Design Engineering October 2016

14 An inside look at Solid Edge ST9 and CatchBook

18 Survey reveals Canadian

aerospace industry has a tepid interest in metal 3D printing

45 Kitchener-based startup designs machines to rid the world of landmines

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Contents | Volume 62, No. 5 5

IN THE NEWS

8 GE expands 3D

printing offerings with new acquisitions

8 Rockwell acquires

Automation Control Products

8 Universal Robots

hires world renowned Robot Safety Expert

8 Dassault Systèmes

launches SOLIDWORKS 2017

10 Waterloo-based

Medella Health wins national James Dyson Award

10 UAlberta engineers test cars and roads that talk to each other

10 3M develops new

technology for 3D printing Teflon

12 Airbus partners

with Renishaw to 3D print aircraft wings

13 Ford employees

drive innovation with new inventions

Columns 8

Design News

Dassault Systèmes launches SOLIDWORKS 2017 and other news

14 CAD Report Latest release of Siemens PLM’s mid-range MCAD modeler tuned to suit SME customers

14

22 CAD Beat How virtual prototyping and dynamic load analysis can help reduce machine design costs and get to market faster.

22

36 Inside Design Ottawa-based Design 1st’s multi-disciplinary team can take on any design challenge

39 Idea Generator The latest in industrial products including fluid power, vision systems and sensors

Features 18 Down to the Metal Survey reveals tepid interest in metal 3D printing

by Canadian aerospace industry

26

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GM realizes “weeks to hours” reduction in line change and transmission build dynamics at Toledo Powertrain

45 Canadian Innovator Kitchener-based The Landmine Boys designs machines to rid the world of landmines

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6 EditorialViewpoint

Doubling Down

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T

o the general public and Wall Street investors, it’s been a tough couple of years for the additive manufacturing industry. When the bubble burst two and half years ago, the technology’s two primary brands, Stratasys and 3D Systems, saw their respective stock valuations plummet, almost simultaneously.

Since each hit a stock price peak in early January 2014, both companies have experienced a steady downward slide, losing more than 75 percent of their value and hitting a low point earlier this year. Particularly hard hit were the consumer-targeted machines, like Stratasys’ MakerBot line, and the utopian vision of a future where everyone, equipped with a personal desktop 3D printer, would become their own manufacturer.

But while the public facing side of 3D printing has tarnished, the industry as a whole continues to grow at a double digit pace. According to the Wohlers Report 2016, the AM industry, including all products and services worldwide, grew 25.9 percent (CAGR) to $5.165 billion last year. That growth rate is down from 31.5 percent for the past three years but in line with the industry’s 27-year average (26.2 percent). In fact the number of companies supplying industrial strength machines – including the long awaited entry by HP – increased to 62 manufacturers in 2015, up from 49 in 2014 and 31 companies in 2011.

According to the report, the industry’s growth overall has been punctuated by the desktop 3D printer segment, which has retooled to target engineers and professionals rather than consumers, and metal-based additive manufacturing. That conclusion was reinforced in May by industry research company IDTechEx, which proclaimed metal 3D printing as the industry’s fastest growing segment, noting the technology’s increasing popularity among aerospace companies.

As detailed in this issues’ additive manufacturing feature, many of the biggest names in aerospace have graduated from tinkering with metal 3D printing in the lab to factoring it into their production process. Of those, none has been as aggressive as GE Aviation. Last year, the company made headlines when it announced it would metal 3D print the jet engine fuel nozzle for its next generation LEAP engines. Not content to simply buy metal AM machines, in September the company doubled down on its commitment to the technology by offering to buy two of the biggest producers of 3D metal printers, Arcam and SLM Solutions, for $1.4 billion.

Besides acquiring a profitable new business segment, bringing these companies in house allows the industrial giant to accomplish a number of objectives in one stroke.

In one sense, it’s a defensive move. Since there are very few companies that presently make industrial-grade 3D metal printers, GE can assure itself that their planned reliance on the technology won’t be disrupted by vendor dependency, bankruptcy, consolidation or another company/industry’s acquisition plans.

At the same time, the move is also offensive. Arcam and SLM specialize in similar but technologically distinct 3D metal printing processes (Electron Beam Melting and Direct Metal Laser Sintering, respectively). By owning the IP of both, GE can further develop both patented processes to suit its purposes and potentially lock-out or require licensing agreements from other aerospace companies looking to pursue the same 3D printing strategy. At the same time, the company is now free to fine tune these technologies thereby giving its own products qualities and capabilities unavailable from competitors. It will be interesting to see if other large firms like GE take a similar acquisition approach.

Mike McLeod

@

Publisher Alan Macpherson (416) 510-6756 amacpherson@design-engineering.com Editor Michael McLeod (416) 442-5600 ext. 3231 mmcleod@design-engineering.com Associate Editor Lindsay Luminoso (416) 510-5233 lluminoso@design-engineering.com Account Manager Ron Salmon (416) (905) 713-4362 rsalmon@design-engineering.com Art Director Mark Ryan (416) 442-5600 ext. 3541 mryan@annexbizmedia.com Account Coordinator Cheryl Fisher (416) 510-5194 cfisher@annexnewcom.ca Circulation Manager Beata Olechnowicz (416) 442-5600 ext. 3543 bolechnowicz@annexnewcom.ca Vice President Tim Dimopoulos (416) 510-5100 tdimopoulos@canadianmanufacturing.com President & CEO Mike Fredericks Design Engineering, established in 1955, is published

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October | 2016

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8 DesignNews

Dassault Systèmes launches SOLIDWORKS 2017 Dassault Systèmes announced the official launch of SOLIDWORKS 2017, which features new capabilities and enhancements as well as the top userrequested features, the company says. The biggest piece of the new release is the introduction of SOLIDWORKS PCB, a stand-alone product by ECAD firm Altium, that integrates with Solidworks and assists the synchronization of electronic and mechanical design.

In essence, the new application allows SOLIDWORKS models to be incorporated within the PCB design environment to verify electro-mechanical design intent. Toward that end, it offers a unified environment for schematic and layout tools to select the best routing options based on design constraints with Interactive Routing, AutoRoute, MultiTrack and Differential Pair. In addition, the application helps locate and select new components using real-time supplier data.

On the MCAD modeling side, SW 2017 features new Chamfer, Fillet and Advanced Hole Specification tools that create multiple variable chamfers in one operation; switch any pre-existing Cham-

fer to a Fillet and vice versa; capture and access previous hole definitions and apply pre-saved specifications; and construct stepped holes with one operation. In addition, the latest release adds new surfacing features such as wrap, drag and drop, emboss, deboss or 3D Curve.

For assemblies, SW 2017 features magnetic mates that help users work with large assemblies by organizing equipment and space; publish parts and assemblies as assets with appropriate connection points for drag and drop mating; and reposition models easily.

Solidworks Simulation also received new capabilities including the ability to input parameters to automatically make logical decisions in static studies. Users can also stress hot spots so as to quickly identify problem areas and investigate a model or setup further simulation and verify results. In addition, users can also convert studies from linear static to non-linear or dynamic with a single-click. www.solidworks.com

UP FRONT GE expands 3D printing offerings with new acquisitions General Electric has acquired two European 3D printing companies, Arcam AB and SLM Solutions Group AB, for $1.4 billion in a push to extend its reach in the additive manufacturing market. Both companies will report into David Joyce, President & CEO of GE Aviation, who is charged with leading growth of these businesses in the additive manufacturing equipment and services industry. The company announced that the acquisitions are expected to boost revenue within its 3D printing business to approximately $1 billion by 2020.

“Additive manufacturing is a key part of GE’s evolution into a digital industrial company. We are creating a more productive world with our innovative world-class machines, materials and software. We are poised to not only benefit from this movement as a customer, but spearhead it as a leading supplier,” said Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE. “Additive manufacturing will drive new levels of productivity for GE, our customers, including a wide array of additive manufacturing customers, and for the industrial world.” www.geaviation.com October | 2016

Rockwell acquires Automation Control Products Rockwell Automation announced its acquisition of Automation Control Products (ACP). ACP’s two core software products, ThinManager and Relevance, help manage information and streamline workflows for a more connected manufacturing environment.

“Today’s plant engineers turn to our technology innovation and domain expertise to help improve their manufacturing quality and reliability while increasing productivity,” said Frank Kulaszewicz, senior VP of Architecture and Software, Rockwell Automation. “With ACP’s industry-leading products now in our portfolio, we can provide new capabilities for workers as the manufacturing environment becomes more digital and connected.”

Rockwell Automation says the acquisition will expand the company’s Connected Enterprise offerings. This move is accelerated by the Industrial Internet of Things and advances in technologies, such as data analytics, remote monitoring and mobility. www.rockwellautomation.com

Universal Robots hires world renowned Robot Safety Expert Universal Robots announced the hiring of Roberta Nelson Shea as its new Global Technical Compliance Officer.

Shea replaces Lasse Kieffer, who is leaving to develop a new start-up mission. Shea took over the position on September 19, 2016, and will be based in the company’s headquarters in Odense, Denmark.

“Roberta Nelson Shea joining Universal Robots is news that will definitely reverberate throughout the global robot industry,” says Mogens Saigal, R&D Director at Universal Robots. “She is a very great asset and a strong voice within the field of robot safety. We are both proud and excited that she is now part of our company.”

Shea has chaired the U.S. National Robot Safety Committee for 23 years, spent over 35 years within manufacturing automation and is recognized as a global authority on robot safety. www.universal-robots.com www.design-engineering.com

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DesignNews Waterloo-based Medella Health wins national James Dyson Award

Waterloo-based Medella Health has won the top the lens communicates that data to a small clip that prize in the Canadian division of the James Dyson can be hidden behind the ear, which in turn, sends Award for its glucose-sensing contact lens design. that information to a mobile phone so patients can For winning, the start-up company will receive monitor and manage their condition continuously. $3,500 in prize money and have its product entered According to Medella’s design team, the device into the international Dyson Award where it will has involved 19 prototypes and multiple iterations Photo courtesy of compete against other national winners. to optimize performance especially in the glucose People with diabetes constantly need to measure Medella Health. sensor. The next step for the team is to incorporate blood glucose levels, a process that can be somewhat invasive and the device components into a wearable contact lens and obtain painful. To simplify the process, Medella’s “Smart Contact Lens regulatory approval.

Platform” detects glucose level in tear duct fluid. An antenna in www.jamesdysonaward.org

3M develops new technology for 3D printing Teflon 3M has developed a new technology that will enable design cycles as spare parts can be manufactured 3D printing of fluoropolymer PTFE (Polytetrafluorodigitally without the need to create new tools.”

The company says the new technology also offers ethylene), better known as Teflon. Historically, creating such structures required extensive pre- and a more sustainable manufacturing solution due to post-processing. Using the new 3M process, complex potential material savings and a reduction in waste.

3D polymer structures that can printed in one step.

This is achieved as the traditional method for creating “3D printing is developing at a rapid pace and is Photo courtesy of 3M. prototype parts from PTFE creates significant waste. opening up a number of exciting developments for With 3D printing, however, waste is minimal and the processing of fully-fluorinated polymers, particularly for PTFE unused material can be recycled for subsequent printing jobs. which is a real quantum leap,” says Paula Johnson-Mason, Global 3M’s subsidiary Dyneon introduced this new technology at the K Director Fluoropolymers. “This additional new manufacturing show in Dusseldorf in October. process will give us increased flexibility and accelerate product www.3m.com

UAlberta engineers test cars and roads that talk to each other

Smart technology is moving into every facet of the driving world, whether it’s autonomous vehicles, Bluetooth-enabled infotainment systems or sensor-enabled traffic lights. However, engineering researchers at the University of Alberta are pushing the technology one step further.

Under the ACTIVE-AURORA research initiative, UAlberta engineers are starting to test smart vehicle technology on the streets of Edmonton. This is the first Canadian city to witness cars communicating with one another as well as with the roadside infrastructure. The goal of this initiative is both to explore the technology as well as improve roadside safety.

“ACTIVE-AURORA will be data-driven test-bed for the whole region,” said Tony Qiu, a civil engineering professor and director of the UAlberta’s Centre for Smart Transportation.

The initiative was first announced at the International Conference on Transportation Innovation in Edmonton on September 16, 2016.

This project will bring together three levels of government (Transport Canada, Alberta Transportation, and the City of Edmonton), the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and several industry partners.

In UAlberta’s connected vehicles, a wireless device exchanges information in real time with roadside equipment, such as traffic lights or message signs and with other connected vehicles.

According to UAlberta, this technology will enable the infrastructure to actively inform other motorists of traffic conditions and road hazards. The smart technology will even go so far as to let motorists know if they will make it through an intersection safely October | 2016

or if they should prepare to stop.

“Collaborative initiatives such as ACTIVE-AURORA…ensure the development of new technologies that have an immediate and direct impact on the public good,” said Fraser Forbes, UAlberta’s dean of engineering. “This project has the potential to improve public safety and ensure the safe and timely delivery of people.”

The partnerships are key to the project’s success and will help to bring research initiatives into the global market. Qui explains that the project is slated to bring the technology to China.

“We will implement what we have done in Edmonton, Alberta in China,” said Qiu. “This shows how our research from ACTIVEAURORA will be exported globally.”

“Edmonton roads are now equipped with smart technology.

This opens up all sorts of possibilities,” said Karim El-Basyouny, a civil engineering professor who is a member of the project team.

“This technology is going to revolutionize the way we think and move. It will allow vehicles to be able to communicate information to each other and talk to the infrastructure,” he said. www.ualberta.ca www.design-engineering.com

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12 DesignNews Airbus partners with Renishaw to 3D print aircraft wings Renishaw announced that it will partner with Airbus on a £17.7 million project to explore ways to design and additively manufacture aircraft wings. The project, called Wing Design Methodology Validation (WINDY) is a joint industry-UK government investment project. With over 30,000 new aircraft expected to enter into service in the next 15 years, Airbus is looking to reduce its development time by leveraging 3D printing technology.

A team from Airbus’ global centre of excellence in Filton, Bristol will lead the project, while Renishaw will provide its expertise in metal additive manufacturing and precision measurement. According to the partners, integrating 3D printed components into the design can lead to lighter, more efficient wing structures. With the push towards more fuel-efficient aircraft, this project will help grow the UK’s global leadership in aircraft wing design.

“Aircraft wing design is a hugely complicated process and this project will look at ways we can increase the robustness of the design and test process while also reducing the time this takes,” said Airbus COO Tom Williams.

The WINDY project will explore aerodynamic modelling of wings, the potential for use of complex 3D-printed components in wing structures and the possibility of innovative loads control on aircraft for better efficiency in flight.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to work with Airbus and other project partners to develop processes that will fully test

Photo courtesy of Airbus.

the capabilities of additive manufacturing,” said Clive Martell, Renishaw’s Head of Global Additive Manufacturing. “If we can highlight the design and production benefits of this technology in one of the most demanding industry sectors, then it paves the way for greater adoption of AM for serialized production in many other applications.” www.renishaw.com www.airbus.com

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www.design-engineering.com 2016-09-22 9:11 AM

DesignNews 13 Ford employees drive innovation with new inventions Ford is reporting that employee inventions are reaching an all-time high. Through August of this year, more than 4,500 Ford employees submitted invention disclosures with nearly half being first-time inventors.

“The significant increase in first-time inventors is a result of our push to drive innovation in all parts of our business,” said Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president, product development, and Chief Technical Officer.

The innovations range from a prototype vehicle that collects condensation from vehicle air conditioners, then filters and pumps it inside the cabin; a passenger-centric, remote-controlled SYNC system that could give ride-sharing passengers control of the infotainment screen; and a transportable robotic device that can move people and objects short distances where cars aren’t accessible.

Doug Martin, a Ford powertrain controls engineer, was struck with an idea when he read about a billboard in Lima, Peru, that turned humidity into drinking water. Adapting the concept to a car, Martin worked with colleague John Rollinger to develop a system that collects, filters and pumps condensation from the vehicle to a faucet located inside the car. Martin tested the idea and proved that a car can produce more than 64 ounces of water per hour, which would mean fewer pit stops and convenience for drivers.

Ford’s Oleg Gusikhin, Omar Makke and Jeff Yeung teamed up for their latest invention that empowers passengers in a rider-sharing service. The trio developed a new software program – SYNC Remote Control – based on their experience working with Ford SYNC. With the support of Ford’s Perry MacNeille and Jack Van Hoecke, the project evolved into a remote function that allows passengers to remotely control SYNC features like radio and climate settings.

The Carr-E invention came through a company challenge to develop a device to help people handle city life and get around town inaccessible by vehicle. Kilian Vas, a Ford systems engineer in Cologne, Germany, met

the challenge by designing a four-wheeled electric pedestrian assistant called Carr-E. Carr-E not only carries passengers but can be used to transport heavy objects. Users place the object on the device and it will follow an electronic transmitter they keep in their possession, making it easy to navigate through a city where cars are unable to reach.

With all the new innovations, Ford says it is on pace to break last year’s record of more than 6,000 invention disclosures. www.ford.com

FAG Split Spherical Roller Bearings For Super-Fast Bearing Replacement in Those Hard-to-Reach Places

For more information info.ca@schaeffler.com www.schaeffler.ca

Photo courtesy of Ford. www.design-engineering.com October | 2016 Schaeffler_HalfPgIsland_SplitSRB.indd 1 DES_Schaeffler_Oct.indd 1

9/6/2016 1:58:05 PM 2016-09-21 2:04 PM

14

CADReport

INSIDE SOLID EDGE ST9 AND CATCHBOOK Latest release of Siemens PLM’s mid-range MCAD modeler tuned to suit SME customers.

By Ralph Grabowski

I

n the past, Siemens has treated Solid Edge like it was being offered to big corporations, as Siemens is itself. However, for the suite’s latest release, Solid Edge ST9, the theme that comes across is an MCAD program that’s kinder to small design firms.

October | 2016

Prior to ST9, for example, Siemens required that database functions be implemented through Microsoft’s SharePoint, something small businesses aren’t keen to implement, let alone pay extra for. Now, data can instead be managed from inside Solid Edge. Rather than linking to an external SQL (Structured Query Language) database, ST9 uses the indexing system www.design-engineering.com

CADReport 15

built into Windows. When we install ST9, it gives Windows the info it needs to search the metadata in Solid Edge files. Then, when we search for file names or drawing properties from inside Solid Edge, it returns suitable candidates.

The catch, of course, is that Windows Indexing gives us weaker data management than full blown SQL, but then many users may not be familiar with writing database queries and Windows Index is free. Similarly, Siemens made the revision manager more useful by adding release management.

It’s powerful enough to let us start a new assembly from an existing one, modify it and still be able to track the parts of both assemblies.

That’s not to say that TeamCenter is forgotten, should your firm be big enough to use PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) or need the ability to manage data from other MCAD systems. New to ST9 is a single ribbon tab that handles all TeamCenter functions, as well as multiple revisions of every component.

Working Inside Assemblies The “ST” in ST9 is short for Synchronous Technology, while the “9” means this is the ninth release of Solid Edge with the proprietary modeling technology. Ever since ST1, Solid Edge has offered two modeling modes: Ordered mode and Synchronous Technology mode. Ordered mode is like history mode in other MCAD systems, whereas Synchronous Technology is like direct modeling, coupled with ST’s ability to make intelligent guesses about what’s being modeled.

ST requires a different way of thinking, and I suspect uptake amongst the user base hasn’t been as great as Siemens hoped for. And so, ST9 makes it easier to use both modeling approaches through a new hybrid mode that displays the entire model as we work in synchronous mode.

In addition, ST9 offers new 3D modeling functions: Contour flanges are ones that are created along a path and, in ST9, we can use geometry from other components to draw the path.

Taking a path, we can now sweep a shape along it to remove material, just like a milling operation. Better yet, the removal can sweep across two or more bodies. (See Figure 2.) The same feature is available for fillets and chamfers, so we are no longer limited to filleting a single body at a time.

I wonder if Siemens will add more CNClike simulations in future releases.

Multiple faces can be replaced by a single surface. And lots of parts can be replaced by a single body for purposes like determining overall volumes, calculating sizes of machine blanks and specifying keep-out areas around machinery.

When an assembly has two or more shapes that are identical, like bolts, we can now assign different data to each one. It works the other way around, too: ST9 creates BOMs and balloons automatically from the unique data in otherwise identical parts.

The new Isolate function dims parts in assemblies we’re not interested in. This isn’t new to MCAD but is new to ST9.

Competitors aren’t forgotten. When we import models from Solidworks, ST9 reads the associativity between parts and

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16 CADReport

Figure 2: Any shape can be swept along a path to cut parts into multiple bodies.

drawings. Fonts are provided so that text from AutoCAD drawings is displayed correctly. And when we export to DWG files, Solid Edge maps entities between the two formats. Sending models to 3D printers is less likely to be a disaster now that ST9 shows us 3D print previews, and we get to specify the conversion tolerance for STL exports.

Embracing the Cloud, Gingerly Executives at Solid Edge have said they would never force the cloud on customers, reported to number 500,000 commercial users in 2014. This year, ST9 does embrace the cloud, but does so gingerly.

Solid Edge itself isn’t on the cloud, by which I mean an entire program running on a server hosted by Siemens. Instead, ST9 can be installed on any Windows computer we want. Then, we create an

account that stores our license info online so that we can move the license from machine to machine, such as from desktop computer to laptop. It costs no more than existing node-locked licenses, but works only with ST9.

Also stored on the cloud are our program preferences, which let us reconfigure ST9 instantly when we move to that other workstation. Preferences include working units, dimension settings and user interface elements. This is not unlike having an account with Google or Opera that stores our bookmarks and data for use on other computers.

A big plus of the move towards the cloud is ST9’s new support for online storages services: Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. This allows us to save our files online and then grant access to other computers and other users.

Figure 3: Catchbook’s minimal interface displayed by this demo drawing.

October | 2016

ST9 is smart enough to lock online files when someone else is using them, as well as index the contents of online folders.

There is also a new “pack and go” function that packages together the model file with all required support files into a single ZIP file or folder.

Solid Edge is, for the first time, available with a subscription license. In Canada, the price ranges from $120 per month to $600 per month, depending on the functions included. Siemens does not reveal the permanent license prices, but other CAD vendors price subscriptions at 1/3 the permanent price.

You can get demo versions of ST9 in two ways, after registering with Siemens.

One way is to download the install file and then run it free for 45 days. The other way is to not install it; by this I mean that you can run Solid Edge in a compatible Web browser (like Chrome) for up to 20 hours using the Frame streaming facility.

The New Catchbook App Siemens releasing a consumer-oriented app on Android, iOS, and Windows tablets is a bit of a surprise, especially as Catchbook isn’t just another AutoCAD 360 wanna-be for viewing or editing CAD drawings. Instead, Catchbook is meant to capture ideas on portable devices. The name comes from its ability to catch ideas as sketches in “books,” which are multipage drawing sets.

Catchbook records curves as we sketch with a finger (or stylus), either as freeform or as connected lines and arcs. Catchbook can apply geometric constraints automatically (such as forcing lines to be horizontal or arcs to be connected), as well as dimension them. The app uses D-Cubed technology that Siemens crunched down to fit the restricted memory space of tablets, so no Internet access is needed.

The Catchbook user interface is minimal and offers actions that are unique to tablets, such as erasing by running a finger jig-jag over a curve. We edit a curve by touching it, which displays a pop-up menu with editing options (see Figure 3) – or else we can edit it directly using pushpull interactions. When we take photos with tablet’s camera, we can then sketch www.design-engineering.com

CADReport 17 over the pictures, which are ghosted in the background.

Who is Catchbook meant for? I am terrible at sketching and, trained as an engineer, I stick to CAD for any kind of drawing. When I asked Siemens about the target market, they told me, “It is not necessarily a tool for designers, because they are experts in CAD and can do everything in CAD software. Catchbook resonates much better with people who can’t (or don’t want to) use CAD, but like to sketch their ideas.”

In its first release, Catchbook is oriented to the consumer market with consumer-like pricing. Irritatingly, however, the advanced features – parametrics and exports – are free for 30 days only after we give up our credit card number. Parametric drawing and dimensioning functions are CAD$5.49 a year, renewed automatically. Siemens asks us to cancel manually.

What about the connection to CAD? In this first release, I found the export process non-intuitive, as no button is visible. I needed to hold down my finger on a sketch (or a book) and then drag it to the “Share As” button that appeared. Only PNG is available as an export format, with the others shown as question marks. When I tapped one of the question marks, a dialog box told me to pay CAD$3.79 a year to export pages in DXF (to CAD systems), SVG (Web pages), or PDF (documents) formats; books are only exported as multi-page PDFs. Purchases are made through your account at the respective online store – Google Play, Apple Store or Microsoft Store.

I paid for the Android version, exported a page in DXF format to my Dropbox account and then opened the file in Solid Edge ST9 on my Windows 10 computer.

The file name is constructed from the date and time of the export. Being a DXF file, I can open it in other CAD programs as well. Entities are imported as lines and splines, arcs and circles, and associative dimensions. Fills and freeform sketches are not translated.

I asked Siemens about their future plans for Catchbook, but they were coy.

“We are focused on consumers so far, but ultimately we want to make a strong app for the [technical] industries we serve.

Consumers are a proving ground as they have high usability expectations, but we want to add good connections to NX, Solid Edge, Teamcenter and so on.”

Logical additions could include access to symbol (block) libraries, importing DXF or PDF files as underlays and free exporters for Solid Edge and NX. I expect additional advanced functions to cost

extra as Siemens has stated that they want the subscription income to pay for further development.

With this one product, Siemens is testing the consumer waters, repackaging their technology to small memory footprints and providing conceptual software for the pre-design phase.

DE www.solidedge.com

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18

AdditiveManufacturing

DOWN TO THE METAL Survey reveals tepid interest in metal 3D printing by Canadian aerospace industry.

By Mike McLeod

A

dditive manufacturing technology has traditionally been associated with polymer or resin-based parts, but metal 3D printing is quickly gaining steam. In fact, according to a report published industry research company IDTechEx in May, metal sintering and related 3D printing technologies are now considered the fastest growing segment of the industry, with printer sales growing at 48% and material sales growing at 32%.

The trend is expected to continue for the next five years.

That popularity, the report says, is due, in part, to its early uptake by the aerospace and medical device industries. For example, GE Aviation is investing $3.5 billion in its new “MultiModal” facility in Chakan, India with the goal of 3D printing 100,000 fuel nozzles there by 2020 for its next generation LEAP engine. To punctuate its enthusiasm for the technology, the industrial giant announced in September its intention to buy two of the top 3D metal printer companies, Arcam of Sweden and Germany’s SLM Solutions, for $1.4 billion.

Similarly, Airbus and Boeing are both progressively integrating 3D metal printing into their aircraft manufacturing process.

Airbus, for example, produced what it calls a ‘bionic’ partition using direct metal laser sintering technology for the A320 Airbus from a strong, lightweight alloy called scalmalloy. Reportedly, the company has expressed plans to 3D print (resin and metal-based) up to half of all components for its future airplanes.

Closer to home, Pratt & Whitney has incorporated 3D metal printed compressor stators and synch ring brackets in its PurePower PW1500G engines destined for Bombardier’s CSeries passenger aircraft.

While an important milestone for both industries, P&W’s pioneering use of AM metal parts may be unrepresentative of the aerospace industry in Canada, a recent study suggests. According to a survey conducted by business university HEC Montreal, in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), 3D metal printing has yet to establish a strong foothold among contract manufacturers and aerospace OEMs on the whole.

“There is a lack of interest among manufacturers to invest in AM due to the initial investment, which is too high and too risky, given the speed of evolution of AM technologies and the low demand from OEMs,” states the report (AM in the Aerospace Industry, The State of the Industry, May 2016).

The report is based on a survey of 107 Canadian industry participants working in more than 70 organizations from every segment of the supply chain, including OEM and tier 1 manuOctober | 2016

facturers, contract manufacturers, metal powder providers and academic institutions.

Beyond the technology’s high cost and rapid obsolescence, respondents also pointed to a lack of international standards/ certifications of AM material and processes; slow process throughput and adapting existing designs to 3D printing processes as chief among the challenges of adopting AM. However, the primary challenge expressed, especially by respondents with metal 3D printing experience, was the issue of post-processing requirements. Predominantly, respondents said that material choice (e.g. aluminum vs titanium) plus not designing to AM’s strengths can push post-processing expense to 50% of the overall cost of a part. In addition, Canada suffers from an incomplete additive manufacturing supply chain, the report explains.

“For example, most of the products manufactured through metal AM will require hot isostatic pressing (HIP) to increase their density (reduce the amount of air in the metal), but there are no commercial providers of HIP in Canada,” The report’s lead author, Gabriel Doré, writes. “In fact, there is only one commercially available provider of large HIP in northeast North America, and it is located in Boston. Any printed metal requiring this treatment will cross the Canada-U.S. border twice and pay customs fees twice.”

To help foster metal additive manufacturing in Canada, the report makes a number of recommendations, starting with an effort to improve general understanding of AM and design expertise in the technology. If manufacturers and OEMs aren’t aware of metal 3D printing’s capabilities and limitations, it argues, then they’ll be likely to miss opportunities and fall behind globally.

Taking advantage of metal AM will also require training engineers how to design parts that leverage AM’s strengths.

The report also recommends funding strategies to help reduce the financial and technological risks associated, potentially through tax credits and fostering collaborative R&D partnerships between industry and academia. Further, the authors advocate an industrywide effort to maximize material and process characterization.

Finally, the report recommends industrial partnerships between OEMs and contract manufacturers to help spread the risk and costs associated with metal AM processes. Partners would also share in the IP of a new part, and OEMs would commit to a set quantity order of the new AM product.

The full report, including all data and graphs in pdf format, is available from the Canada Makes website.

DE www.hec.ca www.canadamakes.ca

www.design-engineering.com

20 AdditiveManufacturing

October | 2016

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vidual subsystems work together, identify weaknesses in the design and make corrections earlier in the development cycle.

Using an interdisciplinary development platform enables designers to evaluate mechanical, electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic subsystem designs jointly, in a virtual prototype, long before any physical prototyping or testing is possible. And, the emergence of optimization tools that can integrate models and analyses from many different sources now allows designers to yield optimal design parameters much faster and with greater rigor than was possible before. Finally, the ability to capture knowledge from the design of components and store these in a virtual object library enables designers to reuse this knowledge in other projects.

This process, called Model-Driven Innovation, is the ability to integrate functional models of components, subsystems and complete products in a readily reusable manner that allows companies to accelerate the development of complex engineered products while reducing project risk and costs.

The Model-Driven Innovation process helps product development in several ways through How virtual prototyping and dynamic load analysis can help the use of virtual prototypes within the design reduce machine design costs and get to market faster. process. During the initial, conceptual stage,

By Paul Goossens engineers can gain early insight into how the proposed design will fulfill the requirements for the system, or any engineering organizations face major challenges when the subsystem, they are working on. By building a functional designing and delivering new products that are dynamic model that captures the dynamic behavior of the system, a lot of in nature. One of the most significant of these is the discovery of design decisions can be made based on investigations into how key, often basic, design issues very late in the development cycle, the system will respond to various “what-if ” scenarios, thereby introducing unbudgeted costs and delays into the project. These increasing confidence that the design is valid. delays often cause projects to overrun significantly, especially As the design evolves – and this is invariably an iterative process when the design issues are discovered during the prototyping or as more information is acquired – it is easy to incorporate any integration stages where real hardware is involved. changes into the functional model to assess how they affect the Even worse is when the problems are discovered after a system complete system. Addressing any issues that come out of these has been commissioned and installed. Such unforeseen weakness studies will ensure they won’t become costly problems later on. can result in expensive on-site service calls, loss of production MapleSim is an example of a tool that supports Model Driven and unhappy customers, leading to extremely expensive projects Innovation. Part of the Maplesoft Engineering Solutions suite that hurt the company’s bottom line. of products and engineering services, MapleSim is a system-level Many of these issues come about because there are several modeling and simulation tool that combines physical modeling design groups involved in the process of designing a complex with advanced symbolic computation techniques. MapleSim system, each focused on the development of one subsystem, using can be used to validate the functional behavior of complex dedicated tools and methods to determine if their design will dynamic systems. In addition, the MapleSim model provides a comply with the specifications for that subsystem. However, often fully parametric definition of that behavior through the symit is only when all the subsystems are integrated during prototyp- bolically generated equations of motion. ing, or even final assembly, that serious problems arise.

These can be brought into the mathematical software, Maple, This is why many engineering organizations are turning to for analysis, including parametric studies, sensitivity analysis and the use of system-level modeling to develop “virtual” prototypes optimization. The results can then be used to validate and even of their systems. Virtual prototyping holds the promise of man- make improvements to the design. In addition, companies can aging these challenges by integrating all the design information build analysis and calculation tools in Maple that are based on the – such as requirements, functional specifications, costs, etc. – in MapleSim model, which can be used by other members of the reusable objects, representing individual components, sub-systems organization to address specific needs. Such tools provide services and, ultimately, the complete system. With a model of the complete that range from simple calculations to advanced analysis such as system in one environment, engineers can see how all the indi- vibration attenuation and eigenvalue studies for stability analysis.

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Using MapleSim, Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team created this servo-actuator sizing tool for a complex manufacturing machine.

One area where the Model Driven Innovation approach brings great value is in the analysis of dynamic loads. In machines that have complex mechanisms, it can be a challenge to determine the transient loads caused by the changing inertias of the mechanism. Getting a handle on these loads helps to avoid overloading the actuators and reduces costs when choosing components for your design.

For example, the Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team recently helped a client who was having problems with actuators over-heating in a complex manufacturing machine. Through the use of MapleSim and Maple, it was possible to show that the transient loads due to the inertia of the mechanism exceeded the safe limits of the motor. This could only be done through a dynamic analysis of the mechanism and was missed because the clients’ designers could only perform steady-state loading analyses with the tools they had.

Once the problem was identified, it was possible to develop a mathematical tool to define a speed profile that would slow the mechanism during the peak inertial loads, thus reducing the load on the motor to within safe limits. In this way, instead of a costly refit of a larger motor in the machine, the client was able to address the problem with a simple change to the controller. They have since employed these techniques in the design of a new machine, which has led to 100% reliability and zero costs in on-site repairs. The Model-Driven Innovation approach, and its emphasis on employing virtual prototyping at the system-level, is an invaluable technique when designing complex, dynamic machines.

By using tools such as MapleSim, engineers can detect, and correct, problems that arise due to the interactions between different subsystems, long before the system integration and physical prototyping stages. Early detection means problems can be fixed at considerably less cost and project delays avoided.

In addition, with access to the underlying mathematics, systems can be analyzed, and designs validated and improved during the development process. By employing this approach, machine design companies can reduce development risks, develop better products and get to market faster.

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MESHLESS FEA What if you could run a full-assembly stress analysis without the painstaking preparation? Canadian startup, SIMSOLID says, no problem.

By Michael McLeod

U

sed correctly, finite element analysis (FEA) software is a powerful tool to reliably predict how real-world forces will effect the behavior of parts and assemblies under a load. Its promise is the ability to test multiple “what if” design iterations to arrive at an optimized model that performs up to spec but with a minimum of material.

The problem is relatively few design engineers know how to use FEA effectively. That’s not a criticism. Instead, it speaks to the inherent complexity of the process. Setting up a single simplified part, constraining one region while loading another, is fairly obvious but then so are the results. Certainly nothing an experienced mechanical engineer wouldn’t have known intuitively.

Change that hypothetical to a part with complex geometry, load cases and/or boundary conditions – let alone an assembly with welds, bolts or other tricky connections – and the probability of user error goes up exponentially, as does the set up and processing time. As a result, FEA is rarely used as a design tool.

If employed at all, it typically serves to validate a design after it’s entered the final stage before production.

Over the past five to 10 years, engineering software companies have attempted to simplify the process in hopes of popularizing FEA (and hopefully thereby inject some energy into the mature CAD business). Most of those efforts, however, have revolved around streamlining the interface: auto-meshers, model prep wizards and the like. Under the hood though, the funda-

Using SIMSOLID Power edition’s Inertia Relief function, users can analyze a structure that is not constrained and can move as a rigid body, such as this airplane wing.

October | 2016

mentals of FEA haven’t changed much since the software was first developed 60 years ago.

To bring FEA within reach of design engineers, Canadian start-up SIMSOLID Corporation says it has found a way around the frustration and high learning curve associated with traditional FEA. Co-founded by CAE industry veterans, Ken Welch and Victor Apanovitch, the Mississauga-based company says its unique approach to structural, modal and thermal analysis eliminates the need for model simplification and mesh creation.

Instead, users can import CAD geometry as is; set loads, material properties and boundary conditions; and receive accurate results, often within minutes, no matter how geometrically complex the part or assembly analyzed.

“It’s a problem I’ve chased throughout my career,” says Welch, who began as an aerospace engineer for the space shuttle program before moving to the software side with FEA companies including PDA Engineering (PATRAN), Rasna (Mechanica), Moldflow and MSC Software. “If you want to democratize CAE, you have to deal with the geometry problem. No matter how well an FEA system is packaged, users still have to simplify the full CAD model’s geometry, remove all the fillets, rounds and holes, and then they have to know how to mesh it. With SIMSOLID, you can analyze the geometry directly. You don’t have to simplify it and there is no mesh.”

While meshless FEA might sound like witchcraft to an ordained analyst who has been grappling with tet and hex meshes for decades, Welsh says the results are often more accurate and certainly easier to obtain; users don’t have to make value judgements as to what to remove from the CAD model or how refined a mesh needs to be in “areas of interest.” More importantly, SIMSOLID users aren’t limited to just analyzing parts.

“The dirty secret of analysis is when you start to talk about assemblies,” Welch says. “FEA was developed to handle parts.

When you move to assemblies, you have to build the contacts with exact geometry, such that face 1 exactly meets face 2. That’s often not the case. It may look like they meet but, mathematically, there may be a penetration or a gap between the faces. In traditional FEA, this geometry has to be cleaned up but it’s sometimes hard to find, even with the direct modelers. For us, we can handle ‘dirty geometry,’ by which, I mean these inexact connections.”

Ditching the Mesh To better understand how SIMSOLID works, it’s helpful to contrast it to traditional FEA. A practical application of the Finite Element Method, the FEA process, at its most basic, breaks down the partial differential equations that describe the physics governing complex objects into mathematically digestible bits, or finite elements, that can be solved numerically. The solution www.design-engineering.com

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In addition to increasing iteration number, users can fine tune SIMSOLID’s accuracy using the Adapt to Features option that applies more aggressive adaptivity for steep stress gradient areas in local feature areas.

Additionally, the Adapt to Stress Concentration option uses higher-level functions for stress concentrations in vicinity of cylindrical holes.

to those manageable algebraic equations can then be melded together to provide an approximate solution to the original, unwieldy problem.

In the context of a part or assembly model, FEA software redefines CAD geometry as a mesh of uniform 3D shapes – a process called “discretization” in FEA lingo. Commonly tetrahedrals or hexahedral bricks, these finite element shapes are each defined by nodes, vertex-like points that connect each building block element to its neighbors. When a load is applied, in the context of the mesh’s boundary conditions and material properties, the FEA software’s solver calculates the extent to which each finite element node would be displaced.

Depending on the element type, a node’s displacement is constrained by its degree of freedom (DOF) – in terms of a node’s translation in the x/y/z planes and/or rotation about its axis. Depending on the extent to which the mesh’s individual nodes are displaced, the FEA system’s post-processor can then interpolate stress and strain and display it visually, commonly as a colorful von Mises diagram.

“In SIMSOLID, the differential equations and variational

October | 2016 pamensky design Engineering janfeb2016.indd 1

principals are the same as in traditional FEA,” explains Apanovitch, whose mathematical methods, developed while a professor at Minsk University in Belarus, inform the inner workings of SIMSOLID. “They both have the same symmetrical, positively defined matrices and the same linear algebraic solvers.”

“However, the process of discretization is where the difference starts,” he continues. “SIMSOLID doesn’t break the system into finite elements. Instead, it discretizes the original geometry in a more abstract mathematical way.”

SIMSOLID’s abstract method begins with the import of the original CAD assembly or part model – complete with holes, rounds and other thorny features – which SIMSOLID then automatically splits into arbitrary sub-volumes. Unlike mesh elements, these sub-volumes aren’t required to be uniform in size or shape. They also aren’t defined by nodes, which releases the DOF from being restricted to merely points in space, Apanovitch says.

“Because we don’t have nodes, SIMSOLID’s degrees of freedom aren’t physical and they are not point-wise, like a node” Apanovitch says. “In FEA, geometrical support of a DOF is always a node. In SIMSOLID, it can be a volume, a point-cloud, a line cloud and a mixture of everything.”

It’s this redefinition of the basic ideas of degrees of freedom, Apanovitch says, that forms the crux of SIMSOLID’s innovative approach. By breaking traditional FEA’s dependence on pointwise nodes, SIMSOLID can dispense with the mesh those nodes define. The benefit is that any part or assembly CAD model can be analyzed as is, without a lengthy and time-consuming simplification and meshing stage.

“Geometrically, this is a huge benefit,” he adds. “If you take real world designs, they have so many features and issues that often make FEA infeasible because a mesh cannot be created, even by an automesher. Often, users contact us when they create parts or assemblies they simply cannot mesh.”

Accuracy Of course, any analysis method, no matter how innovative or intuitive, is worthless without reliable accuracy. Here again, SIMSOLID diverges from the standard method to provide a less

www.design-engineering.com 2015-12-07 1:40 PM

CoverStory

29

error-prone result.

Traditional FEA uses one of two methods to determine the accuracy of an analysis.

With the older and more common approach, h-method, the more elements used to define the model (i.e. the more refined the mesh) the more accurate the results. Refining the entire model is computationally expensive, so analysts use a greater number of smaller elements in regions of the model (areas of interest) where stress will most likely occur. In the second approach, p-method, element size doesn’t change. Instead, the order of the polynomials (i.e. complexity of the shape functions) used is increased.

SIMSOLID projects can contain multiple design studies, one of which With either method, multiple adaptive analyses are run until acts as the baseline. Importing modifications to a part or assembly the results from using progressively higher density meshes (or creates new comparative studies, to which existing baseline material higher order polynomials) begin to converge on the same solu- property, connection and analysis definition data are applied. tion, at least within a predetermined percentage. Most FEA packages incorporate h-method, but only one historically, Pro/ Mechanica, has relied on p-method.

In contrast, SIMSOLID incorporates analogous procedures for both refinement methods. For example, the software can increase the geometrical density in an area of interest by adding more geometrical supports.

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“So, in SIMSOLID, I could add more regions or denser point cloud, or denser point line, which is like the h-version of FEA,” Apanovitch explains. “But, as I mentioned before, the moment you are free to add any function to your approximation space, you can invent whatever you want.

Right now, we use five different classes of functions. In FEA, you have only very primitive interpolation polynomials.”

This, he says, allows SIMSOLID to also incorporate p-method, in that the order of functions associated with a fixed set of geometrical supports can be increased. In essence, instead of adding more DOF supAWARDS NOMINATIONS CLOSE ports, the functions associated with them DECEMBER 31, 2016 become progressively more accurate with each analysis iteration. www.oacett.org/About-Us/Provincial-Awards The end result, Apanovitch says, is that The Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists adaptivity, for both h- and p-method, is baked into SIMSOLID’s solution as an

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30 CoverStory automatic procedure. The application itself sorts out how and where to increase the complexity of the model so as to reach convergence quickly and reliably without user input. That reliability holds true even for multi-part assemblies, which can introduce imprecise geometry and connection points that are hard to mesh compatibly.

“SIMSOLID solved this by overcoming the fundamental problem of fuzzy boundaries because, as a technology, it doesn’t require the definition of a well defined boundary that before

were required in CAD and FEA,” Apanovitch says. “And because we don’t have meshes, all these issues of assembly compatibility are gone. Second, because we can define DOFs on fuzzy boundaries, all this issue with bad contacts, which is a killer for FEA, is no problem for us. More over, we can handle big gaps and big penetrations. Take for instance a bolt. Because they have threads, they’re always designed as an overlap. We can handle all this perfectly, which is a huge benefit.”

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Business Model While SIMSOLID’s evolutionary leap forward for FEA has been in the works for more than 20 years, the company and its product are still relatively young. When it officially launched in early January 2016, the locally-installed software worked primarily with Jon Hirschtick and company’s latest online CAD venture, Onshape. Users access their Onshape parts and assemblies online where they can export a lightweight SIMSOLID file and import it into SIMSOLID locally for analysis.

In May 2016, the company announced a new SolidWorks plug-in that lets users launch and import models (including assembly tree, part names, material properties, etc) from within the SolidWorks’ interface via a shared memory pipe.

Weighing in at a scant 26 MB download, the SIMSOLID app (as Welch calls it) operates on a subscription model. Following a free-trial period, the standard version costs US$1,500 per year or US$200 per month.

Windows-only, 64-bit SIMSOLID Standard performs linear statics, modal and thermal analysis on assemblies up to 150 parts using standard boundary conditions.

The SIMSOLID Power version (US$2,500 per year, or $500 monthly) allows for unlimited-part assemblies and parallel processing threads. In addition, it adds geometric nonlinear static analysis plus advanced boundary conditions such as hydrostatic and inertia load types. It also recognizes additional connection types including spot and laser welded connections.

“SIMSOLID’s message is really simple: Get rid of the meshing and work on the CAD geometry directly,” Welch says.

“That’s the big difference vs everybody else.

We think of FEA democratization as really three things: It’s got to be simple, it’s got to be fast and it’s got to be accessible. That’s been our mantra from the beginning.” DE www.simsolid.com

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MotionControl GM Toledo’s new production line producing front wheel drive, six-speed transmissions for vehicles such as the Chevy Malibu and new Cruze models features a modular and flexible system built around Siemens technology.

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE — LITERALLY GM realizes “weeks to hours” reduction in line change and transmission build dynamics at Toledo Powertrain.

T

he tried and true saying, “thinking outside of the box” usually refers to a pattern of thought or action that results in rapid innovation, enhanced relationships being developed from established concepts as well as new ones, plus a genuine willingness to forego past practices in favor of a better way.

For General Motors Powertrain in Toledo, Ohio, however, that saying refers to the facility’s new GF6 six-speed, front wheel transmission line for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles such as the popular Chevy Malibu and new Chevy Cruze. Nothing new about such an event, until a closer look reveals how it came about.

Several years ago, during the development of this line, GM engineering contacted its longtime controls suppliers to investigate ways to reduce the workflow through the line, enable faster changeover, reduce reprogramming and prevent situations where one out-of-spec machine caused complete shutdown. Another key driver was the need to minimize maintenance time by installing PLCs, drives and component pallet recognition devices outside the conventional cabinetry found on traditional assembly lines.

In addition, controllers were distributed throughout the system, which allowed for removal of typical zone controllers and, in turn, substantially increased system flexibility.

Following considerable investigation into the process for the new line, the major obstacle remained changeover and the need for a more flexible yet highly automated system of transmission builds. In consultation with the controls provider, Siemens Automotive Center of Competence and third party software package provider, Elite Engineering, undertook a deterministic study, which resulted in the line now in production.

Siemens provided the PLC, CNC, HMI, RFID and its highlevel Ethernet protocol, Profinet, to run on the GM network.

Overlaying this hardware and communications topology, Elite Engineering delivered its Flexible Assembly Configuration System (FACS), complemented by Siemens to create its SIFACS solution, wherein all the control elements for every assembly operation and test stations would be fully integrated. SIFACS largely focuses on the integration of the core PLC software blocks and functionalities of the individual stations with the RFID tags on each of the workpiece pallets.

October | 2016

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH Within any flexible automated assembly system, the keyword is flexible. By creating a decentralized control network that was nonetheless in complete harmony with the overall workflow of the plant, GM and Siemens devised the optimum modular yet flexible architecture for the entire system. This integrated automation approach not only addressed multiple families of hardware involved, it also coordinated all code development, safety and communications functions into an interdependent yet highly flexible and adaptive control scheme.

Siemens CNC and HMI technology combine with its Profinet high-level Ethernet communications and RFID pallet tags to execute the machining, assembly and testing at this transmission plant, currently targeting an output of 2200 units/day.

This integration is nowhere more visible than in the modular and open controller and I/O rack assemblies located throughout the facility. A Siemens Simatic S7 CPU, the Siemens Safety Integrated drives platform and all I/O, including RF antennas for RFID tag reading, are configured and reside here. Diagnostics in the system are similarly integrated, according to Matthew Thornton and Jeremy Bryant, who consulted from Siemens.

“As our starting point, we devised pre-made templates and blocks important to the powertrain build process,” said Thornton, who further noted the importance of placing the critical performance data on all the HMI panels in the system for easy operator access. “With all motion and safety functions integrated into the drives, there was no need to build a separate troubleshooting architecture for what would be a more traditional safety network of relay cabinetry.” www.design-engineering.com

MotionControl “Only a few components talk on the Profibus system,” Bryant added. “All other I/O and automation components communicate over Profinet.”

Reinhold Niesing of the Siemens Automotive Center of Competence further explained the contact process between his group and the provider of the FACS. “They provided the configuration and monitoring system, while we [Siemens] provided the automation run-time system. Both systems needed to run in sync to provide GM with configurable options, when changes in production or manufacturing enhancements were needed.”

The result of this collaboration, coordinated under the Siemens Transline solution, was the Transline HMI Lite CE package, in which all operational, visualization and diagnostic functions are streamlined in a consistent control scheme. This package provides a uniform user interface for operational and diagnostic functions on the majority of the various machine tools, transfer lines, robotics, assembly machines, sensing devices and vision systems throughout the facility.

RFID GETS THINGS STARTED As a workpiece proceeds through the line, each pallet is equipped with an RFID tag. “The key here is the data throughput in the system, as it directly impacts the cycle time or ‘takt time’ (maximum allowable time to produce one finished part or product) of the line,” explained Niesing, engineering manager

on the project for Siemens.

“The tags must be able to function in static mode, whereby the data on the part must be read before the process begins. Model number, serial number and build status information are all contained in the tag. The faster we read the information, the faster the process begins.”

Niesing also detailed the dynamic mode of operation for this RFID system, in which the information at subsequent line stations must Each RFID tag carries all the be read “on the fly” without information needed to produce the any line stoppage. In this case, part at each of the machining and all data are read as the tag assembly stations in the line. passes by the antenna.

Often, in less sophisticated applications, the signal can degrade over time and number of reads. For the new GM line, however, two interface protocols are supported, namely the open standard ISO 15693 and a proprietary Siemens-developed standard, Simatic RF300. The latter uses a state-of-the-art chip paired

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MotionControl with highly optimized communications to achieve the faster data read/write rates. Relatively large amounts of data (64kB) are handled in faster cycle times, while the overall RFID solution is applied in a high-speed, non-stop environment. One of the key drivers in the system is the fact that each RFID tag has both EEPROM and FRAM. The 20-byte EEPROM is designed to be a one-time programmable memory chip (OTP), a security feature that was deemed most desirable by GM for this application.

Meanwhile, the FRAM can be written and rewritten many times for optimum utilization of the hardware, over time.

LOGIC BLOCKS ALL AROUND The overall thrust of the line development, according to George Jewell, the GM engineer responsible for the implementation of the FACS online at the Toledo plant, was to have consistent, even identical logic blocks at every station. This would allow, as is seminal to the FACS architecture, immediate successive modifications to be made in the machine or assembly operations performed, throughout all stages of the line. When rebalancing was needed, an upturn/downturn in current production was required or an entirely new model came onto the line, the changeover needed to happen in hours, rather than in weeks, as was the industry norm.

By standardizing on the hardware, software and communication protocols used, engineering costs could be contained. As a collateral but vital side effect, maintenance on the system could be made more efficient with much of the system hardware exposed on the line, rather than enclosed in electrical cabinets.

Flexible modules would allow more rapid reconfiguration and product changes, as the new GF6 transmission ramped up to incremental target levels of production.

Jewell noted that Siemens responded to the challenges, “…with a plug-and-play technology approach, coupled with an understanding of the processes we utilize.” From the utility perspective, he also noted that the run-time component in the system would function without the full configuration system being online, further complementing a decentralized architecture.

“The Siemens commitment to provide this value added functionality geared towards flexibility within our manufacturing principles has substantially supported GM Powertrain’s efforts to standardize processes, controls and continuously improve,” commented Bob Raven, GM controls manager.

Currently, GM uses the FACS at various plants in Mexico, China, India, Thailand, Korea and the U.S. FACS will soon be used in Canada and Eastern Europe, for the production of transmissions, engines and even the generator on the new Chevy Volt. These products, it should be noted, can be manufactured, assembled and tested, all within the same flexible control architecture, while supporting standardized GM processes.

Rather than textbook product life cycle management, Jewell sees FACS as more of a production line life cycle management tool, as its inherent adaptability means common hardware can be made to do diverse tasks, at varying rates, with on-the-fly changeover, in far less time than previously possible.

Safety features are numerous within the facility, resulting in October | 2016

This Wera Profilator gear profiler, run by Siemens high-end Sinumerik 840D CNC machine, is used for fully automated production of ring gears.

a complete failsafe system across all Siemens Simatic PLC, I/O devices and safety-integrated drives. All safety devices are networked over Profisafe protocol, a certified safety network, eliminating time-consuming and difficult to maintain traditional hardwired safety connections. All safe I/O, failsafe drives are part of the Siemens Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) protocol. Since it is fully integrated, this protocol provides comprehensive system diagnostics, which can help guide maintenance staff to exact fault location and mitigate downtime.

Since the drives, starters and machine safety are integrated into the multi-functional machine mount I/O system, Simatic ET 200pro, the overall engineering complexity is reduced because of simplicity in panel design, wiring architecture and seamless integration to the project level hardware configuration, which is reduced due to the totally integrated automation design. For service requirements in the event of a fault, hot swapping of an I/O module is possible during operation, without switching off the entire station. There is nonetheless a very high degree of integral protection, to IP65/67 standards. The fact that an enclosure is not required also helped save on the total cost of the project for GM. Between the two lines, GM Toledo has invested $872 million on its six-speed, rear- and front-wheel drive transmission production at this 2 million square-foot facility, which currently employs 1400 employees, most members of UAW Local 14.

The highly fuel-efficient rear-wheel drive Hydra-matic 6L80 transmission is now joined by the GF6 front-wheel drive, sixspeed units being produced on this new line under the FACS control solution that supports flexible manufacturing while driving standard processes.

“From our first installation in Ramos Arizpe (Mexico) to this Toledo plant, we’ve seen great results, with activities that took months reduced to weeks and what took weeks reduced to hours,” said George Jewell, the GM engineer who spearheaded the implementation of FACS. “There’s less ramp-up time, plus the changeover and line balancing upsides are already proving this was a beneficial investment.”

DE www.siemens.com

This article was supplied by Siemens www.design-engineering.com

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36 InsideDesign

FINDING THE

HAPPY PATH Ottawa-based Design 1st’s multi-disciplinary team takes on any design challenge.

By Lindsay Luminoso

I

n the mid-1990s, Kevin Bailey had a Canadian design engineer’s ideal job.

Managing a diverse team of more than 100 product developers at Nortel Networks, one of Canada’s largest and most cutting-edge corporations at the time, he and his team oversaw a $13 million annual budget dedicated to creating the next generation in telecommunications devices. Day to day, Bailey was responsible for anything from exploring new product ideas, developing prototypes to integrating new product into the global manufacturing divisions at Nortel.

In 1996, however, he made the oftenharrowing decision to leave the relative security of corporate culture to start his own company, Ottawa-based product design firm Design 1st. In many ways, it would be a stark departure, yet his experience at Nortel helped lay the foundation of the new firm. Looking back over the past 20 years, Bailey says he has integrated a lot of the successful elements from his Nortel days into his own company.

“Now we sit here in 2016, I have a 28-person creative team that goes endto-end, including business strategy, industrial design, interface design, detailed mechanical and electronics engineering,” explains the Design 1st president. “And with our embedded software team, we can move quickly to solutions across many markets.”

Over the past two decades, Design 1st October | 2016 DES_IndustrialEncoder_Oct.indd 1

has built its reputation developing physical products that need custom electronics, coupled with that “wow factor” needed to compete with large U.S. design and engineering firms. Today, the company primarily focuses on developing connected devices, in line with the growing trend toward the Internet of Things (IoT) and connectivity. Bailey says his team has the capability to compete and can take on approximately 70 product development projects each year.

“Connected products are much harder to design than just hardware products,” explains Bailey. “If you design an IoT connected product…it isn’t just the physical device you need to worry about. It’s the wireless infrastructure that gets the information up to the cloud, the application software and any next level services. It’s a whole rollout of useful and interdependent applications and services to users, which includes the hardware devices, that makes this much more challenging.”

It is for this reason that Bailey has developed the company to have a wide range of capabilities under one roof, making projects much easier to manage and faster to deliver.

In addition, the company works with cloud software design partner, Macadamian Technologies, which does the application layer and cloud interactions.

“It’s called the happy path,” says Bailey, who explains that the phrase in product design refers to a development process in which everything works as planned. “The product is tested early, the business case www.design-engineering.com

2016-09-21 1:57 PM

InsideDesign and manufacturing strategy are bang on and newly assigned activities.” the time to market is met. However, the realBailey, on the other hand, likes to be ity path in product design is that you spend involved in almost every project. On any given a lot of time with all the exception conditions day, he could work on strategic elements of 10 to figure out why a product is not working different projects. This is part of the reason as planned and the problems show up on Design 1st is focused on “fast collaboration” many fronts if you have not been down the with clients. For the most part, many custompath before.” ers have never visited the Ottawa-based headDesign 1st helped Fantasy Scoreboards To maximize the happy path, Design 1st Inc. develop an IoT NHL scoreboard. quarters. Instead, the company has developed has built a diverse team with many specialtools to allow them to work remotely and colties. For example, the company has an internal group that deals laborate with clients and suppliers all over the world. It’s as easy only with a manufacturing strategy and set-up. The company’s as clicking on an icon on Design 1st’s homepage, which brings quality management system (QMS) builds the necessary FDA users to a two-way secure “digital whiteboard”. documents for product development. Bailey notes that this all “It works two-ways, but it allows us to do really quick interneeds to be done while the design team is designing without action with customers daily,” explains Bailey. “The most impordistracting them too much. tant thing here is to be able to convey things to customers - draw For the most part, every member of the team deals with two ideas, make decisions together…It works anywhere and our to three projects at once. For Bailey, this is the best way to bal- clients don’t have to know the tools.” ance things, as project needs go up and down throughout each Design 1st has created over 500 unique products for a variety client’s development process. of different companies in a wide range of industries including “We load balance and move projects around while having a wearable technology, medical equipment, robotics/mechatronvery tight team,” he explains. “We are in a co-located area so ics, commercial and consumer products. Recently, the firm we can shift people to work on different things depending on worked with co-founders, Will Nault and Tyler Richards, of the demand on every given project. As most staff is aware of Fantasy Scoreboards Inc., an Edmonton-based company to open projects, it takes very little time to come up to speed on develop an IoT at-home NHL scoreboard.

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InsideDesign “Two inventors from Edmonton came to us after trying to [develop the product] themselves,” says Allan Kerr, VP Analytics for Design 1st. “Their costs were overrun so they came to Design 1st and we helped them piece the project together.”

Nault and Richards already had a working prototype. However, Design 1st quickly realized they needed to start from scratch as the prototype’s physical design, selected materials and volume manufacturing features meant that it could never meet the market price point Fantasy Scoreboards had identified.

Design 1st had only five months to engineer a completely redesigned scoreboard that was ready to ship to market. The company ensured the new design was in line with market targets, future-proofed the product firmware coding with the cloud managed control, and managed hardware costs. “[The Fantasy Scoreboard] sits in your house with a corresponding app that feeds in all the NHL game data,” explains Kerr. “The user is able to select which games to show up on the scoreboard.”

Prototyping and production development were done simultaneously, enabling Fantasy Scoreboards to progress from design to a market-ready product that was able to be shipped out to customers.

For now, Design 1st is designing a wide range of products for its clients including the next-generation of desk telephones, a project for which Bailey’s Nortel knowledge will come in handy. The company is also developing a next-generation umbrella, stairs to help paraplegics on and off Learjets, fuel cells, internet-connected pump controllers, a relaxation bracelet and the next-gen flip chart.

Bailey notes that the medical market has become more and more of a focus for the company. The more technical or complex a product development is, the better this team fits. They are currently working on a concussion assessment device and a connected body thermometer.

“There are a lot more medically-focused products, especially with the aging population,” he adds, “In Canada, we are way down in medical device development than say Conductix-Wampfler’s mission: To keep your operations running 24/7/365 with the U.S. or abroad. We are a much smaller rugged, reliable energy and data transmission systems. Our conductor bar, cable fraction in new product development than reels, festoon systems and crane controls are time-tested in the most demanding our percentage of population.”

Currently, 90% of Design 1st clients are environments and backed by a worldwide sales and service network unmatched North American based. Of those, almost in our industry. We have over 60 years of experience applying our complete half are Canadian and 10% are Ottawa line of mobile electrification and ergonomic products to real-world industrial based. The remaining 10% are global cliapplications. ents who cannot get the services Design 1st offers in their local markets.

If you need solid solutions, look no further than Conductix-Wampfler.

“Growing the company to upwards of Now serving you from our new, modern distribution facility in Mirabel, Quebec 500 people sits out there as a possibility and opportunity,” Bailey says. “It takes advantage of all of these talented students that are coming out of the core business, industrial design and engineering schools and giving them a place to go that is product development oriented in Canada.

Product development is really fun and CANADA 18450 J.A. Bombardier exciting. Just ask anyone who works Mirabel, QC J7J 0H5 here.”

DE

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www.design-engineering.com 12/30/2014 10:31:14 2015-01-21 9:39 AM AM 2016-01-25 11:21 AM

IdeaGenerator 39 Fluid Power Pneumatic Drive Aventics unveiled its RTC-TD line of rodless pneumatic drives, which offer adjustment of the closing speed, pneumatic cushioning and safe exhaust in railway brake systems. The system includes a cartridge solution for the valves into the end covers of the rodless cylinder. With the exception of the open/close control, all pneumatic functions are integrated via the valves. A two-stage throttle with fixed throttle cross-sections brakes the movement without electronics and mechanical wear parts. Doors equipped with RTC-TD can be opened manually in case of emergency. In case of power loss and actuation of the emergency opening valve, the exhaust valve opens automatically and the pressure inside the rodless cylinder drops to the level of the ambient atmosphere. www.aventics.com

Pressure Maintenance Valves SCHUNK released its SDV-P-E pressure maintenance valve, which allows for both air channels to be equipped with integrated quick ventilation. For setting up the system again using pressure maintenance valves, the modules – which are fixed in a defined end position – can be manually activated without having to remove the pressurized pneumatic hoses. The SDV-P-E is equipped with standard threaded connectors and can be combined with many different pneumatic actuators. The stainless steel modules are available in three sizes for flow rates of 200 l/min up to 600 l/min. They ensure a maximum pressure drop of 0.1 bar per hour (at a defined reference volume and constant temperature) and cover a pressure range from 2 to 10 bar.

The switching time is about 10 ms. www.ca.schunk.com

Solenoid Valves Festo announced its VUVS heavy-duty solenoid valves, available with electrical or pneumatic activation and with AC or DC voltage. Users can switch voltages by simply swapping the valve coils. The rotatable coil allows the operating voltage to be adjusted for mounting in tight spaces. The valves come in three sizes with G or NPT threads: A 20mm width, with a 1/8-inch connection and a 700 litre flow rate; a 25mm width with a ¼-inch connection and a flow rate of 1,400 litres; and a 30mm width with a 3/8-inch connection and flow rate of 2,000 litres. www.festo.com

Vision Systems GigE Cameras Teledyne DALSA has added four high resolution models to its Genie Nano GigE Vision camera series. Powered by Sony Pregius’ IMX 255 and IMX 253 LL and LQ image sensors, the 9 (4KHD) and 12 Megapixel monochrome and color cameras deliver both speed and high quality imaging. These four models (M4060, M4040, C4060 and C4040) were developed for industrial imaging applications, including intelligent traffic systems, printed circuit board inspection and metrology. The Genie Nano models feature a global shutter and a 3.45µm pixel. The new models include Trigger to Image Reliability framework, which controls and monitors the entire process from trigger through image capture and transfer to host memory and helps protect against data loss. www.teledynedalsa.com www.design-engineering.com October | 2016 DPN_SPIROL_GHDowels_o_October_2016.indd 1

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IdeaGenerator Acquisition and Control Software Nikon Metrology introduced Inspect-X 5.1, the latest release of its acquisition and control software for Nikon’s range of X-ray and CT systems. With 5.1, Inspect-X now features X.Tend, a CT acquisition method that scans taller samples with improved image quality by moving the sample through the X-ray cone-beam as the sample rotates. Nikon Metrology also introduced new reconstruction workstations with completely new architecture, redesigned to exceed the performance requirements of modern X-ray CT. Five configurations of workstations deliver the latest computing technologies within customers’ budget and requirements, while maintaining reconstruction speeds. www.nikonmetrology.com

Sensors IO-Link Master Rockwell Automation introduced its ArmorBlock IO-Link master, which offers sensor diagnostics in harsh operating environments.

The new IO-Link master stores up to 40 timestamps of sensor events on each channel. This event history can help users track changes and more easily diagnose issues. Input timestamps of all sensor data also can be sent to the controller upon a change of

state. These and other diagnostics available through the device can reduce issue-resolution time by as much as 90 percent, improve preventive maintenance and optimize overall system performance. The ArmorBlock IO-Link master includes connectivity for up to eight IO-Link sensors. The master and sensors share an IP address, helping end users reduce the cost and time to commission equipment. www.rockwellautomation.com

Thermal Imaging Sensors FLIR released its A35 and A65 thermal imaging temperature sensors, which include greater vibration specifications to survive harsher conditions. The cameras are available with 10 field-of-view options, from 8 degrees up to 90 degrees, to give users the option to pinpoint a single target or monitor a large area. The sensors record thermal video at a frame rate of 60Hz and provide 14-bit temperature linear output. The A35 and A65 offer GigE Vision compatibility and GenICam protocol support that offers seamless integration with existing systems. www.flir.com

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IdeaGenerator 41 Linear Scale Mitutoyo unveiled its ABSOLUTE AT1100 assembly-type Linear Scale that incorporates the company’s electromagnetic induction technology to provide resistance against contamination of the scale and sensor by cutting fluids, oil and water. The sensor-to-scale air gap is approximately 0.4mm, about 4x as wide as that of conventional optical or electromagnetic induction systems, thereby providing additional protection against dust or oil contamination. The linear scale is available up to an effective range of 3040mm and is compatible with FANUC Corporation’s serial interface and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s high-speed serial interface. www.mitutoyo.ca

Rotary Encoder HEIDENHAIN announced it now supplies Leine & Linde’s 1000 series of rotary encoders. The line incorporates overspeed electronics that control three different relay switches which can be programmed for identification of critical speeds or errors in direction.

In addition, a fourth relay can be set to detect overspeed conditions or be set to detect any functional error in the unit itself.

Speed limits can be set for direction, over and under speed from 0 to 6000 rpm. PC-based software is provided to configure the encoder using a standard USB port. The encoder is rated at 200g shock, 30g vibration and its IP67 enclosure can also withstand wet or dusty environments with high temperatures. www.heidenhain.com

Proximity Sensor AutomationDirect now offers Contrinex DW-series of extended and triple-distance proximity sensors in 3mm to 30mm cylindrical and 20mm rectangular styles. With 10 to 30VDC operating voltage and sensing distances ranging from 1mm to 40mm, cylindrical sensors are available in shielded and unshielded models with nickel silver, nickel silver/chrome, chrome plated brass or stainless steel housings. DW-series 3mm proximity sensors are fitted with a two-meter axial cable; other sizes offer two-meter axial cable, M8 or M12 quick disconnects. DW-series proximity sensors are designed with an LED status indicator and are available with NPN and PNP, as well as Normally-Open or Normally-Closed outputs. The DW series proximity sensors have an IP67 protection rating and provide complete overload protection. www.automationdirect.com

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Proximity Sensors Aventics released its ST6 series proximity sensors in a wide range of versions with different line lengths and connections.

Aventics also offers variants with ATEX certification and covers application temperatures from -40°C to 120°C with its cold and heat-resistant versions. The sensors are “cULus” certified, protected against polarity reversal and short-circuit-resistant. The ST6 proximity sensors are simply “dropped” into the T-slot on the profile cylinder. Next, the captive eccentric screw is fixed with a quarter turn using a flat tip screwdriver or an Allen wrench. The screw also reliably keeps the sensor in place, even in the event of impact or vibration. Retaining ribs on the side of the sensor enable simple mounting, including in hard-to-reach locations or for overhead assembly. www.aventics.com www.design-engineering.com October | 2016 DES_EPlan_Oct.indd 1

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42 IdeaGenerator Automation HMI Bosch Rexroth introduced its IndraControl VR Series of HMIs that feature a 16:9 format in 4-inch, 7-inch and 9-inch sizes. The 7-inch and 9-inch panels also have a capacitive multi-touch option. The terminals utilize the Windows 7 Compact Embedded operating system, running

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Many different sizes meet varying requirements for axial thrust & linear speed.

For more information call 1-800-252-2645 Email: amacoil@amacoil.com www.amacoil.com

October | 2016

Some models feature mechanical control over speed and travel direction.

No programming or electronic controls are needed.

Distributed by Amacoil, Inc. PO Box 2228 2100 Bridgewater Rd. Aston, PA 19014 Phone: 610-485-8300

on an ARM Cortex-A8 800 MHz processor.

The HMIs also feature 512 MB of RAM, 256 MB of flash memory and an integrated SD card memory slot. Rexroth’s HMI programming software, WinStudio, can be used to develop applications for the VR controller. This series includes a standard on-board Ethernet 10/100 Mbit port and 2 USB interfaces. The terminals also allow installation depths of 54mm and IP65/20-protected displays. www.boschrexroth.com

Mechatronic Grippers SCHUNK introduced its PGNPlus-E and PGN-Plus-P, two mechatronic grippers that improve upon the company’s original PGN-Plus gripper line.

According to the company, its PGN-Plus-E (pictured top) is the world’s first digitally controlled mechatronic gripper. It’s multitooth guidance provides higher moment capacity, a continuous lubrication pocket in the guide contour, and wedge-hook kinematics with a high surface coverage in all stroke positions.

Powered by a brushless DC servo motor, the 24V gripper is controlled by digital I/O. Up to two gripping positions can also be monitored by means of an additional M8 standard connection. The PGN-Plus-P gripper (below) provides permanent lubrication through continuous lubrication pockets in the guidance. It also has an enlarged drive piston area, which increases grip force. In addition to the larger piston, the wedge drive mechanism has been redesigned for lower friction and greater surface area, which transmits more energy to the jaws creating even more grip force than previous generations. www.ca.schunk.com

Motion Control EtherCAT controller Galil released its DMC-52xx0 motion controller, a pure EtherCAT master controller can control up to 32 drives and 2 I/O modules.

The controller is offered in 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 axis formats. Coordinated moves can be done within banks of up to 8 axes allowing for minimal changes of Galil’s programming www.design-engineering.com

IdeaGenerator 43 language. The DMC-52xx0 operates in Cyclic Synchronous Position mode (CSP). In this mode, the servo control loop is closed on the EtherCAT drive while the Galil controller sends motion profile commands at a rate of 1 kHz. The DMC-52xx0 can be used for applications involving jogging, point-to-point positioning, position tracking, contouring, linear and circular interpolation, electronic gearing, ECAM and PVT. The controller features 8 uncommitted opto-isolated inputs and 8 uncommitted opto-isolated high power outputs.

It also includes 8 uncommitted analog inputs and 8 uncommitted analog outputs (analog I/O is 12-bit standard, 16-bit option available). www.galilmotioncontrol.com

Linear Stages Aerotech announced that its PRO series of industrial linear motor and ball-screw positioning stages are now available in new sizes and with new features. In addition to the performance and feature improvements, two new sizes were added to the PRO-LM (linear motor) series stage line – the PRO115LM and PRO190LM. New features include a linear encoder option on PRO-SLE ball-screw stages, absolute encoder options on both the linear motor and ball-screw stages, and direct mounting to English and metric optical tables. The PRO series design provides protection from debris while its side-seals prevent dirt and particulates from entering the stage.

The curved hard-cover prevents excessive debris from collecting on the stage. www.aerotech.com

Rotary Module SCHUNK unveiled its ERS rotary module, developed for rotary motions in the middle load range. With a height of 66mm in size 170, the module features a rated torque of 5Nm and a maximum torque of 17Nm. The core component is a hollow shaft torque motor. With speeds up to 250 rpm, it can approach any intermediate positions at a repeat accuracy of 0.01°. A large center bore allows the feed-through of cables or workpieces, as well as the use of a camera. The module is also available in a version with pneumatic/ electric feed-through, in which a slip ring or air duct enables the feed-through of up to eight electrical signals (24VDC/2A) and one fluid with a pressure of up to 8bar. The SCHUNK ERS is available in three sizes with outer diameters of 135 to 210mm. www.ca.schunk.com

CLIPPARD SOLENOID-OPERATED PTFE MEDIA MINIATURE ISOLATION VALVES These miniature 2-way and 3-way valves utilize a flexible diaphragm to isolate the actuation mechanism from the fluid path making them ideal for sensitive or corrosive materials. Media isolation valves are commonly used for a wide variety of applications including those that require precise, repeatable dispensing of media. Many features include low power consumption, superior design and construction, zero dead volume, high cycle life, fast response and more. Proudly made in the USA. Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc. www.clippard.com 513-521-4261

EPOXY HAS ULTRA LOW COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION Featuring an exceedingly low coefficient of thermal expansion of 9-12 x 10-6 in/in/°C, Master Bond EP42HT-2LTE is a two component epoxy for bonding, sealing, coating and select casting applications.

This epoxy will bond well to a wide variety of substrates, including metals, composites, ceramics, glass and many plastics. It is also noteworthy for its low linear (<0.01%) and volumetric (<0.1%) shrinkage. www.masterbond.com info@masterbond.com 1.201.343.8983

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

Servo Motor Omron launched its mid-level, general-purpose 1S Series Servos that don’t require controller cable, terminal block for I/O, safety cable, brake relay or absolute encoder battery and cable. Regard-

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

www.design-engineering.com October | 2016

44 less of power rating, all 1S power drives have a uniform height. The I/O connection replaces an external terminal and cable with a pluggable connector with push-in terminals. The 1S also offers an increased number and mix of supported I/O. The 1S servomotors use a gearless/battery-less, multi-turn 23-bit absolute encoder, 16-bit multi-turn to provide accurate position input. The 1S Series servo drives offer both networked and hardwired safe torque off built in. Configuration of FailSafe over EtherCAT (FSoE) requires connecting NX Series safety control units to 1S Series servos via open network EtherCAT. The first wave satisfies 100W to 3kW applications. www.omron.ca

Cabling

Cable Glands AutomationDirect announced that its wiring solutions product now includes bimed cable glands. Commonly known as a cable connector, cable glands secure wire or cable to electrical equipment while providing strain relief and protection from dust, dirt and liquids. They are also used as a sealing and termination device to ensure that the characteristics of the enclosure which the cable enters can be maintained adequately. These products are offered in metric (M12-M63), Pg (PG7-PG48), and NPT (3/8â&#x20AC;?-1â&#x20AC;?) thread sizes and are available with brass or plastic housings. Bimed cable glands are IP68-rated for dust and water ingress protection and are CE, cULus and CSA approved. www.automationdirect.com October | 2016 DES_MarApr_RotoPrecision.indd 1

www.design-engineering.com 2016-03-16 10:08 AM

CanadianInnovator Richard Yim speaks with landmine survivor Haem Vanna in Cambodia during the first machine testing phase in December 2015.

DEFUSING A

GLOBAL EPIDEMIC

Kitchener-based startup sets sights on ridding the world of landmines.

By Lindsay Luminoso

A

ccording to the United Nations Foundation, there are approximately 70 million active landmines in the ground of at least 70 countries. Each year, over 15,000 civilians are wounded or killed by these deadly leftovers of previous wars.

It’s an issue that hits close to home for Richard Yim, CEO of Kitchener-based startup Landmine Boys. At the age of 8, Yim lived with his family in Cambodia when they were given the news that his aunt had passed away after stepping on a landmine. Yim recalls many conversations from his childhood about the dangers that landmines held for civilians.

“At the table, me and my brother, we were always told by our parents not to walk away from the street, not to stray from the paved path,” Yim explains. “This is because landmines were very prevalent while I was growing up.”

Yim and his family moved to Canada when he was a young teenager, and he was struck by the drastic difference of day-to-day life when the constant threat of landmines was removed. This shift inspired Yim to develop a project to deal with the global landmine crisis.

“For me, I wanted to give that freedom to the kids in the next generation in Cambodia and in other countries that are affected by landmines,” Yim says, who began working on this project as a first-year engineering student at the University of Waterloo.

However, it wasn’t until his fourth year that the project really took off. As part of a design project, Yim and four other students began developing a robot prototype designed to excavate and defuse landmines. Today, Yim and partner Christian Lee, a mechanical and software specialist, are dedicated to developing robots to defuse landmines safely and effectively.

The current method to defuse landmines is through controlled explosions. This process is extremely challenging as landmines

are often placed strategically near schools, hospitals and roads, so destroying them often damages the environment and surrounding infrastructure. There is also the danger of transporting explosive materials.

Anti-personnel landmines are small, cylindricalbodied mines. The mine itself is fitted with a pressure plate on the top, linked to a The Landmine Boys’ landmine defusing firing pin and a Belleville machine without the steam module. spring. When a person steps on the pressure plate, the Belleville spring compresses, pushing the firing pin into the detonator. The detonator is surrounded by explosive material. (e.g. TNT, Composition B - phlegmatized RDX or Tetryl). When the detonator is ignited by the firing pin, the device explodes.

“We have come up with a solution that enables landmines to be defused without controlled explosions,” Yim says. “Our idea for defusing landmines is to separate the detonator and the explosive material. If you can separate those two components, landmines can be deemed safe.”

The team’s first prototype focused on defusing the landmine.

The machine drills into the casing using a Dremel tool, and then pumps steam into the explosive material to melt it away.

“It sounded insane to cut and drill into a landmine,” Yim says, adding, “We were able to test an early stage prototype in Cambodia last December, and received positive results through the testing.”

Currently, the team is working on a second machine that will function as an excavation device. Typically, landmines are dug out of the ground using a gardening tool, like a shovel. Yim explains that this is the most dangerous and time-consuming phase of defusing the landmine. The excavation machine is a

www.design-engineering.com October | 2016

45

46 CanadianInnovator

(L-R) Jonathan Deng, Baruch Chau, Ming Hu, Christian Lee and Richard Yim worked together on a fourth-year engineering project to develop a machine to defuse landmines. Photo courtesy of Waterloo Engineering.

one-man-operated single landmine digging machine that picks up the device and secures in place before a secondary machine cuts into it.

“We have a special design that we have sent to the machine shop to begin building,” says Yim. “This December, we are bringing it to Cambodia to be tested. The goal is to keep the deminers safe, allowing them to go to work, knowing that they can come home at the end of the day.”

Both machines are designed to be controlled remotely or using a one-button start mechanism - allowing for the operator to strategically place the robot and then walk away to a safe distance. The team had developed the two different options for controlling the machines to account for unforeseen real-world conditions.

One of the biggest design challenges the team faced began in the initial research phase. It was a big learning curve and the team wanted to be extremely comfortable with the material before moving forward with the design process. For Yim, one of the biggest questions he had was: How can we guarantee the deminer’s safety?

“This idea is revolving and pivoting constantly, from trying to develop tools to protection mechanism,” he says. “We struggled with this the most because before there was no way to defuse landmines without exploding them. The fact that we found a way around this was extremely important.”

Beyond the initial findings, Yim and Lee researched different methods to stabilize the landmine enough to be able to operate on it. They developed a mechanism that combines hardware and software to hold the landmine without disturbing it. The excavation machine itself lifts the landmine from the ground and a clamp grips the device, stabilizing it in the air, enabling the Dremel in the defusing machine to access the underside and drill into it.

“Finding a method to keep the landmine stable so that we could operate on it was huge for us,” Yim adds.

Going forward, the team is developing a second prototype that will include a uniquely designed cutting mechanism. They have already designed the cutting tool, but hope to have it in development after their return trip to Cambodia in December, October | 2016

where they will be testing the current machines on live landmines.

At this point, there is still a need for human co-operation to get the machine to work. The duo is also working towards developing an all-purpose robot in an autonomous vehicle that defuses the landmine on its own, without human input.

“This is a long-term goal and we believe that the two machines that we have right now will be crucial in getting that ready,” Yim says. In the short term, The Landmine Boys see their two machines helping deminers around the world take landmines out of the ground and defuse them without affecting their safety, as well as making the job much quicker and cost effective.

Yim believes that, to design and engineer something useful, you have to get all the information you can. They are currently working with NGOs around the world, which provide real-world insights and input.

“We’ve been to the mine field,” he adds. “We’ve seen the workers face-to-face. We were there for every single step and we’ve seen the environment… We are not looking to build a cool machine.

That has never been our goal. Our goal is to build a machine that is useful and will solve this significant problem…and we are prepared to tackle this issue. We both feel very optimistic for the future of the project.”

DE www.landmineboys.com

Advertisers Index

Advertiser Website Page Aerotech, Inc

www.aerotech.com

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Advanced Manufacturing Canada

www.advancedmfg.ca

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Allied Electronics

www.alliedelec.com

11

Amacoil Inc.

www.amacoil.com

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Automation Direct

www.automationdirect.com

Baldor Electric Company

www.baldor.com

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7

Beckhoff Automation

www.beckhoff.ca

19

Bimba Manufacturing Co.

www.bimba.com

2

Clippard Instruments Laboratory Inc.

www.clippard.com

Columbia Marking Tools

www.columbiamt.com

40

Conductix-Wampfler Canada

www.conductix.ca/en

38

CREAFORM

www.creaform3d.com 12

9

Designfusion

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ELESA

www.elesa.com 24

EPLAN Canada

www.eplancanada.com

41

EPSON Canada

www.epson.ca

35

Festo Canada, Inc.

www.festo.ca

17

igus Corporation

www.igus.com

Industrial Encoder Corp.

www.globalencoder.ca

KHK-USA Inc.

www.khkgears.us/

Novotechnik US Inc.

www.novotechnik.com

OACETT

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Pivot-Point Inc.

www.pivotpins.com

ProtoLabs, Inc.

www.protolabs.com

31

Roto Precision Inc.

www.rotoprecision.ca

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Schaeffler Canada Inc.

www.ina.com

13

Schneider Electric Corp.

www.schneider-electric.ca

23

SCHUNK Intec Corp.

www.ca.schunk.com/

27

SPIROL Industries, Ltd.

www.spirolcanada.com

39

Tsubaki Canada

www.tsubaki.ca

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TURCK Chartwell Canada Inc.

www.chartwell.ca

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V.J. Pamensky Canada Inc.

www.pamensky.com

28

3 36 4 21 33

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