Next Generation Automation | RoboPro 05 | October 2018

ISSUE 5 OCTOBER 2018

R O B OT I C S

P R O F E S S I O N A L

ROCKING THE RUC IS THERE AN AFTERLIFE FOR ROBOTS?

WOMEN IN ENGINEERING

WHY YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO IGNORE ROBOT BATTERIES

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CONTENTS ROBOPRO TEAM

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Ed's Welcome

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Headline News Top stories and latest news from the robotics industr y

10 Neil Martin Editor-in-Chief neil.mar tin@mvpromedia.eu

News

The latest news, far and wide, from the robotics industr y

18 RUC

Robotiq rocks the world

Alex Sullivan Publishing Director alex.sullivan@mvpromedia.eu

Jacques Bonfrer

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Robot Takeover Where were you the day robots took over construction?

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SMB Bearings How does lubricant affect bearing torque?

Commerical Manager Jacques.bonfrer@ifamagazine.com

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Advanced Engineering 2018

Cally Bennett Group Business Manager cally.bennett@mvpromedia.eu

The UK’s largest annual advanced engineering exhibition promotes key markets for manufacturing and robotics industries

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Robot Afterlife Is there an afterlife for robots?

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Sensata Tech how advanced precision motors empower the iot and industr y 4.0

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Women In Engineering - Debunking myths The theme for International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) 2018 was raising the bar

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Robot Awards Top robot award goes to three companies this year

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Robopro Magazine is published by IFA Magazine Publications Ltd, Arcade Chambers, 8 Kings Road, Bristol BS8 4AB Tel: +44 (0) 1179 089686 © 2018. All rights reserved ‘Robopro Magazine’ is a trademark of IFA Magazine Publications Limited.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any printed or electronic retrieval system without prior permission. All material has been carefully checked for accuracy, but no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies. Wherever appropriate, independent research and where necessary legal advice should be sought before acting on any information contained in this publication.

Robopro Magazine is for those who operate in the robotic and allied industries. Full details at: www.robopromedia.com

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Batteries Not Included Why you can’t afford to ignore robot batteries

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Robo Business Industr y business news throughout the secotor

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Spotlight

We bring a selection of featured companies into the spotlight for you

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ED'S WELCOME

ROBOTIQ LEADS THE WAY A variety of stories in this issue, which reflects the wide ranging industry that is robotics.

I was a guest of cobot gripper company Robotiq a few weeks ago.

They invited me to their annual Robotiq Users Conference, commonly known as RUC, which takes place in the beautiful city of Quebec, Eastern Canada.

Their conference is different because it is based around user participation. Engineers and end-users from the global cobot community get divided into ten teams and can spend up to 24 hours solving a challenge. The teams, armed with six Universal Robots and conveyors, face a demanding challenge which involves moving and processing items. They take it very seriously, as befits what is a major investment in terms of money and resources from Robotiq.

All too often conferences are lecture after lecture, some good, others tedious, but I’ve been to few which have the enthusiasm and commitment of RUC 2018. The visit forms the material for our main feature and it’s worth reading, to find out how it should be done.

And it highlights the fact that the cobot sector is where the main action is at the moment. There is a sense of excitement which is infectious. This is supported by all of the latest market reports, which report dramatic growth over the coming years.

Dr Jing Bing Zhang, research director at IDC Worldwide Robotics, said: “Collaborative robots are taking off in industrial applications, driven by customer demands for product quality, delivery, and mass customisation. While being safe is the prerequisite for any collaborative robot, the market is already shaping the development of collaborative robots towards simplicity, smartness, and ease of redeployment.” Check out more of the figures in our section Robo Business.

Our other articles range across a number of topics, including women in engineering and batteries for robots. One of my favorite pieces poses the question, is there an afterlife for robots?

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When I hear that question, my mind immediately leaps to Kryten, the mechanoid in the sci-fi series Red Dwarf. He believes in silicon heaven which, according to this article, is way off the mark. Old robots are of course broken down into parts and recycled wherever possible.

Lets hope at least their ‘souls’ have gone to a better place. Funnily enough, it’s one of those articles which makes you think.

And I hope the rest of the magazine makes you think as well!

Neil Martin Editor RoboPro Magazine

Neil

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HEADLINE NEWS

NEW CHAIRMAN AT VDMA ROBOTICS + AUTOMATION

Wilfried Eberhardt (below), Chief Marketing Officer and Member of the Advisory Board of KUKA AG in Augsburg, Germany, has been elected Chairman of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association for a three-year term. He succeeds Dr Norbert Stein, Managing Director of VITRONIC. At the Members’ Assembly of VDMA Robotics + Automation held in Wiesbaden recently, Dr Stein was honoured for his contributions and dedicated service to the industry for more than two decades.

“Our industry is on course to record growth. Robotics and automation are important topics for the future: We supply the technologies to make industrial production worldwide fit for tomorrow’s requirements”, Eberhardt stated in his inauguration address.

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Frank Konrad, Chief Marketing Officer of HAHN Automation in Rheinböllen, Germany, has been elected Deputy Chairman.

•

General Manager Central East Europe, Omron Electronics GmbH, Langenfeld, Germany

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Frank Konrad (Deputy Chairman)

The new Board consists of:

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Managing Director, HAHN Automation GmbH, Rheinböllen, Germany

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Dr Dietmar Ley

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Chief Executive Officer, Basler AG, Ahrensburg, Germany

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Dr Olaf Munkelt

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Managing Director, MVTec Software GmbH, Munich, Germany

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Cornelia Püschel

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Managing Partner, PÜSCHEL Automation GmbH & Co. KG, Lüdenscheid, Germany

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Stefan Roßkopf

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President and CEO, teamtechnik Maschinen- und Anlagen GmbH, Freiberg, Germany

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Helmut Schmid

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General Manager, Universal Robots (Germany) GmbH, München

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Gottfried Schumacher

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Director Product Management Assembly, Bosch Rexroth AG, Stuttgart, Germany

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Henrik Schunk

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Managing Partner and CEO, Schunk GmbH & Co. KG, Lauffen am Neckar

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Volker Spanier

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Head of Factory Automation Division, EPSON Deutschland GmbH, Meerbusch, Germany

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Wilfried Eberhardt (Chairman)

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Chief Marketing Officer and Member of the Advisory Board, KUKA AG, Augsburg, Germany

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Dr Heiko Frohn

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Chief Technology Officer, VITRONIC GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany

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Dr Horst Heinol-Heikkinen

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Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner, Asentics GmbH & Co. KG, Siegen, Germany

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Dr Jürgen Hohnhaus

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General Manager Products, Güdel AG, Langenthal, Switzerland

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Dr Klaus Kluger

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HEADLINE NEWS

SICK TRISPECTOR P1000 3D CAMERA GIVES ROBOTS A GENTLER TOUCH

SICK has launched its fullyprogrammable TrispectorP1000 3D vision camera.

The idea is to enable reliable, continuous in-line product detection to be easily customised for robotic belt picking applications for the packaging industry.

The Trispector P1000 uses heightbased profiling of products on moving packaging lines to ensure gentle and efficient robot picking whatever the shape or colour of the pack design. This, said SICK, occurs even where there is minimal contrast or colour difference between the product and the belt background.

As a compact, stand-alone, programmable 3D camera, SICK TriSpector P1000 combines imaging, lighting and analysis in one device to facilitate on-board evaluation and processing of dimension, volume and true shape data in mm.

Neil Sandhu SICK UK’s national product manager for imaging, measurement and ranging explained: “The SICK TriSpector P1000 vision camera helps to ensure gentler product handling and efficient continuous operation, because it accurately measures real height as well as true shape. This ability controls the Z axis more accurately, meaning that awkward shapes are not in danger of being broken or knocked over during picking.

“Using 3D vision with laser triangulation also enables reliable detection even where the product and background have the same colour and tone.

There’s also no need to reteach the camera or change settings during label or batch changes; the TriSpector P1000 will continue to detect consistently and accurately.”

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UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR UK’S SMALL ENGINEERING FIRMS TO SHINE

Advanced Engineering 2018, the UK’s largest annual gathering of OEMs and engineering supply chain professionals, is throwing down the welcome mat for UK’s small engineering firms and subcontractors.

New for this year, the show is excited to be supporting these UK contractors by introducing a dedicated area on its show floor – the UK Contract Manufacturing zone. The UK subcontractor is facing growing competition from overseas and there is now a need more than ever, for the UK market to have the best platform to showcase these businesses.

In order to support British industry, Advanced Engineering 2018 has initiated this dedicated and focused area.

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Alison Willis, Industrial Divisional Director at Easyfairs, organiser of the show, said: “Britain’s small engineering companies are the backbone of the country’s manufacturing capability, a capability which is renowned around the world for its technical expertise and fantastic customer service.

“As Advanced Engineering celebrates our 10th year, we are looking forward to seeing thousands of engineers from small and large companies who will see at first-hand the latest developments in the industry.”

Advanced Engineering 2018, which takes place on the 31 of October and 1 of November at the NEC Birmingham, connects the entire supply chain of the UK’s advanced engineering industry with R&D, design, test, production

and procurement from large and small companies, through to top tier industry players in a two-day free to attend exhibition and high-level conference.

The show brings together over 700 firms, as well as more than 15,000 engineers, procurement managers and senior decision makers from large and small companies – all looking to source, specify and invest in the most up-to-date products and explore the latest industry innovations.

Advanced Engineering 2018 includes six co-located zones under one roof: Aero Engineering, Composites Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Performance Metals Engineering, Connected Manufacturing and – new for 2018 – Nuclear Engineering and UK Contract Manufacturing.

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IS ANYONE RESPONSIBLE FOR AI?

Is enough being done to hold anyone responsible for artificial intelligence asks ESCP Europe.

According to Professor Terence Tse: “If we are launching selfdriving cars and autonomous drones we are involving AI in life-or- death scenarios and the day -to- day risks people face. Healthcare is the same, we are giving AI the power of decision making along with the power of analysis, it will inevitably be involved in death, but who is responsible?

New technology means new risks and governments, firms, coders and philosophers have their work cut out for them”.

According to the institute’s research, governments have no records of which

companies and institutions use AI. They need to be aware of the decisions being made by it and able to appeal them.

What’s more, consumers also need to know which decisions concerning their lives were made by AI, but also, they need the opportunity to entirely opt out of AI- driven decision making if they want to.

The researchers warn that, although we can train AI to make better decisions, as AI begins to shape our society we all need to become ethically literate and aware of the decisions that machines are making for us.

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NEWS

HOTELLOBOT, AT YOUR SERVICE

NEXEN EXPANDS PRECISION ROTARY INDEXER LINE

Hotellobot is the world’s first personal hotel concierge robot.

The London-based Hotellobot is a guest information service software that can be paired with Hotellobot Robot Hardware to make, the company said, the world’s first and only personal hotel concierge robot.

Hotellobot Software can be used in conjunction with Amazon Dot Voice Hardware, Amazon Spot Screen Hardware, or Hotellobot Robot Hardware, to provide a user-friendly, guest information system. With a vocal command, or touch of the screen, Hotellobot is able to provide guests with information specific to their hotel stay – including menus and timetables.

Nexen Group (Vadnais Heights, MN) has launched a new motor/ gearbox-ready, IP65rated for precision rotary indexing applications.

The Motor Ready Sealed (MRS) precision rotary indexer is suited to precision rotary indexing applications such as robotics, machine tool, semiconductors, automated welding, medical packaging, assembly, cutting systems.

The company said that the MRS maintains the benefits of the company’s existing patented precision roller pinion drive design – zero backlash, high precision, high torque, and high acceleration.

A high roller pinion-togear ratio allows users to direct drive the system with the addition of a servo motor – eliminating the cost of a reducer. This also reduces engineering and installation time.

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MRS highlights: •

high Indexing Precision- one-way positional accuracy up to ± 31 ArcSec and one-way repeatability up to ± 5.2 ArcSec;

• zero Backlash- unlike other drive systems there is zero backlash from the motor through the driven load; • acceleration- up to twice as fast as other technologies; • high Speed- up to 304 RPM; • motor/gearbox ready for faster installation; • sizes: 150, 250, 350 mm output bolt circle diameter, with large open center to optimize performance in small spaces; • fully sealed, IP65 rated; • low maintenance and long life.

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NEWS

NEW GRIPPER TARGETS SMALLEST COLLABORATIVE ROBOTS

The company said that the NSR-PG-10-20 Precision Parallel Gripper is the smallest, most precise smart gripper available for collaborative robots including the UR3, UR5 and UR10 robots from Universal Robots (UR).

David Henderson, CEO of New Scale Technologies, said: “We created this smart electric gripper specifically for agile automation with collaborative robots, using our extensive experience making small mechatronic motion systems. The company has created a new division and website to better reach and serve industrial automation distributors and end users.�

New Scale Robotics is a newly-formed division of New Scale Technologies.

New Scale Robotics creates agile gripper solutions that address the fast-growing collaborative robot

New Scale Robotics (Victor, NY) has introduced an electric parallel gripper targeting precision assembly and inspection for collaborative robots.

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market, and the need for rapid deployment and re-deployment with minimum engineering effort.

At 175 grams, the NSR-PG-10-20 is the lightest and smallest electric parallel gripper available.

The modular fingers can be modified to accept a variety of part shapes. Part size can be measured with 30 micrometer precision. The 20 mm stroke provides maximum flexibility. The gripper can handle workpieces up to a recommended maximum of 100 grams.

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NEWS

INDUSTRY EXPERTS SPEAK OUT AS BANK OF ENGLAND CHIEF ECONOMIST WARNS ON AI The chief economist at the Bank of England has warned that artificial intelligence could make many jobs obsolete.

Andy Haldane commented that Fourth Industrial Revolution could have a greater impact on jobs and living than thought possible.

Sharon Einstein, VP EMEA Robotic Automation and AI, NICE, said: “It’s often too easy to focus on the threat to human jobs when it comes to artificial intelligence, but the reality is that AI is not a threat to human beings at work – it enhances their experience and positions them for greater influence in the workplace.

“With the average employee spending an average of 80 percent of their day on mundane, routine work that don’t necessarily need human input, a significant amount of potential often goes unrealised.

By integrating AI into daily routines, employees are free from monotonous tasks to undertake more exciting and rewarding tasks that add real value. For many companies, this means improved employee satisfaction, with employees feeling that their time is better

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valued. Research also shows that happiness makes people more productive at work. Companies get happier employees and better results. Everybody wins.”

John Gikopoulos, Global Head of AI & Automation and Partner, Infosys Consulting: “The arrival of AI certainly isn’t doom and gloom – we’re already seeing that humans’ job roles are changing. Jobs are becoming less ‘functionary’ and more ‘visionary’: while automation and AI will perform tasks of ever-increasing complexity, humans will be needed to guide them, match capabilities to business strategy, and provide the vision for the future.

“Many organisations are already delegating repetitive tasks to machines, while introducing new roles for humans that focus on creativity and communication.

The next step is using AI as an opportunity for humans to move up the value chain and be rid of mundane jobs altogether.

“To combat the threat posed by automation, business leaders need to do more. It’s not enough just to understand the different technologies on the table; they

should also understand what tech can do for their business, their customers, and crucially, their employees. That requires a shift in culture as much as it does the acquisition of new skills.

“With the threat of AI everpresent, some question if we’ve got the skills conversation wrong.

We are often fixated on core technical skills; from coding to advanced topics like data science and machine learning. But have we lost sight of the softer skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and applying insight to business strategy? AI can find facts and can even recommend prescriptive or proscriptive actions – but what it can’t do is formulate a watertight strategy based on the insights it discovers.

“We want business leaders to foster an atmosphere of experimentation and innovation, and constantly question how they can deploy smart technologies such as AI to solve today’s challenges. One thing is clear: the key to working alongside AI is doing so for the greater good of everyone – without threatening livelihoods.”

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NEWS

NEW INSERTION NODE AND FIND SURFACE FT 300 SOFTWARE UPDATE FROM ROBOTIQ Robotiq has released a new Insertion node and Find Surface FT 300 software update.

The company said the new features allow the user to set up their precise-assembly applications in minutes.

It added that when done manually, precise-assembly applications can: • bog down production cycle times; • generate product quality issues and recalls; • force you to outsource to meet lead times; • reduce productivity due to a lack of qualified staff.

What’s more, when Robotiq’s FT 300 Force Torque Sensor is used with a collaborative robot, it can accelerate production and improve product quality, and involves no costly training, or on-boarding required!

The FT 300’s software update features, said the company, a more intuitive interface, easy to learn and use even for workers without robotics expertise.

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AI WILL BE COMMONPLACE IN BUSINESS WITHIN TEN YEARS Around one in three companies believe business use of artificial intelligence will be commonplace within the next ten years.

The findings come new research from TomTom Telematics.

The study discovered that 22% believe virtual reality will be in common usage, while around one in five anticipate the prevalence of in-vehicle working due to the development of autonomous vehicles.

However, one third fear they may struggle to keep pace with the rate of technological change. What’s more, one in two believe those that fail to embrace digitalised processes and the Internet of Things are at greater risk of going out of business.

“Complacency can sound the death knell for businesses,” said Beverley Wise (below), director UK & Ireland at TomTom Telematics.

“Companies should be mindful of the pace of change and keep a close eye on the solutions and processes that will help ensure a competitive future – from smart mobility and connected tech to advanced manufacturing and design systems. Many of today’s new emerging technologies will disrupt and revolutionise commerce, and in the process become the standard for tomorrow.”

“The onus is on businesses, both large and small, to adapt to this new era of hypermobility and connected working that is being ushered in by advancements in areas ranging from telematics and the connected car toiPaaS and blockchain solutions,” added Wise.

“Such connected technologies and unified communication systems are unshackling workers from traditional working patterns – an empowering development that is set to significantly impact productivity and business efficiency.”

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NEWS

COLLABORATIVE AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS THAT OPTIMISE WORKFLOWS RARUK Automation has told RoboPro Magazine that its range of advanced mobile robots continue to play a significant role in the company’s ability to engineer collaborative automation solutions that optimise workflows, free-up staff resources for more valuable tasks, shorten delivery times and reduce costs.

What’s more, with the addition of the new MiR500, RARUK Automation has even greater flexibility to optimise logistics throughout the entire production chain.

With a lifting capacity of 500kg, the MiR500 is designed to automate the transportation of pallets and heavy loads across industry.

With a payload of 500kg, speed of 2m/sec and a footprint of 1350 x 920mm – the size of a standard Euro pallet – it is the largest, most powerful and fastest MiR in the RARUK Automation fleet.

Equipped with the latest laserscanning technology that provides 360 degree vision for optimal safety, the MiR500 automatically manoeuvres around people and physical obstacles. It also autonomously navigates to find the most efficient path to its destination.

When it meets any obstacle, it automatically re-routes to avoid costly lags in the logistics process.

The on-board 3D cameras have a range of 30 – 2,000mm above floor level to detect pallets.

As with the other models in the range there is no need to change the layout of the warehouse or factory to operate the MiR500 as the function of guidewires, magnets and QR codes is replaced by sophisticated navigation software.

Users simply download CAD files of the facility to the robot or use its laser scanners to create a map.

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MACHINES TO KILL SIX MILLION UK JOBS - TO BE LOST OVER NEXT TEN YEARS, NICE COMMENT As the mainstream media highlights recent reports which suggest that machines and automation could destroy six million UK jobs over the next ten years, and that the Commons home affairs select committee has instigated a commission which is looking at the issue of machines taking over human jobs, Sharon Einstein, VP EMEA Robotic Automation and AI, at NICE, articulates the opposite view: “Too often, efficiency and cost savings tend to be the currency by which robotic automation is judged.

That’s because time savings are the easiest thing to measure. However, there are much bigger benefits to be had, particularly in the area of the employee experience, which is vital for all organisations due to its impact on overall performance and revenue.

“The findings of this poll are interesting but our experience suggests that robotic automation is more likely to enhance, not replace, the human workforce. With the average employee spending an average of 80 per cent of their day on mundane, routine work that doesn't necessarily need human input, a significant amount of potential often goes unrealised.

“With robotic automation, employees are not stuck on these tasks but free to focus on tasks they truly love and tasks that add real value to the business.

For many companies, this means improved employee satisfaction, with employees feeling that their time is better valued.”

NICE provides customer experience and employee engagement technology for over 25,000 organisations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies.

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NEWS

NEW ADVANCED STEPPER DRIVES Applied Motion Products (Watsonville, CA) has introduced a new series of stepper drives that support a range of industrial Ethernet and Fieldbus network protocols including EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, CANopen, Modbus, Ethernet and RS485, as well as a proprietary Serial Command Language (SCL) for efficient network communications over Ethernet (UDP or TCP) and RS-485.

The company said that by accepting high-level commands via a network connection, STF Stepper Drives provide system designers and machine builders the flexibility to control step motors using the network protocol of their choice.

These advanced stepper drives simplify the programming by consolidating motion control functions into the application software of the primary logic or machine controller, rather than in individual axes.

The Stepper Drives work with a range of 2-phase step motors, and offer advanced current control with an anti-resonance algorithm that electronically dampens motor and system resonances to improve motor smoothness and maximise torque over a wide speed range.

Torque ripple smoothing decreases motor noise and vibrations. With STF Stepper Drives, step motors perform

faster, quieter, smoother, and more accurately for today’s high-speed machine and process applications.

The STF Stepper Drives are available in three power ratings.

Founded in 1978, Applied Motion Products specializes in high-precision, cost-effective motion control products including stepper and servo motors, drives, controllers, gearheads, and power supplies.

OMRON’S FIRST NEW FAMILY OF Q2A MOTOR DRIVES Omron has released the first products within the Q2A Tailored Application Drive series.

Omron said that the series is capable of driving a wide variety of motors such as IM, SPM, IPM, DDPM and SynRM, and the Q2A is easily customizable to the customer’s application. The solution combines a space- and costsaving design with many helpful features to offer system integrators, OEMs, and end-users a highperformance yet easy-to-use drive.

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The company added that the new Q2A Tailored Application Drive from Omron is the first in a new family of products designed to meet the demands of system integrators, OEMs, and end-users.

It minimizes hardware footprint and cost, reduces engineering and commissioning time, and provides improved performance for different motor types. The entire application workflow can be optimized, from design, through commissioning, to maintenance and fine-tuning for production.

“Our Q2A inverter is driving quality by delivering high performance and flexibility in a simple program-deploy-go solution that can be optimized for any application,” said Alberto Fuentes, European Drive Product Marketing Manager.

“What’s more, the highest quality manufacturing combined with protective measures ensure the Q2A gives 10 years of 24/7 failure-free operation for complete peace of mind.”

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NEWS

FANUC LAUNCHES SLIMLINE RANGE EXTENSION TO ROBOT RANGE

FANUC has launched a slimline range extension to its new generation of compact, general purpose robots.

The company told RoboPro Magazine that they are ideally suited to smaller, narrow work spaces and topmount applications.

The M10iD/10L is the latest model from FANUC’s acclaimed M-10 robot series. It comes complete with long arm to provide an extended reach of up to 1636mm, allied to the handling of larger workpieces with a maximum payload of up to 10kg.

With a footprint of just 343m x 343mm, the M10iD/10L is aimed at production line installations and is fully articulated to reach narrow spaces in machine tools or jigs.

As with other models in the M-10 series, the M10iD/10L has a hollow arm, wrist and body, which facilitate the easy routing of internal cables.

Not only does this make the robot straightforward to integrate and modify, but, coupled with a slim J2 curved arm, it also reduces any interference with peripheral devices and work cell equipment.

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The 6-axis robot has one of the highest axes speed in its class, with a maximum speed of 720°/sec, and a repeatability of ±0.03mm. The M10iD/10L also facilitates intelligent maintenance schedules thanks to FANUC’s Zero Down Time condition monitoring software, which is able to predict the status of mechanical and process equipment.

Andrew Armstrong, Sales and Marketing Manager for FANUC UK, said: “With more and more stakeholders across the UK’s engineering and manufacturing landscape exploring industrial automation, we feel the latest addition to our general-purpose robot portfolio is perfectly placed to capture those looking to take their first step towards integrated manufacturing.

“With the M10iD/10L offering excellent reach from a compact footprint, coupled with an impressive 10kg payload capacity, it represents the ideal solution to support machine tool or jig users looking to automate workpiece loading and unloading. While connectivity is undoubtedly one of the hot topics across the industry at this moment in time, we believe the M10iD/10L is an investment that has the potential to drive significant productivity improvements through intelligent automation.”

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NEWS

GECKO GRIPPER WINS TOP AWARD The self-cleaning Gecko Gripper from OnRobot (Odense, Denmark) has won the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award (IERA) at the 50th International Symposium on Robotics in Munich.

OnRobot said that the technology offers a new approach for collaborative industrial robotics and makes new applications possible in areas such as sheet metal processing, or in the fabrication of solar panels.

“We are very proud of the award,” said Enrico Krog Iversen, CEO of OnRobot.

“In the next couple of years, robots will gradually become an industrial commodity. Innovation and added value will then increasingly come from the applications themselves, their environment, end effectors and sensors. Receiving the award reflects this trend.”

The Gecko Gripper is the world’s first market-ready adhesive gripping system of its kind. In contrast to conventional vacuum grippers, the system can easily lift and deposit materials with holes or porous workpieces such as printed circuit boards.

Adhesion happens almost instantaneously and residuefree, which leads to increased throughput in production. Light pressure is sufficient to ensure that a workpiece adheres reliably.

Since 2005, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/ RAS) and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) have recongised companies for pioneering achievements in the field of automation technology.

The Gecko Gripper is based on a concept developed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Stanford University. Due to strong Van der Waals forces, millions of microscopically small fibres on the gripper’s four surfaces adhere to workpieces pressed against it. The adhesion works just like that of gecko feet, even on smooth surfaces.

The former start-up Perception Robotics, now part of OnRobot, licensed and developed the technology to marketability.

The Gecko Gripper is compatible with Universal Robots, Kawasaki and Fanuc robot arms.

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ROCKING THE RUC

ROCKING THE RUC RoboPro Editor Neil Martin is invited to RUC2018, a conference which is now staged every year by Canadian company Robotiq, which builds end-effectors and software for collaborate robots (cobots). And he’s not disappointed with what he sees

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ROCKING THE RUC

I've been to quite a few company conferences, some too tedious to recall here and I'm too polite anyway, but cobot gripper company Robotiq has set a very high bar with what was only its third user conference.

Early autumn is now the time for Robotiq to welcome over 200 customers and partners in the form of engineers, distributors and end-users, to the City of its base, the French-speaking Quebec, in eastern Canada.

And hashtag RUC2018, or as the management team are always happy to shout out ‘RUC’ (spoken as ‘ROCK’), is an event that believes in working hard to get audience participation. So much so, that the technically minded guests get a chance to prove their prowess. I was an observer, so I was not encouraged to touch the equipment, which is a good thing, given I struggle to change a lightbulb.

Robotiq is no newcomer to the market, it was first founded in 2008 by Samuel Bouchard (CEO), JeanPhilippe Jobin (CTO) and Vincent Duchaine (who has no operational role within the company).

Robotiq is a developer and manufacturer of sophisticated grippers, or to be more precise, endof-arm tools that feature heavily on collaborative robots. You are most likely to see them on the end of Universal Robot (UR) arms.

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ROCKING THE RUC

Sponsor UR sponsor the event (providing around 60 machines for the challenge) and work closely with Robotiq, using some of the Canadian company’s software in their own solutions.

Which perhaps explains why Esben Ostergaard, the UR Chief Technical Officer, was happily there as an honoured guest and speaker. And he was there for the full three days of the conference, which also signifies the importance that UR attach to Robotiq.

Via a global network of distributors located throughout 50 countries, Robotiq’s goal is to make automation easy, fast and accessible to manufacturers and producers without the need of extensive technical knowledge.

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Principal products are flexible electric robot grippers, force torque sensor, vision systems, real-time robot monitoring software and ready-to-use, downloadable robotic programs. The main feature of all the products is to bring the senses of touch and vision to robots. The focus is on human-robot collaboration and software applications to accelerate robot projects, and optimize robot performance.

They go on to state that “We free human hands from repetitive tasks” which sums up the position of many collaborative robot companies, that they are there to help humans with boring and repetitive tasks, and not just replace them.

Complete solution

The company believes that “... manufacturers struggle to put robots to work in their factory because it’s still too costly and too complicated. Our tools and know-how simplify collaborative robot applications, so factories can start production faster.”

The company like to see themselves as the complete solution, which is why they ask on their website: “What do you want to automate today?”

Robotiq is still independently owned by its founders and a small number of shareholders.

Which of course, begs the question, for how much longer will they remain independent?

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How many corporate financiers will have run the slide rule over this company? But, that’s not a question for this article!

Conference The conference is spread over three days and for the first time, took place this year in the charming drill-hall of one of the oldest Francophone regiments in Canada.

It was first built in 1887 as a Gothic Revival drill hall for the infantry regiment known as Les Voltigeurs de Québec. It was expanded in 1913 and became a key landmark of Old Quebec.

Robotiq were keen to point out that they were the first users since a fire had almost destroyed the building in 2008. It took four years to kick-off a restoration project at a cost of over $100m, but the building is now back to its former glory and status. And it’s an impressive venue for any conference, especially one which represents such a dynamic new industry.

To give you a sense of the size of the place, it can accommodate up to 1,300 people and Robotiq used two of the larger rooms, plus the foyer area. This made for a spacious layout for the talks, the challenge (which actually filled the biggest room) and the various workshops that were held.

Difference The difference between last year’s RUC and this one was highlighted by Karine Simard, VP Sales and Marketing, who gave the Welcome Note.

She recalled how at last year’s event “...things were a bit tight; those of you in the robot room will remember we were brushing elbows together.”

She also pointed out, tongue firmly in cheek, that although Robotiq like to set the world on fire at their conference, she hoped, given the venue’s history, it wouldn’t be taken literally.

After Karine, the main warmup man was the ever-present Jeff Burnstein, President of A3 (the Association for Advancing Automation) and an automation evangelist. He spends his time travelling across the globe talking about automation and machine vision, and as he stepped up to the stage, I heard someone say, yes, you’ll like this, this guy is good.

Simple message Jeff didn’t disappoint, pacing out an interesting presentation which he admitted he had given at a number of key events. But, he had a simple message: the market is in growth mode and the impact on jobs will not be as feared by those outside of the industry.

As an aside, in his introduction to his slideshow, he pointed out that A3 was the first in the world to hold a cobot conference, back in 2014.

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He moved on to some market figures, which he pointed out were yet to be finalised. First up was the fact that in the worldwide industrial robotics market, 308,550 new robots were installed in 2017, a growth of 29% over 2016. Top applications was handling 47% and welding at 22%. The top industries using the robots were automotive at 33%, a growth of 21%, and electronics, up 27%.

The world’s five largest robotics markets are China, Republic of Korea, Japan, US and Germany. These five markets account for 71% of the global industrial robotics market.

China China dominates and Jeff made this comment: “The big story in Asia is China. The world hasn't ever seen the like of what's going on in China in terms of how rapidly they have emerged as the leading robot user and now with aspirations to become a leading global robot supplier as well, fuelled by their Made in China 2025 programme which provides all sorts of government support for companies active in China.

“The story right now globally is China - do I think that is going to end anytime soon, not really.”

Jeff also noted the difficulty in estimating the size of the collaborative robot market, which is thought to be over 8000 units shipped globally by the end of last year, with revenues of $225m. By the end of 2020, it is expected that 40,000 units will have been shipped, with revenues of one billion. There are a wide range of forecasts and estimates, with some reckoning on a market size of over $12bn by 2023.

THE STORY RIGHT NOW GLOBALLY IS CHINA DO I THINK THAT IS GOING TO END ANYTIME SOON, NOT REALLY

But, the point is, that whichever forecast is used, the figures are in healthy growth mode.

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Key players As for cobot suppliers, the key players are currently being added to with new entrants, including machines from Doosan, Kassow, Pilz and F&P. Another point worth highlighting is that generally robotics is growing throughout the value chain. For example, in the industrial sector, a 15% growth per year is forecast through to 2020, and a market size of $23bn by 2020.

And investment trends seem to be going the way of cobots as well, as they want robots which are: • Mobile – able to navigate complex environments autonomously; • Dexterous – able to manipulate a variety of objects in varying orientations; • Smart – able to quickly process data and learn; • Intuitive – user interfaces and social interactions should be simple and friendly.

Jeff finished his presentation on a familiar theme for him and the wider industry: the impact of robots on human jobs.

He stressed his association’s message which is: 1. the inability to compete is the biggest threat to jobs, not automation;

yet 890 million jobs created.

In fact, history has shown that the more robots that there are in operation, the more jobs are created. What’s more, by 2025 some 3.4 million manufacturing jobs will be needed and 1.4 million are expected to be filled, which leaves 2 million jobs left unfilled due to the skills gap.

It’s a good message and one which resonates around the industry. How well that message is getting across to Main Street and the High Street remains to be seen.

Esben Ostergaard As the CTO of Universal Robots, Esben Ostergaard has earned his stripes when it comes to talking about cobots, and he gave his thoughts in a Q&A format session with Robotiq CEO Samuel Bouchard.

Part of the Q&A focussed on the Universal Robots world tour of the new e-Series cobot.

Esben admitted that they were a little worried about the launch, which has seen UR already visit automatica 2018 in Germany, before moving on to China and then Canada. But, he said that the reaction had been positive to the e-Series and their worry - that it looks pretty similar to their existing robots, so would anyone get it - was unfounded.

Upgrade

the market that we wanted to improve...people know where these improvements are coming from, and are very positive.”

He added: “We were very lucky, we made a robot we thought the world needed, and we were very lucky and it turned out that we made a robot that got some traction and actually started selling worldwide, what we had was pretty good and we just try and improve it.”

The package, as Esben referred to, was to offer a robot which was lightweight, heavily integrated, easily programmable and with in-built safety.

Samuel Bouchard

4. the skills gap is real & requires our attention.

He made the point that UR was the first company to have a successful cobot in the market and all the features since the original machine have been included in the new e-Series.

It represents, he said, an upgrade in all dimensions.

After Mark Kahwati of Universal Robots took the guests through the new e-Series in detail, it was the turn of Samuel to do his presentation and he focussed on the evolution of collaborative robots. His theme, and indeed the theme of the conference, was start production faster.

He referenced McKinsey & Company which have said that the worst case scenario by 2030 is 800 million jobs displaced,

He said: “What looks like a lot of small changes are in reality a lot of experience we built into the product; what we learnt from

He started by asking the conference attendees which one of the words was most important of the start production faster

2. technology advances have always changed the nature of jobs; 3. if we focus on our fears, we will miss the opportunities;

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strapline, to which the answer was, in Samuel’s words: “It’s all about producing something, so production is the most important word, it's about making something for our customers.”

Production is at the core of its thinking for Robotiq, as well as its customers.

Busy Which led to an observation from Samuel, that when you ask someone in this industry if they are busy, the question you usually always get back is, yes, we’re very busy.

Samuel: “Everyone is running around in this industry. We are making progress, but we believe we could be moving faster altogether.”

He referred back to Jeff’s market figures and said he believed in the estimates, mostly because there is a pressing need for robots to fill the skills gaps, as many young people are not interested in working in certain industries anymore.

And he had this thought which will delight robot sales people: “Most companies who will benefit from cobots haven't even started yet; haven't even started with their first robot yet. I have yet to see a factory which would not benefit from more robots.”

Start He made the point that we are still at the start of the growth curve, but that the real issue and the real challenge for the industry, is whether the demand be fulfilled.

Samuel also went on to outline a number of new product features, including the Insights Remote Access and Force CoPilot.

He joked that the Insights Remote Access, which allows an off-site engineer remote access to the

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gripper, started out life as the CobotPhone to mimic the BatPhone - the point being that for a cobot operator, help is now always on hand and quickly.

Remote technical help allows an operator to restart production faster, without delay, and that is one of the key building blocks of the Robotiq approach with the objective of making robots more capable and easier to use.

Force Copilot Samuel also took the audience through the basics of Force Copilot, an intuitive software developed to operate Universal Robots e-Series’ embedded force torque sensor. It accelerates the programming of a whole host of applications, including part insertion and surface finding.

Force Copilot’s sensing functions increase flexibility and reliability in machine-tending, assembly, finishing, and pick-and-place applications. A suite of setup tools allows the user to hand-guide the robot on complex trajectories.

The company demonstrated how the software makes it easy to place objects precisely in jigs, trays, and chucks, and it facilitates assembly applications through its alignment, indexing, and insertion functions. The intuitive interface also unlocks finishing applications, with adjustable adaptive compliance and constant force for all robot axes.

Samuel explained: “We want to free every production line operator in the world from repetitive manual tasks. With Force Copilot, we are making complex robot-movement programming accessible to anyone. Force Copilot works as the human operator’s guide, helping program the robot quickly and easily. We’re proud to see the next step of the humanrobot collaboration take shape.”

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Jean-Philippe Jobin The presentations finished off with Jean-Philippe Jobin, CTO of Robotiq, taking the audience through the company’s latest products and innovations, including the fact that the company is most definitely e-Series ready.

One focus for Jean-Philippe was Hand-e, the new collaborative gripper and he outlined its principle features: • highly precise and ridgid; • ergonomic shape for hand-guiding; •

low maintenance and durable design;

One wag pointed out that there were more UR machines in the conference venue (each of the ten teams had about six machines to play with) than in most factories. But, it gives you sense of the effort that Robotiq had gone to create a conference that was not just about the senior management preening on stage and indulging in a bout of back-slapping.

• sealed casing.

The Apprentice

He described it as the best in class for cobot grippers, a single line-up for all an end-user’s applications.

The start of the competition had the air of an episode of The Apprentice, minus Mr Donald Trump, or Sir Alan Sugar, but the intensity was the same. The contestants were split into ten teams of around a dozen people in each and they could have done with some of The Apprentice naming ideas.

Team Ten came up with the snappy title of the New Advanced Forward Thinking Applications Company (or NAFTAC for short). That’s one not to be registered!

Jean-Philippe had wrapped up what was a fascinating first day. Attention then switched to the technical challenge, which took up the whole of the second day of the conference, and some of third as well.

The RUC challenge Now it would be easy to call this a geek fest, especially for someone like me, who can only stand-by and look on with awe at how these people, and it was good to see, a fair sprinkling of women, cope with an array of Universal Robots, Robotiq grippers, conveyer belts and assorted bits and pieces, and given a problem to solve. The best solution wins the coveted prize and this is taken very seriously, over a period of 24 hours.

UR is omnipresent and that's not only because they sponsored the event,

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but because they are the current dominant force in collaborative robots today. The Odense furnace has sold over 25,000 units since it started.

A leader quickly came to the fore and off they went, solving a challenge which required the use the robots, grippers and conveyors to get products from point A to B, via a series of mini manoeuvres. Out came the magic marker pens and ideas began to appear on the numerous white boards throughout the room.

Bear in mind this was a 24-hour challenge, so a number of the contestants did work through the whole night - respect to them.

I felt like a spare part and needless to say, wasn’t there for the whole period.

It was pretty impressive though and you could hear the collective thinking hum throughout the hall.

Achieved As the challenge closed at 9am on the third day, each of the teams gave a quick presentation as to what they had achieved. The points were totted up (it was a fairly complex affair, with points being awarded throughout the challenge) and eventually a winner was proclaimed. Team 10 (remember them, NAFTAC) got a special mention for the first team to produce something, but it was Team 8 who eventually proved the winner, not least because they were the only team who got their line working just before the clock stopped.

So, as well as performing strongly throughout the challenge, they did complete the task which, as most of the contenders agreed, was very hard to complete and harder than the year before.

The members of Team 10 were: Diego González, Mathieu Poupart, Louis Thebault, Jorge Ruitina, Sebastien Blanchette, Enric Vila, Raphael Calado, Alex Paré, Juan José Coronado, Nicolas Bouhet, William Champagne, Aitor Fernendez García and Cesar Gonzalvo.

Team Six deserve a special mention, as the female spokesperson set out her own challenge to the contenders, to next time bring a female colleague along with them. “Convince her that she can do it.”

Well said I thought.

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Technical workshops Alongside the factory challenge were technical and sales workshops. The latter seemed quite intense affairs in which a judging panel poured scorn onto the efforts of people selling a cobot solution to a pretend client (Robotiq staff). From the little I saw of these, they appeared quite nervous, selling within a time limit in front of a crowd of fellow sales people. I wouldn’t do it, so fair play to them.

A goodbye speech from Samuel and that was it, the RUC 2018 had come to a very successful conclusion.

The next challenge was getting to the airport whilst in the middle of a UCI professional cycling event which meant that the roads around the venue and the host hotels were closed to vehicles, and taxis.

That meant a challenge to find a taxi and not one which could be solved by a Universal Robot, or Robotiq gripper, yet.

I solved the problem by watching the racing, in the glorious sunshine, surrounded by enthusiastic Canadian cycling fans what could be better?

Firsts It was a series of firsts for me: first time in Canada, first time in a Boeing Dreamliner, first time I watched Downsizing and the first time I’ve been offered a London Fog. Canada was a revelation. I’m embarrassed to say its my first time there. I’ve been to the US many times, but never Canada. I now know what I’ve missed. The country has an unhurried air to it and a sense of contentment.

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And the old part of Quebec reminded me of Pau in the South West of France, such was its charm and character.

The main difference being that Pau doesn’t have huge cars driving around!

The 787 Boeing Dreamliner was also an experience.

I’ve watched with interest the development and deployment of this plane, a radical gear-change for Boeing with the large amount of carbon used in its manufacture and its fly-bywire technology originally favoured by its rival Airbus.

With the window shades down and the entertainment system on the max, you are barely aware of the push-back, engines starting, or indeed take-off. I can’t figure it out, is that a good thing, or bad thing? I’m not a great flyer, but spent a lot of my career flying around, but it is better to be aware of what the plane is doing, or not? I’m not sure.

Downsizing And talking about entertainment, what the hell was Downsizing all about?

The cast looked about as embarrassed as me watching it. Poor Matt Damon! Was that one for the pension plan? It was a good start, I’ll give it that, but then it turned into some Tolkien-esque rubbish with a message about the planet with lots of well-meaning hippies. Maybe it wasn’t that bad, maybe the free wine and altitude swayed my judgement, but come on, that must be one for the cutting room floor.

And don’t get me started on Red Sparrow - I had to keep turning that off, just in case someone else was watching me, watching it.

Finally, I was offered a London Fog in a Starbucks in Quebec. I’d asked for a tea, an English breakfast tea, knowing that tea these days can also mean a hot fruit drink, or some green stuff that’s best avoided at all costs. The barista looked at me, noted the stupid accent (the rest of her customers spoke French) and asked if I meant a London Fog? What’s that I asked? Oh it's Earl Grey tea, she replied, with a touch of vanilla and with warm milk. WTH? I can see why they called it a London Fog and that’s all I’m going to say. No, tea for me will always be, English breakfast blend, hot water and cold milk. That’s it, full stop. I don’t think I made any friends in that coffee shop.

Last word I have to give a special thanks to the team at Robotiq, who were the perfect hosts and their young team were very professional throughout. You just know that this company is going to be a major player in the market over the coming years and one to watch.

And also I have to mention the team at RARUK, who distribute Robotiq grippers in the UK and Eire, who I met at breakfast on the first day and who gave me a great insight into the market, from the sharp end.

So thanks to Keith and Ian for being great company.

I met many others and some will form the basis of forthcoming features for RoboPro 2018.

But, as they say in the world of professional cycling, chapeau Robotiq - here’s to you for a great conference and setting a very high standard for others to follow.

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Q-BOT

WHERE WERE YOU THE DAY ROBOTS TOOK OVER CONSTRUCTION?

By Tom Lipinski, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Q-Bot

to adopt new technologies.

There is a direct correlation between labour and output.

Nearly every other industry has challenged and disrupted this.

Q-Bot

The construction industry faces a number of challenges: an ageing workforce, poor productivity, high cost, and low profit margins. The modernisation of the construction industry has been talked about since the publication of the Egan Report “Rethinking Construction” in 1998, which proposed “to initiate a movement for change in the construction industry, for radical improvement in the process of construction”.

But that called-for modernisation never really happened. That’s partly because the current corporate incumbents have no incentive and no intention to modernise (keeping the status quo is the key objective of their lobbying efforts), and partly because technology took a while to catch up with Sir John Egan’s vision. While the tools may have been modernised, the industry still relies on manual, labourintensive processes and is slow

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Q-Bot is one of a wave of new companies that are revolutionising the construction industry by connecting the built environment with robotics and AI and rethinking processes that have remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Our solutions use building data acquisition, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to enable the delivery of innovative new services that inspect, maintain, and upgrade buildings; digitise both the process and the building; lower cost and eliminate disruption; and improve productivity, accountability and safety.

While much attention is being paid to the construction of new buildings, Q-Bot has identified the inspection, maintenance and upgrade of existing buildings as an area that offers huge opportunities to optimise construction processes. More than a quarter of the UK’s homes were built over a hundred years ago and are difficult and expensive to bring up to modern standards. The vast majority of these buildings have a suspended, uninsulated timber floor, which can contribute as much as 25 percent of the total

heat loss of a property – they let in cold air, dust and moisture from the void below and create uncomfortable draughts and uneven temperatures, which lead to high heating costs and problems with damp and mould.

If you were to ask a builder whether they can do something about that floor, they’d say it’s not possible within the time and budget you may have in mind.

Standard method The standard method of insulating suspended timber floors involves removing furniture, carpets and floorboards; cutting and fitting insulation material between the floor joists by hand; and refitting the floorboards and carpets. Insulating the floor is time-consuming, expensive and disruptive, which is why not many people do it. With Q-Bot, it can be done – quickly and much cheaper than with traditional methods. The entire insulation process takes one or two days, creates little waste and is relatively inexpensive.

Our robots are designed to be inserted into the void or between the floor and the ground, by removing an air brick, or by creating an access hatch in the floor. Once the robot has entered the void, it can survey the space automatically and create a 3D map of the surrounding area, using lights and cameras to enable navigation under

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Q-BOT

the floor. Throughout the installation process the robot is guided by a trained operator who receives feedback through a video feed augmented by information from sensors.

The operator will set a pattern and the robot can then spray this area autonomously with a polyurethane (PU) foam – certified for this application by the British Board of Agrément (BBA) -, which contains a fireretardant so it does not increase the fire risk. The insulation is applied to the underside of the floorboards, keeping them on the warm, dry side, and forming a protective barrier, while still allowing the ground to breathe below. Finally, the robot then “inspects” the job to ensure that it has been completed satisfactorily.

U-values The technology can also measure U-values before and after the application of insulation, and we have found that this way of underfloor insulation provides exceptionally good energy savings, improving a floor’s U-value by as much as 85 percent. Post-installation monitoring of a number of Victorian properties showed an average of 78 percent drop in heat loss through its floor, a 40 percent reduction in cold air infiltrating the house and an overall energy efficiency improvement of 24 percent.

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Our robots aren’t toys, but powerful, compact vehicles that are able to carry out complex operations in difficult environments. They have an intelligent sensing and control system, which means that we can build quality control into these devices – and they’re easy to use.Which brings me to another point: not only is this method of underfloor insulation faster and cheaper than traditional methods, it is also a lot safer and a lot more interesting for the person carrying out the insulation.

Robotics enables people to do things that weren’t possible before. A robot can install home insulation where human builders can’t – our robots turn dirty, dangerous and dull jobs into clean, efficient and safe processes. And of course it is a human that directs it and applies his or her creativity, which a robot doesn’t have. Far from eliminating jobs, robotics can create employment – after all, the robots need to be programmed and operated by humans. And there is no skills shortage, because anybody can be trained to use a game pad controller to direct Q-Bot’s robots – including women, who aren’t very well represented in the construction industry, or former construction workers who are no longer able to carry out physically demanding jobs. Robots open up job markets for much wider parts of society.

Awards Q-Bot’s robots are not just winning awards (such as the recent CIBSE Building Performance Awards in the category “Energy Saving Product or Innovation” or the 2018 UK Ashden Award for Sustainable Buildings), they are winning and delivering large contracts across the UK. This wouldn’t be happening if they didn’t create real value for customers, reducing costs while improving quality and safety. This value will drive the real change in construction.

In the long term, our goal is to have an impact on a global scale by transforming the construction industry with smarter solutions.The technology and process empowers operators, helping them to become more efficient and productive. It enables construction companies to offer new services to clients and can help contractors to swiftly improve the energy efficiency of buildings, reducing heating costs and making them more comfortable for occupants. Start-ups like Q-Bot are disrupting the construction sector with new ways of managing, altering and constructing our buildings.Will the large construction conglomerates modernise, now that the technology allows them to?

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SMB BEARINGS

HOW DOES LUBRICANT AFFECT BEARING TORQUE? The use of low torque ball bearings is improving energy efficiency, minimising operating costs and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. To help machine builders and plant managers leverage these benefits, Chris Johnson, managing director of miniature bearing specialist, SMB Bearings, explains the importance of one critical torque factor, bearing lubrication

Rolling element bearings, such as ball and roller bearings, support the load required to carry out a machine’s function at a much lower friction than a fluid bearing alternative. This reduces the power required to drive the equipment, lowering the cost of moving the load and the energy required to operate the equipment.

Bearing torque is the force required to overcome internal friction to start or maintain rotation of the bearing. This frictional torque is generally increased with a larger bearing, increased load or increased lubricant drag.

Let’s focus on the latter.

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So, how do you get it right?

Discussing lubrication options with your bearing supplier can help you to choose the correct option, as there are several oils and greases to choose from.

Many applications require the bearing to spin easily with extremely low frictional torque, without generating excess heat. Dry lubricant is one way of meeting these low torque requirements. Despite being solid, dry lubricants can reduce friction between two surfaces without the need for oil or grease. Using very low viscosity grease with a reduced fill can also achieve a similar outcome.

However, this will also permit much higher running speeds.

When choosing between oils or greases, it’s important to remember that torque levels for a greased bearing are briefly higher to start with, when the equipment begins running. This is because the grease takes a short time to ‘run in’ and be distributed inside the bearing. It’s most likely not a problem for many continuous applications but this could cause problems for stop start machinery.

Instrument oils are another option for low torque requirements.

They will often produce very low torque levels especially at very low speeds. However, it’s worth mentioning the difference between these and very low torque greases is actually quite small, particularly if a low grease fill is used.

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This combination may give an increase of only 20 percent in frictional torque over the Aeroshell 12 instrument oil.

For higher torque requirements, high viscosity lubricants can significantly increase bearing torque due to greater lubricant drag. The fill level is also a huge factor in the frictional coefficient, with higher fills resulting in stiffer bearing rollability. For example, robotics applications require precise and predictable movements of cobot arms. It is often the fill level in robotics bearings that is trialled during product development, to achieve the ideal frictional coefficient, enabling smooth and precise movements.

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In fact, SMB Bearings recently worked with The Shadow Robot company doing just this.

SMB bearings then supplied the full amount of bearings required to this exact specification.

With the support of SMB Bearings and using a small sample of the EZO thin-type precision bearings, the research and development team at the Shadow Robot Company trialled different grease levels to find the optimal grease fill. As robotic movements need to be predictable and accurate some friction is essential to ensure this control. A process of testing and trial and error demonstrated the correct friction coefficient and its corresponding percentage grease fill for optimum performance.

There are many oils and greases to choose from, and there are other factors to consider aside from torque, such as contamination, speed or corrosion resistance. With the right lubrication type, correct fill level and consideration of load, you’ll be able to source bearings with the correct frictional torque for the specific application.

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ADVANCED ENGINEERING 2018

ADVANCED ENGINEERING EXHIBITION 2018 Advanced Engineering 2018, the UK’s largest annual engineering exhibition, is celebrating 10 years of connecting technical specialists across all manufacturing and processing industries, including the fast expanding robotics sector Last year the show saw a 15% rise in attendance from industries as diverse as aerospace, automotive, composites, performance metals and connected manufacturing (industry 4.0). Two new zones have been added for this year – Nuclear Engineering and UK Contract Manufacturing for the country’s subcontractors. These present a great opportunity to grow networks in these exciting new sectors.

Also new for this year is the AE Connect match-making service connecting visitors and exhibitors.

This networking service enables both visitors and exhibitors to pre-arrange meetings enabling both groups to see the right people for their business.

Advanced Engineering connects the entire advanced engineering supply chain with R&D, design, test, production and procurement in this free-to-attend, two-day exhibition and high-level forum.

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The show brings together over 600 supply chain partners and thousands of engineers all looking to source, specify and invest in the most up-todate products and explore the latest industry innovations.

Advanced Engineering 2018 is for both OEMs and SMEs, visitors and exhibitors to meet and do business, not only within their own industries, but in those less familiar sectors they would not otherwise discover at a single exhibition.

Alison Willis, Easyfairs’ industrial divisional director, explains why lubrications experts should be at the show: “Manufacturing is of critical importance to the British economy and we are really pleased, in our 10th year, to provide engineers and procurement professionals with unrivalled networking and business development opportunities.

“And it’s not just about selling, it’s about finding out the latest developments in manufacturing.

This applies especially to the robotics industry, which is introducing huge efficiencies into production processes. Come and see for yourself the potential for robotics to revolutionise high value manufacturing. We are on the cusp of a wave and Advanced Engineering 2018 is just the place to catch it.”

As a key networking opportunity accredited by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Accreditation Service, the open conference is not one to miss.

You will have free access to more than 200 presentations and case studies from a raft of OEMs and high-profile speakers in six open forums to suit your business needs and interests. Speakers will include representatives from Airbus, Jaguar Landrover, Siemens and BAE Systems to name but a few. There is also a dedicated session on robotics.

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ADVANCED ENGINEERING 2018

At the show you can see a variety of cutting edge technology, materials and show floor features from exhibitors with plenty of time to meet engineering supply chain professionals. New innovations and technologies are guaranteed to take centre stage, presented by a number of startups, SMEs and national research initiatives. You’ll understand more about how Industry 4.0 can make you more competitive – no matter how large or small you are, with the expanded Connected Manufacturing zone.

With so many exhibitors and visitors at Advanced Engineering 2018, how can you make the most of your time? Alison Willis expands on this: “Most companies view visiting or exhibiting at the show as part of a wider marketing or supplier strategy and when attending the show with so many opportunities to learn and do business, it is important to prioritise.”

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And here’s how: • Define your main reason for being there - think about exactly what you are going to do now to make the most of every opportunity.

• Network with existing clients and potential customers – the opportunities are immense especially with AE Connect.

• The team you select to represent your company, whether exhibiting or visiting, is key and they must be fully briefed in advance of the objectives.

• Set up a promotional campaign before the show so that your customers and suppliers are prepared to see you there and are considering how you can meet their engineering requirements.

• View the exhibitor list beforehand.

• Start marking sessions in the conference programme.

That’s how you make the most of Advanced Engineering 2018 -preparation, engagement and achievement. Keep those three key aspects in mind throughout the planning, execution and reflection upon your Show experience; and make the most of it!

With such a variety of expertise, Advanced Engineering 2018 is this Autumn’s unmissable trade show.

Advanced Engineering 2018 takes place on 31 October and 1 November in halls 2, 3 and 3a at the NEC. To register for your free ticket and for more information about the show visit: www.advancedengineeringuk. com or follow on Twitter via #AEUK18 for regular updates.

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ROBOT AFTERLIFE

IS THERE AN AFTERLIFE FOR ROBOTS? Popular culture is rife with the question of robotic “mortality”. From Will Smith’s bot-hating cop in I, Robot to Robin Williams’ “upgrade” fearing sidekick in kids’ flick Robots to Rutger Hauer’s existentiallyangsty android in Blade Runner, the question of what happens when robots meet the end of their natural life has been popcorn fodder for science fiction for decades.

But what about the real world?

What really does happen to robots, when they become surplus to requirements?

“The truth is,” says David Lenehan (pictured on the next page) of Northern Industrial, “there is a whole industry based on the answer. And it’s an industry driven by one thing: fear.”

Fear of extended downtime is understandably very, very real in the world of manufacturing. A recent global study showed the majority of companies have experienced at least one unplanned downtime outage over the past three years, costing an average $260,000 an hour across all businesses.

The Vanson Bourne global study, sponsored by ServiceMax, from GE Digital, surveyed 450 field service and IT decision makers in the UK, US, France and Germany across the manufacturing, medical, oil and gas, energy and utilities, telecoms, distribution, logistics and transport sectors.

As well as estimating downtime losses to average $2million per year for 82% of businesses, it also concluded that around 70% of companies lack full awareness of when their equipment is due for maintenance, upgrade or replacement.

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“Downtime can usually be faced down with a cool head when your robots are all shiny and new, with a robust maintenance plan in place,” says Lenehan, “The danger for manufacturers is when your robots are getting old or are in fact – whisper it – obsolete.

“All machinery is set to become obsolete at some point. It’s the nature of the physical world that things wear out.

Add increased complexity and integration into the mix and the process of obsolescence is set only to speed up with the advance of Industry 4.0 and IIoT. “What happens to old robots is that they get bought by people who couldn’t afford them when they were brand new. And when those wear out? Well, companies like us have boughtup old units and kept them in stock for just that occasion, in the form of a stockpile of carefully catalogued spare parts.

“So not so much an afterlife, but an aftermarket. And it’s a big market. Our website currently has around 4.2 million pages. We export same day or next day worldwide and hold £7 million in stock sourced from over 1,350 manufacturers and covering over 200,000 part numbers.

“So our message to anyone wondering what to do with their old robots is simple: we’re buying.”

If you’re not yet ready to upgrade though, you can mitigate the risks by ensuring you have an obsolescence strategy.

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ROBOT AFTERLIFE

“A good obsolescence strategy will ensure you get the maximum value from previous or new capital investments in terms of ongoing performance, performance improvement and energy efficiency.”

prices and avoid disruption and downtime if legacy equipment is well maintained. The internet has opened up the spares market so companies can have a spares strategy that does not necessarily rely on the OEM.

Lenehan recommends an obsolescence strategy can be divided into six parts.

“Having an obsolescence strategy at the outset can help companies avoid buying spare parts at peak prices and avoid the costs of disruption from stress purchasing – e.g. when equipment has already broken down.”

Lifecycle “Step one is to understand that parts and spares prices have a lifecycle. They start at a fair price, then as machinery starts to reach obsolescence, they rise dramatically as parts become hard to find but then later drop even more dramatically as original equipment starts to be replaced.

“Small and medium businesses who cannot easily afford to overhaul capital equipment can, however, make use of falling

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Risk Analysis “Carrying out an Obsolescence Report and a Risk Analysis is a good first step toward developing a full strategy.

“Risk planning is best carried out on a rolling timeline using an inclusive framework taking into account any factors that can contribute to the likelihood and potential impact of obsolescence.

“A usual starting point is simply to identify critical assets and then assess the risk of obsolescence in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Once the risks have been identified in relation to each asset, the next step is an assessment of obsolescence likelihood. Data for this can be gathered from everything from the maintenance logs and internal systems to the reliability of the supplier in terms of SLAs, service and support. By looking into suppliers’ end-of-line (EOL) plans, manufacturers can mitigate the risk of discontinued support or technology upgrades.”

Strategy Once you are aware of the risks, a strategy can be developed to minimise the overall obsolescence risk, divided into three parts: Repairs, Upgrade and Spare Parts.

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ROBOT AFTERLIFE

Repairs “Make an assessment of what can be repaired in the event of a breakdown. Can you wait for a repair? For items that cannot have any downtime whatsoever, a repair may not be an option as this is going to take a minimum of 24-48 hours, and that’s if the repair supplier has the components in stock needed to complete it. For items such as HMIs, where very specific overlays are required to complete the repair, lead times can push timescales into weeks rather than days, so repair for every item is not always an option.

“Who will carry out the repairs?

What resources do they have? Do they have a good track record?

Is the company you’re looking at hiring actually going to do the work, or outsourcing it? A quick company check will help narrow down the list of suppliers. Check on Google maps if their office is capable of doing repairs and/ or check LinkedIn to see if they actually have the staff required.”

Upgrade “Upgrading in the middle of unplanned downtime is never recommended so it is worth considering if the equipment can be upgraded.

“What equipment can be upgraded? What equipment should be upgraded? When should it be upgraded? Simply having a plan answering these questions will help keep you ahead of the curve.

“Due to their rarity, the cost of some obsolete parts can actually be more than double the cost of a modern equivalent. New equipment comes with warranty and is more readily available so you can be confident that you will receive ongoing support for a number of years.

“Aside from these benefits, you can also get other benefits such as increased machine productivity, throughput and reliability.

Upgrading can help reduce energy costs and therefore save more money. You should always consider these benefits as they can make the payback period on improvements seem really quick.

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“AC drives are often a prime candidate for upgrading as the majority of applications are relatively straightforward and require only minor wiring modifications. For more complex applications there can be a reluctance to upgrade in a breakdown situation. It is often easier to go like for like but this isn’t always the best option. A good supplier should have the necessary skills to assist or even set up the replacement before shipping.

Planning the upgrade in advance is always the best solution.”

Spare Parts “What spare parts will be needed? Do we have them in stock? Keeping a good stock of the right spare parts can help mitigate the risk of breakdown disasters and expensive downtime.

“For items where you have ascertained that repair or upgrade is not an option, but the part is critical to your production, a spare should be kept in your stock so that in the event of a breakdown you can switch out the faulty unit in a matter of minutes. This mitigates downtime and gives you the option to repair the faulty unit and put it back into your stores, reducing future costs on spares management.

“Buying spares at the right time can save you a lot of money compared to purchasing when you are already on breakdown and are factoring in express shipments from wherever the part is in the world, as well as the unit itself possibly being a lot more expensive due to its rarity now that it is obsolete.”

David Lenehan is managing director of Northern Industrial, a family owned and run business established 1978, providing new, reconditioned and obsolete parts and repair services to customers in 132 countries worldwide.

The company currently sources from over 1,350 manufacturers, covers over 200,000 part numbers, and holds approximately £7m in stock.

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THE

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FACTORY

SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES

HOW ADVANCED PRECISION MOTORS EMPOWER THE IOT AND INDUSTRY 4.0 Providing critical motion functionality in advanced portable, remote and robotic devices This is an exciting time for the electronic design industry as embedded electronic functionality spreads into every facet of modern society. The disruptive growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and next-generation smart manufacturing, also known as Industry 4.0, is placing demands on designers to develop motionenabled solutions that are powerful, small, precise and efficient.

Electric motors have been around for over a century (the electric trolley has existed since the late 19th Century), but the first designs were inefficient, large and imprecise. The advent of rare-earth magnets and advanced brushless DC motor (BLDC) motor design has empowered a new range of motors small enough to fit into confined spaces, powerful enough to do real work, and efficient enough to be used in wireless or remote applications.

The pressure to make products that are both highly functional yet costeffective means that an electronic engineer must draw the optimum performance out of every system they design. High performance BLDC motors can provide the levels of performance and economy that today’s demanding applications require. This includes applications ranging from the appliances in a smart home, to self-propelled IoT devices, to industrial shop floors to ‘down hole’ in oil and gas drilling and extraction operations.

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Industrial

Autonomous Vehicles

When it comes to industrial applications, the motors in robotic handling and assembly systems must be extremely reliable, cost effective and space-efficient.

Much of the technology that has enabled this new generation of motors had been previously used in various scientific and mil/ aero applications, but these core technologies have now come down in cost and are being incorporated in a wide range of industrial solutions.

Most people think of aircraft or automobiles when the topic of unmanned or autonomous vehicles comes up, but the field reaches farther than that to the depths of the sea.

Advancements in the remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) industry have created a market for the nimble machines to be used in applications such as search and rescue, maritime security, military, hydro industry, offshore oil rig inspection and scientific research.

One of the ways to streamline a package design is to incorporate the motor itself into the body of the product, instead of attaching it to an external movement point. A frameless BLDC motor design, also known as a rotor/stator part set, allows for the motor to become fully integrated within a given assembly, which results in the greatest torque-to-volume possible.

For applications with restricted space constraints, developers have a choice of integration options and motor configurations. Depending on the application, either a regular cylindrical format or a flatter pancake-style motor can be used when the motion axis is space-restricted.

The inspection-class ROVs that are used in such situations must be small and portable so they can be easily moved to and deployed at the locations where they are needed to ensure the best operator performance and inspection results. Vehicles of this nature usually operate on less than 10 horsepower and use compact thruster motors directly attached to the propeller for positioning and navigation.

The motors used must present a low profile with the ability to operate reliably in water, oil and other liquids. The latest generation of advanced BLDC motors not only meet ROV Inspection Class requirements, but their small size, power and efficiency enable a streamlined design with low acoustic noise.

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SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES

THE PRESSURE TO MAKE PRODUCTS THAT ARE BOTH HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL YET COST-EFFECTIVE MEANS THAT AN ELECTRONIC ENGINEER MUST DRAW THE OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE OUT OF EVERY SYSTEM THEY DESIGN

Customizable motors serve this specialty market segment with compact designs in both housed and frameless mechanical configurations.

While there are still fossil fuel-powered autonomous vehicles in aerial and wheeled applications, more and more manufacturers are migrating to all-electric systems because of smaller sizes and ease of integration. Electrical systems’ advantages over fossil fuel also include a reduced carbon footprint, less acoustic noise and lower emissions.

The lack of emissions and noise is beneficial to many other applications, such as police and military solutions that require a minimal size and acoustic signature.

Another overlooked advantage to electrical vs. fossil fuel systems is the ability of an electrical system to safely operate in almost any human environment, even clean rooms. Such an ability is impossible with a system that emits exhaust of any nature.

Automated forklifts, mobile equipment carts and parts bins, shop-floor scooters and other self-driven gear also operate much more quietly when driven by electric motors, making integration into the workplace easier as well.

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Figure 1 - Frameless B LDC motor designs like Sensata’s model DI P34 allow for the motor to be fully integrated within a given assembly.

Figure 2 - BLDC motors like this housed model from Sensata Technologies are used on Inspection Class ROVs, which operate on less than 10 horespower and rely on compact thruster motors attached to the propeller for positioning.

Figure 3 - High Pressure High Temperature BLDC motors like Sensata’s model DI I-15-60 can handle extreme ambient temperatures and pressures.

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SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES

MAXIMIZING BATTERY LIFE IS A DECISIVE FACTOR IN A VARIETY OF MISSIONCRITICAL SYSTEMS, WHERE THE RELIABILITY AND LONGEVITY OF THE EQUIPMENT INVOLVED CAN AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF THAT MISSION Battery Life A powerful electric motor operating at a relatively high duty cycle places strict demands upon its energy delivery and storage system.

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Additionally, the power infrastructure must be as cost-effective as possible.

An efficient electric motor reduces those demands.

Maximizing battery life is a decisive factor in a variety of mission-critical systems, where the reliability and longevity of the equipment involved can affect the outcome of that mission. In batteryoperated medical devices as well as in remotely piloted military vehicles, the ability to last a few minutes longer in a demanding situation can make a significant difference.

This need isn’t restricted to critical systems. Increasing the life of any battery-operated system is now a key initiative for equipment manufacturers, from phones to cars.

In order to address this demand, the latest frameless, brushless DC Motors are available in multiple configurations, with designs that provide extremely high operational efficiencies in excess of 90%. This enables an extended battery life over legacy designs. For battery-dependent applications, the efficiency of the motor is often the deciding factor, not the battery size, in achieving the longest operating time in a given application before the battery (or supercapacitor or reflow cell) needs to be charged.

Harsh Environments In applications where a housed BLDC motor is used in harsh environments like oil and gas applications, there are additional demands placed on the design.

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SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES

MOTORS FOR THESE APPLICATIONS MUST BE RATED TO PERFORM AT UP TO 205°C AND 30,000 PSI, WITH THE ABILITY TO WITHSTAND SHOCK LOADS IN EXCESS OF 1000G AND WITH A VIBRATION RESISTANCE OF 25G RMS

To properly address these needs, motors for these applications must be rated to perform at up to 205°C and 30,000 PSI, with the ability to withstand shock loads in excess of 1000g and with a vibration resistance of 25g RMS. For example, the brushless DC motor in Figure 3 is designed for the most extreme ambient temperature and pressure environments. This BLDC motor has been validated under some of the most extensive environmental test protocols available to ensure performance at those high ambient temperatures and pressures, while handling high shock and vibrational loads in extreme applications. These motors have a proprietary design that is highly customizable for specific needs, are available in a wide range of torques and speeds, and can be configured for gearboxes or other feedback systems.

Down-hole One aspect of the growth in advanced oil and gas drilling and extraction methods is the need for highly reliable

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and high performing motors that can survive and operate ‘down the hole’. This requires a rugged, brushless DC (BLDC) motor specifically developed to withstand the harshest possible conditions found in drilling operations.

The integrated motors used in drilling equipment for the extraction of oil must continue to operate reliably, regardless of the conditions, because oil and gas extraction is an industry where one hour of downtime can cost upwards of $100,000.

Replacing a motor, or any integrated equipment, in a drilling rig can take hours or even days, depending on the situation.

In this case, a high pressure and temperature brushless DC motor can directly address those severe down-hole applications such as mud pulser valves, caliper deployment and sensor positioning. Motors of this nature have been successfully tested to operate under continuous duty in temperatures up to 205°C and pressures up to 30,000 psi.

A custom design with winding variations is often needed to create a motor that not only meets a wide range of controller voltages and currents, but that can endure the most extreme environmental conditions while still working optimally with a gearbox or other feedback device.

The motor’s robust design can also serve other demanding applications in a diverse range of severe and hostile environments where failure or poor operation is not an option.

The spread of advanced automation technology in manufacturing is rapidly advancing, with facilities both old and new implementing the latest in smart manufacturing and intelligent robotic systems.

The need for precise motion control is driven by many demands now placed on the line, from moving products around on the manufacturing floor to a variety of work stations to the logistics of moving the finished product through a facility. Having the proper motion solution can greatly reduce this pressure for the designer.

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WOMEN IN ENGINEERING

WOMEN IN ENGINEERING: DEBUNKING MYTHS The theme for International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) 2018 is raising the bar. However, perhaps it’s time to use this bar to quash a few misconceptions instead. Here, Emma Cygan, Design and Development engineer at steering system supplier Pailton Engineering, does just this

Emma Cygan, Design and Development engineer, Pailton Engineering

‘Women are only good at soft skills’ Stereotypical gender roles are heavily debated, with some women reaching adulthood with an inbuilt, subconscious idea that they must find a career that uses their communication skills and empathy. The reality is,interaction skills aren’t gender-exclusive and is something both women and men should strive for.

That said, if you are particularly affluent in the soft skills department, don’t suppress this quality. These skills are highly sought after by employers, as they are often required to enable the harder, more technical skills. How can you design a novel steering component, for example, if you can’t communicate effectively with your customer?

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‘Women can’t reach top positions in engineering’

‘Women aren’t supported by their employers’

From my experience, this isn’t the case. Women should be confident that they have the same potential for career progression as their male equivalents. So far in my career, I have progressed from an apprentice, to my current role as a Design and Development engineer. In the future, it will continue to be my skills that determine how quickly I will move up the job ladder, not my gender.

Wrong again. At Pailton Engineering, I am currently being sponsored to study for an engineering bachelor’s degree at Coventry University.

This is a part time course that requires me to attend classes two evenings a week.

I will also be expected to carry out an industry focused dissertation, researching a specific area of engineering.

The Women in Engineering annual Top 50 Women in Engineering under 35 validates this point. Many of the women in this list are in senior and managerial roles, even at a relatively young age.

In the midst of a national skills gap, it’s women like these that have leveraged the opportunity to make a name for themselves.

Statistically, there are more men at the top of the engineering industry, but that’s inevitable, providing there are more men at the bottom. Initiatives like INWED will change this for the better and help more women see a career in engineering as a viable and rewarding option.

If Pailton Engineering wasn’t invested in me, or didn’t see a future with me as a key decision maker in the company, then this investment wouldn’t have been made.

INWED 2018 focuses on raising the bar for women in engineering, but before we can heighten expectations for female engineers, there are still a plenty of myths and misconceptions to quash about working in the industry.

I hope I’ve raised the bar for other women to start an engineering career, even if I did use this bar to obliterate the myths that are currently circulating —someone had to do it!

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TOP ROBOT AWARDS

TOP ROBOT AWARD GOES TO THREE COMPANIES THIS YEAR The 14th International IERA Award for Robotics and Automation has three winners this year: •

•

•

Perception Robotics (US) wins with the “Industrial SelfCleaning Gecko Gripper”, a Gecko-style gripping solution that uses NASA technology for industrial automation; KUKA Deutschland wins with “LBR Med”, a collaborative robot assistant for medicine and research as well as new applications; Lely International (Netherlands) wins with the “Discovery 120 Collector”, a barn floor cleaning robot that cleans solid floors in the dairy industry.

Junji Tsuda, President of the International Federation of Robotics, said: “The close cooperation between research and industry is very important for the robotics industry. Based on modern scientific research, world-class products are being developed – this has been demonstrated by all three winners.”

Dominik Bösl of IEEE-RAS added: “This year a number of excellent applications competed for the IERA Award. Our winners in 2018 offer excellent technological innovations in various industries. Therefore, this year the jury decided to award first place to three winners.”

PERCEPTION ROBOTICS (US): GECKO GRIPPER The technology underlying the gecko gripper is based on the model of the gecko, which can climb on smooth surfaces. The reptile uses physical forces of attraction between foot and surface (van der Waals forces).

Based on the work of NASA (JPL)

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and Stanford University, Perception Robotics has developed a gripping solution for the manufacturing industry using this natural model in collaboration with NASA-JPL. In contact with smooth and rough materials, millions of tiny stalks on the robot arm produce a highly adhesive effect, with which, for example, sheet metal or glass pieces can be moved. The gecko gripper arm was deployed in sheet metal processing in 2017 – Perception Robotics sees an important future market in the manufacture of solar panels.

KUKA (GERMANY): LBR MED, LIGHTWEIGHT ROBOT

tested and certified to international safety and quality standards. LBR Med, for example, has biocompatible and corrosion-resistant surfaces and, with internal connections, meets the hygiene standards in medical practices, clinics or operating theatres.

LELY INTERNATIONAL (THE NETHERLANDS): BARN FLOOR CLEANING ROBOT The Discovery 120 Collector navigates a programmed route through the barn and is controlled on its way by built-in sensors. The robot vacuums up the manure on solid walkways. The machine can spray water at the front and the back for dilution and cleaning.

The in-built vacuum pump sucks the manure inside – once the tank is full, the Discovery drives to the dumping location. Here, the cleaning robot empties the tank and refills the water bags before returning to the charging station. Lely launched the Discovery 2017 in several European countries as well as the USA. In the future, additional countries will be added.

The LBR Med Robot Assistant from Kuka Deutschland supports a variety of tasks in medical research and practice and works in close proximity to humans. In laboratories, clinics or operating theatres, the lightweight robot takes over various tasks depending on the tool and program – for example, during medical interventions, treatments or scientific test procedures.

The LBR Med has seven axes and particularly sensitive sensors that are suitable for human-robot collaboration.

The robot component (picture, from left to right: Dominik Boesl, Awards Chair & can be Vice President IEEE RAS; Martijn Buijs, Lely International; integrated Dr. Nicholas Wettels, Perception Robotics; Michael into medical Otto, KUKA Deutschland; Clemens Duijnisveld., Lely devices International; Frank Steeneveld, Lely International; Junji worldwide Tsuda, IFR President, credit: ©Thomas Plettenberg) and has been

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BAT TERIES NOT INCLUDED

BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED

Why you can’t afford to ignore robot batteries

One of the key reasons for using an industrial robot to automate a process is to improve product quality, through increased reliability and accuracy. But for robots to be truly reliable and safe, engineers should ensure they have the correct power solutions. Here, Michele Windsor, global marketing manager at robot battery specialist Ultralife Corporation, explains the impact poor design and integration of batteries can have on industrial robots.

their power requirements are far more complex. The report goes on to say, “Beyond the currently available commercial technologies such as lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries, there has already been extensive research on developing nextgeneration technologies such as fuel cells and supercapacitors”.

In a survey conducted by the journal Science Robotics, researchers revealed that power and energy sources represent one of the most challenging areas of robotics research. With a multitude of potential applications, this is particularly important for robots operating outside the confines of a cage, untethered from an electrical outlet and working alongside human employees.

If any robot, collaborative, mobile or traditional, were to lose power midapplication, it can have a devastating effect. For industries such as food and beverage or pharmaceuticals, downtime can result in loss of product and profit. For robots in the medical sector, loss of power could result in surgeons having to operate manually, which may not be as accurate, in-turn increasing potential risk. More likely, it would result in the surgery being cancelled.

For instance, autonomous mobile robots and automated guided vehicles, such as Omron’s series of LD self navigating autonomous intelligent vehicles and Kuka’s KMR series of mobile robots have become commonplace sites at trade shows and in industry. Because they can’t constantly connect to a power supply like a traditional industrial robot,

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Losing it all

In addition, power failure can also mean a robot loses calibration and mastering values. Calibration establishes the parameters in the kinematic structure of a robot, such as the position of its joints, tool-centrepoint (TCP) positions and joint lengths.

Knowing its origins A robot’s origin position is a vital part of the set-up process because it instructs the machine on what position it should return to when it rests. The memory for where each axis should be is stored in the robot battery. Without the position, every path trajectory will be off, resulting in inaccurate actions that can damage equipment or even hurt nearby workers.

If the battery fails mid-process, the operator must re-programme the robot’s origin position before restarting the application. Retraining can take a considerable amount of time to ensure all axes are aligned correctly, resulting in further production downtime.

To avoid the need for re-programming and retraining, operators should ensure that the robot returns to its origin position when it powers down. This means that should the battery fail during start up, the robot is already in its origin position.

Addressing power needs As robots become increasingly more intuitive, their power demands also become significantly greater.

To complete more complex tasks robots may be fitted with an array of

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BAT TERIES NOT INCLUDED

sensors to detect variations in light, sound, temperature, and distance.

Each of these sensors places a greater demand on power, meaning a more effective solution may be required.

When considering potential battery options for your robot, there are several options available, however Li-Ion (lithium-ion battery), LiPoly (lithium polymer) and NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) are normally considered to be the most suitable for robots with high power requirements.

Ultralife Corporation has designed a range of primary, non-rechargeable lithium thionyl chloride and lithium manganese dioxide cells and batteries to provide further long-term power solutions. As with all batteries, regular testing is vital to ensure they do not die unexpectedly.

While industrial robots continue to improve productivity, competitiveness and overall process automation, if they are not supplied with adequate power manufacturers could face additional problems. When a design engineer or systems integrator begins work on a new robot project, he or she should consider power supply at the outset, to ensure that the project bears fruit in the way the end user would want.

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ROBOPRO BUSINESS

BUSINESS ONROBOT ACQUIRES PURPLE ROBOTICS company and to disrupt the market for vacuum grippers with our invention. It makes a lot of sense and creates significant synergy to join forces with OnRobot, which has already created a strong, global sales organization. This means that we can focus 100 percent on developing the world’s coolest robotics products. Together, we can go far.”

The Purple Robotics dual vacuum gripper can provides a robot arm with two ‘hands.’ It therefore has the ability to handle several items simultaneously and solving multiple tasks in one movement.

Additionally, it has an electric pump integrated in the gripper itself, meaning users do not need to worry about hoses, compressed air, and cables as with conventional vacuum gripper solutions.

OnRobot (Odense, Denmark) has acquired Purple Robotics.

Purple Robotics has developed an innovative vacuum gripper, the world’s first specifically for cobots.

OnRots said that with the acquisition of Purple Robotics, it can now offer its partners the world’s first dual vacuum gripper.

The gripper was launched at Automatica last June.

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Purple Robotics was established

by Lasse Kieffer (CEO), Henrik Tillitz Hansen and Peter Nadolny Madsen and all three were product developers at Universal Robots and will now join OnRobot.

OnRobot is now integrating Purple Robotics into its own existing R&D department at its headquarters in Odense.

Kieffer said: “It has been really good fun to create a brand new robotics

Enrico Krog Iversen, CEO, OnRobot (pictured, right), said: “It must be easily conceivable to automate even small production batches.

Otherwise, robot technology is not a good investment. This is why we hand pick the best and most user-friendly robot products and integrate them in OnRobot. We are extremely pleased to now be able to offer our robot partners and integrators the vacuum gripper, just as we look forward to being able to add the top-class Purple Robotics robot developers to our development department.

“We are now one step closer to our vision of offering ‘one-stop-shopping’ for buyers of robot accessories.

Purple Robotics will definitely not be our last acquisition. We have our eye on a number of other interesting companies around the world.”

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ROBOPRO BUSINESS

ROBOTUNION CLOSES ITS FIRST CALL RobotUnion, a pan-European robotics acceleration programme, has closed its first call with 204 submissions from 32 countries.

Highlights: •

•

•

20 applicants will receive acceleration services and will be financed with up to €223,000 in equity free cash; The robotic solutions participating in RobotUnion will take part in the digitalisation of the European Industry, as part of the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme and the Digital Single Market of the European Commission; The area of manufacturing has attracted most of the applications, followed by open disruptive innovation, healthcare, agri-food and civil engineering.

RobotUnion is the first remote European acceleration programme entirely focused on robotics startups and SMEs, It counts on funding from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework. The first call of this programme closed this month with 204 application submissions from 32 countries.

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The highest concentration of participants was in Spain (18%), followed by Denmark (11%), Germany (9%), The Netherlands (7%), UK (7%), Poland (7%) and Italy (5%).

The EC started to focus their policy-making on the digitalisation of the European Industry, driven by different technological innovations in areas such as IoT, robotics, cloud computing and big data. The revenue of digitalisation services in Europe is estimated to reach €110bn in Europe annually.

The project aims to respond to societal and industrial needs in the landscape of technological solutions for five verticals: agri-food, healthcare, manufacturing, civil engineering, and open disruptive innovation. The last category is for applicant innovations that go beyond the proposed fields.

At the forefront of the applications are automated drones and other UAVs, as well as agribots for crop protection and automation for smart farming and agriculture. Social robots and exoskeleton solutions trend in the healthcare vertical.

Some of the proposed solutions for manufacturing are robotic arms, grips and accessories, as well as transport and delivery of items.

Submission examples for civil engineering are assistants for the construction of buildings or city monitoring through automation for aerial vehicles. Software solutions for the programming and repairing of robots and robots for exploration can be found as open disruptive innovations.

The technologies used by these startups and SMEs focus primarily on systems development as well as on artificial intelligence, mechatronics and human-robot interactions.

The next steps of RobotUnion The 20 winners that will participate in the feasibility study and initiate the first acceleration programme of RobotUnion will be announced after a face-to-face and pitching process, which will take place on 13 September at Tecnalia Headquarters in San Sebastian (Spain).

This Jury Day will consist of a live technical and non-technical capabilities validation process for the highest ranking candidates.The winners may get up to €223,000 equity free and the 4 best startups will receive support from RobotUnion’s investment partners: CHRYSALIX, ODENSE SEED AND VENTURE and BLUMORPHO to raise around €1M of private financing. FundingBox will be supporting the public funding.

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ROBOPRO BUSINESS

WORLDWIDE SPENDING ON ROBOTS TO ACCELERATE OVER NEXT FIVE YEARS Collaborative robots are highlighted in a new report which estimates that the worldwide spending on robotics and drones will accelerate over the next five years, reaching $201.3bn in 2022.

The forecast comes from the new International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Robotics and Drones Spending Guide.

The market will achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.6% over the 20172022 forecast period. Robotics and drone spending is expected to be $95.9bn in 2018.

Dr Jing Bing Zhang, research director at IDC Worldwide Robotics, said: “Collaborative robots are taking off in industrial applications, driven by customer demands for product quality, delivery, and mass customisation.

While being safe is the prerequisite for any collaborative robot, the market is already shaping the development of collaborative robots towards simplicity, smartness, and ease of redeployment.�

will be the leading industries for robotics spending at more than $54bn combined in 2018.

The resource and healthcare industries will also make significant investments in robotics solutions this year. The retail and wholesale industries will see the fastest robotics spending growth over the forecast with CAGRs of 32.7% and 30.7%, respectively.

Drone spending Worldwide drone spending will be $9.3bn in 2018 and is expected to grow at a faster rate than the overall market with a five-year CAGR of 32.1%.

Enterprise drone solutions will deliver more than half of all drone spending throughout the forecast period with the balance coming from consumer drone solutions.

Enterprise drones will increase its share of overall spending with a five-year CAGR of 37.1%. The utilities and construction industries will see the largest drone spending in 2018 ($925 million and $808 million, respectively), followed by the process and discrete manufacturing industries.

Key growth in drone spending will come from various industries including education (72.8% CAGR) and federal/central government (70.1% CAGR).

Spending on robotics solutions is expected to total $86.6bn in 2018 and will account for more than 85% of all spending throughout the five-year forecast.

Industrial robotic solutions will account for the largest share of robotics spending (more than 57%), followed by service robots and consumer robots. Discrete and process manufacturing

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Stacey Soohoo, research manager, IDC’s Customer Insights & Analysis, said: “Organizations continue to explore a range of applications and use cases for drones, moving beyond aerial photography to drone-based deliveries, precision agriculture monitoring, and even time-sensitive medical deliveries. With these expanded use cases come concerns across many governing parties. Most regions, however, are starting to provide regulatory clarity, as they understand the growing need for drone control and an air traffic management system for both enterprise and consumer deployments. In addition, as safety continues to be a major concern for consumers and regulators, vendors and IT suppliers are working to alleviate concerns by building drones with multiple redundancies, improving their sensory and collision avoidance technology, and testing 5G-enabled drones to enable greater connectivity while lowering latency. The sky’s the limit.

The use cases that will capture the largest share of robotics and drones spending are driven by their respective industries.

As the primary use case in the Discrete Manufacturing industry for robotics, welding is forecast to receive over 15% of all robotics spending worldwide throughout the forecast. Other robotics use cases that will drive spending include assembly, painting, mixing, automated production in mining, and pick and pack. The use cases that will see the fastest growth in robotics spending over the forecast period include break bulk (53.4% CAGR), shelf stocking (45.6% CAGR), and customer service (42.0% CAGR).

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For drones, the use cases that will see the fastest growth over the forecast period include dispensing pesticides and fertilizer (109.4% CAGR), emergency service (86.4% CAGR) and precision agriculture / crop scouting (86.1% CAGR).

More than half of all robotics spending this year ($58.1bn) and throughout the forecast will go to robotics systems, aftermarket robotics hardware, and systems hardware. Servicesrelated spending, which encompasses application management, education & training, hardware deployment and support, systems integration, and others will total more than $16.7bn in 2018 while spending on command and control, specific robotics applications, and network infrastructure software will reach $11.8bn. Purchases of drones and after-market drone hardware will be nearly $7.9bn in 2018 while spending on command and control, specific drone applications, and network infrastructure software will reach $611m.

On a geographic basis, China will be the largest geographic market for robotics, delivering more than 30% of all robotics spending throughout the forecast, followed by the rest of Asia/Pacific (excluding China and Japan), the United States, and Japan. The United States will be the largest geographic market for drone spending at $4.3 billion in 2018, followed by Western Europe and China. However, exceptionally strong spending growth in China (63.2% CAGR) will move this market ahead of the United States by 2022.

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ROBOPRO BUSINESS

WORLDWIDE SALES OF INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS UP 31% The worldwide sales of industrial robots grew in 2017 by 31%.

The provisional figures have been released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and presented at its IFR CEO Roundtable.

Sales reached the new record of 387,000 units in 2017 which compares with 294,300 units in 2016. China saw the largest growth in demand for industrial robots, up 58%. Sales in the US increased by 6% and Germany by 8%.

By industry, the automotive industry continues to lead global demand for industrial robots: in 2017, around 125,500 units were sold in this segment, equivalent to growth of 21%. The strongest growth sectors in 2017 were the metal industry (+55%), the electrical/electronics industry (+33%) and the food industry (+19%).

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In terms of sales volume, Asia has the strongest individual markets. China installed around 138,000 industrial robots in 2017, followed by Japan with around 46,000 units and South Korea with around 40,000 units. In the Americas, the US is the largest single market with around 33,000 industrial robots sold, and in Europe it is Germany with around 22,000 units sold.

Junji Tsuda, President of the International Federation of Robotics, said: “The growth of industrial robots continues at an impressive pace worldwide. Key trends such as digitalisation, simplification and human-robot collaboration will certainly shape the future and drive forward rapid development.”

A statement from IFR which accompanied the figures said: “In the course of digitalisation, real production is becoming increasingly connected with the virtual data world, opening up completely new

possibilities for analysis – right through to machine learning.

Robots will acquire new skills through learning processes.

“At the same time, the industry is working to simplify the handling of robots. In the future industrial robots should be easier and faster to program using intuitive procedures.

Such a technology is not only attractive to established users, but also to small and medium-sized companies, for example, companies who can use it to introduce automation without the need for highly experienced or expert personnel.

“This development also paves the way for the third major robotics trend: collaboration between humans and robots without protective barriers offers new approaches to new flexible production processes. In the future human-robot collaboration will support the flexible production of small quantities with high complexity.”

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ROBO SPOTLIGHT

ROBOPRO SPOTLIGHT We bring a selection of featured companies into the spotlight for you

Keba Tel: +43 732 7090- 23399 Email: gsb@keba.com Web: www.keba.com Adress: KEBA AG Headquarters, Gewerbepark Urfahr, 4041 Linz/Austria

Founded in 1968, KEBA AG is an internationally successful electronics company based in Linz/Austria with subsidiaries around the world. In line with its credo, “Automation by innovation”, KEBA has been developing and producing inventive, top-quality automation solutions for industrial, banking, services and energy automation branches. Indeed, as a result of competence, experience and courage, KEBA is the technology and innovation leader in its market segments.

Extensive development and production expertise represents a guarantee for the highest quality.

Robotics of the next generation: The KEBA portfolio in the area of robotics ranges from turnkey robotics (KeMotion) and safety solutions (KeSafe) to innovative mobile operating solutions (KeTop) and an open control platform (KeMotion FlexCore), depending on the requirements of the customer. KeDrive for Motion is the fast, scalable and compact all-in-one-system. The basis for KEBA robotics solutions is more than 50 years of experience on the market and profound application know-how. 100 % of development and production takes place in house at KEBA. If you would like to know more about how KEBA can help you with smart, innovative and flexible robotics solutions, please contact us.

Schunk Tel: 919-572-2705 Email: info@us.schunk.com Web: www.schunk.com Adresss: 211 Kitty Hawk Drive Morrisville, NC 27560

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SCHUNK GmbH & Co. KG of Lauffen/Neckar is a German family-owned company and global player in one. The company was founded in 1945 by Friedrich Schunk as a mechanical workshop and has developed under the leadership of Heinz-Dieter Schunk to a competence and world market leader for gripping systems and clamping technology. Today, the company is run by the third generation siblings Henrik A. Schunk and Kristina I. Schunk. About 3,000 employees in 9 plants and 33 directly owned subsidiaries and distribution partners in more than 50 countries throughout the world ensure an intensive market presence. With 11,000 standard components SCHUNK offers the world’s largest assortment of gripping systems and clamping technology from one source, and with 2,550 SCHUNK grippers the largest product range of standard grippers. The complete program of gripping systems comprises more than 4,000 components. The main customers are all manufacturing companies with assembly, handling and metal-cutting processes. The customer base includes the Who's Who of mechanical engineering, robotics, automation and assembly handling, and all the renowned automotive brands and their suppliers. Since 2012, goalkeeper legend Jens Lehmann has acted as brand ambassador for safe, precise gripping and holding in the SCHUNK team.

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