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Contents | Volume 61, No. 5

IN THE NEWS

8 SNC-Lavalin

appoints Neil Bruce as President and CEO

8 Magna, Argus

collaborate on automotive cyber security solution

8 Cadorath

Engineering attains Design Approval Organization status

8 Canada’s AeroVelo breaks world human-powered land speed record

10 UBC researchers

create first superconducting graphene sheet

10 Senvol Database surpasses 1,000 3D printers and materials

Columns

14

14 CAD Report Design Fail: In any engineering design process, no project is too big (or too small) to go wrong 18 Rapid Prototyping Small Burners, Big Variety: Euro-K uses EOS’ industrial 3D printer to build microburners that combust either gaseous or liquid fuels

e ed

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES To subscribe, renew your subscription or to change your address or information contact us at 1-800-387-0273 ext.3552.

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32 Idea Generator The latest industrial products including fluid power, motors and power transmission 37 Canadian Innovator Knee Deep: Bionic braces invented by Spring Loaded Technology poised to change human mobility

24

26

Features 22 Advanced Manufacturing Canada Show Preview Two-day AMC conference to highlight advanced manufacturing technologies 24 Engineering Influence Canadian innovation network helps engineering entrepreneurs turn ideas into products

30

26 Cosmic Lift Canada’s Thoth Technology sparks global interest with its patented space elevator design

Directory Rates In Canada: $28.00 Outside Canada: $46.00 Design Engineering, established in 1955, is published by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc., 6 times per year.

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30 CAD Beat Long Haul: Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team helps FLSmidth develop revolutionary mining equipment

12 Autodesk adds FEA to Fusion 360

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6 EditorialViewpoint

Oh, Fahrvergnügen!

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A

s Volkswagen comes under criminal investigation in Germany for the Dieselgate scandal, it’s hard to imagine how the world’s largest automaker by sales volume imagined it could pull off one of the industry’s most elaborate and far reaching frauds to date. After all, the German manufacturer had millions of vehicular smoking guns actively defying U.S. emissions standards on the road. All one needed to do was perform a real world driving test.

Which is exactly what a small West Virginia University research lab did in 2013 on a grant from the International Council on Clean Transportation to do performance testing on, presumably, clean diesel cars. Instead, the researchers were surprised to find that a couple of VW models in the line-up spewed as much as 35 times the allowable emissions levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx).

The researchers’ suspicions gained weight when an investigation by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), an air quality division of the California Environmental Protection Agency, confirmed WVU’s findings. That, in turn, led to the federal EPA questioning Volkswagen and the discovery of the so-called “defeat device,” dual-mode control software that activated the car’s emission reducing measures only during testing. Under regular driving conditions, the measures were switched off, restoring the diesel engine’s sought after performance and fuel economy.

Finally, in mid-September, after nearly a year insisting that CARB’s findings were due to the incompetence of the testers, VW confessed that nearly 11 million of its vehicles, including Audi, Skoda and Seat models running with the company’s TDI Type diesel engine, had the defeat device installed. What’s more, the company had been implementing the emission hack as far back as 2009.

Although how VW pulled off the scam has become clear, why it would risk its reputation, plus billions in fines and recall costs is still murky. Perhaps the scheme was hatched by a cabal of VW engineering managers – three of whom were suspended following the September revelation – in a desperate attempt to meet stringent emissions guidelines without impacting vehicle cost, torque performance or fuel economy.

Or perhaps it’s more than coincidence that the defeat device was initially installed in 2009, the year the VW’s TDI diesels entered the U.S. market. That’s also the year the EPA’s Tier II emissions standards came into full effect as well as California’s much harsher CARB Low Emission Vehicle II (LEV II) ULEV standard, considered the most stringent NOx emission regulation in the world.

California is the only state allowed to dictate more stringent emission standards than those set by the federal EPA and a total of 16 other states, including New York and Florida, have adopted it. Taken together, these states represent some of the U.S.’ largest and most lucrative markets. For VW to grab the top automaker spot globally then – which it did during former CEO Winterkorn’s eight-year tenure – the company needed its “Clean Diesel” cars to meet the air quality standards in those states.

Whatever the motivation, maintaining its #1 status will no longer be of prime importance for VW, as it contends with a trashed reputation, regulatory penalties, plunging market value, recall expenses and multiple lawsuits. Presumably, when all the smoke of Dieselgate has cleared, not only Volkswagen but the entire industry will realize that, like an automotive ad slogan, it’s not the destination but how you get there.

Mike McLeod

@

I enjoy hearing from you so please contact me at MMcLeod@design-engineering.com and your letter could be published in an upcoming issue.

October I 2015

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Editor Michael McLeod (416) 442-5600 ext. 3231 mmcleod@design-engineering.com Publisher Alan Macpherson (416) 510-6756 AMacPherson@design-engineering.com Technical Field Editor Pat Jones, P. Eng. Art Director Kathy Smith (416) 442-5600 ext. 3215 KSmith@plant.ca Account Coordinator Cheryl Fisher (416) 510-5194 CFisher@annexnewcom.ca Circulation Manager Beata Olechnowicz (416) 442-5600 ext. 3543 bolechnowicz@annexnewcom.ca Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. President & CEO Mike Fredericks mfredericks@annexweb.com Vice President Annex Business Media East Tim Dimopoulos (416) 510-5100 tdimopoulos@canadianmanufacturing.com Publications Mail Agreement #40065710 ISSN: 0011-9342 (Print), 1929-6452 (Online) Privacy Notice: From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Phone: 1-800-668-2374 Fax: 416-442-2191 E-mail: vmoore@annexnewcom.ca.

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8 DesignNews UP FRONT SNC-Lavalin appoints Neil Bruce as President and CEO SNC-Lavalin announced that Neil Bruce will succeed Robert G. Card as president and CEO, effective October 5, 2015. Since joining the company in January 2013, Bruce is credited with transforming the company’s the Oil & Gas business before being named COO in April 2015. Since then, he has overseen the company’s engineering and construction operations.

Before joining SNC-Lavalin, Bruce held a variety of leadership roles, including executive director and COO at AMEC. www.snclavalin.com

Magna, Argus collaborate on automotive cyber security solution Magna International Inc. and Argus Cyber Security Ltd. announced that the companies are partnering on a solution to address security concerns related to cyber attacks in the car connectivity market. Through the partnership, Magna will bring its range of automotive electronic systems, as well as safety-critical system design expertise, while Argus will deliver its Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) solution and cloud-based monitoring service. The Argus technology is a readyto-embed, cyber security solution that protects a vehicle’s on-board systems from being hacked. www.magna.com www.argus-sec.com

Cadorath Engineering attains Design Approval Organization status Cadorath Engineering announced that the Winnipeg-based company has earned Design Approval Organizations (DAO) status with Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), making it one of the few North American companies that can support both aircraft power plant and dynamic components under one roof. As a DAO, Cadorath has the authority to generate approved data, which is accepted by the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, ensuring compliance with the regulations and standards within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). www.cadorath.com October | 2015

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Canada’s AeroVelo breaks world human-powered land speed record

The world’s fastest human, Dr. Todd Reichert (center), with AeroVelo cofounder, Cameron Robertson (second from right), and the rest of the team posing with their world record setting speedbike Eta at the 2015 World Human Powered Speed Challenge in Battle Mountain, Nevada.

F

irst, they designed and flew the world’s first human-powered ornithopter called the Snowbird in 2010. Then, in 2013, they surmounted the seemingly impossible challenge of winning the Sikorsky Prize with the Atlas human powered helicopter.

In September, AeroVelo, the Ontario-based team of engineers and University of Toronto students, helped their captain, Dr. Todd Reichert, become the fastest human-powered man alive.

At the annual World Human Powered Speed Challenge (WHPSC), held along a five-mile stretch of highway in Battle Mountain, Nevada, the team’s Eta recumbent speed bike hit 85.71mph (137.93km/h), besting the previous world record of 83.13 mph set by Sebastiaan Bowier of Human Power Team Delft in 2013.

In its 16th year, the competition pitted speed bikes from around the world in multiple time trials this year. Competitors are allowed five miles of exceptionally flat road to ramp up to a full speed run through a 200-meter speed trap.

Named after the Greek symbol of efficiency, Eta is designed to attain speeds greater than 140 km/h, the team says. It’s lightweight carbon fibre frame is surrounded by a carbon-honeycomb sandwich shell that reduces the 25kg speedbike’s drag to 100 times less than a modern car. In addition to fastest human and University of Toronto mechanical engineering PhD, Reichert also spent time as a nationally ranked speed skater, athleticism that helped him successfully pilot and power each of AeroVelo’s record setting human-powered vehicles.

AeroVelo, co-founded by Reichert and fellow UofT alum, aerospace engineer Cameron Robertson in 2010, has won numerous awards including the Belt of Orion Award for Excellence from the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame; the A.H.S. Sikorsky Prize; the Trans-Canada McKee Trophy from the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, and a Guinness Book of World Record for the first human-powered aircraft with flapping wings. www.aerovelo.com www.design-engineering.com

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DesignNews UBC researchers create first superconducting graphene sheet

Damascelli’s group at UBC. “Decorating monolayer graphene with a layer of lithium atoms enhances Physicists at the University of Britthe graphene’s electron-phonon ish Columbia (UBC) announced coupling to the point where superthe creation of the first superconconductivity can be stabilized.” ducting graphene sample by coatThe UBC researchers say the ing it with lithium atoms. Roughly ability to induce superconductivity 200 times stronger than steel, promises significant cross-discigraphene holds the potential to University of British Columbia physicists have been able to create plinary impacts. According to make fast transistors, semicon- the first superconducting graphene sample by coating it with financial reports, the global market ductors, sensors and transparent lithium atoms. (photo credit: University of British Columbia) for graphene reached $9 million in electrodes using the single layer 2014 with most sales in the semiof carbon atoms. conductor, electronics, battery, energy and composites industries.

“This first experimental realization of superconductivity in http://qmi.ubc.ca graphene promises to usher us in a new era of graphene electronics and nanoscale quantum devices,” says Andrea Damascelli, Senvol Database surpasses 1,000 3D printers director of UBC’s Quantum Matter Institute and lead scientist. and materials The research team, which includes colleagues at the Max Planck Additive manufacturing analytics and consulting company, Institute for Solid State Research through the joint Max-Planck-UBC Senvol, announced that its online database has grown to more Centre for Quantum Materials, prepared the Li-decorated graphene than 1,000 individual 3D printers and build materials. Accordin ultra-high vacuum conditions and at ultra-low temperatures ing to the company, Senvol Database, which is free to access (5°K or -449°F or -267°C), to achieve the breakthrough. through the company’s web site, is the first and most compre“This is an amazing material,” says Bart Ludbrook, first hensive database of industrial additive manufacturing technolauthor on the PNAS paper and a former PhD researcher in ogy capabilities and properties.

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12 DesignNews “We’re pleased to continue to see the industry grow,” commented Senvol Co-President Zach Simkin. “And not simply with new machines and materials, but with machines and materials that offer improved functionality.”

Through its online interface, the database can be searched for either machines or materials, using more than 30 fields. 3D printer searches, for example, can be refined based on brand name, print process, build size, price range and/or material type. Similarly, users can search for build materials based on material type, mechanical properties, thermal properties, hardness, density and/or certification level. www.senvol.com

Autodesk adds FEA to Fusion 360 In September, Autodesk announced a number of significant improvements to Fusion 360 including FEA analysis as a major new function.

The cloud-based MCAD application’s new Finite Element Analysis tab helps users mesh and prep models before running either linear stress analysis (single- and multi-body) or modal frequencies analysis. Results are calculated (locally with cloud solve to follow) and displayed in the Fusion 360 interface. Within the analysis interface, users can define a number of standard parameters including materials, constraints, contacts and loads.

The company says other simulation capabilities, like thermal

T and fatigue analysis, will come in the future.

In addition to FEA, the Fusion 360 now also allows multiple users to interact with a part or assembly under review. Designers can share a link with remote users, who can view an active model live in a web browser as it is manipulated in real-time.

The Fusion 360 team has also added a more extensive set of keyboard shortcuts, including those for modeling operations (e.g. Extrude, Hole, Fillet), selection modes and sketching.

Beyond the application’s added functionality, Autodesk says it has fixed a large number of crash related bugs and significantly sped up a few formerly lagging operations; changing parameters, for example, takes 15 seconds rather than the five minutes in older versions while editing dimensions now takes only 8 seconds, down from 40 seconds previously. http://inthefold.autodesk.com

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14 CADReport

Design

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In any engineering design process, no project is too big (or too small) to go wrong.

By Ralph Grabowski

P

rovided we use their software, CAD vendors promise output-perfection. So why then do CAD-based designs screw up, costing manufacturers sometimes billions of dollars?

The problem can be due to flaws in the CAD software, like allowing operators to make shapes that can’t be manufactured.

It’s more likely, however, that mistakes occur in the ecosystem that surrounds the software: CAD operators, their managers, a design firm’s culture, the consultants who might advise poorly, politicians in over their heads, and so on.

Here are three of my favorite design horror stories, along with some guidelines on how to avoid costly errors.

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Airbus’s Billion-dollar Delay Perhaps the most embarrassing foul-up in computer-aided design’s short history was the multi-billion dollar, multi-year delay in the debut of Airbus’s giant A380 passenger aircraft. The problem itself was due to a change order involving electrical harnesses (the complete sets of wires with connectors at either end).

Airbus manufactures aircraft parts in several countries, with the A380’s final October | 2015

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assembly taking place in France. To design the planes, the company uses Dassault Systeme’s CATIA software, but during this time it was making the difficult transition from V4 to V5. Airbus hired IBM to write a translator so that those divisions using the new V5 could read drawings stored in the old and very incompatible V4. IBM Consulting, however, faced delays in delivering the translator, and so operators using V5 were forced to re-input by hand drawings stored in V4 format. This was a contributing error.

Another contributing factor was a decision made part way through the design process, to switch all the A380’s wiring to lighter aluminum. The main concern these days in aircraft design is lowering fuel consumption, and one way to do this is by reducing the weight of aircraft parts. This switch then would cut 10% of the A380’s weight over copper, or 500kg (1,100 pounds) per aircraft.

A shop in Germany designed and manufactured the harnesses using CATIA V4, which meant the routing drawings could not be checked against the French assembly plant’s master plans in V5. When harnesses arrived in France for installation, they were too short. The reason: Aluminum wires require a greater bend radius than www.design-engineering.com

15-09-29 6:20 AM

CADReport 15

copper, and so have to be cut slightly longer gers and staff were in danger of suffocating overall. While the change had been made should a fire break out. to the specification, the change was not “For aesthetics, designers decided that reflected in the routing diagrams. This error the terminal would have smoke extraction cost Airbus billions in re-manufacturing ducts in its roof, but not on its rooftop,” costs, delayed deliveries and lost sales. reported German news magazine Der Solution: It’s unwise to upgrade CAD Spiegel. “In case of fire, smoke would be systems during projects; always keep using pumped from the roof into exhaust ducts the old system until the deliverables are complete. Behemoths like Airbus and Boeing can’t follow this advice, Just because we use CAD for design because drawings used to design an doesn’t mean the design will work out. Nor aircraft need to be readable for can CAD software overcome post-design maintenance up to fifty years later.

For this reason, Boeing is keen delays and human-induced problems. The on neutral file formats (like STEP) solution is to be aware of these limitations. so that they are not dependent on the vagaries of CAD software suppliers and their proprietary formats. When running down and below the structure, a direct translator isn’t available, use a requiring the natural rising behavior of hot neutral format, which, being open, can air in the duct to be reversed. Achieving more easily be extended and inspected. this on the scale necessary for this airport is a unique undertaking and, thus far, this Berlin’s Non-operational Airport elaborate [18km-long] smoke extraction Following reunification in 1990, the city of system has not worked as planned.”

Berlin found itself with three airports. The After the ventilation supplier went historic Templehof airport was shut down bankrupt, the airport attempted to speed and plans were made to replace the other things along with a proposal to hire 700 two aging airfields with a new one. It would human fire spotters; this sadly hilarious be a showcase suitable for the capital of the solution was quickly rejected by the Gerlargest, most-prosperous county in Europe. man agency responsible for building safety.

Nearing completion in 2010, all of the Instead, entire walls are being torn down airport’s systems underwent testing: Bag- so that the ventilation can be rebuilt. gage, staffing, security, even people acting The results are costs and delays even as passengers. The first system to fail sig- greater than for Airbus. The design and nificantly was smoke ventilation; passen- construction had expected to take 12 years www.design-engineering.com October | 2015

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16 CADReport and cost €2.8 billion (CDN$4 billion). But politics and favoritism, law suits and bankruptcies, bribery charges and firings, the ventilation problem, and other construction flaws (like incorrect wiring, uninsulated hot water piping and rain leakage) increased the project cost to perhaps $14 billion and life to 21 years. A new opening date is not being announced.

Meanwhile, it costs $16 million a month to keep the nonfunctioning airport humming. Nevertheless, the citizens of Berlin don’t mind the delay; the new airport is 18km further away from town and the old ones continue to operate just fine.

Solution: The person in charge of the new airport project had no construction experience, his other job being mayor of Berlin. I am guessing that someone wanted clean roof lines for the viewing pleasure of passengers on incoming aircraft, and so the design called for ventilation ducts to exhaust downwards.

One of the reasons I left engineering was because it discourages innovation, and I was keen to innovate. But I understand that there are too many lives at risk should engineers be allowed to experiment with radical new designs. Engineers should refuse to work on designs that buck the laws of physics – such as ventilation systems that try to force smoke to move downward against its natural will – or common sense.

The Slanted Toaster Of course, not all design missteps are on such a large scale. At

Solidworks World keynote years ago, a pair of industrial designers from England showed us how they do their work. Instead of assuming how a consumer product should work, they spent a week watching how people use existing models to learn the good aspects and bad. They watched instead of asked, because people often give answers they think researchers want to hear.

Only after spending a week observing do they begin developing the new design.

One of their solutions was a new toaster with a slanted top.

From watching people, they found that consumers wanted to be able to see how the toast was coming along. Cool, I thought.

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CADReport 17 Solution: I like innovative improvements to otherwise mature products, like table saws and toasters. (My favorite is the addition of a laser beam to mitre saws.) CAD, unfortunately, allows us to be innovative for the sake of marketing. That toaster with the slanted top certainly stands out on the retailers’ shelves, but otherwise it’s a fail.

I recommend designers employ a feedback loop, where radical new designs are tested in situ: Does it solve the problems originally uncovered? Had the design duo done this, they would have found that it didn’t work for consumers, and perhaps they could have turned their attention to the real problem: evenly toasting bread.

Just because we use CAD for design doesn’t mean the design will work out. Nor can CAD software overcome post-design delays and human-induced problems. The solution is to be aware of these limitations, to factor in incremental checking of radical changes, to even be ready to kill your pet project when it appears that the outcome won’t match the initial expectation. No project is too big or too small to fail.

DE

Originally scheduled to open in 2010, Germany’s €5.4 billion Brandenburg Willy Brandt international airport has been delayed to late 2016 due to poor construction management, alleged corruption and a badly conceived smoke ventilation system.

(Photo credit: © Günter Wicker / Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH)

The next time I needed a new toaster I bought their design; after all, I actually knew its designers.

I quickly found that the slanted top was a pain. When the toaster was done, it shot the toast out with force, often landing on our kitchen floor. As engineers, we know 45 degrees is the ideal angle for maximizing projectile distance.

What’s more, I can’t toast a third slice at the same time, because it slides off the sloping top. I found I never needed to look inside to see how the toast is doing – maybe that’s just a British thing. Plus, it’s not particularly good at toasting; one side is always less done than the other.

Ralph Grabowski is a CAD journalist, author of 200 books on CAD and founder of the industry blog, WorldCAD Access.

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18

RapidPrototyping

Small

BURNERS,

Big

VARIETY

Euro-K uses EOS’ industrial 3D printer to build micro-burners that combust either gaseous or liquid fuels.

F

or centuries, a streamlined prow was believed to be the only practical shape for the front section of a boat hull until David Watson Taylor invented the bulbous bow. This nose-shaped design allows the water to flow perfectly around the boat almost without any bow waves.

A new shape therefore allowed a previously unimagined Euro-K provides burner design, expertise in additive manufacturing and access increase in efficiency. to test rig technology such as that pictured here. (Source: Faculty of Combustion Energy converter service provider Euro-K experienced Engines and Aircraft Propulsion, Prof. H. P. Berg, BTU Cottbus - Senftenberg) something similar with the construction of optimized burner geometry for gases and liquids when they turned to using and set about developing an optimized burner geometry that additive manufacturing (AM) technology provided by EOS. With would allow different types and formats of fuel to be used without expertise in the field of small energy converters, Euro-K has a having to change the burner. The burner’s volume also needed to portfolio that ranges from advice on energy technology issues, be reduced to a minimum. including process analysis and optimization, to project planning, simulation, testing and production.

Geometric Freedom A recent think-outside-the-prow-type challenge for the The production technology to match these needs for flexibility, company was to develop and manufacture a multi-fuel burner— minimized size and integral functionality was quickly located: capable of using gaseous or liquid fuels—for the micro-gas Additive manufacturing. With this process, a laser builds the turbines of a plant builder. product layer by layer from a fine metal powder. Euro-K benefited from the design freedom that this solution offered.

Gas vs Liquid Fuel Unlike conventional production methods, the limits to During the combustion of gaseous and liquid fuels, various manufacturability, such as those experienced with machining methods are used to prepare the fuel and form the fuel/air or the flow properties of cooling cast materials, were virtually mixture. Whereas the mixture formation with gaseous fuels non-existent. Additive manufacturing is also able to produce can be achieved using relatively simple mechanisms, it always small batch sizes cost-effectively, allowing assembly costs to be represents a challenge with liquid fuels. reduced by 20%.

The reason? Liquid fuels need to be mixed in a suitable manner “We not only have a successful history in the design of efficient with the combustion air. But before this can take place, the surface burners for various fuels, but we also have considerable expertise area of the liquid fuel must be greatly increased. This is generally in additive manufacturing,” explains Managing Partner Sebastian accomplished by spraying it in a very fine spray using pneumatic, Kießling. “For these customers we have designed a burner that mechanical or pressure differential principles. allows fuels in various physical states to be used and which also This means that the availability of burners that support the demonstrates a low component volume.” use of gaseous as well as liquid fuels of all compositions is greatly In addition to experience and equipment— the project team limited. Euro-K decided to look for a novel solution to this dilemma used an EOS M 290 system—Euro-K was able to use its own test October | 2015

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20 RapidPrototyping rig and simulation technology. This made it possible to start product development from an already high level of maturity.

For the design work, the project team used CAD software that allowed the data to be transferred quickly and easily to the EOS system following definition of the final shape and size of the burner. As a material, the team chose EOS NickelAlloy IN718, a heat and corrosion-resistant nickel alloy that has high tensile strength, resilience, creep resistance and fracture resistance at temperatures up to 700 °C. With this material and production technology, the engineers created a burner that was ready for use in the micro-gas turbines of the plant builder.

Burning Brightly The new burner is able to use gaseous and liquid fuels equally effectively. The optimized geometry also allows the use of liquid fuels that are classified as difficult to burn, such as fusel oils that are created from the distillation of alcohol. The burner’s innovative design allowed the size of the combustion chamber to be reduced by 20%.

Thanks to its complex channels, Euro-K’s additive manufactured burner produces a fuel/air mixture and can therefore burn both gaseous and liquid fuels. (Source: EOS GmbH)

There was another advantage for the end users: Up to now, the plant operator had to choose and commit to the type and format of the fuel used. It was therefore difficult to offset the fluctuating prices of different fuels, since switching to a different one was generally impossible or only possible with costly and time-intensive conversions of the micro-gas turbines. The new burner design now brings a heightened degree of flexibility for users.

“The actual combustion process has been optimized, we are able to guarantee our customers the freedom of choice in terms of fuel, and switching to other fuels after the plant has been purchased can be easily arranged,” says Frieder Neumann, Deputy Head of Micro-Gas Turbine Development at Bilfinger in Berlin. “We are absolutely delighted by our partner’s expertise in design and production, as well as by the EOS technology that makes it possible.” DE

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22 ShowTime

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Montréal, Québec WEBSITE: advancedmfg.ca

A

s advanced manufacturing technologies are enabling companies to manufacture goods faster, better and cheaper – four industry organizations are bringing government, academia and businesses together to educate and promote the future of manufacturing. SME, along with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), Manufacturers and Exporters of Quebec (MEQ) and Regroupement des équipementiers en automatisation industrielle (RÉAI), are débuting a new event – Advanced Manufacturing Canada (AMC) – in Montreal, Nov. 18-19.

AMC will bring to the Canadian manufacturing community a two-day conference focused on advanced manufacturing technologies, including automation and robotics, additive manufacturing/3D printing, materials and software. According to show organizers, by gathering C-level executives, industry representatives, academia and government under one roof, AMC’s aim is to educate the manufacturing industry on how companies can produce products faster and less costly, while maintaining quality standards with the implementation of new technologies.

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“Canadian manufacturers are under increased pressure to be innovative and productive – advanced manufacturing technologies provide solutions Canadians need and will ensure Canada’s place as a world leader in the industry,” said Debbie Holton, director of events and industry strategy at SME. “SME will bring to this event its experience convening industry, government, academia and research to collaborate and innovate.”

Taking place at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, the event will provide a unique face-to-face opportunity to discover dynamic technology with interactive exhibits and demonstrations, along with industry networking. Best suited for manufacturing leaders, business owners, engineers, technologists, government and academia looking for new technologies and applications to improve manufacturing, AMC delivers value across industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical, energy, agri-food, mining, construction, electronics, and commercial and industrial equipment, to name a few.

AMC will offer more than 50 education sessions from highlevel national and international industry speakers, brought

STRATEGIC EVENT PARTNERS:

INDUSTRY SUPPORTERS:

www.design-engineering.com

15-09-29 6:43 AM

ShowTime 23 Delve into the Topics that Matter AUTOMATION ECONOMICS Intelligent Manufacturing Economics of Automation Workforce Development Challenges Scientific Research & Experimental Development Robotic Integration: Economic Impact Comparison Continuous Improvement & Productivity Industry 4.0 and more.

AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS Internet of Things (IoT) Advanced Robotics & Quality Control Digital Manufacturing Custom Automation Vision Technologies and more.

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Laser Consolidation Advanced Materials Additive Metal Processes Concept Modeling Modeling and Simulation and more.

together by Canada’s most credible manufacturing resources.

Sessions will provide three concurrent educational tracks: Automation & Robotics, Advanced Manufacturing Economics and Additive Manufacturing. These sessions targeting technical, operational, economic, managerial and C-level segments are meant to enable companies to manufacture goods faster, better, and cheaper—and lead to quantum leaps in efficiency and global competitiveness.

“RÉAI is very excited to partner with SME to produce an event that offers the manufacturing industry in Canada automation solutions to increase productivity,” said Donald Turcotte, president of RÉAI. “This is in hand with RÉAI’s mission to enhance Quebec manufacturers’ reputation in the international market.” Éric Tétrault, president of MEQ, said, “Companies must integrate new materials, as well as more automated and robotized processes. To encourage the industrial renewal necessary for our competitiveness, we must organize the consultation and coordination of the actors of innovation. This major conference will be a unique opportunity to meet.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a twoday, hands-on learning environment that combines live technology demonstrations, roundtables and forums, industry experts, interactive panel discussions and technical sessions, ample networking and unprecedented access to transformational technologies and innovative applications.

“Advanced manufacturing technologies, such as additive manufacturing, advanced robotics, automation and the Internet of Things are going to fuel the growth of the global manufacturing sector for years to come,” said Jayson Myers, president, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the voice of manufacturing and global business in Canada. “The question is not whether or not Canadian companies should adopt these technologies, it is about how fast Canadian companies can move forward and take advantage of them.”

For more information, or to register, please visit www.advancedmfg.ca, or call 1-888-322-7333 ext. 4435.

www.design-engineering.com October | 2015

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840-1520

24

OSPE Corner

This 3D printing station is one of several fabrication services offered at Sudbury’s Fortin Discovery Lab which also boasts CNC machining, electronics design, EMC/RF testing, injection moulding and app design capabilities.

Engineering INFLUENCE

By Carolyn Smith

A

s a mechanical engineer and natural entrepreneur, Ronny Theiss always thought about starting his own business.

After being laid off in 2014 and having a difficult time finding a new position, he decided to take advantage of the situation and focus on getting his business into full gear.

But he needed help. Theiss decided to get in touch with Sudbury’s Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT), a 70,000-square-foot training and development centre that provides entrepreneurial and innovation services, to see what they could do for his business.

“Innovation centres are not unique to Sudbury, but in general I don’t think people are aware that centres like NORCAT exist,” Theiss says. “As a whole, they guide you through the process of starting a business. You are partnered with a mentor to create a business plan and do market research.”

“There is a good network of these research facilities in Ontario that promote new ideas and invest in what small start-ups have to offer,” he adds. “In this economy, it is a critical service that all innovators should utilize.”

NORCAT is a private, non-profit organization that empowers a culture of productivity, innovation and lifelong learning.

It offers a free Entrepreneurship 101 course, providing practical and relevant knowledge for people like Theiss who have ideas and want to start their own companies.

Through the program, Theiss was paired with a mentor, Tom Fortin, owner of Ontrak Control Systems, who was building the Fortin Discovery Lab, which would run as a separate company but reside within the NORCAT facility. The lab uses independent product developers with various skill sets in pursuit of developing their own products. At the same time, the lab sells services to other entrepreneurs.

It was in this space that Theiss Automation got off the ground.

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Canadian innovation network helps engineering entrepreneurs turn ideas into products.

With access to experts and equipment to build and test virtually any product that fits into a one-cubic-foot envelope, Theiss was able to start a company that now provides engineering and business services such as 3D modeling, product development, manufacturing technology and marketing. So far for Theiss, business has been great.

“Starting a business is a scary for some, especially when you’re trading in a reliable nine-to-five job for the thrills of entrepreneurship — it isn’t for everyone,” Theiss says. “But if you are interested, I’d highly recommend looking into what an innovation centre in your region offers. There are many resources out there to advise you how to get started, grant and loan programs through the government, business workshops and most importantly, mentors.”

Theiss offers the following advice to engineers and entrepreneurs: • Find out where your local innovation centre is through the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs; • Book an appointment and see what they have to offer; and • Draft a business plan — you need to have some idea of what you want to do.

“One day, I hope to build my company up to a point where I can have a full complement of employees, develop leading edge technologies and be an integral part of our economy,” he says.

“We often forget that all of the big companies out there one day started in a very similar manner. I have heard countless stories of garage start-ups going multinational. All it takes is a bit of hard work and determination.”

Theiss says he is always interested in getting involved in new ideas, making connections and offering mentorship.

DE www.fortinlab.com www.norcat.org

This article first appeared in the June 2015 issue of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers’ magazine, The Voice www.design-engineering.com

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26 CoverStory

Cosmic LIFT Canada’s Thoth Technology sparks global interest with its patented space elevator design.

By Treena Hein

O

nce an idea has come, engineering is everything. It’s the bridge between ideas and reality, and in the ambitious case of Thoth Technology, it’s a bridge to the stars. More specifically, it’s a space elevator, a transportation system tethered to the ground at one end and rising into, or at least close to, low earth orbit at the other. As an alternative to expensive rocket launches, such a structure would usher in a new era of relatively cheap space exploration.

The original idea for a space elevator belongs to Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who thought of it back in 1895. The concept was revisited by another Russian named Yuri Artsutanov (who investigated potential materials) and American Jerome Pearson (who did calculations on tensile strength) in the 1960’s.

About 15 years ago, physicist Bradley Edwards looked at the feasibility of using carbon nanotubes to support such a slender and long structure. But it turns out that even the nanotubes available today don’t provide sufficient tensile strength and low enough density for a taught cable that could both support itself and the payloads that would be travelling up it.

Enter Thoth Technology. On a regular day, the Pembroke, Ontario aerospace and defense OEM develops miniaturized payloads for space and UAV platforms. However, the firm took the space elevator world by storm this past summer when it was granted a U.S. patent for its space elevator concept, the ThothX Tower.

Unlike previous ideas, Thoth’s design sidesteps ‘the cable October | 2015

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problem.’ Instead, picture a series of washers stacked onto the shaft of a bolt. The 20-km shaft/core is hollow, and the washers are ‘cells’ 300 meters in diameter, made of polyethylene and Kevlar and filled with helium or hydrogen. The tower would be built one cell at a time, and the structure would stand upright as it grows – and withstand external forces such as wind currents – through control of the pressure in various cells. In addition, heavy gyroscopic flywheels at the base would be used to increase the angular momentum of the elevator’s core structure.

“It’s an actively-guided tower with a harmonics control strategy,” says Thoth President and CEO Caroline Roberts.

“Software will differentially adjust the pneumatics and actively guide the centre of gravity to face light winds, or even a hurricane.”

Most of the 300 cells would be pressurized to 100 atmospheres, and those undergoing repair would be depressurized. The modular nature of the cells also means that if one cell gets damaged and loses pressure (through a micro-meteor hit for example), the tower wouldn’t suffer a catastrophic collapse.

“The seam in each cell will be closed using well-known technologies used in rockets and sailing vessels,” explains Brendan Quine, Thoth’s co-founder, CTO and the elevator’s inventor. “A weave is applied over the two surfaces of the seam like a blanket, and then that will be heat-cured to bind it, similar to how a fibreglass yacht is manufactured.”

While fantastical sounding and certainly ambitious, the ThothX Tower’s creators say their concept has sparked global www.design-engineering.com

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28 CoverStory interest and tempered enthusiasm in the scientific community.

“The Thoth concept is innovative,” says Ishwar Puri, dean of engineering at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

“By employing an inflatable tower within which the elevator climbs, the design overcomes the material constraints placed by the more conventional approach that tethers a cable to an orbiting satellite, from where it is suspended towards Earth’s surface with a counterweight.”

Still, Thoth’s patent filing has also sparked many questions, chief among them how the space elevator will ferry sizable payloads 20 km up in air without using conventional mechanical means. According to Quine, the tower’s elevator will be powered through electrical charge and frictional contact.

“Tracks or cable are too heavy, but electricity is very efficient,” explains the York University engineering professor. “The elevator cars will attach to the tower through electrical attraction and be guided along a corkscrew path using a frictional wheel which will grip the tower.” With each pass of a car downward, the tower will be re-charged, he adds, and possible energy transfer may also occur between two cars passing each other.

Once operational, the ThothX Tower would be able to lift up to 10 tonnes of parts for space plane and rocket construction.

Spacecraft would then launch from its platform in a single stage and return to the top of the tower for refueling. This allows for

7PLNT15928.indd | 2015 October

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1

great energy savings over conventional rocketry blasting off from the Earth’s surface. The tower would also be a hot tourism destination, Roberts says, with tickets to the top expected to be offered for about $1,000 CAD. But Thoth’s design is not just about accessing space for missions or for fun. In addition to being an optimal platform for wind turbines and communications equipment, flying from one ThothX Tower to another at Mach 4 or 5 would cut travel time around the world by half. “Japan and Australia are among those very interested in this application,” says Roberts. “Even with an hour up, your flight, and an hour down, it will be a much shorter and more exiting trip.”

Currently, the company is planning to build a proof-ofconcept demonstration tower approximately 1.5 km tall, which Quine predicts will cost US$1 billion and take three to five years. Thoth hopes for the first 20 km tower to be finished for a cost between US$5 and $10 billion in another three to five years after that.

Puri believes that, despite all the questions that he and others have, “the of out-of-the-box thinking that the Thoth design uses is a brilliant example of the engineering creativity that is required to move science fiction into the realm of everyday reality.”

DE www.thothx.com

3/20/07 12:32:48 PM www.design-engineering.com

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30 CADBeat A rendering of the Dual Truck Mobile Sizer (DTMS), designed by Ontario based FLSmidth, increases in-pit crushing efficiency with its dual-skip configuration.

LONG Haul Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team helps FLSmidth develop revolutionary mining equipment.

I

n the mining industry, processing plants are generally constructed on the site of extraction. Mined ore gets transported by super-heavy duty trucks to the plant, where it gets crushed into smaller sizes before being stockpiled or transported off-site for further processing. Besides the ore, the mine typically has to move four times as much overburden as ore. Big mines typically have to move 700,000 tonne of material per day. As the mine gets larger, the trucks have to travel longer distances to deposit their load, resulting in significant increases in the cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance.

To address this problem, FLSmidth engaged the services of Maplesoft’s Engineering Solutions team to develop design and analysis tools that would help them design a Dual Truck Mobile Sizer (DTMS) – an innovative machine that can be relocated throughout a project, as the haul distances increase.

The DTMS increases in-pit crushing efficiency due to its dual-skip configuration. A truck backs into one skip until it reaches a restraining curb in the floor. After dumping its load on the skip floor, it then slowly pulls ahead, lowers its bed, and pulls away. Once the truck clears the end of the skip, the skip can be raised. As the skip is elevated, it pours material from the discharge of the skip and deposits the material into the apron feeder hopper.

As material is introduced onto the apron feeder, it conveys the material to the sizer where it is crushed to the appropriate size. After being crushed, the material is deposited onto the discharge conveyor where it is taken to the bench conveyor. This process is performed while another haul truck is depositing material into the twin skip, thereby increasing the number of truck cycles.

To create tools that would help FLSmidth design this innovative piece of equipment, the Maplesoft team first had to develop October | 2015

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a deep understanding of the dynamics of the skip system. They began by using MapleSim, the advanced modeling and simulation platform, to develop a fully parameterized model of the skip. Taking advantage of MapleSim’s multidomain modeling capabilities, they were able to create a high-fidelity model that incorporated all the key components of the skip – from its geometric structure and mechanical operation, to the hydraulic circuits and controllers.

“The DTMS is a very large and complex machine,” says Willem Fourie, Global Product Line Manager – Mobile Sizer Stations, FLSmidth. “The ability to model all aspects of its operation during the design phase using MapleSim gave us confidence that the product we would ultimately build would function correctly the first time. We cannot even begin to put a value on what this means to us.”

The creation of the skip model was complemented with the development of multiple design tools to aid in adjusting the model to achieve the desired behavior. One such design tool is the Geometric Design Evaluation tool, which provides the ability to evaluate changes in the dimensions of the skip design and their effect on the dynamics of the system. The tool uses Maple – Maplesoft’s symbolic computation tool – to perform a parameter sweep, by simultaneously running simulations using the different parameter values provided.

Maple then presents the results overlaid on a single plot window for easy comparison and evaluation. Other tools developed include tools for sizing the hydraulics and components, designing the motion profile, investigating the dynamic loading on the bearings and estimating the material flow load.

As part of developing and testing the skip model, Maplesoft’s technical team also evaluated the design, to identify the sources of vibrations and their effects. They developed an approach to www.design-engineering.com

15-09-29 6:50 AM

CADBeat

31

perform stability analysis, which was made possible by the fact that the skip model provided easy access to key geometric features and dynamic properties of the design. The stability analysis approach was demonstrated using a case study in which the location of the feedback sensor was varied. The analysis identified a potential issue very early in the design phase, enabling engineers at FLSmidth to develop a more robust design.

“The stability analysis performed by the Maplesoft team was very insightful,” said Fourie. “Knowing about a potential issue early on enabled us to design with it in mind, rather than having to go back and rework our design at a later stage. This contributed FLSmidth’s full parameterized DTMS model, including its footings and soil interactions, to keeping our project on track, and saved simulated in MapleSoft’s multi-domain MapleSim software. us millions of dollars down the line.”

Once the modeling and testing of the skip system was com- modeling to investigate the vertical displacement of the system pleted, Maplesoft staff went on to develop the chassis model, on different types of soil.

DE and finally the full DTMS. Many more design tools were created, www.flsmidth.com providing the ability to evaluate joint flexibility, center of mass variations as the skip was raised and lowered, and even soil This article was supplied by Maplesoft.

www.design-engineering.com October | 2015

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32

IdeaGenerator Automation Multi-touch Panel PC Beckhoff Automation introduced its CP32xx Panel PC series with industrial multi-touch display technology for HMI and control applications. Designed for mounting arm installation, the IPC line features all-around IP 65 protection, passive cooling and operating temperature ranging from 0 to 45°C. Beyond the standard dual-core 1.6 GHz Intel Celeron CPU, the series also offers the option to use Intel Core i series processors of the second, third and fourth generations. CP32xx Panel PC displays are available in 12- to 24-inch sizes, in both 4:3 and widescreen formats. Other features include a free Mini-PCI slot for factory-installed cards, 2 GB DDR3-RAM (expandable to 16 GB), hard disk, CFast card or SSD, on-board dual Ethernet adapter with 10/100/1000 Base-T connection, and an on-board SATA RAID-1 controller. www.beckhoff.com

Gain time, find the optimal solution.

Servo Drive Rockwell Automation introduced its AllenBradley Kinetix 5700 servo drive designed for machines that traditionally have used separate servo drives to meet high axiscount and power requirements. The drive offers dual-axis servos, a 1.6 to 60kW power range and Load Observer real-time tuning technology, which helps remove the need to tune each individual axis. The servo drive also uses Tracking Notch Filter technology to detect and remove resonant frequencies, and automatically make tuning adjustments over time.

DSL feedback ports provide support for Kinetix VP servo motors with single-cable technology. The drive supports both hardwired safety and integrated safety over EtherNet/IP, in which safety data is transmitted using the same wires and IP addresses as motion and control data. www.rockwellautomation.com

Safety Control Unit Omron Automation and Safety introduced a standalone version of its NXSeries Safety Controller that uses Safety over EtherNet/ IP. The unit’s inputs support direct connectivity to any kind of safety device including safety light curtains, scanners, interlocking devices, non-contact sensors, electromechanical switches, safety mats, safety bumpers, and enabling switches.

The unit’s outputs support any type of safety actuator from safety relays and safety contactors to inverters or other drives with built-in safety torque off (STO) functionality. The unit’s EtherNet/IP coupler supports two EtherNet/IP ports to share all system status information with other devices. The safety controller is compatible with any device that communicates over the EtherNet/IP network. The Sysmac Studio software offers control over the Omron portion of the automation system. www.omron247.com

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Teledyne DALSA unveiled its Camera Link HS-compatible Piranha XL CMOS TDI line scan camera and Xtium CLHS frame grabbers.

Employing Teledyne DALSA’s most advanced CMOS sensor architecture, the camera delivers 125 kHz line rate and up to 2 GByte/s data throughput with a single CX4 cable. The XtiumCLHS PX4 and PX8 are PCIe Gen 2 frame grabbers with up to 7 data lanes to capture aggregate data rates of 2.1GB/s and suswww.design-engineering.com

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IdeaGenerator 33 tained host transfer bandwidth of over 3.2GB/s (using Xtium-CLHS PX8). The Xtium CLHS frame grabbers feature multi-board synchronization and built-in capability to re-distribute incoming images at maximum camera speeds to as many as 6 additional frame grabbers enabling distributed image processing across multiple computers. www.teledynedalsa.com

Actuator Controller American Control Electronics (ACE) announces the DCH Series Actuator Control, combining an AC to DC switching power supply with a regenerative PWM drive. The series is designed for applications requiring control of 12 or 24VDC motors when only 115 or 230VAC power is available.

With an isolated front end, the series is compatible with a 0-5 or 0-10 VDC analog from any PLC. With an 8-bit onboard microprocessor, the DCH Series can be customized in many applications to replace a PLC. A modified option allows for linear positioning control of actuators to within 1/1000th of commanded stroke length with the use of feedback resistors. Standard variations for the series include options for torque, cycling, or positioning control.

Standard I/O includes one analog and four digital with custom configurations available. www.americancontrolelectronics.com

Fluid Power Hydraulic Rod Clamp Advanced Machine & Engineering Co. (AME) introduced its AMLOK Hydraulic Series RCH Rod Clamp that provides power-off clamping of rods and shafts.

The clamps are actuated by a spring/collet mechanism and unclamped by hydraulic pressure. The clamp mountings are designed to apply to standard heavy-duty NFPA-style MF1 cylinders. The standard housing can be mounted to any machine structure or be custom-designed to suit an application.

The holding force depends upon the rod diameter and the amount of hydraulic pressure (PSI) available for unclamping. The AMLOK is preset at the factory to release at the specified hydraulic pressure. The clamps are designed for locking reciprocating motions only. Special units are also available for both rotating and reciprocating motions. www.ame.com

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IdeaGenerator Pneumatic Fittings Clippard introduced its PushQuick pneumatic fittings, constructed of high-grade 316 stainless steel. With a push-pull connection method, the fittings allow full flow through the hose/tubing I.D. with no smaller orifice required as in barb fittings.

They are designed for use with both flexible hose and stiff tubing made of nylon, polyurethane, polyethylene or polypropylene. Available in various styles and sizes, the fittings are designed for high temperatures as well as high corrosion and chemical resistance with approval for use in packaging and food environments. www.clippard.com

Power Transmission Gear Reducers The GAM Gear introduced its EPL line of inline planetary gearboxes with added features making it suitable for most servo applications, the company says.

High-Quality Components for Industrial Applications Replacement Parts Large Quantities for the OEM Hard to ďŹ nd bearings Plastic bearings Rod ends and more Get your free catalogs – B620 and B700 Technical assistance and bearing services

Metric Gears Modules 1 to 10 Spur gears Miter gears Bevel gears Download 3D models Get your free Q430 catalog Shop online

The economy series features precision gears with low backlash as well as fixed input with radial clamping ring for mounting to both metric or English motors. In addition, the lightweight gear reducers feature gearing ratios from 3:1 to 1000:1 and accommodate frame sizes 40mm to 150mm and NEMA 17 to 56. www.servo2go.com

Shaft Collar Stafford Manufacturing Corp. has introduced SPARC (Stafford Prototype and Repair Collar), a rapid prototype and repair collar system that lets users create their own 3D printed special-purposed shaft collars. The SPARC system features precision machined shaft collar masters that accept 3D printed inserts. The inserts can be either user-defined or selected from a library of designs offered free from Stafford. The printing can be done free by the user or from Stafford for a fee.

The inserts are designed to mate securely with the master to create a unified working part. Supplied in steel, stainless steel, or aluminum, masters come in three sizes to accommodate shafts from 1/8 to 3-inch O.D. www.staffordmfg.com

Quality Reliability Efficiency

BRECOflex CO., L.L.C. is the pioneer and world leader in the polyurethane timing belt industry. We offer our customers the widest range of timing belts, drive components, metal pulleys and accessories designed and manufactured with the highest priority given to quality and precision.

Whether you are looking for a standard product from our inventory or a custom design tailored to your requirements, your application will benefit from our perfectly matched timing belts and pulleys. We take pride in our rapid customer response time and industryleading product delivery and quality.

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October | 2015

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IdeaGenerator 35 Positioning Stage LinTech introduced it enclosed 610 series positioning stage with a load capacity of 7,780 lbs (3530 kg) and stroke lengths from 6 to 60in (150 to 1520mm). The screw driven linear enclosed slides use a low friction, preloaded, recirculating linear ball bearing system, which ride on precision ground linear rail guides. The linear rails are mounted to an extruded aluminum base, which offers a rigid support over the entire travel of the table’s carriage.

The load is mounted to a precision machined aluminum carriage, which has threaded stainless steel inserts. The company offers 38 different acme and ball screw options. Other features of the IP-30 rated system include rigid screw support; self lube linear bearings; and NEMA, Rockwell, Parker, Mitsubishi, Yaskawa mounts. www.lintechmotion.com

Motors Gearmotor Bison Gear and Engineering has added its 712 series to the company’s PowerSTAR right-angle hypoid gearmotor product line. Built for compact spaces, the PowerSTAR 712 series has standard 0.5 inch hollow bore output shaft size with metric sizes planned. With three standard AC motors (115V Single Phase, 115/230V Dual Voltage/Dual Frequency and 230V 3-Phase Inverter Duty) and 14 standard gear ratios ranging from 10:1 to 240:1, the 712 series product line has the ability to meet most industrial requirements, the company says. www.bisongear.com

ECPM Motors NovaTorque, Inc. unveiled 900 RPM versions of its 1.5, 2, 3 and 5hp motor models that provide a full load motor-only efficiency rating of 92-94% compared to approximately 82-87% for conventional AC induction motor ratings. Additionally, the motor maintains high efficiency under partial load. The motor achieves this efficiency gain due to its all-ferrite (versus rare earth) magnet design. NovaTorque motors are packaged in standard NEMA frame sizes and mounting dimensions and are compatible with readily available variable frequency drives (VFDs) from most leading manufacturers. www.novatorque.com

Electrical Sine Wave Filters Schaffner EMC introduced a lineup of Sine Wave filters that eliminate premature motor damage caused by high dv/dt, overvoltages, cable ringing, motor overheating and eddy current losses caused by Variable Frequency Drives (VFD). Suitable for motor frequencies up to 600Hz, the filter converts the rectangular PWM output voltage of motor drives into a smooth sine wave with low residual ripple. The company’s full product line accommodates a range of switching kHZ, and voltage ratings up to 690VAC. Motor frequency can manage typically 60hz equipment and higher speed 600hz. Filters are available for motors up to 200hp and 200-800hp (UL pending). www.schaffnerusa.com www.design-engineering.com October | 2015

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36 IdeaGenerator Ground Fault Indicator

CLIPPARD OFFERS MINIATURE PNEUMATIC PRODUCTS CATALOG FOR SCIENTIFIC/MEDICAL APPLICATIONS A leader in miniature pneumatics, Clippard provides the scientific/medical industry a variety of products and solutions. The product range is illustrated in a color brochure featuring the most complete line of miniature fluid power products for the medical, pharmaceutical analytical and dental fields. To get your copy today please visit our website at the address printed below.

Clippard www.clippard.com/scientific-a Tel: 1.877.245.6247 • Email: sales@clippard.com

NK Technologies unveiled its AGT Series of ground fault indicators that produce an analog 4-20mA signal proportional to earth or ground fault current. When connected to a controller or data logger, NEC requirements for alarm can be met. The series’ features include True RMS Output – remains accurate on distorted waveforms like VFD or SCR outputs; Single Range – eliminates field range selection errors and zero and span pots; and Isolation – magnetically isolates output from the input for safety and eliminates insertion loss. Other specifications include an output signal of 4-20mA with an output limit of 23mA. The indicator’s frequency range is 40-400 Hz with accuracy with 1.0% FS from 10 to 100% of range. It’s response time is 600ms (to 90% step change) and meets UL, CUL 508 Listed standards. www.nktechnologies.com

Sensors Inductive Proximity Sensors

NEWEST WEAPON FOR THERMAL MANAGEMENT Master Bond EP30AO is a thermally conductive, electrically insulative epoxy used for potting, bonding, sealing and coating. Featuring low viscosity, superior dimensional stability and high physical strength, EP30AO cures at room temperature. This high performance compound is widely used where electrical insulation and environmental protection are required and heat transfer must be maintained.

Master Bond www.masterbond.com/tds/ep30ao Tel: 1.201.343.8983 • Email: info@masterbond.com

DUST COLLECTORS NEW - FULL LINE LITERATURE GUIDE This impressive NEW guide outlines dozens of N.R. Murphy dust collectors, installations, capacities, styles and models. A must for any reference library. N.R. Murphy Limited has been in business over 70 years and has thousands of satisfied customers. “Dust Collectors are all we do; so get it done right the first time. Just Ask the Experts.”

N.R. Murphy Limited www.nrmurphy.com Tel: 1.519.621.6210 • Email: 4nodust@nrmurphyltd.com

To advertise your solution in this section call Alan Macpherson at 416.510.6756

Carlo Gavazzi has expanded its ICB Inductive Proximity Sensors Series to include “Extra Extended” range sensors that increase sensing distances up to 10mm (M12), 20mm (M18), and 40mm (M30). The series microprocessorbased design allows calibration after the assembly and simplifies OEM customization requests. The line include an easily-viewable diagnostic LED and an operating frequency up to 2,000 Hz. All ICB Series sensors are cULus listed, and rated for operation from -25°C to +70°C (-13° to +158°F). The series is a complete range of 3-wire DC inductive sensors with long or short nickel-plated brass housings, for flush or non-flush mounting, either normally open (NO) or normally closed (NC) PNP or NPN outputs. Connection options include either a 2-metre PVC cable or M12 disconnect plug. www.GavazziOnline.com

Pressure Transmitter American Sensor Technologies (AST) released its Hammer Union Pressure Transmitters for pressures up to 20,000 psi.

Designed for hazardous areas, the transmitters are available with intrinsically safe or explosion proof approvals and with SIL2 ratings. The sensor employs a thick Inconel 718 diaphragm and silicon strain gages for shock and vibration resistance up to 1000g.

A cage design allows for protection of both the connector and mating connector. The cage around the pressure transmitter is designed to protect the sensor and mating connector, allowing for proper drainage in flooding situations and optional handle mounting. www.astsensors.com

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CanadianInnovator

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KNEE Deep Bionic braces invented by Spring Loaded Technology poised to change human mobility.

By Treena Hein

L

ike many parts of the human body, like the eye or the brain, the knee is an engineering marvel, a polycentric hinge with two axes of rotation that withstands 700 plus pounds of pressure every time you lean down to tie your shoes. So to protect the knee as we age or deal with an injury or other condition, wouldn’t it be wonderful to slip on a lightweight brace that provides power and mobility, enhances strength and increases stability?

That’s exactly what Spring Loaded Technology of Halifax has invented. Founded in early 2013, the firm has garnered numerous awards, most recently capturing the $100,000 Grand Prize 2015 BDC ‘Young Entrepreneur Award.’ According to the company, its Levitation bionic knee brace does nothing less than redefine the limits of human movement. Individuals with good mobility can use it to improve endurance and performance, while those with various mobility issues can use it for rehab or to regain independence.

“Our brace is essentially a fully-functional and completely reliable quadricep,” notes Spring Loaded Chief Technical Officer and co-founder Bob Garrish. “In a crouch, it exerts full body strength for someone who has lost that due to neurological issues or injury.”

The knee brace is a very old idea – and one that’s frequently given as a challenge to engineering students. In fact, the first patents for a knee brace that could help people stand back up, Garrish points out, were granted in the 1920’s, for polio and other muscle wasting diseases.

“There have been many patents, but that doesn’t mean they work,” he says. “There are exoskeleton designs now that provide the power that’s needed, and other braces that provide joint stability, but they don’t really help, don’t stay put or they are too bulky or expensive for most people. Our system is passive, just using body weight, and the cost is very reasonable.”

Before they began designing, the Spring Loaded team wanted to learn everything possible about braces. They spoke to doctors, physiotherapists, athletes with injuries and without injuries,

Winner of the 2015 BDC ‘Young Entrepreneur Award’ grand prize, the Levitation bionic knee brace, by Halifax start-up Spring Loaded Technologies, restores full function to those with compromised mobility.

people with MS and more. Once they learned the issues and the needs, they were ready to proceed. Overall, what was required was a hinge mechanism able to absorb a lot of energy, just like a human knee.

“It sounds simple – a rotary-to-linear coupling that would store a large amount of force – but it’s on a miniature scale,” Garrish says. “When you look at energy suspension systems – bicycle suspension, prosthetics, the ballast systems for keeping oil rigs balanced and so on – you have to keep that in mind and materials become very important. There is no material that you can make a small spring out of that can do the job, so springs were out. Pneumatics were out because, when you store energy with air, it’s not a linear situation, so what’s left is hydraulics.”

In the final design (the fifteenth, arrived at two years in), a high-tensile cable is pulled around a shaped cam, resulting in a shaped-force response, which compresses a cylindrical ultrahigh strength hydraulic system similar to aircraft landing gear.

According to Garrish, the small piece of cable involved put the focus squarely on material selection.

“The way steel fails, the way aluminum or polymer fails, they’re all different,” he says. “If you bend some cable around a pulley, the outside is stretched more than the inside, but if you pull it over a shaped piece so that it flattens out, then the outside and inside are pulled more evenly.”

“You can’t just look at a chart that says something will fail if bent around a two-inch pulley a thousand times,” Garrish adds. “You have to look at it microscopically. You need to know

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CanadianInnovator where the stresses are and why.”

In the end, polymer was the only option. For the shaped cam and brace ‘arms,’ strong and light carbon fibre was the obvious choice. In fact, the team found that the arms of the brace could be hollow and still do the job. But the geometry was impossible to achieve with a single mold, so the design had to include multiple pieces glued together to form a single piece.

The hydraulic system was another major challenge. “These systems lose fluid over time but we obviously don’t want that to happen to our customers for quite a few years, so we spent a lot of time on seals and went through a lot of technologies,” Garrish says. “It’s pretty tough to make a dry seal. We got them custom-made, then we made our own but they were no better, and then we realized we had to make custom components around the seal.”

However, the pressures involved were so high that things got pretty weird. “We got new types of seal failures and no one could find a reason for them,” Garrish says. “We realized what was going on – materials change their properties at high pressures, liquids turn to solids. That was off the books, totally uncharted.”

Not only did Spring Loaded come up with a brace able to withstand pressures handled by a healthy human knee, but created two different customizable designs. The A-Series brace is designed to reduce fatigue, enhance performance and protect

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the knees of people who can walk, but need help climbing stairs or crouching. The M-Series restores mobility for those with injuries or mobility impairments that prevent them from getting out of a chair.

“Along with fit, the force curve itself, the shape and the force of the curve can be changed for activity and weight,” Garrish explains. “It depends how much force a person wants and where.”

Currently, Spring Loaded is manufacturing for a test group, and Garrish says the eventual market cost will be comparable to an unpowered custom knee brace.

The company has also obtained the medical device licences in Canada and the U.S. for commercialization and the company is about to start ‘crowd funding’ to push ahead with manufacturing. Garrish says that he anticipates that Spring Loaded brace will go to retail by the early in 2016.

Even though there were difficult challenges along the way, and occasional periods of wondering if the braces would ever be commercialized, Garrish never felt like he was wasting his time. “We always had companies looking to hire us and still do,” he says. “Industry recognizes that the ability to solve problems is valuable and the start-up community is watched closely.

Our skills and experience are valued, even as we work to bring our own idea to market.”

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http://springloadedtechnology.com

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Baumer Inc.

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Beckhoff Automation

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FLIR Systems, Inc.

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igus Inc.

www.igus.com

Industrial Encoder Corp.

www.globalencoder.ca

NORD Drive Systems

www.nord.com

Novotechnik US Inc.

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QTC Metric Gears

www.qtcgears.com

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Rittal Systems Ltd.

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Roto Precision Inc.

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www.ina.com

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