There are larger industrial robots that use secondary encoders to improve "out of the box" accuracy for more demanding tasks. The secondary joint feedback is paired with a kinematic model of the robot structure/mechanics to accurately predict where the robot tool point actually is.
Shane Wighton's story of getting hired at Formlabs is interesting.
He wanted to work for the company and didn't have a way in. He built a better version of their slicing software over a long weekend and sent it to the Formlabs team. He was hired very quickly after they saw it.
I would recommend Citizenfour if you haven't seen it. It's a documentary where you essentially see Snowden leak the documents from his Hong Kong hotel room. It's amazing the footage exists.
Any suggestions for a mechanical engineer who has some coding aptitude and wants to switch careers? I'm self taught and have mostly worked on hobby projects. I have some professional controls experience programming automated machinery (PLC). My lack of formal CS training seems like a real barrier to jumping into a full-time software role.
As a long time CAD user I was surprised to learn that a CAD kernel exists as a concept and that the same kernel is licensed and used in competing CAD packages.
Solidworks, Siemens NX, and OnShape all use the Parasolid kernel.
Inventor and Fusion360 use the ShapeManager kernel.
Zeloof's father runs a sheet metal fabrication shop that makes components for other manufacturers. They do excellent work, I've worked with them in the past. I'm guessing his father knows engineers in all sorts of industries.
The common term is "pneumatics" and the components are prevalent in all automation and manufacturing. The air required is typically compressed on site.
Pneumatic actuators are relatively inexpensive, have a binary state that is easy to control, and offer a high power density.
If anyone is interested in factory automation I'm working on a site to catalog different processes. A good design can often be recycled into a similar machine.
I'm trying to design a vibratory bowl feeder that I can 3D print. Designing features to align or reject parts is a bit of a dark art and it's requiring a few more iterations than expected.
https://electroimpact.com/Products/Robots/AchievingAccuracy