The first industrial robots appeared in the production processes of the 60s of the last century, and they are implemented to this day in all production processes in the world. The biggest application of industrial robots has been found in three industries in the world: the automotive industry, the electrical/electronic industry and the metal industry. The automotive industry is the first to implement the most industrial robots, and in recent years the electrical/electronics industry has also joined in, as these two industries in the world implement more than 60% of the total industrial robots implemented in the world. The use of industrial robots has been used to perform those tasks that are tiring and hazardous to the health of workers, which include welding, and the performance of these operations is mostly n the automotive industry. To date, the most implemented industrial robots of the first generation, which are robustly surrounded by fences (for the protection of workers), take up a lot of space and are complicated to reprogram. Development of new technologies such as: sensor technology, Internet of Things (IoT), big data, „cloud computing“, virtual and augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), advanced security systems and others is credited with the development of robotic technology. In this paper is shown the trend of implementing industrial robots and their role in the welding process.

The article deals with modeling and calculations of volumetric machine-building structures with complex geometry. The relevance of the work lies in the fact that its methodology and results can help design massive structural elements complex in shape, including cylinders of powerful hydraulic presses. Attention is paid to the problems of reducing the metal content of machine-building products and the safe conditions of their operation. Theoretical and applied work is based on numerical methods using analytical solutions to assess the reliability of computer calculation results. The choice of research method is because analytical solutions for massive parts of such a configuration are too complex for numerical implementation. Experimental methods are too expensive and not so universal as to sort out possible variants of shapes and sizes. For the actual model of the press, the capabilities of the finite element method implemented in the ANSYS multipurpose complex were selected and rationally used. The results of the calculations are summarized in the table and shown on the graphs of the stress distribution. Based on the performed calculations (with a reliability check based on the formulas of the theory of elasticity for simplified calculation schemes), conclusions were made to ensure a more even distribution of stresses and a reduction in the metal content of the product.

Industry 4.0 has a significant impact on the automation of production processes, by causing numerous changes in three segments: companies, technology and workers. Developed countries worldwide have their own strategies on Industry 4.0, which offer guidelines on its implementation in production processes, with the aim of their complete flexible automation. The core technologies on which Industry 4.0 rests have led to a complete transformation in production processes, especially in the automotive industry. The basic technology of Industry 4.0 is robot technology, i.e., the implementation of industrial and service robots in production processes. The paper provides an analysis of the implementation of industrial robots and service robots in the automation of production processes in the automotive industry with a focus on China. The analysis of the automation of production processes of the automobile industry in China was carried out for two reasons. The first is that China has a growing middle-class population, so demographic trends are encouraging the growing demand for certain products, such as cars. Another reason is that in China (as in Japan, Russia and Western Europe) the average age of factory workers is increasing (the labor force is older), thus the performance of certain tasks becomes more difficult so greater efficiency is not achieved. The paper analyzes vehicle production in China, as well as the readiness of production processes in the automotive industry for the implementation of Industry 4.0.

Characteristics of the vibrations of rotational systems with misalignment and rotating looseness are well known and they are used for fault detection in the rotating machinery. For the better understanding and easier decision make in the fault removing process it is necessary to know how severe each fault is. Lack of procedures for quantification of this faults in rotational machinery is evident. In this paper is investigated the possibility for use of multiple regression analysis for determination of quantity of faults in vibration velocity signal. An experimental motor – coupling – rotor system is created and produced. These systems have capability of changing the values of misalignment and rotational looseness. Measurement of vibrational quantities were conducted on these systems by using piezoelectrical accelerometers for different combinations of fault values. All measurements were stored and processed digitally. All measurements have shown the presence of the main characteristics of introduced faults. It is confirmed that it is not possible to use RMS (root mean square) of vibration velocity, since there is a lot of other factors which has significant impact on the vibration quantity.