Productive Robotics Blog

Zac Bogart President, Productive Robotics There's a certain kind of pitch making the rounds in automation right now. A young company, a slick demo, a deck full of promises about revolutionary AI and next-generation robotics. The price looks aggressive. The founders make grand promises. And the technology, they assure you, will change everything. The energy is real, and some of these companies will do great things. But a demo and a decade of dependable production are two very

Zac Bogart President, Productive Robotics You've probably seen them at trade shows or in your inbox: collaborative robots that look remarkably familiar, at prices that seem too good to be true. Same silhouette, same joint layout, nearly identical programming interface — offered at a fraction of the cost by a manufacturer you've never heard of. For a machine shop or fab shop weighing an automation investment, that price gap is tempting. But before you put a look-alike robot on

Zac Bogart President, Productive Robotics Automation is supposed to make your shop safer and more productive. But a decade of security research on collaborative robots has surfaced an uncomfortable truth: some of the most widely deployed cobots on factory floors can be hacked over the network — and once they're compromised, the very safety features meant to protect your people can be switched off remotely. If you run welding cells, machine tending, or any application where a

Zac Bogart President, Productive Robotics With all the noise about bringing manufacturing back to America, what is the government really...

Investing in new technology can feel risky for any shop. But when it comes to collaborative robots (cobots), there’s a tax advantage many...

Zac Bogart President, Productive Robotics The competition offered “easy” programming. We needed to beat that. Simple to say. Not so...

Zac Bogart President, Productive Robotics This is like preaching to the choir. You're an educator. You get it. If you can't get your...

Zac Bogart President, Productive Robotics Tariffs. They’re on again. Postponed. Off again. Back again. How is this round going affect my...

When you're running a machine shop handling 35-pound castings, bulky assemblies, or thick plate work, automation can feel out of...

Not all cobots are created equal. Before you commit to a system that only works one way, make sure you’re asking the right questions....