Plunkett's Manufacturing & Robotics Industry Almanac 2014

The manufacturing and robotics sectors have become tightly intertwined in recent years, thanks to the rapidly growing importance of factory automation. On factory floors ranging from machine shops to automobile plants to electronics factories, computer driven equipment plays a vital role in manufacturing worldwide. The sophistication of the equipment ranges from relatively simple computer-aided machinery that cuts fabric prior to it being sewn into final garments, to robots that make highly accurate and sophisticated welds in car factories, to robots that can rapidly assemble tiny electronics components and solder them in place. The ever growing drive for efficiency and quality, both at the factory and in the supply chain, will make automation technologies more and more vital. Meanwhile, computer-driven "additive manufacturing" may accelerate a trend of local, just in time manufacturing. This book is a complete reference and research package for the manufacturing industry robotics. We include analysis, trends, forecasts, statistics, technologies, production, company profiles and contacts.