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CUSTOM PARTS IN HOUSE
MJ Engineering Attended FANUC’s Fall Open House
“There were some interesting items on display,” said MJ Engineering President Richard Wand about the 2019 FANUC America Technology Open House, held this September in Mason, Ohio. Some of the assorted attractions included robots that can lift cars, robot jackets that can withstand extremely high temperatures, and unique feeder systems for the parts picked by robots on automated production lines.
In addition to MJ Engineering, visitors representing many industries and companies attended the show, which featured FANUC robots of varying sizes. Some of what was demonstrated is still confidential, with a lot of new technology revolving around software enhancements being rolled out later this year.
When MJ Engineering designs unique solutions for their customers, they often incorporate FANUC robots into their cells, like the ones in the photo.
Being a robotic systems integrator for decades, MJ Engineering has worked with many types of robots and accessories. However, a few items caught their attention, including a thermal jacket that can be put over a robot to protect it in temperatures up to 2100°F.
Other demonstrations showed ways to present material in robotic cells that differ from the typical centrifugal bowl feeders. “They showed some different feeding equipment and feeder systems that will make us think a little differently about how we could design and lay out a cell,” said Wand. One of the feeder systems uses a Graco G Flex parts feeder, which is a vibrating flat plate that moves the parts in a circle as the robot picks them from the plate. Another system uses a circular dial table that spins and unstacks the parts, jostling them around for the robot to grab. Both methods use a robotic vision system.
Besides all the cool things to see and learn, the open house is a great opportunity to network and develop relationships with other integrators. FANUC holds open houses around the U.S. and Canada to let visitors learn about their new technologies, products, and features, and to inspire them to think about how they could use the robots in their own facilities.
MJ Engineering Attends the “Coal Show for Coal People”
Mining is among the many industries MJ Engineering has served since its inception. For that reason, company president Richard Wand (pictured at left) makes it a point to attend the Bluefield Coal Show in Kentucky when it is put on every other year by the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce.
Hundreds of coal-based businesses display items ranging from tools and safety vests to full-scale machines. This year’s “Coal Show for Coal People” was held in September, and attendees and exhibitors came from all over the U.S. and beyond to share and learn the latest mining innovations.
“That’s why I go to events like this,” says Wand, “to see what people in the industry are doing and what kind of new equipment is out there. It’s also about looking at other types of advancements, such as life-saving equipment or jacking equipment to support the roof.”
Especially interesting at this year’s show was Joy’s “100 Years of Mining Innovation” display, which celebrated the company’s 100th anniversary. The photograph below shows one Joy’s early designs.
Most of what MJ Engineering does for the mining industry revolves around technical aspects of underground equipment and operator safety. For example, MJ Engineering does a lot of canopy certifications on pieces of equipment that are designed to help protect the operator.
Some of the many projects MJ Engineering has worked on over the years include designing multiple continuous miners, such as the one pictured at right, for unique mining environments throughout the world. They have also worked on a hybrid diesel-electric drivetrain on a shuttle car for a Canadian mine and finite element analysis (FEA) for a shuttle car canopy.
While the mining industry has declined in the U.S. since 2012, it is still part of MJ Engineering’s core business and skill set. Today, their projects might include designing scalers for hard rock mines or designing equipment for parts of the world outside the United States.
The Joy Machine Company was founded in 1919 by Joseph Joy in Evansville, IN. Pictured is one of Joy’s unrestored loaders from the 1940s.