trends in automation

Customised solutions

The Application Centre of Festo Poland develops and tests

over 90 customised solutions every year, including a highly

dynamic handling system for the packaging of car lights.

The automation solution for an international company that

supplies products to numerous industries, including the

automotive, electrical and electronics sectors, is based on

two Festo tripods EXPT with robotic functionality for move-

ment in three dimensions. The handling system also exem-

plifies precision in movement and positioning combined

with a high dynamic response of up to 150 picks per minute.

The replaceable grippers of the two tripods support the

picking and placing of eight different types of lights. In add-

ition to the robotic controller CMXR with the operator unit

CDPX, the system is equipped with electric slides EGSL.

Highly dynamic:

tripods type EXPT ensure a fast

packaging process for car lights.

Photo: © shotshop.com

opportunities presented by the shift from a communist planned

economy to a free market economy following the fall of the Iron

Curtain in 1989.

Changing history, key personalities

Despite being a forward-looking country, Poland still maintains

strong links to its past. On 3 May 1791, Poland’s first constitution

was drafted – the first democratic constitution to be enacted in

Europe. Time and again, Poles have demonstrated their desire

for freedom. Polish aristocrat Tadeusz Kościuszko fought in the

American Civil War between 1777 and 1783 on the side of George

Washington and was committed to the abolition of slavery. During

the Second World War, the Polish underground movement suc-

cessfully smuggled a German Enigma machine to Britain, making

an important contribution to the Allied victory in 1945. The inde-

pendent trade union “Solidarność” (Solidarity) played a pivotal

role in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Poles are

proud of the great historical figures that their country has pro-

duced, including world-renowned composer and pianist Frédéric

Chopin and mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

Warsaw native Marie Curie became the first woman to win the

Nobel Prize for Physics, which she was awarded along with her

husband, Pierre Curie, in 1903. She also won the Nobel Prize for

Chemistry in 1911. Pope John Paul II had a lasting effect on the

Catholic Church during his 26-year papacy. And Adam Małysz was

one of the best ski jumpers of all time. Art and culture, science

and history, sport and religion are areas that have traditionally

defined the image of Poland and the Poles, and continue to

do so today.

Centres of progress

Nowhere are the signs of the success of modern Poland more

evident than they are in the capital Warsaw/Warszawa. More than

250,000 companies are based in Warsaw, and the city’s unem-

ployment rate of 1.9 per cent is among the lowest in Europe.

Kraków is one of Poland’s most beautiful cities, and was largely

unscathed by the impact of the Second World War. Its beautifully

preserved medieval city centre has earned it the names “Florence

of the North” or the “Rome of Poland”. In recent years, Wrocław

has emerged as an important cultural centre. In 2016, the city was

named “European Capital of Culture”. Centres such as Gdańsk,

Łódź, Katowice, Poznań and Szczecin also attract many visitors

from home and abroad.

Mushrooms – the nation’s passion

Poland has a diverse landscape, ranging from the sandy beaches

of the North Sea coastline to the Masurian Lake District with its

countless lakes, and the peaks of the Carpathian Mountains, of

which the Tatras are the highest. The large number of natural

parks – over 20 in total – reflects Poland’s closeness to nature.

1.2017

trends in automation

Synergies

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