat panel display industries and is a leading OEM supplier of atmospheric and vacuum transfer robots and peripheral equipment. Its products include standard multi-axis robots, global positioning robots, pre-aligners, vacuum robots, integrated solutions and control software.

This site is structured well and definitely worth visiting.

http://www.btmcorp.com/BTM Corporation

BTM is a leading global supplier in clinch joining technology and other unique automation and manufacturing devices. Their products include clamps, grippers, locators, end arm effectors, stand-alone machines and fully automated assembly systems. Tog- L-Loc^® forms a strong interlocking joint for joining plain, painted or coated sheet metal parts. It is widely used in the manufacture of automobiles and requires no fasteners or sparks and does not create fumes.

This is another well presented site.

http://www.ideworld.com/index1.htmlIntegrated Dynamics Engineering GmbH

Founded in 1990, Integrated Dynamics Engineering is a global leader in providing advanced solutions in environmental disturbance control technology for vibration isolation, EMI cancellation and acoustic suppression. They also supply entire precision motion control and robotic applications for wafer handling, addressing the specific needs of 200 and 300 mm wafer lithography and inspection applications.

Its products include active and passive vibration isolation systems, robotic modules, substrate positioning systems, sorters, acoustic enclosures and active compensation systems to reduce electromagnetic interference.

http://www.amada.com/Amada

Amada produces a range of turrets, cutting laser, stamping equipment, press brakes, panel benders, bending robots, general fabrication and automation equipment and software. Their Astro series of bending robots consists of a bending robot, a loading/ unloading robot and a FBD III press brake. By separating the duties between the robots, the cell can produce parts at approximately 10s/bend, depending on the part configuration. MX Win software can be used to program the Astro robot and enables virtual manufacturing by providing perfectly scaled, three-dimensional, interactive, solid models.

The site contains an online version of their newsletter, dozens of technical notes, an online video archive, and "The Precision Sheetmetal Technology Fair", which covers the last 3 years of parts competition among the top manufacturers throughout the world. Overall, this is an above average site containing an abundance of product information, but no corporate information.

http://www.positech-solutions.com/Positech Solutions

Established in 1951 as Mefferd Industries, they manufactured hydraulic cylinders and manifolds. Evolving into the Positech Corporation, they now produce a wide range of manipulators, positioners, lifts, end effectors, grippers, and articulating arms.

http://www.grippers.com/Zaytran, Inc.

Zaytran was founded in 1980 to provide large capacity hydraulic valves and has specialized in the development of products that are able to serve extreme environments or requirements. It also produces precision grippers that work in a wide range of automation environments. Its grippers are made from super tough, corrosive resistant materials that allow them to efficiently serve a range of applications, but they are priced to compete with commodity products.

The site, which contains Zaytran's product catalog is available for download as a PDF, gripper CAD drawings as DXF files, some robot toys and suggested books about robotics. This is a great site which is let down by its poor appearance.

http://www.anver.com/ANVER Corporation

ANVER is a full-service manufacturer of all types of vacuum products – from miniature vacuum suction cups to complete mill-duty vacuum lifting systems. This is a well presented site that is worth visiting.

http://www.phdinc.com/PHD, Inc.

In over 40 years, PHD Inc. has grown into a worldwide corporation supplying a wide range of automation components. Its products include the GRS series of low profile parallel grippers, the GRB angular gripper series that can provide up to 1808 of angular jaw travel thus allowing the jaws to completely retract from the work area eliminating an otherwise required axis of travel, and the SIP series of cantilever slides.

This is a superb site that offers plenty of product information: a range of online tools including unit conversions, CAD configurations and the Instant Clamp Expert^™, a designers resource CD online product videos, application examples and international sales information. Unfortunately, the font size of the navigation menu is very small which makes it difficult to read.

Hot site

http://www.vacuworld.com/index.html.enJ. Schmalz GmbH

J. Schmalz GmbH was founded in Glatten in 1910 as the Johannes Schmalz Razor-Blade Factory (Johannes Schmalz Rasierklingenfabrik). Currently, with approximately 250 employees, it is one of the leading companies producing vacuum handling systems and vacuum clamping systems.

This clearly presented site is available in both German and English. It contains lots of information and is well worth visiting.

Jon Rigelsford