Industrial Automation, Robots and Unmanned Vehicles General Newsletter - Mar 2013

Foxconn Stops Recruitment, Moves To Robots: Report

Foxconn, the manufacturer of Apple (AAPL) iPhones and Amazon (AMZN) Kindles in China, has stopped hiring workers at its key Zhengzhou and Shenzhen plants in what may be a shift toward robotic production, a Chinese news report said Wednesday.

CBN Daily, in a story picked up by other Chinese media, quoted insiders as saying that the recruitment freeze is being done to adjust the production line and prepare for "artificial intelligence production."

Taiwan-owned Foxconn's Henan Employment Center in central China is said to have a notice saying that due to production line adjustments, recruitment has been changed. The Zhengzhou plant, which is located in Henan province, also is said to have halted hiring since December and no large-scale recruitment is expected until June. The Shenzhen plant is situated north of Hong Kong in southern China.

A worker at the Henan Employment Center reportedly said the recruitment suspension might have something to do "with the diminished output of iPhone 5."

Reports since late last year have said that Foxconn has been gradually installing robots on its production lines in Zhengzhou and Shenzhen to improve production of Apple and other devices. Foxconn also has announced plans to install 10,000 robots on its factory lines that could replace up to 1 million workers over several years.

MICROMO - Series 1336 and 1741 CXR brushed motors

MICROMO's range of brushed motors has expanded with the addition of two new graphite commutated motors. The CXR series motors feature premium-materials. The new drives offer the benefits of a high power density with dynamic 4 or 8 mNm continuous output torque and an extremely flat gradient of the n/M curve. Featuring compact dimensions of 13 mm or 17 mm diameter and a length of 36 or 41 mm as well as a large operating temperature range of -30 …+100°C, the 1336 and 1741 are suitable for a wide range of applications. Both motor variants can optionally be combined with two-channel encoders and a compatible range of precision gearheads. Speed control or positioning tasks are managed either by the FAULHABER Speed Controller SC 1801 or the Motion Controller MCDC 3002.

Learn More About Micromo

Festo

With its Future Concepts, Festo is constantly in search of new approaches in the field of drive, control and gripping technology. Natural principles, artistic input and mathematical processes provide new impulses for industrial application.

RoboticsTomorrow is a community website where those of you who work in the Robotics Industry are invited to contribute articles, news and product information for your peers to read and discover. Our philosophy is to create an outlet where the industry can report on itself.

Tell your friends about this newsletter. Keep up to date with Robotics and all the new products it involves.

Please help us thank our sponsors and keep this resource free by visiting their websites and telling them you saw their ads at roboticstomorrow.com.

Many thanks for your continuing support.

Bob Hetherington bobh@roboticstomorrow.com

You are subscribed as [email]
We have many options for email subscriptions. This will insure that you receive content specific information in a timely manner. Please click the "Manage your subscription" link in the footer of this message. Then click "View my profile" to select the content you wish to receive. This information can be updated at any time. Our goal is to provide the information you want when you want it.
We look forward to staying connected.