It’s no secret that the folks at ATI are quite enthusiastic about robots. We absolutely LOVE to explore new ways to make them more flexible and productive—no matter the color, size, or payload. We don’t make robots, but we have to be experts in them to provide the best robotic solutions.
|
In this edition, of #weloverobots, we hear from Baron Kendrick, Product Manager for the ATI Standard Tool Changer product line. Baron’s mission is to tackle industry challenges by leveraging the unique strengths of ATI’s engineering and manufacturing teams to deliver to our customers world-class couplings for robotic end-effectors and automation tooling.
|
Interviewer: So Baron, tell us about your first experience with robots?
|
BK: My first true experience with robotics was during my first summer engineering internship in 2003 as a junior mechanical engineering student at Louisiana Tech University, working for Intralox, LLC in New Orleans. It was an incredible opportunity for me, working with their manufacturing automation engineering group in a fast-growing company that manufactured plastic injection-molded conveyor belts. I was responsible for portions of design, fabrication, robot programming, and production validation for fully automated robotic packaging cells involving large-scale cartesian robots and smaller SCARA robots.
|
Although challenging, it was an incredibly fulfilling job that exposed me to manufacturing automation, robotics, controls, and machine design. The internship is where I discovered I wanted to pursue a career in robotics, and that set me on a professional trajectory that I’m incredibly grateful for.
|
Interviewer: What do you love about the industry?
|
BK: What I love most about the robotics industry is the way that technology and human ingenuity come together to solve the world’s problems. Robots are amazingly flexible and precise tools, capable of automating almost any task with the right end-effector and integration. From automotive manufacturing to space exploration, from semiconductor to surgery, it’s fascinating to see the variety of industries and applications that are benefiting from robotics today and to imagine the ones that could benefit tomorrow.
|
Interviewer: What excites you about the future of robots?
|
BK: The future of robotics is exciting because of the rapid advancements in safety, artificial intelligence (AI), vision, and sensing technologies that are converging to give robots perception like “sight”, “touch”, and autonomous decision-making abilities. This is opening the door for all kinds of new automation possibilities that were once thought to be too challenging.
|
As a developer of robotic tooling including Tool Changers, Multi-Axis Force/Torque Sensors, Material Removal Tools and more, ATI/Novanta has a front-row seat to witness these advancements and participate in their success by delivering #innovationsthatmatter to our customers. Looking down the road, it seems global supply chain and labor challenges will only present more opportunities to automate, and our industry is up to the challenge. The future of robotics looks bright!
|
There you have it, folks! The passion for robotics and automation burns bright in the entire ATI team. Keep an eye out for future stories to learn more about "why" #weloverobots.
|
Contact us to request more information on all our robotic end-effector products and services.
|