DESIGN WORLD AUGUST 2020

www.designworldonline.com

August 2020

inside: MOTION CONTROL: Programming variable

frequency drives for variable-torque applications

p. 102

LINEAR MOTION: How to pick the right

drive screw

p. 108

3D CAD: Shell or solid elements

for thin walled parts?

p. 112

Heading back to Mars—

with a rover and helicopter page 62

AUGUST 2020 DW COVER_FINAL.indd 1

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While these changes aren’t permanent (let’s hope), I’m certainly hoping that our companies and our management teams will find new efficiencies and smarter ways to do things, post-Covid-19. While I wouldn’t want to work om home full time for the rest of my career, I’ve discovered that there are aspects of it that I love — especially the avoidance of commuting in bad weather and flexibility in working around family issues.

Aerotek, a recruiting and staffing services provider recently talked with 150 mechanical engineers, hoping to find keys to the best work environment for long-term career happiness. The interactive microsite, Overcoming Inertia: Propelling Mechanical Engineering Careers Forward (aerotek.com/en/ mechanical-engineering), has some interesting insights in some important areas. These include: sense of autonomy, clear expectations for work, compensation, growth opportunities, ideas taken seriously, job security, reliable peers, transparency, recognition, personal values alignment, performance evaluations, and skill development.

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August 2020

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8/4/20 8:31 AM

Teschler on Topic Feeling bummed out?

Here’s why.

A study by the nonpartisan think tank Pew Research Center made headlines recently when it concluded that almost 90% of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the state of the country. Before we get too bummed out over current events, it might be good to consider work by cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker. Pinker, and other psychologists as well, say people have numerous emotional biases toward pessimism. One manifestation: Misfortunes tend to put people in a bad mood for longer than the good spirits that come when Lady Luck smiles on them. Lose ten bucks, for example, and you’ll likely stew about it long a er you’ve forgotten about winning twice that amount.

All in all, people process information about bad events more attentively than information about the good ones, Pinker says. That negative bias is probably because of our evolutionary history: The consequences of an overreaction for our cave-dwelling ancestors was less than that of an under reaction, which could have resulted in being dinner. Thus our sense of risk, fear, and anxiety is out of whack with the objective risks we face today.

We are also prone to systematic thinking errors when interpreting information.

These thinking errors can effectively make things seem worse than they really are.

The idea, which won two economists a Nobel Prize, is that the more easily you can recall an example of something, the more likely you estimate it to be. Thus anything that makes an event more memorable — like, say, a barrage of screaming headlines about murders — will also make it seem more probable. (In the same vein, Pinker thinks news headlines are to blame for people consistently estimating that the present day is more violent than the past. Actually, the data show past times were far more violent than today, and violence has been declining.)

That brings us to the events as covered in online news sites. Picker says psychological biases interact with the nature of news as it’s spun today to cause a pessimistic bias. I’d put this differently: Headline writers exaggerate events in the hope of getting more eyeballs.

Examples are easy to find. Here is a selection of recent headlines pulled om one news site: Disturbing discovery made at Queen Elizabeth’s estate (This turned out to be people using royal the grounds as an outdoor toilet.); Golden Girls fans le shocked by latest news (True only if you are shocked at pulling an episode involving the wearing of mud masks.); Country superstars share heartbreaking news with fans (They are divorcing. Sad, but heartbreaking?); ‘Doomsday’ mom faces horri ing new charges (The horri ing charges are two counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence.); Malia and Sasha Obama admit the truth about Michelle (No idea. I gave up trying to figure out the “truth� a er clicking through numerous ad-infested pages.)

Clearly whoever wrote these headlines is easily heartbroken, disturbed, and horrified. But such misuses of extreme nouns and adjectives harms society in another way: When the news cycle finally covers a significant event like a pandemic—which really is horri ing on a certain level—headline writers are stuck using the same words they relied on to announce a celebrity’s bad haircut.

Now that truly is a bummer. DW

Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler

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August 2020

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Technology Forward Handling disruption with a

disruptive technology Much has been written about how disruptive 3D printing/ additive manufacturing would be to manufacturing. It turns out, not only can this technology be disruptive, it is flexible and dynamic enough to handle major disruptions thrown at the manufacturing cycle. The pandemic is an example of how additive manufacturing can meet the need in a crisis.

As Carbon3D executive chairman, Joe DeSimone, noted recently, “When you have the agility of 3D printing in a supply chain, you are able to make pivots and adjust things dynamically‌. But whether it’s an earthquake, or a storm, or even geopolitical issues, the ability to have an agile manufacturing supply chain is more than here to stay.â€?

Agreed Yoav Stern, CEO at Nano Dimension, “The last two months have revealed just how addicted manufacturers have become, for example, to the Far East manufacturing of printed circuit boards and electronics. They are realizing that now a er a crisis, actually two crises; one started with the American administration forcing the trade war with China and the tariffs and the second with the Coronavirus, that all the

money they made in manufacturing electronics in the Far East over the last few years, they may be losing now. They have no ‌ buffer zones.

So, there’s a trend in the industry of realizing they need the capability to manufacture PCBs or special electronics ‘on the ground.’�

Finally companies are looking at the benefits of additive manufacturing beyond the need for to create parts as fast as possible. “I think we are starting to see the promise of 3D printing, which is, at its best, more of a horizontal technology than a vertical one. And it’s more about how are you going to use the system than what industry you’re in,� said Arjun Aggarwal, VP of business development at Desktop Metal.

Currently, 3D printing is considered a modest industry valued at about $8 billion, which includes hardware, materials, so ware, and even parts. In contrast, injection molding is a $300-plus billion industry. But, as some are seeing and noting, it will be those technologies that can scale into manufacturing that will differentiate them. This ability to scale gives the additive industry resilience, especially as may still undergo a learning curve with this technology.

Along with resilience, additive is a digital technology. The pandemic

has also highlighted the need for better inventory management, which is turning digital. Noted DeSimone, a lot of inventory is in polymeric parts, sitting in climate-controlled warehouses where they are simply aging. Digital manufacturing offers the ability to have a warehouse “in the clouds.� You’ll have “its born-on date, its condition, which data file it is in, which resin, which printer made it and where. You can also do postmarket surveillance on the data. The digital record can be filled to the point where the material is recycled.�

With all this disruption going on, it’s ironic that a disruptive technology is helping to solve unseen problems that developed om a disruption. The proof of additive’s value was there all along. The pandemic has simply highlighted it. DW

Leslie Langnau • Managing Editor llangnau@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_3Dprinting

8

August 2020

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8/4/20 8:33 AM

Green Engineering Paul J. Heney

• Editorial Director

Meeting the CO2 specifications of industrial customers — and saving money Leading industrial companies om the automotive, pharmaceutical and food industries have clear CO2 targets for their products. These require machine builders to make significant energy savings in new machine generations compared with previous machines. Festo’s energy efficiency module MSE6-C2M offers a smart solution for the compressed air system market.

When it comes to condition monitoring in compressed air systems, the energy efficiency module not only enables measurement data to be gathered and analyzed, but it can also automatically reduce consumption by actively intervening in the supply. Now users can save up to 3.2 metric tons of CO2 and hundreds of euros in operating costs per year, as revealed by calculations and tests.

The energy efficiency module MSE6-C2M combines pressure regulator, on/off valve, sensors and fieldbus communication in one intelligent unit. It monitors the compressed air consumption, shuts off the compressed air a er production has stopped for a certain amount of time, and simultaneously prevents the system pressure om falling below a specific stand-by pressure level. This works in a similar way to the automatic stop/start system in a modern automobile, so that no more energy is wasted.

The lower pressure level saves energy, without completely depressurizing the system. This means that machines and systems are permanently available. The MSE6-C2M can automatically detect leakages occurring over time and reports these to a controller. It can be fully integrated into the machine network via PROFINET. All measured values such as pressure, flow rate or system parameters are available in the PLC or cloud and can be displayed or individually further processed.

Measured values for flow rate, air consumption and pressure can be called up at any time. System operators can use this information as the basis for continuous intelligent energy monitoring of a machine. With the MSE6-C2M it is possible, for

10

August 2020

Green.Engineering.8-20_Vs2.LL.indd 10

example, to determine whether a system is consuming more air now than a year ago, how much compressed air is needed for a production batch, whether the pressure is correctly adjusted or how high the pressure and flow rate were at the time of a machine failure. DW

Festo Corp. | www.festo.us

www.designworldonline.com

DESIGN WORLD

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Grace under pressure

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Contents 8 • 2020

•

vol 15 no 8

•

designworldonline.com

A Supplement to Design World - August 2020 www.designworldonline.com

maxon

contributes precision motors to Perseverance Mars Rover, Helicopter page 62

INSIDE:

• How a CNC machine shop maximiizes productivity with cobots ................................56 • ActiNav aims to democratize autonomous bin picking .................................58 • MoveIt 2 enables real-time robot arm control with ROS 2 ..........................................68 • ‘Natural Tasking’ could reduce the complexity of robot programming ..............72

ROBOT REPORT COVER_8-20_Vs3.indd 55

8/3/20 2:31 PM

55-86

118

A supplement of Design World August 2020

is enabling medical 3D printing innovation 88

94 How to optimize performance and manufacturability for additive manufacturing

98 A practical guide to implementing generative design

COVER_MPF 8-20_FINAL.indd 87

102 _MOTION CONTROL

112 _3D CAD

Programming variable frequency drives for variable-torque applications

Shell or solid elements for thin walled parts?

VFDs have an incredible amount of functionality. Due to recent technological advancements, VFD keypads and HMIs have become more user iendly with easier navigation, higher-resolution displays, and more detailed setup wizards ... even capable of configuring variable-load applications.

108 _LINEAR MOTION

Choosing an element type for a structural Finite Element Analysis.

118 _MECHANICAL Navigating bearing retainer design options

In mathematics, Pascal’s triangle is an arrangement constructed by summing adjacent elements in preceding rows. It has applications in algebra, probability, and is a useful model for calculating combinations — commonly referred to as “n choose k.” Here, Chris Johnson, managing director at specialist bearing supplier, SMB Bearings, explains how to navigate the myriad choices in the bearing design process.

CONTENTS.8-20_Vs2.LL.indd 12

Robotics component maker maxon rose to the occasion in supplying motors for the Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity helicoper, which are on their way to | Adobestock.com explore Mars.

A S B P E Aw a r d s o f E x c e l l e n c e

Choosing the correct drive screw type is critical to getting the best actuator performance, accuracy, and repeatability.

August 2020

ON THE COVER

A Z B E E S

How to pick the right drive screw

12

8/3/20 4:04 PM

87-101

A Z B E E S A S B P E Aw a r d s o f E x c e l l e n c e

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ON THE COVER

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Technology Forward

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Green Engineering

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Design For Industry

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Design Notes

42

CAE Solutions

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Internet of Things

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Product World

128

Ad Index

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EDITORIAL

VP, Editorial Director Paul J. Heney pheney@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_paulheney Senior Contributing Editor Leslie Langnau llangnau@wtwhmedia.com @dw_3dprinting Executive Editor Leland Teschler lteschler@wtwhmedia.com @dw_leeteschler Executive Editor Lisa Eitel leitel@wtwhmedia.com @dw_lisaeitel Senior Editor Miles Budimir mbudimir@wtwhmedia.com @dw_motion Senior Editor Mary Gannon mgannon@wtwhmedia.com @dw_marygannon Associate Editor Mike Santora msantora@wtwhmedia.com @dw_mikesantora CREATIVE SERVICES

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w w w. d e s i g nw o r l d o n l i n e . c o m / M C 2

Lisa Eitel

C

Conveyor functions serve specific applications

Conveyors for discrete product transport benefit om customization to satis requirements — including chain and belt size, morphology and material; support ames; controller, drive, and motor or motors; mode of engagement with the drive; encoder, vision, and switch feedback; tracks, bumpers, and gates; and HMIs and plant-level IT integration.

Consider warehouse automation where the objective is ultra-fast sorting and tracking. Such applications need conveyors with servomotor functionality integrated with inspection stations fitted with machine vision.

Or consider pharmaceutical manufacturing — CONTROLLER now a trillion-dollar industry, even while standards such as FDA CGMP regulations are more stringent than ever. Here, conveyors must deliver top-notch warehouse automation functions and have stainless SENSOR FEEDBACK and aluminum parts to pose no risk of contamination ENCODER to expensive pharmaceutical products such as pills.

FEEDBACK Likewise, medical-device manufacture must adhere to FDA regulations that dictate equipment-sterilization schedules so conveyors in these applications withstand harsh washdowns.

In the conveyor installment of Design World’s MC² we’ve written and collected more than a dozen references that detail these and other types of discrete material handling with conveyors.

Educational installment brought to you by:

SENSOR FEEDBACK ENCODER FEEDBACK

Topics include the basics of conveyors and conveyor-selection criteria • Customizing belt conveyors • All about knife-edge conveyor units • Maintaining conveyor systems • What is pitch in the context of conveyors • Chain-on-edge conveyors and where they’re used • Pallet conveyors • and power and ee conveyors.

Check it out at designworldonline.com/conveyors-classroom — and access the full MC2 library at www.designworldonline.com/MC2.

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8/4/20 8:40 AM

w w w. d e s i g nw o r l d o n l i n e . c o m / M C 2

Cables for industrial applications Mary Gannon

A

A lot of modern industrial automation equipment (including multiaxis machinery and robots) operates continuously to execute motion tasks that in some cases must be repeated thousands of times a day. Such motion can ultimately stress machine components — including the electrical cabling.

So in this Motion Control Classroom, we outline ways for design engineers to ensure these cables (and their connectors) can withstand the rigors of motion applications — to last as long as the motors, actuators, and controllers they connect.

Selecting the right cable for an application starts with a few fundamental parameters. First, determine the application type. In industrial machinery, will the cable be stationary or will it be moving? Is the motion mainly flexing or is there torsional motion involved? Does the application call for both flexing and torsion? Different applications have specifically designed cables for that application.

If there is bending or motion involved, speci the bend radius. This radius ultimately depends on the gauge of the wire and the kind of conductors used in the cable. The cable size includes the gauge of the wire, which is dependent on the current requirements as well, and the number of conductors needed by the application.

Generally speaking, finer conductor gauges can flex around smaller bend radii. Flat cables with PTFE jackets can have a larger bend radius than cables with silicone jacketing, given that each cable contains the same conductors.

Next, consider the wiring itself ‌ the number of conductors needed, the size of the conductors, and the operating voltage. Are there special insulation or jacket materials required?

For cabling used in flexing applications, two key factors are the wire conductors and cable jacket.

With continuous flexing, conductors containing multiple strands of finegauge wire generally last the longest.

Are there any special shielding requirements? Don’t forget to check for any special approvals that may be required such as UL, CSA, CE, and so forth.

The environmental conditions in which the cable will operate are also relevant. For instance, what is the operating temperature for the application? Will the cables be in lowtemperature ( eezing and below eezing) or high-temperature environments? Will the cables need to be oil resistant?

Read more by accessing the cables MC2 at designworldonline.com/cablesclassroom.

Educational installment brought to you by:

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Miles Budimir

Welcome to this installment of MC2 on gearmotors

G

Gearmotors are essentially combinations of some type of gear reducer and an ac or dc electric motor. The type of gearing can range om helical or bevel gears to planetary types and others. Physical configuration of gearmotors can differ as well including inline types, right angle, and sha ed or hollow-sha configurations.

This installment of Motion Control Classroom covers some gearmotor fundamentals including a summary of basic principles as well as going in depth on efficiency requirements and gearbox service factor and service class. You’ll also find information on common gearmotor accessories plus a guide to sizing and selecting a gearbox.

You’ll find these and many more resources on a wide array of motion control components and systems, including other MC Classroom installments, at www.designworldonline.com/mc2/.

Educational installment brought to you by:

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Design for Industry Medical

Fast conveyor installation ensures fast

delivery of face masks

Waukesha, Wisconsin-based Husco, a privately-held company specializing in high performance hydraulic and electro-mechanical components, shi ed part of its production to manufacturing N95 respirators to be used by healthcare professionals and first responders to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Husco is also part of a consortium called MaskForce, a group representing all facets of Southeastern Wisconsin businesses to design, develop and produce the reusable face mask. “It was a priority for us to help those on the ont lines get the PPE they need to safely do their job,� said Brian Cull, Director of Advanced Manufacturing Engineering at Husco.

For Husco to begin the manufacturing process, it needed a conveyor to move completed N95 respirators to a bagger for packaging. Working closely with Dorner and Crane Production Systems, a Waukesha-based material handling distributor, Husco was able to speci and receive a 2200 Series conveyor on the same day.

Dorner was able to supply Husco with a 10- long, 6-in. wide 2200 Series, a versatile platform for many applications and industries, including accumulation, small-part transfers, inclines and declines, automated and manual assembly, packaging and industrial.

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POWER TRANSMISSION

RETAINING DEVICES & maintenance & assembly tools

As a final step prior to packaging, N95 respirators are applied with disinfectant. The conveyor moves the respirators underneath an air knife to ensure they’re dried and to perform a final cleaning. Masks then travel to a bagger, where they are packaged and ready for shipping.

Crane and Dorner worked together on Friday, April 3, to identify the right conveyor for Husco. When the conveyor was ready later that day, Cull drove to Dorner and it was prepped and loaded by his two uncles, Steve and Ken, who also work at Dorner. “We have had a number of COVID-19 related inquires, and we’ve been very responsive to those customers who need a conveyor system right away‌and in Husco’s case, that same day,â€?

Jones said. “Everyone here at Dorner has worked well together to build and expedite orders for these time-sensitive requests.�

Made of medical grade silicone and polypropylene, the N95 respirator is a soft, comfortable mask that provides a lowpressure facial seal. The mask can be sanitized and re-used. The line at Husco produces about 3,000 N95 respirators a day.

Cull said this project, along with all the organizations that comprise MaskForce, is a great example of what companies can accomplish when they collectively ban together. “The project as a whole really demonstrated how the greater Milwaukee area came together, collaborated and put together solutions to get help to the field quickly,� he said. “These businesses all got together and said, ‘What do we need to do?’ It was really inspiring and rewarding to work in that environment.�

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Design for Industry Material Handling/conveying

Shi ing om film to paper Looking for an alternative to shrink film in packaging? Consider switching to paper. The Innopack Kisters tray packers wrap cans of food and beverage in paper. Regarding stability the results are the same between shrink film and paper, yet compared to cardboard costs are lower as less energy and fewer materials are used. With a few minor adjustments existing machines can also be converted.

The idea of using paper as a secondary packaging is not new; KHS first experimented with this around 20 years ago. “Back then, this technology didn’t catch on as paper was a cost-intensive raw material and wrapping containers in film yielded better results regarding stability,” says Karl-Heinz Klumpe, packaging product manager at KHS. The beverage industry thus opted for different systems and solutions. “Our customers now want alternatives to the usual packaging systems such as film. These should be as eco iendly as possible,” he continues.

Paper wrapping has now been developed with an international beverage producer. This type of pack can replace shrink film or wrap-around carton packaging for transportation or sale on packs of 12 or 24 cans in the high-capacity range of up to 90,000 cans per hour.

To wrap cans in paper instead of film, a few adjustments are needed to the Innopack Kisters tray packer, such as reengineering the process module for folding and wrapping. Klumpe explains, “The standard components such as tray separation

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om the magazine, gluing or can feed are identical to those on other KHS machines.” This allows beverage producers to have the tray packers already in operation at their plants converted simply by adapting certain modules, making a full new investment unnecessary.

Wrapping cans in paper has many advantages over other materials. On the one hand, paper is kinder to the environment than film with respect to ocean pollution, for instance.

Paper biodegrades in the environment a er a few weeks. On the other hand, fewer packaging materials are used. Instead of a sturdy wraparound carton or film packs on trays, packaging cans in thinner paper only needs a flat, stable corrugated card pad as a base – with identical results regarding stability.

Costs are also cut by the new paper pack: compared to a wrap-around carton by up to 15%, with outgoings about the same as for film.

Overheads are also considerably reduced by the low energy consumption of about 14 kWh an hour at 80 cycles a minute. The folding process is such that the pack is also fully enclosed. “In contrast, dirt can get into film packs with small side openings. Over long distances especially, paper has an advantage when it comes to protecting the pack,” Klumpe states. DW

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Design for Industry Aerospace

OpenVPX provides permanent communications from the ISS to Earth The International Space Station (ISS), launched in 1998 as a joint effort among several countries committed to space exploration, is comprised of individual modules that were first put together in space.

The modules were never integrated with each other on earth. This situation is the same with new systems and platforms sent to the ISS to add function, technology updates, and new capabilities. When service is needed, the ISS can’t exactly be taken out of orbit.

The conditions inside the station are fairly stable. Once the electronics have safely made their way to the ISS to be assembled and put into operation, the threat of failure through shock or vibration moves farther down the list of potential system issues. At launch, however, the system must handle accelerations of up to 40Gs. Electronics need to operate reliably om launch to implementation.

In June of 2018, a new mission made its way to the ISS. As part of that supply mission, one of the crew members, German astronaut and geophysicist Alexander Gerst, received an Air Transport Rack (ATR) with OpenVPX technology. The OpenVPX system was developed

by Elma Electronic and was installed as part of the “Broadband Communication System User Terminal” in the Russian ISS service module “Zvezda.”

ATR has been a proven form factor for computer systems in the aerospace industry for many years. Maneuvers of the aircra create enormous forces that a “simple” computer case would not survive. An ATR resists high levels of shock and vibration, and does not bend as much as other enclosures. It can also survive stronger impacts, such as a hard landing.

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The ATR forms the housing, which then encases a computer unit using OpenVPX architecture. When the system went into service in space, it enabled a “nearpermanent” connection of the ISS to ground control.

Continuous transmission is a must of this mission. Noted Vitali Siris, of Elma Electronic GmbH, who oversaw development of the OpenVPX system, “The ISS only takes about 90 minutes to orbit around the world. As soon as the space station is over an area of the earth not covered by ground reception systems, the connection would break off each time.” Due to the high speed and steadily increasing data volumes of the ISS, the connection must be re-routed almost permanently, depending on which satellites offer the best transmission route at the respective time.

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guaranteeing the needed resistance to shock and vibration.

“Resistance to environmental impacts is necessary,” continues Siris. “While the technology inside the ISS itself benefits om constant climatic conditions of 20 to 22°C and similarly, a constant humidity, the electronics must be able to withstand forces of up to forty times the gravitational acceleration at rocket launch.”

The subject of cooling is always a particularly sensitive issue in embedded systems that operate in harsh and remote environments. The system for the ISS is cooled using the forced airconduction-cooled method. The processor card, graphics card or memory card are connected to the side panel with a special mechanism and the side walls of the ATR are equipped with fins that face outward, drawing heat out as the air is forced across the system.

Although the ruggedized cards are actively cooled, the fans work just outside the housing. This solution also protects

Communication satellites—in this case the GEO-satellite network “ Luch “ that are used as relays—are the solution.

Originally developed for communication between the Mir space station and the Buran space glider, these GEO relay satellites are a series of communications satellites that transmit signals between spacecra (such as the ISS) and Earth.

The OpenVPX-based system takes on the task of routing the signals, enabling data throughputs with an uplink speed of up to 100 Mbps and a download speed of 6 to 8 Mbps. The system represents the hardware part of a Multiplexor Demultiplexor Modem (MDM) unit. The MDM is responsible for capturing, storing and transmitting the results of onboard experiments.

Among other things, the unit includes a modem, DVB-S2 (for satellite signals), PAL (phase-alternating line, so an analog video signal) and HD video inputs and outputs. The MDM’s serial interface cards comply with MIL-STD-810F, thus TL Design World V1.pdf

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the interior of the system against dust and eliminates a potential source of damage during transport. At the same time, the cooling variant saves space without interfering with the multifunctionality of the system.

The use of an SSD hard drive with a capacity of one terabyte is interesting om a technical perspective. For this purpose, some tests had to be carried out by the space supplier, because the hard disks are more exposed to the ee protons in space than that on Earth, due to their fine structure, in the 10-15 nanometer range.

This sustained firing can damage parts of the SSD (such as the flash memory).

As the networking density and functionality of the ISS increase, modern methods to handle the growing system requirements will continue to evolve. Building on the success of the OpenVPX-based ATR system, plans are in the works to develop another, similar system, using the same architecture for the new science and energy module NEM-1, which is scheduled to be added to the existing station in 2021. DW

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Design for Industry O f f- S h o r e

Subsea clamping cylinder protects offshore systems against premature wear

The Subsea Clamping Cylinder for fully automatic Bend Stiffener Connectors (BSCs) is designed for use for up to 25 years. Easy to install, there is no need for manual work by divers. The patented automation system withstands forces of up to 120 tons per clamping cylinder. A cushioning mechanism absorbs vibrations and distributes the load across a number of cylinders within the system. This prevents material fatigue and premature wear with a predefined clamping force. The integrated clamping unit allows straightforward, reliable actuation during commissioning and removal – even a er long periods of use.

Bend Stiffener Connectors (BSCs) protect riser systems against premature material fatigue coming om movements such as those caused by waves. This helps protect valuable investments and increase the availability and productivity of the offshore equipment. In a fully automatic BSC, a number of clamping cylinders are used as a system.

The patented automation solution reliably protects riser systems against bending loads and allows a secure and economical holding operation.

Holding operation requires no power – a hydraulic supply is only required for the initial clamping and subsequent removal.

An optional integrated hydraulic power unit (HPU) with electrical control systems

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serves this purpose.

While the rated force is being set hydraulically, a spring in the cylinder is tensioned and fixed using a safety lock unit. This allows the clamping force to be maintained over the entire operating time in a purely mechanical manner, with no need for a continuous hydraulic or electrical power supply.

Thanks to the innovative combination of flexible mechanical and hydraulic force components, the loads which act in all six degrees of eedom are automatically distributed to the Subsea Clamping Cylinders installed in the system. Each individual cylinder can withstand up to 120 tons. Compared to conventional solutions, this flexible load distribution

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allows a much longer operating life and higher system availability.

The robust design of the cylinders takes into account the entire usage cycle.

Until the system is installed, it can be stored under water at a depth of up to 3,000 meters for a period of two years.

The clamping unit can be hydraulically released and controlled easily, safely and reliably for removal or for further use.

The Subsea Clamping Cylinders can be used in numerous different clamping applications – not just in a marine or offshore setting but on land too. DW

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Design for Industry Safety

Shields safeguard operators of machining equipment

The Protector Series Shields safeguard operators when using cutting and turning machines, such as drills, mills, lathes, grinders and more.

Operators note that safeguarding shields o en limit their visibility and impede their work; supervisors report that shields can be bypassed or disabled making machines unsafe to operate, and EHS leaders need to demonstrate a positive Return on Investment (ROI) by maximizing safety while minimizing expenses. Protector Series Shields solve these problems.

The shields are constructed of 14-gauge powder-coated steel and thick 3/16 in. shock-proof, scratch-resistant polycarbonate, creating an extremely tough, rigid and durable safety shield that protects operators om flying debris, lubricants, coolants and swarf. They incorporate cool, bright LED lighting into the shield ame to yield better visibility of the work area.

Additionally, the shields are offered in both non-interlocked and interlocked versions.

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The interlock disengages power and prevents a machine startup when the shield is not in the correct work position. The safety-rated interlock switch is enclosed in a NEMA 4 tamperresistant housing with an optional safety monitoring relay, which monitors the interlock switch for failure or damage.

The shields are modular in design so that shield shape, size, mount, arm, offset, lighting, interlocking and safety monitoring can be configured to provide the best solution for even the toughest machine guarding challenge. Available with various mounting options, these high-quality shields allow for reversal to address opposite-hand mounting scenarios when necessary. All shields are vertically and horizontally adjustable to clear varying work setups and table heights.

The shields can be upgraded with a safety interlock switch or switches, dependent upon application. Interlocking shields exceed OSHA regulations and ANSI standards, and are considered a best safety practice.

Shield interlocks shut off or disengage power and prevent machine start-up when guard is not closed, thereby increasing operator safety and preventing bypassing. All safety interlock switches are mounted in a tamper-resistant NEMA 4 housing, comply with the IEC/EN 60947 safety standard and carry IEC IP66/67 device ratings. Additional motor starter or anti-restart devices may be required when incorporating interlocking devices into the Protector Series Shields to ensure safe and compliant operation. DW

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Design Notes

Controller aids in newspaper printing application

Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

The Magnapak inserter underwent a total retrofit on the control hardware and software, including Siemens electrical components, software, and HMI.

In the world of high-speed newspaper production printing and inserting, the need to remain at peak performance is paramount. Recently, a bindery and newspaper equipment and printing controller supplier, Enternet Control Systems was presented the challenge of retrofitting a Goss Magnapak newspaper inserting system.

ECS serves many of the largest magazine, catalog, and newspaper printers in the country.

Turning to its partner on this project, Advanced Industrial Controls (AIC), a St. Louis area, Siemens-authorized Solution Partner specializing in field service and machine retrofits in the printing industry, ECS conducted a joint analysis to determine the components and so ware needed. The team decided that a complete electrical control and motion

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upgrade required the replacement of obsolete and tech-incompatible components, so ware, and HMI. The obsolete OEM inserter controls on the machine were to be replaced with a new ECS eNews Model 3000 Controller for monitoring and control of the inserter, along with downstream tracking and stacker control. Interface to the new www.designworldonline.com

controller over ProfiNet was required to allow multiple machine components to be interactively linked. Interface to the user’s existing planning system was provided through the eNews system as well as connectivity to the user’s other four (4) existing eNews systems to enable flexibility in production as well as comprehensive reporting.

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As the systems integrator and controls specialist on the project, AIC used Siemens’ Printing Solutions system architecture. This included all the hardware platforms and so ware libraries for high usability and standardization. Having this capability handy drastically reduced the system evaluation and field testing required, om the sensors to the drives, PLCs, motion controller, HMI and wireless data communications hardware, as well as so ware.

Padraic Stapleton, project engineering manager om AIC, comments, “Using our experience retrofitting machines across many industries and our in-depth knowledge of the operations on the Magnapak, we first determined what functionality was needed for this machine. This included high-speed motor synchronization, safety requirements, high-speed signal processing to and om the ECS eNews controller, an ability to recover smoothly om bus failures, elimination of obsolete components, simplified operator controls, and the ability for the customer’s maintenance personnel to troubleshoot issues.

We then used our experience with the various Siemens product lines and chose the appropriate components and so ware to meet the requirements.”

Stapleton further noted that an aggressive project schedule was devised to fit the customer’s production requirements.

This schedule comprised pre-engineering and fabrication that were performed at the AIC facility, including testing. This preonsite work allowed AIC to minimize the machine’s downtime and the actual installation was completed in seven days, as planned. The customer was ready to go online in seven weeks, also

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Design Notes per plan. “This time ame exceeded the customer’s expectations and, overall, the project was completed on time, on budget, and without any hiccups,” Stapleton mused.

An ambitious goal was set for this retrofit, as the result of these component and so ware upsides.

The project’s target was only two months, with installation calculated at one week and going back online in seven weeks.

Functionally, all hardware was powered up, configured, and tested at AIC by their personnel before beginning the install. AIC prewired all the hardware and also manufactured the back panels for the hardware, to further reduce install time on site. At the customer’s location, all installation was accomplished in one workweek, performed by AIC technicians so no other outside contractor costs were incurred, and plant personnel were eed to perform other tasks during the install time.

The startup was completed in seven weeks, including all I/O checks, drive/motor tuning, testing of the entire Siemens motion control system plus training of the operations and maintenance personnel. Every station in the entire line on the Goss

Pre-tested printing solutions from Siemens provide faster startup and operator interface. Increased diagnostics with built-in tools on the controller improve machine troubleshooting and resolution of any performance issues.

Cu O in th

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US ©

Magnapak was revamped, including the PLC enclosures, main drive cabinets, hoppers, releases, master and slave HMI, with wireless Scalance data transmitters provided for flexibility and mobility in the system.

Following the restart of the line and over a tracked period in production, the end user’s plant has reported an ongoing net production increase of 15%, compared to the line performance before this upgrade and retrofit of the motion control system. Benefits to the end user included the elimination of obsolete components, a substantial increase in reliability with the new hardware, increased diagnostic capability, and a decrease in the complexity of the machine functions. At the most basic level, the distributed I/O system is highly scalable and connects seamlessly to the central controller over Profinet. A plug-

and-play scenario is provided, making alterations on-the-fly more practical, faster, and requiring less training time for the operators.

From the safety side, all e-stops, pushbuttons, and guard switches are connected to the safety PLC through integrated safety I/O, with ProfiSafe onboard to control the STO (Safe Torque Off) function to all the drives in the system.

Device replacement was simplified, as the new devices can be detected and configured via the communication network to allow the replacement of modules without the need for any reconfiguration. The system automatically addresses and names the replacement modules, saving substantial setup time per station.

With integrally redundant Sinamics drive communication, in the event of one

hopper drive or Profinet cable failure, all other hoppers remain operational, and the drive can be disabled from the HMI without rewiring.

Following restart of the line and over a tracked period in production, the end user’s plant has reported an ongoing net production increase of 15%, compared to the line performance before this upgrade and retrofit of the motion control system. Benefits to the end user included elimination of obsolete components, substantial increase in reliability with the new hardware, increased diagnostic capability resulting from the built-in data tracking tools and connectivity on the Sinamics drive system, and more.

Stapleton concludes, “The Siemens drives were chosen due to multiple reasons, including integrated safety functionality, built-in high-speed inputs and outputs that were required

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Design Notes Installation required only for specific one week, and startup was machine completed in seven weeks, functions, including I/O check, drive proven tuning, testing and training. hardware reliability, simplistic overall hardware architecture, proven motion synchronization functionality and the ability to have the drive configuration parameters integrated into one so ware programming package.” DW

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Design Notes

How tacho generators help skiers ascend mountain railways

Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

Drives are only as good as the current speed feedback, so speed sensors must meet the highest requirements. The Baumer HÜBNER LongLife tacho generators with commuter-embedded silver track are suitable for this demanding task.

Tacho generators in drives of mountain railways and ski li s are exposed to enormous strain. Nevertheless, they must perform for precise and reliable speed measurement. This is why manufacturers rely on HeavyDuty solutions om Baumer Hübner. What does it take for a tacho generator to withstand the rough conditions on snow-covered mountains?

Every day, and for many years, the cable railway traveling in the Tyrolean Alps to the top of Zugspitze has been carrying hundreds of people to an altitude of 2,964 meters. At a speed of 10 meters per second, the trip takes about seven and a half minutes, powered by two electric motors of 500 kW. In the driver’s cab, control of the current motor status — slow, idle, forward, reverse, accelerate, high-speed, and brake — requires high accuracy and reliability by the speed control system.

However, the components in mountain railways are exposed to harsh conditions: Wind, rain, and snow shape the ambience, temperatures range om double-digit minus degrees in winter to high plus degrees in summer. A perfect application example for the Heavy Duty tacho generators om Baumer Hübner, specifically the analog tacho generator TDP 0.2 LT which is a particularly robust and precise speed sensor variant. What exactly does “HeavyDuty” mean?

HeavyDuty means “heavy-duty.” To Baumer Hübner, however, this is much more than thick-walled housings and corrosion protection. HeavyDuty is the encompassing promise of never letting users down thanks to reliable performance for many years, a prerequisite, particularly in mountain railway applications.

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Mechanical robustness is key. Tacho generators in mountain railway drives must withstand shocks, vibration, and the other impacts the rotating sha is exposed to for many years, without losing their functionalities. Product exchange is expensive, not because of tacho pricing, but because of installation in places difficult to access and system downtime during exchange. Robust housings with solid walls are a good start, so TDP 0.2 LT comes in a die-cast aluminum housing and with stainless steel sha . Also, the interior must be protected against shocks and vibration.

TDP 0.2 LT with bearings at both sha ends, is capable of enduring high radial and axial sha load.

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HeavyDuty tacho generators must withstand dust, dirt, and moisture which requires a sufficient level of tightness.

For this reason, the HeavyDuty housing is well-sealed, especially at critical, neuralgic points, sha and electrical connections. In addition, appropriate materials and coatings protect against corrosion by saltwater or chemicals.

Tacho generators do not integrate electronics and therefore are durable against the harmful impacts of electromagnetic fields. Furthermore, sha currents induced by voltage differences might burn the bearing lubrication which results in bearing destruction. The electrically insulated interior of HeavyDuty tacho generators is therefore well protected against such harmful influences.

Last but not least, precision is another feature of these HeavyDuty components.

Tacho generators must deliver reliable signals at all times to ensure precise drive control and regulation. Based on the speed information, the controller can identi any drive speed deviation and will intervene. HeavyDuty tacho generators in heavy vehicles like mountain railways must be as precise as smaller speed sensors. It is not without reason that TDP 0.2 LT is field-tested and extremely reliable. It delivers a 60V output signal already at 1000 rpm; at the maximum operating speed of 10,000 rpm the controller is even provided with up to 600V. High-precision tachometer voltage throughout the entire speed range The conventional combination of copper commutator and graphite

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HeavyDuty tacho generators from Baumer Hübner GmbH excel by robust design with bearings at both shaft ends. Thanks to its resistance to axial and radial loads, this doublesided bearing setup ensures maximum reserve capacities and unmatched service life.

brushes in tacho generators has long been outdated. The copper oxide layers on the commutator cause irregular transition resistance and thus high ripple in tachometer voltage, so low speed would not be accurately detected. However, graphite with good

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Design Notes

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sliding properties ensures a long brush service life. The combination of copper commutator and silver graphite brushes is much more appropriate for low-speed detection, since precious metal brushes apply a highly conductive “patina� to the commutator. However, this solution is sensitive to adverse ambient conditions such as oil, grease, or air containing sulfur, and salt. Under such conditions no patina would build up and the good transmission properties would be lost over the entire speed range. Additionally, there is increased wear because the metal-containing brushes run directly on the copper layer.

LongLife tachometer technology combines the benefits of the above procedures and eliminates the drawbacks. In a special process, and depending on the tacho variant, Baumer Hßbner embeds one or two massive silver tracks into the commutator surface. The track can be very fine thanks to relatively minor tacho currents. TDP 0.2 LT features even two silver tracks. This ensures permanent low contact resistance even under difficult conditions. And it allows for a 60 mV/min-1 voltage constant of TDP 0.2 LT resulting in a wide detectable speed range om ≤ 0.08 to 10,000 min1, with both mechanically and electrically limited maximum speed. TDP 0.2 LT, therefore, provides a dynamic range of 1 : 125,000. The brushes, especially modified by Baumer Hßbner, together with the LongLife commutator, provide maintenance- ee service life that even will exceed that of the ball bearings.

Ski li s carrying millions of skiers to mountain peaks every year have likewise tough requirements on drive control. To ensure passenger safety, manufacturers rely on tacho generators that have proven themselves in many applications.

They ensure reliable equipment functionality even during severe ost, snowfall, and icy winds. Today, speedcontrolled drives are also common in ski li s for smooth starts and variable travel speed.

The tacho generator is directly connected to the slowly rotating cable wheel via step-up converter and chain wheel drive. This way, dead speed in the motor gearbox is isolated om the

control loop and generates sufficient speed signals even under harsh ambient conditions. The GMP 1.0 also has two silver tracks for permanent low contact resistance and thus a widely detectable speed range with good transmission quality of measured values. The robust design and standard temperature compensation make the tacho generator suitable for use in the harsh conditions of snow-covered mountains.

More than half a century of experience in HeavyDuty tacho generators and encoders has evolved Baumer Hßbner’s portfolio of reliable, precise, and durable product variants om small to large designs. They support all relevant analog and digital interfaces and excel with the capabilities required to withstand even adverse ambient conditions. Application examples like mountain railways and ski li s clearly prove that for users with high requirements the HeavyDuty Original is the right choice in this encoder class. DW

Baumer HĂźbner | baumer.com

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Design Notes

PC control helps with modular production of test kits Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

Ginolis quickly adapted its fully automated line for manufacturing diagnostic test cartridges to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Š Ginolis, Finland)

To fight the coronavirus pandemic, Ginolis Ltd. in Qulunsalo, Finland, has converted existing rapid testing equipment lines to produce COVID-19 testing kits. Compact automation technology om Beckhoff contributes to the production equipment’s modularity, flexibility, and quality.

Since its foundation in 2010, Ginolis has offered automation solutions for the production and assembly of medical devices such as point-of-care diagnostic equipment, micro-fluid devices, insulin pumps, medication dispensation devices, and test cartridges. Rapid diagnostics is a quickly growing field in health technology, according to Ginolis CEO Teijo Fabritius, but the need became even more urgent with the spread of COVID-19. “At its core, our business involves automating the manufacture and inspection of rapid diagnostic products. Such medical consumables are currently in high demand around the world,� Fabritius says. “Our highquality automation solutions don’t just lower the production costs of these consumables. The faster and more accurate tests also simpli their handling and increase their reliability.�

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Modular production lines adapt to COVID-19 testing All of Ginolis’s production lines are modular, scalable, and tailored to users’ specific requirements, crucial for the changeover to COVID-19 rapid testing.

“Through our modular approach, customers do not need to worry about future volume requirements when they invest, because to increase capacities, they only need to add more modules,” Fabritius says. “The various standard modules for things like assembly and inspection provide a huge competitive advantage since they are usually available and can ship very quickly. We have lead times of only a few months, which is very unusual in our industry.”

A Beckhoff CX2040 Embedded PC with a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor controls the individual production modules using TwinCAT 3 NC I so ware.

Most production lines have several hundred axes of motion and hundreds of I/Os. The individual modules generally have 50 to 100 EtherCAT I/O connection points and multiple drive axes controlled via EL72xx servomotor terminals, EL70xx stepper motor terminals, and EL7411 BLDC motor terminals. The intelligent eXtended Transport System (XTS) adds high-end mechatronics technology to Ginolis’s high-capacity assembly lines.

PC-based control is integrated, compact, and powerful This PC-based control, “allows us to seamlessly integrate multiple so warebased functions into the automation system,” Fabritius explains. “In addition, the embedded industrial PC systems are compact and powerful. Particularly where automation components are concerned, compactness is critically important since space is usually at a premium, especially in cleanrooms. And the more functions we can integrate through so ware, the more compact, flexible, and easily upgradeable we can make our solutions. Also, Beckhoff has developed many additional products that fit well into our automation concept, such as the so ware-based TwinCAT Vision real-time image processing system and the compact EJ-series EtherCAT plugin modules that speed up installation considerably.”

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Test cartridges are simple to remove from the production modules. (© Ginolis, Finland)

This automation platform ensures the quality and reliability of the production process for Ginolis systems, especially with the dosing of antibodies or blood samples. The rapid advances in the health sector make the companies’ long-term partnership essential. “Ginolis picked Beckhoff as its supplier because both companies operate worldwide and can provide the necessary support and spare parts in close customer proximity.

Beckhoff is a well-known company whose products have worked well for us in previous projects,” Fabritius says. “Having a long-term relationship is critically important in the health sector since all products require regulatory approval. As soon as such an approval has been granted, making any changes becomes exceedingly difficult.

Accordingly, the automation components must be available for the long-term.” DW

Beckhoff beckhoffautomation.com

www.designworldonline.com

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| istockphoto.com

CAE Solutions

The real growth over the next few years is going to be for industrial applications, with more than half of spend occurring there by 2021.

How to tap into the AR/VR explosion Jonathan Girroir • Senior Manager of Technical Marketing • Tech Soft 3D

Any discussion of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) could reasonably start with the question of “Why should I care about this?”

We’ve all probably seen AR/VR demonstrated at a trade show or other setting, and it looks exciting enough – but is it really going to affect the manufacturing industry?

The answer is yes.

AR/VR adoption is growing, and not just in areas like entertainment.

The real growth over the next few years is going to be for industrial applications, with more than half of spend occurring there by 2021. In the automotive industry alone, half a trillion dollars is projected to be spent on AR/VR platforms in the next few years.

Given this progression, the question logically shi s om “Why should I care about AR/VR?,” to “How am I going to be able to support this type of platform?” and “What type of workflows are going to be important to my customers, and what can I do to build applications in that space?”

As engineering so ware companies grapple with these questions and start to develop their own AR/VR solutions, they’ll need to keep a few considerations in mind.

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What kind of data can you work with?

Any good AR/VR application starts with good data access. Getting CAD data into the application, however, is a challenge – as is re-authoring it in a way that you can put it onto an AR/VR device or headset.

Not only that, in the AR/VR space, there are specific formats that are desirable for building out 3D scenes and imagery. FBX is one such format.; glTF is another.

Headsets made easy When it comes to VR, there are a number of headsets on the market, each with different quality in terms of performance, ame rate, ability to offer a full field of

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view, and other factors. Currently, the HTC Vive and the Oculus Ri are leading the way for hardware that can support industrial applications.

Even though the Vive and the Ri are different pieces of hardware, you can interact with them in the same way – for example, getting information about location and the hand controllers – through something called OpenVR. Developed by the folks at Steam – a game technology company – OpenVR is an API and runtime that allows access to VR hardware om multiple vendors without requiring that applications have specific knowledge of the hardware they are targeting.

A tip around headsets, then, is to make sure you’re designing your application to connect in to OpenVR. In doing so, you’ll be giving your application the best odds at supporting the most popular hardware on the market.

A second tip concerns performance. While 30 –50 ames per second might be acceptable on a desktop, it will quickly make any headset viewer nauseated. A high response rate of 80 –100 ames per second is required. Not only that, but each ame has to be rendered twice, once for each eye. Make sure your application has a strong enough graphics foundation to quickly process and render even the largest visual models to ensure optimal performance.

AR use cases are multiplying From a hardware perspective, AR is a different beast than VR, because almost everyone already owns a piece of AR hardware: namely, a smartphone.

When it comes to industrial applications, how is AR being used in this mobile context?

If you’re doing a retrofit or renovation, you can overlay what’s going to be built and compare it to what exists currently. You can even do mark up and measurements, using a mobile device.

Educational use cases are also more common. Increasingly, people are building content around maintenance and training. The ability to virtually show a technician how to install or service something in the real world – with 3D, or even 2D context overlaid – is powerful.

Parallel with this expansion of use cases, large tech companies are increasingly bullish on AR. Microso , for example, is investing heavily in DESIGN WORLD

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AR with their Microso Hololens headset. Notably, the HoloLens 2 –announced earlier this year – isn’t focused on entertainment and media: it’s entirely focused on industrial applications. This focus is ‘unsurprising a er Microso ’s November 2018 announcement that they would supply the U.S. military with up to 100,000 HoloLens headsets, in a deal worth $480 million. There are many settings – om a military zone, to a construction site, to the factory floor – where users don’t have access to a traditional computer, but still need digital context, and the HoloLens offers a way to easily overlay that digital context in the real world.

Meanwhile, Apple and Google each offer their own AR so ware development kit (SDK), and Apple has purchased a series of small AR companies.

Their position is that being able to mix digital content with the real world is, in very short order, going to be as much a part of life as smartphones already are – and so ware companies should be ready to respond to that new reality.

The AR/VR space is rapidly advancing, moving well beyond its entertainment industry roots into the industrial space. Manufacturers are poised to benefit om the new workflows that AR and VR provide. By keeping a few key considerations in mind, engineering so ware companies will best be able to support their customers and meet their needs with well-designed AR/VR applications in the exciting days that lie ahead. DW

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CAE Solutions

Capturing concepts in 2D

Analysis has shown that in an average day or workflow, around 10% of a typical user’s day is spent sketching. In addition, within current design environments most concept sketching is happening outside of the CAD so ware due to the level of rules and relationships that must be decided on and built into the sketch by the user up ont. O en designers in concept design stage do not necessarily know what the final product may be, which requires a sketching environment that is flexible and can evolve with the design.

NX Sketch so ware tool enhances sketching in CAD. By changing the underlying technology, users can sketch without pre-defining parameters, design intent, and relationships.

Using Artificial Intelligence to infer relationships on the fly, users can move away om a paper hand sketch and create concept designs within NX so ware. This technology offers flexibility in concept design sketching, and makes it easy to work with imported data, allowing rapid design iteration on legacy data, and to work with tens of thousands of curves within a single sketch.

NX offers the flexibility of 2D paper concept design within the 3D CAD environment, as the first in the industry to eliminate up ont constraints on the design.

Instead of defining and being limited by constraints such as size or relationships, NX can recognize tangents and other design relationships to adjust on the fly. DW

Siemens Digital Industries So ware www.sw.siemens.com

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CAE Solutions

Generative Design tool ‘thinks like an engineer’ enabling designers to explore ideas

The MSC Apex Generative Design 2020 is a tool that enables engineers to explore new approaches and optimize any part of their design in one step to develop innovative products up to 80% faster than conventional approaches.

MSC Apex Generative Design generates lightweight and smoothed preliminary component concepts based on just the engineering goals. It does away with the iterative process of eliminating unsuitable candidates, eeing up the engineer’s time to explore the design space and find more optimal and novel solutions by fine tuning pre-vetted, manufacturingready designs.

With MSC Apex Generative Design: • A surgeon can create a smarter, latticed implant design that’s pre-validated for additive manufacturing and the same weight as the bone it replaced, improving biocompatibility to encourage muscle attachment and patient comfort.

• The aerospace engineer can redesign a product part-by-part for lightweighting, confident in maintaining the same performance and safety while improving efficiency.

• An automotive designer can build a motorcycle chassis that is 56% lighter than previous iterations, improving range while saving on fuel consumption.

• Manufacturers can exploit the capabilities of additive manufacturing and optimize their designs to enable first-time-right part production for entirely new products.

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MSC Apex Generative Design can run on a normal laptop to generate initial candidates within an hour, and produce a final design within a matter of hours. Adding to its accessibility, the tool is also now equipped with an intuitive interface, opening its capabilities up to designers and engineers without specialized knowledge of computer aided engineering. Design goals can be set up directly, or set against an existing design om Computer Aided Design (CAD) or directly om CAE models.

MSC Apex Generative Design performs topology optimization and intelligent smoothing in a single step, producing parts with low distortion risk and ‘bionic’ printable geometries. The resulting parts are automatically designed for performance, balancing the material use with strength requirements and stress distribution.

Users can link MSC Apex Generative Design with industry-leading manufact-uring simulation tools Simufact Additive for metals and Digimat AM for polymers to reduce build failures and make optimal use of materials at every step.

The new tool was first announced in November 2019. This first major release introduces new controls that make it easier for designers to adjust the complexity of the generated designs and how much the fixation points can be reduced. It also exploits many productivity benefits of the underlying MSC Apex platform, for example direct export of engineered models (mesh) to Computer Aided Design (CAD) formats so that generative design optimisation can be used within common CAD/ CAM manufacturing workflows. DW

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Hexagon | MSC So ware www.mscso ware.com/product/msc-apex-generative-design

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Internet of Things

How to eliminate latency in Next Gen WiFi 6E devices

When WiFi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) was introduced by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the standard was designed to operate within the licensed exempt bands between 1-6 GHz. On April 23, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it was adopting rules to open the 6 GHz band (5.925–7.125 GHz) for unlicensed use for WiFi 6 as well.

This move further boosts the expectations for increased speed well beyond the 30-40% already estimated compared to the previous IEEE 802.11ac standard. A significant boost in bandwidth is expected as well.

Yet, despite the emphasis on these benefits, one of WiFi’s enduring problems has been latency issues with the time required to transmit and receive large amounts of information wirelessly.

Although many applications are relatively unaffected, latency-sensitive applications include augmented/virtual reality, public access points with large numbers of users and high definition video feeds. So, with WiFi 6 promising a reduction in latency of approximately 75%, many product developers are understandably excited.

However, the expansion of the available equencies for the new WiFi 6 standard – referred to as WiFi 6E – is only part of the puzzle when it comes to reducing latency. The WiFi 6

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and 6E-enabled devices must also be designed with cutting edge RF components that minimize latency to levels previously considered unachievable.

Latency is still an issue for certain applications,” explains Manuel Carmona of Johanson Technology, a leader in high equency ceramic components. “For example, there is a 300-400 millisecond latency [with IEEE 80211.ac] for online videoconferencing.

That makes it difficult to, say, jam live with your bandmates. WiFi 6 and 6E, combined with extremely low latency RF components will resolve a lot of these issues.” www.designworldonline.com

Bandpass filters Among the components for any RF wireless device are the bandpass filters that keep the signal within the assigned equencies outlined by the FCC. To meet these new requirements and stay within the specified equencies, WiFi RF chipsets should deliver the proper filtering for optimum FCC/ETSI compliance in a small footprint.

However, this can be a challenge given the proximity of the original WiFi 6 equencies to those of the 802.11ac and with WiFi 6E to ultra-wideband among other active bands within the vicinity of the spectrum.

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“It is a challenge to design a sharp enough bandpass filter to reject the unwanted equencies right next to those you want to pass through,” explains Carmona. “To do that, you need a really sharp skirt so the filter is more selective.

Usually, that requires more expensive technologies like SAW [surface-acousticwave], BAW [bulk-acoustic-wave] or FBAR [thin-film bulk acoustic resonator].”

Fortunately, there are passive surface-mounted bandpass filters being developed by RF component manufacturers to meet the new WiFi 6E standard that are cost-effective, have low insertion loss, available in much smaller footprints, and do not draw power om the battery.

Johanson Technology, as an example, released its first ceramic SMT Bandpass Filter (p/n: 6530BP44A1190), which has a passband of 5925-7125 MHz while rejecting other interfering bands.

The product uses a proprietary ceramic material in an LTCC (low temperature co-fired ceramic) manufacturing process designed to improve performance similar to High-Q standards’ performance. High-Q factor is a unitless numerical value that represents the performance of an RF component.

The SMT Bandpass Filter is packaged in a monolithic, cost-effective device called an IPC, or Integrated Passive Component. IPCs are essentially electronic sub-systems that combine multiple discrete passive components into a single surface mounted device that dramatically reduces the board space required. With this approach, there is a single, low profile package that is less than 20% the size of the same circuit comprised of individual components.

IPCs are available for almost any type of passive circuit, including low and high pass filters, diplexers, triplexers, impedance matched baluns, balun-filters band pass filters, couplers and other custom signal conditioning circuits.

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“With PCB real estate at a prime, the size and placement of the passive components are critical because as everything gets smaller it becomes more difficult to place more components on the board,” explains Carmona.

Another advantage of the High-Q SMT Bandpass Filter is that as a passive device it does not require dc voltage and so increases battery life of the device.

“The filter extends battery life because you don’t have to use as much current to operate your RF subsystem, which includes chipsets and other components that go into a wireless product’s PCB,” says Carmona.

The reduction in latency is also expected to impact the number of users that can be connected at the same time, which is another key objective of WiFi 6 given the continued proliferation of smart home, wearable and other devices.

WiFi 6 is designed to allow network access points like routers to communicate more efficiently with more users and devices at once. WiFi 6 routers can pack more information into each signal they send. In addition, WiFi 6 access points will be able to divide each signal between multiple recipient devices, servicing all of them with a single transmission.

Because the LTCC manufacturing process is precise and repeatable, Johanson Technology is able to guarantee the IPC will pass its RF performance requirements with FCC and ETSI and any other emission regulation.

“The IPC is basically a plug-and-play solution,” explains Carmona. “By working with the leading chipset manufacturers, we have already completed the R&D to ensure it is optimized for that specific chip. Not only will it work, but it will comply with the new emission requirements for WiFi 6E.” DW

Johanson Technology www.johansontechnology.com

www.designworldonline.com

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Internet of Things

How connectivity advances will affect HMIs Leandro Coeli • partner, ADISRA LLC

Machine automation users will benefit om mobile HMI developments related to interfaces and 5G connectivity.

Figure 1: Mobile HMIs can be made location-aware, so users automatically receive notifications and visibility for nearby equipment.

As we enter the emerging era where humans and machines will collaboratively work together to turn data into knowledge, the human machine interface (HMI) will play an increasing role in this expanding digital transformation. A first step is digitization, where physical actions and analog signals are converted into digital form. More significant is digitalization, which is the use of technologies to transform business processes and enable new value creation or revenue models.

One trend in the path to digitalization is the shi om centralized or localized processes to a decentralized architecture, where mobility of the HMI becomes key. Ongoing development in the industrial internet of things (IIoT) space is creating opportunities for disruptive industry models, in turn spurring the progress of new HMI technologies.

Expanding the interface Current HMIs are display-based and use touchscreens, keyboards, and pointing devices. The future of HMIs will include a wider range of interfaces such as natural language processing, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and voice-based HMI. HMIs will become aware of passive user inputs, such as

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location. This will allow a user to receive notifications regarding the health of an item of equipment when they are close by, using HMI so ware on their mobile device to locate themselves and the equipment (Figure 1).

Mobile HMIs are also evolving to be more intuitive and accessible on multiple form factors, such as watches, wearables, and other kinds of emerging control devices.

According to IDC, the market for wearables is expected to grow 9.4% in 2020 with 368.2 million shipments and reach 526.8 million shipments by 2024 (Reference 1). For industrial automation users, wearables are becoming popular for improving productivity and safety.

No matter what form factor the HMI possesses, it needs to collect and represent the most important data so users can generate the insights needed to solve their business use cases.

The role of mobile HMI Successful digitization and subsequent digitalization efforts will rely on IIoT hardware, so ware, and networking elements—but will face foundational DESIGN WORLD

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challenges with connectivity and security.

The right mix of data collection, analysis, visualization, and alerts can make mobile HMI a key part of the technology mix.

All digitized plant or machine data can deliver benefits and should be connected.

Mobile HMIs can operate close to the devices and equipment to source this data and are thus well-placed to be part of any digital transformation solution.

Remote connectivity, either through a gateway or directly to the field device, allows users to monitor and troubleshoot their equipment, whether they are standing next to it or thousands of miles away, minimizing downtime and saving unnecessary trips to the site. Many machine builders and systems integrators now install their equipment and systems to provide extensive connectivity to remote project sites for monitoring, and even to operate distributed machines as a service.

The most capable HMIs are built on the latest technology to deploy applications on mobile devices using standards such as HTML5 and OPC UA. At a minimum, operators need to remotely monitor and make informed decisions about situations happening with their

equipment, and then act upon that information.

Well-designed HMIs help them easily visualize and identi important information such as key performance indicators (KPIs) and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) (Figure 2).

5G empowers mobile HMI On-site mobile HMI first became practical when Wi-Fi offered sufficient performance, and similarly, off-site remote HMI became practical once cellular data connectivity achieved sufficient throughput. The next step in this evolution is 5G. Manufacturing use of remote and mobile HMI will be transformed by 5G. Currently in the USA, there are six carriers offering 5G technology in specific cities, while Europe has fourteen carriers offering 5G. In the wireless IIoT WANscape, there are three main 5G use cases: • Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)

Figure 2: At a minimum, modern HMIs must deliver good visualization on any mobile platform, whether the user is near the target machine or across the world.

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Figure 3: New 5G technology is poised to deliver a responsive HMI experience, even for emerging high-bandwidth applications like AR/VR and digital twins.

• Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) • Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) mMTC provides scalable connectivity with wide area coverage. This use case is based on large numbers of devices. Some good examples of applications would be smart cities, smart metering, and smart logistics. eMBB is more suited for high data rates and data driven applications with wide spectrum range, such as immersive video conferencing and 3D video.

URLLC supports ultra-reliable and low latency connectivity for mission critical and real-time applications, with a design goal of sub-millisecond latency and error rates below one millisecond. Potential applications include autonomous vehicles, smart grids, factory automation, robotic control, and AR/VR applications.

With 5G technology available in some cities, mobile HMI can access greater data capacity with a reduction in latency while maintaining security standards. Sensors, controllers, remote machine monitoring, and operator HMI actions will benefit due to performance gains as compared to traditional technologies.

According to a recent study by GSMA, a trade association representing the interest of global mobile network operators, 5G will contribute $657 billion to the North American economy over the next 15 years, with 19% of this amount

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Internet of Things

coming om manufacturing and utilities (Reference 2).

While digital consumers are a large part of 5G adoption, the focus on 5G for industrial automation has been increasing over the past few years. The 5G Enabled Manufacturing (5GEM) project created a manufacturing production system life cycle example with design, deployment, operation, and maintenance phases based on wireless and mobile 5G-communication.

The four phases of the project demonstrated: • a networked and cloud architecture • 5G communication focused on monitoring and predictive maintenance

• information distribution to connected •

machine operators and unmanned vehicles cloud scanning for radio planning, involving radio propagation competence.

This project proved that 5G could be effectively deployed for industrial automation.

HMIs and the Digital Twin Another area where mobile HMI technology plays an increasing role is with digital twins. A digital twin is the virtual representation of a physical object or machine. Operators can use HMIs to explore potentially costly installations and changes in the virtual digital twin world, without risk, before applying these

changes in the physical world (Figure 3).

Furthermore, users can collect and examine data om a digital twin to develop better understanding, learning, and reasoning regarding machine operation and performance. Digital twins integrate well with HMI technology, generating a more flexible and interactive mode for improving machine efficiency and operation safety. Simulation solutions like this are becoming practical with the rapid response time provided by 5G, needed to exchange large amounts of data between mobile HMIs and digital twins.

Security and integrity Because 5G technology was designed to support various mission critical use cases, it offers a built-in security system and authentication, much improved when

It’s not a web page, it’s an industry information site So much happens between issues of R&D World that even another issue would not be enough to keep up. That’s why it makes sense to visit rdworldonline.com and stay on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.

It’s updated regularly with relevant technical information and other significant news to the design engineering community.

rdworldonline.com

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compared to prior mobile standards. Both authentication and key management are critical components for cellular networks for protecting operators, networks, and the communication between device and user.

5G mobile networks also have additional services such as assurance audit, strong end-to-end encryption, and multiple identification methods that can be customized for different use cases.

Until 5G becomes more prevalent, operators can implement Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) with Long Term Evolution-for Machines (LTE-M). LTE-M, and more specifically LTE Cat1, provides fast data rates (up to 1 Mbps), fully mobile clients, and is compatible with 5G. The use of MEC enables operators to control the routing of specific cellular data traffic for processing at the edge of the network. It allows cellular traffic for low-latency and security-sensitive use to be prioritized. MEC identifies highpriority and low-priority data based on the operators’ settings.

Next generation machine mobile HMI Traditional HMIs used for machine visualization are a mature technology and mobile HMIs are becoming more commonplace. However, the newest mobile HMIs are gaining impressive interface, computing, analytical, and locational awareness features. These developments assist operators by providing easy access for monitoring equipment health and rich information about machine operating conditions so they can respond quickly to reduce machine downtime.

Increasing adoption of 5G connectivity provides high network availability and bandwidth combined with low latency, enabling HMIs to interface with advanced solutions like digital twins. Advanced mobile HMIs and their supporting technologies are a key piece of the digital transformation journey for automated machinery. DW

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A Supplement to Design World - August 2020 www.designworldonline.com

maxon

contributes precision motors to Perseverance Mars Rover, Helicopter page 62

INSIDE:

• How a CNC machine shop maximiizes productivity with cobots ................................56 • ActiNav aims to democratize autonomous bin picking .................................58 • MoveIt 2 enables real-time robot arm control with ROS 2 ..........................................68 • ‘Natural Tasking’ could reduce the complexity of robot programming ..............72

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The Robot Report

How

a CNC machine shop maximizes productivity with cobots

Flexible motion of a 7-DoF cobot arm helps Swiss Productions maximize machine time.

Steve Crowe • Editor • The Robot Report

CNC machine shop Swiss Productions Inc. has been precision machining in the medical, electronics, aerospace, and other industries for 38 years and counting, and it is continually looking for ways to innovate and grow. Already producing over 2 million parts per month in a 40-hour workweek, how could it maximize machine time and employee productivity to produce even more?

The answer was implementing two Productive Robotics’ OB7 collaborative robots.

Challenge Swiss Productions has over 50 screw machines and 30 secondary machines and produces components ranging in size om 2.5 in. in diameter down to syringe tips measuring 0.019 in. in diameter. Meeting the demands of its customers nationally and internationally while also maintaining the utmost quality requires constant innovation, forward thinking, and finding creative solutions to challenges.

Swiss Productions faced a production issue on its CNC machines. Although it had the skilled operators to handle the machining, they were not maximizing their spindle time. One of the biggest challenges was keeping the Haas Mill machine running consistently.

“The machine would only get ninie hours of production a day, and an employee would sit on the machine loading and unloading every seven to eight minutes, and take one hour’s worth of breaks a day,” explained Swiss

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Productions General Manager Timo Lunceford.

Employee productivity was another priority for Swiss. “Our operators would stand for 10 minutes, wait for the part to finish, and then reload it. We were losing precious time that could be used more efficiently,” he said.

Production could be interrupted if the machine operator lost focus while attending to other tasks.

Swiss needed a way to keep its machines running 24 hours a day, generating more products while lights were out.

Solution To find the answer to non-stop production, Swiss Productions investigated various collaborative robots on the market. It discovered Productive Robotics, and was immediately drawn to OB7. Swiss was attracted to OB7 in particular because of its seven axes, which would provide the extra flexibility for handling its CNC machines.

“When we discovered OB7, we knew the seventh axis for us is key. We are going in, grabbing the parts, moving sideways with them, and then blowing out the collets that we are using to hold our parts,” stated Lunceford. “We need a quick turn radius because we also have to teach it to www.therobotreport.com

A Productive Robotics OB7 robot loading a CNC machine at Swiss Productions. | Credit:Productive Robotics

close the door and then double-check that the door is closed, and then be able to pivot to press the start button, which is a complete 180° om where it was.”

Results Quickly working “lights out,” Swiss gained an extra 32 hours per week of machine running time on top of the normal 40 hours. In addition, it gained back the hours lost during breaks, bringing the total weekly production time up to 76 hours. OB7 was driving higher output while also saving Swiss thousands of dollars monthly.

Integrating OB7 into its machine shop has allowed Swiss to gain a competitive advantage by increasing its production and enhancing the team’s productivity.

The success with OB7 was so valuable that Swiss Productions implemented a second OB7 to operate one of its other CNC mills.

“We have not let go of any employees, and our production has increased. We have big plans for OB7, not just on our mills, but on our lathes we are producing parts as well,” Lunceford shared. RR THE ROBOT REPORT

8/4/20 3:34 PM

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The Robot Report

ActiNav

aims to democratize autonomous bin picking

Motion control expertise from sister company Energid plays major role in Universal Robots’ ActiNav Steve Crowe • Editor • The Robot Report

Designing for ease of use has long been a mantra of the robotics industry. It is key to getting new industries and companies to adopt automation. And due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ease of use is perhaps more important than ever for robotics companies.

Autonomous bin picking is a common robotics application, but it is rarely, if ever, referred to as “easy to use.” Deploying autonomous bin picking systems usually requires integration and programming efforts customers can’t do themselves.

Universal Robots is hoping to change this with its new ActiNav autonomous bin-picking kit for machine-tending applications. ActiNav is the newest addition to the recently launched UR+ application kits, a series of “plug-and-produce” kits the company said will make it easier to deploy collaborative robots for common applications.

ActiNav requires a UR5e or UR10e cobot, an end effector of the user’s choice, and an application-specific ame or fixture. The kit includes the ActiNav so ware and autonomous motion module controller, the URCap user interface so ware, along with a choice of 3D sensors.

It can handle vision processing, collision- ee motion planning, and autonomous real-time robot control.

Jim Lawton, vice president of product and applications management at Universal Robots, said the UR5e and UR10e are the “sweet spots” for this application. “ActiNav works on the UR3e and UR16e as well, but large parts typically come in on a conveyor, and you can get away with a feeder and such on smaller parts,” he told The Robot Report.

ActiNav can autonomously insert parts into CNC or processing machines such as drilling, deburring, welding, trimming, or tapping.

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ActiNav’s teach-by-demonstration programming Odense, Denmark-based Universal Robots claimed that ActiNav requires no vision or robotic programming expertise to deploy. It uses a teach-bydemonstration approach via a wizardguided setup process on the cobot’s teach pendant. The company said this can be done the first time in about two hours, and it generates just six to 12 lines of programming.

To train ActiNav on the bin, touch the top, bottom, and sides of the bin with the cobot’s end effector. To train the system on a pick, users need to attach the part at

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the pick point and scan it. To train a place in the environment, move the part to the location it is being placed. ActiNav will remember the part location and orientation. Then hit the Play button on the teach pendant, and ActiNav should get to work.

“Anyone who’s used a UR robot before has figured out the teach pendant,” said Lawton. “The wizard is walking you through the steps in the interface you’re used to working with. You won’t need to hire an outside agency to set this up.”

www.therobotreport.com

ActiNav can insert parts into CNC or processing machines such as drilling, deburring, welding, trimming, or tapping. | Source: UR

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The Robot Report ActiNav taps into Energid’s motioncontrol expertise ActiNav actively navigates the robot autonomously into the bin, moving through the environment without collisions and placing parts into a machine. To do this, Universal Robots tapped into the expertise of its sister company, Energid Technologies, which makes the Actin real-time adaptive motion control software. Bedford, Mass.based Energid’s areas of expertise include bin picking, which it demonstrated at trade shows during the launch of Actin 5 in 2018.

Teradyne Inc., a Reading, Mass.-based developer of automatic test equipment, owns both Energid and Universal Robots. It acquired Energid in 2018 for an undisclosed amount, while Teradyne bought Universal Robots in 2015 for $285 million. If you’ve ever wondered about the synergy between the three companies, wonder no more.

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Machine tending a massive opportunity Lawton said machine tending as a category offers more than 20 million opportunities for cobot companies.

But tending in a lot of environments, especially if you’re picking from a deep bin, can be tough to do.

“Machine tending has always been one of the mainstay applications for our collaborative robot arms,” he said. “We discovered a significant market need for a simple solution that enables UR cobots to autonomously locate and pick parts out of deep bins and place them precisely into a machine. This is not pick and drop; this is accurate pick and partoriented placement.”

According to Universal Robots, ActiNav costs about $100,000, but the ability for quick deployment provides a return on investment in less than 18 months of a two-shift operation. The company also claimed that ActiNav reduces deployment time by three to six weeks when compared with other autonomous bin-picking systems.

ActiNav expands UR+ application kits Universal Robots has been testing ActiNav with early-access customers

www.festo.us/hgo

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THE

3 AXES MOTION

CO NT L RO

ORT

ATION EVALU

ActiNav actively navigates the robot autonomously into the bin, moving through the environment without collisions and placing parts into a machine. | Source: Universal Robots since mid-2019, said Lawton. He added that ActiNav mirrors the mantra of the other UR+ application kits: Make it easier for customers to deploy automation and lower their risk.

“We looked at customer’s recent applications with cobots and the amount of time involved with each step of deployment,” he said. “There was good news and bad news. The good news is the programming has become so easy it represents about 10% of the time to deploy a cobot. The bad news is the other 90% percent of the time is spent on choosing the end effectors and sensors and figuring out if the system actually works.”

“Launching these kits takes all of that out of it. We’ve done all the work,” said Lawton. “You’re buying this kit with all these parts that work together reliably.

Just work your way through ActiNav’s setup wizard, and hit Play.” RR

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Connect and discuss this and other engineering design issues with thousands of professionals online

siliconsensing.com/drift #motionevolution

ActiNav uses a teach-by-demonstration approach via a wizard-guided setup process on the cobot’s teach pendant. | Source: Universal Robots

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The Robot Report

max on contributes

precision motors to Perseverance Mars rover, helicopter

Expectations high as brushless DC motors ready for extreme environments, terrestrial applications.

Eugene Demaitre • Senior Editor • The Robot Report

As the Mars 2020 mission readied for launch last month, robotics suppliers were among the organizations contributing to the Perseverance Rover, an unmanned vehicle designed to explore the surface of Mars and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission will involve robotic arms and an aerial drone, pushing the limits of precision motors, sensors, and other components.

Over the past three decades, maxon motor ag has provided more than 100 drives for robots sent to Mars. The Swiss company said its brushed and brushless DC motors are also used in demanding robotics applications in surgical equipment, humanoid robots, and precision industrial automation.

Perseverance needs precision for robotic sampling The Perseverance Rover, which is about the size of a car, is the fi h rover that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has sent to Mars. The Mars 2020 mission is intended to search for signs of previous life and gather data for potential human exploration of the planet.

Perseverance is designed to take multiple soil samples, seal them in containers, and deposit them on the surface of Mars so that a future mission can return them to Earth. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

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maxon’s catalog with modifications. For the first time, NASA is using maxon’s brushless DC motors, including nine EC 32 flats and one EC 20 flat in combination with a GP 22 UP planetary gearhead.

“When we first started developing maxon’s modern space motors about 10 years ago … we discovered that a lot of maxon’s medical applications, which had to be autoclavable or sterilizable, were a very good start for the space applications,” Phillips told The Robot Report.

Working closely with specialists at Pasadena, Calif.-based JPL, maxon engineers developed the drives over several years and tested engineering models thoroughly. “Then we built a qualification unit, where we formally track how we built it and everything that went into it,” said Phillips.

Space missions place the highest demands on

www.therobotreport.com

The Perseverance Rover obtaining a sample on Mars (artist’s rendition). |Source: NASA/JPL Caltech

| AdobeStock.com

asked maxon to produce 10 drives for the rover.

Several maxon motors will be used to handle the samples in an internal laboratory, called the Sample Caching Subsystem. For example, maxon DC motors are installed in the robotic arm, which moves the samples from station to station. Maxon motors will also be used for sealing and depositing the sample containers.

“The arm and end effectors have motors from us,” said Robin Phillips, head of the maxon SpaceLab, which has personnel in Switzerland and Germany. “That arm is absolutely critical to the success of this $2 billion mission.”

As with previous Mars missions, these drives are based on standard products from

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The Robot Report The modified EC 32 flat drive, nine of which the Perseverance Rover use. | Source: maxon

The Perseverance rover is expected to land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021 -- but it won’t be alone.

A drone helicopter called Ingenuity will be attached to the underside of the rover.

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drive systems. This includes vibrations during the Atlas 5 rocket launch, vacuum during the journey, impacts on landing, and the harsh conditions on the surface of Mars, where temperatures fluctuate between -125 and +20 degrees Celsius and dust can affect external components.

Improved controllers, materials, and shapes made it possible to use brushless motors, Phillips said. For example, nonreactive titanium proved useful for both space applications and medical implants, he said.

“Then, for your flight models, all you need to do is to is make sure you build exactly the same way as you built the qualification unit, which is easier to say than it is actually to do,” said Phillips. maxon DC motors control Mars helicopter The Perseverance rover is expected to land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021 -- but it won’t be alone. A drone helicopter called Ingenuity will be attached to the underside of the rover. It weighs 1.8 kg (3.96 lb.), is solar-powered, and will perform several short flights, as well as take aerial images. The main goal of this experiment is to test the concept for future drones.

maxon has provided motors for the arm to deploy the drone, as well as six brushed DCX motors with a diameter of 10 mm (0.39 in.) controlling the tilt of the rotor blades and the direction of flight.

The drives are very light, dynamic, and highly energy-efficient. These properties are crucial, because every gram counts on the Mars helicopter. www.therobotreport.com

Flying on Mars is not easy. The atmosphere is extremely thin, roughly comparable to the conditions on Earth at an altitude of 30 km (18.64 mi.).

The drone helicopter has flown in a simulated test environment in the JPL laboratory.

Whether it will lift off on Mars remains to be seen. First, other obstacles, such as the rocket launch, must be successful.

“Many of the people we were working with have spent years working on the rover itself, but everyone is fully aware that the helicopter, if it works properly, will completely dominate the headlines,” Phillips said. “You should view the helicopter as being the modern equivalent of the Sojourner rover -- it’s just an engineering test. … That will enable future missions where you can be more ambitious and start attaching more science instruments [in addition to] a camera.”

“We hope that everything goes well and that we’ll soon see our drives in action on Mars,” said maxon CEO Eugen Elmiger. “We’re all keeping our fingers crossed.”

“We’ve learned a lot from this exciting project,” Phillips stated. “We now have very broad expertise in space applications and have established quality assurance processes that meet the expectations of the industry.

Customers from other industries such as the medical sector, where requirements are often similar, can also benefit from this knowhow.” RR

THE ROBOT REPORT

8/6/20 9:54 AM

READY TO ROLL Compact, rigid and easy to install, IKO’s crossed roller bearings can handle complex loads in any axis—making them a great fit for motion systems with high load capacities, including robot, machine tool and other industrial applications.

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The Robot Report

Adaptive Caching Assembly includes ATI sensor

Adaptive Caching Assembly system layout. | Source: ATI

NASA’s JPL also worked with ATI Industrial Automation to develop a custom force/torque sensor for Perseverance.

Apex, N.C.-based ATI develops robotic accessories and robot arm tooling including end effectors, tool changers, multi-axis force/torque (F/ T) sensing systems, deburring tools, and collision sensors. The company has developed specialized sensors for application settings such as foundries and refineries that have demanding environments.

However, nothing quite compares to the conditions expected om launch, travel to Mars, and the harsh Martian surface, the company acknowledged.

JPL needed an automated system for collecting and handling space material, as well as moving it through the indexing process. To accomplish this, engineers developed the Adaptive Caching Assembly, a large robotic arm with a drill and an assortment of bits to collect samples om designated areas on the surface of Mars.

Once collected, a small robotic arm, known as the Sample Handling Assembly or SHA, will inspect and

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seal the samples in the rover’s onboard laboratory. An ATI F/T sensor is integrated within the SHA end-effector assembly to provide enhanced responsiveness. With force sensing om ATI, the SHA is designed to maneuver easily through the tight workspace, accurately performing demanding tasks, said the company.

To deliver a robust solution for the Perseverance project, ATI adapted its F/T sensor technology to offset the wide range of environmental conditions. The Space-Rated Force/Torque Sensor om ATI provides signal

ATI Space-Rated Force/Torque Sensor.

redundancy and compensates for temperature variation, ensuring accurate resolution of forces and torques throughout the mission.

To develop and test these features, the ATI engineering team designed specialized calibration equipment and conducted 24-hour surveillance of product trials.

Components made of thermally stable, low-outgassing materials were added to forti the sensor against drastic environmental fluctuations.

These materials also prevent crosscontamination of samples during the mission, which is one of the most important considerations of the Mars 2020 Rover project.

NASA scientists inspect the Adaptive Caching Assembly. | Source: R. Lannom; ATI

Beyond the exploration of Mars, ATI said its Space-Rated Force/Torque Sensor provides active force control for applications where repair opportunities are limited or in situations with high vacuum or extreme temperature variability.

The temperature compensation and additional signal redundancy could benefit industries such as radioactive decommissioning, oil and gas, metal casting and foundries, said the company.

| Source: ATI

www.therobotreport.com

THE ROBOT REPORT

8/6/20 9:54 AM

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SMALL MOBILE ROBOTS JUST GOT SAFER.

SICK’s new ultra-compact safety laser scanner, nanoScan3, equips small AGVs and mobile robots with leading-edge safety technology. This space-saving sensor can be used wherever machines and vehicles require maximum safety performance, but have minimal mounting space. It adds the required security without sacrificing weight or size. We think that’s intelligent. www.sick.com

The Robot Report

Movelt 2

enables real-time robot arm control with ROS 2

The popular open-source platform for developing robot arm controls promises faster, more reactive motion planning.

Eugene Demaitre • Senior Editor • The Robot Report

Earlier this year, PickNik Inc. announced a new version of the MoveIt open-source so ware for controlling robot arms. MoveIt 2 Beta works with ROS 2 to enable faster, more reactive planning through real-time control, said the Boulder, Colo.-based company.

MoveIt was initially developed at Willow Garage, which was started in late 2006 by Scott Hassan, who had worked with Larry Page and Sergey Brin on the predecessor to the Google search engine.

Over the past decade, MoveIt has become the most widely used open-source so ware for developing robotic manipulation applications, evaluating designs, and building integrated products, said PickNik. Academics and industrial developers use the so ware to direct robotic arms to pick up things, interact with them, and move them to new locations. MoveIt also includes tools and capabilities for startups to build robotics applications that would have been difficult to create because of cost constraints.

Open-source company PickNik has led development of MoveIt 2 in coordination with the efforts around ROS 2, the latest version of the Robot Operating System. It said its partners include Intel, Amazon, Open Robotics, and many contributors around the world.

“With this release, MoveIt is ready to further expand and meet the needs of demanding applications across the industry,” stated Dave Coleman, lead maintainer of the MoveIt Project and CEO of PickNik Robotics. “With the robotic arm market expected to exceed $39.2 billion by 2024, PickNik Robotics is taking a new approach to supporting this market by continuing to build opensource products with our partners. It’s an exciting alternative to the model of traditional vendor lock-in so ware.”

MoveIt 2 has most of the core functionalities of its predecessor, including motion planning, collision checking, trajectory execution, inverse kinematics, and visualization in RViz, according to a discussion thread on ROS Discourse.

However, some features, such as benchmarks, robot interaction, and plugins, were not initially enabled because of a lack of funding, wrote Henning Kayser, an applied robotics scientist at PickNik Robotics.

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Rviz motion-planning plugin for MoveIt. ROS 2, MoveIt 2 gain corporate support “While most tech fields have been influenced by the open Internet, the vast majority of robots are still coded in walled gardens using closed-source software,” said PickNik Robotics. “This a problem because creating truly general robot software for even trivial tasks is so difficult that no single person or institution can hope to do it on its own. MoveIt’s supporters believe that open-source, collaborative development is the best hope for robust, safe, and secure robotics software.”

“MoveIt is a key component of the ROS 2 ecosystem, and we are happy to see the release of MoveIt 2,” said Tully Foote, ROS platform manager at the Open Source Robotics Foundation. “The capabilities provided by MoveIt open up many applications for the community.”

After years of use among academics, startups, and government-sponsored efforts such as NASA’s Robonaut program, industrial robotics users have recently paid more attention to ROS and MoveIt 2.

MoveIt is the third most popular package in ROS, according to PickNik. Companies such as Microsoft, Toyota, Samsung, and LG have invested in opensource robotics development.

In additon, companies using MoveIt include Fetch Robotics, Franka Emika, PAL Robotics, Realtime Robotics, and Kinova. RR

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| Source:PickNik

MoveIt task constructor. | Source: PickNik

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How to use MoveIt 2 for collision-free motion planning MoveIt, the Motion Planning Framework for ROS, has been successfully used in numerous industrial and research applications where complex collision ee robot motions are needed to complete manipulation tasks. In recent months, a great deal of effort has gone into migrating MoveIt into ROS 2.

As a result, the new MoveIt 2 amework already provides access to many of the core features and functionality available in its predecessor. While some of the very useful setup tools are still a work in progress (mainly the MoveIt setup assistant), I was able to integrate MoveIt 2 into the Collaborative Robotic Sanding Application (CRS) to plan trajectories, which were then executed on a Gazebo-simulated UR10 robot arm.

My ROS 2 setup involved building the MoveIt 2 repository om source as described in github. I then overlaid that colcon workspace on top of my existing CRS application workspace. I also built and ran the simple demo, which worked right out of the gate and was very helpful in helping me understand how to integrate MoveIt2 into my own application.

The C++ integration was very straightforward and only needed the use of two new classes: MoveItCpp and PlanningComponent. In this architecture, MoveItCpp is used to load the robot model, configure the planning pipeline om ROS 2 parameters and initialize defaults.

Then there’s the PlanningComponent class, which is associated to a planning group and is used to setup the motion plan request and call the low-level planner.

Furthermore, the PlanningComponent class has a similar interface to the familiar MoveGroupInterface class om MoveIt. But one of the big changes here is that the methods in the PlanningComponent class aren’t just wrappers to various services and actions provided by the move_group node. Instead, they make direct function calls to the various motion planning capabilities.

I think this is a welcome change, since this architecture will allow creating MoveIt 2 planning configuration on the fly that can adapt to varying planning situations that may arise in an application.

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In this simulation, the robot has to move the camera to three scan positions. MoveIt 2 is used to plan collision-free motions to those positions. | Source: Southwest Research Institute

On the other hand, the launch/yaml integration wasn’t as clean as many ROS 2 concepts are still relatively new to me. To properly configure MoveIt 2, it is necessary to load a URDF file as well as a number of parameters residing in several yaml files into your MoveIt 2 application.

Fortunately, most of the yaml files generated by the MoveIt Setup Assistant om the original MoveIt can be used with just minor modifications and so I ran the Setup Assistant in ROS 1 and generated the needed config files.

The ability to assemble ROS 2 launch files in python really came in handy here as it allowed me to instantiate a python dictionary om a YAML file and pass its elements as parameters for my ROS 2 application.

Beyond learning about MoveIt 2, going through this exercise showed me how to reuse the same yaml file for initializing parameters in different applications, which I thought was a feature that was no longer available in ROS 2.

My overall impression of MoveIt 2 was very positive. I feel that the architectural changes aren’t at all disruptive to existing MoveIt developers, and it’ll lead to new interesting ways in which the amework gets used. I sure look forward to the porting of other very useful MoveIt components.

The branch of project that integrates MoveIt 2 can be found here and above is a short clip of the planning that I was able to do with it. In this application, the robot has to move the camera to three scan positions. MoveIt 2 is used to plan collision- ee motions to those positions.

www.therobotreport.com

About the Author Jorge Nicho is a Research Engineer at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). He graduated with a Master’s degree in Mechanical engineering om the University of Texas at San Antonio in December of 2010. Nicho joined SwRI in 2011 as an engineer for the Manufacturing and Robotics Technologies Department. One of his strengths is intelligent robot motion planning.

Nicho has participated in the development of several intelligent robotic systems built with the ROS amework.

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The Robot Report

‘Natural Tasking’ could reduce the complexity of robot programming In this Q&A, Energid explains now the technique could enable more sophisticated applications.

Eugene Demaitre • Senior Editor • The Robot Report

As robots are deployed in increasingly complex and dynamic environments and applications, programming them has become equally challenging and timeconsuming. “Natural tasking” is an approach to robot control that could reduce the difficulty of programming robotic systems.

An application might require the coordination of multiple robots in a single workspace, the integration of moving parts tracked by vision systems, or the completion of complex tasks such as welding.

The more complex the application, the harder it is to program using conventional methods of direct motion control. This can delay the launch of innovative tools and reduce the potential productivity, quality, and safety benefits of using robots.

Natural tasking allows the user to speci what the robot should do rather than how to do it. Jeff Sprenger, director of business development and product management at Bedford, Mass.-based Energid Technologies, recently spoke with The Robot Report about natural tasking and how it can be used to simpli programing and enable more sophisticated robotics applications.

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A single control system can coordinate the movements of three robot arms, each with seven degrees of freedom. | Source: Energid

Why do you call it “natural tasking?”

Sprenger: Consider how humans move their arms, wrists, and hands to grasp objects and then place them. Depending on the object, such as a cup, pen, ball, or block, there are multiple ways to grasp, but we do it in a way that feels natural and comfortable. We do this to minimize movement and avoid the over-rotation of our wrist or awkward placement of our elbow, as well as to take advantage of the symmetry of the object.

For instance, a glass can be grasped om different angles around its outer surface. Each grasp results in a different set of joint angles or poses.

Natural tasking uses the multiple possible pose solutions and chooses one that minimizes metrics such as kinetic energy and avoids joint limits and obstacles. The result is a natural motion that is optimized mathematically for efficiency.

by concentrating on the individual movements and joint angles of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, the problem becomes complex.

Instead, we guide the hand using visual or tactile feedback and depend on our motor and sensory systems to adjust our reach and grasp using a comfortable pose.

We use “proprioception” — the body’s ability to sense its location, movements, and actions — along with pain sensors to guide our movements and keep us om over-extending or over-rotating.

Natural tasking sounds simple, but how does it work?

Sprenger: The idea is to reduce complexity through abstraction, which reduces a high-dimension problem to an easier-to-solve, lower-dimension problem. If you try to move your arm

There are three approaches to grasping this sphere. The control system uses a 3-DOF constraint (position only) and optimizes the approach by automatically rotating the gripper to avoid collision with the box. | Source: Energid

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Natural tasking with a floating base UR5e arm, plus an OptiTrack system and Robotiq gripper. | Source: Energid

As robots are deployed in increasingly complex and dynamic environments and applications, programming them has become equally challenging and timeconsuming. “Natural tasking” is an approach to robot control that could reduce the difficulty of programming robotic systems.

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If you consciously attempt to consider every possible change in every available degree of freedom [DOF], the problem becomes much more complex. There are simply too many changes that need to be made.

Alternatively, you can break the problem down into different layers of abstraction: position and velocity control at the joint level; object recognition for location and orientation; end-effector guidance to the target; and obstacle avoidance for the arm, the end effector, and any attached objects.

For robotic control, the separation of the task and motion-control layers allows the engineer to abstract the position and orientation of a part or any other object in the environment. If the task is specified by a moving reference frame attached to the part, then the robot can grasp that part anywhere in the workspace.

A computer vision tracking system can update the position of the part in real time, and the natural task is just to grasp the part.

That makes sense, but how is it accomplished?

Sprenger: Natural tasking exploits a robot’s kinematic redundancy by matching its task space with the constraint space. For example, if we need a six-axis robot to apply adhesive or perform a weld, the application only requires five degrees of constraint, with the tool itself rotating along its long axis, like a pen. If we over-constrain the robot

www.therobotreport.com

by forcing all six DOF, the result can be unnatural and inefficient motion.

By matching the task and constraint space, we instead have one DOF that can be exploited to find the optimal path and avoid collision. Natural tasking uses software, sensors, and tracked markers in the environment to automatically calculate the robot’s movement, independent of its position and orientation.

The motion layer computes the inverse kinematics, defining the set of joint angles that locates the end effector in the desired position and orientation.

To move the end effector from Point A to Point B, the motion control computes a viable path, continually performing collision detection — for both the robot itself or other objects in the environment — along the path while in motion.

By leaving the automated collision avoidance to the motion controller, the engineer can focus on higher-level tasks.

What are some common automation challenges that natural tasking can solve?

Sprenger: Nearly any application that involves a high number of DOF is a good candidate for natural tasking. That could be the coordination of multiple six-axis robotic arms working on a single task, or a six-axis robot on a mobile platform such as a rail or motorized car.

Robotic welding is a good example of a task that can be performed using multiple robot arms, with one arm

THE ROBOT REPORT

8/5/20 1:15 PM

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The Robot Report

controlling the welding tool while the others hold the parts to be welded. If each robot has seven DOF, the kinematic solver has to determine how best to use the 21 DOF across all three robots to adjust the part and tool orientation and position to meet the motion constraints of the tool along the weld path.

Another example is a sophisticated production line in which multiple robot arms work in coordination to combine a set of parts into a single assembly, which is defined using a CAD system.

The problem is stated at a higher level, with the control system left to figure out how to position and move the arm to manipulate objects in the environment.

The robot must be able to recognize the parts in arbitrary order and orientation on multiple trays, attach the appropriate grippers, grasp and hold parts together during assembly, test the fit with visual inspection, and then continue to the next steps in assembly.

Assembling multiple parts can include insertion of one part into another using force feedback to ensure a correct fit.

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What are the advantages of natural tasking for this application?

Sprenger: Programming the coordination of these robots can take weeks if it is described using motion primitives that move a set of joints on the robot arm. If the company later needs to automate a similar assembly with somewhat different parts, then that long, complex programming task has to be repeated.

With natural tasking, the assembly is described in high-level terms that move and combine parts regardless of location or orientation. It handles real-time object collision avoidance along the way.

Changing the assembly using a different but similar part is a matter of a few hours to change the task and retest in simulation and then directly on the physical robot hardware.

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How can a robot programmer take this approach?

Sprenger: The natural tasking approach relies on implementation of the following layers of control:

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Internal grasping and coordinated lift with a FreeeSpinInZ endeffector constraint. | Source: Energid

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Motor/servo control, which ensures that the robot actuators are moving to the desired position at the right time by controlling the current supplied to the motor using position encoding feedback.

2 Motion control, which moves a combination of robot joints to achieve a required pose at a specified tool offset at a specified time.

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Task control, which decomposes the task into a series of motion primitives. The tasks can be programmed using a scripting language rather than C++. Motion primitives include coordinated joint motions, end-effector motions — linear and circular, based on the world coordinate frame or link frame — and tool paths, as well as path planning in the known environment. These motions can be defined relative to some object, which allows the system to handle moving parts or targets.

Natural tasking allows the programmer to describe the desired start and end points of the end effector relative to objects in the environment.

Meanwhile, the automated control system uses optimization to find the best path choosing from multiple solutions.

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The human describes the task, the motion layer breaks that down into motion primitive with adjustments in real time according to environment changes, and the motor layer drives the robotic actuators to their desired position and velocity.

Each layer operates at a different update rate, such as 10 kHz for the motor, 500 Hz for the motion, and 10-0.5 Hz for each task, allowing each layer to react to different types of disturbances to the system.

Each robot, depending on degrees of freedom and kinematic redundancy, has its own natural tasking representation.

Taking advantage of that results in optimized solutions, smoother movement, and the ability to abstract the motion control problem to allow programming at the problem level rather than the control level. RR

Is this something robotics developers can do on their own?

Sprenger: A robotics system developer can do this if the correct abstractions are provided in the control software.

Abstractions for the robot and its bounding volumes, as well as geometric representations for objects entering and leaving the workspace, are important.

Recognizing objects and tracking their position and orientation while modeling their 3D spatial bounds is also key.

Motion-control software such as Energid’s Actin SDK specializes in providing these abstractions that facilitate natural tasking. An important quality of such a system is to allow the replacement of one robot with another robot with different kinematic representation and still be able to generate a solution without having to recode. www.therobotreport.com

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CGI Inc. Advanced Products for Robotics and Automation At CGI we serve a wide array of industries including medical, robotics, aerospace, defense, semiconductor, industrial automation, motion control, and many others. Our core business is manufacturing precision motion control solutions.

CGI’s diverse customer base and wide range of applications have earned us a reputation for quality, reliability, and flexibility. One of the distinct competitive advantages we are able to provide our customers is an engineering team that is knowledgeable and easy to work with. CGI is certified to ISO9001 and ISO13485 quality management systems. In addition, we are FDA and AS9100 compliant. Our unique quality control environment is weaved into the fabric of our manufacturing facility. We work daily with customers who demand both precision and rapid turnarounds.

ISO QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: ISO 9001• ISO 13485 • AS9100 • ITAR SIX SIGMA AND LEAN PRACTICES ARE EMBRACED DAILY WITHIN THE CULTURE

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Fully Integrated Speed Controller, within 6.2 mm The FAULHABER BXT Flat brushless DC servo motor family has grown; now available in all sizes with a diametercompliant, integrated speed controller. With an additional attachment length of just 6.2 mm, the combination of the BXT H motors with the integrated speed controller is the ideal solution for space-confined applications, particularly if speeds need to be controlled precisely, and high torques are also required. The default factory pre-configuration, along with the Motion Manager software allows for quick and easy commissioning of the system. Typical applications are medical devices, pumps, hand-held instruments, optics systems, and robotics & end-effectors.

FAULHABER MICROMO www.faulhaber.com 14881 Evergreen Ave Clearwater, FL 33760 USA

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THE ROBOT REPORT

8/5/20 9:48 AM

ATOM DX encoder series ™

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Robotics Robotics

Choose the Right Robot for Your Job At Festo, we can help you find the best robotic system for your application. Robots come in many sizes and configurations—from two to seven axes. They can perform simple or complex tasks and are easier than ever to integrate into warehouses, food zones, cleanrooms and other manufacturing environments.

Types of industrial robots include: • Articulated—popular and highly flexible • Cartesian—low cost and adaptable • SCARA—optimized for light applications • Delta—renowned for their speed • Collaborative—allow for direct collaboration with human workers

Our Cartesian systems and Delta robots will meet your toughest requirements for payload, flexibility, speed and more. You can even use our online tools—like our Handling Guide Online—to configure and order your Cartesian system in three easy steps.

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Phone: 1.800.993.3786 Web: www.festo.us E-mail: customer.service.us@festo.com

IKO Products Provide Reliable Motion for a Wide Range of Robotic Applications IKO’s motion products are known for their quality and high performance, making them ideal for demanding robotic applications. There are a wide range of sizes and styles that provide accurate, reliable motion for both light and heavy-duty robotic needs.

IKO’s crossed roller bearings are well-suited for robotic systems with rotating, articulated arms because they can handle radial, thrust and moment loads at the same time; and linear motion rolling guides come in rail sizes from 1 to 85 millimeters to handle large, heavy loads or fit into tight spaces or weight-constrained robotic devices.

Products with our built-in C-Lube technology can also significantly reduce maintenance requirements, important for operations where system uptime is critical. IKO products provide reliability, smooth motion, accurate performance and good rigidity to deliver precise, repeatable motion for virtually any robotic application.

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Festo Corporation 1377 Motor Pkwy. Ste 310 Suffolk County Islandia, NY 11749

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IKO International Inc. Fox Hill Industrial Park 91 Walsh Drive Parsippany, NJ 07054 Toll Free: 1.800.922.0337 Email: eco@ikonet.co.jp

THE ROBOT REPORT

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Robotics Robotics

Compact motors for collaborative robots Reliable, Powerful, Efficient maxon flat motors are especially suitable for installation in confined spaces. The brushless motors are designed as internal and external rotors and can reach speeds of up to 20,000 RPM. Available with hall sensors, sensorless or with integrated electronics. These motors can also be combined with gearheads and encoders.

• External, multi-pole rotor for high torques • Open design for excellent heat dissipation at higher speeds maxon is your single source for motion solutions. When you choose maxon, you can expect outstanding service, creative options and quality without question. Want to get your ideas moving? Contact maxon today.

Learn more about the maxon solutions and visit www.maxongroup.us

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VersaFlex Conveyors Handle Complex Layouts VersaFlex flat top chain conveyors, by mk North America, are the ideal conveyor for complex layouts, elevation changes, and small spaces. These conveyors are capable of vertical conveying, alpine configurations, and side-gripper applications – in addition to conveying product in any number of conventional layouts.

What sets VersaFlex conveyors apart from the rest of the flat top chain conveyors in the marketplace is their ability solve a variety of manufacturing challenges – including capacity issues, space constraints and workforce shortages. Visit our website to learn more.

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Robotics Robotics

New England Wire Technologies Advancing innovation for over 100 years Why accept a standard product for your custom application?

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Cables we specialize in are LITZ, multi-conductor cables, hybrid configurations, coaxial, twin axial, miniature and micro-miniature coaxial cables, ultra flexible, high flex life, low/high temperature cables, braids, and a variety of proprietary cable designs. Contact us today and let us help you dream beyond today’s technology and achieve the impossible.

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NEW Aksim-2 rotary absolute kit encoders offer outstanding performance – to 20-bits with no hysteresis Renishaw associate company RLS d.o.o Introduces an improved second generation of AKSim absolute rotary encoders widely used in many humanoid, medical and collaborative (Cobot) applications, where hysteresis, large through holes, low profile, reliability and repeatability are fundamental.

The additional benefits of AksIM-2 encoders are: • Full range of sizes • Onboard eccentricity calibration • Multiturn capability • Extended operating temperature and pressure ranges

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Robotics Robotics

Ruland Manufacturing Zero-Backlash Couplings for Robotic Systems Ruland Manufacturing offers a variety of zero-backlash servo couplings designed for use in high precision applications like automation and robotics. Ruland offers beam, bellows, disc, oldham, jaw, and newly-released Controlflex couplings in thousands of off-the-shelf combinations and sizes to help designers optimize their systems.

Robotic vision systems, material handling robots, and automated guided vehicles have infamously strict requirements that require engineers to balance torque, weight, dampening, and more, all while retaining extremely precise power transmission. Ruland servo couplings excel in demanding applications and can be selected based on a wide variety of performance characteristics.

Visit Ruland.com for access to everything you need to make a coupling design decision including: full technical product data, 3D CAD models, installation videos, and eCommerce to make prototyping easy.

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SICK, Inc. New Ultra-Compact Safety Laser Scanner – nanoScan3

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Ruland Manufacturing 6 Hayes Memorial Dr. Marlborough, MA 01752

A new ultra-compact safety laser scanner is now available from SICK that revolutionizes safe navigation for small AGVs or mobile robots. With an overall height just over three inches, the nanoScan3 is a space-saving sensor that can be used where machines and vehicles require maximum performance, but have minimal mounting space.

Product benefits:

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Small housing, measuring only 3.15 inches in height Two pairs of OSSD safety outputs Up to 128 freely configurable fields and monitoring cases Direct static and encoder inputs for flexible monitoring case switching Protective field range of three meters with a scanning angle of 275-degrees

• High-precision measurement data output for navigation support via Ethernet interface

• Maximum detection reliability even when subject to challenging ambient conditions

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Robotics

Looking for compact, rugged motion sensing with premium performance?

In operation on the factory floor, in the fields, in the air and under water, Silicon Sensing’s DMU11 inertial measurement unit (IMU) delivers complete motion sensing in three-dimensional space. This is a compact, precise, six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DOF) device ideal for any motion control or stabilisation role. Low cost and able to fit in the smallest space, it delivers market-leading performance that is calibrated over its full rated temperature range.

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A supplement of Design World August 2020

is enabling medical 3D printing innovation 88

94 How to optimize performance and manufacturability for additive manufacturing

COVER_MPF 8-20_FINAL.indd 87

98 A practical guide to implementing generative design

8/3/20 4:04 PM

For in-situ process monitoring, the Origin One boasts two optical cameras, three infrared cameras, humidity sensors, temperature sensors and more — as well as analytical software to better figure out what is going on. | Courtesy of Origin

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DESIGN WORLD

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A d d i t i v e

T e c h n o l o g y

Software is enabling medical 3D printing innovation: Here’s how The 3D printers themselves get a lot of attention, but for 3Dprinting to become ubiquitous in the medtech space, software will have to play a key role.

Chris Newmaker • Managing Editor • Medical Design and Outsourcing

With “a few mouse clicks,” a radiologist on GE Healthcare’s Advantage Workstation can now separate volume renderings into both organs (kidneys) and blood — exporting them into 3D-printable files. (Note: The files are not cleared yet for diagnostic use.)

A 3D printer without software to tell it where to place the material is a really nice, expensive coffee table, according to Scott Rader, a former Stratasys GM who has led GE Healthcare’s 3D-printing efforts for the past year.

Still, there is a need for even more software advances if 3D printing is to drive widespread healthcare innovation — from surgeons training on patient-specific 3D-printed models to customized, printed orthopedic implants and other medical devices.

“That’s why I came to GE Healthcare — to help connect the dots,” Rader recently told Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Whether it involves spitting out a 3D-printable file off of a medical image, designing a more complicated 3D structure faster or ensuring that a 3D printer is truly printing to spec, there have been great strides in recent years in the software that powers the use of additive manufacturing in medtech.

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Additive Technology 3D Systems’ DMP Flex 350 machine is equipped with the latest monitoring software for maintenance tracking, as well as in-process monitoring of the build quality. | Courtesy of 3D Systems

“It’s inseparable because it is digital manufacturing. You can’t separate the computer out of the digital manufacturing process,” said Dr. Jenny Chen, founder and CEO of 3DHeals, a community of healthcare 3D-printing innovators.

Here are a few of the highlights of those software advances.

Medical images can be used to create a 3D-printable file. The 3D printed objects can be made from a range of materials — from color encoded to clear to preserve “X-ray vision.”

The contrast-enhanced CT image showed two kidneys with vasculature — a complex 3-dimensional image that would normally end up lost in the bowels of a hospital’s servers after a radiologist produces a diagnosis report and accompanying PDF. But Rader at GE Healthcare — replaying a demonstration he made at last year’s Radiological Society of North

America convention — showed how a radiologist using the company’s Advantage Workstation, can, within seconds select 3D models of the right kidney and a particular branch of a blood vessel.

Physicians use Advantage Workstation to “read” patient scans like CT and MRI; once the radiologist defines the anatomy of interest, a couple of mouse clicks lets them export it to a 3D-printable file. It could be one of the STL files that 3D printers commonly use, or an alternative file format such as OBJ or 3MF or even VRML for virtual reality systems.

It’s been possible for years to create 3D-printable files from the Digital Imaging and Communications

3D Reconstructed neurovasculature using Philips’ IntelliSpace Portal

in Medicine (DICOM) output from CT or MRI scans. But the process involves interpreting the data on slices through the body, then segmenting organs, bones and vessels by outlining those structures in the slices. Manual segmentation processes are laborious, especially for a hospital radiologist trying to create the files amid a busy workday, according to Rader.

Advantage Workstation has helped radiology departments streamline the workflow for diagnostic reports for more than 20 years. What is new is the ability to re-use the 3D diagnostic visualizations for 3D printing and beyond via a simple file export.

“If you know manual segmentation and 3D printer interface software, you can do this today, but my hospital customers don’t often have a 3D-printing or engineering background,” Rader said. With the new GE Healthcare capability 3D

Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) spinal implant with digitally-applied surface roughness and gradient periodic gyroid structure, made using nTop Platform software from nTopology

| Courtesy of Philips

| Courtesy of nTopology

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It’s possible to take 3D-printable files from the GE Healthcare Advantage Workstation to create 3D prints from a range of materials — from color encoded to clear to preserve “X-ray vision.” | Courtesy of GE Healthcare

Suite, he added, “You can simply, within three clicks, reuse the data you already generated to write the radiological report.”

GE for now is launching the new capability for creating 3D-printed educational models to aid in physician team communication and explain conditions to people seeking care, with plans to seek FDA permission for diagnostic and training uses.

“We have the ability to communicate in 3D,” Rader said.

GE’s major competitors in the imaging space — Royal Philips and Siemens Healthineers — have also made strides in creating 3D-printable files from medical scans.

When Philips launched the 10th version of its IntelliSpace Portal in 2017, it included an embedded 3D-modeling application meant to make it easier to generate and export 3D models for VR and printing as an extension of the clinical workflow.

Philips already had algorithms that could, for example, create a 3D version of a colon for a virtual colonoscopy or 3D versions of the heart or lungs, so it was fairly natural to make the jump to creating models that could actually be printed, said Kevin Lev, marketing director of advanced visualization and AI solutions at Philips.

“We have to remember that physical model creation is something radiologists are not necessarily used to doing on a day-to-day basis,” Lev said. “What we tried to do is make the process easy for the radiologist to do and transfer over to DESIGN WORLD

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the surgical or intervention suite where there could be large benefits in surgical planning, potentially making a large difference for the patient.”

Also in 2017, Siemens Healthineers announced a partnership with Materialise — the first company to win FDA clearance for 3D printing anatomical models for diagnostic use — to incorporate Materialise Mimics inPrint software into Siemens’ advanced imaging platform Syngo.via.

“The easy workflows in the Materialise software make it easier for the radiologists and imaging technicians to prepare a file from the DICOM images to a 3D-printable file in a straightforward and easier way,” said Todd Pietila, who manages global business development for hospital 3D printing at Materialise.

Radiologists can use the Materialise software from any Syngo.via access point installed anywhere in a hospital network, according to Katrin Ganser, Syngo global marketing manager at Siemens Healthineers.

“We’re aiming to take the 3D printer to smaller hospitals that are not the traditional big research facilities,” Ganser said.

Innovation is also taking place on the design software front of medical 3D printing.

For example, nTopology (New York) has design software that goes beyond traditional CAD by using mathematical equations to represent complex geometries, versus having to represent each complex feature separately. The result is faster design and smaller file

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Aorta and kidneys | Courtesy of GE Healthcare

sizes that are only megabytes in size, versus hundreds of megabytes or even gigabytes, according to Christopher Cho, senior application engineer at the company.

The 5-year-old company’s roots are in the engineering design industry.

But nTopology has made inroads in medtech, especially in the orthopedic space where complex geometries inside implants have the potential to stimulate replacement bone growth.

Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), for example, collaborated with nToplogy and British engineering company Renishaw and its Renishaw RenAM 500M metal AM system to produce lightweight spinal implants that mimic the mechanical properties of bone. It’s easier to make changes and experiment with the software because the alterations can then flow through the overall equations behind the design, according to Cho. “They were able to use the software to explore more options that they could consider and test in a shorter amount of time,” he said of Renishaw and IMR. August 2020

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Additive Technology

“We can give you a brand new, uniquelooking structure, go to market with something that no one has ever seen before.”

Additive manufacturing excels at creating complex technologies, so nTopology’s design software marries well with 3D printing. The company has partnerships with Renishaw, EOS and others to integrate nToplogy directly into their 3D-printing systems, versus relying on STL files and their limitations.

“If we can avoid that digital step, work directly with the machine manufacturers … basically integrate the digital model workflow directly with them, we would be able to bypass this digital obstacle and really push the envelope on the design into the manufacturing process,” Cho said.

No matter what software innovation created it, a design will prove useless if the 3D printer doesn’t actually print to spec. That’s where sophisticated in situ monitoring — monitoring during the actual print — is coming into play.

3D Systems, for example, has in-process monitoring systems in metal 3D printing systems, including its DMP Flex 350, DMP Factory 350 and DMP Factory 500, with data analysis taking place postprocess.

Plans include releasing new software for automated monitoring analysis soon to aid users in assessing part quality, said Markus Reichmann, healthcare business development manager at the printer company. “We are really putting a lot of effort into automated monitoring.”

3D Systems uses a digital camera and a light diode that collects emitted light to tell exactly what is going on in the melt pool.

“A next step will be to incorporate the online analysis that would run during the printing … and provide a feedback loop to the printing process based on the analysis results,” Reichmann said.

A 3-year-old 3D printer company called Origin, based in San Francisco, boasts a 3D printer called the Origin One that monitors even more during

the print. There are two optical cameras, three infrared cameras, humidity sensors, temperature sensors and more — as well as analytical software to better figure out what is going on, said Origin’s marketing director Finbarr Watterson.

The reason for so many controls is that Origin grew out of partnerships with major materials companies such as BASF and Henkel, which are also important medical device industry suppliers. They wanted a printer they could fine-tune to build the materials that designers in medtech and other advanced industries want to use.

Henkel, for example, has silicones that are used in medical devices, although silicones are notoriously hard to 3D print.

“Not many [3D-printer] companies out there offer it because it’s hard to do fine features, but through our software controls, through the kind of tweaks, we’re able to get the silicones working on our system when they’ve failed with every other resin-based 3D printer out there,” Watterson said.

Using Origin’s print process, silicones can be printed within a 100-micron tolerance, and with rigid materials, a 50-micron or lower tolerance can be achieved.

Origin, Watterson said, is big on data access and analysis. “We want to make everything open and accessible, create really good hardware and not try to do everything. … We want to broaden and work with companies to co-develop applications.”

In situ monitoring and data access through software are crucial for medical 3D printing innovation, Chen said. “It’s extremely important to remove the human element so that it’s no longer an art, so it’s not like one product can be studied differently from the other, but consistently deliver with quality.” n

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How to optimize performance and manufacturability for additive manufacturing

As additive manufacturing (AM) racks up more success stories, scrutiny on the process is becoming increasingly forensic in nature, with a focus on the areas that the technology must improve to compete on more equal terms with conventional manufacturing techniques.

Alexander Pluke CEO Additive Flow

Figure 1. Right angle bracket – single material additive-ready topology optimization.

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Figure 2. Alcoa airplane bearing bracket challenge.

Fixed geometry process parameter topology optimisation.

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As this decade progresses, the drive towards the use of AM as a replacement for conventional manufacturing technologies for key applications will continue, and will primarily be focussed on existing and new applications where the use of AM brings a significant ROI across the value chain by reducing the overall time and cost of manufacturing. As a general rule of thumb, for AM to be used as an efficient production technology for any given application it needs to demonstrate — as a minimum — a 10-fold improvement in cost and/or time savings to offset the cost and risk associated with converting from a traditional manufacturing process chain.

Several applications in the public domain demonstrate this sort of ROI and value. Suggestions are that more applications in R&D are yet to be revealed publicly and many more have not been thought of yet. Because as good as AM is as a solution within its niche (and it is still a niche within the global context of manufacturing) there are still barriers to adoption that are stalling uptake and growth of AM. A key barrier to adoption is the disconnect within the necessary workflow for AM. Just consider for a moment, the digital tools required for the physical output from an AM process. AM is widely considered a digital manufacturing tool, rightly so. It’s also often cited as an essential component of Industry 4.0. Aside from popular buzzwords, what are we

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AM enables complexity specifically in terms of part geometry and the physical building of complex shapes that are not possible with traditional manufacturing methods.

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actually trying to achieve here? This is the crux of the conversation, in my opinion. Any given AM system is just one component within a complex digital workflow that involves the creation (design), optimization, manipulation and simulation of data. Subsequent to these disciplines, the data must then be converted into a machinereadable form by way of the “slicers or build processors” before achieving the physical goal — the required part(s).

Even at the first stage, the creation of the design data, there are many options of traditional parametric design software solutions, as well as new generative design options that facilitate form and functionality optimization. Similarly, for design optimization and digital part simulation there are other options. The data required for a successful AM part will pass through many different stages on its journey. This journey is currently complex and requires serious know-how to navigate successfully through the various, often discrete, digital tools.

It is important to clarify a juxtaposition on complexity here.

AM enables complexity specifically in terms of part geometry and the physical building of complex shapes that are not possible with traditional manufacturing methods. Indeed, this is a positive unique selling proposition of AM compared with traditional manufacturing methods.

However, the digital workflow required to facilitate AM applications throws up levels of complexity that can prohibit adoption, and this is a real challenge and it requires a new approach.

The “good” complexity has led to advanced and enhanced levels of creativity and innovation for AM applications, where unprecedented levels of design freedom have resulted in new design methodologies for geometrically complex products. As mentioned, there is now a plethora of examples of generative design software modules that can produce lattice structures and topologically optimised www.makepartsfast.com

structures for optimal performance and light-weighting benefits.

It is within this narrow scope that the general discussion around optimisation for AM applications often lies. I believe it must be extended to realise the latent potential of AM. A broader view of optimization It is fair to say that when the AM community talks about optimization, they are generally referring to design optimization. Topology optimization, for example, seeks to achieve the best possible design for a structure by changing material distribution within the design space to achieve required functions and maximize performance.

Similarly, the proliferation in the (generative or otherwise) design of lattice structures, the production of which is singularly enabled by AM, has the potential to deliver applications with new functionality including high levels of energy absorption and stiffness, while at the same time offering light-weighting advantages and reduced material consumption. These are both positive benefits of new design thinking that are driving new and/or improved applications of AM. Optimization remains imperative as a digital design discipline, but it needs to be moved on, with a more holistic approach and more connected digital tools that can apply a multi-parameter approach simultaneously.

In this way, a more holistic approach requires intelligent and multi-functional digital tools that can optimize the design geometry, material placement and AM process parameters in a single environment — in essence allowing designers and engineers to optimize their entire digital workflow and remove the unwanted complexities from it. This capability will unlock the next level of performance from AM and industrial 3D printing technologies.

A multifunctional approach Adopting a multifunctional and holistic DESIGN WORLD

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approach requires a flexible set of digital tools that can simultaneously consider material properties, geometry and material placement, hardware systems, and build parameters. Such an approach increases multi-property performance and optimizes the outcomes for AM applications, applicable across material systems (metal/polymer/ceramic) and combinations for compatible multi-material applications, within the boundaries of material science where defined materials and material properties can be combined through the manufacturing process. One solution uses a multi-physics, multi-property topology optimization approach.

Why? To address common challenges experienced within the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) workflow and pre-production preparation, another option—FormFlow—is a broader type of optimization software that incorporates multiple functions enabled by specific physics-driven comparisons of the design, material, AM process parameters, and production output against key performance indicators as defined by specific application priorities.

These capabilities offer time- and cost-efficiencies to the entire digital workflow and go beyond the typical capabilities of discrete generative design, topology optimization, and design simulation software tools, while incorporating all of these capabilities.

FormFlow is AM-process agnostic with specialist solvers that account for the unique properties in AM materials and can be tailored to work with single- and/ or multi-material designs.

printed part behaves differently depending on the direction of force applied to it. This usually means that 3D printed parts behave differently to forces applied perpendicular to the build direction.

If these are ignored, or the standard isotropic solvers on the market are used, optimization results will invariably be wrong, and in such a way key safety factors may be missed and/or true optimization opportunities lost. This anisotropy plays an even greater role within composite structures, where fibre orientation delivers enhanced engineering properties in particular directions. Algorithms ensure that the opportunities for anisotropic optimization can be realized for every application.

AM also allows for the adjustment of parameters throughout the printing process, or the application of different parameters to different regions of a part. This has the potential to unlock productivity, cost, and performance improvements when compared with traditional manufacturing processes.

However, the complexity of manually deciding which regions should have which property sets can be time-consuming and complex. FormFlow addresses this issue through multi-property optimization algorithms, the software having the capability to address different parameter sets within an optimization while enabling engineers to apply their parameter knowledge seamlessly across a split mesh.

n Additive Flow | www.additiveflow.com

Overcoming issues inherent in AM FormFlow addresses some inherent characteristics within AM processes that can be easy to overlook. For example, AM processes in general exhibit variations in physical properties along the build axis (anisotropy), where the 3D

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A practical to implementing guide generative design Generative design is seen as the latest tool to gain market share. However, adopting it is not as easy as it seems. Here are tips on applying generative technology.

Brian Thompson divisional vice president and general manager • CAD PTC

Volvo wanted to replace a belt-driven fan clutch with an electric motor. However, this required a new mount. The first design for the mount was a three-piece sub-assembly. Volvo engineers were able to simplify the assembly to a one-piece part using generative design.

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Here is a look at the fan mount.

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Generative design is a means of autonomously creating optimal designs from a set of system design requirements, such as loads, constraints, preferred materials and manufacturing processes.

Why is there so much market buzz about this technology?

First, by definition, generative design (generative) promises to unleash fully autonomous design using the power of artificial intelligence. It may even help you become a better engineer. Who wouldn’t find both of those intriguing?

Second, the potential business value is so tempting. Hardpressed manufacturers are looking for an edge in cost-of-goodssold, time-to-market, or anything that will keep them ahead of a competitor.

There is truth to the buzz, and I believe you can and should adopt generative design tools. The adoption process isn’t as easy as it seems. Below, I offer several suggestions for applying generative technology based on my work with PTC’s customers.

• Start small. Don’t expect to redesign your entire assembly or product with the push of a button – yet.

• Be aware that you will need to codify the design requirements as fully as possible, and in a language the generative system understands.

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• Set reasonable boundaries for solution exploration.

• Be ready to continue to progress your design to production readiness.

• Be prepared to temper your expectations and apply generative where and how it makes the most sense.

I’ll now consider some of these items in greater depth.

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Design Requirements

Working with the generative technology, Volvo created a design space from available volume within the engine, including all mounting points and neighboring components, as well as the motor itself; applied loads and constraints, set various mass targets, aiming for around 1 kg.

Space Requirements Some requirements are simple and straightforward, such as space limitations. Space limitations are the areas where the system can put geometry, where it can’t, and what geometry must exist in the design (for purposes of an interface, for example). The design space definition is critical because every design solution will honor this fundamental set of requirements.

Human engineers examine the design context, almost intuitively know these things, and instinctively design around them. The generative system, however, only knows what it’s told unambiguously.

That means you’ve got some modeling to do.

The best approach is to build this design space right there in the context of your design – right next to all the other parts in the assembly. Ideally, such a design space would even include critical geometric dependencies to the surrounding parts. If those parts change, the generatively designed geometry can be updated in situ.

In that sense generatively-designed parts are no different than parts people design. The parts are still are bound by the priorities and requirements of their geometric neighbors, and the design tool in which the generative technology is deployed must be able to help the engineer manage these dependencies.

Managing other requirements Other requirements might not be so straightforward. You’ll need to prioritize instead of loading in every conceivable requirement and then overusing – and overspending on – compute resources.

This can happen easily. I think you’d agree that most engineers would probably want a design with minimal stress. It seems simple: tell the system to minimize stress. But what about minimal mass? What about minimizing deflection or maximizing

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stiffness? How about maximizing the first natural frequency, or keeping the temperature differential to a minimum?

The generative system eventually could handle these requests, but you would be better off prioritizing these requirements.

Take an aerospace application for example. It might be better to ask the system to deliver minimum mass, while keeping stress under a value for each material you specify, while keeping the first natural frequency above a certain value, while keeping the temperature differential below a certain value. This way, the system can focus on an “extreme” answer for the highest priority requirement while not violating any other fundamental needs of the design. The result of taking this approach will be a more efficient use of compute resources – so you can explore your design choices more quickly.

You also want to be sure you can manufacture the design alternatives your system generates. With today’s generative systems, however, manufacturing constraints will only get you so far. Fortunately, the parameters that govern them are usually ‘tweakable’ to better align to your company’s preferences. That’s a great place to start.

Your efforts will save you time as you progress your generatively-developed geometry to production readiness.

Temper expectations – and apply generative where it can help you most Step back When you run a generative design study, the system is doing something you couldn’t hope to do yourself, and it’s using time, money, and compute resources to do so. Step back and try to be judicious in your use of those resources and in the scope of your generative study.

You might want to reconsider if you find yourself in any of these situations:

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• You generate design solutions you would not be able to deliver. If you don’t have the time to qualify a new vendor that specializes in titanium extrusions, consider eliminating that option from the solution space.

• You use time and compute resources to generate thousands of design solutions. Do you really need to evaluate thousands of solutions?

• You include load cases that are redundant. Be conscious of the various load cases you’re considering. See if they can be combined so the system has fewer to consider but can still deliver candidate solutions that meet all of your needs. The extra setup time will be worth it in compute time for the entire generative study.

• You allow your biases to influence how you set up the generative study.

Don’t discount combinations that you think (but aren’t sure) won’t work well. Similarly, be sure to include widely used manufacturing processes even if your company doesn’t have internal or existing supply-chain expertise in them.

Remember modeling fundamentals They still matter – even for the model of the generative design spaces. Be sure that generative design spaces are defined properly in the context of the overall design that the team is working on. Generative designs, like any other designs, need to abide by interface and space requirements. Use generative within the core design system – never outside it. This will ensure that as the overall product design evolves, your generatively designed parts can evolve at the same pace, in the same context, like all other parts.

Consider materials Apply generative technology to problems typically solved by the right kinds of construction materials.

Generative systems are limited in

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their understanding of certain types of material characteristics. Today, for example, large, thin-walled structures like tubing or formed sheet metal parts are not ideal candidates for generative systems. Why? The generative systems won’t honor the constant wall thickness sheet metal requirement or the constant cross section requirement of tubing.

Those are temporary limitations, and you can choose many other types of parts which are great candidates, such those machined, cast, extruded or forged.

Don’t forget additive manufacturing.

If you have the right production volumes and the right equipment and process expertise, you can get much more creative in the application of generative technology.

Progressing to production readiness Even after a well-conceived generative study and the selection of a final design, chances are you’ll still need to tweak the result. You should engage once again with your manufacturing engineering colleagues to progress the manufacturability of the design as the entire project moves to production readiness.

That means you’ll need a way to shift your generative result conveniently into traditional CAD brep (boundary representation) form. Ideally, this brep transformation can occur right in the same design context, with the same dependencies and relationships to the surrounding design as was defined by the original generative problem scope.

engine, including all mounting points and neighboring components, as well as the motor itself; applied loads and constraints, set various mass targets, aiming for around 1 kg.

The final result was lighter than the original, optimized for machining, and exceeded the target safety factor.

A final word You needn’t be an industrial conglomerate to see results in your own work. Start small, set up your study with care, and see where it takes you. n PTC | www.ptc.com

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Connect and discuss this and other engineering design issues with thousands of professionals online

How generative design works today One example of generative design at use is in the Volvo development process.

They wanted to replace a belt-driven fan clutch with a new fully variable electric motor, which required a new mount. The preliminary design for the mount was a three-piece sub-assembly, and their goal was to simplify to a single part.

Working with the generative technology, Volvo created a design space from available volume within the

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variable frequency drives for variable-torque applications VFDs have an incredible amount of functionality. Due to recent technological advancements, VFD keypads and HMIs have become more user friendly with easier navigation, higher-resolution displays, and more detailed setup wizards ... even capable of configuring variable-load applications.

Jonathan Kopczyk • Technical support engineer • Yaskawa America Inc.

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Looking back at the past decade, it’s clear that variable frequency drives (VFDs) have positively impacted the motor-control industry. These devices can precisely alter the output frequency and voltage to a motor for accurate speed control and response, all while maximizing efficiency. Countless machines with variable torque loads rely on VFDs for around-the-clock operation.

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Newer VFDs support programming from mobile devices.

It is important with these types of applications that the VFD is setup correctly and a proper startup is performed at some point. This generally includes terminating any control wiring and altering parameter settings if necessary. Though it may seem intimidating, programming a VFD isn’t as hard as it sounds.

There are numerous ways to go about the process … and in some situations, little to no change is required.

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Basic VFD parameter settings Say you’re tasked with programming a VFD for an HVAC application and your knowledge on it is very limited. What exactly needs to be setup? Well, this answer may depend on a few factors — though in most cases, there is not much required.

Bypass units are common in HVAC applications.

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Don’t assume special expertise is needed to make simple programming changes to a VFD. 1 First off, because the VFD is also used as a means for protection, the motor full-load current (FLA or amperage) must be entered.

Other motor nameplate specifications including maximum rated voltage and rpm (or number of poles) should at least be verified with their corresponding parameters. Typically though, the default settings are on par.

2 There is also a feature commonly known as auto-tuning available on most VFDs. Though not necessarily needed with variable torque loads, auto-tuning functions provide an alternate way to tune the motor for the application.

3 Lastly, the run or start-stop command and speed-frequency signal must be addressed.

A dry contact for run and analog input for speed are usually what the drive requires by default.

Next in basic parameter setting are those values that may not necessarily require change — but are highly desired for most variable torque applications. The majority of these settings may even appear when completing a setup wizard or changed when an application preset is selected.

• First consider acceleration and deceleration times: These affect how quickly the motor will ramp from 0 to 100% speed or vice versa.

• The stopping method can also be adjusted. This determines the VFD’s reaction when the run command is removed. A coast-to-stop method is usually the default and

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sufficient with variable torque applications.

• Next are minimum and maximum speeds which can put a limit on the VFD output frequency. For example, it may be necessary to set a minimum speed for a pumping application to assure continuously moving fluid.

• Lastly, VFDs have the ability to auto start after a power glitch or blackout.

Though usually disabled by default for safety reasons, this feature can be a lifesaver in critical scenarios.

More advanced VFD parameter settings Browsing through the hundreds of parameters in a VFD manual can seem intimidating. However, there are a few advanced ones worth noting.

First and foremost are volts per frequency (V/f) settings which affect the performance of the motor. As the drive ramps up or down, the output

VFD keypads have become more user friendly in recent years.

Some VFDs support programming without main power.

One industry trend is the rise of VFDs that accept programming, monitoring, and operation via commands received on a smartphone or laptop. This makes setup and programming easier — and it puts product literature and video tutorials at end users’ fingertips. Some VFDs can even be programmed without main power connected.

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frequency and voltage change according to a predefined pattern. Therefore, adjusting these settings can alter the speed and torque profile of that motor.

Another parameter that can change how the VFD outputs is the carrier frequency.

This is basically the resolution of the VFD output waveform. There are both advantages and disadvantages of setting high and low carrier frequencies.

Yet another setting is that of output current. It’s commonly known that VFDs monitor output current for motor protection. As a benefit to the user, both over-torque and under-torque levels can be set where the drive will fault or provide an alarm if certain conditions are met. This is especially useful when monitoring for low current conditions — which occur when a belt breaks in an HVAC application, for example.

Other advanced settings include optimizing the keypad, assigning a function to the analog and digital inputs and outputs (I/Os) if necessary, and allowing the VFD to start the motor on-the-fly — commonly known as speed search.

Application-based settings on VFDs As their popularity grows, it’s no surprise VFDs are becoming more tailored for specific applications. This not only provides a huge benefit to the consumer as needs are easily met, but the functionality is maximized as well. For example, parameter settings specifically designated for firealarm control or emergency override may be present in a VFD for an HVAC application.

VFD manuals often contain information on hundreds of VFD parameters.

In the pumping world, where pressure control is essential, advanced proportional integral derivative (PID) parameters keep pressure at bay while protecting system components. It is also not uncommon for multiple drives to be linked together to ultimately meet one goal. This just requires a few extra steps when programming.

There are also bypass units which contain a VFD, contactors, and other components to run the motor across-theline when needed. Switching from drive to bypass or the opposite can be done based on many different settings and options.

Verification of VFD variables Once the initial setup has been completed, it is recommended to perform a test run to check several variables. The motor can first be “bumped” to check rotation: This involves a quick start-stop procedure. If rotation is incorrect, swapping two of the VFD output motor leads is the preferred method to fix this issue. A parameter setting may also be available to modify, but if the VFD is ever put back to default then the rotation will just change back to reverse.

Once this has been established, output current (amperage) should then be verified when the VFD is running.

This can be done by viewing the keypad monitors or checked with a clamp-on type multi-meter. If output current is slightly high, altering a few parameter settings may help in some situations.

Otherwise, it’s best to verify the motor and load are in good working condition.

Lastly, any I/Os connected to the VFD need to be checked for operation.

Because these can make or break the application, it is crucial that the corresponding parameters are set based on the needs of the user. DW Yaskawa America Inc. | yaskawa.com

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Knowing the basics of VFD programming is essential for a proper setup. That said, setup wizards greatly simplify the programming of some basic parameters for design engineers.

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How to pick

the right drive screw Choosing the correct drive screw type is critical to getting the best actuator performance, accuracy, and repeatability Chris Maupin • Program Manager and Engineer • Hunt Valve Actuator Division

Screw drivetrains are the most common types of electromechanical linear actuators. A screw drivetrain acts as a linear force generation system, converting a rotary torque input from a motor into linear thrust and motion. Since electromechanical actuators are also used for linear positioning, they must be able to ensure accurate and repeatable levels of linear motion, while still being capable of providing the required force for the application. A screw mechanism produces linear motion by rotating either a nut or, more typically, a screw in an assembly to generate motion.

While the basic principle is the same for all screw drivetrains, there are a variety of types and designs, each with their own characteristics and benefits. Determining the appropriate drive screw is dependent on the intended application, and its inherent requirements. The system’s load, desired travel speed, duty cycle, surrounding environment, and operating temperatures will all impact the performance of a drive screw. Choosing the wrong type can lead to operational inefficiencies, or worse, premature failure. As a result, finding the best solution for a specific application is crucial to achieving optimal results.

It starts with understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various screw drivetrain technologies available. Each of the three major screw drivetrain types – DESIGN WORLD

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ball, roller, and ACME/trapezoidal – has its own advantages and disadvantages. Here we offer a high-level overview of these three screw technologies to help you make the right choice for your system.

Ball screw drivetrains Ball screw drivetrains are widely used in linear motion applications because they combine a high level of efficiency with high load-life characteristics and a predictable product life. Well-engineered ball screws are ideal for high-duty cycle applications that demand high thrust levels.

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Mechanically speaking, a ball screw thread profile over the length of the stroke. a significantly greater amount of contact is composed of a metal screw and a nut.

The repeatability attributable to the nut(s) points with the screw compared to ball Metal ball bearings in the nut act as the and the accuracy attributable to the quality nuts. This configuration allows for a line of mating interface between the threads of the screw must both be considered when contact between the rollers, the nut, and of the nut and the screw. Depending on evaluating the overall precision of the unit. the screw, offering shock, load, and overall the design, these ball bearings roll and stiffness advantages over ball screw designs. recirculate through a single circuit, or a When to choose a ball screw With the similarities of their design series of circuits, either within the nut or in drivetrain compared to ball screws, it’s no surprise external return tubes. This happens while Ball screws are great options for that they share similar efficiencies. Since the screw or nut itself rotates, causing one applications that call for a high duty cycle, they have an increased contact area, their of these components to move, providing high speeds, and high loads. They are also efficiency drops slightly lower than that the necessary linear motion. good choices for when you’re looking for of the ball screw, averaging around 85%.

There are two main types of ball screw a bit of a torque advantage. The rolling This efficiency can vary notably and largely drivetrains – the single ball nut and the elements inside the ball nuts typically depends on screw diameter and screw lead. dual nut styles. The first type incorporates have lower friction than roller and acme There are two main types of roller a single ball nut, which will typically have screws, which allows them to have a screws; standard roller screws and inverted mechanical efficiency of up to 90 percent. some inherent level of backlash – the level roller screws. A standard roller screw This high efficiency makes them perfect of free movement between the nut and the consists of a hardened threaded shaft and for operations where a higher level of screw – due to the gaps between the ball either a planetary or recirculating roller nut, performance is required and where screw bearings as they travel along the screw and with planetary nuts being more common. In wear is an issue. circulate through the nut. The second type this arrangement, the shaft is connected to of ball screw-driven unit is a dual nut style, While they offer good performance a motor or gear train, and the nut translates with nuts that are pre-tensioned against capabilities, a potential drawback for ball up or down the screw to create linear each other. This helps reduce backlash screws in certain applications can be the motion, much like ball and lead screws. by mitigating the gap between the ball noise they create in use. This is due to the Although manufacturing techniques vary, bearings and the threads, providing greater sound produced by the balls colliding in typically the final thread form is ground into the return tubes and circulating through accuracy and repeatability. the shaft post heat treat. This allows the the nut.

The level of backlash within a ball nuts to be matched to the screws for a high screw design is important. precision, long life assembly.

Backlash has an impact on the Inverted roller screws use a Ball Screws linear drive unit’s repeatability, threaded tube instead of a shaft, Advantages Disadvantages meaning its capability to which is basically a long version repeatedly, precisely, and of the standard roller screw nut.

High force capabilities Sound and Vibration continuously reach the same The planetary nut is usually High efficiencies (90%) Easily back-driven position that it reached before fixed to a shaft, and the tube depending on lead under the same operating or shaft can be spun to create Manageable backlash More susceptible to damage conditions. Ball nuts typically the linear motion. If the tube due to shock loading have anywhere from 5 to 25 is spun, the nut translates up thousandths of an inch of Cost-effective inherent backlash. Beyond choosing a dual nut style design, backlash Roller screw drivetrains can be mitigated in a ball screw system Similar to a ball screw design, roller screws by loading each circuit with ball bearings are comprised of a screw and an interfacing of a larger than nominal diameter. This nut, with their thread form often being tightens the gap between the ball bearings triangular in design. However, rather than and notably mitigates the screw assembly’s using ball bearings to interface with the inherent backlash. thread form, the roller screw design uses In most cases, a ball-screw-driven unit’s small, rotating rollers within the nut to accuracy, or ability to hit a targeted linear provide contact between the nut and the position, is a product of the quality of the screw itself. This means that the roller manufacturing process used to create the nut has multiple sets of rollers, providing screw and the consistency of the screw

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and down inside the tube; if the shaft fixed to the nut is spun, the tube extends or retracts. While this type of screw can result in a more compact overall assembly, it is more limited in the size and overall lengths that can be manufactured.

These tubes are also hardened, but the thread inside the tube is generally not ground afterward, so the final assembly cannot be matched as precisely.

Precision grinding and machining, combined with geometries that allow for more contact points in the same envelope, give roller screws a high dynamic load

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rating, or DLR. This results in a longer product life for a similar sized screw assembly.

When to choose a roller screw drivetrain Machine designers often choose roller screws for complex applications where a moderate to high degree of precision is required. They’re fit to handle more challenging applications as they offer high efficiency, large load-bearing capabilities, and high duty-cycle capabilities. They’re also good options where less system maintenance is desired or for when you don’t want to have to worry about replacing parts as frequently, as roller screws offer an extended product life given the greater contact area on the screw threads.

Roller screws generally produce notably less noise than ball screws during operation. Their noise only comes from the planetary rollers within the nut. Because these planetary rollers make constant contact with the screw surface, the noise level associated with use is less than that of ball screws, whose ball bearings have freedom of movement.

Note that the tight machining tolerances essential to Roller Screws Advantages

Disadvantages

Low maintenance

Large nut dimensions

High efficiency Quiet

manufacturing these screws have the potential to add to the overall cost of the system. For simpler systems, non-critical functions, or for applications that are less demanding, the higher functionality of roller screws can be cost-prohibitive.

ACME and trapezoidal screw drivetrains ACME and trapezoidal screw drivetrains are best used in lower precision applications with low speeds and duty cycles. While loose machining tolerances may allow ACME and trapezoidal screws to be effectively interchangeable, their geometries actually differ by 1 degree. ACME screws have a 29-degree included angle, while trapezoidal threads have a 30-degree included angle. As the screw turns, the threads transmit linear force to the nut. These drivetrains use a thread form with a trapezoidal tooth shape that’s typically rolled into a steel shaft. This creates a strong thread form, which transmits a linear force to a solid nut from the sliding surfaces on the flanks of the thread form. The sliding surfaces are the cause of the inefficiency, where much of the energy required to turn the screw is lost to heat.

ACME screw efficiencies depend on the nut material (often made of plastic, polymers, brass, or bronze), lead of the screw, and the type/amount of lubrication used. Their efficiencies

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ACME/trapezoidal screws Advantages

Disadvantages

Readily available

Unpredictable service life

Low cost

Reduced back-driving

Low efficiencies

Increased torque requirements

Unsuitable for high-speed applications

Long product life

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When to choose an ACME/trapezoidal screw drivetrain Of the three screw types, ACME screws cost the least and are often the most readily available. They’re suitable for low-speed applications or in systems where there are not high duty cycle demands.

Can be costly

High force capabilities

are typically much lower than ball or roller screws, ranging from approximately 20 to 80 percent. Lower efficiencies can prevent loads or external forces from back-driving the assembly, which can be an advantage for some applications, and detrimental to others. It’s important to note that vibration can allow any ACME or trapezoidal screw to back-drive. The inherent energy losses mean these types of screws require more torque than other screw types to provide the same thrust.

However, ACME screws are not suitable for applications requiring high duty cycles or high travel speeds. That’s why ACME screws shouldn’t generally be used for more complex applications, especially ones with variable operating conditions. Their product life is often unpredictable compared to the other two screw types, meaning that screw maintenance and replacement are more dynamic with these types of screws.

What this brief survey tells us is that there’s no screw drivetrain that’s objectively better than the others in every instance. Each of the three main screw types has its own advantages and disadvantages that must be taken into consideration. Finding the right screw drivetrain will entirely depend on the specifics of your unique application and the motion/action desired. DW Hunt Valve Actuator Division www.huntvalveactuators.com

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Shell or Solid Elements

for Thin Walled Parts?

Choosing an element type for a structural Finite Element Analysis

Dr. Jody Muelaner PhD CEng MIMechE

This image shows the plate meshed with shell elements, one with a very course mesh and the other with a very fine mesh.

The plate was flat in its unloaded condition and the curvature shown is a scaled representation of the deformation under load.

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When performing structural Finite Element Analysis (FEA), it is often advised that thin walled parts should only be meshed using solid elements if it is possible to use at least three elements through the thickness. When this is not practical, shell elements are advised. What usually isn’t explained is that this advice is based on the use of first order elements, which are rarely used in modern FEA software. When second, or even higher, order polynomial elements are used, good accuracy can often be obtained using a single solid element through the wall thickness. What is often more important, is the number of elements approximating tightly radiused curved geometry. There are also many cases where shell elements can dangerously underestimate stress in key features.

We’re going to use a number of simple parts and mesh convergence studies to illustrate these issues and provide the understanding required to select appropriate element types.

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A simulation was run with second order triangular shell elements, with first order tetrahedrons, and with second order tetrahedrons. Each result was compared with this reference to see the percentage error in maximum von Mises stress and maximum deformation. These results are plotted against the mesh size, as a multiple of the plate thickness, in the charts.

Finite Element Analysis often advises that thin walled parts should only be meshed using solid elements if it is possible to use at least three elements through the thickness. Otherwise, use shell elements. This advice, however, assumes the use of first order elements, which are rarely used in modern FEA software.

Elements are represented mathematically as a polynomial and have an order corresponding to the order of the polynomial.

A first order triangular shell element has three nodes, one at each corner, and stress and strain can only be linearly interpolated between the nodes. A second order shell element has midpoint nodes on each side, giving a total of six nodes.

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Element types Before getting into the examples, let’s take a moment to review a few basics of FEA element types. FEA can be used to simulate a range of physics-based problems including heat transfer, fluid flow, and electromagnetics, but structural analysis is the most common application and this is what we will focus on.

Problems can be represented in either two or three dimensions. One example of a two-dimensional problem is a plate loaded in plane stress, perhaps with a stress raiser such as a hole. In such a case, differences in the stress through the thickness of the plate can be ignored and it doesn’t actually matter how thick the plate is, provided the load per unit thickness is correct. Another example of a two-dimensional problem might be an axisymmetric pressure vessel. We won’t consider one dimensional problems since the issues are very different to those of three dimensional problems. For most designers, running simulations directly from CAD models, a three-dimensional analysis will be carried out.

For a three-dimensional analysis, the elements themselves may be one-dimensional, two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Beams and bars are examples of onedimensional elements, these elements are represented as a line. Although they may have a cross section associated with them, this is only used to determine their cross-sectional area and, in the case of beams, their second moments of area. Although the element itself is one-dimensional, it exists within a three-dimensional model meaning that the element can connect to other elements, or have forces acting on it, from the x, y or z direction.

The two types of elements considered in this article are shells and solids. Although a first order shell element is two dimensional, it can transmit bending forces as well as plane stress, allowing multiple shell elements to approximate threedimensional structures, it should not be confused with the planar elements used in a two-dimensional analysis. Shell elements can be triangular or quadrilateral. Solid elements can be either tetrahedral or brick shaped.

Elements are represented mathematically as a polynomial and therefore have an order corresponding to the order of the polynomial. A first order triangular shell element has three nodes, one at each corner, and stress and strain can only be linearly interpolated between the nodes. A second order shell element has midpoint nodes on each side, giving a total of six nodes. Second order elements are also known as quadratic elements and allow stress and strain to be approximated using a quadratic function. A second order shell element does not have to be flat, its geometry can also approximate a curved surface using this quadratic function. It is also possible to use higher order polynomials to more accurately approximate curved geometry or changes in stress through the element.

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Example 1: Flat rectangular plate loaded in bending The first example used to compare the results from solid and shell elements is a simple rectangular plate loaded in bending.

This simple model enables the plotting of simulation accuracy against mesh size.

The rectangular plate is modelled with an elastic support at one end, a roller support at the other end and a distributed load over the entire upper surface. These boundary conditions avoid singularities and put the maximum stress in the middle of the plate, away from the supports. The image below shows the plate meshed with shell elements, one with a very course mesh and the other with a very fine mesh. The plate was flat in its unloaded condition and the curvature shown is a scaled representation of the deformation under load.

The simulation was run with second

order triangular shell elements, with first order tetrahedrons and with second order tetrahedrons. These are referred to as simply shells and solids. A baseline simulation with five second order solid elements through the thickness was taken as the reference value. Each result was compared with this reference to see the percentage error in maximum von Mises stress and maximum deformation. These results are plotted against the mesh size, as a multiple of the plate thickness, in the charts below.

The results show that, when second order solid elements are used, a single solid element through the thickness is just as accurate as a shell element. Even solid elements which are considerably larger than the plate thickness give good results, in these cases there was a single element through the thickness but it had a larger

Here’s an example of a rectangular plate that is bent in the middle with a radius at the bend. It was modelled with a symmetry plane. One end has an elastic support and the other end has a tensile force applied. Because the plate is bent this tensile loading attempts to straighten the plate resulting in a peak stress at the bend.

Only second order solid (tetrahedral) elements were used in this example.

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aspect ratio so its plane dimensions were larger than the plate thickness. For solid elements which were three or more times the plate thickness the accuracy started to decline. Shell elements only give a significant advantage when the mesh is very course, with elements much larger than the plate thickness. First order solid elements are considerably less accurate, even with a very fine mesh, and for course meshes with only a single element through the thickness they give completely unreliable results.

This simple example seems to indicate that using higher order elements, as is standard with modern FEA software, it is not necessary to have multiple elements through the thickness.

A 2-mm mesh will give very good results for a 1-mm wall thickness.

Example 2: Bent plate demonstrating element size relative to radius The second example uses a rectangular plate which is bent in the middle with a radius at the bend. It was modelled with a symmetry plane.

One end has an elastic support and the other end has a tensile force applied. Because the plate is bent this tensile loading attempts to straighten the plate resulting in a peak stress at the bend.

Only second order solid (tetrahedral) elements were used in this example.

This scenario was simulated with a range of parameter values. The plate thickness was maintained consistently at 1-mm but the radius was simulated at values ranging between 1-mm and 40-mm. For each radius a reference simulation was run with four second order solid elements through the thickness and further refinement so that in the region of the bend, the elements were no more than 1/20th of the bend radius. Results were compared for global mesh sizes varying from 0.25 wall thickness (four cubic elements through the thickness) to three times the wall thickness.

The below chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the wall thickness. It is clear that there is no correlation between mesh size and wall thickness. This remains true for elements up to three times larger than the wall thickness.

The next chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the radius. In this case there is a clear trend. When the mesh size is 1/20th of the radius the errors were never more than 1%, however, August 2020

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when the elements were larger than the radius the errors were always more than 10%. For meshes that are 1/10th of the radius then errors are never more than 6% and typically much better than that.

The chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the wall thickness. There is no correlation between mesh size and wall thickness. This remains true for elements up to three times larger than the wall thickness.

Conclusions The conventional advice for the meshing of thin walled structures is that shell elements should be used unless a solid mesh is able to achieve several elements through the wall thickness. With modern higher-order polynomial elements this advice is no longer relevant. A single solid element through the thickness will achieve results that are just as accurate as a shell element. This means that the considerable effort required to prepare geometry for shell meshing can be avoided. A more important consideration seems to be achieving a fine mesh to accurately model tightly curved sections of a thin walled structure, especially if high stress occurs at these areas. This indicates that curvature based meshing is a very useful tool for thin walled structures. Using higher-order solid elements together with a curvature based meshing algorithm, modern FEA software is able to achieve highly accurate results with very little pre-processing of geometry.

However, caution must always be observed as there are many other ways that FEA can produce spurious results. Verification by physical testing remains highly advisable.

DW

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The next chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the radius. When the mesh size is 1/20th of the radius the errors were never more than 1%. When the elements were larger than the radius the errors were always more than 10%. For meshes that are 1/10th of the radius then errors are never more than 6% and typically much better than that.

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Navigating bearing retainer design options

In mathematics, Pascal’s triangle is an arrangement constructed by summing adjacent elements in preceding rows. It has applications in algebra, probability, and is a useful model for calculating combinations — commonly referred to as “n choose k.” Here, Chris Johnson, managing director at specialist bearing supplier, SMB Bearings, explains how to navigate the myriad choices in the bearing design process.

Edited by Mike Santora

If a design engineer wanted to choose any four bearing components from a group of 20 design options, the possible combinations would be 4,845 — suddenly, choice overload stunts any decisionmaking process when purchasing bearings.

An exploded view of a standard bearing clearly shows its main physical components: the closure, the inner and outer raceway, the balls, and the optional retainer. But with four important physical design decisions to make and an increasing number of possibilities, how do design engineers choose the best options for their application?

The best place to start is to consider the environment and specific conditions where the bearing will be operating. A bearing’s inner and outer raceway, balls, retainer, and closures may be fabricated from different materials, yet must function effectively in unison. For example, a food and beverage grade bearing may have acetal resin (POM-C) rings, a nylon (PA66) retainer, balls made from 316 stainless steel or glass, and a contact seal consisting of nitrile/BUNA-N rubber bonded to a metal washer. This combination would provide good contamination protection and corrosion resistance.

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Are retainers necessary?

A crucial feature in bearing design, retainer options are still frequently viewed as an afterthought. But they shouldn’t be.

Retainers or cages perform a fundamental job. They are designed to keep the balls evenly spaced around the raceway and help retain grease around these elements.

They are not always required though.

Bearings without a retainer have more balls and are called full complement bearings. This increased number of balls

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allows these bearings to withstand heavier loads and cope with impact or shock, as the load can be distributed evenly around the raceway.

However, full complement bearings experience additional friction and are generally not suitable for high-speed applications or axial loads. Once the more popular design option, full complement bearings are now less common thanks to the advances in steel technology.

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How do design engineers choose the best option for their design? The best place to start is to consider the environment and specific conditions the bearing will be operating in.

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Choosing your retainer Metal retainers are the most common type and suit most applications. They can be manufactured from carbon steel or stainless steel and come in either a crown or ribbon form. A riveted steel ribbon retainer should be used for high vibration applications due to its greater strength.

Crown metal cages are mainly used on smaller miniature bearings and thinsection bearings, where space is more limited. Whereas a crown type is guided by the inner ring, a ribbon type retainer is mainly ball guided.

Certain applications, such as MRI scanners, where non-magnetic properties are required, call for an entirely nonmetal bearing with a non-metal retainer.

While these may be more costly, nonmetal retainers are often necessary and can increase a bearing’s lifespan in the long run.

Applications, where retainer selection must be carefully considered, are those involving temperature extremes. A nylon or polyethylene retainer will not cope with temperatures above 100120°C. In applications that exceed these temperatures, the retainer will lose strength and lead to early bearing failure.

A stainless-steel retainer can be used up to 300°C and will equally maintain

its strength under -40°C as will PEEK and PTFE retainers. At extremely low temperatures, a nylon or polyethylene retainer will not perform well and will become brittle. Consequently, 316 stainless steel and PTFE are favored.

Similarly, a nylon or polyethylene retainer will be affected by certain chemicals and corrosive environments.

These materials will cope better than stainless steel with some chemicals, but not with others, so this must be assessed on an individual basis. These synthetic retainers do, however, offer better resistance to water and saltwater than stainless steel retainers, making them the best choice in marine environments.

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) retainers are often used in corrosionresistant bearings used in aggressive environments as these materials are highly corrosion resistant. This is an essential consideration for bearings in chemical or pharmaceutical environments.

Reinforced nylon retainers have good sliding characteristics and will cope better than metal retainers at very high speeds. They also produce fewer fluctuations in running torque and can increase maximum speeds by up to 60%.

In many instances, retainer material choice will be led by the raceway material choice. To prevent non-useful friction, increased wear, and premature equipment failure, it is essential that the bearing retainer doesn’t have too much radial movement — it needs to be guided by either the balls or one of the rings. Plastic bearings usually have nylon retainers and full ceramic bearings typically have PEEK retainers, PTFE retainers, or have no retainer at all.

While having 4845 design options, may initially seem like an impossible number. By asking the right questions and considering your environmental conditions carefully, it quickly becomes manageable to eliminate unsuitable design combinations and deduce the best matches for each individual bearing design. DW SMB Bearings smbbearings.com

A nylon or polyethylene retainer will not cope with temperatures above 100-120°C.

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Product World Industrial gear unit optimization NORD nord.com New, IE5+ ultra-premium efficiency motors are planned for US release in late 2020. These synchronous motors have higher energy efficiency than their predecessors and increase the performance range of NORD’s electric motors. In the heavy-duty sector, MAXXDRIVE industrial gear units have added the new MAXXDRIVE XT, optimizing the proven modular system for higher thermal gearbox ratings.

Concepts for Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance complete the line expansion. With this solution, NORD implements economical solutions to detect an undesirable operating status at an early stage and avoid unscheduled downtimes both for small geared motors and large industrial gear units.

IP65-rated crown right angle gear drives Zero-Max zero-max.com Tested and Certified by an independent laboratory, the IP65 Rated models feature a nickel-plated housing for corrosion protection and are now available in 1:1 and 2:1 ratios and 2-way, 3-way, and CounterRotating shaft configurations for reliable and quiet transmission of power. Crown Gear Drives are a proven design that is now open to new application opportunities with this IP65 Rating.

Suitable for food processing and food packaging applications and harsh environments requiring frequent washdowns, these Crown Gear Drives feature Ingress Protection, sealing the Crown Gear against environmental concerns such as dust, dirt, and water infiltration from water jets. They also feature nickel

proof design, precision hardened and ground ball bearings,

plated housings, corrosion-protected stainless-steel shafts, and NBR covered

maintenance-free operation, and grease lubrication to

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ensure optimum performance in temperature ranges

chemicals present in challenging applications.

from -20° to +100° C (-4° to + 212° F). Wider operating

Capable of speeds up to 2000 rpm, IP65 Rated Crown Gear Drives have

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heat-treated AGMA Class 10 spiral bevel gears and are lubricated for life with H1 Rated Food Grade Grease. Additional features include a sealed and tamper-

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EtherNet/IP for S6 and F6 drives

Energy analyzers

KEB kebamerica.com

Carlo Gavazzi GavazziOnline.com

EtherNet/IP has been announced for KEB’s S6

EM50 Energy Analyzers are a new addition to

servo drive and F6 VFD products. EtherNet/IP is

a growing range of energy meters and power

immediately available with firmware version 2.6

analyzers targeted to assist manufacturers and

and higher with the Application control board.

end-users in monitoring and managing escalating

The implementation uses the AC Drive Profile

energy costs. The EM50 is a Class 0.5 ANSI C12.20

to increase interoperability between similar

energy analyzer which can be used for single,

device types. KEB’s EtherNet/IP has been

two, and three phase systems, as well as wild-leg

tested and is certified by ODVA, Inc.

systems. The wide voltage range of EM50 makes it

Supported KEB drives are currently available

suitable for use throughout North America. It can

in both 230VAC and 460VAC classes, up to

measure most relevant instantaneous electrical

500Hp. In addition to EtherNet/IP, KEB drives

variables and energy consumption with a high

support Profinet, EtherCAT, CAN, and Powerlink

accuracy.

through a quick parameter adjustment. The KEB

The EM50 can be used with standard

EtherNet/IP drive products are available with

current transformers, Rogowski coils, 333 mV

options like Regenerative Braking, Liquid Cooled heatsinks, Internal Positioning Control, and

current sensors, and 80 mA current sensors for

SIL3 certified Safe Motion functions.

Measurement Canada versions. It features both Modbus RTU and BACnet MS/TP communications

Miniature strain sensors

in each model. Energy consumption can be

Baumer baumer.com

control and alarm are transmitted via a relay

transmitted via the pulse output, and remote output.

The miniature-format strain sensors DST20 add a compact and cost-efficient solution for measuring large forces above 10,000 N even in confined spaces. With their dimensions of 28x12x10 mm, the DST20 miniature strain sensors offer space savings unmatched by any other screw-on strain sensor. At the same time, their stainless-steel housing and a certification for the IP 65 degree of protection make them well-suited for rough production environments and a large range of applications, such as mechanical and equipment engineering, as well as process automation. The DST20 strain sensor can be integrated into a machine with minimum engineering effort and offers a lasting solution that can serially replace cold bonded strain gauges in limited installation spaces, based on initial tests in the experimental laboratory.

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Product World Compact magnetic discs Balluff Balluff.com These magnetic discs are used with absolute rotary magnetic encoders and deliver high precision in a small form factor. That allows for use in tight spaces. They offer reliable, non-contact, and wear-free measuring.

Balluff offers a diverse portfolio of standardized flat and hub-shaped discs to match a variety of configurations. Inside diameters as small as 3 mm and up to 70 mm

Features:

are available. Mechanical modifications can be created to meet specific application

• Non-contact and wear-free measuring principle

requirements.

• Generous distance between sensor and disc

Whether used with a complete system with sensors and electronics or integrated into a company’s electronics with the IC-MU encoder chip, this range of compact magnetic discs can handle all mechanical integration and accuracy requirements.

• Space-saving compact form factor • Various codings available (16/15, 31/31, 64/63) • Customized mechanical adjustment possible

Smart AC-LVDT signal conditioner Alliance Sensors Group alliancesensors.com The SC-200 LVDT signal Conditioner offers smart and fast LVDT/RVDT setup and has been engineered to work with the widest range of LVDTs, RVDTs, and inductive halfbridge sensors including 3-wire industrial LVRTs. The signal conditioning module has cybersecurity tamper prevention and notification features that no other manufacturers have considered, providing confidence that the unit has not been compromised.

SC-200 Operating Features: • Push-button calibration • Built-In null indication • 4 excitation frequencies, 8 analog DC outputs (6 DC voltage and 2 current loop outputs) • 16 addresses for RS-485 digital communications • Hot swap capability • Advanced master/slave capability to reduce cross talk

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Edge roller technology conveyor Dorner dornerconveyors.com The ERT 250 uses rollers to move pallet conveyors smoothly with no friction (a byproduct often seen in belt-driven platforms). The conveyor’s open design eliminates concerns of small parts or screws dropping into rollers and causing conveyor damage or jamming.

The ERT 250 is suitable for applications calling for pallet or tray handling, no- and lowback pressure accumulation, medium to heavy load assembly automation, and Cleanroom applications such as medical product or device manufacturing, assembly, packaging, and others.

The rollers are driven by a patent-pending, energy-efficient linear gearbox that gives customers added flexibility with motor positioning and zoning. This allows for zone and slip Technical specifications of the new ERT 250 include:

roller operation. Simply removing a lower gear creates independent zones. The non-contact zone control provides simplified traffic control that eliminates pallet stops and costly

• Widths 120 to 960 mm wide

pneumatic valves. Conversely, slip rollers can be used for full length runs with conventional

• 38 mm diameter rollers on 50 mm centers

pneumatic pallet stops. The rollers are easily accessible and can quickly be replaced without

• Loads up to 250 pounds per pallet or tray

affecting the remaining portion of the conveyor.

• Loads up to 15 pounds per roller

Aluminum cylinder Emerson emerson.com TM5 TaskMaster aluminum cylinder from Emerson is an NFPA-compatible pneumatic cylinder that reduces cost, energy consumption, equipment wear, and downtime.

With its rugged aluminum body construction and a steel piston rod, the TM5 TaskMaster features Emerson’s pneumatic cushioning technology that allows a cushion adjustment to slow down the piston to a stop by the time it reaches the endcap. Suitable cushioning reduces the time it takes the cylinder to complete a stroke, allowing an improvement in efficiency that significantly boosts machine speed and lowers endcap hammer. This cushioning also reduces cycle

time and

enables the TM5 cylinders to carry higher loads without sacrificing cylinder performance.

The cylinder incurs less stress, and there is no end-of-stroke bounce or end-cap slamming, which is a main source of cylinder wear, slowness, and noise. This cushioning thus lengthens cylinder operating life and reduces downtime related to cylinder failure. Additionally, it reduces machine noise and vibration while reducing energy consumption.

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Product World Encoders for brushless DC and stepper motors Heidenhain heidenhain.us/about-us This new generation of rotary encoder includes an upgraded R35i model and a successor to the RCML15 encoder with the R35iL low profile encoder.

Both solutions are equipped with a new OPTO-ASIC that provides additional features and improved functionality.

The RENCO R35i and R35iL encoders are suitable for brushless DC motors or stepper motor solutions. Their compact size, combined with a high level of performance and Additional features include an extended

availability, makes these products the top choice for applications such as medical devices,

tolerance on mounting specifications, increased

warehouse robotics, and laser scanning.

Both encoders now come with a brand-new Diagnostic and Field Programming (DFP)

output frequency performance up to 1.83 MHz,

feature not before seen on incremental encoders of this type. This DFP functionality

and reduced height down to 8.6 mm. All these

allows users to perform mounting checks, quick and simple diagnostic functions, and

improvements are specifically included to increase

electronic commutation setting which can reduce mounting time of each encoder up to

availability and ease of use of the encoder.

10 minutes.

Camera link frame grabbers Matrox Imaging matrox.com/imaging Matrox Rapixo CL Pro delivers onboard image processing offload to field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices, high frame-rate image capture, support for extended cable lengths, and the reliable image acquisition in all Matrox Imaging frame grabbers.

Matrox Rapixo CL Pro models — along with other Pro models in the Matrox Rapixo series — make use of an FPGA device from the Xilinx Kintex-7 family, directly integrating control, format, and stream logic onto the frame grabber itself. Paired with the Matrox FDK, a powerful development kit, the Pro models support the development of custom FPGA configurations to relieve the host system of intensive image-processing functions.

An enhanced iteration of the field-proven Matrox Radient eV series of Camera Link boards, Matrox Rapixo CL Pro capably handle image capture from an extensive range of devices, whether a single low data-rate Camera Link device to multiple maximum-bandwidth Camera Link cameras. Users can interface with up to four Base or two Full/80-bit mode Camera Link cameras at up to 85 MHz on a single board.

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Shaft-end adapters Stafford Manufacturing staffordmfg.com A line of machinable shaft-end adapters that can be customized to solve an unlimited range of shaft compatibility and component mounting issues in machinery, materials handling, and packaging systems, has been introduced.

These machinable shaft-end adapters come in three configurations where the female clamps onto the shaft end: one has a machinable male, one has a full diameter customizable end, and another has a flange style end. All are offered in aluminum, steel, and stainless steel to accommodate shafts

Dynamic reference diffuse sensor Leuze leuze.com Leuze’s detection expert — the DRT 25C — meets the high requirements of packaging machines for confectionery and baked goods with innovative reference technology.

Sensors must continuously and reliably detect a wide range of products and films on the conveyor belts of primary and secondary packaging machines for confectionery and baked goods (HFFS, FS, Thermoform, or VFFS). The packaging machines keep running without interruption, even if the product or packaging material changes.

Leuze developed the DRT 25C dynamic reference diffuse sensor with its detection method for precisely this area of application. The sensor works with three light spots and uses reference technology. The latter references the conveyor belt instead of the product and that is what makes this technology so unique. In the first step, the surface characteristics of the belt are taught in. This enables the sensor to subsequently detect all objects that do not correspond to the belt surface as “deviations,” even if the conveyor belt is dirty or vibrating. With this approach, the surface properties of the products, such as color, gloss, or transparency, do not influence the detection.

from 0.5 to 2.0-in. I.D. and provide a range of inch & metric output ends.

These machinable shaft-end adapters can be provided with steps up and downsizes, various threads, custom bolt-hole patterns, indexers, cam profiles, milled slots, knurls, and more. Female clamping options can include plain bores or keyways for greater torsional holding power.

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Ad Index AllMotion ...........................................4 Altech Corporation ........................1 Aurora Bearing Company ....... 29 Automation24, Inc. ....................... 9 AutomationDirect ......................IFC Binder USA ................................. 105 Boker’s Inc. .................................... 32 Bosch Rexroth US ...................... 33 Cadence ........................................113 Chieftek Precision ........................ 6 CIT Relay & Switch ...................... 15 Clippard ......................................... BC Del-tron ........................................ 104 DeviceTalks ................................... 117 Diamond Wire Spring Company ................................. 29 Digi-Key ........................................... 13 Dorner ............................................. 23 ebm-papst Inc. ...............................5 Encoder Products Company ................................. 47

SALES

FAULHABER MICROMO .......... IBC Fixtureworks .................................. 14 IDEC Corporation ......................... 19 Interpower .....................................38 Keller America ................................ 11 Lee Linear ....................................39 Maple Systems ........................... 43 Nason ............................................. 34 NB Corporation ..............................2 Opto 22 .......................................... 27 Peninsular Cylinder ...................44 Pyramid Inc. .................................. 37 Regal Beloit Corporation .......... 31 Smart Products USA ........... Cov,7 Spartan Scientific ....................... 32 The Lee Company ......................54 Tormach ......................................... 53 TRACO Power North America, Inc. ............... 35 Trim-Lok ......................................... 25 TTI, Inc. ..............................................3 Whittet-Higgins ............................ 21

The Robot Report CGI Inc. ..............................................................75 FAULHABER MICROMO ...............................77 Festo ................................................................. 60 IKO International, Inc. .................................. 65 maxon .................................................................71 mk North America, Inc. ................................76 New England Wire Technologies & New England Tubing Technologies ....79 Renishaw ...........................................................81 Ruland Manufacturing Co., Inc. ................57 SICK, Inc. ...........................................................67 Silicon Sensing Systems .............................61

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contributes precision motors to Perseverance Mars Rover, Helicopter page 62

INSIDE:

• How a CNC machine shop maximiizes productivity with cobots ................................56 • ActiNav aims to democratize autonomous bin picking .................................58 • MoveIt 2 enables real-time robot arm control with ROS 2 ..........................................68 • ‘Natural Tasking’ could reduce the complexity of robot programming ..............72

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Fully Integrated Speed Controller, within 6.2 mm

The FAULHABER BXT Flat brushless DC servo motor family has grown; now available in all sizes with a diameter-compliant, integrated speed controller. With an additional attachment length of just 6.2 mm, the combination of the BXT H motors with the integrated speed controller is the ideal solution for space-confined applications, particularly if speeds need to be controlled precisely, and high torques are also required.

Typical applications are medical devices, pumps, hand-held instruments, optics systems, and robotics & end-effectors.

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