DESIGN WORLD FEBRUARY 2019

www.designworldonline.com

February 2019

inside: MOTION CONTROL: Comparing common actuator

options to moving coil actuators

p. 90

3D CAD: Designed by engineers

with nature’s help

p. 104

MECHANICAL: The 6 most common

challenges for proper coupling selection

Keeping the

elements at bay five key factors for selecting mechanical components for harsh environments page 96

p. 110

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www.designworldonline.com

February 2019

inside: MOTION CONTROL: Comparing common actuator

options to moving coil actuators

p. 90

3D CAD: Designed by engineers

with nature’s help

p. 104

MECHANICAL: The 6 most common

challenges for proper coupling selection

Keeping the

elements at bay five key factors for selecting mechanical components for harsh environments page 96

p. 110

FEBRUARY 2019 DW COVER_FINAL.indd 1

2/8/19 2:18 PM

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the media a lot, but not as much about solutions or approaches to filling these jobs.

When I spoke with former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith for last month’s Leadership in Engineering profile, one area we discussed was the Tech Jobs Tour. This concept was started by Smith’s friend, Leanne Pittsford, as a way to connect the next generation of technical talent — who happen to be women, people of color, LGBTQ people, veterans and people with disabilities — to new careers. It also aims to bridge the divide between the American workforce and tech companies, which are expected to have 1 million open jobs by 2020.

The Tour has already traveled to almost 50 cities across the country and featured more than 150 companies. In total, 50,000 people have engaged with these companies, via career fairs, speed mentoring sessions, workshops and talks.

Smith noted that it’s all kinds of people who show up. It’s not just the tech folks, but it’s mayors and people in city services and people who work at local churches — a bit of everyone.

“It’s a massively intersectional experience,” she said. “But we also do speed mentoring, and resume reviews. It’s very hand-on. So, if you can have a primary conversation with another person from your town about what you’re trying to do, and they are a little bit further ahead, it’s like an apprentice talking with a master.”

Smith said that when the tour goes to a city that’s known for tech, they try to focus on people who live there but have not been included in the future economy — they try to pull those people in.

“Memphis is such a great example,” Smith said. “You know, Memphis has FedEx, AutoZone, ServiceMaster — incredible companies. But starving. And you have 45,000 young people out of school and out of work. And you could bridge that with these types of short courses. Think of it as a community organizing situation. That’s what the Tech Jobs Tour is really about.”

There’s so much talent in this country, much of it in smaller cities and towns, and we need to encourage more programs like the Tech Jobs Tour. Maybe we need to develop a Manufacturing Tech Jobs Tour, to show young people, as well as those who have been displaced mid-career, about the huge range of good paying jobs that are available in the manufacturing economy.

I encourage you to check out techjobstour.com and get your company involved — or if you know someone out of work and looking for a new opportunity, suggest they attend the next nearby tour location. DW

Paul J. Heney - VP, Editorial Director pheney@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW—Editor

Te c h n i c a l S u p p o r t

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4 February 2019 www.designworldonline.com DESIGN WORLD

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Teschler on Topic For want of a screw: Why U.S. manufacturing jobs matter The NY Times grabbed a lot of attention recently when it published an article about Apple’s travails trying to source a tiny screw in the U.S. for its Mac computer. According to the report Apple could get vast quantities of custom screws in China on short notice. But tests of the Mac stalled because a 20-employee U.S. machine shop Apple used could turnout at most 1,000 screws a day. The Times claimed this anecdote is a microcosm of the problems Apple would face if it tried moving a significant amount of manufacturing out of China and back to the U.S. This story hit home with us because of our recent teardown of an Apple Smartwatch. The watch contained numerous super-tiny screws, many of which had odd-ball formats which made them accessible only with special screwdrivers. It would not surprise us to learn the average metalworking shop has trouble making such ultraminiature fasteners.

But to those familiar with supply chains for manufacturers, the Times story seemed to have a number of holes in its logic, a fact noticed by a

legion of commenters on Slashdot.org, a news site that once billed itself as providing “news for nerds.” The Times story gave the impression that Apple’s huge order for screws went to a Lockhart, Tex. specialty machine shop with little notice. Sources within Apple were portrayed as being surprised the supplier found itself understaffed and experiencing delays because materials “were regularly out of place or late,” to quote the Times.

In the real world, of course, manufacturers know better than to walk into a 20-person company and suddenly place an order for hundreds of thousands of parts. One suspects something is missing in the Times narrative. But perhaps including all the facts might blur the article’s central theme: Apple can’t practically bring iPhone manufacturing back to the U.S., and by implication, other manufacturers would have similar problems with efforts at U.S. onshoring.

However, the difficulty of manufacturing onshoring doesn’t make it not worth the effort. One compelling reason is what’s called the employment multiplier. A recent study by the Economic Policy Institute’s director of research Josh Bivens reveals that for every 100 jobs lost in durable manufacturing, another

744.1 indirectly related jobs are lost as well.

To get a handle on indirect jobs, consider that a job at a factory supports jobs in restaurants and diners where workers eat, grocery stores where they buy food, and medical offices where they pay for services. Public-sector jobs supported by worker taxes also fall in the indirect category.

In contrast, for every 100 jobs lost in retail trade, only 122.1 indirectly related jobs go away. In fact, of the major industry groups, durable manufacturing ranks third-highest in the support of indirect jobs. (The highest is utilities, 957.7, followed by real estate and rental leasing, with 879.7. But the number of direct jobs in these groups is relatively small and can’t grow a whole lot.)

Unfortunately, the U.S. industries growing the fastest bring up the rear in terms of supporting indirect jobs.

That’s the case for health care (205.6), services (210.3), and food service/ accommodation (161.2).

The lesson seems clear. Revitalizing U.S. manufacturing comes under the heading of a task that needs to happen for the good of the country regardless of how difficult it happens to be. DW

Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW—LeeTeschler

6

February 2019 www.designworldonline.com

Lee Teschler Column 2-19_V2.indd 6

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Technology Forward

The future of IoT in 2019 Back when Ethernet was not considered a good solution for industrial automation connectivity, various fieldbuses and industry specific networks connected machinery and equipment, but not with IT systems.

Executives used “dashboards,” which were flooded with every bit of data generated by the connections — every switch, every read, every action, and so on. The technology in that day (circa late 1980s early 1990s) was not capable of doing much more than record actions.

It was up to operators and executives to make something of all that data.

The desire to determine better ways to increase automation efficiency continues in the form of the Internet of Things, or the Industrial Internet of Things. Technical advances have made sensors better and more available to gather needed data. But the IIoT and IoT still have not taken off as quickly as early prognosticators said they would. According to some, IIoT and IoT face several challenges in 2019. These challenges include: Data analysis “The challenge is no longer in the tech, but in the value organizations can extract from the data they collect, which can be like finding a needle in the data haystack,” notes Neil Barton, CTO, WhereScape. “This year, there will be a data revolution as IT teams incorporate new data sources into existing analytics environments and make insights quickly and easily accessible to the business.”

Companies will need to “embrace automation to ingest, transform and deliver real-time data and insight in ways a business can use. Data automation can ensure that IT teams, whether old or new to working with streaming data, can absorb the astronomical volume of data on the horizon and be in a position to leverage its insights quickly,” Continues Barton.

Data security 2019 will inevitably see more hacks and more botnets than in prior years, claims Stephen Gailey, solutions architect, Exabeam. “The challenge here is that vendors relatively new to internet-based systems have no history of having to build in security. So 2019 will certainly see an escalation in attacks. These will start by controlling single function technology, either individually as a point of entry, or as part of huge botnets that are then used against third parties.”

And what about legacy equipment?

“IoT technologies are changing the game, but they are also putting companies reliant on legacy infrastructures at a disadvantage as they can’t support the advantage of this technology,” says Arno Witvliet, chief sales office, Leaseweb Global.

Hybrid cloud models can facilitate the shift. “IT and business leaders should learn as much as they can about the hybrid cloud and plan for a future with ubiquitous IoT,” continues Witvliet. “You can’t flick a switch and immediately transform an organization’s entire architecture, which takes time to plan and scale.

A hybrid approach will allow you to establish the right mix of application hosting options and keep pace with the ongoing IoT revolution.” DW

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

8

February 2019 www.designworldonline.com

Tech Forward 2-19_Vs2.LL.indd 8

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Green Engineering Paul J. Heney

• VP, Editorial Director

A new look at biodegradable plastics

Following years of research, Teysha Technologies has developed a natural polycarbonate platform that can create fully biodegradable substitutes for existing petroleum-based plastics. This breakthrough new polymer technology could seriously reduce plastic pollution, including some generated from industrial use and manufacturing processes.

The bioplastic, called AggiePol, is derived from sustainable feedstocks and can be physically, mechanically and chemically tuned to suit the needs of its intended application. The versatile material could replace the traditional plastic used in the automotive industry as well as in medical equipment.

Teysha’s technology uses a plug-and-play system that takes monomers and co-monomers — the natural building blocks of plastics — to create an eco-friendly alternative to traditional polymers. Instead of using hydrocarbon-based petrochemicals, which are sourced from fossil fuels and generate various pollutants in the manufacturing of the material, the platform focuses on natural products, such as starches and agricultural waste products.

By controlling the chemistry, formulation and polymerization conditions, the polycarbonate materials created by the technology can be precisely tuned. Unlike existing bioplastics such as PLA and PHA, the degradation rate of AggiePol can also be tuned, minimizing the environmental impact of plastic products after the end of their useful lifetime.

DESIGN WORLD

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www.designworldonline.com

“In the sea, existing plastics often break down into microplastic particles that can be consumed by marine life and ultimately work their way up the food chain and end up on our dinner plates,” said Dr. Ashlee Jahnke, co-inventor and head of research at Teysha Technologies. “The ultimate fate of plastic materials and whether they breakdown must be taken in to consideration, as many plastics can persist in the environment or landfills for thousands of years.

“At Teysha, we have developed a system where the main mechanism of polymer degradation is water-driven. This allows for breakdown in any environment containing sufficient moisture and not necessarily requiring microbial activity or industrial composting conditions.

“Until now, strategies to reduce plastic pollution have relied on changing human behavior, such as encouraging recycling and banning certain plastic items like carrier bags. By considering the ultimate fate of an applications material in the initial design stage, we can reduce the environmental impacts that occur from plastics, even those made by natural products, and stop contributing to the long-term accumulation of plastics in our oceans.”

It is estimated that currently, approximately 80,000 tons of plastic makes up the muchcovered Great Pacific Garbage Patch alone. As the growing demand for single-use disposable plastic products such as packaging increases, finding a substitute like AggiePol has never been more critical.

The company is also currently working to use green and sustainable manufacturing processes, such as carbon dioxide capture and reagent recycling, for the synthesis of all its polymer building blocks. DW Tesha Technologies www.teyshatech.co.uk February 2019

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Contents 2 • 2019

•

vol 14 no 2

•

designworldonline.com

www.designworldonline.com

A Supplement to Design World - February 2019

• Inside NVIDIA’s Collaborative Robotics Lab_46 • Gripping Improvements_60

90 90 _MOTION CONTROL

110 _MECHANICAL

Comparing common actuator options to moving coil actuators

The 6 most common challenges for proper coupling selection

Here we provide a brief history of linear actuators used in automation — and hint at where moving coil actuators are suitable.

• Reinforcement Learning_66 • Automated Bin Picking_72 • Unique Cobot Case Studies_78

Swedish

machine shop boosts capacity with cobot cell page 54

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44-89

While proper coupling selection is a fundamental part of developing any motion system, it’s easy to select by default. These tips will help overcome coupling specification challenges.

96 _LINEAR MOTION Keeping the elements at bay

Keep these five key factors in mind when selecting mechanical components for harsh environments.

104 _3D CAD Designed by engineers with nature’s help

Engineers are increasingly turning to the already perfected designs found in nature to create lightweight and optimized products. And one software program — also inspired by nature — optimizes the CAD model for the job at hand.

ON THE COVER For proper operation in extreme environments, Electrak HD actuators use stainless steel, e-coated zinc, and anodized aluminum materials and are sealed to IP66 protection. | Photo courtesy of Thomson Linear.

A | S | B | P| E

A | S | B | P| E

A | S | B | P| E

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04 Insights 06 Teschler on Topic 08 Technology Forward 11 Green Engineering 18 Design For Industry 28 Design Notes 38 CAE Solutions

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DESIGN WORLD

Follow the whole team on twitter @DesignWorld

EDITORIAL

VP, Editorial Director Paul J. Heney pheney@wtwhmedia.com @dw_editor Managing Editor Leslie Langnau llangnau@wtwhmedia.com @dw_3dprinting Executive Editor Leland Teschler lteschler@wtwhmedia.com @dw_leeteschler Senior Editor Miles Budimir mbudimir@wtwhmedia.com @dw_motion Senior Editor Lisa Eitel leitel@wtwhmedia.com @dw_lisaeitel Senior Editor Mary Gannon mgannon@wtwhmedia.com @dw_marygannon

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Aerospace/military

Design for Industry O f f- H i g h w a y

Multi-turn encoders ensure

accurate placement

A

Absolute Multi-Turn encoders like models MHM5 and MHK5 are also often in heavy

vehicles for off road mobile platforms, construction and mining equipment where proper placement and operation of equipment is critical to the success of the project.

The MHM5 and MHK5 Absolute Multi-Turn encoders with either Ethernet/IP or ProfiNet interfaces are available in either shafted (MHM5) or blind shaft (MHK5) configurations.

These encoders provide up to 16 bits per turn and 14 bits of turns counting. The compact packaging allows them to be integrated into existing designs. A wide operating temperature range (-40 to +85C) and an IP65 rating make them suitable for many industrial applications.

Included in the design is a geared turns counter that is immune to electrical or magnetic interference. In addition, these encoders feature reverse polarity and short circuit protection as standard. These robust specifications help to ensure reliable and accurate speed and position sensing across many industrial processes.

Multi-turn encoders are used in packaging applications where they help to identify the position of products along the process line to determine when the machine needs to take an action such as to die cut, mark, slit, inspect, singulate, and/or stack. Another common application when encoders are used is in metal forming – such as determining the absolute position of strips, bars, rolls or tubes of metal being carried along a process, that need to be marked, scored, slit, inspected, or formed. DW

Sensata Technologies | www.sensata.comÂ

18

February 2019 www.designworldonline.com

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DESIGN WORLD

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Production Downtime Doesn’t Stop the Clock. Failure to Deliver Does!

In manufacturing, your operation needs to run at peak efficiency which includes being prepared for unfavorable environments, changes in demand and unforseen shifts.

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Coaxial Valves

Industrial Valves

The ability of your fluid system to perform with contamination is only as strong as its least tolerant component. Don’t let your automated ball valves be the culprit in your operation.

HYDAC coaxial valves are designed to continue to operate in less-than-ideal conditions and at fast speeds. Don’t let shavings shut you down.

Production downtime due to unavailable parts is frustrating and costly. Longer and longer lead times on your needed components is a symptom you may be at risk. HYDAC industrial valves are available right now with lead times in weeks, not months.

HYD1901-2062

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www.HYDAC-NA.com | www.HYDAC.com 1/11/19 10:26 AM 2/7/19 2:32 PM

Design for Industry O f f- H i g h w a y

Cartridge proportional valves for mobile transmissions

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The ever-increasing demand for fuel efficiency and emissions reduction continues to spur the need for more efficient and reliable drive systems in mobile, construction and agricultural machinery. These applications require precise, customizable controls, especially regarding the powertrains.

Modular cartridge valves help increase reliability and efficiency in mobile powertrain applications.

These powertrain valve systems help OEMs and equipment users increase reliability, efficiency, performance and emissions compliance, as well as take advantage of modularity and flexibility in overall design. These include various screw-in and slip-in cartridge valves. For example, model PD2E direct-operated directional valves and PP2P proportional valves are both rated for 80 bar (1,160 psi) pressure and 30 l/min (8 gpm) flow; and type SP4P1-B4 pilot-operated proportional valves are rated for 30 bar (435 psi) and 40 l/min (10.5 gpm).

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These valve families reportedly provide excellent stability throughout the entire flow range and rapid response to proportional current input, according to company officials. Additional technical features and advantages include: • One4All cavity system, allowing the interchangeability between directional and proportional valves. This results in a cost-optimized design of the valve block and the flexibility to provide more functional options with just one plate design.

• Low hysteresis ≤ 5%, accurate pressure control and low pressure drop.

• Precise pressure control versus current and excellent repeatability.

• Integrated relief function for protection against pressure peaks.

• High flow capacity and low coil power consumption.

• Optional mesh screen.

For cost-optimized applications of transmission controls, ARGO-HYTOS also offers special valves in the PVRR family designed for mechanical operation. These valves allow the user to proportionally build up pressure in the clutch, thus ensuring a smooth start of vehicle operation. The valves are designed for 30 bar (435 psi) and a flow of 20 l/min (5.28 gpm). DW

ARGO-HYTOS www.argo-hytos.com

The PVRR family of valves is designed for mechanical operation.

• A high-reliability design with a lifetime of 10 million cycles at rated pressure, which also includes the seals.

• Extended surface protection rated 520 hr according to DIN 9227 standards.

• Extreme resistance to high and low temperatures, with an operating range of -30° to 100° C (-22° to 212° F).

• Optimized design for the best ratio between pressure drop, transmitted hydraulic power and leakage.

• Solenoid electrical terminal option AMP Junior Timer or Deutsch DT-04.

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Design for Industry Material Handling

Light-weight slide handles rugged applications

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The AL4160 Super Heavy-Duty Aluminum Slide is a strong but light solution that combines a full aluminum body with stainless steel components for diverse industrial applications.

It supports heavy loads and performs in harsh environments but is also lightweight and has a low-profile.

Key benefits and features of the AL4160 slide include: • Lightweight and a high load rating (up to 661 lb /300 kg) • Corrosion resistance – essential for moist and humid environments • A low profile (1.04 in. of side space) • Full extension

Accuride International | www.accuride.com

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Accessibility, Mobility, and • Compact • Rugged • Easy to Install Low Pro

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Find out more at: pbclinear.com/Videos/MobileOn-Vehicle-Applications

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Design for Industry Semiconductor

Direct drive linear motor includes encoder

I

Integrated components save design time, space, and often cost. One example includes the SDLM-025-070-01-01 and SDLM-025-070-01-05 direct drive linear motors with built-in encoders. Their features include high acceleration, high speed, high resolution, zero backlash, and zero cogging. These compact direct drive linear motors with quiet linear plain bearings are 1.00 in. (25.4 mm) in diameter and 2.75 in (69.9 mm) long. Protected inside the motor housings, are linear optical quadrature encoders, which directly connect to the non-rotating shaft for accuracy.

Select only the degree of precision your application requires as the SDLM-025-070-01-01 has a resolution of 1.25 microns and the SDLM-025-070-01-05 has a resolution of 5.0 microns with a 10% savings in cost.

Each of these direct drive linear motors has a stroke length of 0.500 in. (12.7 mm) and a continuous force rating of 22.2 oz. (5.9 N) and peak force of 67.2 oz (18.7 N).

Non-commutated, they feature: direct coupling of the load or stage, which eliminates backlash and allows for high acceleration/deceleration. Both ends of the motor and shaft ends are drilled and tapped for easy integration into new and existing applications. Applications

include: assembly, manufacturing, sorting, semiconductor handling, inspection, medical equipment and procedure tables, antenna positioning, dampers, door & valve actuators, agricultural equipment, and adjustable office furniture.

Inexpensive alternatives to hydraulic and pneumatic systems these Direct Drive Linear Actuators are also available as complete plug-and-play linear motion systems with matching motion controllers. DW

Moticont | www.moticont.com

Serviceability Solutions

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pbclinear.com 6402 E. Rockton Road, Roscoe, Illinois 61073 USA • +1.800.962.8979

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Design for Industry Safety

Robot safely works beside people

M

Manufacturers constantly look for ways to automate repetitive tasks, not only for cost reasons but for safety reasons as well. The TM Series Collaborative Robot works seamlessly with people to enhance productivity and ensure safety. The robot has built-in vision and a user-friendly, plug-and-play programming interface.

The transportable robot complies with safety requirements for human-robot collaboration specified in ISO 10218-1 and ISO/TS 15066. It can be easily trained to perform almost any repetitive task in any location through a manual teaching function.

The programming interface is intuitive and quick to set up. The robot reduces installation and setup times compared with traditional industrial robots with a flowchart-based programming interface and intuitive teaching. No prior robot programming experience is necessary.

Integrated on-arm vision system further reduces setup time. The robot comes with built-in vision and integrated lighting for capturing products with a wide viewing angle. Image sensing functions include pattern matching, barcode reading, color identification and more.

It complies with human-machine collaborative safety standards. The robot ensures safe cooperation between humans and machines and reduces installation time by eliminating the requirement for industrial safety guarding.

The Collaborative Robot helps boost production and reduces employee fatigue by automating repetitive tasks such as machine tending, loading and unloading, assembly, screw driving, gluing, testing or soldering. DW

Omron Automation | omron247.com

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Design for Industry

EMC Solutions

EMC Shield Bracket

Safety

with a

Tablet certified for

Distinctive Feature

Zone 1/Division 1 hazardous industries

The new SKZ shield brackets, which are based on the classic SK shield brackets, have a feature for additional strain relief to prevent damage of the cable shield.

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Industrial workers often require the safest, most reliable communications methods available. The Tab-Ex 02 DZ1, which uses the Samsung Tab Active2 platform, offers industrial workers a way to communicate in real-time onsite or remotely. With this

icotek’s new shield terminal can be mounted on DIN rails, 10 x 3 bus bars, C-rails and with one screw on mounting plates in a very user-friendly way.

device, they can collect data, parameters, and information safely while operating in hazardous locations such as oil rigs, airline

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refueling stations, and bio gas storage facilities.

The Tab-Ex 02 DZ1 is the next generation of the first intrinsically safe tablet designed for hazardous environments, delivered by ecom, a Pepperl+Fuchs brand and pioneer in hazardous area mobile devices. Using Samsung’s Tab Active2 platform, the tablet is ruggedized and includes application enabling key functions for users to customize to their needs. Employees in hazardous environments have a digital tool for safely engaging in enterprise resource planning, project management systems and computeraided system planning. A compact and lightweight tablet, it can also be used to manage inventory, track materials, and conduct asset management.

The Tab-Ex 02 DZ1 is suited for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-capable applications, which includes simplifying data exchange with SCADA/DCS systems. With military-grade certified Samsung Galaxy Tab Active2 technology enabling access in rainy or inclement weather, workers have the ability to use the touch screen while wearing work gloves or write with the S Pen while in the rain. DW

www.icotek-usa.com

Pepperl+Fuchs www.pepperl-fuchs.com

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Design for Industry Aerospace

Determining the thermal extension under extreme

conditions

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These capacitive sensors detect the thermal extension of star sensor carriers. The measuring platform was developed by KRP Mechatec in cooperation with Micro-Epsilon. Star sensors are optical measuring instruments based on CCD elements or other optical sensors. They are important for space travel to determine the attitude and position control.

They must therefore provide micrometer-accurate measurement results to ensure exact position determination in space. Therefore, the supports on which star sensors are mounted must not be subjected to any thermal deformation. The behavior of the material used is tested using high precision capacitive displacement sensors from Micro-Epsilon.

The carriers have a similar shape to a large »M«. One star sensor is mounted on the left, one on the right and another in the center. These sensors are tilted to the left or right. The sensor in the middle points vertically upwards. During the verification test, there are five capacitive sensors on each support, which detect in the X-, Y- and Z-axes a possible rotation of the platforms in the μrad range (for illustration: 1μrad corresponds to a displacement of 1μm at 1m lever arm). Tests of the measuring platform showed a stability of the rotation measurement at the reference surfaces of <0.1μrad/K. Capacitive sensors are suited for measurement tasks that require high precision. They also provide measurement values down to nanometer accuracy when exposed to extreme temperature fluctuations. The sensors suit applications ranging from cryogenic temperatures or ultra-high vacuums, to dusty industrial environments or clean room applications. DW

Micro-Epsilon www.micro-epsilon.com 26

February 2019 www.designworldonline.com

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Hybrid Control Systems Product Line

Stepper Motors

Compact Linear Actuators

Linear Slides

Linear Cylinders

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Design Notes

The holes drilled in the vertebrae are used to insert pedicle screws which are attached to deformity rod reducers that allow surgeons to lever individual vertebrae and realign the spine.

Robots perform spinal surgery with

pinpoint accuracy

Edited by Mike Santora â&#x20AC;˘ Associate Editor Robots will perform spinal surgery with greater accuracy than humanly possible as part of a new research project led by Nottingham Trent University. A team led by Professor Philip Breedon, of the Medical Design Research Group, have created a system which allows two robotic arms to semi-autonomously drill holes in individual vertebrae.

The drilling is required as part of an operation which allows surgeons to straighten the spines of patients who have conditions such as scoliosis or kyphosis.

The technology is expected to foster unprecedented accuracy, partly because the robotic arms move in unison and naturally with the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spine during the operation while drilling.

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The holes drilled in the vertebrae are used to insert pedicle screws which are attached to deformity rod reducers that allow surgeons to lever individual vertebrae and realign the spine.

Two robotic arms work in collaboration during the procedure, known as the datum and tooling robots. The datum robot is secured to a vertebra and moves with it to follow the natural movements of the patient. It relays data on this movement instantaneously to a computer.

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Rod Ends and Spherical Bearings designed and manufactured to Aurora’s exacting standards for quality and durability.

The tooling robot then adjusts so that it remains on its pre-defined path and continues to drill accurately.

The research also explores the use of augmented reality to provide surgeons with live visual feedback to illustrate the depth of each hole as it is drilled. Drilling accuracy has been recorded at 0.1 of a millimeter.

“Surgeons performing operations to correct spinal conditions such as scoliosis or kyphosis have to ensure pinpoint levels of accuracy to avoid causing unnecessary and potentially serious injuries,” said Professor Breedon.

It has been undertaken in collaboration with Professor David Brown of Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology and consultant spinal surgeon Professor Bronek Boszczyk, Head of Spinal Surgery at Benedictus Krankenhaus Tutzing, Germany, and a visiting professor at Nottingham Trent University.

Professor Boszczyk said: “It is paramount that spinal procedures are carried out with total accuracy to minimize what can be substantial risks to a patient.

“This technology has the potential to minimize those risks by performing a key part of the operation with accuracy which cannot be achieved by a human hand.

“It’s a brilliant example of how robotics can enhance and improve the way in which intrusive operations are carried out, improving patient safety and ensuring efficiency of process.” DW

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12/3/2018 12:18:16 PM 2/7/19 2:52 PM

Design Notes

Newly developed sensor helps mounted bearings get their IoT on Paul J. Heney • VP, Editorial We’ve been hearing for quite a few years that the IoT will be affecting virtually every type of component. And now, thanks to ABB’s new Ability Smart Sensor for Dodge mounted bearings, the IoT has now come to this traditional motion control component.

The sensor is a part of the company’s Ability Digital Powertrain, which enables health checks for bearings. The smart sensor technology provides an early indicator of any potential problems by assessing the condition of bearings from vibration and temperature information. This helps to prevent downtime on applications such as bulk material handling conveyors typically found in industries that include mining, aggregate, grain handling and cement, as well as in applications for the food and beverage and air handling sectors.

Artur Rdzanek, product manager for sensor technologies, Dodge mechanical products at ABB, explained that customers want to be able to analyze all the data points in their machinery systems.

“This is why we have machine learning, this is why we have artificial intelligence. We cannot stop this process, it’s already happening. This is why we moved, we would like to help our customers to go through this transformation,” Rdzanek said.

According to Rdzanek, the ABB team spent roughly three years developing the product. He said that it wasn’t an easy thing, because they had to deal with a combination of hardware, software, firmware, cloud computing, and cyber security issues to complete it.

The Ability Smart Sensor for mounted bearings uses the latest algorithms to assess, manage and ensure the bearings’ performance. An estimated 80% of bearing failures are lubrication related — and a bearing that is running hot can indicate that proper lubrication procedures are not in place. For example, monitoring a bearing’s vibration can indicate potential system problems.

The smart sensor easily mounts to the bearing and communicates wirelessly via a smartphones or other device. This capability keeps employees safe, enabling easy access to the health data of The Ability Smart Sensor bearings in locations that may be difficult or for mounted bearings dangerous to reach. increases safety, reduces

“Bearings are critical components in maintenance and helps conveyor systems and are often the first indicator of a system problem,” said Rdzanek. eliminate unplanned stops.

“The display of the health status of the bearing enables operators to quickly and safely identify a potential problem, which allows them to

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RETAINING DEVICES & maintenance & assembly tools BEARLOK

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schedule maintenance and prevent unplanned downtime.â&#x20AC;?

Matt Frady, General Product Manager for ABB, stressed that the sensor product has five main benefits for customers: â&#x20AC;˘ Increased safety â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Traditionally, routine maintenance can introduce safety hazards as employees are working around complex rotating equipment â&#x20AC;Ś or trying to reach bearings that are difficult or dangerous to access. With the Ability Smart Sensor, the capability to monitor bearings remotely allows maintenance and other relevant personnel to safely get a health check on the bearing without actually touching the equipment. â&#x20AC;˘ Increased productivity â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Not knowing the health of bearings leaves a system at risk for untimely equipment failure.

This can lead to process interruption, unplanned downtime, and ultimately lost revenue. Here, trending data can help to develop patterns for monitoring of performance and eventually the ability to predict replacement schedules. â&#x20AC;˘ Reduced maintenance â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Before, maintenance was always simply a routine schedule based on a combination of experience, training and how it had always been done in the plant. Now, the maintenance can be planned according to actual needs rather than based on generic or arbitrary schedules.

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â&#x20AC;˘ Elimination of unplanned stops â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Normally, the user has little visibility of when component failure may occur. With the Ability Smart Sensor, warnings on decreasing health status allow personnel to plan maintenance â&#x20AC;Ś before there is a problem and the system is down.

Simple to set up and use The system is also easy to use. It was designed for quick and easy installation and activation. The sensor is battery operated, with no wiring, special tools or special software required. Dodge mounted bearings come sensor-ready with drilled, threaded, and plugged installation holes. The smart sensor is installed by removing the plug and threading the sensor into the provided receptacle. But retrofitting is not a problem â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with a special adapter sensor, installation on existing Dodge bearings is easy, simple and keeps the original functionality of grease stud. The sensor is activated simply by pressing the LED activation switch.

The company is offering complimentary access to ABB Ability for data trending. ABB Ability brings together all of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital solutions and services, each built from a unique combination of sector understanding, technology knowledge and digital expertise. Here, customers are able to easily compare performance data of bearings across systems or plants.

Advanced conditional monitoring can now be performed right in your hand, via the Smart Sensor App. Designed with

DESIGN WORLD

Design Notes 2-19_Vs3.LL.indd 31

February 2019

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Design Notes ease in mind, the app allows you to get up to date information on all bearings at any time, no matter where you are.

Simply download ABB Ability Smart Sensor App for any iOS or Android based device. Some of the features are: • Intuitive interface: The simple, graphical interface is easy to use and understand.

• Traffic light system: Bearing health is displayed with a traffic light icon to quickly show users the state of that bearing.

• Push notifications: When conditions change, you can be notified immediately. The app allows you to get notifications based on your preferences.

• Constant communication: When events happen, everyone in the organization can know. This also allows records of who closes the events and what comments are made.

• Event log: All maintenance performed on a bearing can be scheduled and recorded in the app, providing an easy to access record of service for each bearing.

• Asset identification: Each bearing is registered through a part number, which provides a reference when it comes time to replace.

• Access in remote locations: When bearings are located in difficult to reach locations, out of mobile device range, sensor data can be automatically sent thru Bluetooth Low Energy to the ABB Ability platform using a Gateway. Up to 20 Smart Sensors can be connected to one Gateway. DW

ABB | abb.com

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Design Notes

Clear cut: Apparel distribution

company uses robot to increase safety Edited by Mike Santora â&#x20AC;˘ Associate Editor

As the machine is automatically self-feeding and self-aligning, using a conveyor, it does not require a human worker to tamper with boxes or blades.

Robots have long been used to separate human workers from dangerous elements in a factory or warehouse.

Consider the traditional six-axis robot as an example. By deploying these machines to production lines in the 1960s, manufacturers could remove workers from the danger of heavy and fast-moving processes. Similarly, box opening robots, while on a smaller scale, can eliminate the need for workers to handle blades.

Unfortunately, box opening robots are not as common as the more traditional six-axis or SCARA robot models. To find a robot that could perform this task effectively, Ralawise â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a large-scale apparel distributor â&#x20AC;&#x201D; approached TM Robotics, the European, North and South American distributor of Toshiba Machine industrial robots.

For this application, the TM Robotics team suggested the Intelligent Box Opening Device (IBOD), the only patented automated box opener on the market.

The IBOD is a case cutting and extraction machine from CASI, a specialist machine builder of automation systems for

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Design Notes 2-19_Vs3.LL.indd 34

fulfillment processes. The IBOD is a pass-through box opener. Using built-in intelligence, the machine can measure the size of every incoming case to find the programmed cut lines on each carton. As the machine is automatically selffeeding and self-aligning, using a conveyor, it does not require a human worker to tamper with boxes or blades.

However, switching from manual box opening to an automated version can be a significant shift for a distribution facility. From integrating the DESIGN WORLD

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Change the way you look at pressure measurement

oem pressure transmitters

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KELLER 2-19.indd 35

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Design Notes The Intelligent Box Opening Device (IBOD) is a case cutting and extraction machine from CASI, a specialist machine builder of automation systems for fulfillment processes. The IBOD is a pass-through box opener.

machine with existing technology to preparing for the cultural expectations of employees on the factory floor, there is much to consider.

“One of the unexpected advantages was the reduction in damage to products. Aside from accidents and injuries, manual box cutting also runs the risk of damaging a carton’s contents, rendering the goods unsalable. Due to the automated nature of the machine, boxes are opened in a precise and controlled manner, reducing the possibility of accidental damage,” said Gary Clibery, Facilities and Projects Manager at Ralawise.

The IBOD comes in two variations, to suit varying types of

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warehousing applications. The IBOD ONE, the smaller of the two models, can cut the top cases of cartons at a rate of up to 450 cartons per hour, whereas the IBOD DUO can operate at a rate of 750 cartons per hour. Ralawise chose the IBOD ONE for use in its box opening processes.

Using photo optic and linear displacement, the IBOD measures the dimensions of each box before positioning it for cutting. With a programmable motion device, the robot then uses software-controlled automation to cut boxes according to the precise specifications defined by the customer.

Ralawise required the robot to remove lids from cartons

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entering its distribution center. By automating this process with the IBOD, the company eliminated the possibility of cuts and strains, which are commonly associated with cutting boxes manually. The company also benefitted from increased productivity. This automation also meant staff could work on more complex tasks, rather than simply opening boxes.

Since the installation of the IBOD, Ralawise has cut 135,000 boxes at its Flintshire facility. Of these, only one box suffered from damaged contents — a considerable reduction compared to the damage caused by manual box opening.

Automated case extraction is another labor-saving feature of the IBOD. This add-on module removes the lids from cartons and empties the case contents into bins, or onto a separate conveyor. This feature eliminates the build-up of waste in the workspace, freeing manual workers to focus on other tasks.

Automating processes can significantly reduce the likelihood of accidents in all industries. While large-scale health and safety in warehousing is often accounted for, seemingly small accidents can often cause the most significant damage, such as longterm injury, reduced morale from employees and compensation claims. DW

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Novotechnik’s TP1 Series are magnetostrictive position and velocity sensors. All models accept a floating magnet (shown) or guided marker that slides along sensor while held in place by two guide-tracks.

The versatility of the TP1 Series extends to the seven output interface choices shown. Current and voltage outputs have programmable end-points.

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CAE Solutions IronCAD updates its Collaborative Design and Multiphysics programs

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The 2019 release extends the CAD system’s Shrinkwrap capability to simplify imported and native models and gave users the ability to load the simplified or full versions of their models. Using the simplified version allows designers to focus on the design tasks and limit the performance impact of unrelated areas.

The majority of customers are involved with the design and manufacturing of large, complex machines with many thousands of parts, factory automation layouts, and other assembly layout processes.

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Engineers that work with extremely large data sets use IronCAD design software because 3D models made in IronCAD only require one file, regardless of how complex the model is. Assembly part data is integrated into a file’s unified design environment rather than linking to external files.

Feature, part, and assembly data can be stored in catalogs that can be pre-built to include frequently used parts and assemblies, allowing designers to extend the use of 3D data throughout the enterprise.

Typically, a design team receives files from their partners. By using the Shrinkwrap tools on imported data to remove unnecessary geometry, engineers can reduce the overall design file size and improve graphical and process performance during operations such as during saving and loading.

Users can also use the Shrinkwrap tools to hide selective parts, non-visible parts, and hole and pocket regions while forcing critical components to remain. This is essential for sharing downstream when companies need to protect intellectual property while offering a reasonable-size model for sharing.

Originally introduced in 2014, MPIC provides fully coupled multiphysics with stress, thermal, and electrostatic analysis.

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CAE Solutions solidThinking Units (sTU’s) Licensing Option: Provides enterprise access to SimLab sT and all of the products available through the solidThinking suite offering. Sold through Altair’s valued channel network, the more attractive SimLab sT price point provides a compelling offering for SMB manufacturers and organizations starting or upgrading existing simulation capabilities.

HyperWorks Units (HWU’s) Licensing Option: Provides enterprise access to SimLab sT as well as the ability to access all Altair products available through the HyperWorks and solidThinking suite offerings. DW

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A Supplement to Design World - February 2019

• Inside NVIDIA’s Collaborative Robotics Lab_46 • Gripping Improvements_60 • Reinforcement Learning_66 • Automated Bin Picking_72 • Unique Cobot Case Studies_78

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machine shop boosts capacity with cobot cell page 54

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The Robot Report

Inside NVIDIA’s collaborative robotics lab

NVIDIA opened its first full-scale robotics lab to drive breakthrough research in next-gen cobots.

The Robot Report named NVIDIA a must-watch robotics company in 2019 due to its new Jetson AGX Xavier Module that NVIDIA hopes will become the go-to brain for nextgeneration robots. Now there’s even more reason to keep an eye on NVIDIA’s robotics moves: the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker just opened its first full-blown robotics research lab.

Steve Crowe • Editor, The Robot Report

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The lab is in Seattle, just a short walk from the University of Washington. It’s tasked with researching the technologies for robots to operate safely and robustly around people.The robotics lab is led by Dieter Fox, senior director of robotics research at NVIDIA and professor in the UW Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

“All of this is working toward enabling the next generation of smart manipulators that can also operate in open-ended environments where not everything is designed specifically for them,” said Fox. “By pulling together recent advances in perception, control, learning and simulation, we can help the research community solve some of the greatest challenges in robotics.”

The 13,000-square-foot lab will be home to 50 roboticists, consisting of 20 NVIDIA researchers plus visiting faculty and interns from around the world. NVIDIA wants robots to be able to naturally perform tasks alongside people in real-world, unstructured environments.

To do that, the robots need to be able to understand what a person wants to do

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and figure out how to help achieve a goal.

The idea for NVIDIA’s robotics lab came in the summer of 2017 in Hawaii.

Fox and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang met at CVPR, an annual computer vision conference, and discussed the exciting areas and difficult problems ongoing in robotics.

“NVIDIA dedicates itself to solving the very difficult challenges that computing can solve. And robotics is unquestionably one of the final frontiers of artificial intelligence. It requires the convergence of so many types of technologies,” Huang told The Robot Report. “We wanted to dedicate ourselves to make a contribution to the field of robotics. Along the way it’s going to spin off all kinds of great computer science and AI knowledge. We really hope the technology that will be created will allow industries from healthcare to manufacturing to transportation and logistics to make a great advance.”

NVIDIA said there are about a dozen projects currently under way. It will open source its research papers. Fox said NVIDIA is primarily interested, early on at DESIGN WORLD

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Tacile sensing, a missing element for commercialized robotic grippers, is a focus of NVIDIA’s robotics lab.

least, in sharing its software developments with the robotics community. “Some of the core techniques you see in the kitchen demo will be wrapped up into really robust components,” Fox said.

We attended the official opening of NVIDIA’s robotics research lab. Here’s a peek inside.

| NVIDIA

Mobile manipulator in the kitchen The main test area inside NVIDIA’s robotics lab is a kitchen the company purchased from IKEA. A mobile manipulator, consisting of a Franka Emika Panda cobot arm on a Segway RMP 210 UGV, will try its hand at increasingly difficult tasks, ranging from from retrieving objects from cabinets to learning how to clean the dining table to helping a person cook a meal.

During the open house, the mobile manipulator consistently fetched objects and put them in a drawer, opening and closing the drawer with its gripper. Fox admitted this first task is somewhat easy.

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The Robot Report Located in Seattle just a short walk from the University of Washington, NVIDIA’s robotics lab is tasked with driving breakthrough research to enable next-generation collaborative robots that operate robustly and safely among people.

The robot uses deep learning to detect specific objects solely based on its own simulation and doesn’t require any manual data labeling. The robot uses the NVIDIA Jetson platform for navigation and performs real-time inference for processing and manipulation on NVIDIA TITAN GPUs. The deep learning-based perception system was trained using the cuDNN-accelerated PyTorch deep learning framework.

Fox also made it clear why NVIDIA chose to test a mobile manipulator in a kitchen. “The idea to choose the kitchen was not because we think the kitchen is going to be the killer app in the home,” said Fox. “It was really just a stand in for these other domains.” A kitchen is a structured environment, but Fox said it is easy to introduce new variables to the robot in the form of more complex tasks, such as dealing with unknown objects or assisting a person who is cooking a meal.”

NVIDIA’s mobile manipulator includes a Franka Emika Panda cobot on a Segway RMP 210 UGV. | NVIDIA

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Deep object pose estimation NVIDIA introduced its Deep Object Pose Estimation (DOPE) system in October 2018 and it was on display in Seattle. With NVIDIA’s algorithm and a single image, a robot can infer the 3D pose of an object for the purpose of grasping and manipulation. DOPE was trained solely on synthetic data.

One of the key challenges of synthetic data is the ability to bridge the reality gap so that networks trained on synthetic data operate correctly with real-world data. NVIDIA said its one-shot deep neural network, albeit on a limited basis, has accomplished that. The system approaches its grasps in two steps. First, the deep neural network estimates belief maps of 2D keypoints of all the objects in the image coordinate system. Next, peaks from these belief maps are fed to a standard perspective-n-point (PnP) algorithm to estimate the 6-DoF pose of each object instance.

Tactile sensing NVIDIA had two demos showcasing tactile sensing, which is a missing element for commercialized robotic grippers.

One demo featured a ReFlex TakkTile 2 gripper from RightHand Robotics, which recently raised $23 million for its piecepicking technology. The ReFlex TakkTile 2 is a ROS-compatible robotic gripper with three fingers. The gripper has three bending DOFs and 1 coupled rotational DOF. Sensing capabilities include normal pressure sensors, rotational proximal joint encoders, and fingertip IMUs. The other demo, run by NVIDIA senior robotics researcher Karl Van Wyk, featured SynTouch tactile sensors retrofitted onto an Allegro robotic hand from South Korea-based Wonik Robotics and a KUKA LBR iiwa cobot. “It almost feels like a pet!” said Huang as he gently touched the robotic fingers, causing them to pull back. “It’s surprisingly therapeutic. Can I have one?”

Van Wyk said tactile sensors are starting to trickle out of research labs and into the real world. “There is a lot of hardening and integration that needs to happen to get them to hold up in the real world, but we’re making a lot of progress there. The world we live in is designed for us, not robots.”

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The Robot Report NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang tests SynTouch tactile sensors on an Allegro robotic hand from Wonik Robotics and a KUKA LBR iiwa cobot. | NVIDIA

The KUKA LBR iiwa wasn’t using any vision to sense its environment. “The robot can’t see that we’re around it, but we want it be constantly sensing and reacting to its environment,” said Van Wyk. “The arm has torque sensing in all of the joints, so it can feel that I’m pushing on it and react to that. It doesn’t need to see me to react to me.

“We have a 16-motor hand over with three primary fingers and an opposable thumb, so it’s like our hands. The reason you want a more complicated gripper like this is you want to eventually be able to manipulate objects in your hands like we do on an daily basis. It is very useful and makes solving physical tasks more efficient. The SynTouch sensors measure

ReFlex TakkTile 2 gripper from RightHand Robotics.

| NVIDIA

Attendees test a control system developed by Dr. Madeline Gannon that enables a robots to mimic human movements. | NVIDIA

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The Robot Report

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang (left) and Senior Director of Robotics Research Dieter Fox at NVIDIA’s robotics lab. | NVIDIA what’s going on when we’re touching and manipulating something. Keying off those sensors is important for control. If we can feel the object, we can re-adjust the grip and the finger location.”

Human-robot interaction Another interesting demo was NVIDIA’s “Proprioception Robot,” which is the work of Dr. Madeline Gannon, a multidisciplinary designer nicknamed the “Robot Whisperer” who is inventing better ways to communicate with robots.

Using a two-armed ABB YuMi and a Microsoft Kinect on the floor underneath the robot, the system would mimic the movements of the human in front of it.

“With YuMi, you don’t need a roboticist to program a robot. Using NVIDIA’s motion generated algorithms, we can have engaging experiences with lifelike robots.”

You might have heard of Gannon’s recent work at the World Economic Forum in September 2018. She installed 10 industrial robot arms in a row, linking them to a single central controller. Using depth sensors at the bases of the robots, they tracked and responded to the movements of people passing by.

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“There are so many interesting things that we could spin off in our pursuit of a general AI robot,” said Huang. “For example, it’s very likely that in the near future you’ll have ‘exo-vehicles’ around you, whether it’s an exoskeleton or an exo-something that helps people who are disabled, or helps us be stronger than we are.” RR

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The Robot Report

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By Steve Crowe | Editor Robot Report

Universal Robots and OnRobot help FT Produktion save 500 hours when manufacturing 150,000 parts.

F

Founded in 1983 and based in the town of Åseda in Southern Sweden, FT Produktion is a machine shop that supplies metal parts measuring up to 7.5 meters in size to a variety of industries. The company has 25 employees that hail from Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Syria, and Thailand who work in tandem with neighboring company Profilgruppen.

To keep up with an increase in orders, FT Produktion in 2017 made the largest investment in its history by renovating much of its machinery, which included the addition of a flexible collaborative robotics cell.

Challenge No machine shop would turn down global industry leaders like Volvo, Renault, and Scania when they come calling with orders – even if it means pushing capacity and productivity to the limit. With an annual revenue of just over $2 million, turning down new business would mean limiting FT Produktion’s growth opportunity.

As a result of the automation, FT Produktion saves 500 hours when manufacturing a series of 150,000 parts. | Universal Robots

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The Robot Report FT Production expects to add another two collaborative robots to its facility in the next couple years. | Universal Robots

To keep up with an increase in orders, FT Produktion in 2017 made the largest investment in its history by renovating much of its machinery, which included the addition of a flexible collaborative robotics cell.

“The demand for productivity continues to grow. But relevant manpower is hard to come by these days,” said Joakim Karlberg, who owns and operates the family-owned FT Produktion with his sister. “Thanks to automation, an operator can keep three or four machines running at once without stress. We try to eliminate monotonous manual tasks by roboticizing the high-volume production runs, giving employees more time to work on smaller runs with greater variation in their tasks.”

Solution FT Produktion manufactures 650 different aluminum profiles and fills 7,000 orders annually, with production runs ranging from five to 150,000 units. Given the wide range of tasks and volumes, flexible automation was essential. A single robot solution must be capable of handling many different parts with minimal downtime when reconfiguring from one production run to the next.

FT Produktion’s robot cell includes a UR5 cobot from Universal Robots, two RG2 robot grippers from OnRobot and a

ProFeeder from EasyRobotics. According to Universal Robots, this trio of Danish cobot solutions has now provided automated machine operation at FT Produktion for more than a year. Karlberg said the investment paid for itself in 9 months. “It’s one of the best business decisions we’ve ever made,” he said.

Results Since the collaborative robots cell has been up and running, a batch of 150,000 units can be manufactured in less than two months with the robots working up to 16 hours a day, five days a week. Once every 25 seconds, the RG2 gripper on the UR5 cobot removes a raw part from the ProFeeder’s parts tray in the mover and inserts it in a CNC machine. In the same robot arm movement, the other gripper takes a finished part out of the CNC machine and places it in a container. As a result, FT Produktion saves 500 hours when manufacturing a series of 150,000 parts.

In the past, an employee had to manually insert four parts at a time in a

“Now my job is less monotonous and much more interesting. It’s fun to watch a robot at work,” said Mikael Andersson, a machine technician and robot programmer at FT Produktion.

“I would like to see more of them here. This cobot solution is so easy to reconfigure that even small production runs are feasible in terms of costs.”

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The Robot Report

Case Study Breakdown Company: FT Produktion Location: Sweden Industry: Metal & machining Employees: 25 Challenges: Production and workforce limitations Robots: UR5 cobot arm, two OnRobot RG2 grippers; EasyRobotics ProFeeder Tasks: CNC machine tending; pick and place Value Drivers: Flexibility easy programming; plug-and-play accessories; collaborative and safe Results: 500 hours saved on 150,000 unit batches; increased job satisfaction ROI: 9 months

CNC machine, wait for 90 seconds, and then repeat the process for the duration of the workday. Now the solution requires just five minutes to manually fill one of the ProFeeder’s two movers. When the robot has emptied one of the mover’s parts trays, the operator removes the empty mover and clicks a filled mover into place in the ProFeeder, allowing the CNC to rapidly resume operation.

Karlberg expects to add another two cobots to FT Produktion’s facility in the next couple years. “It seems like there’s no end to this economic upswing,” he said, “and therefore no end to our bottleneck issues. So we can already see many more opportunities for improved optimization and automation.”

Another benefit of turning to automation, according to FT Produktion, is the increase in employee job satisfaction. Mikael Andersson is a machine technician at FT Produktion.

One year ago, he also became a robot programmer and robot operator following two days of theoretical and hands-on training at Edströms.

“It was actually easier to use robots than I had expected. If you’re standing there all day, feeding the same machine with parts, you can feel it in every joint

per

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of your body at the end of the day,” he said. “Now my job is less monotonous and much more interesting. It’s fun to watch a robot at work. I would like to see more of them here. This cobot solution is so easy to reconfigure that even small production runs are feasible in terms of costs.”

The new generation of cobot arms also requires high-performance accessories. For example, the functionality and user-friendliness of grippers ultimately determines the scope and variety of tasks and parts that can be automated, as well as the ROI time for automation investments.

“It only takes 10 seconds to change to a different part on the robot’s display,” said Anderson. “The robots are not taking any jobs. We can fill more orders and deliver more detailed parts with higher quality when we use the robots.

They have been easy to install and adjust, so we’ve been able to do it all ourselves, with just a little help over the phone from Edströms.” RR

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Once every 25 seconds, the OnRobot RG2 grippers simultaneously remove a part from the ProFeeder tray and take a finished part out of the CNC machine. | Universal Robots

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The Robot Report

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advances in machine manipulation

Robotic grasping is continuing to

evolve and diversify in response to

widening applications.

Robots have used multiple types of grippers for years, but the push for more manual dexterity has become more urgent because of rising demand from e-commerce order fulfillment and other applications. Human-level manipulation of various objects is a difficult technical challenge, and robotics developers and vendors have responded with a range of solutions.

Eugene Demaitre â&#x20AC;˘ senior editor The Robot Report

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From claw, parallel, and rotary grippers to bellows, magnetic, and vacuum grippers, robotic manipulation has evolved to meet the needs of industries including automotive and electronics manufacturing and food processing.

With the rise of collaborative robot arms, or cobots, machine manipulation has diversified to handle a widening variety of objects. Industrial robots could use parallel or rotary grippers for fast, repetitive handling of identical parts, but cobot users need flexibility and safety over throughput.

In addition to consumer packaged goods, markets for robotic grippers include machine tending, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and agriculture and food processing. Even more specialized, in terms of performance requirements, are end-of-arm tools (EOATs) for undersea exploration, telesurgery, and hazardous materials handling.

The makers of robotic grippers have designed their products to work with multiple models of industrial and collaborative robot arms. Advances

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in prosthetics have paralleled the development of electromechanical and pneumatic grippers. Better sensing and controls, lighter materials, and more efficient use of space and power continue to make grippers an area of robotics worth watching. Here are six advances to follow: 1 The right tool for the job Robot grippers must be appropriate for the size, weight, and rigidity of the objects they handle, as well as the required precision. Shoeboxes are much easier to move than screws, a large pallet, or shrink-wrapped shirts, for example.

As with robots in general, cobot EOAT designers and users should consider the competing demands for cycle time, torque, and shape and force limitations for safety. Environmental contaminants and patterns of contact and wear are other factors to note.

Several companies, such as Destaco, offer customizable end effectors to work with specific items or materials.

Increasingly, robotics vendors are DESIGN WORLD

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The VG10 from OnRobot is a vacuum gripper that doesn’t use external compressed air to create suction. It creates an internal air supply with self-contained airflow and has two individual vacuum channels. | OnRobot

offering suites of solutions that include grippers, sensors, and software. For example, Quebec City-based Robotiq has grown not only by selling products, but also explaining the value of such combinations.

Much of the attention in the collaborative robotics space has been on developing end effectors that are as easy to install and use as the robot arms they’re mounted on. Rather than trying to use a single end

A choice of grippers helps this dual-arm YuMi robot pick up 300 unknown objects per hour with a 95 percent success rate. This is part of the Dex-Net 4.0 project from the University of California, Berkeley that lets the robot dynamically choose between two grippers.

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The Robot Report While humanlevel dexterity might not be the goal of developers and suppliers — surpassing it is — new materials and types of grippers are making robots more reliable and flexible than ever.

Schunk’s line of end-of-arm modular systems, which is exclusively for Universal Robots, includes this SHS 50 manual tool changer.

effector to do everything, tool changers are designed to make it easier to quickly swap out robotic grippers.

Major vendors of “automatic manual” tool changers include ATI Industrial Automation, Applied Robotics, SAS Automation, Schunk, and Stäubli.

2 Nimbler fingers While human-level dexterity might not be the goal of developers and suppliers — surpassing it is — new materials and types of grippers are making robots more reliable and flexible than ever.

Robotiq’s three-finger adaptive grippers are designed to minimize tool changes with a high degree of customizability, a patented mechanism for high precision, and plug-and-play kits for UR arms.

OnRobot’s RG-FT smart gripper, which debuted at last year’s IMTS, includes six-axis force and torque sensors. The company’s new Gecko gripper uses biologically inspired microscopic stalks to grasp flat objects more effectively than current electrostatic methods.

Not all robotic grippers use fingers or clamps. Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology have studied elephant trunks for grasping, and Festo has copied an octopus tentacle.

OnRobot’s Polyskin Tactile Gripper is an example of robot grasping with tactile sensors. Force sensing can improve manipulation of fragile items such as eggs or lightbulbs, as well as safety in processes where robots are collaborating with humans.

3 New approaches to suction A new generation of vacuum grippers don’t require an external air supply to create suction. This results in suction grippers that are less noisy, more energy efficient and have a smaller overall footprint. Researchers at Saarland University have developed “artificial muscles” to create suction.

The technology is based on the shape memory properties of nickel-titanium alloy, which is able to “remember” its shape and to return to that original shape after it has been deformed. By

| Schunk

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switching on and off an electrical current that flows to that muscle, it contracts to create a vacuum within the rubber membrane and relaxes to release it.

Odense, Denmark-based OnRobot offers a vacuum gripper that doesn’t use external compressed air with its VG10, which it acquired when it bought Purple Robotics in 2018. The VG10 features a payload up to 10kg, an internal air supply with self-contained airflow and two individual vacuum channels that can simultaneously use different suction power and lost grip detection.

“More electrical grippers are coming out and we’ll continue to see that,” said Esben Østergaard, co-founder and CTO of Universal Robots. “Five or 10 years ago everything was pneumatic, now everything is going electric.”

4 Combined approach In the past year, several companies have combined gripper types for more reliable pick-and-place operations. The gripper for RightHand Robotics’ RightPick combines a vacuum gripper and fingers and uses computer vision and machine learning in the cloud.

Soft Robotics’ SuperPick system is controlled by AI and adds a vacuum to its compliant grippers.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, recently created Dexterity Network (Dex-Net) 4.0 for “ambidextrous robot grasping policies.”

In this approach, two-armed robots were trained for both parallel-jaw and vacuum gripper grasping on a library of 5 million synthetic images. With two arms and grippers, the robot could choose which gripper to use for a particular task.

“On a physical robot with two grippers, the Dex-Net 4.0 policy consistently clears bins of up to 25 novel objects with reliability greater than 95% at a rate of more than 300 mean picks per hour,” reported the UC Berkeley team.

OnRobot’s creation this past year from the merger of OnRobot, OptoForce, and Perception Robotics illustrates a different kind of consolidation. The number of tool providers is likely to change, even as EOATs proliferate and cobot makers challenge Universal Robots for dominance.

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The Robot Report

With a gripper that combines fingers and suction, RightHand Robotics’ RightPick recently achieved a pick rate of 800 to 1,000 units per hour at a DHL event.

5 Improved AI, sensors Among the recent developments for robotic manipulation is the addition of machine learning, fed by large data sets and connected via the Industrial Internet of Things. As with other forms of artificial intelligence, this depends on the amount of data available, whether processing for machine vision occurs at the edge or in the cloud, and the types of sensors used.

For instance, Vicarious AI is developing “artificial general intelligence for robots.”

The San Francisco-based company’s “virtual cognitive computer” software uses images from cameras to instruct robot grippers on how to approach an object.

In other words, the robot can teach itself through observation and comparison with existing models.

Researchers at Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) Institute and Japan’s CNRS-AIST Joint Robotics Laboratory have created an algorithm that allows a robot to compare a shape with its own hand to determine how to best move an object.

NVIDIA’s Deep Object Pose Estimation System enables robots to determine the position of an object using data from a single image.

IAM Robotics’ Swift can pick items from shelves and place them into bins, and it can be run in fleets.

The MOVO Beta from Kinova, which makes lightweight arms, grippers, and other robotics parts, is intended as a research platform. It runs on the Robot Operating System (ROS) and includes simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) capabilities.

Cobots getting a grip Software and hardware engineers at robotics developers, vendors, and user organizations have more options than building or picking a specialized tool for each task. The increasing breadth of EOAT, as well as more sophisticated sensors, data analysis, and connectivity, are driving a new generation of machine manipulation.

The use of EOAT in non-automotive applications increased by 20% in 2017, compared with 14% in automotive ones, according to the Robotic Industries Association.

The global collaborative robot market, which is a small but expanding portion of industrial automation, will experience a compound annual growth rate of 49.8%, predicted ABI Research. It will grow from $292 million in 2017 to $1.23 billion by 2025, said ABI. This growth will driven by small and midsize enterprises and demand for safer robots that can handle a variety of items. RR

6 Mobile manipulation Sometimes described as the “holy grail” of e-commerce automation, the combination of cobots with mobile platforms has been elusive until recently.

Fetch Robotics has been known more for its Freight autonomous mobile robots, but its Fetch mobile manipulator is available for researchers.

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The Robot Report - Case Study

Reinforcement learning shows promise for industrial robots Hype about reinforcement learning has a valid motivation, but it is not the main ingredient for success.

By Eugen Solowjow & Juan Aparicio Siemens

Industrial robots deployed today across various industries are mostly doing repetitive tasks. The overall task performance hinges on the accuracy of their

Figure 1: Reinforcement learning loop for robot control. | Siemens

controllers to track predefined trajectories. The ability of robots to handle unconstructed complex environments is limited in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manufacturing.

Two examples are flexible picking of previously not encountered objects or the insertion of novel parts in assembly tasks. There are numerous examples of spectacular robot demonstrators exhibiting dexterity and advanced control, e.g. robot Fanta challenge, or robots playing ping pong. However, these applications are hard to program and maintain, usually they are the output of a PhD thesis, and they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t made the leap into manufacturing.

Endowing machines with a greater level of intelligence to autonomously acquire skills is desirable. The main challenge is to design

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The Robot Report

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adaptable, yet robust, control algorithms in the face of inherent difficulties in modeling all possible system behaviors and the necessity of behavior generalization.

Reinforcement learning (RL) methods hold promise for solving such challenges, because they enable agents to learn behaviors through interaction with their surrounding environments and ideally generalize to new unseen scenarios.

RL is a principled framework that allows agents to learn behaviors through interactions with the environment. As opposed to traditional robot control methods, the core idea of RL is to provide robot controllers with a high-level specification of what to do instead of how to do it. Thereby, the agent interacts with the environment and collects observations and rewards.

The RL algorithm reinforces policies that yield high rewards. RL can be distinguished in value-function-based methods and policy search. In policy search, robots learn a direct mapping from states to actions. In valuefunction-based approaches, robots learn a value function, an intermediate structure that assesses the value of an explicit state, and derive actions from the value function.

Both policy search and value-functionbased approaches can either be model-based or model-free. Model-free methods do not consider the dynamics of the world. Modelbased methods incorporate a model of the world dynamics, which is learned from data as well.

Control methods

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As we can see, robot control methods can be grouped along a continuum where on one end we find â&#x20AC;&#x153;rigidâ&#x20AC;? feedback control laws, which are hand-engineered, incorporate domain knowledge and the control structure is not adapted by data. On the other end of the spectrum we have RL methods, which allow learning control policies purely from observed data. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages.

Traditional feedback control methods can solve various types of robot control problems very efficiently, such as trajectory tracking in free space, by capturing the structure with explicit models, such as rigid body equations of motion. However, many control problems in modern manufacturing deal with contacts and friction, which are difficult to capture with first-order physical modeling. And if higher-level reasoning is required (where to pick in bin

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The Robot Report Figure 2: Insertion use cases solved with a combination of conventional control and RL. | Siemens

picking problems, for example) current robot controllers lack flexibility. Applying feedback control design methodologies to these kinds of problems often results in brittle and inaccurate controllers, which have to be manually tuned for deployment.

RL, on the other hand, can, in principle, learn any control structure. However, for real-world robots, the continuous exploration space is large and, hence, large amounts of data and, therefore, long training times are required.

Moreover, unlike conventional feedback control, convergence and stability statements are difficult to derive for RL methods.

Just to name two recently popularized use cases for both control methods: Boston Dynamics is known for deploying conventional feedback control laws (more precisely Funnel Control) for all its well-known demonstrations.

Google, on the other hand, has shown that RL is capable to arrive at a robot controller for bin picking simply through trial and error. However, several months of training on a robot farm were required to achieve the required control performance.

Flexible manufacturing After realizing that robot control methods comprise a continuum, where the underlying dimension is how much influence online data

Figure 3: Siemens Robot Learning Challenge. | Siemens

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has on shaping the control algorithm, it seems that best control performance for flexible manufacturing has to combine both traditional control theory and data-driven RL. Traditional control can provide guarantees in safety and performance, while RL can bring flexibility and adaptability, if tuned correctly. In a way, RL removes the specificity needed at the engineering stage, where controls are designed. It targets to achieve the same performance than a carefully engineered feedback control algorithm, but without the need of tedious programming and rules.

We suggest decomposing robot control pipelines, which consist of perception, state estimation, control etc, into sub-problems that can be explicitly solved with conventional methods and sub-problems, which are approached with RL. The final control policies are then superpositions of both datadriven components and control policies from first-order models. Our approach combines the benefits of traditional control theory (e.g. data-efficiency) with the flexibility of RL. For example, position control is taken care of by a PID controller, and RL contributes the control part that deals with friction and contacts. We have conducted studies on different industrially relevant use cases, which amongst others include robots to perform real-world assembly tasks involving contacts and unstable components.

Figure 2 illustrates two assembly use cases, where conventional feedback control was combined with RL to solve complex assembly tasks in a flexible manner. Subfigures (a) and (b) show how a gear wheel is placed on a shaft. The use case is part of the Siemens Robot Learning Challenge. The robot required less than seven iterations to learn the required control policy. Subfigures (c) and (d) show a different use case for which www.designworldonline.com

the same control algorithm was used as for (a) and (b). Again, after less than seven iterations, the robot learned the control policy.

A challenge persists in this approach.

Seven iterations may seem reasonable for lab setups, but they entail an inherent risk, as every iteration in a friction-rich environment has the danger to damage the part in contact with the gripper.

Accurate sensors and adequate constrain management can alleviate the problem.

Those are better handled in the pipelines that use traditional control, and can filter the output of the RL commands. Note that a certain amount of engineering is still needed to ensure that the robot is not in a lock position, unable to move because of the constrains. In these situations, calling a human for help may be the best course of action. In addition, in order to reduce the number of real world iterations, novel approaches in simulation to reality gap (sim2real) have been proven to accelerate the learning.

Conclusion As a conclusion, we believe the current hype of reinforcement learning around robotic applications has a valid motivation; however, it is not the main ingredient to guarantee success. Endto-end learning approaches have shown poor performance in tasks that require precision. In an analogy that we like to make, if you want to make a chocolate cake, chocolate (reinforcement learning in this case) is not the main ingredient. You still need eggs, flour, etc. These â&#x20AC;&#x153;less-sexyâ&#x20AC;? ingredients are in our case traditional control approaches. They are the base to build a successful flexible robotics application.

We strongly believe that to accelerate robot learning research and its adaption in industry, we need a benchmark for the research community. We have seen that the ImageNet benchmark, which was introduced by Fei Fei Li in 2009, became the catalyst for image classification with deep learning. Machine performance for classification surpassed human capabilities in 2015. Benchmarks accelerate research because they facilitate reproducibility and allow comparison of research. RR

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The Robot Report

Is fully automated bin picking finally here?

A truly universal bin picking

solution needs to be usable

by non-experts, configurable

in a few hours, provide

sophisticated path planning that works with little or no tuning, and be cost-effective for SMEs.

W

With the lowest unemployment in nearly 50 years, the need for automated bin picking is urgent. In the U.S.,

where 38 percent of the manufacturing labor force moves parts between bins and manufacturing machines, 500,000 jobs remain unfilled. The automation industry is trying to meet that need: every automation trade show adds a few new companies that claim to have finally solved the puzzle of bin picking.

By Eric Truebenbach | director of corporate development | Teradyne

Automatica 2018 in Munich, for example, had no fewer than 14 bin-picking demonstrations. But even at large manufacturers, few bin-picking stations can be found. And at small and midsized enterprises (SMEs), the number is close to zero.

Why is the adoption rate of automated bin picking systems so low, when the need is so great and so many vendors claim to offer a solution?

Automated bin picking a complex problem The simple answer is that for the most part, automated bin picking is only a partially solved problem. Picking randomly positioned parts from a bin and placing them precisely into a machine is a simple task for a human but a daunting task for robots. Robots must be able to grasp parts in an infinite number of orientations and reach deep into the corners of the bin all while avoiding collisions with the bin, other parts, or the work cell itself.

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The Robot Report Add waypoints, revise algorithm on controller

Write robot program on controller Buy components

Assemble hardware

Configure software

Pick & place a few hundred parts

Pick a few parts

Configure bin picking program on processor

No Acceptable?

Yes

Program with acceptable reliability

(Repeat for many weeks) No

Picks are OK?

Yes

Typical installation and programming for a commercial bin picking system. (Credit: Energid)

Figure 1: Typical installation and programming for a commercial bin picking system

Currently, bin picking is able to be that runs on a separate computer. A Robots must be able fully automated only with a huge system robotics expert is expected to integrate integration project that requires multiple the sensor, computer, software, and robot to grasp parts in advanced technologies to work together. controller, and then write a program to Configure bin retrieve the location of each part and Pick & Pick & Yes picking program Buyan infinite Assemble number with These include: figure out how to get it toProgram the placement place a place on teach components hardware high reliability • A 3D model of few the parts part, the bin, the target.

Figure 1.)

OK? (Finish up(See in half a day) of orientations and pendant robot end effector, the placement Creating a general path-planning target, and any environmental No algorithm starting with infinite variation reach deep into the obstacles in part orientation is a near-impossible waypoints, revise • A robot model of one or moreAdd ways to pick up task. At best, weeks to months of Write corners of the bin algorithm on controller the part experimentation and tuning yields a program on with the end effector and No Figure 2: Installationcontroller and programming for an integrated with pathalgorithm planningwith unreliable

deposit it at the placement target system specialized all while avoiding Pick & place • A 3D sensor to map the bin performance.

Program with Yes Buy Assemble Configure Pick a few Because Accept • Image analysis software to locateaeach bin picking is so acceptable complex, collisions the components hardware with software few parts hundred able? part and potential obstacles in the bin specialists have attempted toreliability apply Configure • Path planning software to find a parts deep-learning techniques. So far, the bin bin, other parts, or picking collision-free route from the part’s results have been disappointing, at least program on point to the placement target pick-up for industrial use.

Artificial intelligence (Repeat for many weeks) processor the work cell itself.

• Robot control software to maneuver (AI) is effective for applications such

are and part along as image classification and voice the robot, endPicks effector, OK? the route recognition, where lower accuracy No Yes

is acceptable. But AI simply doesn’t There are commercial bin picking systems have the reliability and accuracy that that include some of these components manufacturers need to replace human Figure 1: Typical installation and aprogramming for a commercial bin picking system and address subset of bin picking operators for bin picking. challenges. Usually these systems combine With the large integration and a 3D sensor with image analysis software programming effort required, it’s no

Buy components

Assemble hardware

Configure bin picking program on teach pendant

Pick & place a few parts

Pick & place OK?

Yes (Finish up in half a day)

Program with high reliability

No

Installation and programming for an integrated system with path planning. (Credit: Energid)

Figure 2: Installation and programming for an integrated system with path planning

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The Robot Report

Energidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Actin software, proven in mission-critical applications including NASA spacecraft, autonomous robots on oil drilling platforms, surgical applications, and industrial automation, works behind the scenes to automate the path planning for each part in real time, improving performance and reliability, without the need for user-defined waypoints and manual tuning. | Energid

per

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surprise that most real-world bin picking deployments are found at large, sophisticated manufacturers such as automotive OEMs. But most bins and manufacturing machines are found at SMEs, with 69% of the industrial labor force worldwide. SMEs have the greatest labor shortages but the least capital and expertise required to create a binpicking system.

Path planning key to ease of use and reliability A truly universal bin picking solution needs to be usable by non-experts, configurable in a few hours, provide sophisticated path planning that works with little or no tuning, and be costeffective for SMEs. This solution will truly democratize bin picking. (See Figure 2.)

The underlying software in a completely pre-integrated system manages all the complexity. All the system components (sensor, imaging and path planning software and coprocessor) are pre-configured and plug in to the robot controller with no setup required, reducing installation time to hours.

All programming is integrated with the robotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teach pendant, enabling bin picking actions to be freely mixed with standard robot commands using the same programming interface. Training time is minimal.

Setup and programming are guided by a series of wizards that mimic the

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training a human operator would have to go through, e.g., how to pick up a part, where to put it down, obstacles to avoid, etc. (See Figure 3.)

Planning a unique, collision-free path for each part in the bin to the placement target is by far the trickiest challenge for bin picking, and is often left to the ingenuity of an automation expert. Path planning is the main determinant of system reliability, and if not done well will result in collisions, parts left in the bin or dropped, and missed targets.

Finally, a bin-picking solution for SMEs So, can we declare that the bin picking problem has been solved once and for all, and manual machine tending is a thing of the past? Not quite, since there will always be applications that are just too complex for automation and will require human operators for the foreseeable future.

However, advances in cost-effective cobots, 3D imaging, and intelligent motion control software have aligned to enable a new generation of bin picking solutions that can handle many more of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s machine-tending applications, and enable manufacturers to shift their limited resources to higher-value tasks. More importantly, bin picking has become accessible and cost effective for SMEs. RR

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The Robot Report

Cobots bring automation to novel applications From greenhouses to the operating room, cobots are coming.

By definition, collaborative robots are designed to be safer to operate around humans. Thanks to their smaller scale, affordability, and flexibility, cobots offer the benefits of industrial automation to new markets, including at small and midsize enterprises.

Eugene Demaitre • senior editor The Robot Report

Cobot arms, compliant grippers, and mobile platforms equipped with collision-avoidance capabilities take robots from inside fenced work cells to production lines and other venues.

Better sensors and deep learning are also enabling new uses.

Here are some unconventional examples of how cobots can serve in areas beyond manufacturing, pick-andplace operations, and machine tending.

GROWBOT uses a Sawyer cobot arm to help greenhouse workers pick plants. | Rethink Robotics 78

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Robots to pick plants with machine learning The GROWBOT (Grower-Reprogrammable Robot for Ornamental Plant Production Tasks) project at King’s College London is using a Sawyer cobot arm to help greenhouse workers pick plants.

GROWBOT is intended to let nonexpert users work with robots for repetitive tasks and to help relieve shortages of seasonal labor. It uses machine learning to flexibly automate the handling of seedlings, herbs, and other plants.

“Handling plants involves a great amount of uncertainty in sensing, and there’s a reasonably high performance requirement in terms of throughput,” said Aran Sena, a postgraduate student at King’s College London. “Additionally, growers typically will have several varieties in production to meet consumer demands in relatively small batch sizes, and [they] will have different requirements for packaging and presentation for each consumer -- a challenge which can come up even in high-volume production -adding further challenges to automation.”

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The Robot Report

Cobot arms, compliant grippers, and mobile platforms equipped with collision-avoidance capabilities take robots from inside fenced work cells to production lines and other venues.

Sena said that Rethink’s software developer’s kit and foundation in the Robot Operating System made Sawyer a good fit for the project. Although Rethink Robotics shut down last year, HAHN Group is continuing support.

Do you want fries with that?

As robots move from food processing into restaurants, the equipment must still be clean, consistent, and efficient.

Miso Robotics’ Flippy uses a cobot arm with a variety of end-of-arm tools, its Miso AI platform, and cloud-based monitoring functions.

The burger-flipping robot can work on a grill or fryer, comply with OSHA and food-safety standards, and run for up to 100,000 hours of continuous uptime, according to the company.

“While our systems are designed to work with just about any six-axis robotic arm, we are currently using Fanuc North America arms,” said David Zito, co-founder and CEO of Miso Robotics. “They are made collaborative via our unique design made specifically for commercial kitchen work.”

Unlike most robots in factories, Flippy can work alongside people in any commercial kitchen. It was tested last year at CaliBurger, Walmart headquarters, and Dodger Stadium.

The major fast-food and fastcasual chains are evaluating such

robots to stay competitive, especially as they face escalating worker shortages.

Getting served by cobot bartenders, baristas Aside from demonstrations of industrial robots at trade shows such as CES, cobot arms mixing drinks was a novelty. Not anymore.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has robot bartenders on several ships, and several hotels and pubs worldwide have used robot bartenders. (To be fair, some are caged off to avoid broken glass or drunk patrons.)

Makr Shakr, which provides the robot bartenders to Royal Caribbean, uses KUKA arms.

Even if you’re not nursing a hangover, at a Café X kiosk in Hong Kong or San Francisco, you can get a coffee made by a Mitsubishi cobot. This is arguably the most public-facing collaborative robot application, but at $25,000, the arm won’t be on household kitchen counters anytime soon.

Surgery with cobots Robots for assisting or conducting surgical procedures are usually highly specialized. They also need to comply with strict regulations, meet high performance requirements, and often force surgeons to get more training.

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) are developing

Flippy the burger-flipping robot was tested last year at CaliBurger, Walmart headquarters, and Dodger Stadium. | Miso Robotics

Café X has multiple robotic kiosks in San Francisco.

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| Café X

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ALIAS uses a UR3 cobot to help busy solo pilots.

“Scoliobot” for precise spinal surgery. They are currently working on 3D-printed models with two UR5 cobots from Universal Robots.

The team is also using augmented reality to provide surgeons with live feedback.

One robot arm, dubbed the Datum Robot, would follow a patient’s spine and collect data on how he or she moves. The other, called the Tooling Robot, would automatically adjust to drill holes itself for realignment rods to be placed in vertebrae.

“It is paramount that spinal procedures are carried out with total accuracy in order to minimize what can be substantial risks to a patient,” said Prof. Bronek Boszczyk, head of spinal surgery at Benedictus Krankenhaus Tutzing and visiting professor at NTU. “This technology has the potential to minimize those risks by performing a key part of the operation with accuracy which cannot be achieved by a human hand.”

ALIAS is intended to help pilots perform at peak ability, so that they’re not bored or overtaxed. Another design goal is that training it to a new aircraft would take only a month.

Where will cobots go next?

The global market for collaborative markets will grow from $710 million in 2018 to $12.3 billion in 2025, predicts Markets and Markets.

While much of that growth will continue in automotive, electronics, and other manufacturing, the safety and flexibility of cobots will bring robotics to an ever-wider range of users.

Just as machine shops today have lathes, drill presses, and grinders, it’s not too great a stretch to imagine them having cobot arms.

Kitchens, coffeeshops, and cockpits are only the beginning. RR

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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other engineering design issues with thousands of professionals online

Prof. Philip Breedon with Scoliobot, a robot being developed at Nottingham Trent University that uses two UR5 cobots for precise spinal surgery. | NTU

Cobot co-pilot Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, uses a UR3 arm as part of its Robotic Copilot concept. The goal is “to create a portable and extensible hardware and software toolbox introducing of new levels of automation across a wide variety of military and civilian aircraft that ultimately reduce crew requirements.”

The Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, or ALIAS, would combine sensors, a tablet interface for pilots, and flight-control and mission software. The cobot enables it to interact with cockpit controls designed for human pilots.

| Aurora Flight Sciences

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CGI Inc. Advanced Products for Robotics and Automation At CGI we serve a wide array of industries including medical, robotics, aerospace, defense, semiconductor, industrial automation, motion control, and many others. Our core business is manufacturing precision motion control solutions.

CGI’s diverse customer base and wide range of applications have earned us a reputation for quality, reliability, and flexibility. One of the distinct competitive advantages we are able to provide our customers is an engineering team that is knowledgeable and easy to work with. CGI is certified to ISO9001 and ISO13485 quality management systems. In addition, we are FDA and AS9100 compliant.

Our unique quality control environment is weaved into the fabric of our manufacturing facility. We work daily with customers who demand both precision and rapid turnarounds.

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DOD Technologies, Inc. DOD Technologies is a leading global supplier of safety and gas detection systems and solutions. Our innovative products, services, and systems protect, support, and save lives. With over 150 years of combined instrumentation and application knowledge, DOD Technologies is prepared to offer solutions for your toughest gas monitoring requirements.

DOD Technologies, Inc. Innovative Life Safety Systems & Services

DOD Technologies, Inc. 675 Industrial Dr. BLDG A Cary, IL 60013 +1 (815) 788-5200 : Office +1 (815) 788-5300 : Fax www.dodtec.com

February 2019 www.designworldonline.com

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CGI Inc. 3400 Arrowhead Drive Carson City, NV 89706

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FESTO Corporation Ready-to-Install 2D and 3D Cartesian Handling Systems Festo offers a range of Cartesian handling systems to fit the needs of your assembly and material handling operations. An economic and energyefficient alternative to conventional 4- to 6-axis industrial robots, you can easily adapt Festo’s 2D and 3D systems to linear and rotational applications. Each system is ready to install and comes with a matching motor and controller.

Choose from: • Single-axis systems, which feature a 3,000-mm stroke and include an energy chain for cable and hose routing.

• 2D linear gantries for two-dimensional vertical movements. This system boasts high dynamic response and short cycle times.

• 2D planar surface gantries for two-dimensional horizontal movements.

This option can handle larger work spaces and loads up to 6 kg.

• 3D gantries for three-dimensional movement. Suitable for heavy loads, this system combines three horizontal gantry axes and a vertical axis.

Festo Corporation 1377 Motor Pkwy. Ste 310 Suffolk County Islandia, NY 11749 Phone: 631.435.0800 Web: www.festo.com E-mail: customer.service.us@festo.com

Harmonic Drive Customizable supermini actuator Small enough to fit inside the finger of a robotic hand, these ultra-compact servo actuators utilize zero backlash Harmonic Drive® precision gears, a brushless servo motor and an incremental encoder. RSF supermini actuators are available in 2 sizes with ratios 30:1, 50:1 and 100:1. Peak torque .13~1.4 Nm, max speed 100~333 rpm. RSF Supermini actuators are remarkably reliable.

Known for our expert engineering and manufacturing, Harmonic Drive® products are relied upon every day throughout the robotics industry.

247 Lynnfield Street Peabody, MA 01960 United States www.harmonicdrive.net

Harmonic Drive is a registered trademark of Harmonic Drive Systems

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Honeywell Intelligrated Advanced robotics for the DC Unmatched integration experience and domain expertise uniquely position Honeywell Intelligrated to bring the benefits of smart robotics to your distribution center.

From sorter induction to loading and unloading, Honeywell Robotics has a broad portfolio of patented robotic innovations and constantly develops new solutions.

The Honeywell Universal Robotic Control (HURC) unleashes the power of artificial intelligence and the latest robotic controls software to enable new applications and continuous optimization. The highperformance platform enables machine learning across applications, enabling faster perception and more effective action. This allows Honeywell Intelligrated to provide meaningful performance advantages and reduce operator interventions.

www.intelligrated.com 1.866.936.7300 info@intelligrated.com

IKO International Inc. IKO is a world renowned producer of quality needle bearings, linear motion rolling guides, precision positioning tables & machine components. Only IKO offers C-Lube , our proprietary technology that has provided maintenance-free lubrication for 12,500 miles and more and is available in our C-Lube linear ways, cam followers, ball splines and many mechatronic products.

IKO offers specialized solutions for many unique manufacturing situations including: clean rooms, vacuum environments, high temperature areas and dust or spatter protection.

IKO products are highly regarded in the worldwide marketplace and the company strives to live up to the inspiration for the name IKO:

Innovation — our employees are constantly striving to develop new technologies.

every situation to determine an optimal solution.

IKO International Inc. Fox Hill Industrial Park 91 Walsh Drive Parsippany, NJ 07054

Originality — our creativity allows us to continuously improve

Toll Free: 1.800.922.0337

Know-How — our extensive technical knowledge is applied to

the performance of our products.

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Honeywell Intelligrated 7901 Innovation Way Mason, Ohio 45040

Email: eco@ikonet.co.jp

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Robotics Robotics

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Kollmorgen Kollmorgen TBM™ Offers Optimal Performance in a Compact Package As new applications for robots continue to emerge the market for high power density motors also grows.

Kollmorgen’s TBM series of Direct Drive Frameless motors offer the flexibility to help you push the limits of what’s possible by working seamlessly within your design.

Kollmorgen TBM series of Direct Drive Frameless motors are designed to be directly embedded into machines, using the machine’s own bearings to support the rotor. TBM technology is optimized for applications that require high power in a small, compact package with minimal weight and inertia.

Additional features include: • Efficient electromagnet design leads to lower temperature rise • Low voltage design is optimized for applications up to 48 VDC • High quality materials ensure a long service life

Want to learn more about Kollmorgen TBM frameless motors?

Contact info: Gene Matthews Kollmorgen 203A West Rock Road Radford, VA 24141 Phone: 1.540.633.3545 Email: www.kollmorgen.com

LAPP LAPP SKINTOP® Cable Glands Enable Safest Cleaning Possible Ideal for applications that require hygienic operation, LAPP’s SKINTOP® HYGIENIC and INOX series of edge-free, stainless steel cable glands include special design features that prevent microorganisms and bacteria from sticking to the surface— preventing contamination and enabling safe, easy cleaning.

SKINTOP® HYGIENIC • Certified to NSF/ANSI 169 • Stainless steel with FDA-approved sealing material • Protection ratings: IP68 & IP69 • Temperature range: -20 to +100°C • Wide clamping range • Available with NPT and metric threads SKINTOP® INOX • Certified to NSF/ANSI 169 • Highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel • Protection ratings: IP68 & IP69 • Temperature range: -40 to +100°C • Wide clamping range • Available with NPT and metric threads

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Corporate Headquarters 29 Hanover Road Florham Park, NJ 07932 Toll Free: 1-800-774-3539 Tel: 973-660-9700 Fax: 973-660-9330 www.lappusa.com Email: sales(at)lappusa.com

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maxon precision motors Drive Systems for Robotics Reliable, Powerful, Efficient A complete joint actuation unit. Includes a brushless DC motor, an internal high resolution encoder, planetary gearhead with absolute encoder and position controller with CAN and RS232 interface.

Exoskeleton Joint Actuator • Compact Housing • Integrated Controller • Reduced Weight and Cost • For Use in Hip and Knee Exoskeletons maxon is your single source for motion solutions. When you choose maxon, you can expect outstanding service, creative options and quality without question. Want to get your ideas moving? Contact maxon today.

Learn more about the maxon solutions and visit www.maxonmotorusa.com

101 Waldron Road Fall River, MA 02720 Phone: 508.677.0520 www.maxonmotorusa.com info@maxonmotorusa.com

Mitsubishi Electric FR Series Next Generation, High Performance Industrial Robots Integrate Seamlessly with iQ Platform Controllers for Advanced Cooperative Functions “FA-IT Integration Functions” with the full line of Mitsubishi Electric FA products such as PLCs, motion controllers, VFDs, HMIs, and CNC, as well as MES/SCADA packages provide a level of performance, functionality and ease of use unparalleled in the industry. In addition, the open platform architecture OS enables integration with 3rd party devices normally difficult or impossible to use on closed platforms. With such flexibility, capability and performance, increases to both productivity and maintainability can be achieved, resulting in a lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).

• With an extensive selection of arm sizes, configurations, protection ratings,

Website: us.MitsubishiElectric.com/fa/en Address: 500 Corporate Woods Pkwy Vernon Hills, IL 60061 Phone: 847.478.2100

backed with “Next-Generation” features, and options, the MELFA FR-Series line of robots are ready to handle all of your automation needs. Vertically articulated, horizontally articulated SCARA, ceiling mounted horizontal type, and dual arm high precision for micro-assembly • Industry’s best initial warranty - 3 year on-site for most models

February 2019 www.designworldonline.com

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maxon precision motors, inc.

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Robotics Robotics

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mk North America Enhance Your Automation with Pallet-Handling Conveyors Pallet-handling conveyors utilize pallets to transport workpieces asynchronously between stations. Pallets range in size from 10x10 inches to 48x48 inches, and are capable of carrying loads of nearly 1,000 lbs.

Pallet-handling Conveyor Benefits Are Delivered By: • Continuously moving materials from point to point • Handling every item in the same fashion with no variance • Removing production inefficiencies and wasteful delay by streamlining and standardizing the movement of material • Consistent material handling routines, ultimately reduces work in process and allows greater throughput • Eliminating bottlenecks and operations that require labor but, do not add value

Contact info: mk North America, Inc.

• Easily adapt to changing demands and production requirements

Website: www.mknorthamerica.com

• Efficiently handle changes to work flow by adding in new stops, locates or transfer components

Phone: 860.769.5500 Email: info@mknorthamerica.com

New England Wire Technologies Advancing innovation for over 100 years Why accept a standard product for your custom application?

NEWT is committed to being the premier manufacturer of choice for customers requiring specialty wire, cable and extruded tubing to meet existing and emerging worldwide markets. Our custom products and solutions are not only engineered to the exacting specifications of our customers, but designed to perform under the harsh conditions of today’s advanced manufacturing processes. Cables we specialize in are LITZ, multi-conductor cables, hybrid configurations, coaxial, twin axial, miniature and micro-miniature coaxial cables, ultra flexible, high flex life, low/high temperature cables, braids, and a variety of proprietary cable designs. Contact us today and let us help you dream beyond today’s technology and achieve the impossible.

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Contact info: New England Wire Technologies www.newenglandwire.com 603.838.6624

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NSK Precision For Maintenance Free Operation Choose NSK K1TM Lubrication Unit NSK’s K1TM is a uniquely designed system that not only lubricates but also helps minimize contamination. K1 material composition consists of 70% mineral

oil

and 30% polyolefin resin which ensures long-term, maintenancefree operation even under tough lubrication environments. K1TM offers no maintenance for up to 5 years or 10,000 km operational distance. K1 is ideal for environments where the lubricant is hard to replace or is easily washed away. Available in ball screws, linear guides, monocarriers and tough carriers.

NSK Americas www.nskamericas.com

Renishaw Inc. QUANTiC™ Encoder series Our QUANTiC encoder series features exceptionally wide installation and operating tolerance, in addition to enhanced diagnostics compatibility. QUANTiC read heads incorporate our wellestablished filtering optics that averages the contributions from many scale periods and effectively filter out on-periodic features such a dirt. Also, featuring a third layer of signal filtering from a new detector design, which helps to eliminate non-harmonic signal frequencies that can occur due to contamination on the scale. These signal conditioning features combine to ensure low Sub-Divisional Error (SDE) and minimal signal variation over contamination. QUANTiC encoders will help to increase the throughput of high-volume production lines and offer potentially significant time and cost savings for OEM customers.

Contact Info: 1001 Wesemann Drive West Dundee IL 60118 Website: www.renishaw.com Phone: 847.286.9953

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•

Email: usa@renishaw.com

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ROLLON Extend Your Robot With A Seventh Axis Adding a seventh linear axis to a robotic system provides all the benefits of six-axes plus another degree of freedom for maneuverability during complex tasks. This flexibility lets designers of a pick-and-place system, for instance, “shuttle” a robot — or multiple robots — and parts back and forth along a rail. A seventh axis provides a host of advantages, including: • Extended operating area. Multiple robots or heavy loads can travel over long distances and to several workstations.

• Greater robotic output. An additional linear axis expands the work envelope to the point that companies can use smaller, less- expensive robots to perform the same amount of work as larger robots.

• Flexibility. Seventh-axis robot systems can accommodate lightweight or heavy loads, even at high speeds.

• Efficiency gains. More machines and processes can be serviced with one robot.

• Reduced capital costs. The combination of increased range of motion, greater output from smaller, more economical robots and the ability to service more workstations means greater cost savings for automated operations.

Contact info: Rollon Corporation 101 Bilby Rd. Hackettstown, NJ 07840 www.rollon.com Phone: 973.300.5492

SICK, Inc. SICK Multi-Layer LiDAR for 3D Dimensioning Indoors & Outdoors The MRS1000 LiDAR from SICK takes standard planar scanning to a different level by offering: • 4 spread scanning layers at a 7.5° vertical aperture angle along with a 275° horizontal aperture angle • 0.2M - 64M range • IP67 housing with industrial grade M12 connectors • High definition distance measurement (HDDM+) with multi-echo capability provides consistent functionality in rain, snow, fog, dust or ambient light • Ethernet communication SICK offers first class industrial grade technology that’s been proven in thousands of applications worldwide in some of the toughest conditions imaginable. Contact us today to discover how to put SICK technology to work for you, providing the solutions you need while improving your overall

SICK, Inc. 6900 West 110th St. Minneapolis, MN 55438 USA www.sick.com info@sick.com

processes. We think that’s intelligent.

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

Comparing common

actuator options to moving coil actuators Here we provide a brief history of linear actuators used in automation and hint at where moving coil actuators are suitable.

H

Ed Neff | President | SMAC Moving Coil Actuators (MCA)

Hydraulic actuators came first. These devices produce high force and, because hydraulic fluids aren’t compressible, can operate as servo devices. That means hydraulic actuators can operate as servo actuators, which is useful in applications that need variable speed and positioning. Primary uses are in the machine tool industry, plastic processing, and off-highway equipment.

Speed isn’t high. Cost for hydraulic actuation is relatively high due to the need for power units and pumps. Typical life is about 10 million cycles. Leakage of fluid is a major concern.

Pneumatic actuators (and valves) emerged after World War II. These devices produce low to medium forces and are relatively fast. However, pneumatic actuators aren’t typically used as servo devices due to how their working fluid (air) is compressible … so difficult to employ for positioning. That means pneumatic cylinders essentially

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deliver two-position motion … and adjustments must be made manually. Typical life is about 10 million cycles.

Pneumatic actuators on their own are inexpensive.

However, they do require the purchase of a compressor.

Electric actuators also emerged after World War II. The first of these devices (and many today) employ rotary motion from an electric motor that’s converted to linear motion through some mechanism — often ball

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SMAC moving coil actuators do not require air compressors. They are also quieter than hydraulic and pneumatic options.

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

Linear-actuator technologies for automation abound. The applicability of moving coil actuators overlaps with that of other technologies in an array of applications.

Moving-coil actuators (also called voice coil actuators) satisfy an array of design objectives. Within the actuator are permanent magnets generating a magnetic

ELECTRIC ACTUATORS Rotary motion from an electric motor is converted to linear motion through some mechanism. Life is to 100 million cycles.

screws. Rotary motors are either open-loop steppers or closed-loop servo motors … with speed and position programmable on the latter. High speed is possible with wide screw pitch, though such geometry compromises speed and positioning precision. Cycle life is comparable to that of pneumatic cylinders. Electric actuators first replaced hydraulic actuators as mentioned above but are now facing direct competition from linear motors due to the speed- precision tradeoff and cycle life.

These devices cost about three times what pneumatic cylinders cost.

In the late 1980s, the first linear motorbased actuators began to appear. This was due to the development of high-strength magnets … first samarium cobalt and then neodymium. These dc devices include coils to move the portion of the assembly with magnets.

field; a moving coil resides in that field. Passing current through the coil generates traverse motion of it and the output shaft or shuttle.

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Linear-motor actuators are servo devices with programmable position and speed capabilities. They can have a much longer life (to 100 million cycles) than air cylinders or ball screw actuators. To get relatively high speeds, the actuators need current to 5-A+ range, this being needed due to mass of the moving magnet. Force level is comparable to pneumatic devices.

The price is about eight times that of pneumatic devices.

In 2000, another linear motor was introduced to the market — the movingcoil actuator. The development of neodymium magnets is key to this device.

Moving-coil actuators are dc devices that use a series of static coils to move magnets mounted on a piston. They are servo devices that allow programmable control of position and velocity. They also allow programming of forces. Because the piston is a relatively light mass, these are the fastest linear actuators on the market. Just as moving magnet linearmotor actuators, moving-coil actuators also have long cycle life. Current input is in the 1.5-A range due to the low moving mass. Stroke is limited to about 500 mm.

Output force is comparable to that of pneumatic actuators. Price is about two to three times that of pneumatic actuators — and continues to drop.

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M o t i o n

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HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS These produce high force and (as hydraulic fluid is incompressible) work as servo devices. Typical life is 10 million cycles.

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Most essentially deliver two-position motion and adjustments must be made manually.

Typical life is about 10 million cycles.

LINEAR MOTOR ACTUATORS Linear-motor actuators are servo devices with programmable position and speed. Life reaches 100 million cycles.

FEATURE

VOICE-COIL LINEAR CYLINDER

PNEUMATIC CYLINDER

Position verification

Interface visually displays rod’s exact position for setup

Location of rod unknown; must be visually debugged

Durability

More than 200 million cycles

10 to 20 million cycles

Configurability

Speed, positions, and force

None — limited to mechanical adjustment

Energy consumption

Low (24/48 V) V/A (1.7 A peak)

Costly need for air supply and electricity for control

Noise Repeatability

www.acecontrols.com (800) 521-3320

Less than 55 dB ±1 msec

Typically exceeding 85 dB

cycle-time variance

20 msec cycle time variance

Validation

Encoder feedback and full control of move parameters

Sensors or switches cannot control moves, only limits

Cost of ownership

Initial price; no maintenance

Regular replacement and adjustments; need for compressor, valves, tubing

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Ball screw, moving magnet, and moving coil actuator applicability Electric actuators have slowly replaced hydraulic actuators in about 70% of applications — mostly for reasons related to cost, cycle life, and performance.

Pneumatic actuators have been much harder to replace with other linear technologies — mostly because of their low upfront cost. But that’s changing. Consider electronic assembly, where pneumatic linear actuators have been almost completely replaced by ball screw or moving coil devices. In that industry, both cycle life and speed are critical — and price isn’t as important. Now, a similar change in occurring in the packaging industry.

Here all three electric designs (ball screw, moving magnet, and moving coil) are replacing pneumatic actuators. Key reasons are eliminating the compressor, higher cycle life, programmable changeovers, and higher speed. Even so, cost is a key point … so lower-cost electric actuators will be needed to convert this industry completely.

That leads us to moving-coil actuators — which satisfy all these design objectives … especially useful for new packaging-machine builds. Within the actuator are permanent magnets generating a magnetic field; a moving coil resides in that field. Passing current through the coil generates traverse motion of it and the output shaft or shuttle.

The force of that output is proportional to the coil’s turns ad the magnetic flux within the actuator (both constants) as well as the current. Therefore, increasing current through the coil increases the output force.

This functionality helps moving-coil linear cylinders outperform pneumatic cylinders on a number of fronts. DW SMAC Moving Coil Actuators (MCA) www.smac-mca.com

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Keeping the elements

at bay

Keep these five key factors in mind when selecting mechanical components for harsh environments.

As electromechanical actuators and other mechanical motion components expand in capability for heavy duty applications, so does their capability to resist harsh conditions. Extreme temperatures, high particulate levels, chemical exposure, high-pressure washdowns, vibration and shock, radiation, and electromagnetic interference are among the threats to reliable motion control. System designers can mitigate these threats when selecting motion control components for such applications through careful evaluation of five design elements that contribute to robust operation: material selection, coatings, sealing strategy, vibration/shock resistance and maintainability.

Chad Carlberg | Product Line Manager for Industrial Actuators at Thomson Linear 96

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L i n e a r

Factor one: Material selection Material selection is the first line of defense against challenging environmental conditions. Advances in material science are leading to the creation of new alloys and hybrid materials that can withstand temperature extremes, exposure to chemicals or abrasive materials, frequent washdown, and other environmental forces. Stainless steel, hard-anodized aluminum and resistant polymers are among the most common materials used to ruggedize motion control components.

Poor material selection can result in premature failures, expensive in-field service and repair, and lost productivity. Maximum protection comes when all motion control components – from the actuator housing to the smallest bearing – are selected with worst case operating scenarios in mind.

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M o t i o n

Electrak HD actuators from Thomson Linear use stainless steel, e-coated zinc, and anodized aluminum materials to provide protection in heavy duty environments. Advanced sealing features with the added benefit of IP66 dynamic protection keep internal components free of ingress.

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M o t i o n

Ruggedized electromechanical actuators can function in applications where once hydraulic actuators dominated, such as in agricultural equipment.

Mechanical components require protection and careful consideration of materials, coatings, sealing strategies, vibration and shock resistance, and maintainability can help systems attain peak performance.

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Factor two: Coatings Motion control components used in extremely corrosive environments, such as those characterized by exposure to hydrocarbons, urea and fertilizers, should also be coated with high-performance materials. This improves operation and reduces downtime, especially in environments where corrosive chemicals, salt spray or submersion will require additional protection. The right coating and material combination can significantly extend component life.

Testing chemical resistance The most widely applied standard for chemical resistance is ISO 15003, which provides design requirements and guidance for the manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment used in mobile agricultural machinery, forestry machinery, landscaping and gardening machinery. It provides test protocols for specific environmental conditions and defines severity levels for extreme conditions that might occur during typical operation. Testing for chemical resistance, for example, requires the ability to withstand three days of operation amidst the following chemical concentrations: • Diesel Fuel – 100% • Hydraulic Oil – 100% • Brake Oil – 100% • Ethylene Glycol – 50% aqueous solution • Urea Nitrogen – saturated solution • NPK Fertilizer*9 (7.5% each N, P, K) – saturated solution

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Other standards applied to corrosion resistance, particularly Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), are DIN 70070-05, AUS 32 and ISO 22241-1.

Factor three: Sealing strategies After materials and coatings, the next line of defense in harsh environments is the sealing strategy. Unless a component is adequately sealed, chemicals and particulates can make their way to internal component mechanisms, causing damage, buildup and clogging, and creating fertile ground for bacterial and other microbial growth. Using inadequately sealed motion control components in harsh environments will require additional cost of enclosures and maintenance, and potentially more frequent maintenance.

Every component should be sealed, including motor mounts. Wipers, seals and gaskets are integral to success. The wiper brushes off contaminants from the extension tube during operation and prevents water intrusion. The seals back up the wipers to complete the protection. Lastly, gaskets provide sealing between housings, cover tubes, motors and rear mounting components.

One of the best indicators of a system’s sealing effectiveness is the International Protection Marking, or IP Code. Its ingress protection (IP) rating is the global standard for measuring

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protection from the ingress of solid objects and liquids. The IP rating specifies the degree of environmental protection an enclosure provides against foreign materials that could impact operation.

The IP rating is composed of two numbers (see Table 1). The first number represents resistance to solids and the second to liquids. An IP rating of 00, for example, means there is no protection from solids or liquids. An IP rating of 11 means protection from ingress by objects larger than 50 mm and from rain or condensation. An IP rating of 66 means protection from penetration by particulates the size of dust and from high-pressure water jets from any direction. This rating is also considered the minimum for use in harsh environments today.

0

1

Rotary Die Cutting Die-less Knife Cutting Steel Rule Die Cutting Custom Slitting High Speed Sheeting Adhesive Lamination

Second digit: Ingress of liquids

Protected against solid objects over 50 mm (e.g. hands, large tools).

Protected against vertically falling drops of water or condensation.

No protection

No protection

Protected against falling drops of water if the case is disposed up to 15° from vertical.

Protected against solid objects over 2.5 mm (e.g. wire, small tools).

Protected against sprays of water from any direction, even if the case is disposed up to 60° from vertical.

Limited protection against dust ingress (no harmful deposit).

Protected against low-pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.

7

N/A

8

N/A

Protected against short periods of immersion in water.

9K

N/A

3

CONVERTING SERVICES

First digit: Ingress of solid objects

Protected against solid objects over 12.5 mm (e.g. hands, large tools).

2

“Providing a superior product in the shortest time-frame possible”

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4 5 6

Protected against solid objects over 1.0 mm (e.g. wires).

Totally protected against dust ingress.

Protected against splash water from any direction.

Protected against high-pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.

Protected against long, durable periods of immersion in water.

Protected against close-range, highpressure, high-temperature spray down

Table 1: Degrees of Protection by Enclosures (International Electrotechnical Commission [IEC] 60529).

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Factor four: Vibration and shock resistance Materials, coatings and sealing can all be compromised by shock and vibration. Components must be tough enough to withstand the extremes of machines operating in harsh conditions. Often this translates into heavy loads or intense vibrations or forces acting on the components – sometimes in near constant operation. The constant torque and movement can weaken a component over time and cause failure. By incorporating design features that account for high vibration or shock load, manufacturers eliminate the need for product accommodations.

For example, planetary gear designs provide more shock resistance than parallel gearing, and stiffness can be improved further by cutting one of the internal gears directly into the output housing.

Leveraging a single-piece housing and ring gear, in this way, eliminates the chance of the gear slipping inside the housing, offering higher peak torque. Avoiding bushings with rolling elements can also help systems handle the constant stress environments as can depth/through case hardening of shafting. Proper mating of all components is also critical to shock protection.

Light to medium-duty applications, such as this hood lift on an earth mover, can benefit from using electromechanical actuators.

Testing shock resistance Compliance with industry standards is one of the best ways to ensure the right level of shock protection needed. Table 2 compares the three most common standards applied to motion control equipment: MIL- S -901, EN60068-2-27 and EN60068-2-32.

Standard Type of shock tested

MIL- S -901

EN60068-2-27

EN60068-2-32

Mechanical shock, originally developed for ability of warships to withstand combat shock

Varies according to type of equipment and criticality to operation of ship

Drop shock

Single dropping a device onto steel or concrete floor from a 1,000 mm platform in both directions of each axis, and repeating that for a minimum of six drops.

Operational shock

Table 2: Standards for shock resistance

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Procedure

100 operations of 400 m/sec2, 6 msec duration shock pulses, which should be repeated in each of 3 mutually perpendicular axes.

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M o t i o n

Testing vibration resistance To ensure that common vibration profiles can be completed without damage to the product, test protocols, usually OEM specific, are run on multiple components and planes, including protocols for testing housings, structural bolts and any included printed circuit assemblies or sensors. Testing is conducted with the unit not powered or operating and mounted on a vibration machine guided by the power spectral density (PSD) levels shown in Table 3. The device being tested should extend half of design maximum and be tested in three orthogonal axes for 24 hours each.

Frequency range (Hz) 10

100

1,000 2,000

PSD (m/sec2)2/Hz 1.44 3.85 3.85 0.96

Table 3: Acceptable frequencies at various power spectral density levels

advanced sealing features with the added benefit of IP66 dynamic protection to keep the internal components free of ingress – even while the actuator is operating. The internal components themselves are protected from drops, shocks, and interference from other electrical sources to ensure proper operation, regardless of external application demands.

As long as harsh and hazardous environments require extended presence by humans, many opportunities to improve productivity will remain untapped. Motion control technology can reduce the need for human exposure, while at the same time enabling performance of operations beyond human capability.

But mechanical components require protection too, and careful consideration of materials, coatings, sealing strategies, vibration and shock resistance, and maintainability can help system designers ensure they will get maximum performance and life out of the systems they intend to deploy in challenging environments. DW

Thomson Linear | www.thomsonlinear.com

Factor five: Maintainability Harsh environments present risks to human safety from extreme temperatures, toxic/harsh chemicals or inhalation hazards – even radiation. Besides lost productivity and downtime, maintenance or replacement presents risk of injury or illness – especially if frequently done. Components that offer little to no maintenance improve employee safety and minimize potential for workplace accidents, while reducing costs.

Lubrication issues are one of the main maintenance drivers for linear motion components. Smooth, reliable motion is a hallmark of a well-designed system and is ensured by maintaining the proper level of lubrication for moving components. Products that use oil for lubrication require routine maintenance and are predisposed to leaks. Components that pre-lubricate with grease or self-lubricate can greatly reduce or eliminate ongoing maintenance demands.

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The right stuff A few examples from Thomson illustrate how motion components can be designed for operation in harsh environments. For instance, Thomson’s Max Jac heavy duty electric linear actuators are made of stainless steel, hard anodized aluminum or a highly resistant polymer. The seals are made of materials that withstand both organic and nonorganic chemicals and abrasive materials. They’re also designed to operate in a wide temperature range from -40 to + 85°C. The actuators are also rated for IP66/IP69K and have been tested for 500 hours of salt spray, withstand dirt, dust and water, and resist aggressive substances such as fertilizers, acid, oil, grease and cleaning agents.

Another example is the Electrak HD, which also uses stainless steel, e-coated zinc, and anodized aluminum materials to provide protection in heavy duty environments. It also features 102

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Modeled after the kingfisher, the Shinkansen Bullet Train has a streamlined forefront and structural adaptations to significantly reduce noise.

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Designed by engineers with nature’s Engineers are increasingly turning to the already perfected designs found in nature to create

help

lightweight and optimized products. And one software program—also inspired by nature-optimizes the CAD model for the job at hand.

Jean Thilmany | Senior Editor

Want an example of efficient, environmentally friendly design?

Look to nature.

When engineers take a biomimetic approach to their projects, they’re taking inspiration from how plants and animals, even the microbes around us, work. Nature has had eons to perfect its systems and shapes. Engineers haven’t. But they can crib from nature’s design methods and at least one form of CAD and analysis technology—itself based on biomimicry—can help.

Advances in additive manufacturing techniques mean the unusual geometries found in nature can be attempted and feasibly manufactured today.

For a modern-day example of biomimicry (that is, engineers drawing upon biology for their designs), look at the 500 Series Shinkasen Japanese bullet trains, which can reach speeds up to 200 miles per hour. This train was developed in 1992 to test technologies for future bullet trains. For

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The topology optimization software OptiStruct is based on human bone growth patterns.

It’s now included in HyperWorks from Altair. Depicted is the way the software can filter and handle thousands of curves.

Designer Eiji Nakatsu modeled the train’s nose after the beak of the kingfisher bird, which dives from air to water with very little splash thanks to its aerodynamic beak.

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the 500, designers wanted a fast train that ran quieter than earlier models.

Designer Eiji Nakatsu modeled the train’s nose after the beak of the kingfisher bird, which dives from air to water with very little splash thanks to its aerodynamic beak. The 500 is not only less noisy than earlier versions of the bullet train, it uses 15% less electricity and travels 10% faster, he says.

A few years ago, researchers in the University of California, Berkeley, Biomimetic Millisystems Lab created an adhesive based on the method geckos use to climb walls or hang from a tree branch from just one toe. They created the selfcleaning adhesive made from the long, slender polypropylene fibers that mimic the millions of hair-like structures called setae on the bottom of a gecko’s toes.

The adhesion is based on the geometry of the fibers: sliding the tape against a surface uncurls the fibers to engage the adhesive while sliding the tape in the opposite direction causes it to unstick, says Ronald Fearing, an electrical engineering professor at the school who led the research.

Because engineers could optimize the geometry of the polypropylene fibers using engineering analysis software, the adhesive can be made much stronger and stickier than a gecko’s feet. Also, the gecko adhesive, unlike conventional adhesive tapes, does not feel sticky to the touch, Fearing says.

Making things lighter, stronger and faster has long been the goal in engineering and

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biomimetics is one tool that can help.

Automotive and aircraft companies—to name just a few—want to decrease the weight of their products as much as possible so they burn less fuel and are easier to handle.

Some of them—Airbus, Boeing, and Volvo among them—are using a topology optimization tool to cut excess material and weight. The tool is itself based on algorithms derived from a natural, biological process.

From the body to the aircraft Engineers have been using the OptiStruct topology optimization program from Altair Engineering to optimize their CAD models for weight and strength. The program does this in the same way bones grow to be as light and strong as possible, says Janine Benyus. She’s co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, of Missoula, Mont., which states its mission is to promote the transfer of ideas, designs, and strategies from biology to sustainable human systems design.

The OptiStruct program, developed by Jeff Brennan, is based on the way human bones grow. As a biomedical graduate student at the University of Michigan, Brennan investigated the theory that bone growth responds directly to external stimuli, he says.

He and his fellow researchers created a mathematical model to represent bone growth in the human body, theorizing the DESIGN WORLD

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model could help point medical researchers toward ways to induce bone growth to treat conditions like osteoporosis. They found that bones grow in response to stress into an optimal structure through trial and error, says Brennan, now chief marketing officer at Altair.

And bones, of course, are not stiff and heavy.

Rather, they’re porous, lightweight, but very strong. Many engineered structures could be designed in that same way, he says. Brennan applied the mathematical growth patterns seen in bone to static structures to bring to them that same type of lightweight, strong flexibility.

Brennan’s model is now the basis of the Altair topology optimization program. Engineers use topology optimization to discover the best way to distribute material throughout a structure, given their goals for that structure as well as their set of constraints.

Now companies in many different industries use the Altair software to analyze and optimize structures for strength, durability and noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics and to help improve on existing designs, Brennan says.

For instance, the software was instrumental in helping Airbus reduce the materials used for certain wing and airplane rib assemblies by up to 40 percent, Benyus says.

“It’s pure biomimicry in the sense that by studying bones and then mathematically describing what it is they do to make themselves lighter, we’ve been able to save all of this material, but you wouldn’t look at that plane and say, ‘That’s biomimicry,’” she says. “But there’s biomimicry inside, and I really think that these are some of the most powerful things, these algorithms.”

The software offers engineers a different way of thinking about the design process. They can use topology optimization to specify constraints and them simulate potential designs before they’ve created their initial CAD model, Brennan says. They can choose the best of the potential designs returned to them and then further optimize them and adjust to their own needs, he adds.

The designs suggested by the tool may require some additional redesign or tweaking so as to be manufactured using traditional processes. The tool may suggest unorthodox shapes that just can’t be made with the help of a CNC machine or with an extruder, for example.

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A design practice and Airbus researchers

teamed to design a partition for its A320 series. The partition is 3D printed for lightness and its shape is based on the structure of slime mold, for strength.

As additive manufacturing continues to evolve it gives engineering companies the capability to manufacture nontraditional designs.

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Though 3D printing is changing that As additive manufacturing continues to evolve it gives engineering companies the capability to manufacture nontraditional designs. Because 3D printers build up materials layer after layer they can print objects with any type of geometry. With 3D printing, for instance, designs can be created in intricate or swirling shapes. It also means patient aids like a prosthetic limb or dental implant can be printed exactly to the wearer’s unique shape and specifications.

And the printers can now produce objects in a variety of materials. The introduction of engineering-grade metals to 3D printing, along with the already-existing array of engineering-grade thermoplastics, means manufacturers can build parts that are strong, yet lightweight, and that can be used directly in the final product.

Look, up in the air (the design of slime) Airbus continues in its efforts to reduce the weight of the aircraft by using biomimicry and additive manufacturing.

Bastian Schäfer, an Airbus engineer, believes the capability to 3-D print airplane parts that range in size up to and including the plane’s very skeleton structure will revolutionize air travel. These lightweight additively produced parts will make planes that weigh much less than today’s models. A lighter plane uses less fuel and reduces the

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amount of greenhouse gases it emits. Planes with a smaller carbon footprint could be bigger and roomier, with improvements like larger and moldable seats, Schäfer said.

For him, the move to a 3-D-printed airliner begins with a printed partition his group unveiled two years ago and continues to perfect.

Schäfer is project manager on what his group calls the Bionic Partition Project. The project itself is under the purview of the Airbus Emerging Technologies and Concepts Group, led by Peter Sander.

Working under Schäfer, the group has created a 3-D printed partition to separate the seating area on the A320 from the galley. The partition weighs 45% less than the 7-feet-tall partitions now used on that model. It’s also substantially stronger, as the team replaced the component’s solid aluminum alloy parts with a number of slender, 3-D-printed metal pieces that connect to form a lattice of the same shape and size as the existing partition. The lattice is then covered in a thin material.

Partitions of this nature are large, weighty, and can be somewhat of a design challenge, Schäfer said. It needs to include a cutout wide and tall enough for a hospital stretcher to pass through and to be strong enough to anchor the two seats that fold down from the frame, which flight attendants sit in for takeoff and landing.

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g-force. Oh, and it also must be less than 1-inch thick (to save space) and attach to the plane in only four places to decrease the weight of connecting hardware and to make for easy changeout.

With all that in mind, the team turned to nature.

The partition’s internal, 3-D-printed structure mimics that of human bones, which, though light, have a high strength-to-weight ratio as they are dense at their stress points. Schäfer’s team designed a lattice structure comprised of metal pieces that are printed individually and then fit together to form the partition.

The Living, an Autodesk-owned design and prototyping studio in New York, also played a part in the project by creating the biological algorithm that would allow for the mimicking of human bones.

“Our algorithm was based on the growth of an organism called slime mold,” says David Benjamin, head of the group.

The mold grows and stretches its form to connect a set of points—or locations of food—with the minimum number of lines. It also has built-in redundancy; each point is connected with at least two lines so if one fails, the point is still connected to the network, or slime body, he says.

“The mold spores are efficient because they use the least amount of material to connect the dots.

And they are redundant because when one of the paths is broken, the network can route around the problem and stay connected,” he said. “Although the size and material of the partition is different than that of slime mold, the logic is similar. And in our application, this approach worked very well.”

Schäfer has plans to further improve upon the partition’s existing design and build. He’d like to cut out a step in the manufacturing process by printing larger pieces of the structure at once, rather than printing the individual parts that are then fit together. Printer size now limits this capability.

The partition isn’t in production, but that will probably change within five years as Airbus furthers its move toward lighter planes, Schäfer says.

While no slime mold was injured in the making of the Airbus partition, the lowly organism will soon be helping the planes use less fuel—and emit fewer greenhouse gases—as they fly through the skies.

You may not want to thank the slime mold in person, but the engineers who use it—and well as many other natural designs—for inspiration—may just to do it for you. DW Altair Engineering | www.altair.com DESIGN WORLD

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common 6most challenges

M e c h a n i c a l

The

for proper coupling selection

Proper coupling selection is a fundamental part of developing any motion system. But attention to bigger picture design concerns often relegates coupling choice to selection by default. This is where problems happen. Design World spoke with Bobby Watkins of Ruland Manufacturing Company to learn more about the most common coupling specification challenges.

Mike Santora, Associate Editor

Duty cycle, speed rating, application environment — there are many standard questions we ask when specifying a coupling for a motion system. But what elements of the selection process do we tend to overlook? What variables don’t get the attention they probably should? Vice President of Sales for Ruland Manufacturing Co., Bobby Watkins has decades of experience in helping engineers select the ideal coupling for an application. Watkins says that beginning the coupling selection process early is of primary importance before all else.

Selection timing Selecting a coupling too late in the design process creates many preventable problems.

If left as the last designed component, the system will have restrictions that limit choice.

“For example, I saw a motor bracket that was designed for a system without enough room inside the bracket to hold the appropriate coupling. We had a situation where we’re getting phone calls from OEMs saying, ‘I need a coupling with this much torque and I can’t go any bigger than that, and I can’t go any longer than that.’

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In many cases, the coupling that they need doesn’t exist in the sized space that they’ve got. They’ve got to go back, redesign the motor bracket, and move things around to accommodate the coupling that’s going to work.”

In another example, a fluid dispensing OEM designed a system that included mounts before specifying the coupling. The only coupling that would fit was a single disc coupling which had no accommodation for parallel misalignment. The mounts were not rigid enough to support the operation of the system and would cause parallel misalignment. To make matters worse, by this point it was too expensive to redesign the system.

In a situation like this, a design team ends up changing out couplings at a much

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higher rate than they would like to because they didn’t leave enough room to fit a double disc coupling.

Misalignment Rarely does anyone forget to account for misalignment. But if we don’t accurately account for the misalignment a coupling will encounter, the motion system could have rpm limitations, vibration, noise and eventually premature coupling failure.

“You might have a situation where you keep breaking couplings.

Or worse, there might be a situation where you’re not breaking couplings; the couplings are too strong to break, and you damage gearboxes and motors.

www.designworldonline.com

In certain applications, the couplings are too strong to break, putting gearboxes and motors at risk. Be aware of potential misalignment forces when using stronger components like a jaw coupling shown here.

Jaw couplings give gearbox manufacturers and application engineers the ability to select a standard base coupling that can have differing performance characteristics, bore sizes, and attachment types based on the specific needs of the user.

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Six beam couplings are a good starting point for light duty stepper motor to screw connections due to their misalignment and dampening capabilities and zero-backlash performance.

Certain types of couplings will commonly break under extreme misalignment, like a beam type coupling or bellows coupling,” said Watkins.

With stronger types of couplings like a jaw coupling or a rigid coupling, extreme misalignment may not cause coupling breakage. Instead, this mechanical failure will destroy more expensive components like bearings in the actuator or the motor. One common cause of misalignment is motor mount issues.

“We have run into situations where motor mounts on actuators, the motor mounts themselves, were not machined properly, and the motor mount was not lined up correctly.

It’s certainly possible to encounter situations where the mounting system has inherent errors in it.”

System and motor movement during operation, over time, tends to settle into misalignment. In many applications, a machine is set up and everything is aligned well within given tolerances. Then six months or a year later, things have settled out, and now the system needs to be realigned; this is not unusual, but it is easily overlooked.

In some applications and some types of couplings — a beam coupling or an Oldham type coupling, for example — a scale or a straight edge is good enough to check a system for a misalignment. Some of the other types of couplings like a rigid or a bellows, generally a dial indicator system or a laser alignment system is better because the requirements are too tight to pick up with even a good scale. A dial indicator system or laser alignment system is necessary.

Addressing misalignment, again, best addressed during the system design. Be sure the mounts are secure and designed from sturdy material.

“In one example, we were looking at mounts for an encoder. In many applications, an encoder is added to the system, and they’ll put them on a flimsy, thin sheet metal bracket.

We see this all the time. The alignment is off and the alignment can’t hold. It just isn’t a sturdy enough mount.”

Torque considerations The difference between steady state and max torque is essential to consider. Derating the torque capacity based on motion type is

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important for beam, bellows, and disc couplings.

Certain couplings, if you’re going to instantly or dynamically reverse, you have to derate the couplings’ torque capacity to accommodate for that shock. When you do instantly or dynamically reverse, you have to consider that as part of your torque formula.

Coupling ratings Oldhams have a break torque; jaws have a peak torque; there isn’t one set formula that covers all types of couplings. It’s important to think of coupling type when considering torque capacity, and how that particular coupling is rated as far as reversing. Rigids have superior torque capability but do not allow for misalignment. Rigid couplings are great for high torsional stiffness applications, but if there’s misalignment present, there will be significant problems with bearing failures and so forth.

A torque failure for a bellows coupling can twist the corrugated bellows portion in the middle until the coupling fails. This scenario is a

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Four beam couplings are one of the most common encoder couplings due to their high parallel misalignment capabilities, zerobacklash performance, and compact design.

typical bellows coupling fail from a torque overload. Typically, bellows couplings from a misalignment failure will break close to one of the hub connections, one side or the other. In a beam coupling, torque failure will cause the coupling to break or disconnect.

In many cases, pieces will fall out.

Inertia Servo coupling inertia is determined by the mass and distribution about the axis. Too much coupling inertia, especially in systems with intermittent starts and stops, can introduce resonance into a system causing premature failure and or poor performance.

It can also completely overload the system.

In small, sensitive, stepper servo drives a heavy rigid coupling, or a heavy stainless beam coupling will cause problems. It is entirely possible to put enough inertia into

the system that the motor won’t be able to handle it and it will trip out.

A classic example is aluminum beam couplings versus stainless steel beam couplings. Often, users will pick an aluminum beam coupling to start with, only to find that it doesn’t have enough torque capacity. Then it’s on to the stainless version of the beam coupling, which does have more torque capacity, but also introduces a tremendous amount of weight into the system because the stainless steel is much heavier. There are other options, perhaps a

bellows type coupling, that will not lead to extra weight-related inertia.

Windup Often confused with backlash, windup is a different challenge and needs to be addressed separately. At its most basic, windup is cushioning or dampening. An excellent example of this is in jaw couplings.

As torque is applied, the coupling’s spider

Mixer applications require a coupling that can operate consistently without bearing support, such as this rigid coupling. Steel rigid couplings are well suited for industrial applications while stainless steel styles are suitable for corrosive or food environments.

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will compress or deflect, but it will quickly recover. That is windup. The coupling will retain the torque and return to its original position. Backlash is actual clearance inside the coupling where there’s “play” — which is different than windup. That clearance inside the coupling can translate to an error in a linear motion system. Which is why, typically on stepper servo systems, you need a zerobacklash coupling perhaps with some windup, but never a coupling with backlash error present — that clearance in the coupling will never correct itself. Watkins uses an example from an inspection system OEM that selected a four beam coupling to move an eye over short increments.

“The four beam coupling was not stiff enough to accommodate the short movement, and positioning was slightly off, leading to poor system performance. This coupling choise was indeed zero-backlash, but the application was causing too much windup for the coupling to correct itself in time to make the system error free. In this instance, we went to a disc coupling, and that corrected the problem.” DW Ruland Manufacturing | ruland.com

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Product World Electromagnetic clutches Miki Pulley mikipulley-us.com CSZ Clutches function using the magnetic force generated by an energized coil providing engagement of input and output members of the clutch. They have an integrated bearing design making mounting fast and easy while ensuring application concentricity and excellent system runout. CSZ Clutches operate well in temperatures from +14 to +104° (-10°C to +40°C).

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Inductive proximity sensors with IO-Link Carlo Gavazzi GavazziOnline.com IBS, ICS and ICB Series inductive proximity sensors with integrated IO-Link communications are now available. The IBS04 and ICS05 and 08 Series represent a suitable solution for industrial automation applications where space is limited, but long switching distance is needed. They are available in robust Ø4 mm, M5 or M8 stainless steel housings, with an M8 plug or two meter PVC cable.

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Product World Heavy-duty conveyor pulley Martin martinsprocket.com Elite Series Pulleys are engineered as an efficient and improved alternative to standard stock Drum Pulleys. Elite Series Pulleys simplify the selection as they can be used in a range of applications from standard, mine, and quarry duty, thus reducing replacement inventory. Instead of deciding what might be the best pulley for an application, now users have one choice that conveys them all.

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Closed-loop servo control for voice-coil and singlephase motors Aerotech aerotech.com The XL4s linear amplifier is designed for closed-loop servo control of voice coil and single-phase motors, eliminating the nonlinearities common with PWM amplifiers.

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EtherCAT measurement module extension Beckhoff beckhoff.com The ELM314x economy line has been added to the EtherCAT measurement module family, supplementing the established ELM3x0x line with a lower cost 1 ksps class. This I/O system expansion simplifies the use of system-integrated precision measurement technology.

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A Supplement to Design World - February 2019

• Inside NVIDIA’s Collaborative Robotics Lab_46 • Gripping Improvements_60 • Reinforcement Learning_66 • Automated Bin Picking_72 • Unique Cobot Case Studies_78

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