Automation Update - Issue 33

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Issue 33

Get BIMREADY with Man and Machine Training Academy

Newly launched BIM Manager training program from Man and Machine is unique in content and exclusive to the UK. The course covers managing the BIM process, workflow and co-ordination specificially aimed at non-modellers.

It fuses technology best practice demonstration with understanding the BIM management process.

Belfast BIM Manager Part 1 - 14/03/2017 BIM Manager Part 2 - 22/03/2017 Scotland BIM Manager Part 1 - 16/05/2017 BIM Manager Part 2 - 24/05/2017 Visit our website or contact one of the team to find out about more course locations and dates.

Who Should Attend?

The course is aimed at BIM Managers, co-ordinators, champions and project managers Course Overview Part 1 - BIM Introduction Part 2 - BIM Organisational Management Part 3 - BIM Project Operations Part 4 - BIM Management

Contact one of the team for more information Call 01844 263700, email marketing@manandmachine.co.uk or visit www.manandmachine.co.uk.

Connect with us

AUTOMATION UPDATE Editorial Assistant Ellen Tayler 01843 580 460 ellen@automation-update.co.uk Publishing Director Jodie Little 01843 580 460 jodie@jetdigitalmedia.co.uk Sales Director Tim Johnston 01843 448 443 tim@automation-update.co.uk Advertising Exec Jamie Simmons 01843 580 460 jamie@automation-update.co.uk

Automation Update is an engaging, editorially led publication & directory giving the reader news and updates on new products and services to our ever Progressing industry.

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Automation Update - 3

TR Fastenings prioritises information security with ISO 27001 certification Company’s UK IT service desk and technical teams achieve internationally recognised information security certification

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lobal fastenings manufacturer and distributor TR Fastenings (TR) has demonstrated its commitment to information security by gaining ISO 27001 certification for its IT service desk and technical teams in the UK. The certification has been awarded after an official audit of these departments which took place earlier this year.

The quality stamp from BSI (British Standards Institution), which is voluntary, relates to the handling and storage of data and information on staff, the company and its customers. The board of TR’s parent company Trifast Plc, led

by CEO Mark Belton, was keen to obtain certification to the standard to show customers its commitment to information security, which is a major issue facing businesses around the world.

TR’s IT department in the UK has been audited and certified to the 2013 version of the standard, and there are now plans to roll this out to other departments and locations. In order to prepare for the audit, TR undertook a comprehensive review of processes including access to information, data storage, security measures, data transmission and disposal of information. In practical terms, this meant ensuring screens showing sensitive information were not left unattended, shredding confidential documents and keeping detailed logs of activity and any potential incidents.

Policies covering use of the

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internet, social media and IT facilities were also visited and updated.

Having passed the audit, the ISO 27001 certificate will now be valid until 2020, but the auditing process will be renewed every year for the first three years to ensure measures are kept in place.

The company will conduct internal audits every year to check assets and processes are in line with the terms of the standard.

Mark Belton, CEO of Trifast Plc, comments: “Information security is an extremely topical issue at the moment, thanks to recent high profile attacks on the NHS and international governments. As a global business, we are committed to maintaining an excellent standard across all of our processes and departments, and IT is no exception. We take great care in storing, curating and protecting our company data and our customers’ data, and this certification is recognition of that commitment and care.”

Carla Whyte, Senior Client Propositions Manager at BSI said: “Protecting personal records and commercially sensitive information is critical to any business and TR Fastenings should be proud that they’ve achieved this certification. It will undoubtedly give assurance to both stakeholders and customers that they are carrying out best practice in information security management.” www.trfastenings.com

Motioncompass provides engineering expertise 24 hours a day Portescap is pleased to announce a new motor selector tool, MotionCompass™ – a web-based application that facilitates choosing a motor based on your application needs.

MotionCompass will provide you with recommendations for our brushless DC and brush DC coreless products that best fit your needs, including all relevant data and performance curves.

We invite you to register and set up an account with MotionCompass.

Portescap From medical devices to various industrial applications that save, improve, and enhance lives, Portescap offers miniature motor technologies to solve the motion needs of a spectrum of end markets.

We serve our customers through breadth of innovative product technologies encompassing brushless DC, brush DC, can stack motors, disc magnet motors and stepper linear actuators to optimize application performance.

Discover more: www.portescap.com

Automation Update - 5

Double the life span of your variable speed drives for less per day than the cost of a cup of coffee

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he idea that living things shut down instead of wearing down has received substantial support in recent years. Researchers working on the now famous worm C.elegans (the little nematode worm behind research that led scientists to receive the Nobel Prize, not just once but twice, in a decade) were able to produce worms that live more than twice as long and age more slowly, simply by altering a single gene. Scientists have since come up with single gene alterations that increase the life spans of fruit flies, mice and yeast – and Quantum Controls have come up with a solution that will double the life span of your variable speed drives.

A little bit of history The majority of evidence goes against the idea that our life spans are programmed into us. For most of our 100,000 year existence - excluding the last couple of hundred years - the average human life span has been 30 years or less. Research shows that subjects of the Roman Empire had a life expectancy of 28 years. The natural course was to die before old age. Indeed, for most of history, death was a risk at every stage of life and had no obvious connection with ageing at all. As Montaigne wrote, in the late 16th century: “to die of old age is a death rare, extraordinary and singular, and therefore so much less natural than the others: it is the last and most extreme sort of dying”. So today, with our average life span in much of the world climbing past 80 years, we are already oddities living well beyond our appointed time. When we study ageing, what we are trying to understand is not so much a natural process as an unnatural one.

Leonid Gavrilov, a researcher at the University of Chicago, USA, argues that human beings fail the way all complex systems fail: randomly and gradually.

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Getting back to equipment As us engineers have long recognised, simple devices typically do not age.

They function reliably until a critical component fails, and the whole thing dies in an instant. A variable speed drive for instance, works smoothly until the capacitors start discharging dielectric or IGBT devices fail, and then it does not work at all.

But complex systems - such as your manufacturing process - have to survive and function despite having many key critical components such as motors and drives. That’s why engineers design machines and production processes with multiple layers of redundancy: with backup systems, and backup systems for the backup systems. These may not be as efficient as the first line components, but they can allow the machine and process to keep running even when damage accumulates.

medicine. We can do the same to prolong the life of drives and motors with regular maintenance carried out by expert engineers according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, and by adopting all that ‘industry 4.0’ now has to offer.

The smart monitoring technology available today can go a long way in preventing and pre-empting equipment failure. While this somewhat eradicates the element of surprise, there is still a need to have a plan in place for when equipment sensors and monitoring devices flag the risk of failure.

So what if we told you that if you have a problem of any kind with any of your installed variable speed drives, Quantum’s expert engineers are just a phone call away and can GUARANTEE a first visit fix?

Let us introduce you to The ONE CALL Contract from Quantum which guarantees: • 24/7 direct telephone access to our drive experts • Immediate ‘engineer to site’ request • Our unique ‘First Site Visit Fix’ guarantee

Unless process equipment is correctly maintained, the defects in your process equipment increase until the time comes when just one more defect is enough to stop your whole process.

With the average cost of one hour of lost production due to drive failure in UK manufacturing being £12,000, this condition known as frailty must be avoided, and it sits with engineers like ourselves to prevent this occurring.

Coming full circle It happens to motors, variable speed drives, softstarts and it happens to us - eventually too many joints are damaged or one too many arteries calcify. There are no backups. We wear down until we can’t wear down anymore.

But we can avoid and slow the inevitable by leading healthy lifestyles and with advancements in modern

• All variable speed drives installed on your site covered under one contract regardless of make, type and power rating • Access to UK’s largest stock of variable speed drives, spares and hire units • Unlimited calls and site visits And the best bit? You can have all of this for just £947 net per 12 month contract – and to save you doing the maths, that’s only £2.59 per day!

For more information about how our ONE CALL Contract can help you eradicate premature failures on your plant, visit email www.quantum-onecall.co.uk, onecall@quantum-controls.co.uk or call our team on 0330 057 3788.

Join the other 200+ UK companies that have a 12 month support and maintenance call out contract with Quantum for less per day than the cost of a cup of coffee!

£2.59

Fortress removes costly equipment risks with Remote Management Software In fast paced, harsh or cramped food production and packing lines, where metal detectors are subject to rigorous washdowns and knocks from operatives, modern machine control panels are especially vulnerable to damage.

While most are designed to withstand water ingress, Fortress Technology reports that these delicate screens can be a costly item to replace, with machine inoperability caused by a single panel failure significantly impacting line productivity.

The answer, unveiled by the company at PPMA 2017, is take the high risk item out of the environment and manage operations from anywhere in the world using wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) communication on any portable device.

Believed to be the first-of-its kind webbased browser, Remote Management Software (RMS) connects multiple Fortress metal detectors to familiar consumer electronics, including mobiles, tablets and laptops.

The rationale is to enhance the reliability, safety and production efficiency within factories while safeguarding valuable machine assets, emphasises Fortress’ newly appointed MD, Phil Brown: “Traditionally, food inspection OEMs make screen display membranes bigger, easier to use or introduce colour displays to improve communications. Yet, these 8 - Automation Update

advances actually make control panels less robust in wet, dusty and harsh production environments, increasing the risk of damage and subsequent machine downtime. Plus, they are more costly to replace.”

When developing the technology, Fortress intentionally moved away from creating an app, as this would have to be hosted, refined and updated on Android and IOS operating systems.

Instead, customers can log in and access the system via a local website built within the detector. This in turn means that the detector also has the potential to be accessed from any location in the world.

Straightforward to monitor and connect machines via a single gateway, user can log into the RMS browser from a laptop and mobile phone. Reports can be exported on demand, in Excel or PDF format providing fully traceable Quality Assurance information, for a specific production line and/or time period. Each event is automatically time stamped to comply with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety management systems and principles.

For large or multi-site factories, this level of oversight is especially helpful for supporting flexible production.

It means one operative or production manager can monitor all their company’s metal detectors, analysing comparative data for different inspection zones, side-by-side.

“When it comes to digitisation in the food factories of the future, data analytics and intelligence will be central,” notes Phil. “With RMS, Fortress is helping to bridge the gap between consumer and industrial technology and theory and commercialisation.”

RMS is being installed as standard on all new Fortress Interceptor metal detectors from 2018.

To read the full press release visit www.fortresstechnology.co.uk

Intelligent systems that simply work StockSAVER A retrofit solution for FIFO flow racks to monitor stock movements and launch replenishment orders automatically - Kanban without cards.

Made in Germany

WERMA (UK) Ltd. email: uksales@werma.co.uk

Shop online at: www.werma.co.uk

BE ON THE SAFE SIDE. Balluff smart safety.

New: Safety over IO-Link Automation demands safety. Safety over IO-Link bridges the gap between the safety architecture and the standard automation bringing both systems together, further simplifying complexity of today‘s automation. Using state-of-the-art technology and quality that you come to expect from Balluff, Safety over IO-Link from Balluff significantly enhances the value of your investment.

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Automation Update 10/03/2017 10:06:33- 9

Versamove Transfer System Boasts New Compact Curve mk is expanding its modular pallet transfer system Versamove standard with a curved module which has an impressive space-saving design that enables 90° and 180° turns in the tightest of spaces.

Versamove is a versatile, high-quality pallet transfer system which can be used in almost all areas of automated production and material flow. Its modular design allows for quick and transparent scheduling and project planning.

The system has the flexibility to be expanded or adapted according to conditions on site.

The new, compact curve is a space-saving module that enables 90° and 180° turns in the tightest of spaces and is available in 240, 320 and 400 mm widths. The pallets are moved along the curve track by round belts. This allows the workpieces to maintain their orientation as they traverse the curve. The cost-effective and compact curved module can be used in place of lifting-traversing units and liftingrotating units for transfer onto a parallel conveyor line. The curved module is available with its own drive, or it can be operated via the adjoining section.

Advantages of the new curved module •

Compact and space-saving design

•

90° and 180° turns in the tightest of spaces while maintaining orientation

•

Cost-effective alternative to liftingtraversing units and lifting-rotating units

•

It is available with its own drive or it can be driven by the adjoining section

•

Particularly suited to parallel conveyor lines that are positioned close to one another (180° turns)

The Versamove system is available in three weight and size classes. The Versamove standard is designed for weights of up to 40 kg per pallet. The Versamove plus can handle dimensions of up to 1040 x 1040 mm and weights of 100 kg.

The Versamove ultra can transport pallets with dimensions of up to 1200 x 1200 mm and weights of 300 kg per pallet.

The system can therefore be used for a wide variety of application areas. While developing the system, we ensured its compatibility with systems that are currently available on the market. As a result, third-party pallets can be used on the Versamove standard. It is therefore possible to extend existing plants without any issues.

To see the full range of mk’s conveyors please visit www.mkprofiles.co.uk or call (01949) 823751.

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Profile Technology

Conveyor Technology

Linear Motion

Factory Equipment

Modules and Much More

Pallet Handling Systems Modular. Compatible. Versatile.

mk Profile systems limited a company of the mk Technology Group Unit 2·Wolds Farm Business Park Kinoulton Lane·Kinoulton·Nottinghamshire, NG12 3EQ Phone +44 (0)1949 823751·Fax +44 (0)1949 81270 www.mkprofiles.co.uk·info@mkprofiles.co.uk

Double packing boost for global hand hygiene company

Pacepacker has more than doubled the output for a world leading hand hygiene supplier by automating the case erection, loading and palletising tasks previously performed manually.

Wanting to improve the versatility of its production plant and increase line packing speeds, Pacepacker was brought in to automate two labour intensive manual packing production lines and palletising operation, creating a centralised, fully automated turnkey line. By solving the factory’s reliance on multiple workers overseeing each packing element, Pacepacker estimates that it will cut annual workforce costs by around £400,000 a year.

the loading process, making sure box integrity isn’t compromised.

Comprising 15 individual elements, featuring products from nine different original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), this is one of Pacepacker’s most complex, largest and innovative projects.

One of the key challenges was the packing line needed to handle up to six different wholesalesized occupational hand sanitiser bottlers, plus a combination of 70 pallet types and stacking patterns.

Done manually or automatically, picking up bottles and placing into cardboard outer sleeves can make it difficult to insert the last product into the box. To address the issue of high waste as a result of damaged bottles being forced into boxes, Pacepacker designed an alternative automated option that picks up an entire layer of product, adapting itself to the exact quantity of bottles required per box.

To maximise production and investment efficiency, Pacepacker designed two packing lines feeding one palletising robot. A Simple Capture Automation vision system checks the barcode and checks bottle caps are secure.

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This is followed by a Thermo Fisher conveyor style checkweigher, and then an Endoline case erector, which automatically tapes each case bottom to form boxes for loading.

The software driven adaptable robot end-effector, designed by Pacepacker through the use of the very latest 3D modelling and 3D printing technology, grabs hold of the top of each bottle in one layer in a four, six or eight bottle formats. Meanwhile, Pacepacker’s fully adjustable case loading flap opening device, located beneath the conveyor, holds all four box flaps 10mm clear of the loading operation. This helps to stop flaps becoming inverted during

Pacepacker believes this could be the UK’s first installation of an adaptive gripper that picks up and gently places a full layer of heavy bottled products (weighing between 1kg and 4.5 kg each) into boxes using this method.

Several elements of the line, including how Pacepacker now deploys 3D modelling and printing to produce bespoke components, was showcased at PPMA 2017.

To read the full case study please visit www.pacepacker.com

Advantech’s TPC Series of Modular Industrial Panel PCs Provide Revolutionary HMI Solutions

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dvantech, a leading industrial computing platform provider, introduces TPC-5212W – a 21.5” full HD modular industrial panel PC. With the arrival of Industry 4.0 and IoT conventional allin-one panel PCs lacks the flexibility to meet industry requirements. To address this need, Advantech creates its TPC series of modular panel PC solutions, the first of which is TPC-5212W. Aimed at control applications, TPC-5212W is equipped with a low-power, fanless 6th generation Intel® Core™ i36100u processor, 8 GB of DDR4 SODIMM memory and an industrialgrade TFT LCD proviing a highperformance display panel solution.

Additioanlly, the system’s inclusion of PCIe expansion ports and iDoor integration ensure high expandability and scalable functionality. For enhanced wireless communication, an NFC/RFID module with antenna is embedded in the front bezel to ensure reliable signal recognition. Furthermore, TPC5212W features three 3xGbE LAN ports with redundancy and multiple fieldbus protocol support, MRAM and TPM 2.0 technology for data security.

The product is an ideal solution for a wide range of industrial automation applications, such as machining multi-task control, SCADA/Fieldbus software control, vision inspection, and surveillance.

Modular Highly Expandable Design Enables Rapid Customization With increasing market demand for product variation and mass customization, modularity is becoming the new standard for next-generation

solutions. The incredible flexibility of the TPC-5212W’s modular design offers numerous performance and cost-saving advantages, including rapid customization according to specific application requirements, easy integration and deployment, high serviceability and future expandability for long lifecycles. The commonality of components allows customers to

networking with OT layer devices for integrating and transmitting OT layer data (PLC, server) to IT layer systems (ERP), making it easy and convenient to develop OT to IT solutions. The TPC-5212W front panel is also embedded with a Wi-Fi/NFC module for rapid signal recognition to provide the enhanced wireless connectivity necessary for efficient productivity.

produce multiple products using the same solutions, thereby accelerating development and shortening the time to market, while also ensuring a long product lifecycle. Moreover, rather than sending the entire system for repair, customers only need to replace faulty components, drastically reducing system downtime and interruptions to production.

Built-In TPM 2.0 Technology Offers Enhanced Security for IIoT

Optimized Design with MultiProtocol Support for Increased Connectivity TPC-5212W is equipped with three 3xGbE LAN ports with Intel® chipset support to facilitate IT and OT bridging as well as multi-protocol communication and communication redundancy. Two of the three LAN ports also support CODESYS software to enable extensive connection and

TPC-5212W features a built-in TPM 2.0 module that provides hardwarebased encryption and control on boot to ensure data integrity and secure transfers across diverse platforms.

In addition to offering increased security for industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 applications, the inclusion of TPM technology enables production tracking with the provision of device history records. TPM can also be used as a replacement for smart cards, reducing associated costs and allowing customers to add value by integrating Advantech’s iDoor modules.

For more information visit http://buy.advantech.eu or call +44(0)2083197660 Automation Update - 13

CODING WITH THE RF AUTO: MORE VERSATILITY DELIVERS MORE PRODUCTIVITY Rotech has developed its new off-line RF Auto sleeve and carton friction feeder in response to the coding and handling challenges of the latest ‘lift-the-flap’-style luxury pack sleeves. Without any human intervention, the system’s patented auto-gate feature automatically adjusts to accommodate the varying thickness of each flat pack.

In addition to being able to handle cartons and sleeves the design of the RF Auto allows for a range of pouch/ doy bag type products to be handled.

This combines with a range of other features to deliver a significant increase in coding productivity.

The RF Auto stack-to-stack feeder combines with a non-contact thermal inkjet coder or continuous inkjet coder to offer a complete, cost-efficient, off-line overprinting solution. This sleeve coding solution enables users to overprint essential information onto the latest cardboard sleeves, which can vary considerably in thickness.

Conventional stack-to-stack carton and sleeve feeders ensure that the packs feed through the printer correctly by manually setting a separation finger to allow one pack through at a time. That setting varies depending on the thickness of the carton and making adjustments can add several minutes to the set-up each time. In contrast, the RF Auto’s auto-gate function eliminates these delays.

Simple controls and the use of quick-set hopper guides also help keep downtime to a minimum. This 14 - Automation Update

added versatility boosts productivity by eliminating set-up time and minimising sleeve waste, which can otherwise cost up to £20k per annum in a typical coding operation.

In addition, the RF Auto can handle a larger stack height, increasing the number of packs per run by around 20% and calling for less-frequent operator interventions. This nudges productivity up further.

Offline coding is an increasingly attractive option for companies in industries such as food and pharmaceuticals, especially since unusual pack designs and the need to maintain a high-end finish can prove challenging for online solutions on today’s fast-paced production lines.

The RF Auto system can run at up to 90 metres per minute, while the high torque of its friction feed system retains reliable control over the cartons as they are automatically separated and dispensed. Its small footprint allows the RF Auto to be moved easily between production lines.

The system also benefits from a belt-infeed for fast reliable feeding of product and can accommodate larger carton sizes than its predecessors,

up to a maximum of 400 by 350 mm.

In addition, the unit can be used with flash labelling or over-labelling units.

There is a broad trend towards luxury packaging globally, which is seeing the market growing at a rate of 5% per annum. That far exceeds the growth of general consumer goods packaging. Some styles of packaging are especially challenging for conventional coding operations. For instance, the lift-the-flap sleeve style is increasingly being used by premium brands to deliver value add product information to consumers, but the addition of an extra information flap means the packs vary considerably in thickness. Market research provider Neil Farmer Associates, explains the impact on coding: “Forecasts predict the market for luxury packaging to be worth $17.6 billion by 2019, compared to 14.2 billion in 2014, which adds to the pressure for manufacturers to maximise the versatility of their coding operations”.

Rising demand for added-value packaging and the introduction of new technology and innovations is driving this growth. Rotech has quickly responded with the launch of the RF Auto to facilitate this fastpaced market.

Distributor of Mean Well Power Supplies

Din Rail Power Supplies

Ecopac Power LTD

sales@ecopacpower.co.uk l www.ecopacpower.co.uk Sales: 01844 20 44 20 l Technical: 01844 20 44 30

Seatools Exhibits Quality with Appearance Models from 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing delivers durable and high quality detail in 3D printed appearance display No matter how many leagues under the sea your underwaterproblem is, Seatools exists to design, build and test custom equipment to solve subsea challenges.

Based in the Netherlands, Seatools is a global provider of bespoke subsea solutions for companies ranging from offshore oil and gas to offshore renewables and aquaculture development. In light of its expansive and diverse scope, Seatools faced a distinct challenge in quickly and effectively communicating its range of custom offerings at the highly attended Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, TX. As the largest event in the world for the oil and gas industry, OTC attracts over 2,300 exhibitors a year and counting. Therefore Seatools knew it needed to make a splash with a creative trade show display to ensure a positive return on investment and do everything in its power to attract attention and engage new business.

With the help of 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing services, Seatools devised a unique subsea landscape to display seven distinct 3D printed appearance models of its various custom underwater technologies.

Offering expansive prototyping and manufacturing services to support the entire product development lifecycle, 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing experts deliver quick, high quality parts ranging from fast turn and advanced prototypes to appearance models and low volume production.

High quality appearance models As Seatools explored the various options available for achieving scale equipment models, the company first defined the outcome it had in mind. When all was said and done, Seatools needed high quality, highly detailed models that would reflect company standards and withstand transatlantic shipping.

“It was very important to me that the models arrive in Houston in one piece,” said Johan Sol, a member of Seatools’ supervisory board and marketing and business development office. “We are a company that sells high-end equipment with high quality, so if we were to show broken models on the show floor, it would not be in line with the quality we sell to our customers.” With seven distinct models identified for display and the show deadline looming, speed of production was also a factor.

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CHALLENGE: Quickly and effectively communicate diverse range of high quality equipment offerings with a creative trade show display.

SOLUTION: 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing and craftsmanship for durable, highly detailed SLS 3D printed appearance models.

RESULTS: • Seven distinct, high quality 3D printed appearance models • Durable nylon material survives transatlantic shipping and shows high detail • Service quality of 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing unburdens client • Effective and eye-catching models draw a crowd, start conversations and help build new business relationships

Due to the extensive time and costs involved in hand built scale models, conventional methodologies were soon ruled out in favor of 3D printing.

It was then only a matter of selecting a technology, and Seatools’ careful research pointed to selective laser sintering (SLS).

“The 3D models had to be transported by freight, and we knew from other scale equipment models in the past that they endure a lot of shock loads,” Sol said. After a dialogue with 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing experts in the Netherlands, Seatools confidently opted for high strength nylon 3D prints produced on 3D Systems’ sPro™ 230 SLS machines in DuraForm ® PA. Once 3D printed, the scale models were finished, painted and assembled by 3D Systems’ manufacturing experts and delivered precisely to specification. Robust scale models on demand Seatools’ choice of SLS technology proved advantageous both in terms of durability and visual appeal. Favored across industries for the material properties it can offer, SLS is widely used for functional applications, such as snap fits and living hinges, which came in handy for this project. To help Seatools achieve 3D appearance models that matched the

company’s quality standards, 3D Systems’ on demand team engineered separate components for each equipment model to paint and piece together into an accurate final assembly.

According to Sol, the results were striking and effective. The diversified scale equipment models survived their journey from the Netherlands to Houston and represented the full sized machinery accurately in appearance and innovation. Due to the material properties of SLS printing and the ability to achieve thin walls with good strength, Seatools was ultimately able to include more high quality details than alternate 3D printing technologies could have provided. In addition to allowing trade show visitors to grasp the diversity of Seatools’ offerings, the models reflected the level of care, focus and quality Seatools’ customers can expect when working with the company.

The 3D models far outperformed their original task of helping Seatools avoid getting lost in the trade show shuffle, and played an instrumental role in the company’s trade show display. Based on Sol’s experience he says there are only a few

timeliness and quality of the final products delivered. Like Seatools, 3D Systems places a priority on understanding and answering the needs of its clients. Throughout CAD file optimization, 3D printing, painting and assembly, Seatools could rely on 3D Systems for technical mastery, multidisciplinary talent, honest comparisons and collaborative support. The high service level 3D Systems provided unburdened Seatools from all concerns related to scale model production, and allowed the undersea solutions company to focus on its core preparatory efforts.

New depths of innovation As a leader in its field, Seatools constantly innovates to solve unique problems. The company treats trade shows no differently and took an insightful approach to sharing the complexity of the work it does for its various global clients. Not only was Seatools successful in clearly and creatively communicating the work it is capable of doing, but the 3D printed subsea world it presented opened the door for inquiring companies to see and understand what Seatools is all about.

“The subsea landscape was really an eye-catcher,” says Sol. “It drew a crowd and helped introduce us to new companies to start building new relationships.”

seconds to catch people’s attention in a trade show setting. The models not only helped Seatools draw a crowd to its booth, but they also enabled the Seatools sales team to make a more effective and interactive sales pitch. “Our team could use the subsea world to reference the various models and tell a story about the company while showing the diverse capabilities of Seatools,” he says.

For help with your next trade show display or for more information on 3D Systems’ complete range of product lifecycle support services, contact our On Demand Manufacturing experts.

Whether you need fast turn 3D printed parts, advanced prototyping with assembly and finishing services or low volume manufacturing including CNC, urethane casting and injection tooling, 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing services can help advance your project, timeline and goals.

Expert craftsmanship and winning customer service From beginning to end, the customer-focused attention and craftsmanship of 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing experts was central to the

ON DEMAND MANUFACTURING

©2017 3D Systems, Inc. All Reserved. ©2017 3DRights Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Empowering Engineers to Bring Ideas to Reality Expert, localised support and high-quality parts

Providing Full Manufacturing Lifecycle Technology And Production Support Services Q U I C K P A R T S® P R O T O T Y P I N G | A D V A N C E D P R O T O T Y P I N G

The Tools of Modern Manufacturing Providing designers and engineers on-demand access to the tools to bring concepts to reality. From 3D-printed prototypes to CNC machining and low-volume production, we provide free online quoting, material, and technology selection. We’re the industry leader in

LOW-VOLUME PRODUCTION | APPEARANCE MODELS

3D ADDITIV E MANUFAC TUR ING SLA

Stereolithography

SLS

Selective Laser Sintering

DMP

Direct Metal Printing

CJP

INV ESTME NT C ASTING

ADVANC E D MANUFAC TUR ING

QP

Quickcast® Patterns

CU

Cast Urethane

MDC

PJW

ProJet® Wax Patterns

CNC

CNC Machining

SM

IM

Metal Die Casting Sheet Metal

Injection Moulding

ColorJet Printing

delivering ideas. To learn more, visit uk.3dsystems.com/odm

To contact a specialist: + 44 ( 0 ) 1 494 412 322 | qu i c k pa rt s . u k @ 3 ds ys t e m s . c o m

On Demand Manufacturing

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Pilz PASvisu HMI software for web-based visualisation With PASvisu web-based visualisation software from Pilz, you can have simple configuration and optimum visualisation of your automation projects. So you can achieve a convenient, comprehensive overview of your plant locally and via remote access!

With the latest version (v1.4) of the software, users can easily link compact Pilz PNOZmulti controllers to the software via a direct connection for monitoring and controlling safety and standard automation functions on machines. This way all inputs and outputs that are controlled by PNOZmulti hardware components can be conveniently adopted for use in an HMI. 18 - Automation Update

Not only is configuration easy, but PASvisu also provides for excellent process visualisation both locally and remotely thanks to the diverse range of style sheets that is available; any HTML5-compatible web browser can be used.

Reduce downtime One of the major advantages of using PASvisu is the convenient diagnostic option that is possible due to the direct connection between the HMI software and the controller. With immediate access to diagnostic data, downtime is reduced and restarts are faster.

Furthermore, PASvisu is open for all systems, so users can easily link to all types of controller via an OPC UA Server connection, allowing all of the controller’s variables to be transferred.

PASvisu consists of the PASvisu Builder configuration tool and PASvisu Runtime. Userfriendly features include: •

Visualisation with tiles: pre-defined GUI (graphic user interface) elements bring all relevant properties with them (eg prefix, suffix and error status)

•

Process variables are connected via automatic filtering out in the tool (ie there is no need to set up the variables manually)

•

Through the separation of function and appearance on CSS3 (Cascading Style Sheets), various predefined styles can be used within each project

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Cross-platform access with almost any device such as a PC, tablet or smartphone via HTML5compatible web browsers

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Genuine client-server functionality – remote maintenance can be carried out separately from on-site operation

Although PASvisu is open for all systems, connecting controllers via an OPC UA Server connection, Pilz says that PASvisu is perfectly tailored for use with its PSS 4000 automation system. The PAS4000 control software can easily be linked to the PASvisu visualisation software, providing benefits during configuration, operation, maintenance and troubleshooting.

To complement the PASvisu software, Pilz also offers the PASkey, an encrypted USB memory stick for transferring elements of the the PASvisu configuration (known as PASunits) between different controllers or HMIs. Pilz also offers its own PMIvisu family of machine interfaces.

Follow the link for more information about PASvisu web-based visualisation software or visit www.pilz.co.uk and enter Webcode 150430.

To contact Pilz call 01536 460766 or email sales@pilz.co.uk.

Automation Update - 19

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