Manufacturers from various regions gathered in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County for the Automation and Manufacturing Technology Show hosted by the Manufacturers Resource Center. The show aimed to showcase advanced automated technology to industry professionals. Rich Hobbs, President of the MRC, expressed the importance of bringing automation to the forefront for manufacturers to have access to it.
The event featured demonstrations of robots, lasers, and VR technologies. Around 150 attendees participated in learning about machine vision, cyber security, augmented reality, and success stories of technology implementation. One of the vendors, Austin Hooper from Applied Control, showcased the universal robot UR20 palletizer and other automation technologies using AI for inspection applications.
With an ongoing challenge of labor supply in the manufacturing industry, there has been a significant interest in adopting advanced technology. Jason James from Brentwood Industries, a plastics manufacturer, highlighted the importance of using robots for insert molding in the plastics industry. He expressed interest in learning how others are implementing technology to improve productivity and efficiency.
Hobbs emphasized that implementing automation doesn’t always require million-dollar investments but can start with small, cost-effective solutions. He mentioned that even solutions as low as $1000 can have a significant impact on increasing productivity for manufacturers. The Automation and Manufacturing Technology Show provided a platform for manufacturers to explore and understand the benefits of incorporating automated technology into their operations.