The Automated Molding Shop Is Here; Are You Ready?

Molding 2019 has an entire track dedicated to automation, and for good reason. From 2013 to 2017, the annual sales volume of industrial robotics increased 114 percent, with the U.S. achieving a new record for installations—33,192—in 2017, marking the seventh straight year a new high watermark was set.

Those figures courtesy of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which points out in its Industrial Robot Report 2018, that the U.S. is not alone in automating its manufacturing. Nearly three quarters of robot sales in 2017—73%—came in five countries: China, Japan, South Korea, U.S., and Germany, all of which compete with American molders for business. The U.S. learned a lesson coming out of the Great Recession according to the IFR:

On the morning of Wednesday, March 20, Molding 2019’s general morning session is dedicated to a topic of interest to all injection molders—Best Practices: Applying Robots & Automation.  That general session features six speakers from automation experts at industry leading suppliers. Topics covered include tips and best practices, collaborative robots, automating mold changes and more.

Automation will feature in numerous other presentations of the three days of molding, including a talk on “Building a Turnkey LSR Molding Cell” from Greg Roembke of Roembke Mfg. & Design, as well as multiple presentation on inmold decorating in the Medium & Large Parts session.