Ian Wright for Engineering.com:  If there’s one thing engineers love, it’s a challenge.

Put a hundred engineers together in a room, give them an impossible task, likemaking a square peg fit into a round hole, and they’ll find a solution.

Of course, there’s a big difference between a challenge with a narrow scope—such as replacing the lithium hydroxide canister on the Apollo 13 command module—and one that’s much broader, like integrating automation in manufacturing.

However, sometimes the best way to address big challenges is to start with smaller ones. We may not be able to resolve all the challenges of automation in manufacturing in one day, but you might be surprised by what engineers can do in just 24 hours.

The inaugural Robotiq User Conference (RUC) will demonstrate what 80 engineers can do with 40 robots in 24 hours. The workshop challenge pits teams of automation engineers from around the world against one another, with the goal of producing as many parts as possible in that timeframe.  Full Article: