Tue, 02/14/2017 - 07:48

ZURICH, Switzerland (Feb. 14, 2017)—ABB in a statement announced that it has acquired the Spanish start-up company NUB3D, an innovator of digital, 3-D inspection and quality-control solutions. The acquisition expands the group’s portfolio of ABB Ability solutions that connect customers to the Industrial Internet of Things, according to a statement from the company. ABB Ability builds on the intelligent cloud, using connected devices to generate actionable digital information for a broad range of customers. The two companies have agreed not to disclose the value of the transaction. NUB3D is a privately owned company headquartered in Barcelona. It supplies 3-D white-light scanning sensor technologies, using digital scans to optimize inspection and quality assurance in manufacturing. The sensors can detect defects on a manufactured part with an extremely high level of accuracy. By combining NUB3D’s 3-D vision and metrology with ABB’s brand, worldwide reach, offering and customer support, ABB will be able to create automated turnkey inspection and quality-control systems for automotive original equipment manufacturers, aerospace companies and customers in other sectors such as metals and plastics, according to the company’s statement. ABB said the technology represents the future of flexible manufacturing, enabling a high level of automation with advanced data analysis that can be used to optimize production processes. NUB3D will become part of the Robotics business of ABB’s Robotics and Motion division and the new global application center for 3D metrology in ABB. “With this acquisition we are moving a step closer to the factory of the future. As our customers’ automation processes become more advanced and production cycles shorten, the ability to efficiently automate quality inspections becomes a compelling competitive advantage,” said Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics and Motion division. “Combining robotics and software is pivotal in implementing digitalization and expanding ABB Ability as a key driver of our Next Level strategy.”