An AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) is a self-guided industrial vehicle with an internal navigation system that allows it to move through its environment and autonomously transport materials or goods without a human operator. In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how an AGV works, the navigation technologies that power it, the most common types … Read more
I’ve spent years around robotic welding cells and CNC tending stations, and one question keeps coming up from plant managers: why do industrial robots lose accuracy over time? The short answer is that every robot leaves the factory as a precise but inaccurate machine, and the gap between commanded position and actual position only widens … Read more
Robot preventive maintenance is a proactive approach to keeping industrial robots running at peak performance through scheduled inspections, cleaning, lubrication, calibration, and part replacement. I have spent the last decade working with manufacturing teams that depend on robotic automation, and I can tell you from firsthand experience: a well-planned preventive maintenance program is the single … Read more
If you have ever watched a six-axis arm drift half a millimeter off a welding seam, you have seen the exact problem that calibration exists to solve. Learning how to calibrate an industrial robot is the difference between a machine that merely repeats its mistakes and one that hits true positions, cycle after cycle, for … Read more
ISO 10218 is the international safety standard for industrial robots, split into two parts. Part 1 covers robot manufacturers, and Part 2 covers system integrators who install robots in real workplaces. Together, the standard defines how robots must be designed, integrated, and used so that people working near them stay safe. As our team dug … Read more
When my team started building competition robots, our first PETG bracket snapped at the joint under a 12 kg load. That failure sent me down a months-long rabbit hole of testing, breaking, and ranking every filament I could get my hands on. After printing more than 400 test coupons and 60 robot components across PLA, … Read more
If you’ve ever wondered how does 3D printing work for robot parts, the short answer is this: a digital CAD file is sliced into thin horizontal layers, then a printer builds your part one layer at a time from plastic, resin, or powder. I run a small robotics workshop in my garage, and this process … Read more
Block based programming for robots is a visual coding approach where users build robot behaviors by dragging and dropping graphical blocks instead of writing lines of text code. Each block represents a command, a sensor input, or a logic instruction, and they snap together like puzzle pieces to form complete programs. This style of programming … Read more
If you have ever watched a child program a small robot to roll across the floor, light up, or wave its arm, you have seen the answer to how does robotics help kids learn STEM in real time. It turns abstract science and math into something a ten-year-old can touch, test, and break on purpose. … Read more
If you’re asking “what age should kids start learning robotics?” you’re not alone. This is one of the most common questions parents and educators ask our team, and the answer is more layered than a single number. Research from Tufts University’s Department of Child Development suggests age 7 is the ideal starting point for structured … Read more