Bridge Investment Group
Assembly Line
Automation in metal fabrication continues to become more mobile
Think about an automated precision sheet metal operation, one with all the technological bells and whistles at every manufacturing step. A flexible manufacturing system brings sheet from a live-inventory tower system to a laser cutting bed. Blanks are cut, sorted, and stacked automatically with part removal automation, then brought to a robotic press brake with automated tool changes and a robot with an ultraflexible gripper that’s able to handle a range of workpieces.
As part of analyzing the process, think about the judgments and decisions the operation requires. Consider a mobile robot with an arm that moves blanks to a conveyor or other processes downstream. When presented with a pallet of four stacks, which stack does the robot take from first, when, and at what pace and sequence? Are integrated solutions needed to handle or prevent unexpected or rare events, like an air knife or other device to prevent double picking of blanks? Will the mobile robot need to navigate around different obstacles?
Bridge Investment Group Announces Expansion Into Solar Energy, Partnership With Lumen Energy
Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BRDG) (“Bridge” or the “Company”) today announced the launch of its newest strategy, Bridge Solar Energy Development (“Bridge Solar”), in partnership with Lumen Energy Inc. (“Lumen”).
Bridge believes that its national footprint and local expertise, combined with Lumen’s data-driven technology, will streamline the analysis and implementation of solar in a high-demand market that has been largely untapped. Only 4.5% of the approximately six million commercial properties in the United States currently have solar arrays, leaving more than 145 gigawatts of onsite solar potential.
This unique partnership enables Bridge Solar to evaluate thousands of new property addresses at once, and make decisions in minutes. Building on technology pioneered at U.S. National Labs, Lumen’s technology quantifies the economically ideal “clean energy stack” unique to each property, inclusive of financing and incentives, then automates the deployment process.