Industry Brief, September 22, 2026: Used robots, OT security, field data, cobot welding

By MillBrief Editorial · September 22, 2026 · Retrospective edition, published September 23, 2026

This is a retrospective edition. The brief did not run on September 22, 2026; we wrote it on September 23, 2026 using only reporting that was published on or shortly before September 22, 2026, and it makes no forecasts.

This is a retrospective edition covering September 22, 2026, using only reporting published on or up to two days before that date. Today: a Toronto dealer that sells refurbished robot arms for a fraction of the new price, a vendor survey in which nearly half of industrial firms report a cyber incident in the past year, an engineer’s account of what eight years of robots in the field taught his team that simulation did not, and a cobot welding setup aimed at heavy fabrication. Our own words, links to the original outlet, vendor numbers labelled as vendor numbers.

A $50,000 used robot against $150,000-plus new: inside a Toronto refurbisher

The Globe and Mail visits Aces Robotics, a nine-year-old Toronto business owned by Ed Summers, whose 64,000-square-foot showroom holds about 300 used robots, most of them Fanuc and Motoman arms. Two things are helping it, the article says: a six-month backlog on some new machines (partly because of a chip shortage) and a shortage of skilled workers such as welders. Summers argues that a robot does the work of two or three welders, so one bought used for around $50,000, against upward of $150,000 new, pays for itself within a year. He says Aces can deliver one within 30 days.

Stock comes from large users that replace robots regularly, including Magna, and some is rescued from scrap. The six-person company includes two robotics technicians and one employee who cleans, paints and restores each machine; one 20-year-old arm was being fitted with an extended reach. It has shipped eight robots to the US this year, though the article says tariffs have dampened that trade. He also argues that older robots last longer because newer ones use cheaper parts, such as plastic gears. That is his view; the article offers no data on it.

Why it matters: For a first cell, a refurbished arm can cut the biggest single line in the budget, and a short lead time matters when a new robot is months away. But the arm is only part of the cost. Ask about the controller generation, spare parts and software support, what warranty the seller gives, and whether the safety functions meet current standards. Then check the rest of the quote against our industrial robot cost guide.

Source: The Globe and Mail, September 22, 2026.

Rockwell survey: 46 percent had a cyber incident last year, 90 percent feel confident anyway

Processing Magazine carries Rockwell Automation’s release on a report called “Operational Resilience in the Age of Connectivity”, based on input from 1,500 manufacturing and industrial decision makers in 17 countries. More than a third see cybersecurity risk as one of the biggest external obstacles to growth. The headline tension: 46 percent experienced a cyber incident in the past year, yet 90 percent say they are confident they could prevent, contain or recover from one.

Other findings: 62 percent have already invested in cybersecurity platforms, and respondents rank cybersecurity as their second-highest-returning technology investment; 45 percent plan to use AI and machine learning in cybersecurity over the next 12 months; and the points where office IT connects to plant-floor operational technology (OT) rank as the second most vulnerable to incidents. Rockwell’s Rick Kaun argues that buying security technology does not by itself make operations resilient.

Why it matters: This is a vendor’s survey, and Rockwell sells cybersecurity services, so read it as a prompt rather than a benchmark. The point for a small plant is simple: every new robot, vision station or connected machine is another link between IT and OT. Before you buy, ask how the equipment is patched, what remote access it needs and who manages it, and put those answers in your RFQ.

Source: Processing Magazine, September 22, 2026.

What eight years of field robots taught one engineering team that simulation did not

In a contributed piece for Machine Design, Vibhor Sood, co-founder and VP of engineering at Burro, which makes autonomous mobile robots for farms and outdoor industrial work, describes failures no simulation predicted. Pallets wrapped in reflective black plastic confused both the camera and the LiDAR. A robot that had run well for weeks lost GPS accuracy because standing water on a nearby greenhouse roof was reflecting the signal. One fix was more training data; the other was a hardware change to the antenna setup plus extra filtering.

His broader points: a field failure does not automatically mean the AI needs more training, since the fix may be a different sensor, a mechanical change or more redundancy. A problem seen once can become routine at scale; a lighting condition that lasts 15 minutes at sunrise is not an edge case if every robot on site meets it every morning. His team tracks miles per fault, and treats every operator intervention as data. His summary: a successful demonstration shows capability, not operational reliability.

Why it matters: The same holds indoors. A robot that works flawlessly at the vendor’s demo may meet shiny packaging, changing light or a cluttered aisle in your plant. Ask vendors for fault and intervention rates from running sites, not just demo videos, and trial on your own parts and floor where you can. Our note on why automation projects fail covers how demos mislead.

Source: Machine Design, September 22, 2026.

Cobot welding moves toward heavy fabrication with a twin-wire setup

Design Engineering reports that THG Automation, based in Burlington, Ontario, has built a cobot welding system using Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) twin-wire welding, developed with Fronius and Universal Robots. THG says it is the first automated system of its kind in North America; one was installed at a customer site in August. The system synchronises two Fronius TPS/i power sources and wire feeders to feed a single twin-drive CMT push-pull torch, and is aimed mainly at structural engineering and heavy industrial fabrication.

THG quotes deposition rates of up to 25 kg per hour, a vendor figure. Its chief executive, Matt Hendey, pitches it as bringing deposition rates associated with submerged arc welding to a system with a cobot’s ease of use.

Why it matters: If deposition rates like this hold up in production, heavier fabrication work becomes a candidate for a cobot rather than only for a full industrial welding cell. Ask for weld procedure data and real throughput on parts like yours, and remember that a cobot welding cell still needs fume extraction and arc-flash protection. Our cobot cost guide sets out what else goes into the budget.

Source: Design Engineering, September 22, 2026.