TM Robotics in search of Middle Eastern partner

TM Robotics, the European robotics partner of Toshiba Machine, is actively expanding its operations in the Middle East and Africa and is searching for systems integrator partners from the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. At present, the company handles the majority of its Middle Eastern business directly, but would like to introduce a new level of local expertise by working with plastics or packaging integrators to improve its offering.

TM Robotics handles the sales, marketing and support of Toshiba Machine's industrial robots throughout Europe and offers an extensive range of SCARA, six axis and Cartesian robots. The robots find applications in industries ranging from plastics and packaging to food and pharmaceuticals and electronics and cosmetics to automotive component handling.

The company believes that its Toshiba Machine SCARA is the most easy to use robot on the market, and also the easiest to integrate. As a result, once integration, training and programming costs are factored into the equation it can be the most effective for the end user. They argue that this means good business and satisfied clients for the integrator.

“Repeat business with the same end users is always the sign of a good integrator,” explained Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics. “We already have relationships that yield those kinds of results across Europe and in South Africa. We are now looking to fill in the geographical blanks between the two,” he continued.

“This isn’t simply a dot joining exercise though; it’s a serious strategic plan. There are some very impressive manufacturing companies in the Middle East that offer huge opportunities. But, like the rest of us, they are operating in a Global environment. As a result, budgets are tight and anything that can improve efficiency and reduce costs will be a benefit. Industrial robots bring these benefits and others.”

TM Robotics believes that the benefits of an industrial robot can be calculated simply by analysing the application and isolating the savings, costs and additional financial benefits of the installation. Subtracting the costs from the savings and the financial implications of the additional benefits, results in a figure that will demonstrate return on investment. Payback is achieved when the total saving figure, which will mount up month by month as savings are incurred, becomes greater than the total cost of the installation.

“Our systems integrator and distributor partners gain advantages from a host of benefits such as training, partner events and unique product developments, such as our industrial robot starter pack, which is an ideal training tool or introduction to robotics for novice end users. We’re looking for a partner who is knowledgeable in engineering with an awareness of mechanical and electrical applications. Naturally, they should also be experts in their sector; most likely plastics or packaging. We need someone that can work effectively, with our technical, guidance to take advantage of the new and exciting opportunities that are arising in the Middle Eastern markets,” concluded Smith.

SAVINGS
1. Labour costs saved by re-distributing existing workers elsewhere within the company
2. Maintenance costs saved by switching to robotics from an existing system
3. Changeover savings incurred as a result of the advantages of robotics over current system
4. Other overheads reduced as a result of manual labour no longer being required on this line

COSTS
1. The cost of the robot itself
2. The cost of programming
3. The cost of integration
4. The cost of associated equipment*
5. Training costs
* Such as vision or control equipment.

BENEFITS

1. Increased turnover and/or profit incurred due to increased production within the existing system
2. Increased turnover and/or profit incurred as the result of 24 hour operation or additional shifts

SAVINGS + BENEFITS - COSTS = ROI

Ends: 484 words (615 including box out text)

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from TM Robotics, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://tmrobotics-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Nigel Smith - TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd
Unit 2, Bridge Gate Centre, Martinfield,
Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL7 1JG
Telephone: +44 (0)1707 290370
Fax: +44 (0)1707 376662
www: www.tmrobotics.co.uk and www.abot.eu.com
e-mail: sales@tmrobotics.co.uk
Twitter: @TMRobotics

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, No. 2 the Garthlands, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST17 9ZP
Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 225416
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: www.stonejunction.co.uk
Blog: www.stone-junction.blogspot.com
Twitter: @RichieStone

About TM Robotics: TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd is responsible for the sales, marketing and support of Toshiba Machine's Industrial Robots throughout Europe. Toshiba Machine offers an extensive range of SCARA, six axis and Cartesian robots, sold with the aid of a comprehensive network of system integration partners and distributors. Toshiba Machine’s SCARA robots find applications in industries ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to electronics, packaging and automotive component handling.

Ref: TRE194/09/10

This article was produced exclusively for Middle Eastern Plastics magazine.

Automation firm offers free guide to robot payback

~ Simple equation for payback the key, claims TM Robotics ~

TM Robotics, the European sales partner of industrial robot manufacturer Toshiba Machine, has produced a free guide to obtaining payback on a robot installation. Published in August 2010, the company hopes the guide will act as a useful tool for experienced engineers and a reassuring introduction for those new to industrial automation.

Called ‘The Formula for Automated Payback’, the guide contains all the details needed to create a simple procedure that demonstrates payback on an installation. It also features a number of case studies intended to illustrate the theory it outlines.

“We are trying to dismiss some of the illusions people have about industrial robots,” explained Nigel Smith, MD of TM Robotics. “We believe that there are a number of unfounded beliefs about automation cost and ease of installation that hold back manufacturing. This is really a new way of viewing an installation; we are trying to give users a tool that will help them calculate payback at the earliest possible stage.”

The guide can be obtained by e-mailing sales@tmrobotics.co.uk or contacting the company on +44 (0)1707 290370.

Ends — 194 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from TM Robotics, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://tmrobotics-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Nigel Smith - TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd
Unit 2, Bridge Gate Centre, Martinfield,
Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL7 1JG
Telephone: +44 (0)1707 290370
Fax: +44 (0)1707 376662
www: http://www.tmrobotics.co.uk/ and http://www.abot.eu.com/
e-mail: sales@tmrobotics.co.uk

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, No. 2 the Garthlands, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST17 9ZP
Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 225456
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/
Blog: http://www.stone-junction.blogspot.com/

About TM Robotics: TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd is responsible for the sales, marketing and support of Toshiba Machine's Industrial Robots throughout Europe. The two companies offer an extensive range of SCARA and Cartesian robots, sold with the aid of a comprehensive network of system integration partners and distributors. Toshiba Machine’s SCARA robots find applications in industries ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to electronics, packaging and automotive component handling.

Ref: TRE076/08/10

New SCARA is a heavyweight customer

~ 1200mm arm length SCARA suited to heavy duty materials handling applications ~

TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd has launched the new Toshiba Machine TH1200A SCARA robot in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The new robot is the largest in the Toshiba Machine family and will find uses in heavy duty pick and place applications, such as packaging and heavy materials handling.

The TH1200A has an impressive payload of 20kg and an arm length of 1200mm, meaning it can take on even the most arduous handling task without breaking a sweat. Repeatability on the Z-axis is ±0.02mm and, as a result, the robot’s recurring accuracy can compete with a machine vastly inferior in size. A composite maximum speed of 7.9m/s is sufficient for most large handling applications, as is a typical cycle time of 0.57 seconds. Absolute encoder positioning detection helps ensure that accuracy is maintained throughout the cycle.

The new robot is controlled by the Toshiba Machine TS3100 controller, which features a built-in Ethernet port, making conveyor and vision synchronisation simple. This presents the opportunity to reduce capital expenditure on the robot cell by sharing vision from a single camera across multiple robots. Another advantage is that the resultant, perfectly synchronised, automation can reduce the damage rate on the line; further increasing profitability.

The TS1300 controller also includes a built-in TCmini PLC, which allows control of I/O equipment, regardless of operation and program. This creates the opportunity to turn the robot into the control centre of the entire cell. “The net effect of the control system is greater efficiency and productivity,” enthused Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics. “Combine this with savings in vision technology and the resultant, easy to implement, package could be a genuine financial boom to anyone operating a heavy materials handling process.”

Download a copy of the TH1200A data sheet from TM Robotics dedicated industrial robots Web site here.

Ends: 305 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from TM Robotics, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://tmrobotics-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Nigel Smith - TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd
Unit 2, Bridge Gate Centre, Martinfield,
Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL7 1JG
Telephone: +44 (0)1707 290370
Fax: +44 (0)1707 376662
www: www.tmrobotics.co.uk and www.abot.eu.com
e-mail: sales@tmrobotics.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TMRobotics
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TMRobotics1

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, Business Innovation Centre, Staffordshire Technology Park, Beacoside, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST18 0AR
Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 225416
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: www.stonejunction.co.uk
Blog: www.stone-junction.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/richiestone

About TM Robotics: TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd is responsible for the sales, marketing and support of Toshiba Machine's Industrial Robots throughout Europe. Toshiba Machine offers an extensive range of SCARA and Cartesian robots, sold with the aid of a comprehensive network of system integration partners and distributors. Toshiba Machine’s SCARA robots find applications in industries ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to electronics, packaging and automotive component handling.

Ref: TRE178/09/10

Tattile partnership is a seamless vision

~ TM Robotics and Tattile srl partner to provide seamless vision solutions ~

TM Robotics has formed a partnership with Italian vision specialist Tattile srl to provide a complete robot vision solution to its customers across Europe and the globe. The partnership means that end users and integrators of Toshiba Machine industrial robots, provided by TM Robotics, have the option of using Tattile’s proprietary vision processors, cameras and software as part of a single, seamlessly integrated whole.

Reflecting Toshiba Machine’s easy-use robot philosophy, the vision systems provided by Tattile offer plug-and-play functionality and easily established connectivity with the entire range of Toshiba Machine SCARA, Cartesian and six axis robots. Robot programming is simple and conducted via a series of dedicated commands. Furthermore, Toshiba Machine’s newest range of controllers, the TS3000 and TS3100, offer Ethernet connectivity, which makes it simple to share vision from a single camera across multiple robots, reducing maintenance overheads and installation costs while increasing efficiency.

Established in 1988, Tattile designs and manufactures digital cameras, embedded vision systems and intelligent cameras for industrial, security, traffic and railway applications. The company is a world leader in GigaEthernet cameras with nearly 20 models available. These include monochrome and colour options, with in-camera image pre-processing (FPGA) and JPEG compression as options. Tattile also manufactures a wide line of high performance smart cameras (XP embedded®) and embedded analyser systems.

“It’s brilliant to be able to provide our customers with the option of using Tattile’s award winning products,” explained an enthusiastic Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics. “Tattile prides itself on its ability to bring systems to market very quickly, which is reflected in the flexibility and speed of our own network of integrators and distributors,” he continued. “I also like the fact that their plug-and-play systems reflect our own philosophy, which is all about making things straightforward for our customers. For us ‘easy’ is a virtue. It means productivity, efficiency and professionalism. Easy is achieving what you want to achieve quickly and elegantly. It’s the very essence of good engineering – making something that your competitors can make but making it better, more economically and quicker. We believe that this new relationship gracefully embodies this thinking.”

Ends: 370 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from TM Robotics, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://tmrobotics-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Nigel Smith - TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd
Unit 2, Bridge Gate Centre, Martinfield,
Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL7 1JG
Telephone: +44 (0)1707 290370
Fax: +44 (0)1707 376662
www: http://tmrobotics-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml and http://www.blogger.com/www.abot.eu.com
e-mail: mailto:%20sales@tmrobotics.co.uk

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, 33 Kirkdale,
Sydenham, London, SE26 4BT
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
e-mail: mailto:richards@stonejunction.co.uk
Blog: http://www.blogger.com/www.stone-junction.blogspot.com
www: http://www.blogger.com/www.stonejunction.co.uk

About TM Robotics: TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd is responsible for the sales, marketing and support of Toshiba Machine's Industrial Robots throughout Europe. Toshiba Machine offers an extensive range of SCARA and Cartesian robots, sold with the aid of a comprehensive network of system integration partners and distributors. Toshiba Machine’s SCARA robots find applications in industries ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to electronics, packaging and automotive component handling.

Ref: TRE161/10/08

Six axis robot launch represents major development in European robot market

~ TM Robotics brings six axis Toshiba Machine robot to Europe ~

The new TV800 EZCell robot, launched in the UK by TM Robotics (Europe) this month, is the first six axis robot ever manufactured by Toshiba Machine. The launch represents a significant development in the automation market, because Toshiba Machine is now one of the only major players in the industry to offer a complete range of robot technologies - SCARA, Cartesian and six axis. Ideal for the manufacturing sector, the robot will find uses in a host of pick and place applications.

The TV800 has a total arm length of 800mm, a reach of 892mm and a composite maximum speed of 8.06 metres per second. The robot has a maximum cycle time of 0.4 to 0.5 seconds, repeatability of ±0.02mm and a maximum payload of five kilograms. Its controlled using Toshiba Machine’s new TS3100 controller, which is programmed in SCOL , a language similar to BASIC as are all Toshiba Machine industrial robots, and has the option of a teach pendant for easy access outside the robot cell.

“The TV800 completes the set for Toshiba Machine and for us,” explained Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics. “We now offer the widest range of SCARA robots on the market, a Cartesian solution that can be configured in literally hundreds of ways and a six axis robot that can be compared with the very best in its class. Coupled with the ability of our IP65 SCARA robot to compete, on an equal footing, with flexipickers in industries such as food and pharmaceuticals, our range now feels whole.”

The new six axis robot uses an absolute position detection system, with a robust AC motor at its heart. Axes one to six offer working envelopes of ±170º, -100 – +150º, -127 – +167º, ±190º, ±120º and ±360º respectively. They also feature maximum speeds of 237º/S, 240º/S, 288º/S, 350.5º/S, 484º/S, and 576º/S respectively. The allowable moment of inertia on axis four and five is 0.3kg · m2 and on axis six its 0.5kg · m2.

Ends — 334 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from TM Robotics, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://tmrobotics-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, 33 Kirkdale,
Sydenham, London, SE26 4BT
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/

For further information contact:
Nigel Smith - TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd
Unit 2, Bridge Gate Centre, Martinfield,
Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL7 1JG
Telephone: +44 (0)1707 290370
Fax: +44 (0)1707 376662
www: http://www.tmrobotics.co.uk/ and
www.abot.eu.com
e-mail: sales@tmrobotics.co.uk

About TM Robotics: TM Robotics (Europe) Ltd is responsible for the sales, marketing and support of Toshiba Machine's Industrial Robots throughout Europe. The two companies offer an extensive range of SCARA and Cartesian robots, sold with the aid of a comprehensive network of system integration partners and distributors. Toshiba Machine’s SCARA robots find applications in industries ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to electronics, packaging and automotive component handling.

Ref: TRE100/11/08