Industry USA 18

1 8 | F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 8

INDUSTRY INDUSTRIAL MARKET MAGAZINE

USA

GIGE VISION CAMERAS FROM IDS WITH EXTENDED FUNCTIONALITY

11 THE DRANETZ HDPQ SP NOW HAS POWER FROM THE PHASE

15 CAR INDUSTRY: CV-X200 : stabilité, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING précision et vitesse IS MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARDS VOLUME PRODUCTION uniques

4 50

SITON® RANGE: THE NON MARKING, HIGH TEMPERATURE RESISTANT SUCTION PADS

22

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

INDUSTRIAL MARKET MAGAZINE

IDS IMAGING DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS

4

11 EPLAN

12 LEMO

DRANETZ

14

15

ARC INFORMATIQUE

16

NORD

SIGMATEK

COVAL

18

21

22

WEIDMÃœLLER

23

ADVERTISERS: MEPAX 10

www.magazine-industry-usa.com

INDUSTRY

USA

Contact: Evans ROSS Editor in Chief: editor@magazine-industry-usa.com Send your press releases to: editor@magazine-industry-usa.com

To receive Industry USA magazine free of charge, please subscribe online at www.magazine-industry-usa.com Industry USA is the US-language magazine for engineers, published by IPM (Industrial Portal Media) It contains the latest product and company news for industrial markets.

Industry USA edits its articles with the greatest of care, however we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information presented in them. Our teams disclaim all responsibility concerning the content of this media or how it might be used.

INDUSTRIAL

PORTALS MEDIA

NEWS

MARKET OVERVIEW

3D printing enables geometries that would otherwise be extremely difficult or even impossible to produce. This part is an Audi mounting bracket for the electric air-conditioning compressor for a sports car prototype.

CAR INDUSTRY ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING IS MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARDS VOLUME PRODUCTION Car manufacturers are showing serious interest in additive manufacturing of metal parts in volume.

All of them are conducting tests, setting up pilot production units and refining their strategy.

Author: Sofiane JEDIDI

O

MORE INFORMATION

n paper, additive manufacturing processes seem certain to flourish in the years to come. They make it possible to produce metal parts from a simple CAD file without requiring tools and machining sequences.

This prospect was sure to attract the attention of car manufacturers. However, there is always a step needed between theory and/or tests in an R&D environment and actual industrial deployment. And processes which have been demonstrated in the controlled conditions of a laboratory may not necessarily perform identically or be reproduced at scale in a production environment. Even if car manufacturers cannot take the risk of ignoring this technology, they also cannot abandon their traditional production methods like milling or forging, which have been proven over several decades, and replace them with technologies, which no matter how promising, are still far from mature.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

4

In spite of the fact that these new processes appear to meet the required objectives in terms of quality and mechanical stability, they lack profitability when producing of large volumes of metal components. However they seem to yield better repeatability, which is an advantage when there is a need to produce identical parts in different sites. Most car manufacturers have already carried out tests on prototypes, apparently with promising results. Some have even started manufacturing very small series of parts for racing cars or those requiring a high level of customization. Others, like Daimler are now seriously thinking about the production of spare parts. There are only a few manufacturers like BMW and Daimler who are betting on the industrialization of these processes in the near future for the mass production of parts for standard vehicles.

The constraints of additive manufacturing The main constraints of additive manufacturing are its low productivity and the limits in the size of the metal parts produced. 3D printing is currently only possible for small parts with complex shapes, up to 100 mm in diameter and weighing not more than 400 g. Laser fusion, however, can

NEW S MARKET OVERVIEW

handle parts that reach lengths of 600 to 700 mm. The mechanical structure of the parts obtained is perfectly satisfactory. However it is still not possible to expect the machines to output ready-to-use parts. A range of sintering, finishing or surface treatment operations is needed. This means that additive manufacturing is still impacted by its low productivity and even further by these additional finishing tasks.

All these factors tend to induce car manufacturers not to rush into this technology. Its adoption is also countered by the force of habit and confidence invested in traditional manufacturing processes. Nevertheless, none of the car manufacturers seem to want to turn their backs on the future.

All of them are looking closely both at the potential and the progress accomplished by additive manufacturing. It is clearly an attractive proposition for manufacturing complex parts. Since it has a higher cost than traditional processes, all opportunities to mitigate this have to be exploited to the maximum by increasing the number of functions in the part.

Designers also have to be aware that they can create shapes like lattice structures or internal channels with complex forms that could not be implemented otherwise. Because of this, additive manufacturing is attracting considerable interest from car manufacturers for components used for fluid draining and for filtering.

Another advantage of additive manufacturing: because it only uses the exact quantity of material needed to make the part, this makes it lighter. This is a major advantage, especially for manufacturers of motor components since weight has an impact on the vehicle's fuel consumption.

The weight reduction potential, which can be up to 50% for certain parts, becomes ever more essential in the case of electric vehicles, since the target mileage range depends partly on vehicle mass.

Nevertheless: “for production volumes of 70,000 to 100,000 units, costs remain significantly higher and the targeted weight reduction is not a strong enough argument”, remarks Fabian Krauß, Business Development Manager Automotive at EOS. “For although aircraft manufacturers are ready to invest €15,000 to gain a weight reduction of 1 kg, car manufacturers are only prepared to spend €15.” This means that additive manufacturing has to act on several costsaving levers in order to come out in front, for example by integrating additional functions to the part or by reducing assembly costs.

3D metal printing Wide-scale adoption of additive manufacturing in the mass production of parts is a vision which is still far off from becoming reality. Progress has to be made in terms of productivity and profitability. A first step seems to have been taken with the arrival of a new type of 3D metal printing. This manufacturing process, which applies a binding resin on a layer of powder, will make it possible to produce a so-called green part which then has to undergo a process of unbinding and then sintering. It will enable faster throughput rates compared to traditional laser fusion techniques.

Desktop Metal for example, an American manufacturer, has announced that they will introduce a 3D metal printing

3D metal printing is a technology with a big future.

Audi is working hard to build on its expertise in this field – all the way to the Audi lunar quattro, made largely from printed aluminum.

© Stefan Warter

MORE INFORMATION 18 | Industry USA | February 2018

5

NEWS MARKET OVERVIEW

system in 2018 for volume production of parts of up to 330 mm x 330 mm x 330 mm in size. The machine can achieve production rates of up to 8200 cm3/h, which according to the manufacturer is 100 times faster than laser-based processes. They even claim that the use of a lower-cost powder, higher throughput and simplified post-processing results in unit costs that are competitive with traditional manufacturing processes and are up to 20 times lower than current 3D metal printing systems. Laser systems, however, retain the advantage of having a greater build volume. The Atlas system announced in 2017 by GE Additive for example, offers a build envelope of 1,100 x 1,100 x 300 mm.

Different industrial strategies The BMW Group has been included as one of Desktop Metal's strategic partners, to speed up its adoption in the car industry. “We were one of the first to invest in the company, after recognizing the potential of its technology,” declared Uwe Higgen, associate director of BMW i Ventures.

And Jens Ertel, Head of the Additive Manufacturing Centre of the German group added: “For us, it was evident that additive manufacturing could be used for more than just simple prototyping. We are researching materials and technologies. We are trying to find out for which projects and parts additive manufacturing is profitable and meets our standards. When we see the progress in the machines and materials, we can anticipate how this will continue. With Desktop Metal we plan not only for high speed prototyping but also mass production of automotive parts.

Maximilian Meixlsperger, Head of Additive Manufacturing Metal at BMW is fully confident as well: “The future of 3D Daimler is shaping the future of manufacturing. Vision of an advanced factory: AGVs transfer workpieces from one production island to another.

printing is evidently mass production. Future generations of machines will be able to produce a much larger number of components in a shorter time. This means that we will be able to increase profitability as well as precision and benefit from its potential for reduced weight and tool-less production.

As well as BMW, Daimler is also one of the manufacturers who are demonstrating their belief in additive manufacturing. The car manufacturer, a subsidiary of Airbus Premium Aerotec and the 3D printer manufacturer EOS have announced a partnership in 2017 to phase 3D metal printing into the production stage. The goal of their NextGenAM project is to develop an automated manufacturing system for mass production. To reduce costs and to allow it to be adopted in production more rapidly, they are aiming to reduce overall production time, including the pre- and post-printing processes which are usually manual and represent 70% of the total cost of additive manufacturing. In this way, the speed disadvantage of additive manufacturing can be offset by optimizing, automating and fluidifying the production process.

Production of spare parts and tools New ways of manufacturing have to be found which are suited to the specific conditions of additive manufacturing.

The three manufacturers have invested several million euros in this project which has resulted in the construction of an automated additive manufacturing unit in Premium Aerotec's technology centre in Varel, Germany. Daimler will also contribute its expertise in manufacturing lightweight aerospace parts. These parts are to be manufactured using a laser printing system on a media which is extracted and then transported automatically by an auto-guided vehicle (AGV) to the machining stations for finishing, tempering, etc.

By eliminating manual operations and reducing the delays between steps, it may be possible to offset the lower productivity of the additive manufacturing process. The first part to be manufactured in low volume will be an automotive part from Mercedes-AMG, for whom reduced weight is essential.

Daimler is also counting on the potential of additive manufacturing for the production of spare parts. “Our objective is to totally transform our spare part management process using 3D printing,” states Ralf Anderhofstadt, Head of Project CSP 3D Printing at Daimler Buses. Over the long term, it's about making parts more easily available in cases where up till now it was impossible to react quickly, and to reduce costs as well as delivery times. This will give us a competitive advantage. We've identified more than 300 plastic parts which are good candidates, as well as a hundred metal parts. Their production started in summer 2017.”

MORE INFORMATION

Volkswagen seems to be acting more prudently than its competitors in the area of additive manufacturing. Ingo Hartmann, coordinator of the additive manufacturing activities of the group, indicates that in spite of its advantages, 3D metal printing is still limited to specific application areas due to its cost and relative slowness and because dimensional accuracy and finishing quality still needs to be improved. According to him, 3D printing is currently only profitable for production series of up to 200 units but with process optimizations it should become profitable for series of 3,000 parts.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

6

BMW Group Named First International Strategic Partner to Receive the Studio System BMW Group’s additive manufacturing team works closely together with Desktop Metal to accelerate market adoption. “Metal additive manufacturing has already impacted the automotive industry mainly in prototyping. Currently, we are further expanding the use of metal additive manufacturing in multiple applications. Starting with design to cost-effective mass production, which is the most challenging application where material and process qualification, design, performance and cost-per-part are crucial for our success. Together with Desktop Metal, we are working on challenging the status quo of metal additive manufacturing. We are looking into uncovering the potential for both the Studio System for functional prototypes and the Production System for high-speed prototyping and mass production of BMW Group automotive parts,” said Jens Ertel head of BMW Group’s Additive Manufacturing Center in Munich.

NEWS MARKET OVERVIEW

However, via its subsidiary Audi, Volkswagen is taking part in the race. According to Alois Brandt, Head of Technology Development Innovation Management, the Group has evaluated ways to print metal car parts in low volumes. For him, there is still a long way to go before the technology can support a high rate of throughput. “For the Audi A4 for example, we would have had to install more than 1000 printers and run them at maximum speed only to end up manufacturing parts that would have been more expensive than with the current process.”

Audi considers that 3D printing is mainly worthwhile for manufacturing tools and small production series. For now, 3D manufacturing is still slow and expensive and it is also limited in terms of the dimensions of the parts produced.

The largest of the three printers in Audi's 3D metal printing centre can build parts of up to 400 mm in length. It takes a whole day to manufacture a metal tube weighing about 1 kg and added to this is the time needed to program and prepare the machine as well as the subsequent finishing operations.

The 3D metal printing centre therefore focuses on the production of steel and aluminium tools from metal powder using laser fusion. Nevertheless, Audi expects that rapid advances in this technology in the years to come will make it potentially more attractive for manufacturing parts for limited series vehicle models. While waiting for the technological breakthrough, they are building up their know-how in the area of aluminium printing. Several car parts have been manufactured, such as components with porous structures that incorporate fluid reservoirs as well as the first suspension components.

© Stefan Warter

MORE INFORMATION

Z-brace for an Audi Space Frame of the future. It displays all the strengths of the technology – it is extremely complex, very lightweight and exceptionally strong.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

8

Metal Binder Jetting: dedusting

NEWS

CETIM ANALYZES INNOVATIVE PROCESSES AND THEIR PERFORMANCE Based on an interview with Christophe GROSJEAN, CETIM. Productivity: 3D metal printing outperforms laser fusion Additive manufacturing encompasses a group of technologies which build a three-dimensional object based on its CAD file by adding material in an iterative fashion, in contrast to machining techniques that work by removing material. Processes exist for all types of material: metals, ceramics, polymers etc.

Metal Binder Jetting: sintering and debinding

“Manufacturing metal parts using additive technology always requires finishing operations, removing the support, cutting out, stress relief, etc. Thermal post treatment in particular can be used to improve the mechanical properties of the part and reduce the residual stresses which are an important issue for laser beam melting technologies” explains the CETIM, which has been working on additive manufacturing and its technological transfer for more than 15 years.

3D Metal printing is quite different from additive manufacturing using laser fusion. It is performed in two phases. The first is the shaping of the part by superimposing layers of bound powder held together by a binder and extruded by a multi-jet printing head. A second phase is required to obtain a part with the desired resistance. After having eliminated the binder by combustion (de-binding), the so-called “green” part is consolidated and densified in a sintering furnace to cause the metal particle to link together and form a functional metal component. This method has several advantages compared to laser fusion. “While laser fusion does not permit parts to be placed on top of each other, 3D metal printing operates in a build chamber which allows the parts to be stacked and thus a larger quantity can be produced in the same production lot.” points out the CETIM. In conjunction with the faster build speed, this significantly increases productivity. Another benefit: 3D metal printing can process parts without requiring special supports during the build phase, independently of the surface angles. This results in significant gains in the finishing phase (limiting the cost of machining the parts) as well as in the design and implementation phase.

Metal Binder Jetting: finished parts

Overall, according to the CETIM, 3D metal printing achieves better productivity and a lower cost compared to laser fusion.

This is in spite of the need for the sintering operation because laser fusion needs more steps to perform part finishing. In addition, to boost build speed in 3D printing, all that needs to be done is to increase the number of print heads. Adding more laser sources would be more difficult to implement and would result in significantly greater cost. For these reasons, 3D printing has a great deal of potential in the development and manufacture of small parts with complex shapes.

The CETIM is very active in the field of additive manufacturing in order to support and advise manufacturers in a continuous process of change.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

9

MORE INFORMATION

The Centre Technique des Industries Mechaniques (CETIM) was created in 1965 at the request of the mechanical engineering industry to support companies with methods and skills to improve competitiveness, participate in standardization, act as a link between scientific research and industry, promote technical progress and assist in improving profitability and ensuring quality.

OPTIMIZE YOUR INTERNATIONAL PR AND ADVERTISING FOR THE INDUSTRIAL MARKET!

International capability

Outstanding results

Optimized process

More than 80 employees in 35 different countries, ensuring a strong relationship with main local media. Mepax distinguishes itself through its extensive media knowledge and ability to select the best international online/print advertising options. PR can be translated into 35 languages.

35,000 published articles in 2017: EMEA: 48% - Asia: 31% - Americas: 21%. Most of the articles are published in the top 1000 media worldwide.

With a proven process set for more than 120 active customers, we can adapt to all specific client needs with the highest reliability.

We have developed in house the most advanced PR dedicated ERP, enabling transparency and real-time full online reporting. International media management is then made easy, fast, and efficient for optimal results.

www.mepax.com info@mepax.com

THE MOST INNOVATIVE PR AGENCY

@mepaxIntPR

NEWS

GIGE VISION CAMERAS FROM IDS WITH EXTENDED FUNCTIONALITY

New GigE Vision industrial camera models. Š IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH

With the new firmware release 1.3, IDS extends the functional range of its GigE Vision industrial camera models with a set of additional features.

T

hese include, for example, Auto Exposure, Auto Gain, Subsampling, Black Level, LUT or Gamma. In addition, new standard pixel formats are available as well as a simplified bandwidth management. This enables users to manage conveniently the available bandwidth in a multicamera system.

From now on all GigE Vision cameras from IDS are delivered with the new firmware. By means of the IDS’ update tool, users who already own GigE Vision cameras from IDS, can install and benefit from the extra functionality.

MORE INFORMATION

At the same time as the firmware release 1.3, many new GigE Vision industrial camera models are available. Both the compact uEye CP Rev. 2 family, as well as the versatile uEye SE and the robust uEye FA series are expanded by models equipped with the latest CMOS sensors from Sony, ON Semiconductor and e2v. www.ids-imaging.de

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

11

NEWS

EPLAN COGINEER IS HEADING TO THE CLOUD

Eplan Cogineer, was first presented at the Hannover Messe and is now a fully-fledged member of Eplan Platform. This software used for easy and fast generating of schematics and fluid-power designs gives automation an extra boost.

E

plan presented the software´s first cloud application as a sneak preview at the SPS IPC Drives. Eplan Cogineer will now also be offering the added value of a cloudbased engineering solution based on Microsoft Azure.

MORE INFORMATION

The new arrival Eplan Cogineer is an innovation in automation in every way. This Eplan software for automatically generating schematics and fluid-power designs is now moving to the cloud. At a sneak preview during the SPS IPC Drives automation trade show in Nuremberg, Germany, the cloud-based Eplan Cogineer was presented for the first time. Working with Microsoft Azure, the Eplan software is ideally equipped to offer completely new added value; from secure, worldwide data access to the easy provisioning of comprehensive IT infrastructure. Microsoft Azure offers the possibility to save, archive and version data without users having to invest any time in doing it or even requiring any relevant know-how. At the same time, the simplicity of operating Eplan Cogineer is the cornerstone.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

12

Every Eplan user can get started immediately based on existing macros and create rule sets and configurators without any programming knowledge. The sales concept Eplan is using is also innovative and completely breaks new ground with its new subscription basis of licensing the software. Customers benefit from the ease of getting started with using Eplan Cogineer and extra freedom from investment risk. Licenses can be used dynamically or temporarily supplemented as the company´s order situation requires, on an as-needed basis.

Eplan Cogineer is organized into two functional areas: Designer and Project Builder. The latter is a user interface that is automatically created based on configuration variables. This technology is the first of its kind in electrical engineering. Users of the system during a recent pilot phase were impressed with the solution and have thereby affirmed the development concept. AB Graphic International Inc., headquartered in Bridlington, Great Britain, has been testing Eplan Cogineer and meanwhile are using several licenses at the company. As Control Systems Engineer Ken Lomas at AB Graphic International says: “Having used Eplan Cogineer on several machines, whilst a colleague followed the existing

NEWS

working method, I was able to produce a set of drawings in five to ten minutes with Eplan Cogineer, in comparison to the usual six hours. The other immediate apparent benefit of Eplan Cogineer is avoiding possible mistakes.”

Jungheinrich Logistics, a leading intralogistics company, is also relying on the new software. Head of Development Electrical Engineering Michael Reising at Jung-heinrich Projektlösungen in Offenbach, Germany, explains: “Our experiences with Eplan Cogineer were very positive during the test phase. My colleagues and I were able to immediately get started with our work without a time consuming familiarization process, and Eplan´s consultants supported us with practical tips and tricks. It became apparent that Eplan Cogineer does a very good job of meeting our needs in the area of configuration. Because of that, we´ve permanently introduced Eplan Cogineer in Offenbach in the mean-time, and the implementation was completed in just a few days.”

companies: management and IT efforts like backups are transferred from the user to the cloud - with no need for server hardware or administration on the company side.

And users are always working with the most up-to-date version of Eplan Cogineer.

Find out more at: www.eplancogineer.com

MORE INFORMATION

Data in the cloud Both the Designer and Project Builder functional areas now start directly from the cloud. User registration and administration are easy because it´s embedded in the Eplan Platform. Libraries and configurators are provided

by Microsoft Azure or saved in the cloud, so that everyone involved always has access to the most current state of the project from everywhere in the world. This working method represents the latest technology. Additional benefits for 18 | Industry USA | February 2018

13

NEWS

IAEA ROBOTICS CHALLENGE

LEMO has been supporting Rovenso, a Swiss startup, who was a finalist of the Robotics Challenge of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

T

he event was held in Brisbane Australia. The goal of this challenge was to identify robots that will assist IAEA inspectors in carrying out their tasks. More specifically, repetitive measurement and stock identification tasks in harsh environment areas exposed to high radiation levels.

MORE INFORMATION

“Automating these scenarios is perfectly aligned with the mission of ROVENSO” says Thomas Estier. “We make agile robots to keep workers out of harms way in challenging terrains and harsh environments, so we are really excited to show how ROVéo performs in these scenarios, discover the best strategies from other teams and compare the different hardware solutions.” The whole ROVENSO team would like to thank deeply its partners and particularly LEMO SA. “The participation to this challenge is the very first result of a long-term collaboration between our two companies. It’s great to find industrial partners in Switzerland that put a high priority on innovation and are actually spending time, energy and money to work with startups.” says Thomas Estier, CEO of Rovenso.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

14

“We are very excited to participate along with ROVENSO in this robotic challenge. The challenge allows international robotic experts to compete and check the suitability of new robotic solution to perform control tasks” says Mathieu Menet, Innovation Manager of LEMO. “Further to this competition, our long-term collaboration with Rovenso will enable LEMO to extend his portfolio of solutions by developing a specific range of connectors dedicated to the robotics industry” www.lemo.com

NEWS

THE DRANETZ HDPQ SP NOW HAS POWER FROM THE PHASE

HDPQ SP models are contained in an IP65 (weather/hardened) enclosure.

P

ower from the phase has now been added to the Dranetz Technologies IP65 rated Dranetz HDPQ SP power monitoring instruments. The Dranetz HDPQ Visa SP, Guide SP, Xplorer SP, and Xplorer 400 SP instruments are intended for use in harsh, outdoor and remote environments, or for applications where a LCD display is undesirable.

The Dranetz HDPQ Family of Power Quality, Demand & Energy instruments not only offer the industry’s best measurement capabilities, but also have the most powerful communications capabilities in the industry making it ideal for commissioning, engineering, and troubleshooting applications. The powerful communications available in the Dranetz HDPQ line enhances the end users productivity and safety by allowing users to control the instrument and download data remotely. Users no longer have to subject themselves to hazardous environments and can now manage power surveys remotely from the safety and comfort of an office or other more convenient location. www.dranetz.com

MORE INFORMATION

“Having the ability to power the Dranetz HDPQ SP instruments from the circuit being measured is a great convenience to users, and it also enhances their safety, said Ross Ignall, Dranetz Director of Product Management.

“With the new, built in, 600V AC/DC power supply, users no longer have to locate a separate 120/230V power source for the instrument; they now have the choice to either power the instrument from the circuit being measured or from a separate power source.”

same measurement and strong remote communications capabilities.

Dranetz HDPQ users can now choose between a traditional portable instrument with a local 7” color touch LCD display or a SP version that can be powered from the phase, and is housed in an IP65 enclosure without a local LCD display.

The HDPQ portable (with 7” display) and SP (IP65 enclosure without display) versions of each model have exactly the 18 | Industry USA | February 2018

15

NEWS

ARC INFORMATIQUE IS AWARDED PATENT FOR ITS PCVUE SCADA/HMI INNOVATION IN CONTEXTUAL MOBILITY

Leading SCADA/HMI provider ARC Informatique has been granted a patent for its innovation in Contextual Mobility.

T

he company designed the patented systems and methods for location-based control of equipment and facility resources. It is particularly important for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) including Building Management Systems (BMS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquistion (SCADA) and Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) as described by Patent No. 9,819,509.

The massive adoption of smart mobile devices by field engineers and operators is creating new opportunities and also new challenges for mobile workers. Today, automated systems in the plant and facilities generate large amounts of information that must be intelligently presented as relevant information and controls, given the much smaller screen size of mobile devices when compared to control rooms. ICS users have demanded innovative approaches to monitor, diagnose, maintain and control industrial and building assets from their mobile device.

MORE INFORMATION

The patented systems and methods are now incorporated in PcVue Solutions. Via a mobile device, location information of a user, in or near a facility, is detected using a position sensor.

The location information is communicated wirelessly from the user’s mobile device to a server. One or more actions are determined as being available to the user based on the location information and user role - where actions represent those available in an ICS application. Instructions are communicated to cause the mobile device to display the determined available actions in a user interface. This enables the user to receive messages and interact with equipment or facility resources located in proximity to the 18 | Industry USA | February 2018

16

NEWS

user by interacting with the one or more actions displayed in the user interface without any need to navigate on their mobile device!

“We listened carefully to our customer’s needs to provide a creative solution to fit their changing work processes and help them achieve their goals more efficiently,” explained Pierre de Bailliencourt, CEO of ARC Informatique.

PcVue Solution’s Contextual Mobility will be presented at trade shows around the world, including the SPS IPC Drives exhibition for electric automation in Nuremburg, Germany on November 28th-30th ,the DistribuTECH Conference in San Antonio, USA, January 23rd-25th, and the IoT World Paris, France, March 21th-22th Please visit PcVue Solutions’ website for the schedule of exhibitions showcasing this exciting new technology. www.pcvuesolutions.com

MORE INFORMATION 18 | Industry USA | February 2018

17

NEWS

INSTALLED ON THE FLY

The designated installation space for safety and sorting systems for baggage logistics at Victoria Airport was very limited.

Standardized, plug-in IE4 drives for baggage handling systems.

O

ne baggage handling system OEM came to greatly appreciate certain features of the NORD DRIVESYSTEMS products they had chosen to include: encoder connectivity, positioning capability, and plug-in connectors that ensure fast and safe installation and commissioning. In addition, versatile interfaces enable efficient networking and remote monitoring of the devices in the field as well as the use of drives as distributed I/O nodes. On top of that, they were able to benefit from a variant reduction that greatly simplified spare parts management.

Though passenger numbers and luggage volume at Victoria Airport in British Columbia, Canada, are nowhere near the numbers at large international hubs, it was exactly for this reason that the baggage handling system (BHS) posed major challenges to the handling system OEM. This airport did not have a lot of room to accommodate all the usual modules – from check-in through security screening to sorting. The airport company commissioned Glidepath, a manufacturer specializing in baggage conveying, parcel sorting, and freight logistics technology.

MORE INFORMATION

Lots of technology in little space The new handling system has a capacity of 750 pieces of luggage per hour. “The baggage handling system is made up of 85 conveyors with a total length of some 250 m,” says Jason Williams, project engineer at Glidepath. “It comprises two in-line screening CT machines. It has two decision points for sortation, and it has two separate infeed lines. It has fourway sorters, spiral power curves, bag alignment devices, a luffing conveyor, and Glidepath’s proprietary ploughs and power curves.”

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

18

NEWS

Luggage is screened before it can be admitted onto a plane.

NORD AC vector drives consisting of an energy-efficient geared motor and a distributed frequency inverter power the conveyor modules.

All in one All drive tasks are carried out by IE4 AC vector drives from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS. Each drive unit consists of an IE4 permanent-magnet synchronous motor, a motor-mounted NORDAC FLEX frequency inverter, and a two-stage gearbox.

The hollow shaft gearboxes are secured on the drive axis with a Gripmaxx bushing. This attachment ensures safe, easy-maintenance fitting without keys. The drive systems achieve excellent efficiencies even in the partial load range and at low speeds. They therefore pay for their initial cost within a few years or even only months, and total expenses over the product lifespan are significantly reduced. The frequency inverters are configured exactly to Glidepath’s specifications – with plug-in connectors for power, communications, encoders, and sensors. They feature an internal EtherNet/IP interface and are designed for easy feed-through installation.

The AC vector drives integrating an Industrial Ethernet interface enable remote control of the application.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

19

MORE INFORMATION

Easy, intelligent networking The pluggable drives saved Glidepath a lot of time during installation and commissioning. The coded connectors enable speedy, error-free networking. Williams appreciates the versatile interfaces: “Thanks to the field I/O capability of the NORD drives, we were able to connect the majority of our field devices directly to the frequency inverters.”

Featuring Industrial Ethernet communications, the drives enable not only remote monitoring and control of all drive axes, but also seamless monitoring of connected sensors and actuators. For Williams, this was a crucial factor: “The real

NEWS All connections are made with coded connectors; the inverter directly connects motor encoders and other sensors, enabling remote monitoring.

Connecting the photo eyes to the inverters (wall-mounted) significantly reduces the cabling effort for Glidepath.

advantage here is, the drives support high-speed Ethernet, which allows for reliable bag tracking on our system.”

Positioning function a welcome bonus The drive systems take on various tasks at the conveyor modules. They move luggage at different speeds from one belt to the next. They ensure accurate height adjustment when conveying diagonally. Glidepath only came to realize the full potential of the integrated positioning function of NORDAC FLEX inverters once the drives were commissioned.

As they gathered parameters for various applications, NORD engineers soon found that the positioning function was the optimal solution for the luggage sorters. “On our four-way sorters, we took advantage of the NORD positioning system.

We are very happy with the result.”

MORE INFORMATION

Great service ensures smooth processes Glidepath project engineer Williams is more than satisfied with the professional service. A NORD specialist for their industrial sector provided significant support to Glidepath through efficient standardization. “On this project, we have just five different gear ratios for a job that has 90-odd motors in total and three different motor sizes”, Williams says. “That is a huge advantage. As a consequence, we need only one spare drive per gear type and engine size.” The high service level was maintained throughout the project. “We did not have any issues with commissioning NORD products. They were probably the best thing to commission on the whole job, to be honest. We did pre-commissioning on our own, but 18 | Industry USA | February 2018

20

we also had the benefit of getting a NORD commissioning engineer on-site with us over the four-day commissioning phase, and he was just fantastic. He was very knowledgeable and very happy to share information, teaching us how to use the NORD CON software and the hand-held programmers.

In particular, he helped us with setting up the position control with which we were not yet familiar. All of that was so valuable… it was really good. And the service did not cease with installation and commissioning. I know NORD is just a phone call away, and they have folks close-by in Seattle who can come to the airport quickly when we ask them to.” After several months, Williams expanded on the drive performance in regular operation: “We are very happy with the NORD products. There is nothing I can say that is negative about them. Everything is running. We have not had any problems with drives. We have not had to replace anything. It has been a very good project, showing proof of a great collaboration between Glidepath and NORD.” www.nord.com

NEWS

THE HGW 1033

Wireless operating panel with multi-touch and Safety functions from SIGMATEK: The HGW 1033.

Wireless, Multi-touch & Safety Functions.

T

he wireless handheld panel HGW 1033 from SIGMATEK pulls out all the stops in operating comfort. First, through wireless data transfer, the meter-long cables in the production hall have been eliminated. Second, the mobile panel has a 10.1-inch multi-touch display (PCT) that is suitable for industrial applications and offers a wide range of visualization options and an intuitive operating concept.

A dual-core EDGE2 Technology processor provides the necessary visualization power, as well as the integrated battery back, which guarantees 2 hours of continuous use without having to recharge the mobile panel. The wireless panel supports OPC-UA communication and includes a USB interface as standard. Optionally, an RFID reader can be integrated to authorize access levels for example.

The modern HMI is already equipped with Safety functions: Confirmation button, key switch and a lighting emergency stop button. When inactive, the button appears gray.

An illuminated red mushroom button indicates that the HGW 1033 is correctly linked to the system and the Safety elements are ready to use. As with the function-oriented data, the Safety data is transmitted via the standard WLAN network but according to the Black Channel Principle. With the wireless HMI, the machine operator can flexibly select the inspection points and operate multiple machines, robots or system units at the same time with only one panel.

For this purpose, a safe 7-segment display for machine identification is integrated.

Fully equipped, the HGW 1033 weighs 1,500 g including Safety elements and battery pack – it therefore fits light in hand compared to other handheld devices and thereby ensures low-fatigue operation.

On the grip unit located on the back, there are magnets that allow the HMI to be placed on the machine component without a mount – a practical added feature.

MORE INFORMATION

www.sigmatek-automation.com/en/

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

21

NEWS

SITON® RANGE: THE NON MARKING, HIGH TEMPERATURE RESISTANT SUCTION PADS

MORE INFORMATION

It’s been 15 years COVAL has developed the material SITON® . In addition to its non marking capacity, the new range of suction pads in SITON® offer excellent resistance to abrasion. s most of the COVAL product, the SITON is a material resulting from a clients’ request. The cosmetic industry need’s non-marking suction pads along with a capacity to resist high temperatures.

A

In addition, the SITON® offers superior strength compared to conventional materials, which increases the lifespan of suction cups, thus reducing the frequency of purchase and machine downtime.

Once the product is developed and tested, it was not by surprise that COVAL observed in addition to SITON’s high temperature resistance, it offered a high resistance to abrasion.

Additionally, COVAL extends the range of SITON cups to the large sizes and shapes. From now onwards, 80% of standard suction pads are available in SITON material allowing for utilization in majority of industrial applications.

This rare combination of properties is highly demanded in the cosmetic industry to handle the fragile products such as lipsticks where marking is strictly avoided. For plastics, the heat resistance of SITON® allows for efficient handling of hot products from the moulds without any deterioration or leaving any marks.

The applications Cosmetics: Handling of fragile products such as lipsticks.

Plastics: Handling of products still hot while taken out from molds.

SITON®, which makes the difference • Non-marking: clear mix and absence of silicon • Good mechanical performance to high temperature, up to 160°C. • Very good resistance to abrasion www.coval-inc.com

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

22

NEWS

WEIDMÜLLER STRENGTHENS ITS PRESENCE IN NORTH AMERICA

The Executive Board of the Weidmüller Group (f.l.t.r.): Elke Eckstein (Chief Operating Officer), Jörg Timmermann (Spokesman of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer) and José Carlos Álvarez Tobar (Chief Marketing and Sales Officer).

Acquisition of the W Interconnections group companies in the USA, Canada and Mexico from Rockwell Automation, Inc. effective on 1st October 2017.

T

he Weidmüller Group, an international market leader in Industrial Connectivity and Automation headquartered in Detmold, Germany, announces the acquisition of the W Interconnections group companies in the USA, Canada and Mexico from Rockwell Automation, Inc. effective 1 October 2017. The W Interconnections group sells products for Industrial Connectivity and Automation.

Weidmüller thanks Rockwell Automation for the successful relationship over the last fourteen years and is looking forward to continue a strong partnership.

Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or contractual details. www.weidmuller.com/us/home

MORE INFORMATION

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region is one of the most important markets for Industry Automation.

With this acquisition, Weidmüller strengthens its global presence and customer proximity as an international market leader in Industrial Connectivity and Automation.

The acquisition supports Weidmüller’s growth strategy in Industrial Connectivity, Communication and Digitalization and reflects the long-term commitment of Weidmüller to the NAFTA market.

Weidmüller will continue to operate the business from the current sites in Richmond (USA), Toronto (CAN) and Puebla (Mex) and welcomes the colleagues who contribute with their best in class product, technology and application competence.

18 | Industry USA | February 2018

23