DESIGN WORLD MARCH 2020 by WTWH Media LLC

March 2020 www.designworldonline.com

inside: MOTION CONTROL: Closed-loop steppers to the rescue

p. 102

MECHANICAL: Polymer-based bearings in Food and Beverage applications

p. 106

THE ROBOT REPORT:

Sawyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s machine tending skills help manufacturer increase quality

p. 78

Space:

key considerations in building optical assemblies page 18

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Hannover Messe 2020 to focus on transformation This year’s Hannover Messe will be focusing on the theme of Industrial Transformation. In an era of political and economic uncertainty, this global manufacturing event will be examining the continued digital innovation that is changing our factories and processes. This year’s exhibition, originally scheduled for April 20-24, will now be held om July 13-17, and will boast some 6,000 exhibitors om 70 countries spread across 27 halls. Given the pandemic-induced delay, I am hoping that the event will be able to go on without incident at this later time. At the recent global press conference preview for Hannover Messe, Dr. Jochen Koeckler, Chairman of the Managing Board, Deutsche Messe AG. Koeckler said that four megatrends are transforming the way we work and live: digitalization, individualization, demographic changes and climate protection. “The world is embarking on a series of changes that we haven’t seen in the past,” he said. Much focus was on climate issues and industry’s role there. “Society and politics demand that industry accept responsibility for climate change,” Koeckler said. The effort to product CO2 neutral [technologies] is expanding exponentially. Climate- iendly production will be more and more of a competitive advantage.”

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Focus on Indonesia The 2020 partner country for Hannover Messe is Indonesia, a nation with bold plans for the future — the southeast Asian power is aiming to be one of the Top 10 global economies by 2030. While o en thought of more as a travel destination, Indonesia’s manufacturing industry represented 20.5% of its economy in 2017 and is closer to 23% today. The main sectors here are apparel, food and beverage, automotive, electronics and the chemical industries. Arif Havas Oegroseno, the Indonesian Ambassador to Germany, spoke on the country’s new development on digitalization and his excitement in being the Hannover partner country. Indonesia’s population of 265 million people comprises 300 ethnic groups and speaks 700 languages. It is the third largest democracy in the world today — the 2019 elections had an impressive 80% voter participation — and it has a very young population, with 25% of its citizens being under 15 years old. The goals for Indonesia are to showcase its accomplishments to date and attract partnerships across investments, technology and capacity building. Additionally, Oegroseno said that they want to showcase the country’s emerging startup ecosystem for industrial production. DW

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March 2020

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DESIGN WORLD

3/16/20 11:06 AM

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Teschler on Topic Will Silicon Valley go the way

of Cleveland?

Students of economics will probably recall hearing in class that ee trade lets countries specialize in what they do best, boosting income everywhere and creating gains for winners that exceed losses for losers. Fundamental to the ee-trade theory is that workers who lose a job because of foreign competition will move immediately to where there are jobs. And a er a brief transition, all workers with the same skills will earn the same. Perhaps because of the current political environment, it is only recently that economists have seriously studied the flaws in this argument for ee trade. One problem recently pointed out by M.I.T. economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo is that labor markets tend to be sticky. Many people don’t move even when their jobs disappear. When trade brings competition om imports, wages may go down instead of up because workers, managers, and capital investment are all slow to shi away om old ways of doing business. Economists who first pointed out this ambiguity got a lot of trash talk om ee-trade advocates. But the evidence of harm om imports is mounting. Recently, for example, economists David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson documented

the downside of imports into the U.S. They looked at American locales producing goods that China had been particularly successful at exporting. No surprise, those areas saw big declines in manufacturing employment. But there was also no reallocation of labor to new kinds of jobs. The total number of jobs lost o en far exceeded those in the affected industry itself. Moreover, workers typically didn’t move to neighboring areas that were unaffected by the import boom. People simply had no work. The damage is exacerbated by the tendency of industries to cluster in geographical regions. When the industry unravels, the surrounding area can become a ghost town. A particularly distressing example is that of Bruceton, Tenn. which had been home to several makers of jeans, suits, and pajamas. A 2015 piece in The Atlantic chronicled what happened when those industries moved to China in the 1990s. The Bruceton area still hasn’t recovered. The factories are long gone but so is a bank, supermarkets, and other retail stores. And efforts at attracting other industries face an up-hill battle. Local politicians say businesses that scout the area for locating new facilities o en take one look at the empty businesses on Main Street, find the whole scene depressing, and head elsewhere.

The irony is that all this pain might not be worth the gain. Say Banerjee and Duflo, “There is something economists do know but tend to keep closely to themselves: the aggregate gains om trade, for a large economy like the U.S., are actually quantitatively quite small. The truth is, if the U.S. were to go back to complete autarky, not trading with anybody, it would be poorer. But not that much poorer.” One point in favor of this argument: Despite what you might think by looking at the shelves of Walmart, only about eight cents out of every dollar spent in the U.S. is spent on imports. This is a point to keep in mind as the U.S. grapples with trade issues surrounding such high-tech items as 5G telecom equipment. The geographical area perhaps most at risk for these industries moving off shore is Silicon Valley. To see what might happen there, consider the events surrounding Cleveland, Ohio. That city rose to prominence a er the American Civil War, doubling its population, and fostering an industrial vibrancy founded largely on the growing steel and automotive industries. When steel and auto plants began moving over seas, the city’s fortunes dramatically waned. If U.S. high-tech industries go the way of steel and automobiles, the most appropriate phase for Silicon Valley might be, “Welcome to being Cleveland.” DW

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

March 2020

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Technology Forward

A snapshot of the additive industry It’s always interesting to examine who, how, and why engineers are using additive manufacturing (AM). Recently Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and SME Media conducted a survey on engineers and designers’ experiences with AM. The respondents either currently use or are considering using additive manufacturing. Of the nearly 700 respondents, 24% make consumer products, 17% offer design services, 16% are involved in medical, 15% are involved in industrial equipment, 15% are in aerospace, and 12% are in transportation. So, how do these respondents use 3D printers? According to the survey, most (35%) use a 3D printing service provider. However, 28% own industrial 3D printers and 32% own desktop printers. Only 4% are not currently using 3D printing or additive manufacturing. While the choice of which additive technology depends on the project, about 25% of the respondents choose material Jetting including PolyJet technology, with a second 25% choosing photopolymerization, which includes stereolithography. The other technology mentioned was plastic powder bed fusion (also known as laser sintering) at 19%. A lot of commentary covers the benefits of using additive manufacturing (AM), but what do

the respondents see as the most significant benefit of this technology? For 33%, it was the eedom to develop highly complex designs. The speed of design and development came in second at 26%, while eedom to customize a design was at 10%. Specifically in aerospace markets, these benefits are key. For medical and consumer product development, 25% and 32% respectively of the respondents viewed speed as the top benefit; primarily to get products to market fast. Of course, with benefits comes drawbacks or challenges. 19% of the respondents listed obtaining good part quality as a challenge, while 13% mentioned the need for production consistency and reliability. For 16% it was the cost of operation, with balancing pricing and operational costs at 14%. One challenge taking the focus for the first time was concern for mechanical properties with 3D printed parts. About 26% of the respondents (primarily in aerospace and medical industries) want assurances that 3D printed parts meet the standards and needs of an application. Even so, 98% of the survey’s respondents say they will use 3D printing in 2020. Of this group, 75% said they plan on using this technology more than they used it in 2019. Those in the aerospace and consumer product industry will likely use this technology the most.

One of the issues around additive that comes up a lot is the need for education in AM. Interestingly, the survey indicates that the need for education is lessening. In 2015, 40% of respondents felt education was important. In 2019, that figure has dropped a bit to 36%. AM is known for functional prototypes and concept modeling. However, a key application today is manufacturing aids with 39% of the respondents mentioning it. For many, manufacturing aids are seen as a growth opportunity. The return on investment in this area is high. One reason is that AM can deliver jigs and fixtures that previously could not exist because of other technologies geometry limitations. Plus, when compared to other methods of producing manufacturing aids, 3D printed ones can be light weight, printed as-needed, and customized with less lead time. DW

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

March 2020

Tech.Forward.3-20_Vs3.LL.indd 8

www.designworldonline.com

DESIGN WORLD

3/16/20 11:45 AM

Opto 22 - 3-20.indd 9

3/9/20 11:44 AM

Green Engineering

A new product for shore side power, the igus Mobile Shore Power Outlet, allows for connection flexibility and fast and easy connections anywhere along the length of a complete berth with a single outlet. | All photos courtesy of igus GmbH.

New power solutions help shipping

industry decrease environmental impacts Thomas Renner

Times are good for the cruise industry. Approximately 26.7 million passengers helped produce a total output of $134 billion in 2017, and the number of people heading out to sea in 2019 approached 30 million. Nearly 12% of passengers depart om the United States — about five times more than China, which has the second largest number of cruise guests — according to cruise industry statistics. Statistics om the International Maritime Organization, however, show a worrisome trend. IMO estimates that carbon dioxide emissions om shipping were equal to 2.2% of global human-made emissions in 2012 —and expects them to rise to 250% by 2050 if no action is taken. Air, water, oil and acoustic pollution are all impacts of shipping’s popularity. Many ports, however, are beginning to take steps to deliver renewable energy to drastically reduce carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollutants. The Port of Long Beach, for instance, adopted a Green Port Policy that serves as a guide for decisions and established a amework for environment- iendly operations. In October of last year, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles announced plans to deploy zero-emissions vehicles at some of their terminals. Officials plan to determine the long-term future of the vehicles a er a testing period. They will also assess how long the batteries last and how much power they have.

March 2020

Green.Engineering.3-20_Vs2.LL.indd 10

“Those who said the technology wouldn’t be green for many years, you see before you that it is available,” Long Beach Port Executive Director Mario Cordero said. Game-changing technology As ports wrestle with the environmental impacts of shipping, some companies are developing new products to streamline, hasten and assist ports in the conversion to shore-side power supply. Among them is igus, the Germany-based manufacturer of motion plastics. The company has been researching and developing green energy solutions for container, cruise, bulk and tanker vessels as well as other needs such as electric ferries and FSUs (Floating Storage Units) for the liquefied natural gas (LNG)

www.designworldonline.com

industry. igus has completed many projects using products such as its e-chain dispenser, e-loop umbilical, offshore e-chain and their shore power e-spool. New products to be introduced include its e-chain reel and igus Mobile Shore Power Outlet, or iMSPO. “In all of the research that we have done with terminals everywhere the main challenge is always connection flexibility,” said Sean McCaskill, the Engineered Systems Manager for igus North America. “With older technology we have seen that terminals can invest a lot of money and still not be able to connect. We are committed to providing solutions that not only solve today’s challenges, but solutions that will future-proof in astructure investments as well.”

DESIGN WORLD

3/9/20 11:46 AM

When technology and expertise come together Phoenix Contactâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expertise spans a wide range of applications so that you can make power, control, and network connections with absolute confidence. Designed for IIoT applications, the ICS (Industrial Case System) from Phoenix Contact now includes configured, personalized covers through additive manufacturing. Utilizing the digital design tool, covers are quickly tailored to specific requirements including customized shapes, colors, and logos. Make connections even quicker with ICS modular housings that are ready for rapid prototyping and production. www.phoenixcontact.com/ics

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Green Engineering

The iMSPO technology includes e-chains and Chainflex cabling that is designed for 20-year service life and can provide shore power to any berthing arrangement.

Fast and easy connection The mobile shore power outlet allows for fast and easy connections anywhere along the length of a complete berth with a single outlet. It provides full flexibility for connecting vessels and can be used with both cruise and container applications — and will soon be adapted for other vessel types. Current onboard cable management systems for container vessels can be limited in their ability to connect to stationary SPOs. “The cable length needed to make vertical adjustments for tidal range and loading can eat up a significant portion of the available cable reel cable,” McCaskill said. “Because of this, if the ship is misaligned too far om a stationary SPO, it cannot connect.” The mobile SPO uses proven core technology om igus, including e-chains and Chainflex cabling, providing a system designed for a 20-year service life. They include roller chain technology and a variety of cabling including fiber optic, shielded and unshielded control cables and shielded medium voltage CFCRANE single core cables to provide the service power to the ship. “Changing shipping alliances, new vessels and other factors all contribute to the unpredictability of the future concerning what will be needed to connect,” McCaskill said. “The best solution would be one that is a onetime investment that allows you to fit your shore power to your berthing arrangement instead of your berthing arrangement to your shore power. We

March 2020

Green.Engineering.3-20_Vs2.LL.indd 12

believe that iMSPO will allow terminals to achieve this flexibility.” Key advantages The iMSPO systems include several advantages. The arrangement needs less equipment and provides full coverage while a traditional arrangement requires more maintenance and gaps in service. The system has a service life of up to 20 years and is fully compliant with standards and regulations. It also improves handling for operators and as a one-time investment, will pay for itself over the long haul. igus components in its iMSPO technology also include predictive maintenance, which warns users when products need replacement. “There’s a number of limitations in ship side cable management systems,” McCaskill said. “Vertical motion for tidal range and loading can vary up to 60 feet, and cable deployment is limited by the size of the container to approximately 115 feet. It’s extremely easy for ships to become misaligned. They need connection flexibility to receive power, especially as more ships come to dock and the varying sizes of the ships.” Clear trends More and more nations are taking initiatives to reduce shipping’s impact on the environment. The United Kingdom has launched Maritime 2050, which set out a vision for the future of the British maritime sector. One of the strategy’s seven areas of focus is the environment and to bring the U.K. shipping industry in www.designworldonline.com

line with the Paris climate agreement. At the Port of Long Beach, plans call for 80% of fleet calls to use shore power, and the Port has completed more than $185 million worth of dockside power hookups and other in astructure to facilitate shore power. In January, the California Air Resources Board proposed expanding the type and number of ships that use shore power to smaller container, reefer and cruise ships. The requirements would phase in the beginning of 2023. The plan would also phase in tankers beginning in 2027 in Los Angeles and Long Beach, and in 2029 elsewhere. Several other environmentally iendly proposals were also discussed. “Further emissions reductions om oceangoing vessels at berth are needed to provide public health benefits to the port communities that are already heavily burdened by air pollution om port-related eight sources, as well as to contribute to our ozone and greenhouse reduction goals,” said Mary Nichols, the chair of CARB. Germany announced in October of 2019 a large-scale expansion of shorebased power supply, and in 2022 Port of Hamburg will be the first port in Europe to make it available. In September, the Port of Marseille announced a plan to extend shore power connections to every ferry, cruise ship and repair quay within the Marseille eastern harbor. In the U.S. and abroad, there is a clear and concerted objective to reduce pollution within the shipping industry. New technology is the linchpin behind the effort. “This is the near future for all ports wanting to be on the itineraries of cruise liners striving to reduce their environmental footprints,” said Sigurd Enge, an advisor to Bellona, an environmental foundation based in Norway. “Harbors not offering shore power in the future will only get port calls om older vessels that don’t have the capacity to connect to electricity om shore. In the longer term, such harbors will not be attractive to visit at all.” DW igus | igus.com DESIGN WORLD

3/9/20 11:47 AM

The RSM2800 Magnetic Encoder counts turns, measures angles down to the last degree, and remembers shaft positions without power Don’t try this with other encoders: imagine your machine with the RSM2800 inside both lose power and are still turning without power; when power is restored, the RSM2800 reports the correct position including the counts that occurred with no power! RSM2800 magnetic encoders provide the level of reliability and accuracy sought in demanding applications like: • Material Handling

• Agricultural Machines

• Forklifts

• Cable Extension Transducers

• Overhead Doors

• Medical Equipment

The RSM2800 is based on Novotechnik’s proprietary non-contact, multi-turn technology for absolute 5,760° (16 turns) measurement. This new wear-free device combines advanced capabilities with mechanical simplicity in a very compact and sturdy housing to provide for longer life and lower cost than optical encoders.

RSM2800 Specifications:

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or 4 to 20 mA or 0.25 to 4.75V Housing OD=30 mm IP rating options: IP54 or IP67 No gears, no optics, no batteries

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Novotechnik 3-20.indd 13

3/9/20 11:43 AM

Contents 3 • 2020

•

vol 15 no 3

•

designworldonline.com

A supplement of Design World March 2020

The need for collaboration and DfM 56 Large format additive technology reinvigorates sand casting

102 94 _MOTION CONTROL

112 _TEST & MEASUREMENT

Improving performance without machine redesign

How condition monitoring data helps solve future problems

Improving machine performance to meet market demands doesn’t have to mean starting over om scratch. By partnering with a motion-centric supplier that offers new-generation motion systems plus co-engineering expertise to provide perfect-fit customizations, aging machines can be brought back to life with minimal design impact. 102 _MOTION CONTROL Closed-loop steppers to the rescue

When excessive heat caused issues in a bioreactor system, closed-loop stepper motors were the solution. 106 _MECHANICAL Polymer-based bearings in Food and Beverage applications

With easier cleaning, installation, and increased corrosion-resistance, plastic bearings and wear rings are a suitable alternative for industrial food production machinery.

64 3D printing drugs—a look at the future

COVER_MPF 3-20_FINAL.indd 55

3/3/20 2:41 PM

55-66

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

Condition monitoring can help protect organizations against future problems, maximize equipment lifetime, and optimize operations.

Sawyer’s

machine tending skills help manufacturer increase quality page 78

INSIDE: • MiR, UR Opening $36M ‘cobot hub’ in Denmark ........................................................68 • Cobot pioneer Esben Østergaard finds life after UR .......................................................72 • 5 collaborative robotics trends to watch ............................................................84

122 _ELECTRONICS Basics of deciphering electromagnetic interference

ROBOT REPORT COVER_3-20_FINAL.indd 67

3/4/20 10:55 AM

67-92

It pays to know how RF can potentially garble the reception of signals such as those for WiFi, Bluetooth, and radar sensors. 128 _WOMEN IN ENGINEERING Hands-on learning is key to engaging future engineers

From young kids to engineering students and those already in manufacturing, hands-on opportunities are essential to demonstrating the attraction to a career in engineering.

ON THE COVER

Technology used in spacecraft must marry reliability with precision because it is not easy to go fix something when it breaks in space. | ZTGO Corp., Ametek.com

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

2019

BRONZE REGIONAL AWARD asbpe.org

March 2020

CONTENTS.203-20_Vs2.LL.indd 14

www.designworldonline.com

DESIGN WORLD

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Technology Forward

Green Engineering

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Design Notes

MC2 Classroom

Coupling Notes

Internet of Things

134

Product World

136

Ad Index

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March 2020

DESIGN WORLD

3/17/20 2:29 PM

DESIGN WORLD

Follow the whole team on twitter @DesignWorld

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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March 2020

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Design for Industry Aerospace

Key considerations in building optical assemblies for commercial space applications

Joe Salemi • OEM Sales Manager • Optical Components Group, ZYGO Corp.

Consider the ability to analyze changes to the Earth’s surface, daily. Consider the possibility of ubiquitous internet access even in remote parts of the world. Consider satellite navigation systems in almost every new road vehicle. All these and thousands of other activities that are driven by the need to monitor what is happening in the world every minute of every day are only possible because of commercial space projects. The technology used in such space cra must marry reliability with utmost precision because it is not easy to go fix something when it breaks in space! The requirement for reliability and precision is especially the case when looking at space/earth imaging devices, which must be rugged, produce exceptional results, while at the same time being competitively priced. Within the context of the overall commercial space industry sector (which Morgan Stanley estimates will be worth $1.1 trillion dollars in 2040 upon the introduction of new earth observation constellations, internet delivery applications, and other monitoring fleets), there is projected demand for hundreds if not thousands of space-borne optical assemblies. These assemblies are likely to range in cost om $15K to $500K depending upon their end-use and complexity; such capital expenditure requires highly skilled and experienced optics and optical assembly providers to ensure required functionality in mission critical applications. About your optical assembly Before you move to your shortlist of suppliers for precision optical assembly, though, there are some fundamental considerations to address. First and foremost — and common to all commercial space applications — the optical assembly designed and manufactured must withstand the enormous G-forces and vibration associated with rocket launches. It is of no use if your design is functional but too delicate to withstand such rigors. Here it is not just design for manufacture (DfM) that must be considered, but Design for Take Off (DfTO)!! Second, will your optical assemblies be required to operate in a vacuum? If so, outgassing must be kept to a minimum, which dictates the choice of materials, coatings, and adhesives used. Manufacturing optical assemblies also requires a detailed assessment of the fabrication procedures used, as it is vital that stress and burr- ee parts are produced, and approved cutting fluids,

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and cleaning methods are used. Finally, optical assemblies for use in a vacuum must be assembled in cleanroom facilities, and packaged in a way that retains their integrity and cleanliness. Third, at the design stage, consider whether optical assemblies for space applications can withstand temperature ranges om -30 - +70 degrees C. Once again this will influence material choice and use of adhesives, coatings, etc…, all of which operate differently under temperature extremes. Designs need to be athermal while at the same time performing optimally and adhering to cost sensitivities. Finally, it is vital that the manufacturability of a design is considered om the get go. Can it be reproduced at a reasonable volume, and is there a process that can scale it to higher volumes at a competitive price as well? DESIGN WORLD

3/9/20 1:12 PM

Supplier selection criteria With these considerations in play, it is vital that your chosen optical assembly supplier is seen as a partner, engaged early in the design stage to ensure the shortest and most cost-effective product development cycle. Your partner should be able to work as an extension of your existing engineering and product development teams when necessary, as well as a standalone resource. Here are X things to consider: Heritage. Does your short-listed optical assembly expert have a long and distinguished pedigree working with commercial space applications? There is no substitute for experience! Experience implies expertise, and it is vital that your chosen optical assembly partner can demonstrate expertise in production of rugged designs at commercially competitive process. Vertically integrated and able to manufacture at volume. Ideally, your supplier should be able to manufacture optical components and assemblies, and it should also have in-house metrology tools and methodologies that ensure the integrity of end-use optical systems. Specifically, ask your supplier what experience they have in optical design and engineering, and the depth of understanding they have using re active, reflective, catadioptric, and athermal designs. With the emphasis on end-to end solutions, your optical assembly partner should have the optical, mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, systems engineering, and program management capabilities (coupled with tier 1 volume optical assembly DESIGN WORLD

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Design for Industry Aerospace

High Performance, Aluminum, Flexible Chain Conveyors

Helix

capabilities certified to ISO 9001 standards), to see your product through a successful development cycle. When it comes to assembly, suppliers need to demonstrate that they have the necessary cleanroom assembly areas in-house, and that they have all the necessary climate controls in place including particle, temperature, humidity, and ionization controls. In addition, ask if your chosen supplier has the ability to test optical assemblies under vacuum conditions. Finally, drill down into the metrology credentials of your supplier. Quality control demands the use of best-in-class metrology tools as well as how these tools support an efficient and cost-effective production cycle. Interrogate your short-listed precision optical assembly supplier, especially when manufacturing for commercial space applications, to assess their ability to meet precision, reliability, and cost requirements. Mission critical optical assemblies as used in satellite-based optics demand attention to detail at every stage of the product development process. This requires that customer and supplier forge a true partnership relationship, and that the optical assembly supplier has the necessary pedigree, expertise, and experience in DfM and quality control to produce optimal results. DW

ZYGO Corporation, AMETEK www.zygo.com

Wedge

• Ideal for complex configurations, curves, inclines & declines

TRANSFORMING CONVEYOR AUTOMATION

• High speed performance up to 76 mpm

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

• Flexible design fits in tight spaces and reduces conveyor footprint

Connect and discuss this and other engineering design issues with thousands of professionals online

• Available as components or complete assembled solutions

Twist

www.dornerconveyors.com/dwm | 262.367.7600

DFI.3-20_Vs3.LL.indd 20 Dorner_DesignWrld_IslandAd_0220.indd 1

02/06/2020 2:55 PM

March 2020

DESIGN WORLD

3/9/20 1:16 PM

Packaging

Robot enables

flexible transport

The LD Series autonomous mobile robots, LD-250, can carry payloads of up to 250 kg, helping to handle voluminous packaging materials that are bulky as well as heavy. The robotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sturdy structure can also be used to transport other heavy items like transmission blocks and automotive seats. Combined with Fleet Manager, the LD-250 helps users construct flexible and optimized autonomous material transport systems, as Fleet Manager enables the control of multiple mobile robots with different payloads through a single system. The system can manage traffic, battery charging requirements and vehicle navigation for a diverse fleet of up to 100 robots. Factories worldwide are seeking better ways to increase the productivity and profitability of high-mix production amid a decreasing workforce. The LD mobile robots can avoid people and obstacles while automatically calculating the best routes to transport material, thereby optimizing materials transport requirements while reducing labor requirements. With the addition of the LD-250 to the LD series, customers in a variety of industries â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including automotive, electronics and food and beverage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are no longer required to establish a fixed material transport equipment. Instead, they can achieve a system that can flexibly handle changing market demands while liberating workers om the dull and tiring work of material transport. The LD-250 is also customizable with special conveyor tops, courier systems and adaptive material handling mechanics. It takes advantage of several Omron technologies that improve performance, such as the High Accuracy Positioning System (HAPS), side lasers and the Acuity vision localization technology. DW

Omron Automation | automation.omron.com DESIGN WORLD

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March 2020

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Design for Industry Machine tool

Off the shelf or original? Why not a

hybrid IC motion controller

The Commander core motion controller is a four-axis hybrid IC that bridges the gap between off-the-shelf and design- om-scratch controllers. The Commander core is secure, flexible and easily scalable om prototype to production while remaining cost-effective for high-volume applications. Using the Commander core during the development of an applications helps reduce development time due to its ease of use. Commander uses a BASIC-like programming language (A-SCRIPT) that allows programmers to compile, read and write standalone programs. The so ware also provides multi-threading and subroutine support, and can be run in both PC-based and standalone modes. Commander coreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s functions include linear, arc, circular, helix and tangential interpolation, as well as coordinated motion and continuous buffered motion, thanks to its 100 buffer registers. It also allows the user to choose between trapezoidal or S-curve acceleration/ deceleration, and absolute or incremental positioning. Changes can be made on-the-fly as well, with either

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the speed or target position shi ing as desired during operation. The Commander core is based on the PCL6045BL motion control LSI, and an ARM Core processor. It has stepper and servo motor interfaces, and can operate through a joystick with analog input (X and Y axes). Communication to the Commander core can be established over USB, Serial (RS-485, I2C, SPI), and Ethernet. DW

Nippon Pulse America, Inc. nipponpulse.com

DESIGN WORLD

3/9/20 1:17 PM

Power REVIEW THE POWER BRANDS IN POWER TRANSMISSION

Vol. 9 | No. 1 | 2020

www.AltraMotion.com

Follow Altra Motion on:

The Marland CECON® Clutch INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Industrial Internet of Things

Twiflex Multi-Point Resilient Couplings Sure-Flex Plus® Couplings for Industrial Mixers Onsite Seal & Lubrication Overhaul for Trunnion Bascule Bridge Drives Warner Electric WR-Thin Spring Applied Electrically Released Brakes Stainless Steel 2000 Series, 700 Series & Motors for Bakery Conveyors

For more information contact us at: info@altramotion.com

Scan to download the interactive version of the Power Review

All CECON+ units support the on-board

Smart Marland Monitoring System

Altra Industrial_#1_3-20.indd 23

3/4/20 11:39 AM

The Marland CECON®+ Clutch The family of Marland CECON (Completely Enclosed for CONtinous operation) foot mount clutches has evolved into new CECON®+ models including: - Popular CEUS (Standard configuration) - More versatile CEUSD (Standard Disconnect)

- Recently developed CEUF (Standard Force Lube) - New CEUFD (Force Lube Disconnect)

All CECON+ units support the on-board Smart Marland Monitoring System. Ports for temperature, vibration, and oil level sensors are designed into individual components to allow remote monitoring of the clutches from anywhere*. The CECON+ design is a drop-in upgrade for existing CEUS and CEUSD CECON clutches. Unit dimensions are identical to current models. The new design incorporates double keyways on the input and output shafts for greater torque capacity and higher operating speeds**. otion Altra M

*Optional add-on equipment, refer to P-8666-MC for information on the Smart Marland Monitoring System. **Does not apply to high-speed CECONs. A L T R A

L I N D U S T R I A

Featuring next combined with es technologies nce capabiliti improved performa

Industrial Internet of Things

M O T I O N

For more information, download P-8833-MC from www.AltraLiterature.com

of Things

d The Marlan Clutch CECON +generation

CECON Clutches

Completely Enclosed

Industrial Internet

I N G O D U C I N T R

for Continuous Operation

more than together with ce has yielded Customer input on experien yet. 60 years of applicati versatile clutches Marland’s most

operation) for CONtinous (Completely Enclosed ® models including: Marland CECON new CECON + The family of has evolved into foot mount clutches (Standard configuration) - Popular CEUS Disconnect) CEUSD (Standard Force Lube) - More versatile CEUF (Standard - Recently developedLube Disconnect) (Force - New CEUFD Monitoring System. Smart Marland into individual support the on-board level sensors are designed oil All CECON+ units vibration, and from anywhere*. Ports for temperature,remote monitoring of the clutches CECON allow components to CEUS and CEUSD existing for design upgrade models. The new design is a drop-in torque The CECON+ identical to current shafts for greater dimensions are input and output clutches. Unit keyways on the incorporates double operating speeds**. capacity and higher side for details) Features include: ratings (see reverse side for details) • Increased torque RPM (see reverse • Increased maximum • Watertight construction features • Integrated cooling and CEUFD only) system management system (CEUSD isengagement • Automatic oil engagement/d • Rack and pinion Monitoring System* Smart Marland • Designed for shaft & shift levers nce coatings on applications • High-performa for cold weather heater locations • Dedicated oil available metric versions • Standard and delivery facilitates faster • Modular design

Scan the QR code to download the CECON Clutches catalog. See pages 11-12 for additional product dimensions.

for to P-8666-MC equipment, refer *Optional add-on Monitoring System. Smart Marland CECONs. to high-speed **Does not apply

information on

the

Twiflex Multi-Point Resilient Couplings Twiflex has developed a range of high-speed couplings, based on proven resilient coupling design principles, to meet the demands of industry around the world. The capabilities of the Multi-Point series may be extended through custom configurations manufactured to suit customers’ specific requirements. Multi-Point shaft assemblies, including the fixed length configuration, can accommodate axial movement as well as radial and angular misalignments. There are no wearing parts and no bearings as the shafts are self-supported. In their shortest form they become a ‘close-coupled’ assembly. The couplings may be supplied with UJ or CV type joints to provide more torsional flexibility than a traditional shaft assembly, or where it is necessary to reduce transmitted noise or provide damping. Features: • Multiple block sizes to tailor the design • Standard torque capacity up to 64 kNm • Parallel block arrangement for high-speed operation • Standard and bespoke Multi-Point housing configurations

otion Altra M

• Large rubber volume provides low torsional stiffness • Good damping characteristics aid control of torsional vibration

Twiflex Multi-Point Flexible Couplings

Asia Pacific

Twiflex Facilities

North America

Australia +61 2 9894 0133

USA 2800 Fisher Road TX 76302 - USA Wichita Falls,

Europe United Kingdom Twickenham 9 Briar Road, 6RB - England Middlesex TW2 1161 +44 (0) 20 8894 info@twiflex.com sales@twiflex.com Systems Industrial Brake

China +86 21 5169-9255

940-723-3483 Toll free: 844-723-3483 ex.com twiflex.info@twifl Systems Industrial Brake

Hong Kong +852 2615 9313 Singapore +65 6487 4464

and Shafts

Taiwan 8156 +886 2 2577

Ampthill Road 9RD - UK Bedford, MK42 350311 +44 (0)1234 Systems Industrial Brake

Thailand +66 2322 5527

Germany 36 Hatschekstraße - Germany 69126 Heidelberg +49 (0) 6221-304719 stieber.de twiflex-sales @ Systems Industrial Brake

The Brands of

Altra Motion

Geared Cam

Clutches & Brakes Heavy Duty Twiflex www.twiflex.com

Limit Switches

Stromag www.stromag.com

Couplings Ameridrives www.ameridrives.com ex Bibby Turbofl ex.com www.bibbyturbofl Guardian Couplingsgs.com www.guardiancouplin

Engineered

Bearing Assemblies

Kilian om www.kilianbearings.c Electric Clutches

Huco www.huco.com Lamiflex Couplings www.lamiflexcouplings.com

& Brakes

Stromag www.stromag.com Warner Electric om www.warnerelectric.c

Belted Drives TB Wood’s www.tbwoods.com

Thomson om www.thomsonlinear.c

Components

Delevan www.delevan.com Gear Delroyd Worm www.delroyd.com Nuttall Gear www.nuttallgear.com

Deltran om www.thomsonlinear.c

Linear Systems

Stromag www.stromag.com Svendborg Brakes es.com www.svendborg-brak Wichita Clutch m www.wichitaclutch.co Gearing & Specialty Bauer Gear Motor www.bauergears.com Boston Gear www.bostongear.com

Matrix onal.com www.matrix-internati

Stromag www.stromag.com TB Wood’s www.tbwoods.com

Systems Engine Braking Systems Jacobs Vehicle stems.com www.jacobsvehiclesy Precision Motors

& Automation

Kollmorgen www.kollmorgen.com Miniature Motors Portescap www.portescap.com Clutches Overrunning Formsprag Clutch www.formsprag.com Marland Clutch www.marland.com Stieber m www.stieberclutch.co

The operating sole discretion. to change in itsThe company’s terms and and may be subject factors. who may buy, the company and environmental apply to any person guaranteed by conditions publication is installation, operating conditions These terms and contained in this and-conditions. of the informationvary depending on the application, products. nditions/sales-terms- of these branded may nor completeness liated companies. of these products Neither the accuracy a licensed distributor or one of its affi characteristics at http://www.altramotion.com/terms-and-co who buys from of Twiflex LLC and performance can be viewed to herein, including any person exclusive property conditions of sale are the sole and a product referred this publication acquire or use trademarks in reserved. All ex LLC. All rights ©2020 by Twifl

For more information, download P-8832-TF from www.AltraLiterature.com

Sure-Flex Plus® Couplings for Industrial Mixers Chemineer, recognized for producing reliable, heavy-duty mixing equipment, is continually striving to improve reliability and performance which is why it has chosen to specify Sure-Flex Plus® couplings from TB Wood’s for its newest line of mixers. Mounted between the motor and gearbox, the couplings transmit power efficiently in this variable speed and variable torque application. In many cases, it may be necessary to clean or repair an impeller or to carry out maintenance on the associated gearbox which requires the motor or impeller to be disconnected. This could be a very protracted affair but, with the benefit of a split design, the Sure-Flex Plus coupling can be removed quickly and easily, allowing the required maintenance to be performed with less down-time. Features: • • • •

ion Profi

Applicat

8.2 kNm max. torque Flexible sleeves available in EPDM, Neoprene or Hytrel Four-way flexing action absorbs extreme torsional shock and vibration Wide range of standard sizes available

ings Plus Coupl Sure-Flex Mixers Industrial

Produc

tion

Applica

hts

Highlig

max. torque • 8.2 kNm in sleeves available • Flexible or Hytrel EPDM, Neoprene flexing action • Four-way torsional absorbs extreme vibration shock and of standard • Wide range sizes available

custom fluid

agitation

has , Chemineer equipment a number of mixers for d for

and Recognize re of rotating in standard manufactu r treatment. designing market leader for wastewate design and As the global experience in the pharmaceutical and and has a reputation years ical, , Chemineer ease of installation some 60 petrochem including mixing equipment while ensuring industries reliable, heavy-duty latest technology using the producing is why it has ce which e solutions Motion dependabl and performanthe Altra Industrial ce. part of couplings maintenan improve reliability TB Wood’s, and gearbox, the striving to is continually Plus® couplings from the motor application. between The company specify Sure-Flexof mixers. Mounted and variable torque ce on chosen to line maintenan speed its newest be to carry out in this variable Group, for impeller or ed. This could be efficiently repair an to be disconnect coupling can transmit power to clean or necessary the motor or impeller the Sure-Flex Plus it may be with less design, performed be In many cases, gearbox which requiresbenefit of a split of the ce to the maintenan : “The design the associated affair but, with the required , comments ce-free coupling a very protracted and easily, allowingmanager at Chemineer maintenan shock loading quickly with a reliable, excellent purchasing removed . Ian Fisher, provides our customers design. It also offers all types of vibration, ate down-time Plus coupling thanks to the innovative can accommod Sure-Flex action, which to install, which is easy well as a 4-way flexing as capability ent and end-float.” misalignm

US (Application

Assistance)

9-6637 press

1-888-82

Asia Pacific AP sales offices: list of our ctus For a .com/conta altramotion

tbwoods.co

12/19 P-7572-TBW

For more information, download P-7572-TBW from www.AltraLiterature.com

Altra Industrial_#2_3-20.indd 24

3/4/20 11:40 AM

Onsite Seal & Lubrication Overhaul for Trunnion Bascule Bridge Drives The historic Third Street bridge, located next to Giants baseball stadium in San Francisco, recently underwent a major $25M rehabilitation. The famous bridge required repairs and/or replacement of damaged steel members, welds, concrete counterweights, support piles, and bridge fenders. The single-leaf bascule bridge utilizes three Nuttall Gear drives that needed to have their oil lubrication flushed and replacement seals installed to provide decades of additional service. New breathers and inspection cover gaskets were also installed. Nuttall’s Drive Reliability Team of four experienced technicians was dispatched to the bridge site to ensure that the work would get completed within the scheduled downtime window. The original 86-year old oil seals were cut off and new custom-designed seals were installed. The new split labyrinth seals replaced the original single-piece seals that were difficult to remove without fully disassembling the bridge’s operating machinery. Nuttall designed and manufactured a custom oil flushing system specifically for moveable bridge drives. The unique compact assembly saved significant time and effort on this job. Service Profi

Custom-design manufactured ed and flushing systemportable oil

For more information, download P-8783-NG from www.AltraLiterature.com

Applica

tion

Trunnion Bascu le Bridge Drives Onsite Seal & Lubricatio n Overhaul

Service

Highlig

hts

• Provided team of four field service technician s • Original oil lubrication flushed, new oil added • Single piece oil replaced with seals designed split newly labyrinth seals • Custom-d esigned portable oil flushing system utilized

The historic Third Street underwent a major $25Mbridge, located next to Giants baseball Bridge), the bridge opened rehabilitation. Designed stadium in Renamed after by Joseph in 1933 and San Francisco, recently damaged steel Lefty O’Doul in 1980, now carries five lanesStrauss (engineer of the Golden the famous of traffic across removal and members, welds, concrete bridge McCovey Cove.Gate re-coating counterwe required repairs and/or as well as ights, support replaceme removal and The single-leaf piles, nt of replaceme nt of the steel bridge fenders. Rust bridge deck bascule bridge utilizes deck was also approxima completed tely 400 times three Nuttall Gear the bridge . opened, the per year, allowing drives that raise gearing in the gearboxes and lower marine traffic the to pass. In the 200 ft. decades of needed to have their original 86-year old operation since drives was additional service. New oil lubrication flushed in and replacemeexcellent condition. breathers and The bridge’s However, nt seals inspection rehab mechanica cover to perform gaskets were installed to provide l contractor the also installed. contacted drive drawings necessary work. Nuttall Nuttall and and specificatio Gear awarded technicians ns from 1932.was able to quickly access them with the was contract Nuttall’s Drive the scheduled dispatched to the the original bridge site downtime to ensure that Reliability Team of four Westinghouse window. experience the work would The original d get completed 86-year new split labyrinth old oil seals were within cut off and fully disassemb seals replaced new ling the bridge’s the original single-pieccustom-designed seals were operating machinery. e seals that Nuttall designed were difficult installed. The to remove and manufactu drives. The without red a custom unique compact assembly saved oil flushing system specifically significant for moveable time and effort US (Application bridge on this job. Assistance)

1-716-29

nuttallgear.c

For a complete global sales list of our offices visit:

8-4100

P-8783-NG

altramotion.

com/contac

tus

11/19

Warner Electric WR-Thin Spring Applied Electrically Released Brakes Thickness Adaptive Design for Direct Integrated Holding/Parking Brake The WR range is a pre-assembled on/off dry failsafe electromagnetic brake, highly reliable and compact for static engagement. Warner Electric recently extended the WR range with new sizes to be customized in terms of thickness vs static torque to fit applications where the brake is directly mounted inside a machine’s frame and/or casting. Features: • 4 sizes with fixed diameter but different length/torque available • Offers thin solutions down to 14mm • 0.1 to 5.0Nm torque range • Maximum inner diameter up to 35mm • Various mounting options as magnet, flange or rear mount • Direct encoder mount with special location diameter in option • Noise reduction & energy saving in option • High quality corrosion protection, RoHs, Reach, CE compliant

Typical Applications: • Wheel Drive/Mobile Robot • Cobot • Scara Robot • Patient Mobility Devices • Integrated drive solution with frameless motor

otion Altra M

I N G O D U C I N T R

WR-Thin 40, WR250) (WR230, WR2 VAR00 Spring Applied d Brakes Electrically Release

direct e design for Thickness adaptiv /parking brake integrated holding electromagnetic

failsafe led on/off dry . Warner Electric is a pre-assemb for static engagement in terms The WR range and compact to be customized brake, highly reliable WR range with new sizes is directly the where the brake recently extended torque to fit applications static and/or casting. of thickness vs a machine’s frame mounted inside e available Features but different length/torqu fixed diameter • 4 sizes with to 14mm solutions down • Offers thin torque range • 0.1 to 5.0Nm up to 35mm mount inner diameter flange or rear • Maximum options as magnet, in option location diameter • Various mounting mount with special in option • Direct encoder & energy saving CE compliant RoHs, Reach, • Noise reduction corrosion protection, • High quality s Typical Application Robot • Wheel Drive/Mobile • Cobot • Scara Robot Devices motor • Patient Mobility with frameless drive solution • Integrated

For more information, download P-8824-WE from www.AltraLiterature.com

Stainless Steel 2000 Series, 700 Series & Motors for Bakery Conveyors A leading Central American conveyor manufacturer needed robust drives for a range of conveyors used at a commercial bakery located in Guatemala. Realizing the growing importance of gearbox sanitation and cleanliness within their facility, the bakery wanted to begin converting from cast iron to stainless steel models as older gearboxes and drives needed to be replaced and new conveyor systems were incorporated into the plant’s processing lines. To meet the bakery’s needs, Boston Gear worked closely with the conveyor OEM to define specifications on new conveyor system drives and prioritize specific existing drives that would benefit the most from conversion to stainless steel solutions. Eventually, Boston Gear began to supply various sizes of its popular stainless steel 700 Series (SS700) speed reducers along with mated stainless steel motors and special stainless steel flanges. The SS700 units feature a unique rounded housing with smooth surfaces and covered hardware designed to prevent foreign matter adherence and fluid accumulation on or under the units. The internal worm is specially-ground for enhanced efficiency and lower heat generation leading to prolonged product life. Applicati

on Profile

For more information, download P-7464-BG from www.AltraLiterature.com

Product

Stainless Steel 2000 Series , 700 Series Bakery Conve & Motors yors

Applica tion

Highligh

Stainless Steel 700 Series Reducers & Motors • Reducers are Internationa NSF l certified • Smooth, rounded exterior prevents reducer matter adherenceforeign fluid accumulati and on • Laser marked information nameplate • World-class worm gear technology with that can exceed efficiencies 90% • Motors are UL/ULc certified Stainless Steel Series 2000 Drives • Unique rounded housing surfaces for easier cleaning • Output torque 40,000 lbf-in. ratings up to (4500 Nm) • Dimensiona l replacemen drop-in ts competitive for major products

A leading Central American conveyor used at a commercial manufacture bakery multinationa l baking company located in Guatemala.r needed robust drives breads, pastries for The facility headquarter is one of manya range of conveyors ed in smaller conveyorsand cookies. The operated by plant utilizes Mexico. The bakery while gear a large produces painted drives are used on the cast iron gearboxes a wide selection of Realizing the on the large larger conveyors bakery wantedgrowing importance including spiral number of to begin convertingof gearbox sanitation cooling units. and drives and cleanliness needed to from cast iron be processing within their to stainless lines. However,replaced and new conveyor facility, the steel models options. To the existing as meet the bakery’s conveyor drivesystems were incorporatedolder gearboxes specification needs, manufacture into the plant’s s r did benefit the on new conveyor systemBoston Gear worked most from closely with not offer stainless steel drives and conversion the conveyor prioritize to stainless Eventually, steel solutions.specific existing drives OEM to define Boston Gear that would (SS700) speed began to supply various sizes flanges. The reducers along with mated stainless of its popular stainless SS700 hardware designed units feature steel 700 Series a unique rounded steel motors and to prevent special stainless units. The housing foreign internal worm with smooth matter adherence leading to is specially-gr surfaces and steel and fluid accumulatio prolonged ound for covered product life. stainless steel n on or under Boston Gear enhanced efficiency housings, and lower the stainless steel end bells, heat generation output shafts motors are Stainless steel and conduit value-engin eered with boxes. systems. TheseBoston Gear Series 2000 98% per gear units feature rounded gear drives were supplied for for the existing mesh. All gearboxes housing surfaces along use on larger and gear drives conveyor competitor with units. supplied are a premium efficiency US (Application dimensiona rating Assistance) l drop-in replacemenof 1-800-816 For a complete ts -5608 list

bostongear.c

P-7464-BG

Altra Industrial_#3_3-20.indd 25

global sales

altramotion.c

of our offices visit:

om/contactus

12/19

3/4/20 11:41 AM

MICRON GEARHEADS MOUNT EASILY TO ANY MOTOR RediMount™ Motor Mounting System The unique Micron RediMount design allows our complete line of gearheads to be easily mounted to any motor. Its easy-to-use system features a specially designed input housing and sleeve to accommodate all motor mounting dimensions. The Micron RediMount design provides: • Self-aligning hub to maintain concentricity between motor shaft and gearhead • Pre-installed pinion to eliminate setting procedure • Modular design for separate stocking of gearhead and input housing • Flexibility in changing to alternate motors in the field • Interchangeability–the same RediMount system is used across all Micron product lines Why waste time with other mounting options? The RediMount system offers an easy, error free, three-step mounting procedure: 1. Slide the supplied bushing into the gearhead hub 2. Slide your motor into the gearhead 3. Bolt together

For more information call:

1.800.816.5608

or visit www.bostongear.com

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Design for Industry Packaging

Moisture and water-resistant stainless-steel HMI

The C6 HMI is a moisture and water-resistant stainless-steel HMI for food and beverage, packaging, and pharmaceutical applications. The IP69K certified panel uses 316L stainless steel and is offered as a standalone HMI or as an HMI + PLC combo. The C6 stainless steel HMI offers protection in environments where high pressure water or steam is used to sanitize or clean the equipment. The C6 HMI supports more than 40 communication drivers including EtherNet/ IP, ProfiNet and Modbus so it can be paired with nearly every PLC. The panel also includes a micro UPS to protect non-volatile data and a so ware tool that permits backup, restoration and transfer of programs. Integrated remote maintenance capability comes standard and allows monitoring and maintenance of remote installations using a secure VPN connection. The panel features a brilliant touch screen display with 16 million colors that offer high-quality visualization. DW

KEB America, Inc., | www.kebamerica.com DESIGN WORLD

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March 2020

3/9/20 1:19 PM

Design for Industry Packaging

Matched components deliver performance for packaging Even though some engineers prefer to select different motors and drives, using matched components can be a better option that delivers less troublesome performance. The 2G Motion System is servo based on the latest thinking about singlesource, systems-based design. It was designed to harness the performance capabilities of the AKD2G servo drive and AKM2G servo motor. Motor and drive are precisely matched in every element, including drive switching equency, commutation algorithms, motor magnetics, avoiding microincompatibilities that can occur when engineers select components om various manufacturers. The result is a system that delivers maximum performance, efficiency, and effectiveness in many applications, including industrial printing, laser cutting, packaging, robotics, inspection and measurement, machine tools, winding machines, and food processing.

March 2020

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DESIGN WORLD

3/9/20 1:19 PM

Benefits include: • Reduced design envelope: For new machine designs, the AKM2G allows designers to decrease the size, complexity, and footprint of the machine, while still getting the power and performance their application needs. The AKM2G can also be dropped into existing machines to increase performance, compared to competing motors, without increasing the size of the motor. The AKD2G includes SafeMotion options, expandable I/O, and dual-axis models, all without increasing drive size.

• Machine cost savings: Single-cable design, dual-axis drives, and co-engineered options reduce material and machine assembly costs. Improved motor and drive efficiencies reduce energy consumption, lowering operational costs. • Industry-leading features: Kollmorgen Servo on a Chip, SafeMotion monitor, WorkBench GUI, extended I/O variant, extensive feedback options, single- and dual-cable options, sha , mounting, and connector options, holding brake option, and much more. DW

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• Increased dynamic performance: The AKM2G can reduce indexing and move and settle times by delivering increased torque and power in the same size or smaller package. • Faster development and commissioning: The 2G Motion System optimizes performance in every system configuration, saving machine engineers the time and effort of evaluating various vendors and component combinations.

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Design Notes

Seeing the future: giant telescope

project chooses off-the-shelf automation

Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

GMTO engineers José Soto (left) and Hector Swett use TwinCAT 3 automation software from Beckhoff to validate various components according to the telescope specifications. (Giant Magellan Telescope — GMTO Corporation)

EtherCAT and PC-based control have been specified for automation of the Giant Magellan Telescope, including more than 3,000 motion axes and site-wide fieldbus in astructure. Once installed at Las Campanas Observatory in the Chilean Andes, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will introduce many opportunities for the astrophysics and cosmology research communities. The telescope design will have an angular resolution ten times greater than that afforded by the Hubble Space Telescope by combining seven mirrors into a single optical system with a total diameter of 25 meters. These advances will enable the GMT to capture images of astronomical objects sharper than currently possible by reducing distortions introduced by the terrestrial

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The Evolution of Brewery Hoses

atmosphere. According to former GMTO Corporation Vice President Dr. Patrick McCarthy, “The GMT’s mission is to provide the tools that will enable future generations of astronomers to make great discoveries and push back the ontiers of our knowledge about the universe.” Scientists and engineers working on similar telescope projects have traditionally built their own automation solutions using custom control components. However, the team building the GMT sees this differently, explains GMTO Senior Electronics Engineer José Soto: “We want to change the historical method of treating telescopes as special and totally unlike other automated systems. Future-facing industrial control solutions have the power to solve many problems we face today in astrophysics.” Speci ing automation and controls components for the GMT required careful consideration due to the realtime communication and control requirements, especially considering the system will possess more than 3,000 axes of motion. Beyond rotating the telescope’s 22-story enclosure, the flexible mirrors must be moved with the utmost precision to implement adaptive optics and achieve the highest possible image resolution. One example is the active optics system, which requires the integration of 170 pneumatic actuators per primary mirror to support the mass of each mirror. The engineering team identified the need for automation and controls components that were powerful now, but would also support future advances in technology, explains Soto: “Since these projects take a long time, we must account for DESIGN WORLD

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Beckhoff AM8000 Servomotors are specified throughout the telescope design, which includes more than 3,000 axes of motion. (Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation)

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obsolescence in every aspect. The most effective method of fighting obsolescence is standardizing on proven industrial technologies.” These factors led GMTO to standardize many specifications for the control system using industrial standards such as are found in solutions offered by Beckhoff Automation.

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Looking to PC-based automation solutions GMTO engineers began exploring industrial automation and controls. The engineers examined multiple industrial Ethernet networks but found EtherCAT to provide a flexible topology and scalability, along with the ability to incorporate up to 65,535 EtherCAT devices in one network, that matched the system specification of the GMT. “EtherCAT will be embedded in nearly every GMT telescope system — om the primary mirrors to the atmospheric dispersion compensator, the enclosure, mount, and even the building automation in the facilities,” Soto says. According to GMTO Engineer Hector Swett, Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) also offered impressive functionality for the telescope’s interlock and safety systems. FSoE provides GMT with safety-rated, TÜVcertified communication over standard EtherCAT networks, numerous options for distributed TwinSAFE I/O modules, and integration with the Beckhoff engineering

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Design Notes

While working to implement offthe-shelf, industrial components into the telescope design, GMTO engineers have tested many Beckhoff components, including CX2020 Basic CPU Modules, AS1020 Stepper Motors, and EtherCAT I/O modules. (Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation)

environment and Industrial PCs (IPCs). Certain current GMT specifications recommend multiple PC-based controllers that could be fulfilled by Beckhoff solutions. The interlock and safety system relies on many safety controllers and DIN-railmounted CX9020 Embedded PCs working in conjunction with EL6910 TwinSAFE Logic I/O modules. These interface with each other through FSoE via EtherCAT Automation Profile (EAP) to implement safety functions as required by the hazard analysis, Swett says. CX2020 Embedded PCs with single-core 1.4 GHz Intel Celeron processors are used in the GMT Hardware Development Kit, which was built for the project’s partners to develop instruments for the telescope. TwinCAT 3 automation so ware has offered a key platform to test devices, and it is specified for control of the structures around the telescope. “The PC-based controller for the telescope’s enclosure will run TwinCAT directly,” Swett says. “It also provides the real-time capability to interface this massive application with the observatory control system via OPC UA.” Exempli ing system openness, TwinCAT supports programming of control logic in many languages, such as those included in IEC

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RETAINING DEVICES & 61131-3, including object-oriented extensions, and the computer science languages offered in Microso Visual Studio. The so ware can automatically scan and configure third-party devices over ADS and EtherCAT, providing an optimal platform for tasks om sensing to motion control. Because the telescope will have thousands of axes of motion, dependable motors and drives will be crucial in the final configuration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When our integrator teams begin to commission the telescope, they will very likely use AM8000 Servomotors, for example, in the atmospheric dispersion compensator or the GIR (Gregorian Instrument Rotator) that will move all instruments attached to the Cassegrain focus,â&#x20AC;? Soto explains. New technologies and creative ideas redefine our universe A er decades in the making, the end goal is coming into focus for GMTO, and the reliable automation and controls components specified for the telescope add clarity. Soto explains, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Using EtherCAT as the GMT fieldbus enables real-time communication down to the I/O-level. We have achieved cycle times of 2 kHz, which allows enough bandwidth to close the loop on a range of subsystems, expanding our control and networking abilities significantly.â&#x20AC;? Compact EtherCAT I/O modules and Embedded PCs save space in control cabinets, and because the PC-based controllers can be located at a distance om the I/Os, this reduces heat dissipation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Reducing heat is a big deal for the GMT,â&#x20AC;? Swett adds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heat makes the air more turbulent inside the enclosure, and turbulence distorts images as the light travels through the air. This distributed I/O architecture helps us prevent that.â&#x20AC;? In a decade, this process of observation and discovery will not belong to the engineers designing and building the GMT, but to the astrophysicists and cosmologists using it to explore the cosmos. Researchers will have the flexibility to bring their own creative ideas when using the telescope to make great discoveries that we have not yet even imagined. DW

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Design Notes

Motion technology helps astronomers see farther

Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

| courtesy eso.org

MO33 Galaxy

When it comes to exploring our disc-shaped spiral galaxy, astronomers have a fundamental problem: Earth is located on the disc of the Milky Way, which obstructs the view of the galaxy’s center (and its other side) with countless stars. So, determining where on the disc other celestial bodies are located is difficult to impossible om Earth. It’s also hard to study the center of the galaxy, where countless stars and gas clouds cluster around what’s believed to be a black hole. But a major astronomy project aims to change that. Eight institutes om several countries (commissioned by the European Southern Observatory or ESO) jointly operate the world’s most powerful telescopes in the Chilean Atacama Desert in coordinated efforts to better understand the Milky Way. The site includes the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory having a mirror diameter of 8.2 meters. One goal of this Multi-Object Optical and Near-in ared Spectrograph (MOONS) project — coordinated by the U.K. Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) in Edinburgh — is to equip the VLT with a new instrument to capture more optical signals om

March 2020

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Motion technology from FAULHABER is used in this design to more precisely study the Universe.

space. The instrument in question is a spectrograph capable of simultaneously imaging many cosmic objects in the visible and in ared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. “With a high-quality photo camera, one can change the lens. But with astronomy telescopes, it’s the opposite… the VLT has an outstanding lens, and we will replace the current camera with the MOONS,” explains UK ATC scientist Dr. William Taylor.

With its new technology, MOONS enables new possibilities for observing space, even though it doesn’t produce large-sized images in the traditional sense. Instead, it captures minute details. This is how it works: As with previous designs, the huge lens and mirror of the VLT are pointed at the part of space that is to be observed. But in the MOONS VLT, the ends of 1,001 optical fibers align with individual objects. Instead of

capturing the entire selected area like a camera, the new instrument focuses the fibers on certain points in the Universe. The points are photographed, and their light is separated by prisms into the individual components — in other words, different wavelengths. “Scientifically speaking, this method yields much more information than an image,” explains Taylor. “For example, we can learn about the chemical composition of the object. Furthermore,

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| © eso.org. this allows us to calculate its dynamics — in other words, the velocity and direction of movement. Because MOONS captures the near-in ared spectrum, we can precisely analyze the redshi to which light om distant objects is subject on its way to us.” When a star moves away om Earth, the wavelength of its light becomes longer. This elongation is how part of the visible light shi s to the invisible in ared range — which is still close to the visible spectrum. Prior technology allowed for a maximum of about one hundred objects to be observed individually, and only in the range of visible light. MOONS not only multiplies this number by ten, but the depth of information also increases. Within the Milky Way, this will enable researchers to look much more precisely between the trees and get a much clearer picture of the entire proverbial forest. “One of the objectives of the project is to create a 3D map of the Milky Way to allow a sort of GPS navigation through the galaxy. The MOONS design’s unprecedented resolution also enables us to look very far… thus also very far back in time. With it, we’ll be able to approximate the Big Bang to within a few hundred million years.” This will give scientists new insights into the Universe’s infancy, according to Taylor. “We will be able to map the Universe to an unprecedented depth.” The astronomers aim to target several million objects over about five years. For them to reach this goal, the 1,001 optical fibers of the spectrograph have to be pointed at the cosmic targets quickly and mostly automatically. This is achieved with an equal number of fiber positioning units

Design-Notes-3-20-Vs4-MS.LL.indd 36

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DESIGN WORLD

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| courtesy eso.org

(FPUs). Each FPU has two stepper motor drive units fitted to reduced-backlash spur gearheads. The one in the back moves the central axis (alpha) of the FPU. Eccentrically mounted on this, the ont motor-gearhead drive unit (beta) simultaneously moves the fiber tip. The combination of the two axial movements allows each FPU to cover a circular area within which the fiber can be randomly aligned. This area partially overlaps the areas of adjacent FPUs. That means that every point within the capture zone can be controlled. To meet the challenging requirements regarding positional repeatability (essential for preventing collisions between FPU end tips) the drive system must be extremely precise… and must operate with high repeatability. Stepper motors come om FAULHABER PRECISTEP; the zero-backlash gearheads om FAULHABER Minimotor, contribute to the positioning accuracy. FAULHABER subsidiary mps handles the mechanical design of the modules. “We received very valuable input om all three participating companies of the FAULHABER Group,” reports Dr. Steve Watson, who is responsible for the FPU development at UK ATC. He continues: “Given the length of the FPU and the modular design, these are excellent numbers. Plus, the units stay properly aligned to the focal plate on which the modules are arranged throughout all positions.” The precision and reliability of the components allow the control to be kept simple, which is another requirement to operate the spectrograph flawlessly. Complex electronics and control logics would severely impede the quick and simultaneous control of 1,001 fibers. Thanks to the high quality of the components, precise alignment is achieved through simple open loop control. The technology must also be very sturdy and virtually maintenance- ee DESIGN WORLD

Design-Notes-3-20-Vs4-MS.LL.indd 37

This is the Fiber Positioning Unit (FPU), including a front geared motor for the beta axis and a rear geared motor for the alpha axis.

to perform its tasks without interruption over the planned ten-year service life of the system. Project manager Alasdair Fairley is already looking beyond such technical concerns: “We are making good progress with the MOONS. We expect to be able to install the spectrograph in summer 2021. Commissioning will take about half a year, so that we can probably start mapping at the beginning of 2022. We are confident that the FPU will remain fully operational for ten years without maintenance.” DW

FAULHABER Group faulhaber.com/m/spectrograph/en

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Design Notes

Self-cleaning filter streamlines sausage production

Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

The dual cleaning disc and twin actuator design of the DCF-3000 mechanically cleaned filter can be fabricated in a variety of materials and options with temperatures up to 400 °F (200 °C). It is suitable for highly viscous, abrasive, or sticky liquids with flow rates of up to 500 GPM (110 m³/h). For waterlike liquids, it can handle flow rates up to 1,500 GPM (340 m³/h).

Chances are the pork sausage on your breakfast plate came om the grocery store ozen. And if it’s one of the big-name brands, chances are equally good that it was not processed by the company whose name is on the package but by a “co-packer” — a company that specializes in that particular product. One of the larger co-packers in the Midwest produces tons of ozen pork sausage every day in a continuous process that includes blending the meat and spices, stuffing the casings or forming the patties, cooking the sausages, and finally eezing the ready-to-eat product. That final critical step is accomplished in a sophisticated waterfall pouch chiller using a food-grade propylene glycol/ water mixture at -5 °F (-21 °C). Because the glycol/water mixture can come into physical contact with the product, and because nothing is perfect—including packaging—the chiller is equipped with bottom-mounted screens to catch any bits of sausage or packaging materials that may get into the liquid and keep them out of the heat exchangers. This function is critical to the process because the glycol/ water mixture must be maintained within a narrow temperature range to meet strict food safety regulations. Challenges If the screens get clogged, the flow of glycol/water through the heat exchangers is reduced, and the temperature in the processing area rises. If the temperature exceeds food safety guidelines, then the entire batch of sausage and

March 2020

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bokers.com the potentially contaminated glycol/water mixture would have to be entirely discarded or “reworked” if the damage was minor. “That happened two or three times a year on average,” explained Jeff Simpson, a Fluid Process and Industrial Wastewater Engineer at Crane Engineering in Kimberly, Wisconsin. “The cost of replacing the process fluid alone was about $20,000 per incident.” Over and above that, maintenance costs were running in the $40,000 to $60,000 range per year, and they still weren’t preventing the overtemperature incidents. “The customer was walking a fine line between the cost of labor and downtime to clean the screens and sumps and the cost of lost production while the chiller was out of operation while they were being cleaned. They needed a better solution, so they invited us to their facility to review the process and make a recommendation.” While the situation called for a more effective filtration system, handling the 1,000 GPM (227 m³/h) flow of glycol/water through the system presented an unusual challenge. That challenge was made even more difficult by the user’s request for a solution that did not require the system to be shut down for filter maintenance. Solution The standard alternatives were either a multi-filter system with enough capacity to handle the flow while one of the filters was off-line for maintenance — or a self-cleaning filter. While the self-cleaning filter offered significant cost benefits, the volume of glycol/water that had to be filtered was greater than the capacity of then-available standard models. DESIGN WORLD

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Design Notes

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;We decided to pursue the self-cleaning alternative,â&#x20AC;? Simpson continued, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and to prove the concept, we installed an Eaton DCF-800 selfcleaning filter on a side stream. That particular filter is rated for 60 GPM (13.5 mÂł/h), and in several months of operation at maximum flow, it never clogged or required any maintenance.â&#x20AC;? The DCF filter consists of a cylindrical stainless-steel housing that holds a filter element. Fluid enters inside the element and flows through it to the outlet, depositing any contaminants on the inside wall of the element. A spring-loaded cleaning disc moves up and down, wiping the filter element clean and depositing the contaminants at the bottom of the housing, out of the flow path. This configuration prevents a re-suspension. Standard cleaning equency can be based on time, differential pressure, manual selection, or any other application-specific criteria. Because it remains in service while being cleaned, the DCF filter satisfied the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no-maintenancedowntime requirement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the concept proven, the next hurdle was finding a self-cleaning filter with enough capacity to handle the full 1,000 GPM (227 mÂł/h) flow of glycol/water in the system,â&#x20AC;? Simpson said. Crane was able to procure one of the first of the new Eaton DCF-3000 filters produced and installed it in the co-packerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chiller circuit. All components in contact with the product are made of stainless steel and the filter is rated at 1,100 GPM (250 mÂł/h) while filtering up to 100 microns. It stands a little over 8- (2.40 meters) tall and weighs approximately 720 lbs (325 kilograms) when fully flooded. It can be equipped with slotted wire strainer elements ranging om 50 to 1,140 microns to meet a broad range of application requirements. Results The unit installed on the co-packerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chiller uses a 75-micron strainer to provide minimum flow restriction. The output is then routed through an Eaton FLOWLINE stainless-steel bag filter housing with a ten-micron needle-felt bag filter for the final cleaning before entering the heat exchanger. DW

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Servo drives Lisa Eitel

Servo systems consist of four main components — motor, drive,

controller, and feedback. The controller determines what the motor must do and then triggers the drive to send the necessary electrical energy to the motor to make the required move happen. In other words, the controller is responsible for calculating the path or trajectory required and sending low-voltage command signals to the drive. The drive then sends the necessary voltage and current to the motor to achieve the required motion. Servo drives can control torque, velocity, or position ... although in servo systems, the most common parameter to be controlled is torque. There are several types of servo drives. A common variation is the torquemode amplifier. These convert the command signal om the controller into a specific amount of current to the motor. Because current is directly proportional to torque, the drive is controlling the amount of torque that the motor produces. In contrast, a linear drive (in which current is proportional to force) directly controls the force output of the motor. One of the most important tools for sizing a servo motor is its torquespeed curve. But o en, the torque-speed curve is specific to a certain motordrive combination. This is because the continuous and peak torque capabilities of the motor are affected by the thermal properties of both the motor and of the drive. Excessive heat — typically caused by running a motor above its peak

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To use an analogy ... as the brains of the system, the controller takes information om the feedback device and sends appropriate voltage signals to the drive. The drive acts as the nervous system and sends to the motor current necessary to prompt the required motion output. This reading and responding to feedback makes the system closed loop — the defining characteristic of a servo system.

torque — can demagnetize the motor’s magnets. Although the drive has no moving parts, heat can damage its power transistors. Continuous torque is the amount of torque the motor can produce indefinitely. Peak or intermittent torque is the maximum amount of torque the motor can produce ... but peak torque can only be sustained for a short amount of time before overheating occurs. Servo drives were originally standalone components, separate om the motor and controller. But in the past 15 or so years, numerous motor manufacturers have developed integrated drive-controller offerings ... as well as integrated motordrive systems ... and even complete motorfeedback-drive-controller systems. Slightly complicating matters is that these integrated designs are sometimes simply called drives for their axis-driving function. These tend to reduce wiring, make sizing and selection easier, and save considerable space and setup time. Read more on this by accessing the MC2 servo drive installment at designworldonline.com/mc2.

March 2020

3/9/20 3:20 PM

Coupling Notes Edited by: Mike Santora • Associate Editor

The fundamentals of frictional locking assemblies

Locking devices join shaft components by making 360° contact with the shaft and its mating component. As you tighten the assembly, it expands radially — creating a robust compression fit between the two parts.

If you want a wear- ee way to join sha components, look no further than locking assemblies. These ictional devices take the place of keyed couplings that wear and slip over time. Here, we’ll take a closer look at how locking assemblies work — including their advantages over traditional keyways in high-torque applications. What is a ictional locking device? Locking devices join sha components by making 360° contact with the sha and its mating component. As you tighten the assembly, it expands radially — creating a robust compression fit between the two parts. Within the device, these compression forces are generated through the interaction of tapered surfaces on the locking assembly’s inner and outer thrust rings. Locking devices differ om keyways, which rely on interference — rather than a ictional fit — between the two parts. The mechanical fit makes them suitable for high-torque applications like packaging machines, cranes, and hoists.

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Why locking assemblies? Locking assemblies are your best bet whenever you need to connect a sha to a hub. Common applications include bulk material handling, robotics, drilling machinery, rotating equipment, warehouse automation, motors, compressors, pumps — and more. How do you install one? Installation is simple. To begin, tap the locking assembly to loosen its screws and then apply the jacking screws. Next, place the assembly on the sha and tighten the locking screws in quarterinch increments. To uninstall, remove the locking screws and use the jacking screws to release the connection. What advantages do locking devices have over keyways? Traditional keyways feature sharp corners that increase the stress factor under load. In reciprocating applications, this design concentrates torquetransmission stresses along a single line of contact. Locking assemblies overcome this challenge. They uniformly distribute stresses over 360° of contact — eliminating wear and reducing maintenance costs. Other advantages include: • Zero backlash The 360° connection eliminates backlash — making locking assemblies suitable for precision-based applications like labeling and robotic positioning. • Easy installation The process takes only a few minutes. Tap the disc to loosen the screws, apply the jacking screws, and then tighten the locking screws in quarter-inch increments.

• Lower costs Unlike keyways, locking assemblies don’t require machining. They also require less maintenance — lowering your overall costs. How to Eliminate Bending Moment Failure In drum or pulley sha s, bending moments create high stresses within locking devices that can shear the connection and result in premature failure. Fortunately, some locking devices are specially designed to tolerate bending moments:

• Look for materials that have higher yield strengths.

• Wider designs resist moment forces better and are less likely to li away om the sha .

• Optimizing the number and location of bolt holes in the pressure ring improves the device’s resistance to moment loads — in part because bolt holes reduce the working stresses the assembly can tolerate. DW

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• Flexibility You can install a locking assembly in any direction. It allows 360° of eedom, unlike keyways, which require perfect alignment between the sha and hub.

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Internet of Things

Welcome to the age of IoRT — the Internet of Robotic Things

| Adobestock.com

By: Stephanie Van Ness • Boston UX

The robotics market, last year valued at $31.78 billion, is experiencing a sea change as robots move beyond the military and industry, where they’ve long built widgets and assembled heavy equipment, like the shiny new SUV in your driveway. Robots are perfectly suited to tasks that are repetitive, physically demanding or potentially hazardous to humans. But they’re capable of a lot more. Today’s robots can access big data, cloud computing services and distributed intelligence in sensor-enabled environments. They can interpret information om many sources and can activate other robotic systems. They’re capable of making decisions without human guidance. Not only are modern robots handling more tasks -- Boston Dynamic expects its popular dog-like bot Spot is already sniffing out explosives for the Massachusetts State Police--they’re also working collaboratively. In the mining industry, for instance, drones serve as “eyes in the sky” for ground-based robotic vehicles. As robots do more, they get smarter. Alphabet X announced it’s working on an R&D project called The Everyday Robot. The intent is to develop a “general-purpose learning robot.” Alphabet X is combining complex machine learning so ware with cameras with the aim of letting robots learn om observing the world around them. This way, they won’t need to be taught how to respond in every potential situation they may encounter.

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While these technological advances are exciting, they’ve fundamentally changed how we interact with robots over which we may no longer have direct control. For this reason, we need to create intuitive human-machine interfaces (HMI) and well-balanced user experiences that allow us to best interact with these beings. Designing user experiences for robots The Brookings Institution predicts that 36 million Americans will face the possibility that more than 70% of their roles may be taken over by artificial intelligence. But fortunately, there are still a lot of areas for which robots are primarily intended to support, rather than replace, humans. Robotic surgery, for instance, still requires the hand of a skilled human surgeon. These types of robots are there to increase users’ safety and efficiency (and o en precision) and shrink the time it takes to execute certain tasks. Determining the best, most natural ways to interact with these machines requires a he y dose of design thinking, including deeply exploring human behaviors. “As these are autonomous entities, the context of user’s interaction with them will change depending on the situation,” explained Boris Savic, Associate Director of User Experience (UX) at Boston UX. “Those variations go beyond simply different robot behaviors in different settings. They extend to the possible array of human responses to robot behavior. We should not underestimate the impact on the user of essentially a foreign body/object, such as a robot, even if the robot is performing a benign or familiar task.” To that point, sometimes it’s necessary to include what appear to be superfluous actions to the normal/required robot activity designed to put the end-user at ease. “The more familiar the task, the more ingrained the user’s expectation is of how the task should be performed,” Savic said. “Users can have pretty sophisticated expectations that may not always be in line with the capabilities of the robot. Good UX design can help bridge that gap.” Best practices A seamless user experience and ictionless user interface (UI) are essential for fostering collaboration between humans and robots. Because there is not yet a uni ing platform, the best user experience practices in robotics are still being developed. DESIGN WORLD

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AUTOMATION

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Internet of Things

“At this point, every robotics project is a whole new experience and a lot of work is based on assumptions,” Savic said. “For this reason, it is essential to have a solid user experience process in place; one that is built upon best practices and known patterns gleaned om adjacent areas of design. This process can provide the problem-solving amework designers need to perform well in this new arena.” While designing user experiences for robots is more complex than designing for two-dimensional touch devices, the core process is quite similar. It begins by applying the same design thinking used to solve problems outside of robotics. And, it hinges on a designer’s ability to gain a solid understanding of the human who will interact with the robot, including identi ing their needs and use scenarios.

Once there’s an understanding, the rest of the process is the same as for other types of user experience projects: Define the problem the bot interaction must solve; determine how to measure success; cra solutions; create prototypes; test prototypes with real users; analyze the feedback; and iterate the solution. As there are some aspects of robot user experience that require more exploration than for flat-screen design, here are some things to pay particular attention to in order to improve humanrobot interaction:

User journeys How do people actually use the robot? Here, designers need to understand a user’s perspective. This includes exploring the needs of all user constituencies, each with its own context of usage. And don’t forget “passive” users -- people who may have casual interaction with the robot without controlling it or knowing its expected pattern. This is where user journeys and mapping scenarios shed light -- and are of even more value when designing for robots than say, designing a website.

Hardware Understand the capabilities of the robot’s hardware -- know what’s possible and what’s not -- before creating the user experience.

Voice control Voice controls and how they combine with touch to direct the actions of the robot are a big consideration. Are the controls remote or on-robot?

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Internet of Things

Combination of the two? Knowing what to choose starts with understanding the desired action and the context and designing for the optimal experience. “Controlling something that by definition interacts with the environment means there is an art to designing touch or voice interactions for robots,” Savic said. “As user experience designers, we must understand that the impact of any action by the robot plays out in the physical world, not just the virtual one. That’s why greater emphasis on elements like pace, spacial context and human factoring is essential, as is guarding against unwanted or exaggerated gestures that could cause an accident or create a perceived threat to either an end-user or someone in close proximity.” User testing Certainly, user testing is crucial for any type of design project to confirm whether the UX is implemented properly. But whereas you might be able to get away with some cursory testing with a small number of users if you’re building a new corporate website, that’s not the case if you’re creating human-robot interactions for devices that can learn and operate autonomously. In this case, extensive user testing is the rule. Discovering pain points early and then iterating improved UX solutions is the best way to make certain the user journey is seamless, comfortable and safe. Robots are here to stay. UX designers can have tremendous influence on how well robots are embraced by humans and integrated into our daily lives. By designing intuitive HMIs and approachable, smooth user experiences, UX designers can help us coexist with -- and benefit om -- these intelligent machines. DW

Boston UX | www.bostonux.com

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Internet of Things

SafeMotion achieves CIP Safety over EtherNet/IP Certification

With the CIP Safety certification, Rexrothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IndraDrive servo drive system supports a variety of bus systems. Upon receiving this certification, the drive-integrated SafeMotion machine safety platform adds to the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abilities to support major safety automation buses, including CIP Safety on Sercos, PROFIsafe on PROFINET and FailSafe over EtherCAT. SafeMotion can be integrated into almost any new or existing machine automation architecture, giving machine builders and end-users more options in machine safety function. Adding safety capabilities in the drive can alleviate additional hardware and components. SafeMotion can be used to monitor up to 20 safe and certified motion functions, such as Safe Torque Off, Safe Brake Control, Safe Direction and Safe Stop. It provides the maximum level of safety (Cat 4, PL e, SIL 3) for all functions. All major safety automation buses are supported through a multi-Ethernet port on the drive, making it easy to speci one drive platform with a variety of options, regardless of the PLC. Using one bus system for both standard and safety communication also simplifies system architecture and reduces cabling and installation efforts for the machine builder. In addition, several ee tools are available with the servo drives to help save time and costs

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with safety validation and required technical documentation, even across series machines. These tools include the machine acceptance test which validates the SafeMotion functions, as well as the ability to create screen clips and plot velocity, position, monitoring and thresholds. SafeMotion function is available throughout the entire Rexroth IndraDrive series, om 100 W up to the large 4 mW drives. DW

Bosch Rexroth www.boschrexroth-us.com/driveintegrated-safety

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Internet of Things Get instant IIoT connection to real-world signals groov RIO quickly connects traditional wired switches and sensors directly to Ethernet networks, so ware applications, and cloud platforms without intermediary control or communication hardware, such as PLCs, PACs, or PCs. The first shipping version of groov RIO is the GRV-R7-MM1001-10, a standalone, 10-channel, multi-signal, multifunction I/O unit for signals including thermocouples (TCs), integrated circuit temperature devices (ICTDs), voltage inputs, current inputs, millivolt inputs, discrete dc inputs, self-wetting discrete inputs, discrete dc sinking outputs, and Form C mechanical relays. In addition, two channels provide special features like pulse counting, on- and off-time totalization, so ware latching, equency measurement, and more. GRV-R7-MM1001-10 is completely standalone and so ware-configurable through a browser-based interface. Although many smart wireless sensing devices have begun appearing at the edge, the majority of I/O switches, sensors, and transmitters use wired connections. Traditional remote I/O requires an industrial controller or gateway to propagate these signals to other systems, which limits their availability to enterprise consumers. By contrast, a groov RIO unit can be installed and operated independently, using its embedded so ware tools and protocols to share data instantly across the organization. For applications like data center in astructure management (DCIM), warehouse and office security, and remote condition monitoring—applications that need to move many real-world signals into onpremises or cloud-based so ware—I/O integration typically requires multiple components and specialized skill sets. Electrical and instrumentation engineers need to speci a variety of field I/O modules, and design, install, and wire appropriate I/O enclosures. Controls engineers need to program PLCs for signal processing and data collection. Then networking and so ware engineers need to configure communication gateways and servers that finally deliver data to consumers. With so many layers between data production and consumption, these systems also require significant ongoing maintenance in order to provide robust communication. groov RIO addresses all these issues with flexibility that significantly speeds integration of IIoT applications. GRV-R7MM1001-10 supports 12 different types of field I/O circuits, making it capable of over 52,000 I/O combinations, which

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dramatically simplifies module selection and spares management. It also provides no-hassle, enclosure- ee installation with multiple power options, including standard 802.3af Power-overEthernet (PoE); an extended operating temperature range; and UL Hazardous Locations and ATEX approvals. Once installed, groov RIO can be independently managed and configured through browser-based tools. Perchannel I/O type and signal-processing options through groov Manage eliminate the need for a master control unit, and support for standard enterprise network services like DNS, DHCP, and VPN facilitates network connectivity. Embedded communication options range om efficient data publishing with MQTT Sparkplug to advanced signal processing, data aggregation, and transactions with databases and web services, using the low-code Node-RED environment and runtime. On top of all this, groov RIO also fills the role of standard remote I/O for sensing, control, and visualization in industrial automation applications. GRV-R7-MM1001-10 is compatible with any Modbus/TCP master and with Opto 22’s groov EPIC platform. Features of the new GRV-R7MM1001-10 unit include: • 8 multi-signal, multifunction channels supporting analog input sensing (V/mV/mA), temperature sensing (ICTD, TC B/E/J/K/N/R/S/T), discrete input sensing (DC input or dry contact status), analog output (V/mA), and discrete output (DC sinking)

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• 2 mechanical Form C relays supporting normally-open or normally-closed circuits

• Intelligent analog and discrete signal processing, including scaling, ramping, filtering, counting, TPO, equency/ period measurement, and on-/offtime totalization

• Analog outputs and self-wetting inputs that can be powered over Ethernet

• Analog input accuracy om 0.002%– 0.03% of span

• Compatibility with any Modbus/ TCP

So ware features include: • User authentication, device firewall, and SSL/TLS encryption with certification • groov Manage so ware for configuration, commissioning, and debugging om anywhere on the network or remotely via embedded VPN client • Node-RED flow-based development environment and runtime for edge data processing, handling, communications, and visualization • MQTT client for efficient, industrial publish-subscribe communications DW

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master, or groov EPIC via PAC Project Basic or Pro

• UL Hazardous Locations approval and ATEX compliance

• Remote configuration and troubleshooting om any web browser on any device

• Dual switched Gigabit Ethernet network interfaces supporting star or daisy-chain topologies

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• Multiple power options including external DC input and Power over Ethernet (PoE)

• Wide –20 to 70 °C operating temperature range

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• 1 GB RAM, 4 GB user space on industrial eMMC with a power-fail safe filesystem

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Internet of Things NEWS

Siemens’ MindSphere Continues Industrial IoT Momentum

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has the potential to significantly improve global productivity and growth, with Accenture estimating that this latest wave of digital innovation will accelerate the reinvention of sectors that account for almost two-thirds of world output and add US$14.2 trillion to the global economy by 2030. MindSphere is a cloud-based, open Internet of Things (IoT) operating system that can be the foundation of IIoT programs. Recently, Siemens was among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate in The Forrester Wave: Industrial IoT So ware Platforms, Q4 2019 evaluation. In this evaluation, MindSphere was cited as a leader in Industrial IoT So ware Platforms. Over the past year, MindSphere grew its partner program, and announced major new customer wins and Siemens’ expansion of the Mendix platform to include cloud and app services for digital engineering and IoT powered by

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MindSphere, which is at the heart of its powerful Xcelerator portfolio. According to Forrester, “MindSphere builds on Siemens’ strength in industrial equipment and controllers but isn’t limited to interacting with Siemens hardware. The company continues to tell a strong story about the importance of digital twin, and MindSphere plays a key part in turning this vision into something pragmatic and implementable. MindSphere helps companies understand data by quickly and securely connecting products, plants, systems and machines to the digital world. By unlocking the wealth of data om every DESIGN WORLD

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machine and system in a business, MindSphere can transform this data into productive business results using powerful industrial applications with advanced analytics. MindSphere is a secure and scalable industrial end-toend solution from asset connectivity to actionable business insights utilized to increase productivity and efficiency across the entire enterprise. Said Ray Kok, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cloud Application Solutions at Siemens Digital Industries Software, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are proud to be recognized as a Leader within the Forrester Wave report and will work to build on this momentum to continue to help our customers achieve their goals.â&#x20AC;? DW

Siemens Digital Industries Software www.sw.siemens.com

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A supplement of Design World March 2020

The need for collaboration and DfM 56 Large format additive technology reinvigorates sand casting

COVER_MPF 3-20_FINAL.indd 55

64 3D printing drugsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a look at the future

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A d d i t i v e

T e c h n o l o g y

Large format

additive technology

reinvigorates sand casting One of today’s newest technologies helps re-invent one of the oldest industrial techniques in the manufacturing of heavy machinery and tools.

Edited by Leslie Langnau • Senior Contributing Editor

At JC Steele (a global leader in stiff extrusion machinery and solutions for customers in heavy clay, iron and steel, ferro alloys, and gypsum/wallboard) large-format Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been paired with traditional sand casting. The company uses a BigRep ONE 3D printer to develop, test and create the patterns needed for sand casting molds. By implementing large-format AM, JC Steele is optimizing design, development and patterning. As a result, the company has achieved a 75% cost reduction and a 50% faster time-to-production cycle. “Introducing AM into our production has greatly improved our operations,” says JC Steele’s Pattern Shop Supervisor, Chris Watts. “We have streamlined our workflow by eliminating those parts of the design process that are the longest, most fault-prone and expensive – the manual designing of a pattern, the interpretation of design drawings and the management of reductive waste.” In the past, sand casting patterns had to be designed and created perfectly the very first time – as they could take up to a month to be recreated by hand in case of the slightest error, resulting in a longer time to market and higher costs. Introducing 3D printing to the production

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For JC Steele, sand casting patterns had to be designed and created perfectly the first time, otherwise it could take up to a month to be recreated by hand in case of the slightest error. The use of 3D printing made it possible to develop and test multiple options to find the best-fit solutions.

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Additive Technology For JC Steele, large-format 3D printing was a must-have to create their large foundry parts. The company’s stiff extrusion technology is dependent on augers – huge columns that work like a drill bit to compact and move material forward through an extrusion chamber. Piecing parts together from smaller printers is not an option.

process has made it possible to develop and test multiple options to find the best-fit solutions. Using the BigRep ONE, JC Steele engineers easily design and test parts that can be quickly installed and removed, printing multiple designs of complex parts that vary in crucial differences, such as thickness, to assess the optimal design before expensive patterning and foundry processes begin. “For many clients in core manufacturing industries, large-format 3D printing has become an integral part of their business,” says BigRep Managing Director, Martin Back. “Our 3D printers are not replacing but complementing other more traditional technologies, improving overall operations and making manufacturing more efficient.” With the addition of large-format additive, JC Steele has created 60 new

patterns in just a year. This increase in production requires their BigRep ONE to be running 24/7 with operators checking in on weekends to verify progress and change filament. For JC Steele, large-format 3D printing was a must-have to create their large foundry parts and produce at scale. The company’s stiff extrusion technology is dependent on augers – huge columns that work like a drill bit to compact and move material forward through an extrusion chamber. Piecing parts together from smaller printers is not an option. The high-performance materials used with BigRep 3D printers, such as PETG, have the necessary strength resistance for sand casting applications, eliminating the need for wasteful reductive materials without a large environmental footprint.

As far as comparing plastic to wood, it’s just as durable in sand casting and our other applications,” says Watts. “But the possibilities are endless as to what we can achieve with a plastic-printed part.” Another value added of 3D printing for JC Steele is the recreation of otherwise unavailable archived parts that are no longer made by their manufacturers or carried by suppliers. JC Steele is now printing these spare parts in-house, eliminating lead times to find new suppliers, waiting for shipping or planning complicated solutions. After seeing how effective these parts could be manufactured, the company is applying the same method to tooling, producing jigs and fixtures on site, particularly for new machines where investing in hard tools upfront is time and cost prohibitive. ■ BigRep | www.BigRep.com

By implementing large-format AM through the use of a BigRep ONE 3D printer, JC Steele optimizes design, development and patterning. The company has achieved a 75% cost reduction and a 50% faster timeto-production cycle.

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M o l d i n g

T e c h n o l o g y

Micro molding -

The need for collaboration and DfM There are a certain set of rules and understandings of the molding process at the macro level that simply don’t work at the micro level. The flow of molten plastic, its cooling, warpage, necessary venting and gating … are all different when molding at the micro scale, and to a greater or lesser extent the process needs to be relearned.

Roger Hargens • CEO/President • Accumold

Companies may recognize the business need to produce smaller and often more complex and innovative products and components, but may not see an obvious route to attain these goals. In general, companies understand that micro molding is not just “macro molding but smaller.” There comes a point, though, when making things smaller that the process to achieve this needs to change, and here the analogy of folding paper is often used. When you fold paper in half, you have a piece of paper half the size of the original. Fold it again, it is a quarter the size. However, when you get to the 7th fold, it is impossible to achieve, so to reduce the surface area the process (folding) has to change.

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The differences between macro molding and micro molding are stark. Every stage of the product development process in a micro manufacturing scenario is motivated to attain micron and sub-micron tolerances.

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Additive Technology Micro molding is one part of the overall product development process. Various groups should be involved early, at the initial product design level, to ensure mold success.

The differences between macro molding and micro molding are stark when it comes to the molding process. Every stage of the product development process in a micro manufacturing scenario is motivated to attain micron and sub-micron tolerances.

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Many designers undertaking micro molding at scale outsource their production, so the “way” that micro molding works, while relevant, should not be seen as a barrier. Choosing the micro molding expert takes away the need to understand the vagaries of the characteristics of thermoplastics when molding small. However, there are a number of other areas that any designer must focus on beyond the micro molding process. The product development process Micro molding is only one part of the overall product development process, and it is important for designers to appreciate that various “departments” involved in a micro manufacturing project should be engaged at product design inception. Critical to success is reassessing the nature of the relationship between customer and molder in a micromolding scenario. When dealing with contract manufacturers on the macro level, the relationship can quite acceptably be that of a job shop. The design is presented, the quote is secured, and the parts are delivered. Job done. www.makepartsfast.com

This cannot and will not work when undertaking a micro molding project, which necessitates that the OEM and the chosen micro molding company enter a fully collaborative partnership relationship. The reasons for this are many, but begin with the fact that just as micro molding and macro molding are completely different processes, the design for manufacture (DfM) rules are also entirely different. DfM for micro molding is important, and the expert in the room to offer advice and counselling is the expert micro molder, your product development partner. Often, the less baked an idea is when the micro molder is engaged the better, as the earlier that the design of a micro product can be influenced and adjusted to optimise manufacturing outcomes, the better in terms of cost and timeliness of production. Essentially, DfM ensures that not only will the end product be fit-forpurpose but that it is also optimised for the production processes that will be used to manufacture it, in this case micro molding and automated assembly. The micro molding team that you work with should be able to advise on such issues as material choice, draft angles and undercuts, part lines, ejector pin locations, gate locations, the likely flow of material in the mold, wall thicknesses, and so on. Perhaps the key enabling technology when it comes to micro molding is micro tooling. Tooling in any manufacturing scenario is always the most-costly and time-consuming part of the product development process, DESIGN WORLD

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but when looking at micro molding, the tolerances and complexity often required in micro molds make it especially critical. Micro tooling is an art in itself, thus, designers should work with micro molders that can design, build, and maintain molds in house, and also have the expertise and experience to optimise tool fabrication. One size does not fit all when looking at micro tooling. Micro molders can drill down into the specifics of a particular application, understand the effects of a certain material, cycle time expectations, part criteria, and expected volumes before beginning to cut steel. In house tool fabrication — in fact vertical integration in general ensuring that design, molding, metrology and validation, and automated micro assembly are all undertaken in the same facility with departments working collaboratively — is important in a micro manufacturing scenario where tolerances are tight. The probability for successful outcomes increases exponentially when the responsibility for project and production, timeline, and execution are controlled within a single entity. The differences between macro molding and micro molding are stark when it comes to the molding process. Every stage of the product development process in a micro manufacturing scenario is motivated to attain micron and sub-micron tolerances. Finally, when dealing with miniaturized plastic parts and components, the assembly part of the product development process must be discussed and considered early in the design cycle. When dealing with micro scale parts and components, the cost of manual assembly is prohibitive, and often requires levels of preciseness for sub-micron tolerances that are impossible to achieve. Automated assembly is therefore a must in most micro molding scenarios. Collaboration and transparency are not just required between the micro

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molder and the customer, but also between the different teams within the micro molding facility. To a greater or lesser extent, designers rely on the micro molder to guide them in appropriate design choices. Transparency is absolutely important, ensuring that the customer is on the same page, understands the decision-making process, and works with the micro molder to problem solve and optimize outcomes while always ultimately being in control. Producing a plastic product with micron or sub-micron features, repeatably, economically, and on time means that the “over the wall” approach has to be abandoned. Success in micro molding requires an inter-disciplinary approach, as it is only in this way that the ultimate goal — an optimized product made to specification repeatably — can be guaranteed. Success in micro molding is predicated on the forging of a truly collaborative and transparent relationship between micro molder and client. Decisions made at the early design stage will have effects when it comes to micro tool fabrication, micro molding, and micro assembly. Because of this — and the need to have an unswerving focus on the achievement of extremely tight tolerances and to validate design intent — all departments involved in the product development process must work together from the inception of a product design to ensure successful outcomes. n Accumold | www.accu-mold.com

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March 2020

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A d d i t i v e

T e c h n o l o g y

3D printing drugs—

a look at the future The idea of using 3D printers to make drugs has been around a while. The Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Belgrade, though, is home to the first “Pharm3D” lab where the pharmacists investigate whether this idea is feasible.

Marijana Madzarevic in the 3D printing laboratory of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Cosmetology at the University of Belgrade. | Image source: University of Belgrade

March 2020

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DESIGN WORLD

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3D Printing

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and Cosmetology at the University of Belgrade works on the development of controlled release dosage forms and process optimizations in the pharmaceutical field. She was the one who decided to form a 3D laboratory and research team with the focus on 3D printing in pharmacy. Students, scholars and professors of the institution now all profit from this growing infrastructure. Investigating 3D printing methods One beneficiary is Marijana Madzarevic, third-year PhD student in Pharmaceutical Technology. “We are proud to say that this is the first and for now only 3D laboratory of pharmaceutics in Serbia,” she says. In the “Pharm3D,” three types of 3D printers are used: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SL) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). Marijana and her team are investigating the applicability of various known pharmaceutical excipients with these additive technologies. Selective Laser Sintering awakened the scientist’s interest since – unlike the other types – its printing material is powder based which is already common for conventional pharmaceuticals. Exploring the possibilities of SLS Like every 3D printing technology SLS has its own advantages and disadvantages for pharmaceuticals. Some excipients, such as mannitol or lactose, simply cannot be laser sintered into a stable tablet on their own. That is why Marijana’s team is focussing their research on different initiators to help with the solidification process.

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Additive Technology

The Sintratec Kit is used intensively by students, researchers and professors of the faculty. | Image source: University of Belgrade

“We want to investigate a variety of safe, pharmaceutical grade substances that help in the solidification of commonly available constituents of tablets and to easily form a tablet with target drug release (fast, slow, pulse), depending on the needs of the patients.” According to Marijana such personalization of pharmaceutical products by means of additive processes could become the industry’s standard in the future. Future potential “With the Sintratec Kit we can put the mixture in the print container, click on print and have a tablet – no more compression is required,” Marijana explains. This aspect makes the technology particularly interesting because compression tends to be restricting. Replaced by this additive method, a new array of possibilities opens up, ranging from intricate shapes of tablets to custom dose accommodations. The massive potential of SLS in this field is evident. For pharmacists, however, the patients and their well-being have the bigger priority. Marijana emphasizes, that before any implementation this method has to be meticulously investigated with the pros and cons thoroughly evaluated. She remains confident: “We want to overcome the cons and maximize the benefits of selective laser sintering in pharmaceutics.”

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Educational value of new technologies Perhaps even more important than research is the educational side. “We are proud that we can show the students 3D printing technologies in actuality and not just talk about it,” says Marijana. The faculty has a very active center for student’s scientific research and enables them to include additive technologies into their work. For an educational institution like the University of Belgrade it is key to stay current with the latest technology and digitalization trends. Marijana hopes, that with a growing laboratory the coming generations of pharmacists all will have the opportunity to create 3D models and print tablets. She summarizes: “Together we can reshape the future of pharmacy!” ■

Sintratec | sintratec.com

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3/10/20 7:16 AM

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

Sawyer’s

machine tending skills help manufacturer increase quality page 78

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The Robot Report

MiR, UR opening

$36M ‘cobot hub’ in Denmark

Steve Crowe • Editor • The Robot Report

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www.therobotreport.com

THE ROBOT REPORT

3/10/20 7:46 AM

Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) and Universal Robots (UR), along with their U.S.based parent company Teradyne, are investing $36 million into the construction of a “cobot hub” in Odense, Denmark. Both MiR and UR are based in Odense, which the companies call the “cobot capital of the world.” MiR and UR are leaders in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and cobot arms, respectively. The two companies will remain separate entities, but a new 164,000-square-foot site will become the joint headquarters for the companies. The pair said this will create “significant synergies” to strengthen each company’s footprint in its respective market. MiR and UR also opened a cobot hub in Barcelona in November 2019 to promote collaborative automation in Southern Europe. A 1,500-square-meter facility in Barcelona’s 22@ district includes offices for each company, as well as a joint showroom for the latest technology and applications for AMRs and cobot arms. “Teradyne continues to invest aggressively in the development of new products, solutions, and sales channels and this new facility is a key part of our growth strategy,” said Mark Jagiela, President and CEO of Teradyne. “We have found something very special in Denmark. The Danes’ combination of innovative industrial design, combined with a practical business sense, have created a perfect combination for this emerging industry. The ability to make robots work in collaboration with humans in a user-friendly manner is something we have not encountered to this degree anywhere else in the world, and we’re very excited to expand our capabilities in Odense.”

THE ROBOT REPORT

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www.therobotreport.com

The vision of the new Cobot Hub in Odense, Denmark. The final architectural design has not yet been determined. | Credit: Universal Robots/MiR

March 2020

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The Robot Report

CEO of Mobile Industrial Robots Thomas Visti (left) and President of Universal Robots Jürgen von Hollen. | Universal Robots

Introduced in September 2019, the UR16e is Universal Robot’s strongest cobot ever with a 16 kg (35 lbs) payload. It also features a 900 mm reach and ± 0.05 mm repeatability.

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Strength of Danish robotics cluster “Denmark has a significant lead in the global market for cobots. Investing ambitiously in building the world’s largest cobot hub right here in Odense makes a lot of sense,” said Thomas Visti, CEO of MiR. “Offering a strong, professional environment with superb facilities enables us to attract talent om all over the world.” MiR said it hired 100 employees within the past year, with UR adding 280 staff members during the past two years. Today, the two companies have 160 and 450 employees, respectively, based in Denmark. UR employs almost 700 employees worldwide while MiR’s staff counts a total of around 220 globally. MiR and UR are the two most notable Danish robotics companies, but the Danish robotics cluster as a whole is quite strong. The Robot Report has watched the cluster closely. Danish robotics companies’ total revenue rose 18% in 2018, reaching $995 million with exports increasing 26%. UR grew to $234 million in revenue by 2018, with nearly 40,000 cobots sold at the end of 2019. In 2018, MiR represented 9.2% of industrial automation revenue for Teradyne. For the first three quarters of 2019, it represented 14.3% of industrial revenue. “This is a market expected to grow to a total value of almost $12 billion in 2030, according to ABI Research. Demand for Danish cobots already means that we are growing out of our current offices in Odense, both at UR and MiR,” said Jürgen von Hollen, President of Universal Robots. “Odense has a strong

www.therobotreport.com

ecosystem of talent and we are pleased to have the opportunity to invest longterm in the unique robotics environment that we have been building here over the last 10 years.” Teradyne’s growing automation business Automatic test equipment for electronics still accounts for 75% of the $2.1 billion revenue Teradyne made in 2018. But that is a mature market that is unlikely to yield significant growth in the long-term future. As a result, Teradyne in the last five years has acquired four key industrial robotics startups: • Acquired UR for $285 million in 2015 • Acquired MiR in 2018 for $272 million • Acquired Energid in 2018 for an undisclosed fee • Acquired AutoGuide Mobile Robots for $58 million in 2019 Automation is still a peripheral part of Teradyne’s business as far as gross revenue goes. But the company said it has invested more than $500 million into MiR and UR. In 2015, industrial automation represented 2% of all revenue, but industrial automation represented 12% of revenue in 2018. Teradyne hopes its automation unit will be posting revenues exceeding $1 billion in 2021. RR

THE ROBOT REPORT

3/10/20 7:44 AM

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The Robot Report

Cobot pioneer

Esben Østergaard finds life after UR

Universal Robots co-founder still interested in developing robots to help humans. Steve Crowe • Editor • The Robot Report

If you had the financial eedom to do what you want in life, what would you choose to do? Esben Østergaard started asking himself that very question late in 2018. He had helped grow the nascent collaborative robotics market by co-founding Universal Robots A/S in 2003. The Danish company has become the market leader by focusing on robot arms that are easy to set up and program, can be deployed flexibly, and are relatively safe to operate around people. Østergaard made a fortune when Teradyne acquired cobot leader Universal Robots in May 2015 for $350 million. He took part of the money he made om that sale and re-invested it into Mobile Industrial Robots ApS (MiR), another Danish company that has developed autonomous mobile robots. About three years later, Teradyne acquired MiR for $272 million. Østergaard receives recognition, then steps away Østergaard was named a winner of the 2018 Engelberger Robotics Award. Known as the “Nobel Prize of robotics,” the Robotic Industries Association has bestowed the award upon 126 robotics experts om 17 nations since its inception in 1977. Østergaard was recognized for spearheading the development of the UR cobot arms. Universal Robots has now sold more than 40,000 units worldwide.

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THE ROBOT REPORT

3/10/20 7:27 AM

Esben Østergaard, co-founder and former CTO of Universal Robots, recently launched

REInvest Robotics, an accelerator platform for robotics startups.

THE ROBOT REPORT

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The Robot Report Universal Robots History 2005 2008 2012 2015 2016 2018 2019

UR founded by Esben Østergaard, Kasper Støy, and Kristian Kassow Ships first cobot, a UR5 Launch of larger UR10 cobot Acquired by Teradyne for $350 million Launch of UR+ ecosystem Launch of e-Series cobots; Østergaard wins Engelberger Robotics Award Launch of UR16e with 16 kg payload

“Robotics is on a similar trajectory to what the IT industry went through the last 30 to 50 years,” Østergaard said. “Robotics is coming out of supercontrolled environments and being spread out into new areas outside manufacturing, including construction, logistics, and agriculture.”

He remained with the company until March 2019, when he stepped down. Østergaard said at the time, “At some point, you also have to say that if you want to try something new in life; maybe now is the right time for me.” It didn’t take him long to figure out what to do next. His wife, Richa Misri, helped. “Around Christmas Eve in 2018, my wife and I were home alone. No kids, no family. We had a simple Christmas meal,” he recalled. “She prepared a PowerPoint for me about the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals. She said, ‘We have the eedom to do whatever we want now,’ and asked what we could do to make the world a better place.” In April 2019, Østergaard and Misri founded REInvest Robotics, an accelerator platform that provides advice, guidance, and angel funding to robotics startups. The company charges fees for various services, and half of that fee is reinvested into robotics startups or charities. Helping humanity through robotics REInvest Robotics wants to work with forwardthinking robotics startups that, like its founders, believe the future is bright because humans can use machines to solve challenges ranging om the simple to the complex. At press time, REInvest Robotics had invested an undisclosed amount into two

REInvest Robotics invested in Farmdroid, which is developing an

autonomous ground robot that automates sowing and weed removal.

THE ROBOT REPORT

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March 2020

3/10/20 7:28 AM

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The Robot Report robotics startups: Farmdroid and Tutobo. Odense, Denmark-based Farmdroid is developing an autonomous lightweight ground robot that automates sowing and weed removal on agricultural land. This means crops are grown organically, with carbon-neutral methods, and without damage to the soil’s microstructure. “Farmers use lots of herbicides, and that’s not great for anything,” Østergaard said. “If we can avoid that, it’s a good thing.” Tutobo is a startup in Athens, Greece, that supplies robot toys to teach children how to code using storytelling and gamification. “Education is the key to the future,” Østergaard said. “If we can improve education, it’s a good way to make the world a better place. But education is not my core competency. My core competency is robotics. It’s probably best for me to help the world through robotics.” Setting course for the future ‘Besides his work through REInvest Robotics, Østergaard is a board member of Odense Robotics, a world-leading robotics cluster that is home to more than 129 companies and more than 3,600 employees. He is also a board member at EffiMat Storage Technology A/S, a Danish logistics and supply chain specialist. In addition, Østergaard continues to work with the Danish government to formulate its first national robotics strategy. “Robotics is on a similar trajectory to what the IT industry went through the last 30 to 50 years,” Østergaard said. “Robotics is coming out of supercontrolled environments and being spread out into new areas outside manufacturing, including construction, logistics, and agriculture.” Østergaard admitted he has thought about what his identity would be without UR and MiR. Safe to say, he has found his footing with REInvest Robotics. “I am completely convinced humankind will improve if we accelerate robotics in the right way,” he stressed. “People are afraid of technology and change, but technology has improved humankind throughout history -- lowering infant mortality rates, curing diseases, even going to the supermarket is better than in the olden days. “New tech will disrupt jobs, but there will be jobs that people never dreamed about. Some of the highest-paid people on the planet wouldn’t be recognizable to workers 200 years ago,” said Østergaard. “We need to deal with all the bumps and people who are negatively affected, but the bigger picture is that it’s for the better.” RR

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3/10/20 7:28 AM

The Robot Report

Sawyer’s machine tending skills

help manufacturer increase quality

Steve Crowe • Editor • The Robot Report

Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, a Sterling Heights, Michigan-based CNC machine shop and custom manufacturer founded in 1952, supplies parts to more than a dozen sectors, including aerospace, automotive, medical equipment, and oil and gas. To increase operational efficiency and counterbalance a tight labor market, Fitzpatrick Manufacturing made its initial foray into advanced automation by adopting a Sawyer collaborative robot om Rethink Robotics. Sawyer is helping Fitzpatrick Manufacturing hone parts that become components for the motion control industry. However, Fitzpatrick Manufacturing envisions additional Sawyer robots helping with kitting and quality inspection applications in the near future. Challenge Fitzpatrick Manufacturing turned to automation to increase operational efficiency and improve part quality. The company’s jobs are getting bigger, but it’s getting harder to find people willing to do the work.

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www.therobotreport.com

THE ROBOT REPORT

3/10/20 7:31 AM

Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, a CNC machine shop and custom manufacturer, deployed Rethink Roboticsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Sawyer cobot at its Sterling Heights, Michigan, facility to increase operational efficiency and to counterbalance a tight labor market. | Rethink Robotics THE ROBOT REPORT

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www.therobotreport.com

March 2020

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| Raytheon

The Robot Report Case Study Breakdown Company

Fitzpatrick Manufacturing

Location

Sterling Heights, Mich.

Industry

Custom manufacturing

Challenges Task Cobot Value Drivers Project Cost

Variable quality; subpar efficiency Machine tending Rethink Robotics Sawyer Ease of use, flexibile deployment, collaborative, safe $46,000

Project Timeline 3 months Results

Increased productivity of 300 parts/day; improved quality

ROI 7-8 months Integrator

Shaltz Automation

Thanks to Sawyer, Fitzpatrick Manufacturing now produces on average 300 pieces more per day. | Rethink Robotics

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“This machine tending application was mindless and tedious,” Kevin LaComb, co-president at Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, told The Robot Report. “There were four people rotating on this job to prevent boredom. They’re just taking parts and loading them into the machine, checking the parts, washing them, and packaging them. They’re under the impression they’d be a machine operator, but they’re on the most boring job ever.” LaComb said this created quality control issues. “When a human was in front of it, customers would sometimes say two of the 70 pieces we shipped to

www.therobotreport.com

them were oily. We forgot to wash them. Sawyer doesn’t forget to do that. Any part in the box is 100% correct and has been washed. Sometimes parts were packed upside down, too, and our customers wouldn’t catch that either.” Solution Fitzpatrick Manufacturing thought about adopting automation for three years before finally pulling the trigger on Sawyer. The company became somewhat familiar with Sawyer after seeing the robot at various trade shows. Sawyer is helping hone parts that become components for the motion control industry. Sawyer identifies which part to run first and loads it into the honing machine. When the first part is finished, Sawyer removes it, loads a second part into the machine and places the first part in the wash station. Sawyer then dries the part at the air blow station before packaging it in a box for shipment. With 400 spots on the pin board to process, Sawyer can package between 280 and 300 before a human worker needs to intervene. This process could take five to eight hours, which allows Sawyer to run overnight, lights out, and have all the parts ready to go when workers arrive back at the facility. Fitzpatrick Manufacturing picked the Sawyer in part because of its current specs, which include 7 degrees of freedom, a 1260 mm (1 meter) reach, 4 kg (8.8 lbs) payload and 0.1 mm task repeatability. Sawyer also features an embedded Cognex Vision System in the arm for object detection and inspection, and it supports external camera integration, too. The Intera Insights software is also useful, providing real-time key performance indicators (KPIs) such as cycle times and part counts to Fitzpatrick Manufacturing employees on the floor. “There’s a lot of power built into Sawyer,” said LaComb. “All of these features will have a purpose one day as software updates come. We don’t know where Sawyer will be in 2-3 years, but certainly it will bring more utility to the equation soon.” LaComb said Fitzpatrick Manufacturing spent about $46,000 on the project. Shaltz Automation started the integration in November 2017, and

THE ROBOT REPORT

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The Robot Report

Sawyer helps Fitzpatrick Manufacturing hone parts that become motion control components. | Rethink Robotics it should have taken about two weeks. However, once LaComb and company had possession of Sawyer and learned more about what it could do, mission creep took over and lengthened the installation, which was completed by the end of January 2018. Jon Mutz, a team leader at Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, is now responsible for all the programming on Sawyer. There are three other people at the company who can operate Sawyer. “When Sawyer first hit the floor, I had zero experience with robotics,” he said. “I’m a machinist. I could run a CNC machine and that’s it. The distributor got it up and running and I got a quick hands-on tutorial. Then I jumped on Rethink’s website and went through the training portal, which was extremely helpful. After about two weeks, it became extremely easy to use.” Results Thanks to Sawyer, LaComb said Fitzpatrick Manufacturing is now producing, on average, 300 pieces more per day. Four employees have gone from standing in front of a machine for 10 hours every day to acting as a caretaker

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for Sawyer for just 1 hour per 1,000 pieces produced. “A human out produced Sawyer for the first 2-3 hours of the day, but after that, things slow down due to boredom. And robots don’t take a bathroom break, lunch break, coffee break. As long as there isn’t a problem with Sawyer, he’s working. Humans now just make sure Sawyer has parts. If it doesn’t, they load more into Sawyer and take boxes away.” Under normal circumstances, LaComb said the ROI would have been about one year. But because the lights-out concept has been more robust than expected, and Sawyer’s running 24 hours a day Monday thru Friday, plus additional weekend hours, LaComb expects the ROI will be closer to 7-8 months. “If it didn’t work out, we weren’t going to lose the farm,” LaComb said. “Longterm, it will make us more profitable because that person Sawyer replaced is now on a higher-end activity within the company, and the machine is producing more dollars per hour.” And it appears automation will become an ever bigger part of Fitzpatrick Manufacturing’s operations. LaComb

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predicts there will be 3-5 Sawyer robots in the company’s packaging area in the next 1-2 years. “A big part of this experiment is seeing if we can have Sawyer in our packaging area building kits,” said LaComb. “We’re already making 17 of a customer’s 25 components, so we’re starting to receive requests to build kits.” LaComb said some customers are also demanding 100% inspection of the products being shipped from Fitzpatrick Manufacturing’s facility. The company has that capability, but a human is currently doing this manually. LaComb thinks Sawyer can handle this task, too. “It’s an expensive piece of inspection equipment,” he admits. “But on the weekends we can stack the parts in front of Sawyer, it loads the parts in and inspects them. Now we just used our downtime for checking parts.” LaComb said Fitzpatrick Manufacturing employees on the floor range in age from 18-62 years old. He said the under-40 crowd was excited about working with a robot, while the over-40 employees were not. “They didn’t think it would ever work,” LaComb said. “They would say, ‘How much time are you going to put into this?’ But the over-40 employees have come around pretty quickly.” LaComb said another interesting benefit is that Sawyer is an attentiongrabber when customers come to the facility. “The young people think Sawyer is neat, and it sparks their interest in manufacturing,” he said. “Schools, and moms and dads, don’t do a good job explaining what manufacturing actually is. When people see Sawyer working, it sends a message that manufacturing is a high-tech industry and not a 1950s machine shop.” RR

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THE ROBOT REPORT

3/10/20 7:32 AM

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The Robot Report

collaborative

robotics trends to watch

From better sensors to mobile manipulation, here are growth factors for cobots in 2020.

Eugene Demaitre • Senior Editor • The Robot Report

Collaborative robot arms may have started out as a niche within industrial automation, but expanding capabilities and new applications show that the idea of robots working with humans continues to catch on. Still, cobots face challenges, om slowed demand in manufacturing to the need to demonstrate to smaller businesses that they are truly flexible and easy enough to use. What’s old is new again, with cobot pioneer Rethink Robotics (now part of HAHN Group) coming out with a re-engineered version of Sawyer for commercial use. Clearly, it feels that cobots can be more than a research platform. Meanwhile, cobot leader Universal Robots has grown, partly because it has kept its focus on making robot arms while supporting developers, accessory makers, and users through its UR+ program and UR Academy. Another sign of

March 2020

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THE ROBOT REPORT

3/10/20 7:33 AM

Heavier-duty autonomous mobile robots can carry cobot arms for mobile manipulation. | Source: Waypoint Robotics

1 Demand continues to grow, despite headwinds Trade spats, recessionary rumblings, slow consumer demand for cars, and now the coronavirus have affected global manufacturing, particularly in the U.S. and China. At the same time, a tight labor market and the need for increased efficiencies to stay competitive are continuing to drive companies to industrial automation. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has predicted that 2 million robots will ship around the world between 2020 and 2022. It also noted that collaborative operations will likely grow more sophisticated. Orders for robots in North America increased 1.6% om 2018, to 29,988 units in 2019, while revenue declined 1.3% to $1.6 billion, reported the Robotic Industries Association (RIA). Year-over-year revenue growth for Universal Robots, the leading cobot THE ROBOT REPORT

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supplier, slowed to 6%, according to parent company Teradyne Inc.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earnings call for the fourth quarter of 2019. Even though orders were down across manufacturing sectors, especially among automotive component makers, orders om automotive OEMs increased 50.5%, said the RIA. The global market for collaborative robot arms will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.6% between 2019 and 2030, reaching $11.8 billion, said ABI Research. Note that cobots are a relatively small portion of industrial automation, so even if CAGR isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t at 50%, as it has been, there is plenty of room for growth. By 2027, cobots could account for 30% of the total robot market, according to Interact Analysis. It predicted that applications for cobots will grow beyond materials handling, assembly, and pick-and-place operations to include healthcare, hospitality, and logistics.

Forcast for Collaborative Robot Revenues 8,000 7,000 Revenues ($ M)

the robustness of the cobot market is that Universal Robots faces increasing competition, both om cobot startups and om more established robot providers such as ABB, FANUC, and KUKA. Here are some trends to watch this year in collaborative robots:

6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

Strong growth is expected in the cobot market. | Source: Interact Analysis

2 Machine vision and manipulation improve The Robot Report has already covered the diversification of robotic grippers (see our February 2020 issue). Another factor making cobots both more precise and more flexible is the evolution of machine vision and artificial intelligence. www.therobotreport.com

March 2020

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The Robot Report The OB-7 cobot uses “human-like senses” for more efficient robot training and operations such as machine tending. | Source: Productive Robotics Inc.

Lidar, 3D cameras, and sensor fusion enable robots to be more aware of their environments, better able to distinguish items for handling, and safer around humans. Other innovations include edge processing, such as that from Imaging Development Systems GmbH, and “active perception” being developed at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision. Several companies, including Figure Eight, Neurala, Scale AI, and Understand. ai are working on making it easier to train machine-learning models. Some apply automation to the image-annotation process, which human workers typically do now. They’re mainly looking at the massive data sets for self-driving cars, but the techniques can also help robots recognize objects and know where to grasp them. In addition, the line between collaborative robots and social robots is blurred when discussing the capability of robots using machine vision and AI to pick up on human cues about their emotional states or intentions. Companies such as Affectiva and a team at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have been working on making sure that service robots and cars can better adapt to human directions.

3 Ease of use becomes a programming priority Among of the selling points of cobots are their ease of use and flexibility, perhaps even more than the potential for safe collaboration with human workers. The ability to move from one process to another with a minimum of retraining or robotics programming expertise on the part of human supervisors is supposed to enable wider adoption among small and midsize enterprises (SMEs). However, much of the evidence of SME adoption to date has been anecdotal. It’s no surprise, then, that companies such as Universal Robots have encouraged developer ecosystems to build out software for their hardware. “Ease of use” was a mantra at Automate and ProMat last year. A host of startups, including Cognicept, Covariant, Robust AI, and Southie Autonomy are working on new robot “brains,” user interfaces, and robot training approaches to improve ease of use.

Collaborative robots have proven useful in welding. | Source: FANUC

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www.therobotreport.com

4 Mobile manipulation starts to roll out The match of an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) and a cobot arm seems to be made in heaven, but the technical pairings and use cases for mobile manipulation have only recently become clear. Mobile robot providers such as Mobile Industrial Robots, Omron, and Waypoint have been increasing payload capacities, allowing cobots to be mounted on their systems. IAM Robotics’ Swift is a clear leader in mobile manipulation for e-commerce, while gripper maker Soft Robotics and AMR provider 6 River Systems are collaborating on mobile picking. PAL Robotics’ TIAGo is a development platform using the Robot Operating System (ROS). Universal Robots recently demonstrated the miniPAL mobile palletizer, which uses a UR10e cobot arm, at ATX West. The CARLO movable surgical robot using a KUKA arm and the Moxi hospital robot from Diligent Robotics are examples of mobile manipulators in healthcare. KUKA has also combined its KMR 200 CR mobile robot with its LBR iiwa cobot for handling silicon wafers in cleanrooms. While these robots’ endurance levels may be limited compared with stationary models, they are clearly designed for greater autonomy and closer proximity to people. Toyota Research Institute and others are chasing the holy grail of service robotics -- a mobile manipulator for home or general-purpose use. THE ROBOT REPORT

3/10/20 7:35 AM

−

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

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The Robot Report

Swift is a collaborative mobile piece-picking robot. | Source: IAM Robotics

5 Industrial automation and cobots converge A common criticism of collaborative robots is that they lack the speed and precision of their industrial cousins. But what if “collaborative” was a feature rather than a type of robot? Veo Robotics Inc. has been developing systems that it said “bring perception and intelligence to industrial robots.” The Waltham, Mass.-based company’s FreeMove system combines 3D timeof-flight sensors and fail-safe software to enable industrial arms to move at full speed until a human approaches a workcell. Then, the robot automatically slows or stops. Drishti Technologies Inc. is working with DENSO Corp. on applying computer vision to the entire production system, including both humans and robots, for maximum productivity. The Center for Robotics and Biosystems at Northwestern University is developing ways for robots and people to communicate even more directly as they jointly handle objects. The coming year should be interesting, as robots continue to get smarter and more collaborative, as well as spread in manufacturing and beyond. Editor’s note: Watch Collaborative Robotics Trends, a sibling site to The Robot Report and Design World, for ongoing coverage of cobot developments.

The Veo FreeMove ADK is designed to enable developers to build process steps for both humans and industrial robots. | Source: Veo Robotics

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

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Robotics Robotics

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.

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THE ROBOT REPORT

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KUKA’s KR3 AGILUS Robot offers customers flexibility due to its small and compact size. Customers can easily implement the KR3 into a pre-existing workspace where real estate is limited, such as a laboratory or detail-oriented assembly line. The Robot also comes pre-plumbed for pneumatic accessories. Digi-Key now carries the KR3 as a complete kit. The kit includes the Robot arm, the SmartPad (teaching pendant), the KR C4 (Control Unit), cabling, and the recovery USB; basically, everything short of the end effector. For end effectors, please take a look at Digi-Key’s offering of Schunk products. Features

• Maximum reach: 541 mm • Rated payload: 3 kg • Pose repeatability: ±0.02 mm • Number of axes: six

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Robotics Robotics

Harmonic Drive FHA Actuator with Integrated Servo Drive Just Released: FHA mini actuator with an integrated servo drive utilizing CANopen® communication. Eliminating the need for an external servo drive, it features a single cable connection with only 4 wires needed: CANH, CANL, +24VDC, 0VDC. A single-turn 14bit (16384 cpr) gear output sensing encoder has been integrated along with a single-turn 15bit (32768 cpr) motor input sensing encoder providing a true absolute encoder that does not require a battery within 360° of rotation of the output. The FHA-C mini Series is a family of extremely compact actuators that deliver high torque with exceptional accuracy and repeatability. 247 Lynnfield Street Peabody, MA 01960 United States www.harmonicdrive.net

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Robotics Robotics

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Robotics

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

• • • • •

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

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• Maximum detection reliability even when subject to challenging ambient conditions

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improving performance without machine redesign Improving machine performance to meet market demands doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to mean starting over from scratch. By partnering with a motion-centric supplier that offers new-generation motion systems plus co-engineering expertise to provide perfect-fit customizations, aging machines can be brought back to life with minimal design impact.

By the Kollmorgen engineering team

As new technologies enter the industrial market, engineers must find new ways to improve the performance and extend the lifecycle of their existing machines â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or else go back to the drawing board. With access to higher-resolution feedback devices, faster processors, sharper vision systems, and more sophisticated communication buses, many competitors can offer innovative, valueadded features with each new machine generation.

AKM2G4

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| courtesy of Kollmorgen

Staying ahead of this competition can be particularly challenging for lean engineering teams with limited resources. So faced with the need to deliver improved performance, every product manager must ask: How much performance increase must we reach to keep up with market demands? Can we tweak the existing design with minor changes that produce major system enhancements? Or will maintaining a competitive position need a complete redesign?

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3/13/20 9:26 AM

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

Redesign options

Performance improvement ★★★★

Eight to 12+ months

★★★

Replace the motion system Replace motor or drive only

Complete redesign Partial redesign

Relative time to cost

Risk level

Typical ROI

$$$$

Medium to High

12 to 36+ months

Four to six+ months

$$$

Medium

Six to 18+ months

★★

Three to six+ months

Low

Less than six months

★

Two to four months

Medium

Less than six months

Most projects include the minimization of risk as a design objective. Risk relates to the odds of project completion that is on time, on budget, and with performance improvements as expected.

These questions all begin with evaluating the motion control components — key elements to the performance of any sophisticated machine. Whether upgrading or completely redesigning a machine, performance depends on the selection of servo motors, servo drives, cabling, and the controller or PLC. Understanding all the options — and how they interact — is essential to determining the best approach. Most projects have similar goals: Improve performance, speed time to market, minimize risks and costs, and deliver maximum return on investment. Most projects present the same options: Replace individual components, replace the entire motion system, redesign parts of the machine, or redesign the entire machine. Although we can’t possibly evaluate the tradeoffs involved in every project, here’s a high-level overview of the options most machine builders face when tasked with improving machine performance. Clearly, design engineers must evaluate redesign options in light of the machine’s market, budget, timeframe, and performance requirements. Let’s look at each redesign scenario in more detail. Complete machine redesign is a time-consuming and expensive process. However, a major redesign may necessary to deliver significant new capabilities or if the

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existing design is rendered antiquated by technological advancements. The motion control system will be key to machine performance, so any total redesign project should consider: • The control methodology, including Industry 4.0 elements • Centralized or decentralized control • Single source versus multiple motion vendors • Agency certifications

A full redesign involves many hours of development, documentation, and prototyping. Plan to gather customer and end-user input on target features and performance. Budget time for multiple design reviews. Evaluate all possible vendors and how their products interact to provide the target motion characteristics. Be ready to thoroughly test and document the results of competing design choices. A complete machine redesign is without question the most lengthy and costly alternative. Risks can escalate throughout the process as selected mechanical systems interact in suboptimal ways, sending designers back to the drawing board. When pressured to deliver quantum advancements in function or productivity, however, a total redesign may be the only viable option.

Replacing a motor or drive is the lowest-cost and least-disruptive approach to improving machine performance. Shown here is a Kollmorgen AKM2G3 servomotor.

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DESIGN WORLD

3/10/20 9:30 AM

The Kollmorgen AKD product series includes Ethernet-based servo drives.

Partial redesign is usually a less expensive approach in comparison to a complete or major redesign because it involves identifying and replacing only the troublesome mechanics. However, it involves significant risk, and the performance improvements may be modest compared to a complete redesign. To succeed, partial redesign requires deep understanding of which mechanical elements are hindering maximum performance and why, plus knowledge of all the viable alternatives and their potential costs and engineering impacts on the total system. For example, changing to a direct-drive approach can eliminate many components that would otherwise need ongoing maintenance and could cause future mechanical issues. With expertise in how the entire system functions, how its subsystems interact, and the available options for subsystem replacement, engineers are best positioned to minimize risk and maximize performance while realizing the greatest cost savings. For example, direct-drive solutions that fit application requirements without necessitating a major redesign can make for minimized parts count, assembly time, and maintenance requirements … and improved machine performance and productivity. Replacing a motor or drive is the lowestcost and least-disruptive approach to improving machine performance. However, performance gains are likely to be limited when changing individual components, as the performance characteristics of existing and new components are likely to be mismatched. This is especially true when components are sourced from multiple vendors. Optimally performing systems incorporate drive control algorithms matched to the electromagnetic structure of the companion motor, as well as feedback elements matched to performance

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March 2020

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C o n t r o l

configuration or a new programming interface. Optimized systems incorporate drive controls matched to the mated motor.

expectations for the drive-motor system. While a new motor or drive may show superior performance specs on paper, incorporating it into an existing system can limit these advantages. Although it is possible to integrate one vendor’s drive with another vendor’s motor, total system performance can be challenging to optimize due to inherent incompatibilities across system components, often magnified by given engineering choices and design styles. Motion-centric suppliers, with expertise in harmonizing the performance of fully integrated solutions rather than simply supplying individual components, provide the best opportunity for optimizing system performance. Replacing the motion system represents a new way of thinking, based on fully harmonized motion system performance. This is now a viable option given today’s advances in motor and drive technology, plus a motion-centric supplier’s commitment to providing matched systems that deliver the full rated performance of each component along with the most advanced motion control technologies. As is true with all electronics, newgeneration motors, drives, and controllers have all benefitted from performance advancements, reductions in component size, and new functional capabilities. As a result, new motor and drive combinations can feasibly deliver significantly improved performance in the same design envelope or potentially an even smaller space. That means engineers have an opportunity to greatly improve machine performance with minimal changes to the existing design.

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A successful upgrade to the motion system must begin with a careful review of current machine performance to determine the most pressing needs and opportunities for greater productivity. For example: • Does the machine need to index faster to improve move and settle times? If so, consider a motor with similar power but less rotor inertia, or a motor of similar size but with more power to accelerate. A system that is properly matched and tuned for optimum performance can also address this need. • Is an important design goal to reduce the machine’s physical envelope? If machine performance is on target but the physical size of the machine must be reduced, consider a motion system solution that provides equivalent performance characteristics in a smaller package. The total cost of upgrading the motion control system can be modest compared to a complete or partial redesign, yet the performance gains can be far greater compared to replacing individual components. In many cases, only the motor, drive, and cabling need updating. Some projects may also call for a new controller, power connectors, or I/O. The existing motor mount and available cabinet space will likely accommodate the new solution. Advanced motion systems offer simple plug-and-play capabilities, minimizing the learning curve for working with a new controller or drive www.designworldonline.com

How motion systems can transform machine performance with no redesign A new generation of motors, drives, and controllers is enabling performanceoptimized motion systems that meet the demand for greater performance and productivity — without the time and expense of a significant machine redesign. For example, a servo motor that incorporates an efficient stator and rotor design with high-energy magnets can deliver more torque and power in the same space and with the same mounting as a motor that uses older technology. Or, the same advantages can deliver equivalent torque and power in a smaller package, enabling a more compact machine with no sacrifice in performance. Depending on design goals, it’s even possible to hit a “sweet spot” of greater performance in a smaller space — especially when the right motor technologies are matched to the right drive. Servo motors that offer improved torque and power density, reduced inertia, and customizable features provide engineers with a simple yet highly effective way to enhance machine productivity and overall equipment effectiveness. Pairing these efficient motor designs with perfectly matched multi-axis servo drive solutions can reduce space, lower energy consumption and cost, and ensure full rated performance. A collaborative relationship with a motion-centric supplier can further enhance the results of any redesign or upgrade project. For example, a collaborative supplier that offers customization capabilities can adjust product mounting and other features to match existing machine design, while a supplier that offers flexible control software and motion expertise can help fine-tune the system to work ideally with existing control features. DESIGN WORLD

3/13/20 9:27 AM

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M o t i o n

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packages, drives occupy less space in the control cabinet. Designers can either reduce cabinet size or add increased functionality such as additional machine safety features or auxiliary functions. In addition, drives that incorporate advanced tuning capabilities (including customizable filters around current, velocity, and position loops) improve the motor-drive system’s ability to respond optimally in any given mechanical assembly configuration. Single versus dual cabling: While

The following examples show how to reach enhanced machine performance with no design changes, based on a variety of motion system choices. These are not theoretical scenarios, but real-world opportunities based on new-generation technology that’s available today. Motors of equivalent size with the same mounting for increased torque and power: A motor that delivers greater

torque and power in the same size and mounting configuration as the existing motor can increase machine performance with minimal investment in engineering time and cost. More torque improves acceleration and deceleration times, providing quicker indexing to increase machine productivity. Increased motor power can also contribute to faster machine speeds and increased productivity. Several motor design innovations can provide additional torque and power in a similar size package. Efficient winding designs improve manufacturability while enabling high slot fill and increased flux production efficiency. Windings consist of coils of copper wire that wrap around the steel teeth of the stator, creating the specific flux paths that provide the motor power. The wire fills slots between the stator teeth, with a higher volume of copper in the slot resulting in more efficient creation of the electromagnetic fields. Highenergy rare earth magnets designed into an

100

efficient magnetic circuit also play a role in increased torque production. Motors that offer lower inertia in the same package size and mounting:

Motor performance can also be improved by reducing rotor inertia while maintaining the same package size. Similar to increasing torque, lower rotor inertia means less energy is needed to change speeds. To reach the best results, a motor with low rotor inertia may need the use of advanced tuning capabilities to reach optimal motion tuning and performance. This can easily be accomplished using a systems design approach in partnership with a motioncentric vendor that offers advanced performance tuning integrated in the drive. Feedback choice: Motors that offer a

selection of feedback devices allow machine designers to easily maintain the positioning accuracies of the existing machine. A new motor can use the same or an upgraded feedback device for improved accuracy. Motion-centric vendors can supply solutions that seamlessly integrate the drive and cables with the motor and feedback solution. Drive changes: Changing the servo drive can also boost machine performance. Newer drive technologies take advantage of smaller power devices, improved heat sinking, and more powerful processors. With more advanced capabilities available in smaller

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older machinery likely includes separate cabling for power and feedback to and from the motor, new motor-drive designs now allow power and feedback through a single cable. Switching to a single-cable design simplifies cable management and lowers the cost of installation, even if the machine was originally designed around a two-cable system. Co-engineering capabilities: In addition to incorporating the latest motor and drive technologies in a system-based approach, a true motion-centric supplier should be able to take on much of the redesign burden by offering co-engineering support with custom motor manufacturing capabilities. The supplier essentially becomes part of the customer’s engineering team, playing a large role in minimizing the time and effort of a redesign or upgrade project. Through co-engineered shaft and mounting modifications, alternative feedback devices, and other mechanical customizations, a motion-centric supplier can deliver the target performance improvements while accommodating the OEM’s original machine design. Drives that incorporate powerful and flexible firmware and software options provide additional capabilities for customizing and refining the function of existing or redesigned machines. DW

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Closed-loop steppers to the rescue

When excessive heat caused issues in a bioreactor system, closed-loop stepper motors were the solution. Edited by Miles Budimir • Senior Editor

Stepper motors have long been a staple in a variety of motion applications. They’ve also evolved over time. For instance, newer generations of so-called “hybrid” steppers feature closed-loop operation. This has allowed them to expand into newer applications where the combined benefits of stepper technology and closed-loop control satisfy unique design challenges. Case in point; a challenge in a medical application that was solved by using closed-loop stepper motors. Specifically, a bioreactor system that grows cells in a biological process for the development of new medicines was having heating problems with peristaltic pumps that supplied biological media such as fluids and gases. Step motors drove the pump heads, compressing and releasing the pump tubing to move media into the bioreactor chamber. A problem arose with the open-loop step motors used to drive the peristaltic pumps. While providing accurate position and velocity control of the pump, open-loop step motors were operating at high temperatures, resulting in unwanted heating of the pump as well as the media flowing through it. Applied Motion Products solved the heat problem by replacing

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A life sciences company developing a bioreactor system to grow cell cultures in the development of new medicines was having heat problems associated with peristaltic pumps used to deliver materials to the bioreactor chamber. Switching out open-loop step motors with integrated closed-loop step motors solved the heat problems while offering greater design modularity and reducing system components.

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Switching to a closed-loop step motor enabled the life sciences company to use a single, size NEMA 23 step motor to address all combinations of tubing and media, instead of stocking different motor sizes along with their accompanying pump heads.

This diagram shows the reduction in the number of cables and the elimination of bulky cable trays when using integrated motors with dual-port communications.

the open-loop step motors with closedloop step motors. This change in motor design offered numerous benefits to the application.

Eliminating the heat problem Excessive heat generated by open-loop step motors elevated the temperature of fluids pumped into the bioreactor, adversely affecting biological processing times and reducing yields. Substituting integrated closed-loop step motors eliminated the heat

An integrated motor from Applied Motion Products fuses the step motor with drive components into a single device. This space-saving design eliminates wiring and saves on cost over conventional motor and drive solutions.

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problem by operating cooler and consuming less power than the open-loop motors. Incorporating encoder feedback and servo-control firmware, the closed-loop step motor systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current is controlled to precisely meet torque demands. Drawing only enough current as needed, the closedloop step motor generates substantially less heat than an open-loop step motor. Closed-loop step motor systems consume up to 1/3 the power of open-loop step motors when performing the same tasks. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because closed-loop step motor systems automatically control motor current to match the required torque, whereas openloop step motors operate continuously at full current, regardless of load requirements. Closed-loop step motors also run quieter and more smoothly than their open-loop counterparts. Because the average current in the closed-loop step motor is less, the step motor runs audibly quieter than openloop step motors. The noise reduction can be as high as 10 dB in some applications. This means closed-loop step motors offer a better solution for noise-sensitive applications, such as pharmaceutical labs, where traditional step motors are often too loud.

Integrated closed-loop stepper benefits Switching to a closed-loop step motor enabled the life sciences company to use a single, size NEMA 23 step motor to address all combinations of tubing and media, DESIGN WORLD

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instead of stocking different motor sizes along with their accompanying pump heads. This change to a single motor size supported the development of one standard pump head assembly and required only switching tube adapters to dispense different materials to the bioreactor. Open-loop step motors will miss steps or stall if unable to produce enough torque to turn the load. Without a feedback device, the drive is unaware that the motor has stalled, resulting in inaccurate operation. The encoder incorporated into a closedloop step motor serves as the feedback device, enabling the drive to always know the motor position and to make necessary, real-time adjustments to ensure accurate control. Based on this feedback, the closedloop step motor system will automatically correct motion profiles that demand more torque than the motor can produce. Using an integrated step motor design reduced component count and decreased space requirements in control panels. With drive and control electronics housed at the back of the motor, near the feedback device, the integrated motor requires no other external electronics package to drive or control the motor. Connectors for power, communications, and I/O are positioned near the back and side of the motor, grouped together on one surface for convenience. Eliminating bulky cables to connect the step motor and encoder to an external drive, the use of an integrated motor design reduced the number of cables routed throughout the bioreactor equipment. Eliminating a stand-alone drive for the motor also reduced the size of control panels. These reductions in the bill of materials simplified the overall system design, reduced costs, and enabled faster design iterations. Dual-port Ethernet connections on the integrated motors enabled daisy-chain connections of Ethernet signals among multiple motors. In a line network using

motors with dual-port communications, only the closest motor connects to the Ethernet switch with the rest connecting to each other in a daisy-chain configuration. In addition to shortening cable runs between motors, only one port on the Ethernet switch is needed for the entire network, which meant the life sciences company could use a smaller switch. The reduced number of network cables routed around the equipment and back to the control panel simplified the equipment design and saved costs. The integrated motors also support common industrial Ethernet protocols such as EtherNet/IP and Modbus TCP, making integration into control systems quick and efficient. By the end of the project, the life sciences company had solved the excessive heat problem with a simple and direct

solution. By replacing multiple open-loop step motor part numbers with a single part number for an integrated, closed-loop step motor, the bioprocessing company eliminated unwanted heat; reduced system complexity and the number of components; simplified wiring in and around the machine; and, gained other benefits for customers of their bioreactor equipment. This allowed the end-users of their equipment to focus more on what really mattered to them – the development of new medicine. DW Applied Motion Products www.applied-motion.com

Closed-loop step motor systems consume up to 1/3 the power of open-loop step motors when performing the same tasks. That’s because closedloop step motor systems automatically control motor current to match the required torque, whereas open-loop step motors operate continuously at full current, regardless of load requirements.

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Polymer-based bearings in Food and Beverage applications

David Kaley | Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Edited by Mike Santora

With easier cleaning, installation, and increased corrosion-resistance, plastic bearings and wear rings are a suitable alternative for industrial food production machinery. With stainless steel and other metals so predominant in industrial food manufacturing equipment, it may seem unusual to suggest a more significant role for plastic wear rings and bearings. But for a broad range of food production and transportation machines, advanced polymers are an effective way to reduce friction and handle load instead of traditional metal bearings. Here, we’ll describe the wear rings and bearings commonly used in the food and beverage industry, delve into their chemical compatibility, discuss material choices for them, and show examples of current use. Wear rings Wear rings, also called guide rings, are single-element bearings. Typically used in linear, reciprocating applications, they provide a robust method for guiding two elements over a long linear distance. Note that some wear rings are designed to wear out, serving as the sacrificial element in a design in which two surfaces rub against one another.

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With high degrees of chemical resistance, excellent load-bearing abilities, the potential to be self-lubricating, and minimal maintenance requirements, polymer-based bearings and wear rings are an excellent option for designers of food and beverage production and transportation equipment.

Fig. 1 Bronze

PTFE

High modulus plastic

Thermoplastic/PEEK

Poor

Moderate

Good

Hydrochloric Acid

Moderate

Good

Acetic Acid

Moderate

Good

Chlorine

Poor

Good

Poor

Hydrogen Peroxide

Good

Nitric Acid

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When created from PTFE or a high-modulus plastic, wear rings are suitable for many food and beverage applications because: 1 The material is biologically inert. 2 Wear rings are a single element, which means fewer places for microbes to grow. 3 Their design makes them easier to install and replace than bearings containing balls. 4 Their low-friction properties make them well-suited for applications with high loads but relatively low speeds, such as in industrial mixers.

In general, rolling element bearings create less friction than wear rings. However, their complexity makes cleaning and maintenance more difficult.

Wear rings can be designed as sleeve bushings, flange bushings, or thrust bearings. When a flange is added to the wear ring design, it can be used as a guide for mounting or as a thrust washer to accommodate loading that is parallel to the machine shaft. Design variations can be achieved by changing the type of plastic used. Fillers and additives improve performance — for example, increasing heat resistance or reducing friction. Plastic sleeve wear rings can be self-lubricating and are also lightweight. Rolling element bearings Usually, these types of bearings consist of seven parts: three circular rings (the outer ring, the cage, and the inner ring), the rolling elements (spherical balls composed of stainless steel, glass, or plastic), a shield, and two seals. They are typically used in high radial, rotary load applications, with or without side load or thrust. In general, rolling element bearings create less friction than wear rings, especially at low speeds. They can also take more side load than wear rings. However, their complexity makes cleaning and maintenance more difficult. Bearing materials Although bronze was historically the popular choice for bearings, today’s PTFE and highmodulus plastics can have certain advantages over bronze. Importantly, they are less subject

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to chemical degradation. Additionally, both PTFE and high-modulus plastic are internally lubricated, have a high degree of component integration (e.g., with housing and seats), and run with less noise than bronze bearings. Another key benefit of these plastics is their design flexibility. In many cases, a plastic bearing can be molded to combine parts, increasing integrity and reducing assembly time. Plastics can also be injection molded into an infinite number of shapes, making them suitable for many production line applications. A variety of components can be manufactured from a polymer base, including gears, integral rollers and bearings, valve balls, ball seats, impellers, chemical mechanical planerizers, lead nuts, ribbed bearings, tensioning pads, and poppets. Of course, plastics are not the solution to all bearing needs. Temperature and load can create issues. For example, PTFE is only viable at temperatures below +260 ºF. Therefore, bronze or more expensive high-modulus plastics must be used in hightemperature applications. Similarly, PTFE can only handle a medium level of load, whereas bronze and high-modulus plastics can both handle a high load. Another consideration when choosing a bearing material is tribology, which is the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion, including the study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication, and wear. Generally speaking, thermoplastics such as PEEK have low friction, considerably raising their tribological status. Chemical compatibility Both cleaning and disinfecting are critical in food and beverage applications. Cleaning is the act of removing residual materials from equipment; disinfecting protects against internal and external bacterial growth on equipment. It is not realistic to expect cleaning alone to eliminate all chances of

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The combinations of chemicals used in cleaning and disinfecting are the reason polymerbased bearings and wear rings perform better in many food and beverage applications. bacterial growth as microscopic traces of material capable of growing bacteria are often left behind. The sanitization process helps ensure that the remaining microorganisms are reduced to levels not considered harmful. Carbohydrates, like starches and sugars, are relatively easy to remove from equipment. Proteins, such as milk and meats, present more of a challenge. A wide variety of chemicals are used in cleaning (detergents) and sterilization (disinfectants). Acids, alkalis (bases), chelates, and solvents are the base chemicals typically used. Common alkalis used include sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. Common acid chemicals include inorganics like phosphoric, nitric, sulfamic, and hydrochloric acid, as well as organics like hydroxyacetic, citric, and gluconic acids. Sanitizing chemicals include chlorines and peroxides. The combinations of chemicals used in cleaning and disinfecting are the reason polymer-based bearings and wear rings perform better in many food and beverage applications. The chart in Fig. 1 shows the compatibility of several polymers and bronze with common cleaning and sanitizing chemicals.

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In many cases, a plastic bearing can be molded to combine parts, increasing integrity and reducing assembly time.

Current use Industrial food mixers are an excellent example of food and beverage machines in which the sealing element and low-friction bearings and wear rings are critical. With larger shaft diameters, the side loads (thrust loads) and the radial loads, tend to be high, and the chemicals used in cleaning can be caustic. Because metal bearings would suffer a negative impact (etching) from the chemicals, and low friction materials are ideal, polymer-based bearings and wear rings are common in spiral mixers, inline mixers, bottom mixers (also called slurry mixers), and horizontal (ribbon) mixers. Motion-control components can also benefit from polymer-based wear rings and bearings. Whether moving thousands of cookies down a conveyor belt to packaging, controlling the flow of cakes as they receive glaze from overhead, or sliding finished pies into boxes, linear actuators, slides, and glides contain roller bearings that need to be thoroughly cleaned regularly. Polymerbased bearings provide a low-friction option that can stand up to a variety of chemicals. With high degrees of chemical resistance, excellent load-bearing abilities, the potential to be self-lubricating, and

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minimal maintenance requirements, polymer-based bearings and wear rings are an excellent option for designers of food and beverage production and transportation equipment. DW

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions tss.trelleborg.com

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How condition

Condition monitoring can help protect organizations against future problems, maximize equipment lifetime, and optimize operations.

monitoring data

helps solve future problems

Abhishek Jadhav • Product Manager • Dynapar Corporation In today’s demanding production environments, manufacturers need to maximize productivity while minimizing cost of ownership. Condition monitoring provides a solution. Condition monitoring systems collect rich amounts of data that can be converted to reliable and surprisingly granular insights into equipment health. Properly analyzed, the data not only helps predict equipment failures in advance, it gives asset owners the freedom to address developing defects in the way that best suits their production needs and operational goals. Condition monitoring enables organizations to transition from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance, preempting future problems while maximizing equipment lifetime. So, operational equipment effectiveness (OEE) rises, and unplanned downtime becomes the exception rather than the rule. Strategically applied, condition monitoring can reduce downtime and downtime recovery to the point that asset owners can achieve ROI within a year or two.

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Condition monitoring systems such as this vibration monitoring unit from Dynapar allow organizations to preempt failure with ongoing insights into asset health.

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Condition monitoring technologies Technology

Advance Warning

Ultrasonic sensing

Leading indicator Years

Oil analysis

Leading indicator Years

Vibration monitoring

Leading indicator Months

Pros

Cons

Best Used For

• High-frequency monitoring to detect bearing issues far in advance

• Will not detect low frequency and therefore not suitable for monitoring assets closer to failure

• Early bearing failure notice • Detecting proper bearing lubrication right after lubricant change

• Detailed information • Can determine source of wear but need to know composition of components

• Requires lab equipment (spectrometer) • Can be expensive • Cannot see dynamic load issues (i.e. how changing loads affect wear)

• Rotating equipment (bearings, gear boxes and motors)

• Very detailed information • Can identify root cause of vibration but needs a baseline • Can troubleshoot dynamic loading issues

• Need training to interpret data • Traditionally not cost effective (changing with new systems)

• Rotating equipment (bearings, gear boxes and motors) • Linear motion equipment (e.g. presses)

• Can be implemented at the drive end (away from rotating asset)

• Can only indicate a general problem • Can’t pinpoint location

• Intermittent-duty assets such as servo axes

Current sensing

Leading indicator

Thermography

Days/weeks

• Easy to implement and interpret data

• Not suitable for continuous monitoring • Doesn’t provide advance warning of issues • Can’t identify root causes of issues

• Root-cause analysis

Audible noise

Lagging indicator

• Easy to implement and interpret data

• Not suitable for continuous monitoring • Doesn’t provide advance warning of issues • Can’t identify root causes of issues

• Bearings, gearboxes, motors

Months

Days/hours

A look at the most common condition-monitoring techniques for automated manufacturing shows how the data can be analyzed to deliver advance warning of developing issues, and some examples show how the information and the sensors can be applied to maintain productivity and equipment health. Vibration spectrum for the outboard bearing of a fan shows a high 1X peak (red dot at left) and harmonics that represent the blades.

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Condition monitoring tools Multiple aspects of machine operation can be studied for clues to the overall health of the equipment. The most common are: • Ultrasonic testing – changes to the natural ultrasonic signals generated by moving equipment • Oil analysis – particles from surface-to-surface contact and from oxidation; higher concentration correlates to increased damage • Vibration analysis – changes to the vibration signature of the equipment as a result of damage • Thermography – alterations to heat signatures introduced by increased friction due to wear • Current analysis – increased current draw to supply torque to the load, typically caused by issues like lubrication breakdown, bearing defects, and gearbox wear

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Grace under pressure

877-2-KELLER kelleramerica.com

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Vibration frequency spectrum of the same fan after development of a bearing defect shows a 98% reduction in the magnitude of the 1X peak (red dot at left), accompanied by significant increases in the 2X and 3X harmonics. The appearance of additional harmonics is caused by looseness in the bearing.

RMS trend of horizontal, vertical, and axial vibration of fan outboard bearing generated by the Dynapar OnSite Condition Monitoring System shows the emergence of the bearing defect.

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• Audible noise – noise caused by late-

stage equipment issues such as defects, increased surface-to-surface contact, higher friction, etc. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses. For best results, the condition monitoring technique should be matched to the types of assets under consideration and the overall needs and business practices of the operation. The degree of advance warning provided is a key characteristic. Techniques like oil analysis can detect damage a year or more in advance of failure. For many maintenance departments, this is almost too early. They need enough warning to order parts and schedule the repair –

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weeks, or even a month or two. Anything more just clogs their inbox and adds additional tasks to the to-do list. The type of assets being monitored also comes into play. Some common assets that are critical to productivity include fans, pumps, blowers, dust collectors, and conveyors. In and of themselves, these units are not expensive but when they fail, they can stop the entire production floor. Among the most frequent causes of failure are bearings, which generate error signals that drop in frequency as the device continues to degrade. A condition-monitoring technique has to be able to detect these signals. Ultrasonic sensing only captures higher frequency signals and isn’t effective for DESIGN WORLD

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detecting issues in a bearing that’s close to failure. Specificity is another important characteristic. Current sensing can be useful to flag a developing problem. If an asset suddenly begins drawing more current from the drive to generate enough torque to move the load, this indicates an issue. The cause can vary from lubrication breakdown to bearing defects to an over-tightened belt putting strain on the motor shaft. However, identifying the exact component responsible requires additional troubleshooting. Thermography can identify the troubled asset (e.g. bearing, gear, motor, etc.) but it can’t provide any information beyond that. Vibration monitoring, on the other hand, can be very specific. In the hands of a vibration technician, vibration data can be used to not only isolate the problem as a bad bearing or gear, it can also be used to determine the exact cause, such as a cracked impeller blade or a broken gear tooth. Particularly for rotating assets, vibration analysis is probably the best leading indicator of future issues. It provides highly specific advance warning, delivered in a timeframe that lets asset owners respond in the most effective way for their organization. When analyzed with additional data streams such as temperature readings and speed, vibration data can provide a detailed understanding of machine health and support predictive maintenance. One of the key benefits of vibration monitoring is that it lends itself to continuous monitoring by software. The vibration technician configures automatic analytic tools and establishes thresholds that trigger the system to send automatic alerts whenever a condition is violated. The results of the analysis become portable, accessible by any user with permission, and available for collaborative decision-making. How vibration data correlates to the physical system Vibration is the response of machinery to an input stimulus. Any piece of equipment has a natural oscillation or frequency of vibration around its natural equilibrium. Vibration analysis provides a method for quantitatively understanding the motion of different components and how they affect

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The combinations of chemicals used in cleaning and disinfecting are the reason polymerbased bearings and wear rings perform better in many food and beverage applications. the overall machine. We can characterize vibration in terms of amplitude and frequency. This lets us view vibration amplitude as a function of time and frequency. Time waveforms are best for viewing assets operating at less than 100 rpm, and analyzing impact amplitudes in the case of bearing defect. Frequency spectra are better for determining the frequencies that exist in a system to help identify the source of a problem. Depending on the complexity of the system, it may be necessary to view the data in both time and frequency space to maximize information. Phase analysis is an additional tool that can be used to discover issues that cause vibration at specific angular positions each rotation. This technique can be used to reveal problems with bearing concentricity, for example. Vibration spectra consist of a combination of steady-state signals, which repeat continuously, and transient signals, which are generated as a result of specific stimuli. We can class peaks as synchronous, asynchronous, or sub-synchronous. At this point, the analysis begins to tightly correlate to the physical system. Synchronous peaks Every rotating physical system has a fundamental vibrational frequency generated by the basic rotation. The www.designworldonline.com

frequency spectrum of the system will show a sharp peak at that fundamental frequency that is known as the 1X peak. The spectrum will also feature harmonics of the fundamental frequency, known as the 2X (twice the fundamental frequency), 3X (three times the fundamental frequency), and so on. These harmonics typically correlate to aspects of the physical system. A six-vane fan will generate a 6X peak, for example. Any changes to these components will add harmonics and change amplitudes Asynchronous peaks Vibration spectra also contain asynchronous peaks that are not whole number multiples of the fundamental frequency. Bearings, belts, and other components generate asynchronous peaks. Sub-synchronous peaks Vibration spectra can also include subsynchronous vibration peaks, which are generated by components operating below the fundamental frequency and are 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4 multiples of fundamental frequency. A loose belt on a motor shaft might generate a sub-synchronous spike. Some synchronous peaks also can be caused by bearing cage defects. Analyzing the data Vibration analysis begins with building a model of the system based on the components involved. A vibration expert can generate a theoretical spectrum; for example, including a peak at the fundamental frequency and additional peaks to represent fan blades, gearboxes, and other components. The next step is to capture data from the physical system to build a baseline. Once the data has been digitized and converted to frequency space using a fast-Fourier transform (FFT), the spectrum can be compared to the model. If the two do not agree, there may be other physical factors that the model failed to take into account or there may already be issues. Let’s assume for the time being that the asset is healthy and the vibration spectrum is in good agreement with the model. Now the system should be set up for automatic (and frequent) data capture and analysis. March 2020

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One of the key benefits of vibration monitoring is that it lends itself to continuous monitoring by software. The vibration technician configures automatic analytic tools and establishes thresholds that trigger the system to send automatic alerts whenever a condition is violated.

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In the hands of a trained vibration technician, vibration data provides comprehensive information on asset health. Recall the above discussion of synchronous peaks. If the mechanics of the machine change, they will alter the vibration spectrum in well-understood ways that can be correlated with physical damage. A cracked impeller blade on our six-blade fan will significantly increase the amplitude of the 6X peak. As the issue worsens, the amplitudes will increase. A broken gear tooth will also generate a new harmonic of the fundamental frequency. A bearingcage defect will manifest as a new subsynchronous peak. The combination of vibration spectrum, time waveform, and phase analysis can be used to reveal many types of issues, including: • Damaged fans/pump blades • Cracked or broken gear teeth • Imbalanced loads • Broken welds or bolts, detached rotor bars • Misalignments • Decentration between rotor and stator • Resonances Preventing future problems with vibration monitoring The types of techniques described above can be used to improve productivity in a number of ways. Closely monitor hard-to-reach assets Online condition monitoring is particularly useful when applied to assets difficult to access using route-based techniques. Consider a food processor whose 100,000 sq-ft production facility was serviced by a single rooftop blower. Any time the blower failed, production had to halt, at a cost of more than $10,000 per hour. Catastrophic failure of the asset required removal by a rooftop crane. This added to both cost and duration of downtime. Manual condition monitoring was sporadic– the unit was difficult to monitor on hot days and impossible to access in winter, when the roof was covered with snow and ice. The company’s reliability service used route-

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based monitoring in the rest of the plant. For this asset, however, they installed a cloudbased vibration monitor to track a developing defect. They configured the system to take continuous readings, sending alerts to key stakeholders anytime the vibration data exceeded certain thresholds. Less than two weeks after installation, the defect worsened. After consulting with their reliability expert, the operations team decided to continue production while ordering the parts required for repair. The continuous stream of data from the vibration monitor gave them the confidence to keep the asset running. Three weeks later, the magnitudes of the vibration modes associated with the defect more than doubled. The blower was shut down at the end of the day shift and repaired overnight. With remote vibration monitoring, the food processor is able to avoid the costs and delays of catastrophic bearing failure. In addition, they got an additional 43 days of service life from the bearing. They did not lose production time, pay extra fees for rapid part delivery, or suffer the downtime costs of recovering from catastrophic failure. Run troubled assets with confidence Just because condition monitoring detects a problem, doesn’t mean the component has to be replaced immediately. One of the major benefits of online condition monitoring is that the visibility into asset health enables asset owners to choose how they want to respond to issues. One manufacturer of food-grade paper goods used online condition monitoring to protect its overall productivity. One of the rollers in the company’s primary paper line developed a bearing issue. The line operated 24/7 and fed all of the other lines in the facility. The company wanted to continue running the line until the next scheduled maintenance interval, but they needed to avoid catastrophic failure. Frequent vibration analysis would make this possible, but the roll was difficult to access manually more than once a week. Instead, the company’s reliability expert recommended a cloud-based online vibration monitor, configuring it to capture data hourly and send alerts when conditions changed rapidly. The system continued to monitor the DESIGN WORLD

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bearing as the condition worsened. Three weeks after the unit was put in place, the bearing was replaced during the scheduled maintenance period. By installing a cloud-based vibration monitoring system on this unit, the manufacturer was able to continue operations, well preempting bearing failure. Diagnose root cause All data from continuous online condition monitors is time stamped, making it easy to correlate outside factors with any changes to asset condition. If the contributing factor is lubrication breakdown, for example, it’s possible to determine whether the lubrication interval needs to be altered or whether the issue was a support system such as an automatic lubrication system. The data provides maintenance and operations with better insights into actions that need to be taken to prevent future problems.

Confirm accurate installation of new equipment Installation issues like bearing misalignments and decentration can be diagnosed from the vibration spectrum of an asset. If a spectrum of the healthy machine is captured and recorded, maintenance teams can use it as a basis of comparison for the vibration spectrum after repair. If a belt was overtightened, for example, the error can be corrected before it causes damage. The maintenance procedure can be amended to prevent a recurrence of the issue in the future. These are just a few examples of how condition monitoring can help protect organizations against future problems, maximize equipment lifetime, and optimize operations. Online vibration monitoring and analysis, in particular, provides continuous granular detail on the health of even hard-to-reach rotating assets. By

using vibration analysis as the central pillar of a condition monitoring program, and augmenting it with additional datatypes like temperature sensing, speed feedback, and others, organizations can enhance OEE and minimize cost of ownership for improved overall productivity. DW Dynapar Corp. | www.dynapar.com

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•• •• •

Basics of deciphering

electromagnetic interference

It pays to know how RF can potentially garble the reception of signals such as those for WiFi, Bluetooth, and radar sensors. We live in a world with an increasingly crowded radio frequency spectrum that is Leland Teschler • Executive Editor

1 2.412

only likely to become more stuffed with RF signals. This is particularly true for the frequencies within the ISM spectrum bands originally reserved for industrial, scientific, and medical purposes. Now, of course, this part of the spectrum is employed by WiFi, Bluetooth, and numerous other emerging communication schemes. These systems are clustered around 2.4 GHz, but other bands are packed with signal sources as well. For example, LTE cellular operates with carrier frequencies typically below 2 GHz, while direct-broadcast satellites have a 12-GHz downlink and a 17-GHz uplink.

2 2.417

2.422 2.427 2.432 2.437 2.442 2.447

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2.4

Common interference types Channel 1

Out-of-band

In-band Harmonic

The potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) is higher in circuitry operating in the gigahertz range partly because it can be tougher to squelch signal reflections at such high frequencies. To complicate matters, some countries are reassigning, for consumer use, parts of the spectrum now occupied by more specialized systems. The U.S. government, for example, aims to repurpose parts of the frequency spectrum to open up 500 MHz of new spectrum for mobile and broadband applications. Existing systems, beginning with those using the 1.755 to 1.850 GHz band, will have to move. The transition will likely happen over a multi-year period. During the shift, the potential for

Channel 2

Adjacent channel

interference between the current and new systems is high. To cite a specific example, the C band (between 3.7 and 4.2 GHz) has been used for more than 40 years by satellite operators for sending TV programming back to cable companies. One proposal is to reallocate the frequencies in the lower 200 MHz of the band so the upper 300 MHz can be auctioned to wireless carriers. RF system standards aimed at consumer use typically build in some protection against interference. For example, IEEE 802.11-based systems typically try to avoid swamping out other signals by measuring channel energy before transmitting in a “listen before talk” protocol. Such features

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It’s easy to see the potential for interference when viewing the 16.25 to 22 MHz of channel separation used for WiFi channels. There’s a 2-MHz gap serving as a guard band between the channels. The reason is older routers with modem chip sets tended to transmit across the full channel. Though multiple WiFi transmitters at one location having overlapping frequencies will usually work, the overlapping transmissions can also cause interference resulting in slowdowns, sometimes severe, particularly in heavy use.

Channel 2.484 Center Frequency (GHz)

2.452 2.4522.457 2.4572.462 2.4622.467 2.4672.472 2.472

Frequency

How types of interference are frequently classified. If Channel 1 represents the desired signal, the other signals shown here could degrade it. In-band, outof-band (including its associated harmonic) and adjacent-channel interference (represented by the overlap between Channel 1 and Channel 2) may all interfere with the Channel 1.

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E l e c t r o n i c s

In 802.11 wireless protocols such as WiFi, certain subsets of frequencies can operate simultaneously at any one location without interference. But the exact frequency spacing necessary when the transmitters are not collocated depends on the protocol, the data rate, the distances involved and the electromagnetic environment. The overall effect is that adjacent-channel transmitters will often interfere with each other when there is a considerable overlap in their frequencies. The practice of using every fourth or fifth channel by leaving three or four channels clear between them can cause less interference than sharing channels.

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are helpful for reducing the chance of interference, but they are not a guarantee that trouble wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t arise. Categorizing signals It can be helpful to understand how interference sources can be categorized. The wireless industry groups interference into six general areas: in-band interference, co-channel interference, out-of-band interference, adjacent channel interference, downlink interference, and uplink interference. In-band interference covers undesired emissions from a transmitter that fall inside the operating bandwidth of the system at hand. This type of interference will pass through the receiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front end. There are challenges when the interference falls this close to the signal of interest. If the amplitude of the interference is large relative to the desired signal, the desired signal will be corrupted. If the inband interference amplitude is roughly that of the signal of interest, it may be tough to distinguish which is the interference and which is the signal. So it may be necessary to temporarily turn off the desired signal to quantify the interference.

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When interference measurements take place in the field rather than in a test lab, it may not be possible to turn off the target transmitter. Here the usual practice is to physically move the test instrument (usually a spectrum analyzer) to where the amplitude of the interference is large enough to be measured. Use of a high-gain directional antenna can help pinpoint the interference source. Co-channel interference comes from another radio operating within the same wireless system. For example, cellular base stations will transmit on the same frequency channel when the base stations physically sit far apart. But occasionally the signal from one base station reaches a neighboring cell area. To the second base station, this signal is co-channel interference. Wireless LAN networks can also experience co-channel interference when two radios transmit simultaneously and collide in the same frequency channel. WLANs try to minimize this possibility by having WLAN transmitters listen for an open channel before transmitting, but there is a potential for simultaneous transmissions nevertheless. Co-channel interference is one of the most common types of radio interference because large numbers of wireless users use a relative few available frequency channels. The usual way of observing co-channel interference is to shut off the transmitter of interest and tune a spectrum analyzer to the appropriate frequency channel. Out-of-band interference originates from a wireless system that -- due to improper filtering, non-linearity and/or signal leakage -- also transmits energy in a frequency band outside that of its intended use. An example is when a poorly designed or poorly filtered transmitter radiates harmonics that fall into a higher frequency band. The measurement of harmonic levels generally takes place using a spectrum analyzer with a frequency range of at least three times the fundamental of the harmonics. For example, consider the case of verifying the performance of a transmitter operating at 802.11b channel 14, 2.4835 GHz. The second and third harmonics are at 4.967 and 7.4505 GHz, respectively. The measuring instrument DESIGN WORLD

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•• ••

When intermodulation strikes Amplitude

must have a bandwidth exceeding about 7.5 GHz to see these harmonics. Adjacent channel interference results when a transmission at the desired frequency channel produces unwanted energy in other nearby channels. This type of interference is common and primarily created by energy splatter out of the assigned frequency channel and into the surrounding upper and lower channels. Energy splatter (also called switch noise) refers to spurious emissions resulting from an abrupt change in the transmitted signal, usually when transmission starts or stops. It can also be generated by modulation and intermodulation distortion. Intermodulation distortion, or spectral re-growth, is the amplitude modulation of signals containing two or more different frequencies, caused by nonlinearities in the circuitry. It is often created in the transmitter’s power amplifier because of nonlinear effects in the power electronics. Passive components--including antennas, cables and connectors--can also produce intermodulation interference. Often referred to as passive intermodulation (PIM), it can happen in passive components excited by two or more high-power signals. A circuit having non-linear characteristics can distort the fundamental frequency components and generate a decaying series of higher-order harmonic frequency components. These generated harmonics

•• ••

f1 2f1-f2 3f1-2f2 4f1-3f2

f2 2f2-f1 3f2-2f1 4f2-3f1

Frequency The second through fourth-order intermodulation products that arise when two frequencies f1 and f2 intermodulate.

can be problematic if they fall within the reception band of the system of interest. If they are big enough, they can effectively block a channel by making a receiver think a carrier is present when one is not. Generally, the components of concern are the third, fifth, and seventh order where the third order is strongest. To understand where intermodulation frequencies might crop up, suppose the fundamental frequencies are f1 and f2, and the sum of m and n is the product order. The intermodulation products are given by (mf1nf2) and (mf2-nf1). So, for example, there are two third-order intermodulation products:

m=1 and n=2, and m=2 and n=1. Thus, the possible third-order intermodulation products would be (2f1-f2) and (2f2-f1). Major causes of PIM in passive devices include poor contact junctions, contamination, and materials or plating that will exhibit some level of hysteresis. Contact nonlinearities arise when current carrying contacts become separated. Typical causes are insufficient contact pressure, irregular contact surfaces, oxidation causing a metal/oxide junction, as well as contact impurities or corrosion. Minute separation between contact surfaces can generate a voltage potential where electron tunneling (known as the diode effect) or

Spectrum analyzers incorporate several features that can be helpful in finding sources of EMI. One example is MaxHold display mode found in the FieldFox spectrum analyzers from Keysight Technologies. In this mode, the analyzer can store and display the maximum trace values over multiple sweeps. This example shows a measurement of a frequency hopping carrier with the analyzer configured with two active traces. Trace 1 (yellow) is configured with the MaxHold mode while trace 2 (blue) is the standard sweep “clear/write” (Clr/ Wr) mode. After several sweeps, the MaxHold trace is relatively stable but the Clr/Wr trace reflects the frequency hopping signal’s constantly changing nature. A second carrier, visible at the left, is a fixed-frequency signal that could represent a source of interference to the hopping signal when the two signals eventually collide. DESIGN WORLD

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•• •• •

E l e c t r o n i c s

Intermodulation distortion, or spectral re-growth, is the amplitude modulation of signals containing two or more different frequencies, caused by nonlinearities in the circuitry. It is often created in the transmitter’s power ampliﬁer because of nonlinear effects in the power electronics.

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microscopic arcing may cause a nonlinear voltage-to-current ratio. Ferromagnetic materials, such as nickel or steel, in the current path can also generate the nonlinear voltage-to-current ratio. Another source of intermittent nonlinearities are contaminants such as metal particles from machining that touch current-carrying surfaces. Downlink and uplink interference are terms typically associated with mobile phones and satellites. Downlink interference can corrupt the downlink connection typically between a base transceiver station (BTS) and a mobile device. Mobile devices are usually widely spaced, so downlink interference typically only affects a few of them and only minimally degrades the communication quality of the system as a whole. It should be noted that downlink interference is also cochannel interference. Finally, uplink interference or reverselink interference affects communications sent from the mobile device to the BTS receiver or from a base station back to a satellite. In cellular networks, uplink interference determines the capacity of each cell site. If the BTS is compromised, the cell site service area may see degraded performance. Measurement considerations There are several instrument qualities besides simple bandwidth that affect the degree to which interfering signals can be viewed. Perhaps most important is what’s often called the instrument’s resolution bandwidth (RBW) setting. This is a measure of the minimum separation between two frequency components necessary for them to appear as separate signals on the screen. Typically, the measurement instrument’s noise floor, sometimes referred to as Displayed Average Noise Level (DANL), is lowest with narrow RBW settings. The trade-off is that narrow RBW settings slow the analyzer sweep time, particularly for wide frequency ranges common to harmonic testing. In general, over-the-air measurements of interference typically demand use of a spectrum analyzer having a low DANL. A rule of thumb is that reducing RBW by a factor of ten will lower the noise floor www.designworldonline.com

by about 10 dB. Because the analyzer measurement sweep time is an inverse function of the RBW, smaller RBW settings force longer sweep times. Another point to note is that low-level signal display is a function of the signalto-noise ratio (SNR) at the detector of the analyzer. Thus, though it may seem obvious, reducing the amount of input attenuation can improve the signal level. The measured signal level at the detector may also be improved through use of an external preamplifier. The downside of reducing the input attenuation is that large-amplitude signals can overdrive the analyzer front end, causing internally generated distortion and harmonics. These internally generated signals can appear as though they are part of the signal of interest. So, it’s important the attenuator setting is low enough to display low-level interference but not so low that it causes problems when anticipated highamplitude signals are present. DW

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Women in Engineering

Hands-on learning is key to engaging future engineers From young kids to engineering students and those already in manufacturing, hands-on opportunities are essential to demonstrating the attraction to a career in engineering. Ask most people in the workforce and they’ll agree — hands-on learning at a young age is what often drew them to a career and often, how they learned to excel at their careers. This is why introducing young people — young girls and women in particular — to STEM-related careers is critical as we begin to see greater needs for engineers and data scientists to build and maintain the machines of the future.

More companies are looking to engage students, from elementary school all the way through college in these hands-on opportunities, with everything from simple shadow days, STEM programs like the NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge, apprenticeships and co-op internships through colleges.

Mary C. Gannon • Senior Editor

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Getting young kids in the fold In the past few years, programs to make engineering, science and math fun have exploded. In addition to the popular FIRST Lego League, the elementary school version of FIRST Robotics, others are opening children’s eyes to the joy of engineering. Just a few we know of include Eager Engineers, the NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge, Engineering for Kids, CODE.org, Bricks 4 Kidz, and more. And specific to girls are programs like Girls Who Code, Girlstart and others. Dori Roberts is not an engineer but a teacher who understood the importance of attracting young people to STEM careers. She is certified to teach engineering. Her undergraduate degree is in math and science elementary/middle school education and she

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Emma Brennan, left, and Amy Dolan, right, spent two weeks deeply immersed in an externship program at Park Place Technologies, where they realized they had many practical business and technology options to use their degrees upon graduation later this year. DESIGN WORLD

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Women in Engineering

Dori Roberts created Engineering for Kids’ to teach engineering concepts with real-world applications all while making it fun.

also has a master’s degree in Technology Education grades 6 through 12. Roberts taught engineering at the high school level for 11 years. In 2009, she founded Engineering for Kids, which brings science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to kids ages four through 14 in a fun and challenging way. Roberts noted that a recent study conducted by Intel Corp. revealed that 63% of teens have never considered a field in engineering. Additionally, 44% said they would consider engineering as a career if they knew more about it. Engineering for Kids’ programs are designed to teach engineering concepts with real-world applications. “The types of fields that women are traditionally drawn to tend to be more focused on human interest; they pull at the heartstrings,” Roberts said. “Our programs are designed to teach engineering concepts with real-world applications, and the social aspect of engineering is very appealing to women — the fact that engineers improve lives and can save lives. “As the CEO of Engineering For Kids, I have the awesome job of developing exciting and engaging hands-on curriculum to teach kids engineering concepts through real world challenges,” Roberts said. “I believe that getting kids, especially girls, excited about engineering at a young age can be game changing in introducing engineering careers to women. At Engineering For Kids, we start kids as young as age four in our engineering programs. It is amazing to see the engineering designs that kids so young come up with.”

There’s a level of excitement from people when they see what the Festo Smart Factory can do. You see that spark go off. It starts the conversation about modern day manufacturing and the exciting opportunties that exist in the industry today. Sheri Plain • OCTC

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The National Fluid Power Association is attracting more attention to a future career in fluid power engineering careers with a number of programs attracted at middle school and high school and college students. Its Fluid Power Action Challenges are spreading across the country, with more girls on teams each year. “NFPA’s Fluid Power Action Challenge events for middle school students have grown from five events to over 20 events within the last five years. Throughout the years, there have been 106 competitions taking place around the United States and impacting 10,306 students. NFPA members support these events by hosting, judging and mentoring these students and their teachers,” said Lynn Beyer, Vice President of Workforce Development Programs at the NFPA. “What is great to see is that every year more and more girls are participating, and winning!” Keeping college students engaged Several efforts are underway to ensure that young women do not lose interest in STEM study and careers once they reach post-secondary schools. Notably, the NFPA provides $2,000 scholarships to students pursuing fields of study related to fluid power technology. In 2018, only two of the 13 winners were young women. But in 2019, four of the 12 were young women. One unique organization is specific to Ireland but students involved in it have had a chance to visit the U.S. to learn about opportunities in STEM here. iWish (Inspiring Women in STEM) is an initiative to inspire, encourage and motivate young female students to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. It was founded in Cork in 2015 and has already impacted nearly 20,000 students. When Park Place Technologies, a thirdparty data center maintenance provider headquartered in Cleveland, decided to open a location in Ireland, it decided to work with some non-profits, including iWish and CoderDojo, said Jennifer Deutsch, Chief Marketing Officer. The company partnered with iWish to offer two applicants an allexpenses-paid trip to the company’s offices in Cleveland and Marlborough to gain valuable into the business of information technology and computational engineering. DESIGN WORLD

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Women in Engineering Amy Dolan from University College Cork and Emma Brennan from Cork Institute of Technology — both 2021 graduates — traveled to participate in 1:1 mentorship activities, leadership training, hands-on technical experience at the company’s engineering facilities, and a concluding Capstone Project presented to the company’s executive leadership. The immersive 10-day externship really showed the two women what kinds of opportunities they can enjoy upon graduation. Brennan became interested in computer science after taking a year-long computer course on Saturdays while in secondary school. The course introduced her to Photoshop, video editing and more — and she realized that software development was something she wanted to pursue. “Before I came here, I thought I’d just have to sit at a computer all day programming, which, I was really looking forward to but seemed to be a bit tedious after a while. Having come here, I’ve realized that really you can do anything you put your mind to,” Brennan said. “And especially in Park Place, I started off doing something and then completely changed jobs if I wanted, which I think is amazing. And it’s something that you can definitely do with a STEM career. Some people work doing a bit of everything until they finally find a niche.” Dolan is studying business information systems at University College Cork, as she too had experience when she was younger with organizations like CoderDojo. She chose her major because she wanted to

work in business. She liked coding and tech but didn’t want to go too deep into programming and felt that working with people would better suit her personality. “What that would be, I’ve had no idea, but this week has definitely opened my eyes because the one thing I didn’t want to do was pigeonhole myself into a job and be stuck there forever,” Dolan said. “I think that there actually is a bit of flexibility after you graduate.” Deutsch said when they were building the curriculum for this externship that they wanted to stress the importance of understanding the business as a whole. “So even though they have technical backgrounds, we wanted them to understand the sales side. We wanted them to understand the client experience side. We wanted them to understand how every single department is aiming to reach a common goal and how we all work very together because at the end of the day, that’s what makes Parkland Technologies — we’re all subject matter experts in our own area,” she said. “But the reason that we’re so successful is because we come together constantly as an organization and we are constantly collaborating. “And that is something we look for when we look for talent. I know when I’m specifically recruiting and when I’m talking about people, I always say, would I want them on my team and are they going to take part?” Deutsch said. “And these ladies, their technical skills mixed with their ability to interact with people is the talent that we’re looking for on a day to day.”

The types of fields that women are traditionally drawn to tend to be more focused on human interest ... the social aspect of engineering is very appealing to women — the fact that engineers improve lives and can save lives. Dori Roberts, CEO • Engineering for Kids

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College isn’t always the route For some, jumping right into working is a better option than studying at university. This is where a lot of recent growth has come, as more two-year college programs are offering associates degrees in courses like mechatronics, for example. Festo Didactic has been growing its apprenticeship model in the U.S., according to Thomas Lichtenberger, CEO. The organization has graduated several students from its Mason, Ohio program, where students worked at Festo and other local manufacturers while attending school to earn an Associate’s degree in mechatronics. The organization has also recently worked with The Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program. Finally, Festo Didactic has provided its Cyber-Physical Lab to Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC). Lichtenberger pointed out that apprenticeships get a lot of support on a political level because students are already employees of the companies where they’re training so they get paid while they are educated. “It is a nice mix of theory, hands-on learning and training on the job, which typically does not exist in this way,” Lichtenberger said. OCTC was recently a recipient of a $2.85 million-dollar grant from the Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative (KWRSI). The college used this money to invest in a stateof-the-art innovation lab to prepare students for the future of work by giving them a realworld glimpse into advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0 careers. OCTC was also awarded an Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant from the National Science Foundation last July to expand opportunities for females in manufacturing. Female students make up about 44% of the technical students enrolled at OCTC. That percentage drops to only 7% for female students enrolled in manufacturing programs. “Advancing Female Incumbent Workers in the Manufacturing Industry” is a threeyear, grant-funded project to increase the number of females entering manufacturing training programs and to advance females working in the manufacturing industry.

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Through the project, manufacturing courses are offered to full-time female incumbent workers at times convenient for their work schedule. The project also includes efforts to increase awareness of cultural barriers in the classroom and at work that prevent females from pursuing manufacturing as a viable career choice. Amanda Saam, a lead instructor at OCTC, left her job at Hitachi with plans to increase gender equality in manufacturing. “The community college program I went through was life-changing and prepared me well for industry at an entry-level,” Saam said. “However, the school didn’t have the innovation that we have here at OCTC.” At the center of the innovation is Festo Didactic’s Cyber-Physical (CP) Lab. The simulated Smart Factory includes integrated logistics, communication, mechatronics, robotic assembly and troubleshooting capabilities. It’s fully networked and virtually

integrated with HMI (human-machine interface), PLCs, Data Acquisition, Collection and Analysis (SCADA) and wireless connection networking. The lab also utilizes material handling robots with infrared vision capability for advanced robotic training. “Festo’s CP Lab looks exactly like what I saw in industry,” Saam said. “If I had been exposed to and trained on equipment like that, I would have been light years ahead of the curve. With the Festo trainer, a student can get hands-on experience with how systems work, how to troubleshoot reallife obstacles and feel less intimidated in industry.” “There’s a level of excitement from people when they see what the Festo Smart Factory floor can do,” said Sheri Plain, Director of Workforce Services at OCTC. “You see that spark go off and people are curious to know if they can interact with the robots and high-tech operating systems too.

It starts the conversation about modern day manufacturing and the exciting opportunities that exist in the industry today.” Plain added, “What we’re trying to accomplish with Festo is to show students that advanced manufacturing is exciting and interesting, whether you’re male or female, whether you’re young or old, you can do this type of work.” Lichtenberger indicated that the latest studies show that over the next decade more than 4.6 million additional jobs will be created and predictions say that 2.4 million of them will go unfilled. “This just cannot be,” he said. “We at Festo Didactic are working very hard to prove this statistic wrong and the apprenticeship program is a wonderful example of how we can help the manufacturing industry and particularly small and mid-size companies, to get the workers that they need.” DW

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.

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jbrownlee@wtwhmedia.com 224.760.1055

Mike Caruso

Courtney Nagle

cseel@wtwhmedia.com 440.523.1685 @wtwh_CSeel

mcaruso@wtwhmedia.com 469.855.7344

Bill Crowley

bcrowley@wtwhmedia.com 610.420.2433

Jim Dempsey

jdempsey@wtwhmedia.com 216.387.1916

Michael Ference

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LEADERSHIP TEAM

Publisher Mike Emich

memich@wtwhmedia.com 508.446.1823 @wtwh_memich

Managing Director Scott McCafferty

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Mike Francesconi

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Jim Powers

jpowers@wtwhmedia.com 312.925.7793 @jpowers_media

A supplement of Design World March 2020

CS Hyde Company .............. 65 3D Platform ............................ 59

The need for collaboration and DfM 56 Large format additive technology reinvigorates sand casting

COVER_MPF 3-20_FINAL.indd 55

64 3D printing drugs—a look at the future

3/3/20 2:41 PM

The Robot Report A Supplement to Design World - March 2020 www.designworldonline.com

Sawyer’s

machine tending skills help manufacturer increase quality page 78

ROBOT REPORT COVER_3-20_FINAL.indd 67

CGI Inc. ....................................................... 76 Digi-Key ...................................................... 81 Harmonic Drive ........................................ 71 Honeywell Intelligrated Corp. ............. 74 maxon ......................................................... 83 mk North America, Inc. ......................... 77 SICK, Inc. .................................................... 87

Follow the whole team on twitter @DesignWorld

3/4/20 10:55 AM

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