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KEYENCE 3D MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS: FLYING J MACHINE FLYING FORWARD

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CV-X200 : stabilité, PRINTING CARS: précision et vitesse AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING MASS PRODUCTION (PART 1) uniques

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MARKET OVERVIEW Mark Kirby, additive manufacturing business manager for Renishaw (Canada) Ltd.:“It’s clear that we're starting to see a large number of niche applications for additive manufacturing in the automotive sector.”

PRINTING CARS

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND MASS PRODUCTION (PART 1) Automakers around the world turn to additive manufacturing to reduce costs, cut development time, and increase flexibility.

Author: Kip Hanson

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on’t expect to 3D print the frame for a BMW X5 anytime soon. The engine block for an Audi TTS? Not a chance. No one in either the automotive or additive manufacturing industries would suggest that 3D printing, despite its amazing capabilities, can compete against the well-known manufacturing processes used to produce the nearly 100 million passenger and commercial vehicles sold each year1.

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Feeling Bleu At least, not yet. Mark Kirby, additive manufacturing business manager for Renishaw (Canada) Ltd., points to a number of automotive projects that he and other 3D printer companies are currently working on, activities that will undoubtedly lead to increased use of the technology in future, higher volume applications.

These include the Bleu car hinge, a “light-weighted, topologically-optimized, gullwing door bracket” that Renishaw produced in collaboration with 3D design software provider Dassault Systèmes2. Volkswagen is exploring potential weight reduction with 3D-printed window frame supports and water connectors3, and Ford is “proving the technical feasibility for high-volume 3D printing.”4 “It’s clear that we're starting to see a large number of niche applications for additive manufacturing in the automotive sector,” says Kirby. “Aside from its obvious lightweighting potential, there are a number of opportunities for producing novel, high-performance product designs—by reducing part counts in turbocharger assemblies, for example, or improving the thermal characteristics of various engine components. Additive is definitely an enabler in this area.”

Kirby lives in the world of metal powder bed fusion. Whether you call it direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser melting (SLM), laser metal fusion (LMF), or any of the other provider-specific acronyms, it uses a laser to melt metal powder roughly the consistency of flour one paper-thin

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layer at a time. As each pass is completed, a fresh layer of metal powder is spread across the previous layer and the process begins again until the workpiece is complete.

$1B US in 3D printing machine builders Concept Laser and Arcam, and is working hard to not only make 3D printing more productive, but less expensive as well5.

Compared to machining, forming, casting, and other traditional metalworking processes, metal printing is a seemingly glacial way to produce something. Worse, the high amount of heat necessary to melt the metal powder, followed by rapid cooling, can generate extreme tension within the workpiece. Support structures are often needed to hold the part in place during the build process (which must be machined away afterwards) and heat treating is typically required to relieve stress. Both of these add cost and increase lead times.

“Right now, everyone thinks of 3D printing in terms of high value and low quantity,” Mook says. “But even at our current production levels, we’re edging into automotive volumes, and as the technology continues to mature and printing becomes faster—which it already is—it will find its way into a number of higher volume applications. In the automotive space, for instance, there are terrific opportunities for complex mechanical components, drive train and engine parts, fuel cells, and more. We are very interested in pursuing these and other markets that can benefit from the radical new designs made possible with 3D printing.”

A Printing Epiphany Yet designers are learning ways to avoid these problems.

Joshua Mook, engineering leader at GE Additive, points to the much-touted fuel nozzle used in the company’s LEAP jet engine as one instance where support structures were either eliminated or integrated into the finished part, greatly reducing post-production processing.

“We changed our design philosophy in a way that is amenable to the powder bed process,” he says. “Supports can be removed robotically or by hand, or sometimes they don't need to be removed at all. These and similar techniques are making powder bed technology far more productive than it once was, and I would say the number one thing for me is teaching my fellow engineers to design with the printing process in mind, and to maximize the efficiencies it offers.”

What do parts that go into the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 777X passenger aircraft have to do with automobiles? Plenty.

GE Additive is currently printing 60,000 fuel nozzles per year, and has its sights set on far more. It’s invested more than

One way to move this along is by reducing material costs.

Market pressures and increased use will help in this regard, but GE Additive is one of the many manufacturers either developing their own metal powders or working with suppliers such as Carpenter, Sandvik, and TLS in an effort to make gas atomized alloys more affordable. These include tool steel and aluminum, Inconel and stainless steel, and are just a few of the dozens of metal alloys that can be 3D printed into fully dense shapes, producing robust component parts as well as the tooling such as molds and fixtures needed to manufacture these parts via traditional means.

Keeping Cool One notable example of this is the development of vertical machining centers with additive manufacturing capabilities.

These hybrid machine tools can lay down and fuse a dozen or so layers of metal powder and then mill the resulting features to tolerances much tighter than the fractions of a millimeter currently possible with 3D printing. This allows engineers to create complex tooling previously impractical

Tom Houle, director of Matsuura Machinery’s LUMEX line of hybrid machines, says automotive OEMs and their suppliers alike are pushing hard on additive technology

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X5Hero The Markforged X5: Now you can print parts faster and cheaper than machining. For loadbearing applications that require real strength, these parts make the grade.

or downright impossible to produce, and is especially relevant for plastic injection molding. By printing conformal cooling channels directly within the molds and inserts used to produce millions of plastic parts annually, significant reductions in cycle time can be realized.

designing 3D printed parts is looking for ways to leverage its capabilities. This usually means using organic, skeletal shapes that do a better job of strengthening part geometry where it’s needed, and produce lighter, more robust, and more cost-effective parts overall.”

Tom Houle, director of Matsuura Machinery’s LUMEX line of hybrid machines, says automotive OEMs and their suppliers alike are pushing hard on additive technology for this very reason. “The smart companies see the writing on the wall,” he says. “By using conformal cooling channels, molding times are easily 30-percent shorter, and are oftentimes cut in half. Additive manufacturing also allows us to create porous surfaces within the mold, so you can simplify venting in deep ribs and similarly complex features that are often problematic with conventional machining—things like door components, dashboard grills, that sort of thing. It makes a huge difference.”

Truing Up Another way to reduce costs is by increasing printer speed.

Renishaw, Concept Laser, and various other machine builders are doing this by adding more lasers to their wares, and using them to build multiple parts at one time, or make a team-effort approach and build a single part more quickly.

The trick is to do so in the most efficient manner possible.

Metalworking machine builder TRUMPF Inc. is one of the additive companies producing machines with faster printing speeds. TRUMPF’s automotive industry manager for additive manufacturing Frank Nachtigall says that adding two or three lasers to a 3D printer does not double or triple the price of the machine, but it does offer the potential of significantly faster build speeds.

Because the mold and mold insert layers are alternately printed and machined, there’s no need for post-build stress relief as is common with most additively manufactured metal parts; in many cases, users can remove the tool from the 3D printer’s build chamber and bring it directly to production. However, because the Lumex and other metal powder bed fusion machines employ a metal build plate as a platform on which to print parts, and because these parts are basically “stuck” to the plate when the job is done, it’s possible that some small part movement can occur when the two are separated.

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Predicting and avoiding such build events is something that virtually everyone in the 3D printing industry is working on, Matsuura included. This is why companies such as AutoDesk and 3DSystems have developed simulation software that offers a predictive view of what happens when laser beam meets metal, and continuously improving the outcome.

“A number of companies are fully invested in developing additive simulation solutions,” Houle says, “In our case, we’re interested in designing the most efficient conformal cooling lines possible based on the model geometry. But anyone 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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“Aside from supporting the known industries such as aerospace, medical, and tool and die that currently use powder bed manufacturing, we are also participating in a number of research and development projects within the automotive market,” he says. “These will require continuing collaboration between the machine builders, the OEMs and their Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers. However, there’s definitely a good deal of interest in the mass production of automotive parts, especially in the luxury car segment and for certain sports cars.”

In the meantime, TRUMPF is one of the many additive machine builders focusing a big chunk of their efforts on motorsports such as Formula 1 racing, which as Nachtigall points out, has benefited from the use of additive manufacturing for the past 15 years, and can easily justify the high cost of 3D printed vehicle components with their lower weight and improved performance.

“We’re also seeing a shift within the luxury segment for certain sports cars applications; however, these are not

LUMEX Avance-25 FD0

Markforged Laser With a built-in laser micrometer, Industrial Series machines automatically scan the print bed with 1um accuracy to generate a contour map of its surface. By calibrating its measurements with extrusion readings to perfectly set nozzle height and active topography adjustment, the X5 ensures your prints come out exactly how you want them.

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produced in very large numbers,” he says. “That might mean anywhere between 5,000 to maybe 30,000 parts per year for the power train, cooling and ventilation systems—anywhere you can gain efficiency by combining several pieces. The bottom line is that there are very many interesting parts with the potential to be additively manufactured.”

The problem remains the cost, a factor that everyone in the industry knows automakers are sensitive to; even if thousands of machines were purchased and production scaled up to the point that part runs in the millions became possible, the sad reality is that current powder bed fusion technology would remain too expensive for the mass production of everyday vehicles.

Farming the Future Fused deposition modeling (FDM) has been around for nearly three decades. It prints parts by squirting molten plastic from a filament-fed nozzle onto a build platform.

Because different materials can be combined in a single build, it is a favorite for prototyping multipart assemblies, but it is nowhere near fast enough nor does it produce parts robust enough for automotive mass production.

Still, the concept is sound. By replacing the filament with a metal-infused thermoplastic and then sintering the finished product in a high temperature oven, the plastic binder melts away in a manner much like metal injection molding (MIM).

This produces fully dense metal parts in large, cost-effective quantities, and does so much more quickly than other metal-based printing methods. It requires a new acronym, however: ADAM, short for atomic diffusion additive manufacturing “Even though the technology is still an emerging technology, we're comfortable talking about production runs in excess of 100,000 pieces.” That’s according to Jon Reilly, product manager for Markforged, who envisions massive farms of such print devices. “In the early days of computing, you’d have a mainframe server that needed an entire room to house it and a skilled technician to keep it running,” he says.

“ADAM is more like Amazon Web Services, which is a farm of blade servers whose processing power anyone can access at the click of a button. By organizing dozens or even hundreds of relatively inexpensive machines in parallel, we believe it will offer print speeds and production costs low enough for the automotive and consumer products industries.”

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By switching print materials, this same technology can be used to produce carbon fiber reinforced plastic components as well, offering additional appeal to automakers aiming to reduce product weight while preserving integrity. And since the metal powder and sintering process Markforged employs is virtually identical to that used by metal injection molders for the past fifty years, there should be little problem with acceptance within the engineering and quality communities.

Like many 3D printing methods, Markforged promises to dramatically shorten multi-year automotive development cycles, a paradigm that, as Reilly points out, has lasted more than a century. “Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and shipped the first Model T in 1908. It took them five years.

Tesla was founded in 2003 and shipped the Roadster in 2008; one hundred years later and it still took them five years 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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to ship their first car. Additive manufacturing is beginning to change all that, and will one day shorten development cycles from years to months. That's our goal” A Top Down Approach Printing powertrain and engine components is well and good, but what about all the connectors and gaskets and knobs and ductwork? We discussed the potential for 3D printing of plastic injection molds earlier, but what if an automaker could just skip the molding process entirely?

Not only would investment costs be substantially reduced, but so too would the length of the development cycle. So the question is this: if the 3D printing industry can produce bespoke tennis shoes, why not custom dashboard parts?

Someone addressing this is Phil DeSimone, vice-president of business development at Carbon. “Automotive is definitely becoming more and more of a niche market, and it’s an area we do very well in,” he says.

To those familiar with the grandfather of commercial 3D printing, stereolithography (SL), Carbon might at first glance seem similar, in that a pool of photo-curable resin and a light source are used to build parts. The similarities end there however. There’s no bottom-up layer building with Carbon, nor lasers tracing part outlines and patiently filling in the spaces between. It relies on Carbon’s proprietary Digital Light Synthesis™ technology powered by the CLIP (continuous liquid interface production) process, which as its name implies builds parts continuously, from the top down, and is able to “digitally program” the material’s properties.

And according DeSimone, it’s also up to 100 times faster than competing thermoplastic printing technologies, and far more accurate.

He adds that Carbon is working with BMW on customized external components, electrical connectors with Delphi, and a wide variety of plastic components such as automotive brackets, sensor housings, and grommets. The biggest challenge in each of these cases has been material validation.

“To get a new material approved for a vehicle, you're looking at about 12 months for the first one, after which it becomes much easier,” he says. “In the case of BMW, the parts have gone through multiple Bavarian winters and summers and we've proven that 3D printed resins are every bit as strong and weather resistant as traditional polycarbonate and ABS components.”

Next Steps As an increasing number of 3D printed parts have gone into this “end-use” mode, additive manufacturing machine builders have begun placing great emphasis on understanding, visualizing, and documenting the entire process. Each of the providers mentioned here are actively monitoring each layer of each build—in Carbon’s case, every part is tagged with a code that identifies what machine, build platform, window, and resin was used to build it, and can be traced back to the frame by frame manufacturing data.

The same can be said for the metal parts building processes, where the melt pool, laser power, optics performance, powder bed temperature and humidity, and related manufacturing factors are continuously recorded and analyzed. This provides complete traceability in the

NEWS KEY DEVELOPMENT AXIS: HYBRID MANUFACTURING AND AUTOMATION

GF Machining Solutions brings automation to Additive Manufacturing processes

Based on proven and successful EOS technology, the new AgieCharmilles AM S 290 Tooling solution is intended to address the mold and die industry’s need to produce innovative mold inserts with Additive Manufacturing.

GF Machining Solutions focuses on the mold and die sector, where Additive Manufacturing makes it possible to produce metal mold inserts in high quantities. These inserts feature thermal exchange close to the surface to ensure and control temperature homogeneity for shorter throughput time and a higher part quality.

The company designed a fully automated solution, enabling the hybrid production of parts.

Parts are transferred from traditional machines to 3D printing machines. The solution includes the necessary software and automation link with downstream machine tools and measuring devices.

Hybrid manufacturing allow costs optimization, as AM technology is only utilized when it brings an added value.

event of a product failure, and also promotes continuous improvement in this rapidly evolving industry.

To this end, machine tool builders and manufacturers are beginning to fully leverage Industry 4.0 and the IIoT (industrial internet of things), and 3D printing equipment suppliers are no exception. In many cases, machine metrics and build data are continuously fed to cloud-based servers for predictive maintenance purposes, and regular software updates pushed downstream to the end user.

As GE Additive’s Mook points out, it’s all about making intelligent decisions. “With 3D printing, you have to close the loop between the machine, the build parameters, the materials, and the part. Not only will this help users better manage their shop, but it will also increase throughput and improve quality. And if I can guarantee the quality of any given component at the completion of the build, that’s in turn a huge step for reducing costs, no matter what you’re making.”

2. h ttp://www.renishaw.com/en/enhancing-the-additivemanufacturing-process-chain--42104 3. h ttp://www.3ders.org/articles/20171103-90-3d-printersat-its-26-factories-volkswagen-counts-on-metal-3dprinting-for-exclusive-car-series.html 4. h ttps://www.forbes.com/sites/jimresnick/2017/03/08/ for-the-automakers-large-scale-3d-printing-is-the-nextpowerful-toolbox/#693407cf7ee0 5. h ttps://www.ge.com/reports/epiphany-disruptionge-additive-chief-explains-3d-printing-will-upendmanufacturing/

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“If you think about the motivation behind GE getting into the additive market, there were really two key things,” he says.

“One, because we were early users of the technology and it disrupted some of our existing product manufacturing, we recognized its potential to disrupt all industries, not just aviation. And then, combined with what we perceived as a state of immaturity in the market, we ran the numbers and saw a 76 billion-dollar opportunity. So we're going to build a business around it. We’re bringing our expertise and knowledge to the table, and as we expand beyond aerospace into automotive and other industries, we think 3D printing will ultimately make good sense for everyone.”

Notes links 1. h ttps://www.statista.com/statistics/262747/worldwideautomobile-production-since-2000/

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3D MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS: FLYING J MACHINE FLYING FORWARD

San Diego manufacturing company simplifies its inspection processes with equipment from Keyence.

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ike most of us, Jay Hegemann deletes a lot of emails every day. Everything from miracle cures for baldness to special offers from credit card vendors go right into the trash. However, something about the email from Keyence’s sales engineer earlier this spring caught Hegemann’s eye and he decided to take another look. It’s a good thing, because the product advertised in that message has been a game changer for this small manufacturing firm.

“You usually read one sentence and hit the delete button, but then I saw a little picture of the Keyence XM and it got my attention,” he says. “It was interesting enough for me to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll actually take time out of my day to look at this thing,’ so I gave our system specialist a call. I’m glad I did.”

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The Take Off Hegemann is the President of Flying J Machine, an Escondido, CA machine shop and specialty manufacturing company. He’s been in business since 2000, has nine employees, nearly 8,000 square feet of floor space, and a variety of modern equipment. This includes several Haas CNC machining centers and lathes, a Mitsubishi wire EDM, laser cutting equipment, and a small hole EDM machine.

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Much of his work is oceanographic in nature—instruments that measure water properties, mostly—but Flying J also has customers in the semiconductor, communications, and defense industries.

Hegemann is self-taught. While working in his father’s small product development company during his early twenties, Hegemann convinced him to buy a CNC knee mill. Over the next six months, he read the manual and began making prototypes for his Dad. When a local business asked him to machine some parts, Hegemann jumped at the prospect.

Since then he’s gone off on his own, continuing to add capabilities to his growing company, even though he’s often had to stay up all night learning a new skill or mastering a machine tool.

The Climb Like most machine shops, Flying J has a CMM, and as Hegemann explains, there’s usually one guy that knows how to run it. “It uses PC-DMIS, which requires a fair amount of training to learn. So you send someone out to class, thinking they’ll train everyone else when they get back, but then that person quits, or he does train other people but they use it so

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seldom that they forget. Unless you have a large shop where it’s being used all the time, I think most CMMs end up like mine—expensive dust collectors.”

holes, flatness, whatever. I can’t really say how much time it saves, because it’s more a case of something that is actually being used compared to something that’s not being used.”

Hegemann says he wanted a piece of measuring equipment that anyone could walk up and use, without the need for complicated programming and extensive training. So when Keyence’s local XM specialist brought the system in for a demonstration, Hegemann knew a good thing when he saw it. “The writing was on the wall,” he says. “The XM is fast, accurate and easy to use. I ordered one that day.”

To those who might be skeptical of the handheld probe (as was Hegemann, initially), he says the XM is incredibly accurate. “I wasn’t sure at first, so I grabbed a 1.4375-inch ring gauge, which is ground to within 50 millionths (0.000050 in.), and started checking. Every time I measured it, the Keyence XM was within a tenth (0.0001 in.) of what it was supposed to be. You don’t have to be super careful, you just hold the probe to the surface, apply a little pressure, hit the button and move on to the next point. It’s the real deal.”

The Keyence XM Series CMM is small enough to fit on a bench, but thanks to its movable stage and handheld probe, it can even measure large and complex parts. It has a simple user interface with an extensive, but easy to understand list of measurement options. Tools such as lines, points, circles, and planes are displayed on the screen, walking the user through the measuring process while providing GD&T functionality, virtual figures, statistics and trend analyses, deviation display, and other advanced features.

www.keyence.com/FLYINGJ

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The Cruise Hegemann says the XM is simple enough to use that they skipped the offered training and got right to work— everyone in the shop has since been able to check their own parts with just a few minutes of instruction. “It’s so much better than our CMM,” he says. “You just walk up, click on the appropriate icon, and you measure a bore, distance between 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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COVAL BRINGS VACUUM INTO INDUSTRY OF THE FUTURE

LEMCOM, first communicating vacuum pump on field bus.

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he factory of the future is no longer just a project.

Within the workplace, tools and workstations communicate on a continual basis. Machines, systems and products exchange information, between themselves as well as externally.

Future Industry LEMCOM is the most successful demonstration of a vacuum pump’s mechatronic design. It is designed to meet integrator as well as user expectations, in terms of flexibility, safety, productivity and energy savings.

The aim is to give more flexibility, intelligence and energy savings to production tools, in order to meet industry’s needs.

LEMCOM installs very effective communication at distance between the operator and the vacuum pump. This communication makes it possible to receive information in real time, but above all to act at any moment to change settings, to ensure corrective and preventive maintenance of the vacuum pump.

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COVAL accompanies its customers during this transformation thanks to its mechatronics expertise applied to vacuum handling. Commercializing the LEMCOM, communicating vacuum pump on field bus, proves this. It’s a world first!

Energy-saving technology The LEMCOM affirms its continuity with the other COVAL intelligent vacuum pumps. It integrates the COVAL energy savings technologies, ASR (Air Saving Regulator) and ASC (Air Saving Control), making it possible to attain up to 90% energy savings.

The new communication functions, with its near and distant environment, enable the LEMCOM to go even further in terms of performance, simplicity and energy savings.

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• The master module is a fully-integrated pump: no gateways or other interfaces are necessary.

• 2 integrated communication ports: perfect continuity on field bus.

• Innovative cabling structure provides great configuration flexibility: stand-alone, island or customized. The aim is to be able to position the mini vacuum pumps as close as possible to the suction cups to reduce evacuation time and thus reduce cycle time and energy consumption.

• Simplified PLC configuration: EDS file, Add-On Instructions.

• In addition, 2 cables are enough to supply and manage 1 to 16 LEMCOM modules.

A technology validated by industrial leaders As with the range of new COVAL products, the LEMCOM series was co-developped with partner customers, be they OEMs, integrators or users.

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COVAL’s aim is twofold: propose products that best meet the expectations of different industries and to ensure, at the time of marketing, a perfectly operational and reliable solution.

Applications Gripping airtight materials in the automobile, aeronautical and plastics sectors. www.coval.com 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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ROBUST 3D CAMERA WITH IP65/67 FOR HARSH AMBIENT CONDITIONS

New models of the Ensenso X 3D camera with IP65/67 for harsh ambient conditions .

Images (Š IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH)

With the X30 FA and X36 FA, the industrial camera manufacturer IDS is launching two more models from its 3D camera system Ensenso X. Both new models are specifically designed for use in harsh ambient conditions.

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ll components fulfill the requirements of the IP65/67 protection class and are therefore effectively protected against dirt, dust, water splashes, or cleaning agents. The 3D camera system combines a powerful projection module with a Gigabit Ethernet switch and two GigE uEye FA cameras with a 1.3 megapixel CMOS sensor that can be mounted at different distances. In addition to the baseline, the vergence angle and focal distance can also be freely selected, thus allowing the solution to be individually tailored to any 3D-vision requirement.

The Ensenso X36 FA model also features the innovative FlexView2 projector, which ensures even better spatial resolution, as well as a system that is extremely robust when it comes to dark, shiny, or reflective surfaces.

As with other models, the supplied Software Development Kit allows the two 3D camera systems from the Ensenso X series to be easily configured and operated in the familiar way. New features include a setup wizard for focusing and calibrating the 3D stereo cameras. www.ids-imaging.de

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The Ensenso X series is a very flexible camera system that enables 3D capturing of objects with a volume of up to several cubic meters, such as heavily laden pallets.

With working distances of 0.5 to 5 meters, the range of applications includes anything from bin picking through to warehouse and logistics automation. The system comprises a 100 watt projector unit on which two GigE cameras can be mounted at different distances. The camera mounting brackets are available in various widths to allow different baseline lengths to be implemented. Also, the angle of view of both cameras can be configured, and different C-mount lenses can be selected for the camera and projector. For the

new IP65/67 models X30 FA and X36 FA, lens barrels provide protection not only against dust, dirt, or water splashes, but also against accidental adjustment of the lenses.

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LEMO LAUNCHES A NEW 3GHZ COAXIAL CONTACT (75 OHM) DESIGNED FOR RG 179 B/U TYPE CABLE

LEMO launches a new 3GHz contact that can be used in various insulator types, providing an alternative solution to HD – BNC in the broadcast market (HDTV, 4K, 8K).

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his coaxial contact can be used in various insulator configurations: 3 x coaxial, 4x coaxial, 10 x coaxial, as well as in combinations of coaxial and low voltage signal contacts.

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Finally, these new contacts can be built into watertight connectors (IP 68) such as the LEMO Push-Pull connectors of the K, T or even W series.

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For more info: www.lemo.com/catalog/ROW/UK_English/3GHz_75_ ohms_connector_for_4k_8k_HDTV.pdf www.lemo.com

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CUSTOM-MADE SEALS FOR THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY: SPECIAL EPDM SEAL AP 306

The independent seal manufacturer C. Otto Gehrckens developed the new sealing EPDM compound “AP 306” for highly sensitive production processes in the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology and medical technology.

Properties of AP 306 - Special-EPDM compound for the medical technology, pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology - Excellent resistance to CIP and SIP procedures - Suitable for use with WFI water - Good resistance to aqueous media - Excellent resistance to hot water and water vapour - Certified according to USP Class VI chapter 88 to +121 °C and chapter 87 - Approval according to FDA and ISO 10993 part 5 (cytotoxicity test) www.cog.de

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The EPDM high-performance material for the medical technology, pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology The special material in the COG HygienicSeal series has been granted the most important approvals for application in these highly demanding industries. As well as the harmlessness test according to FDA 21. CFR 177.2600, AP 306 is approved according to USP class VI in chapter 88 up to +121 °C and chapter 87. The EPDM compound also successfully passed the cytotoxicity test (according to ISO 10993-5:2009).

This EPDM compound has extremely low migration values, which are in particular demand in applications in which there is a risk of contamination with the media to be sealed, e.g. in cell cultivation or insulin production. The high-performance material furthermore has excellent resistance to contact with CIP and SIP media and, in addition, is suitable for applications with WFI water. Owing to the operating temperature range from -40°C to +150°C, AP 306 is adaptable to the particular requirements of the production process.

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LEROY-SOMER PARTNERS THE HIGHVOLT PROJECT AND IS PREPARING TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGY

On the initiative of the IRT Saint Exupéry, one of the eight Technological Research Institutes in France certified under the Future Investment programme, on 29th June Leroy-Somer signed a multi-partner research project in the industry, aviation and transport sectors.

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In this context, controlling their lifetime and reliability is vital.

The increase in power density for rotating electric machines and the arrival on the market of new generation electronic components which significantly improve power electronic converter performance will generate new constraints for the winding insulation systems of these motors and alternators.

In particular, this is the case for the “E-Power Drive” project to optimise the whole machine, electronic converter and cables and the “Highvolt” project which is specifically geared towards controlling the lifetime and reliability of insulation systems, especially windings, for example by developing demonstrators and test platforms for more electric or hybrid propulsion planes.

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nder this programme, one of whose pillars is electrical machine insulation system lifetime and reliability control, Leroy-Somer will be providing its partners with its experience and know-how. In return, the company will benefit from the results of the work carried out in the aviation and automotive sectors to apply it to its own industrial products, making them even more robust and higher performing.

One of the objectives for the Saint Exupéry Technological Research Institute (IRT) in Toulouse is to assist technological breakthroughs by exploiting the major synergies which are appearing in the aviation, automotive, rail and industrial sectors, in order to prepare the robust, reliable and optimised technologies of tomorrow.

“The work, which is being carried out in conjunction with the research laboratories, will enable us to better understand the physical phenomena such as partial discharge which lead to premature component and insulator ageing and to assist the development of new, better performing and more robust components and systems. This will produce design 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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rules first of all, followed by standardisation”, specifies Ariel Sirat, the current Chief Exectutive of the IRT Saint Exupéry.

The Highvolt project officially started on 29th June 2017, with a budget of 10.6 million Euro over 4 years and industrial companies and laboratories sharing their skills. So, Nidec Leroy-Somer is joining 11 industrial partners (major groups, SMEs and start-ups) Airbus, AKKA Technologies, Alstom, IVA ESSEX, LATelec (Latécoère group), Liebherr, Nawa Technologies, Radiall, Safran, Sogeti and Zodiac Aerospace and 2 academic partners with the Laplace and LSEE laboratories. Within six months, this panel will be boosted by new members from a range of backgrounds.

The methods, tools, databases and technological bricks developed in Highvolt will enable Leroy-Somer to prepare effectively the design of future electronic power converter systems, cables, connectors and electric machines. This research will be able to take advantage of unique simulation and characterisation technological platforms (partial discharge, electric arc study, insulation system stress and accelerated ageing) which will be in service for the project's partners.

“Nidec Leroy-Somer's active participation seeks to integrate the work produced by Highvolt as soon as possible into product design”, emphasises Cédric Plasse, Vice-President R&D / Engineering of Nidec Leroy-Somer. “This participation is mainly based on the provision from 2018 of two doctors of engineering who produced their thesis at the Laplace laboratory, specific test and characterisation resources and the involvement of experts from the project roadmap definition phase”.

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“The innovations which will be generated by this programme will constitute a real step forward for Leroy-Somer's customers and product users in terms of performance, the lifetime of their machines and the security of their manufacturing processes”, concludes Cédric Plasse.

About the IRT Saint Exupéry The IRT Saint Exupéry has been launched by the French government within Investments for the Future Program to boost high value competitive technological sectors in Aeronautics, Space and Embedded Systems. This Institute of Technology combines resources from public and private partners to lead R&T activities in three strategic domains: - High Performance Multifunctional Materials in 3 Competence Centres: Metallic Materials and Surface Treatments, Organic Matrix Composites, Ceramic Matrix Composites.

- M ore Electrical Aircraft in 3 Competence Centres: Understanding of Physical Phenomena, Technological Bricks, Electronic Components Robustness.

- Embedded Systems in 3 Competence Centres: Telecom, Images and Data as well as Collaborative System Engineering.

Its expertise and technology platforms, as well as its collaborative environment boost the maturation and transfer of breakthrough technologies (TRL 4-6) to its industrial partners.

www.nidec.com

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KCSM40 IS KENNAMETAL’S NEW INDEXABLE MILLING GRADE

HARVI Ultra with KM4X back end and 8 edged inserts in KCSM40. Stiffness and productivity like no other.

Delivering higher productivity, at higher cutting speeds with consistent repeatable results.

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ustomers have been asking for a new carbide grade to machine Titanium 6Al4V at higher cutting speeds compared to increasing feed rates or increasing depth of cuts in that result in increased cutting forces imposed on the work piece, fixtures and machine spindles.

The KCSM40 grade has an advance cobalt binder that provides exceptional thermal fatigue resistance without sacrificing the toughness customers have experienced with KC725M or X500. In addition to the new material substrate Kennametal’s proprietary AlTiN/TiN coating enhances the wear resistance at the cutting edge.

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“We took the toughness of our most popular milling grades KC725M and X500 and increased the thermal crack resistance and wear resistance that will enable our customers to machine at higher cutting speeds without sacrificing toughness” says Scott Etling, Director of Global Product Management, for Indexable Milling at Kennametal.

The target cutting speed for KCSM40 in Ti6Al4V was 175 SFM (53 m/min) while achieving a greater than 20 cubic inches per minute (327 cm^3/min) metal removal rate for 60 minutes. Not only has KCSM40 achieved this but has results milling titanium at speeds up to 270 SFM (85 m/ min) at a lower radial depth of cut. Etling says the radial engagement of the milling cutter to the work piece is one key component when optimizing the cutting speed. “At higher radial engagements, the insert is cutting the material for longer time which creates more heat at the cutting zone.

The heat will not go into the titanium chips like when milling steels so controlling the heat is critical. Lower cutter speeds at higher radial engagements is a good practice. At lower radial engagements, higher cutting speeds can be achieved.”

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Still looking good after over 100 minutes of machining Ti6Al4V at 155 SFM (47 m/min) with a .0067 ipt (.12 mm/t) chip load. The radial depth of cut was 1.0” (25 mm) and the axial depth of cut was 3” (76 mm).

Recent internal testing with the new HARVI Ultra helical milling platform achieved over 100 minutes of tool life running at 155 SFM (47 m/min) with a .0067 ipt (.12 mm/t) chip load. The radial depth of cut was 1.0” (25 mm) and the axial depth of cut was 3” (76 mm). Etling stated “The edge condition on the KCSM40 grade still looked great. And we are getting many other fantastic results. In one face milling operation on a hardened steel wear plate the number of passes was reduced from 234 to just 22. Needless to say I am very excited for Kennametal and the value KCSM40 will bring to our customers”.

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The development of KCSM40 was indeed targeting Ti6Al4V but it will be a top performer in other high temperature / heat resistant materials. The KCSM40 is a perfect grade that aligns well with Kennametal’s market segments like Aerospace (aero structure and engine components), Energy (Turbine blades and parts made from duplex stainless steels) and Transportation (turbo chargers). Etling concluded “We continue to get test results in daily on a wide array of workpiece materials and different components delivering some very nice cost savings for our customer.” www.kennametal.com

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MVG MODULAR VACUUM GRIPPER SERIES: STANDARD MADE-TO-MEASURE

We know the famous Henri Ford quote: “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it’s black”. The new MVG Modular Vacuum Gripper series by COVAL is quite the opposite. It can be configured to be perfectly adapted to every application, with the technical assistance of the COVAL team.

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o obtain this result, some important developments have been made.

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100% configurable The first choice offered to the user is its size. The MVG vacuum gripper series is tailored to the desired size. But customization doesn’t stop there. To benefit from a perfectly adapted gripper, the customer can also configure: • The vacuum generators • The gripping interfaces: foam, suction cups (shapes, diameters, diverse materials) • The vacuum level control: electronic vacuum switch or vacuum gauge

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Precise vacuum management with “multi-zoning” The MVG Modular Vacuum Gripper series allows the creation of multiple independent gripping zones, which guarantees the optimization of vacuum management: - Increase in vacuum level - Reduction of leaks - Drop in energy consumption This “multi-zoning” is particularly useful for staggered gripping and releasing, handling objects of different formats, or optimization of palletizing layers.

Economy at all levels The high degree of adaptability of this MVG vacuum gripper enables the customer to deal with the majority of situations without having to install several grippers together. For the company, the benefit is threefold: less investment, reduced weight which allows the use of smaller robots and, last but not least, energy savings.

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Interview with Fabrice Beynet, Sales Manager at COVAL, originator of the vacuum gripper project.

“In order to design this new vacuum gripper we simply asked our clients what they wanted”

Fields of activity Packaging, plastics, metal, glass, wood, concrete/rocks…

MVG – why choose this product The Modular Vacuum Gripper, composed of subsections, offers a customized solution of vacuum grippers for gripping objects of different sizes, shapes and • Customized dimensions • Selection of gripping zones • Compactness and lightness • Adaptation to products to be handled (choice of gripping interfaces) • Adaptation to installation (different types of vacuum generators) • Universal mounting bracket • Integrated functions.

• Simple installation and use Video: https://youtu.be/GWNCnoawM5w www.coval-inc.com

Why create this new product when a vacuum gripper already exists in your range?

Fabrice Beynet: We wanted to free our clients from the pressure of having an established format. The CVG has several lengths but only one width: 120 mm. With the MVG series, we can go from 100 x 100 mm to 1200 x 1200 mm.

Between these two dimensions, anything is possible. Where we would sometimes have to use three CVGs, just one MVG would be enough.

Does this mean important savings in terms of investment for the customer?

Fabrice Beynet: Yes, and not only because he can reduce the number of vacuum grippers. He also gains approx. 30% in weight and size. Less weight means less power needed to operate, thus the possibility of using a smaller and less expensive robot.

Savings which can help reduce the operating costs for the customer?

Fabrice Beynet: The big innovation of this MVG series is the possibility of dividing the gripper into different zones.

Vacuum can be generated only where it is needed, on a precise part of the gripping area. Why generate 100% vacuum when only 40% is necessary? As if in a house we had just one switch for all the rooms. It’s unthinkable! The “zoning” of the vacuum is very useful for staggered gripping and releasing or for the optimization of palletization layers.

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If you had to summarize the qualities of this MVG, what would you say?

Fabrice Beynet: The “right innovation”, meaning the innovation which is 100% efficient. The MVG responds perfectly to any problem raised by customers.

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ESPRIT® DELIVERS SOLUTIONS FOR INDUSTRY 4.0 SMART MANUFACTURING

DP Technology is helping factories of the future prepare for the digital transformation that’s taking place in manufacturing, with solutions including digital twinning, digital threads, machine-aware manufacturing, knowledge-based machining and cloud-enabled databases.

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n order to prepare factories for an increasingly digital future, and to better support Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing initiatives, DP Technology is focusing on a range of solutions to drive automation in manufacturing.

The ESPRIT® CAM System enables manufacturers to streamline their workflows, prevent silos from forming during the manufacturing process, increase tool life and machine utilization, and create greater access to practical knowledge for process improvement.

Digital twin ESPRIT allows users to create a digital twin of their machine tools for programming, optimization and simulation. This virtual machine ensures that whatever happens on screen will also occur on the shop floor. Workpieces and cutting tools are set up virtually, resulting in exacting simulations, greater productivity and better toolpaths for higher quality parts.

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Digital thread With ESPRIT, a digital thread ties together each step of the workflow from CAD design to finished part, ensuring that none of the manufacturing process is siloed. ESPRIT reads part data from CAD software and creates machineoptimized G-code and setup sheets, which it then passes on to shop floor management, tool data management and enterprise resource planning software.

Machine-aware solutions ESPRIT provides machine-aware CAM programming to increase tool life and reduce cycle times. The CAM system’s ProfitMilling® and ProfitTurning™ apps represent a fundamental change in the way toolpath in created: most 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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This photo illustration is an example of a digital twin, showing a blend of real life and a virtual simulation of a main shaft being machined on a 5-axis machine.

CAM software works from the shape of the part first and considers the machine last, if at all. ESPRIT machine-aware solutions first consider the machine tool – its axes positions and their limits, acceleration, and attainable and requested cutting speeds, allowing users to run machines faster, get a better surface finish on their parts and significantly increase their tool life. As a result, with machine-aware CAM, programmers make better choices regarding toolpath, without asking the machine tool or cutting tool to exceed their own abilities.

www.espritcam.com

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Knowledge-based machining Knowledge-based machining, the term for artificial intelligence built directly into a CAM system, makes it possible to significantly cut programming time by capturing best practices, including machining processes and cutting conditions — leaving more time to focus on strategic process improvements and reducing time spent on repetitive tasks. ESPRIT’s KnowledgeBase™ solution streamlines part programming by automatically selecting the optimum processes — machining cycles, tools and conditions — for part features based on proven best practices.

Recording practical knowledge via KnowledgeBase™ is more reliable than leaving it to memory and allows for higher levels of automation through repeatable steps.

Because programming is more predictable and consistent, programmers encounter fewer problems and produce higher quality parts.

Cloud-enabled machining As shops move to data-driven manufacturing, integration with cloud-based databases, such as MachiningCloud Inc., further facilitates access to knowledge, product data, resources and process controls for machines, cutting tools and work holding. These cloud-enabled databases suggest factory-recommended feeds and speeds for a given cut, let users quickly find the tools they need, and provide continuously updated manufacturer product data, including drawings and models of tools and cutting tool assemblies for simulation. Because information is stored in the cloud, it is always up to date, available on demand and can be accessed anywhere.

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IN 2017, SOURIAU CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF INNOVATION AND PASSION IN HELPING ALL INDUSTRIES

Mr. Chen Lian, Huang-Feng chairman, SOURIAU's partner in China, was present at Le Bourget Museum of Air and Space to celebrate the 100th anniversary of SOURIAU.

If you had to name one innovative, high-tech product that is able to withstand the harshest operating environments such as aviation, defence, space, rail, nuclear, and racing cars, you would most certainly think of a SOURIAU connector. Efficient, elegant, and reliable, SOURIAU connectors meet your requirements.

And if you can’t find the connector you need, SOURIAU can create it for you.

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eople have always had a passion for entrepreneurship.

Each industrial revolution enables the most imaginative minds to create products and build businesses with production and marketing means. The early years of the 20th century saw major developments in automobiles, trains, and airplanes. In 1917, Paul Adolphe Souriau—the man who would one day give his name to the company he founded—specialized in windings and the manufacture and repair of electric magnetos and ignition systems for automobiles and airplanes, two modes of transportation that were becoming increasingly popular.

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From plugs to connectors SOURIAU’s great adventure in the field of connections began with aviation. The company’s excellent relationship with aircraft manufacturer Caudron-Renault led to the design of the first quick-lock bayonet ‘electrical plug’. This patented revolution freed the world’s electrical equipment of the period and became ubiquitous in all parts of planes.

For SOURIAU, the creation of the first bayonet connector certified by BNAe (France’s Aeronautics and Space Standardization Office) marked the start of an industrial adventure that continues to this very day. It is an adventure that is filled with passion and innovation and which remains inscribed in SOURIAU’s DNA. After taking over the helm of SOURIAU from his father, Paul-Jean Souriau expanded the company’s product line, upgraded its production facilities, and took the company international by setting up business in the U.S.A. and supplying connectors to Boeing. Carrying on his father’s tradition, Paul-Jean Souriau remained focused on innovation, reliability, robustness, regularity in manufacturing processes, and listening to his customers’ needs.

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Mr. Patrice Cavalier-Bros, SOURIAU/ SUNBANK, Esterline Connection Technologies CEO, at Le Bourget Museum of Air and Space welcoming customers and partners to celebrate the 100th anniversary of SOURIAU.

“We audited SOURIAU’s manufacturing process and found that they were one of our top suppliers,” said Laurent Salomoni, interconnections manager at Thales. “We were very impressed by the organization of the workflows around the molding presses at La Ferté Bernard.”

“Zodiac and SOURIAU enjoy a very professional relationship,” said Claire Romain, purchasing director for Zodiac’s site in Plaisir, France. “What is great about SOURIAU is that we’re in constant contact with people who are looking for solutions for every possible situation.”

SOURIAU’s partners outside France are just as satisfied. “We are both a value-added distributor (VAD) and we assemble cables and connectors to make wiring interconnection systems,” said Yakub Gabriele, managing director of RayService in the Czech Republic. “Our business relationship with SOURIAU goes back many years. Like our customers, we have always been very satisfied with the quality of SOURIAU’s products.”

Connectors—passive components vital to all sectors of industry Connectors are not like any other kind of passive component.

Regardless of the application they are used for, their lifespan is measured in decades. Take the MIL 38999, which was introduced in the 1970s yet remains a world standard in aeronautics. SOURIAU has continuously improved the shell sizes, contact types, and surface treatments of its MIL 38999 connector. Indispensable partners of electrical wiring, connectors are used to interconnect shells in aircraft engines, cockpits, and interiors.

Inconspicuous yet reliable, connectors are necessary in order to operate virtually anything that rolls, flies, or floats in the world. A good thing that SOURIAU is present worldwide.

In France, SOURIAU operates three production sites in the towns of Champagné, Marolles, and La Ferté Bernard.

The Adventure Continues In 1989, SOURIAU became part of Framatome Connectors International (FCI) but regained its freedom a few years later.

Now part of Esterline Connection Technologies, SOURIAU/ SUNBANK is a subsidiary of the Esterline Group. With 3,000 employees, 11 production sites around the world, and a position as leader of interconnection solutions for harsh environments, the adventure in innovation continues.

Its connectors carry signals, power, high-speed data, and optical signals. The same rule applies to all SOURIAU connectors: robustness, reliability, and safety.

“SOURIAU has once again gained a leading edge,” said Patrice Cavelier-Bros, president of SOURIAU. “To celebrate our 100 years of passion and innovation, we are unveiling this year ‘black zinc nickel’, a new surface treatment for the metal portions of our connectors that complies with the European REACH Regulation.”

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Preferred relationships with customers over time Each year, the world’s largest companies reward their suppliers for their performance. SOURIAU has been especially honored to receive a number of awards, most recently from Airbus in 2015, and from Crouzet, Fokker, Safran and Zodiac in 2016. SOURIAU was recognized as on the top suppliers of the year for its commitment to meeting delivery times, its quality (in terms of part per million, or PPM), its products, and its customer relationships.

“Souriau and HuangFeng have been partners for thirty years. We assemble and distribute SOURIAU connectors as well as promote and market its products in China,” said Chen Lian, chairman of HuangFeng.

SOURIAU is always at the forefront of innovation. www.souriau.com 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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PERFECT DIVERSITY

The backlash-free, flexible ROBA®-ES elastomer couplings by mayr® power transmission compensate for radial, axial and angular shaft misalignment. They protect the drive system against critical vibrations.

Backlash-free, reliable servo couplings for all drive constellations.

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ayr® power transmissionmayr® power transmission provides a wide spectrum of backlash-free, highperformance servo couplings and is permanently expanding its standard modular system. Furthermore, new, modern production processes ensure favourable prices and short delivery times. In addition, the company also stands for diverse, future-orientated solutions for safety brakes and overload clutches. For customers, this means high-quality power transmission from a single source.

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Shaft couplings in servo axes are subjected to completely different requirements depending on the application For this reason, mayr® power transmission provides an extremely wide and mature product portfolio, featuring various steel bellows, elastomer and disk pack couplings in their product range. Just recently, the company extended its standard modular system with several new hub designs and intermediate sleeves. “With our wide variety of versions, we create a high degree of flexibility for various applications”, explains Ralf Epple, Product Manager at mayr® power transmission. “We are therefore in a position today to provide solutions for all drive constellations in servo technology easily and quickly”. The intelligent modular system also ensures high availability and short delivery times for standard components. Furthermore, mayr® power transmission is equipping itself for the future and is reacting to continuously increasing challenges with new, modern production methods and optimised internal handling.

“For our customers, this means a large selection of servo couplings, short delivery times and favourable prices – naturally in the accustomed quality, made by mayr® power transmission in Mauerstetten”, concludes Ralf Epple.

NEWS With its solid force-locking connections, the smartflex® steel bellow coupling stands for backlash-free and reliable torque transmission. The perfectly formed steel bellows ensures the maximum degree of misalignment compensation capability.

Fig.: mayr® power transmission

High-performance ROBA®-DS disk pack couplings, here with a split clamping hub, ensure simple and quick assembly even under adverse ambient conditions. They transfer high torques with a comparatively small diameter.

Fig.: mayr® power transmission

Know-how and equipment mayr® is one of the worldwide leading companies in mechanical power transmission and can – in particular when dealing with difficult application cases – call on appropriate know-how and decades of experience. As a result, the company also has, for example, high-speed servo couplings with speeds up to well over 20,000 rpm in its product range.

On these constructional designs, the individual parts are manufactured to high accuracy and constrained radial runout tolerance and axial run-out deviation, and are balanced in completely assembled condition. Due to the fact that these couplings – as with all other constructional designs – must be accurate and function reliably, mayr® power transmission extensively tests all couplings on modern test stands under the conditions which also prevail in real applications. As a result, the consistently high quality of the products is guaranteed.

Complete solutions from a single source In addition to shaft couplings, mayr® power transmission has developed and produced ground-breaking, reliable safety brakes and overload clutches for decades. “Our customers appreciate receiving everything from a single source and therefore if possible saving on additional suppliers and costs”, adds Ralf Epple. Therefore, in many applications, for example, combinations of shaft couplings and torque-limiting safety clutches are used. The latter protect machines against expensive overload damage. mayr® power transmission provides the know-how and service from a single source for these complete solutions. www.mayr.com

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Although shaft couplings are frequently categorised as a simple accessory part, they are nevertheless important components in the overall system. Should questions regarding these products arise, or should advice be required or necessary, mayr® power transmission is available to customers with technically competent contact partners – not only in Germany, but also through a global Service network.

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ESTERLINE CONNECTION TECHNOLOGIES – SOURIAU'S SERIES OF HERMETIC CONNECTOR NOW FEATURES A VERSION WITH THERMOCOUPLE CONTACTS

Esterline Connection Technologies – SOURIAU announces that its range of circular connector with thermocouple contacts now includes a version with hermetic receptacle to meet specific requirements for aircraft, military equipment, and applications in harsh environments.

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his connector range supplements and complements SOURIAU's current range of hermetic connectors and thermocouple contacts. The specific thermocouple contacts can be fitted in connectors that comply with EN 3646, MIL-DTL-26482, MIL-DTL-38999, and EN 2997. In civil and military aviation, for example, they are used to connect temperature sensors placed around aircraft engines and brake systems.

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A specific contact technology In temperature measurement chains, nickel-chrome (NiCr) and nickel-aluminium (NiAl) are soldered at the sensor inside the transducer and must have material continuity up to the analysis electronics. A connector's contacts must meet this requirement in order for it to be added to the measuring chain. SOURIAU ensures material continuity by fitting a nickel-chrome contact and a nickel-aluminium contact in each of its thermocouple connectors, thus rendering them neutral in the measuring chain.

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Hermetic contacts and receptacles Receptacles fitted on equipment must be hermetic at two points. The first point relates to the method used to attach the receptacle, which is possible by laser or TIG welding or by fitting a special O-ring. The second point is at the contacts inside the receptacle. Here, the conventional insulator is replaced by a glass insulator. A sintered pad of the same size as the shell and corresponding to the contact layout is inserted and melted at 1000°C in an autoclave. The heating and cooling cycles in the process are interspersed with stabilization periods. As a result, the glass contracts to form a fully hermetic seal within the shell and around each contact. Each connector undergoes rigorous quality control in the form of a helium leak test in order to guarantee the specific leakage rate of less than 10-7 atm-cc/sec required for hermetic connectors.

Contact layout and arrangement Most connectors are fitted with a pair of nickel-chrome/ nickel-aluminium contacts to form a thermocouple pair.

SOURIAU can provide connectors with two pairs or more of thermocouple contacts for customers that require signal acquisition redundancy.

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Two standard arrangements of three and five contacts are available based on standard definitions. As in any hermetic connector, the matching contacts are typically made of ferronickel.

SOURIAU can customize the location of contacts inside the cavity to the customer’s requirements.

Available connectors SOURIAU's hermetic connectors with thermocouple contact are now available in three versions: EN 2997, MIL-DTL-38999 Series III, and EN 3646.They are the perfect match with SOURIAU's existing range of hermetic connectors and removable contacts designed for use in increasingly harsh environments. www.souriau.com

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HIGH-END SURGE PROTECTION M-LB-5000

The traffic-light display of the protection module minimizes testing costs and allows condition monitoring.

Diagnostics and modularity with an installation width of just 6.2 mm: These features are combined in the new M-LB-5000 surge protection system from Pepperl+Fuchs. By offering these features, the singlechannel modules support increased plant availability and optimize total operating costs.

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he patented diagnostics of the M-LB-5000 with its intuitive and easy-to-read traffic-light display minimizes testing costs in accordance with EN 623053 and allows condition monitoring. The green light on the protection module indicates that there is full protection and sufficient operating reserve. The yellow LED indicates that the protection module has reached 90 % of its lifecycle, but the signal circuit is still protected. The protection module should be replaced when maintenance is next performed.

If the indicator is red, the protection module is permanently damaged and protection has been lost. The protection module should be replaced immediately to prevent damage during the next overvoltage condition.

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This setup ensures that the protection modules are always replaced at the ideal time. This improves the availability of the surge protection, and therefore of the system as a whole, and at the same time minimizes maintenance costs.

The status of the protection modules can be integrated into the control level via the signaling contacts of the function modules and via the Power Rail.

The modular system allows easy commissioning and maintenance using a loop-disconnect function as well as uninterrupted protection module replacement during operation.

When you pull the protection module, the relevant signal circuit remains interconnected via the base module mounted on the DIN mounting rail. The disconnection process does not lead to any signal interruption, meaning that a protection module can be replaced without impairing plant operation.

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M-LB-5000 surge protection system: protection modules with diagnostics and traffic-light display as well as a separate control interface.

If the protection module is plugged in at an angle of 180 degrees, the signal circuit will be broken via the integrated isolating function. This simplifies maintenance work as well as loop checks and allows insulation tests to be performed during commissioning or repeated testing.

At 6.2 mm, the small width of the protection modules saves space in the switch cabinet. Disconnect terminal blocks can be avoided: During retrofitting, existing common disconnect terminal blocks can be replaced regardless of space requirements. www.pepperl-fuchs.com

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DRIVE TO THE CLOUD

NORD uses IoT technology at their own application test center to enable real-time status monitoring and remote maintenance of industrial drive systems.

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ou can check on your kids, your thermostat, or the contents of your refrigerator from thousands of miles away—why wouldn’t you want to see how the conveyor systems at your plant are running? Thanks to new cloud-based monitoring technology from NORD Drivesystems, NORD has investigated possibilities how to transmit data out of the drive into the Cloud without having to adapt or change the installation or software. For the past year, engineers worked on a Cloud installation at an internal application test center at Bargteheide (NORD Headquarters) where the NORD drives are tested and demonstrated to customers. It’s called NORD Cloud, and after extensive validation in the application test center, the mechanical and electronic drive component provider is now ready to show the installation and to discuss the possibilities in regards to digitization with the customers.

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How does it work? The electronics product manager at NORD says the company’s 15-conveyor test system was equipped with NORDAC FLEX and NORDAC LINK AC vector drives, which were linked to the system PLC via an industrial Ethernet connection (Profinet). A secure tunnel was then configured through a network gateway to a remote, cloudbased server. This results in nearly continuous streaming of drive data from the PLC to a website on that same server, enabling collection and analysis of values such as motor voltage, current, frequency, temperature, as well as error messages and alarms. The system can be configured to send email and text messages with regular status updates, or alert personnel in the event of a failure.

“Because we send data during the same cycle on which the bus system operates, it’s very easy to identify trends,” says the product manager. “There might be a voltage increase or temperature change that, if not for this system, could go undetected, and at some point cause an equipment malfunction. NORD Cloud allows us and our customers to be much more proactive on preventative maintenance activities and provide countless opportunities for continuous improvement—reduction in energy usage, for example, or improving wear characteristics of key components.”

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NORD has developed a cloud solution for remote drive monitoring and analysis (pictured: application test center in Bargteheide, Germany).

Customers can visit the NORD application test center for a live demonstration, to discuss potential applications with NORD experts, and share their own experiences. NORD stays close to its customers and we want to understand requirements towards digitization. NORD consults their customers to bring the condition data of the drive into the Cloud more easily without adapting the drive configuration or software.

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For those concerned over network congestion caused by streaming large amounts of data, only the values that have changed since the last transmission are sent. The amount, frequency, and types of data collected by the system can easily be adjusted through modification of parameter changes in the IoT gateway. Also, since status updates carry a lower priority than system control commands, there’s no risk of overburdening either the PLC or the Profinet bus.

Says director of marketing Joerg Niermann, “We at NORD look forward to working with customers that want to make their operations more efficient,” he says. “The ability to more easily analyze the data coming from our systems will be an advantage for them in that they will have instant access to their equipment status from anywhere in the world while NORD will ultimately gain additional opportunities for product improvement. It’s a win-win for all of us.” www.nord.com 17 | Industry USA | November 2017

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