DESIGN WORLD FEBRUARY 2020

February 2020 www.designworldonline.com

inside: MOTION CONTROL: Selecting mini motors for

surgical devices

p. 80

LINEAR MOTION: Out with the oil in with

the screw

p. 88

ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE:

A solution for the visual inspection data problem — Less is more

p. 98

How to

get the most from flash storage page 24

February 2020 www.designworldonline.com

inside: MOTION CONTROL: Selecting mini motors for

surgical devices

p. 80

LINEAR MOTION: Out with the oil in with

the screw

p. 88

ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE:

A solution for the visual inspection data problem — Less is more

p. 98

How to

get the most from flash storage page 24

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Problem-based learning stands the test of time Engineering students at Stanford are well acquainted with the ME310 course.

This year-long design course, now in its 53rd year, is built around problem-based learning. Students work in small teams, focusing on actual engineering problems presented by outside companies that partner with Stanford. The history and evolution of this infamous class are chronicled in the book, ME310 at Stanford University: 50 Years of Redesign, edited by Tamara Carleton.

What I found most interesting in this book is how the course’s approach, problem-based learning, has stood the test of time, as other ideas for teaching the engineers of tomorrow fell by the wayside. ME310 includes five key areas: re(define) the problem (design never ends), need finding and benchmarking (understand the users, design space), bodystorm (ideate), prototype (build), and test (learn).

Dr. Mark Cutkosky, a current faculty member, explained that the class starts with open problem statements without any expectation of the design direction — the teams take full responsibility for what to build.

“ME310 helps teams to understand that they can learn anything they need to bring their designs to uition,” Cutkosky said. “Teams initially have a tendency to avoid designs that require expertise they lack. However, a wonderful aspect of being in Silicon Valley, with a rich network of alumni, is that we can help them find experts in almost any topic. They can talk with those people and learn what they need to know.”

Ultimately, the class is about producing a believable prototype. And a critical part of that is working with the coaches — industry experts who volunteer to help the student teams. Many are alumni and former students, who lived through the experience themselves.

This, for me, showed the power of how we, as practicing engineers, can still greatly influence the designers of tomorrow. At industry events, I sometimes hear engineers decry the book-smart graduates of today who are clueless about real-world issues. A er reading this book, I am going to start encouraging these professionals to lend their hand as coaches to a local university engineering program … because surely, problem-based design courses like ME310 remain key to the future. DW

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Teschler on Topic How to be a pain in the butt with statistics

Here’s a quick way to make yourself unpopular and bruise egos among researchers in your field: Check the statistics in their research findings for errors.

It turns out that researchers in many fields aren’t particularly good statisticians. So when they apply statistical tools to data they’ve collected, they o en screw up the math or draw the wrong conclusions om their calculations.

In particular, researchers are prone to find statistical significance in results where there really isn’t any. So warns Steve Ziliak, an economics professor at Roosevelt University. Ziliak coauthored a book called The Cult of Statistical Significance wherein he warns that researchers equently misuse the student T test and p values. Ziliak combed through papers published in numerous prestigious economics, operations research, and medical journals. He found many instances of researchers using statistical significance as if it was the same as correlation.

The distinction between the two concepts isn’t just a matter of pedantic statistical minutia. In medical research, for example, confusion about significance levels can lead to rejecting good drugs in favor of alternatives that are less effective.

There is also evidence that technical personnel aren’t particularly good at catching simple math errors in their work. So says Stanford Associate Professor Kristin Sainani. Writing in the journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, she says statistical errors are surprisingly common in biomedical literature, and many of them are detectable simply by running the numbers given in the paper.

Common sense and simple arithmetic are o en all that’s required to find problems. In one paper, Sainani says she found numerical problems just by scanning the numbers in a table— they didn’t add up. In another case, Sainani noticed that a non-surgical pain treatment claimed a drastic, and implausibly large, reduction in pain. A little sleuthing revealed the researchers had confused standard error with standard deviation when compiling results.

I’m sure the researchers who made these blunders were embarrassed when con onted with their mistakes.

Interestingly, ee tools on the internet now make it possible for almost anyone to point out mathematical errors to the chagrin of those who made them.

One in this category is called Statcheck (statcheck.io) which extracts statistics om papers and checks them for internal consistency. Another ee online calculator called Grim

(Granularity-related inconsistent means test) flags impossible mean values. When the reported mean and sample size are entered, Grim (www.prepubmed.org/ grim_test/) tells you whether they are consistent or inconsistent, i.e., whether or not you can really compute this mean if the samples are all whole numbers.

An additional fun online tool is WebPlotDigitizer (apps.automeris. io/wpd/) which examines a plot you upload (as an image) to it and extracts the x and y values, among other things.

Given a forest plot (a graphical display of estimated results om a number of scientific studies addressing the same question,), the tool also extracts other parameters such as means and confidence intervals. When given histograms or bar charts it figures percentages and calculates angles and distances om images.

These tools can open the door to all kinds of mischief. Those who are especially industrious might aspire to the achievements of English anesthetist John Carlisle. When he can’t sleep, he goes through data in published clinical trials looking for problems. According to a Scientific American article, Carlisle’s parttime efforts have led to the retraction or correction of hundreds of papers and have helped end the careers of three scientists who faked data outright.

Not bad results for just a hobby. DW

Leland Teschler • Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler

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Technology Forward “AI will make the world a weirder place,�

Janelle Shane

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a role in engineers’ designs. If you read the hype about AI, you will encounter a variety of threats — om it taking your job all the way to destroying mankind in some kind of futuristic apocalypse.

However, we really need not worry about this, as it turns out AI is simply not that smart (and that’s not a good thing). An interesting book, You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane, gives a much more realistic (and amusing) perspective on the “power� of AI. Dr. Shane has a PhD in electrical engineering and a masters in physics.

Her job is to “prank� AI systems — giving them tasks and watching them flail to learn better ways to program them, and then she writes about her experiences on her blog, AI Weirdness.

Reading Shane will give you a better understanding of where AI development is at the moment (and it will negate any thoughts you have that AI is dangerous, yet).

One of the first things to note about AI, is that not all AI is AI. As Shane puts it, most programmers refer to AI as a machine learning algorithm. But there are other names for AI, including “deep learning, neural networks, recurrent neural networks, Markov chains, random forests, genetic algorithms, generative adversarial networks, reinforcement learning, predictive test, magical sandwich sorters, and ‘unfortunate murderbots.’�

Shane says there are five principles of AI weirdness: • The danger of AI is not that it’s too smart but that it’s not smart enough. • AI has the approximate brainpower of a worm. • AI does not really understand the problem you want it to solve. • But AI will do exactly what you tell it to. Or at least it will try its best. • And AI will take the path of least resistance.

(I’m thinking mankind doesn’t need to worry about its future just yet.)

It turns out, programming an AI is akin to teaching a child rather than programming a computer.

But AI programs can do some pretty amazing things. For example, some programmers in 1997 built algorithms to play tic-tac-toe on an infinitely large board. Shane noted that one programmer, rather than designing a rules-based strategy, built an AI that could evolve its own approach (primarily through trial and error).

The AI suddenly began winning all of its games. It turned out that the AI’s strategy was to place its move very, very far away, so that when its opponent’s computer tried to simulate the expanded board, the effort would cause it to run out of memory and crash, forfeiting the game. (That’s more than a bit clever).

One of the issues with AI is that it is not easy to tell when it makes a

mistake. O en times, programmers don’t write the rules for an AI system as the whole point is to let the system come up with its own rules.

But an AI system won’t write those rules down or communicate them in a way we would understand.

Thus, while it might be clickbait copy to make AI more than it is, the author is firmly in the camp of “don’t overestimate its metal capacity.�

Notes Shane, it is still tiny compared to that of humans, and as tasks become broad, AIs begin to struggle.

(AIs are not very good at planning, either).

The benefit of AI is that it can take seconds to transfer learning to train an AI to do a task that once took weeks with complex algorithms and huge datasets.

So, there is no human overthrow in sight yet ‌ nor need to give up your day job. DW

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

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DESIGN WORLD

2/10/20 2:52 PM

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Green Engineering Paul J. Heney

• VP, Editorial Director

Tackling buildings’ emissions Today, carbon dioxide levels are at an all-time high — with CO2 being the primary contributing gas to GHG emissions-caused climate change. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that global warming will reach 1.5° C by 2040 and, in order to avoid dangerous climate change, we need to limit it to well below 2° C. In Canada, the current picture is bleak. The country has committed to reducing its GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 as per the Paris Climate Agreement. But at its current pace of reduction, it won’t meet that target until 2209. Undeniably, urgent action is required by governments, businesses and individuals to keep global warming levels to a minimum and avoid climate catastrophe.

Built during a time where sustainability was not a consideration, many buildings consume a significant amount of energy. In the U.S., 39% of primary energy use comes om buildings, and they account for 72% of all electricity consumed domestically. Globally, buildings account for 41% of energy consumption — with the next biggest sector (industrial) making up 30%. A building’s lighting system, heating and cooling system and plug load use all contribute to this energy consumption, which in turn contributes to the release of GHG emissions into the atmosphere.

SES Consulting is a Vancouver-based mechanical engineering company and social enterprise on a mission to build a more sustainable future by reducing greenhouse gas

10

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emissions in existing buildings.

Increasing energy efficiency in buildings is a great way to reduce climate change-causing emissions, and arguably the solution that provides the most “bang for your buck.’’ Making buildings more energy efficient can provide a return on investment in the form of energy cost savings in as little as six to 12 months. Investing in energy-saving in other sectors, such as transport or agriculture, can be considerably more expensive.

The target of reducing GHG emissions encompasses a wide range of strategies and a multitude of benefits. These include reducing overall energy use in buildings, making them more efficient, converting buildings to a cleaner energy source, and using heat recovery technology to make use of heat that would otherwise be ejected om the building.

Typically, buildings can save at least 20% of energy consumption om implementing standard

www.designworldonline.com

energy efficiency measures such as equipment and lighting scheduling, building automation and others. A number of buildings have saved more than 80-90% of gas consumption through building retrofits recommended by SES. SES’ goal is to help clients collectively save 1 million tonnes of GHGs. Tackling global warming through reducing GHG emissions at the rate that SES is achieving is no easy feat.

However, climate change requires drastic and ambitious goals, which is exactly what the company has understood and built into the fabric of its mission. In addition to the reduction of GHGs, the company also prioritizes employee happiness, its contribution to clean capitalism, and creating local, green jobs in the industry. DW SES Consulting | sesconsulting.com

DESIGN WORLD

2/6/20 2:26 PM

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The Emerson logo is a trademark and service mark of Emerson Electric Co. Š2020 Emerson Electric Co.

Emerson 2-20.indd 11

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Contents 2 • 2020

•

vol 15 no 2

•

designworldonline.com

A Supplement to Design World - February 2020 www.designworldonline.com

Grippers:

Advancing telerobotics through tactile feedback

page 50

INSIDE: • ‘Active perception’ a novel approach to robotic grasping................................................58 • Flexible gripper handles dozens of parts for manufacturer...............................................62 • Force torque sensor shines in robotic glass polishing .................................................68 • Four trends in end-of-arm tooling ...............72

80 _MOTION CONTROL

98 _ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Selecting mini motors for surgical devices

A solution for the visual inspection data problem—Less is more

Device makers and surgeons have for decades relied on sterilizable brushless direct current (bldc) motors to meet the torque, speed, and reliability requirements of surgical handtools. Now surgical robotics are leveraging these same capabilities.

The problem about data at the factory floor is that conditions constantly change. Sparse Modeling, an AI approach recently evolved om the academic space, may solve this problem as it needs only a small data set. One benefit—it works on ultra-low power embedded computing platforms.

88 _LINEAR MOTION

104 _SENSORS

Out with the oil, in with the screw

A look at the industrial sensors landscape

A new generation of electromechanical actuators is replacing hydraulic cylinders in demanding applications. Increasingly, that choice is being driven as much by cost advantages as by performance.

With so many industrial sensing technologies available, a general understanding of benefits and costs can help designers select the best types for their applications.

94 _3D CAD

108 _AMUG - EXPO

The many uses for reverse engineering

Get ready for 2020 AMUG Conference

Some look unfavorably at reverse engineering as a way to steal secrets om competitors. But the science has a number of important uses, especially in forensic engineering.

2/6/20 2:29 PM

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| Adobestock.com

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One of the best ways to learn about additive technology is om actual users. This conference offers plenty of opportunity to connect with them.

ON THE COVER Instead of using off-the-shelf flash memory, engineers should look into custom memory devices. | Delkin Devices

A Z B E E S A S B P E Aw a r d s o f E x c e l l e n c e

2019

BRONZE REGIONAL AWARD asbpe.org

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DESIGN WORLD

2/6/20 2:33 PM

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2.20

• contents departments 04 Insights 06 Teschler on Topic 08

Technology Forward

10 Green Engineering 18 Design For Industry 30 Design Notes 40 CAE Solutions 44

Internet of Things

110 Product World 112 Ad Index

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February 2020

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2/6/20 2:39 PM

DESIGN WORLD

Follow the whole team on twitter @DesignWorld

EDITORIAL

VP, Editorial Director Paul J. Heney pheney@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_paulheney Senior Contributing Editor Leslie Langnau llangnau@wtwhmedia.com @dw_3dprinting Executive Editor Leland Teschler lteschler@wtwhmedia.com @dw_leeteschler Executive Editor Lisa Eitel leitel@wtwhmedia.com @dw_lisaeitel Senior Editor Miles Budimir mbudimir@wtwhmedia.com @dw_motion Senior Editor Mary Gannon mgannon@wtwhmedia.com @dw_marygannon Associate Editor Mike Santora msantora@wtwhmedia.com @dw_mikesantora CREATIVE SERVICES

VP, Creative Services Mark Rook mrook@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_graphics Art Director Matthew Claney mclaney@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_designer Graphic Designer Allison Washko awashko@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_allison Graphic Designer Mariel Evans mevans@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_mariel

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DC motors Lisa Eitel

TRADITIONAL BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR

SLOTLESS MOTOR

A

According to the most common industry naming conventions of today, there are three dc motor subtypes: dc brush motors, dc permanent-magnet (PM) motors, and dc universal motors. But as you’ll see in this month’s Motion Control Classroom on dc motors, there are an array of caveats, crossovers, and sub-classifications. Many larger dc motors still employ brushes and wound fields … though PM motors dominate actional and integralhorsepower applications below 18 hp ... and PM motors are increasingly common for most motion designs.

Motors without permanent-magnet types use two currents: 1) Current through armature (rotor) windings to interact with a stator magnetic field for output of mechanical rotation and 2) Current through stator windings to make that magnetic field.

In contrast, permanent-magnet brush dc motors use current through armature (rotor) windings to interact with a stator magnetic field (for output of mechanical rotation) ... permanent magnets on the stator make that magnetic field.

Brush dc motors without permanent magnets are wound-field motors and include shunt-wound motors, in which the armature and field coils connect in parallel ... so field current is proportional to the load on the motor. Armature and field coils in series-wound motors connect in series. Coils in compound-wound motors include both series and shunt windings.

Brushless dc (BLDC) motors replace mechanical commutation with electronic commutation. That avoids the wear of brush dc motors. In BLDC motors, permanent magnets are on the rotor and coils in the stator. Coil windings are separated om each other electrically for top controllability.

Going a step further in this taxonomy, brushless dc motors can have a slotted or slotless configuration.

Motors with slotted stators have stator coils that wind through lamination slots.

Magnetic induction is high because the airgap between the laminations and magnets is small. So, the motors allow a small magnet diameters. With coil in the stator slots, there is reduced coil-stator thermal resistance. The catch is that these motors can exhibit cogging or detent torque ... so some motors include skewed laminations to minimize this issue.

In contrast, motors with slotless stators have coils wound and formed without laminations, so exhibit no cogging. There is higher thermal resistance than in comparable slotted motors, but slotless motors also have high power density … and iron losses are low at high speeds.

Read more by accessing the dc motors MC2 at www.designworldonline.com/MC2.

Educational installment brought to you by:

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Vibration damping + shocks Lisa Eitel

R

Recall that ee vibration is when an assembly is moved or struck once and then le to oscillate. Assembly-component materials and geometry dictate how such vibration behaves. This vibration is inherent to motion systems — as is forced vibration in response to temporary or recurring displacement or loading of an axis or axes. Because most motion systems run off electric motors, oscillatory disturbances o en originate at rotor output.

Noise is a manifestation of these vibrations that degrades the perceived quality of machines … and in many cases is an unacceptable byproduct of motion.

So as detailed at designworldonline.com/vibrationdamping-shocks-classroom, the ultimate goal for design engineers is to build and tune designs for minimal vibration ( ee or forced) and render unavoidable system vibration damped (dissipated) or isolated. That way, the machine can quickly settle back to equilibrium.

We also explore a phenomenon related to that of vibration — that of shock. Most problematic for its capacity to induce damage and excite system natural equencies, shock is large and sudden change in acceleration (impulse) o en om a hard stop or jam. It’s sometimes defined by the acceleration’s maximum value, duration, and motion profile … and in units of acceleration due to gravity or g.

Equipment able to minimize Educational installment brought to you by:

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the vibrational response to cyclical inputs om external forces — as well as internally generated sources — last longest and performs best. That’s why designing motion systems that run smoothly and quietly is a key task for machine builders. So is keeping machine sections’ resonant equencies higher than any vibration the system might see during operation. A er all, when an assembly’s resonant equencies are excited by vibration or shock loading, they cause maximum oscillation displacement … which are capable of maximum vibrational damage.

But assembled electromechanical designs and their ames o en possess dynamics complicated to predict up ont — and subject to slow change where gearboxes, bearings, and belts are part of the power transmission.

That means damping vibration, isolating oscillations, and absorbing shock loading with components specifically built for such tasks are o en essential for successful operation of equipment with moving axes — and the avoidance of premature performance degradation (as when a servosystem loses the ability to position an axis with a given speed and accuracy) and failure. These issues arise om cyclical stresses; mechanical wear and fatigue; hardening of surfaces or loosening of fasteners and joints; leaks; separations; and increasing levels of rattling and other noise.

In this MC2 we’ve written and collected more than a dozen references that detail the challenges of vibration; correct approaches for up ont analysis of shock and vibration during the early phases of motion design; predictive maintenance components to prevent and mitigate vibration; and incidents of vibration in bearings and other mission-critical components.

Access this and other MC2 installments at designworldonline.com/MC2.

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Design for Industry Material handling

Flat top conveyor streamlines material handling

Robot arms at work: the robots connect fuselage parts of an aircra with rivets. | igus GmbH

Among the many varieties of conveying systems, flat top conveyor chains fit certain needs. These conveyors perform like belts, but can also be used to convey, transfer, accumulate, meter, elevate and lower items of various sizes and shapes.

The VersaFlex conveyor is a flat-top chain conveyor system for such complex design needs. It will replace the company’s SBF-P 2254 conveyor line.

Unveiled in Germany at Motek 2019, by Maschinenbau Kitz GmbH, this latest offering provides a competitive advantage over similar options currently offered to the market.

VersaFlex is available in three different chain width sizes. It can also be used to convey small pallets. Key benefits include the ability to easily and costeffectively integrate into existing production processes and expand as needed.

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This pallet-handling conveyor system is suitable for many industries. Conveying the product on a pallet achieves a more streamlined approach to material handling. This improves manufacturing productivity and product quality while keeping maximum process flexibility at the fore ont. DW

mk North America, Inc. www.mknorthamerica.com

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Material handling

I/O modules aid smart machines in harsh environments

The Allen-Bradley ArmorBlock I/O modules operate in a range of temperatures and offer up to IP69K protection in applications like automotive, material handling, packaging and welding.

ArmorBlock I/O options can be mounted anywhere on a machine for shorter cable runs and lower wiring costs. They use nickel-plated zinc die-cast housing, have QuickConnect functionality and offer diagnostics in an EtherNet/IP universal digital I/O block to reduce commissioning and troubleshooting times.

Three IO-Link hub blocks help reduce design complexity by allowing more devices through the IO-Link master. And an M12 L-coded power connector on selected blocks supports higher current, allowing more blocks to be daisy-chained and resulting in lower wiring and installation costs.

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For companies with separate I/O blocks for digital input and output, the ArmorBlock I/O modules are a suitable choice. They provide 16-channel self-configurable digital I/O with flexibility to be used as the digital input or output depending on the application needs. DW

Rockwell Automation www.rockwellautomation.com/en_NA

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

High modulus plastics for

off-highway

Tom Zozokos • Product Line Director, and

Beth Figliulo • Fluid Power Segment Manager Americas

There are few places where highly durable, temperature resistant, chemically compatible, low maintenance parts are more important than in off-highway vehicles.

A er all, the vehicle in question might end up in the Australian Outback enduring +130 °F temperatures, in Siberia traveling through snow at -60 ºF, or in a mining operation where sulfuric acid could severely compromise a polymer-based guide ring. Additionally, maintaining off-highway vehicles in extreme conditions is a challenge that means low-maintenance, long-life parts can be the difference between hitting a deadline or missing it.

High-modulus thermoplastics offer a solution to many of the issues faced by designers of hydraulic systems for off-highway applications. Modulus is a mechanical property that measures the elasticity

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of a material; the higher the modulus, the more stress, or force, is required to deform or compress the material.

Base polymers and fillers Of the three main groups of high-modulus plastics, semicrystalline thermoplastics offer the most affordable materials appropriate for processing into guide rings, bearings, Back-up Rings, and structural components (the other two groups being amorphous thermoplastics and imidized materials).

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Within semicrystalline thermoplastics, several base polymers are commonly used in extruded parts for use in offhighway hydraulic systems: • Polyamide (PA or Nylon) • Polyphthalamide (PPA) • Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) • Polyoxymethyline (POM or acetal) • Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) These polymers vary in terms of temperature resistance, tensile strength, flexural modulus (bending stiffness), Izod impact (toughness/resistance to impact), and chemical resistance. For example, while PEEK materials are extremely strong and temperature resistant, UHMW-PE is tough and abrasion resistant.

A number of fillers are used to add strength or modi the tribological effects of thermoplastics in this category. For example, adding a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powder to the pellets used in injection molding

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can lessen iction and improve the wear characteristics of PEEK materials.

Molybdenum disulfide (moly) can be added to nylon to create a harder and more wear-resistant surface.

Both glass and carbon fibers can be added to thermoplastics to add strength.

A common example is adding glass to PA to enhance strength and reduce the amount of water the final product will absorb. Similarly, adding carbon fiber to a PEEK material helps increase the wear properties to extend the life of a guide ring in a high temperature applications.

Generally speaking, the higher the temperature resistance and strength of a thermoplastic in this category, the higher the cost. For example, PEEK materials are extremely strong (operating stress of up to 11,000 PSI) and can resist temperatures up to +450 ÂşF. However, this high performance comes at a cost. For some applications, the additional cost is well worth it; for others, it may make sense to use a POM (acetal), UHMW-PE, or a PA with a filler such as glass.

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Product types Products that can be created om the base materials described above include guide rings, bearings/bushings, Back-up Rings, and structural components.

In all cases, the high modulus plastic versions of these parts are considerably lighter than their metal counterparts.

Individually, the weight difference is negligible, but changing out components used in multiple locations within a piece of equipment can considerably lessen weight. For example, the shoe pad used in four to six locations within a forkli , which is traditionally made of cast steel, can be replaced by a glass-filled nylon version that can withstand the same impact and load as the steel component at 1/6th the weight.

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Design for Industry O f f- h i g h w a y Back-up Rings. These are installed in a groove with an elastomeric sealing element to protect and support the seal, preventing extrusion of the seal into the sealing gap. They are o en used within hydraulic cylinders in excavators and agricultural machines.

Additionally, high-modulus plastic rings are capable of being modified to include internal lubricants, enabling them to be used in systems that don’t require the use of petroleum-based greases and are more environmentally iendly.

Guide rings. Designed to absorb the side load forces in a piston and/or rod hydraulic cylinder while eliminating metal-to-metal contact, thermoplastic guide rings offer a low iction coefficient, long service life, good chemical resistance, and high load capacity—all at a lower wear-rate than metal. Guide rings can be purchased with an angled cut for linear movements, a straight cut for rotary movements, or a step cut for special applications.

Bearings/bushings. Similar to guide rings, bearings/bushings prevent metalto-metal contact and reduce iction, extending the life of non-hydraulic systems.

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Structural components. Wear pads, thrust washers, and many other structural components used in offhighway vehicles can be manufactured using high-modulus plastic. These parts are always lighter than those made om metal, and they are o en less expensive.

Looking forward Co-injection molding is one technology of interest for those designing hydraulic systems for offhighway use. This allows two polymers to be combined in a single operation to create multiple functions in one

component. A good example is an elastomeric material that acts as a seal and a scraper combined with a stronger thermoplastic material that acts as a bushing or guide ring. This component would be an ideal molded rod end in a hydraulic cylinder used in the excavator bucket of an off-highway vehicle, for instance.

Although the technology for these types of operations exists, it can be challenging for designers to understand the applications it can be used most effectively in. Working closely with a manufacturer that has expertise in coinjection molding is a good first step in discovering how to take advantage of innovative part designs. DW

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Design for Industry Semiconductor

How to get the most om flash

storage

Flash storage devices are o en selected in the later stages of a

But is this always the best way to incorporate storage? Because flash memory is widely available in a variety of form factors, many OEMs assume they can proceed without a custom solution. However, in doing so, OEMs may overlook several considerations that will affect the outcome of a design, for example: • the equency of reading and writing large amounts of data to memory, • power management issues (dirty power, power cycling, power failure) • environmental conditions (temperature, vibration)

the environment and workload requirements,� says Tony Diaz, Product Manager for Delkin Devices.

In the transportation industry, for instance, unexpected failures may compromise safety features that drivers rely upon to prevent accidents.

In manufacturing automation, data device failures can cause machinery to malfunction.

Diaz adds that the majority of industrial flash storage solutions require some level of customization to adequately meet workload requirements in real-world industrial scenarios.

Any of these factors can lead to data corruption and reducing the reliability and lifespan of the flash storage. “Many industrial OEMs purchase flash storage devices over the internet only to discover at the launch of the product there were unexpected issues due to inaccurate assumptions about

Workload demands Because flash storage has a finite life, extending that life requires careful consideration as to how data are written to the device. New data cannot be saved

design. At that point, many of these devices are simply viewed as commodity items and purchased off-the-shelf. A er all, what more is needed to know than type of flash, memory capacity and form factor?

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to a flash device until the old data are first erased. Only a finite number of programming and erasing cycles can be performed before wear renders the flash device unreliable to store data. In addition, some flash media is not used evenly, further reducing the life of the device.

Fortunately, there are options to extend the life of a flash device, including reducing unnecessary copying of files or downloading data, consolidating writes, wear leveling techniques and even selecting whether the data are written sequentially or randomly.

Environmental conditions Although industrial flash storage is designed to be rugged, different applications have different operating requirements. Customizing the mechanical ruggedness of the storage can alleviate concerns about failures

associated with operating conditions.

One of the best ways to ensure that a storage device will work as expected is to partner with a manufacturer who offers testing reliability services.

Power issues Dirty power, excessive power cycling, and unexpected power failures are common problems for industrial flash

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storage. Although only a small amount of data may not have been written when a power failure occurs, it can cause ongoing problems, including fatal corruption of the entire system. It can also cause inefficient use of memory capacity, which will shorten the lifespan of the embedded flash storage.

Taking steps to reduce external sources of power loss will mitigate the

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Design for Industry Semiconductor risk of power fails. However, power failures can still occur, so internal protections will reduce the risk of data loss. These protections include built-in power loss controls, including systems for monitoring power supply and the ability to recover data a er a power loss that occurs during a write operation.

Dirty power due to outages, brownouts, surges and power spikes is another concern, especially where dc dips below the required threshold.

And excessive power cycling to conserve battery life can become a problem. In some industries, power may be cycled tens of thousands of times a year to keep the battery in a sleep mode or to power it off altogether.

This can degrade the performance of the flash memory.

Flexibility By Design Linear Position Sensors With Attachment Options Novotechnik’s TEX Series has the mounting and connection configurations needed to be plug-in compatible with your existing or new application.

The TEX Series is designed for use in tough environments like industrial, off-road automotive and others.

The TEX Series is available in stroke lengths of 10 to 300 mm. Repeatability is better than 0.01 mm and the TEX Series has outstanding linearity – to 0.05%. A wide range of standard configurations for mounting are featured including:

• return spring • bolt through flanges • bushing mount

• pivot head mount • snap clamps • rod end bearing

Operational issues Operational requirements refer to the manufacturer’s supply chain and how they source parts, engage with suppliers and ensure the parts they source will be available throughout the product lifecycle.

It is common for the bill of materials (BOM) of commercial grade flash storage to be updated without warning, and this is necessary for consumer OEMs because it helps maximize function while minimizing price. For industrial OEMs, however, this approach conflicts with the need for consistency and reliability.

Diaz says there is an even higher standard that can be achieved, which is when the component parts are controlled and “locked.”

“This means that once qualified, the flash, controller and firmware will not change as long as the part number is active. If anything needs to be changed, the part number is changed and that essentially guarantees that the customer is notified and the BOM is updated,” explains Diaz.

Reducing risks In the short term, off-the-shelf flash storage may have the right specs and cost less than a custom part, but there are always hidden costs and risks.

“Industrial OEMs are o en more focused on designing a high-quality product, and so do not spend much time considering flash storage,” says Diaz. “But given the critical nature of data in today’s devices, there is too much risk to take industrial flash for granted.” DW

Delkin Devices | www.delkin.com

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Design for Industry Semiconductor

| Adobestock.com

Data driven innovation and growth

The SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) recently held its annual conference of C-level executives to discuss the global electronics manufacturing industry. Deep discussions on technology disruptions, the future of mobility and 5G, and perspectives on the semiconductor industry in Asia were covered.

Richard Gottscho, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Lam Research, sees computational advances as one key to the semiconductor industry evolving om a little data world, marked by engineering teams taking several months to solve wafer etching problems, to one where big data is used to address issues. With etch recipes for wafers growing more complex, the semiconductor industry needs a breakthrough in metrology technology to continue its cycle of positive, exponential feedback that has led to the increasingly faster pace of technology evolution.

Gottscho compared data gathering by wearables to make general predictions on health to the potential use of metrology tools in collecting wafer data to predict fab health and avoid unscheduled downtime. Cost and time constraints still challenge the industry, yet Gottscho is optimistic that computational advances have brought

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the big metrology problem in a little data world close to resolution.

Daniel Niles, AlphaOne Capital, expects the semiconductor industry to resume growth in 2020 a er five to six difficult quarters as semiconductor pricing stabilizes. However, he urged cautioned amid signs of economic risk, particularly how central banks worldwide are taking on debt, and a possible election-year surprise in the U.S. Industry tailwinds include an anticipated uptick in data center capital expenditures, improving inventory levels, progress in U.S.-Sino trade relations despite slow economic growth in China, and bullish secular trends in 5G, AI, IoT, AR, cloud, electric vehicles, autonomous driving and smart homes.

Michael Schallehn, Bain & Company, noted that the era of plentiful labor is DESIGN WORLD

2/7/20 8:05 AM

POWER TRANSMISSION

RETAINING DEVICES & nearing an end, posing a major challenge for economies worldwide as companies struggle to fill open positions. Robotics and automation could fill the employment gap to sustain economic growth as the cost of robotics falls and adoption of AI for customer service applications continues to rise. Workforce shortages offer a compelling business case for replacing human workers with robots, which can cut labor costs by 10 to 15% while boosting productivity as much as 30%. Over the next 10 to 20 years, Schallehn expects 20 to 25% of the global labor force to be displaced by robots, another significant challenge.

Kevin Anderson, IHS Markit, observed that the 2020 semiconductor revenue rebound will be led by memory, with growth exceeding 10%. Among 2020 industry growth drivers, 5G is the most promising, though its rollout will be phased. With development slower than forecast, autonomous driving will start to fulfill its promise a er 2025. Mainstream AI applications were few in 2019 and the technology will only make a meaningful contribution to chip industry revenue once high-volume applications emerge.

In its forecast for 2020, IHS Markit sees 5.5% annual growth for the global semiconductor industry with memory expanding at a 3.9% rate.

Bob Johnson, Gartner, pointed to TSMC’s outsize influence in the Gartner forecast for 5% CAGR in foundry revenue through 2023. Advanced nodes and rising demand for 5G 7nm chips will drive an increase in foundry capital expenditures over this period.

In the equipment market, CapEx was down 6.9% year-over-year (YOY) in 2019 and is expected to improve slightly in 2020 with a 3.6% YOY decline. Johnson reported that more than 220 million 5G smartphones are expected to ship this year, but cautioned that the technology is at the peak of its hype cycle. Commercial applications are not yet available, most 5G phones will be using expanded 4G networks, and 5G usage in Korea recently underwhelmed – all signs that 5G is not ready for robust adoption, though the technology’s future is bright.

John West, VLSI Research Europe, highlighted the challenge to semiconductor equipment companies of navigating 5% CAGR in critical subsystem and component costs. Equipment makers must reduce costs without increasing risk. Their options include squeezing the profit margins of critical subsystem suppliers and turning to new models such as renting equipment, but he encouraged the manufacturers to analyze the segment before cutting costs. Pointing to a need for a risk heat map for the supply chain, West advised equipment manufacturers to consider several factors in evaluating critical subsystem supplier risk such as location given potential geopolitical instability, ability to deliver, financial strength, and current versus planned production capacity.

Severine Valdant Zygmont, Oxford Performance Materials, noted how data-driven processes have improved medical applications.

One example is 3D printing of bone reconstructions using PEKK polymers to enable bone implants that are better personalized for patients. Concerns include how the medical industry will manage the newfound wealth of available data while protecting patient information. DW

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Design Notes

1,300-ton support structure stabilizes Giant Magellan Telescope Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

An artist’s rendering of the Giant Magellan Telescope in the Chilean Andes.

The Camozzi Group subsidiary Ingersoll machine tools was recently chosen to help with the construction of the first new-generation Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) by GMTO Corporation. The new telescope will have a resolving power ten times greater than today’s other global telescopes.

Ingersoll will produce the 1,300-ton precision steel optical support structure which will allow ictionless movement using the Camozzi Group’s hydrostatic technology.

In total, this is a 135 million-dollar investment, the largest realized to date by GMTO. Over the next nine years, GMTO, MT Mechatronics, and Ingersoll Machine Tools will work together to deliver the 1,300-ton steel structure. It is due to be delivered to its new home in the Chilean Andes by the end of 2025, ready for mirror installation in

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2028, and operational by 2029.

The GMT is a 24.5-meter (80- ) diameter giant optical-in ared observatory. Ingersoll Machine Tools and MT Mechatronics were specifically tasked with designing and manufacturing the 1,300-ton precision mechanism, known as the “telescope structure” that holds the GMT’s optics, which will track celestial targets as they move across the sky. The telescope will be designed by MT Mechatronics.

MT Mechatronics provides global DESIGN WORLD

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Left to Right: Ingersoll Machine Tools CEO, Chip Storie, MT Mechatronics Senior Vice President, Thomas Zimmerer, GMTO president, Dr. Robert N. Shelton with a bronze model of the telescope structure. services as the prime contractor for design, development, system integration, commissioning, training, maintenance, and operations for communication and deep space antennas, radio and optical telescopes, mechatronic equipment for research institutions, and launching facilities for the European space program.

A er the design, the telescope will be manufactured, assembled, and tested

by Ingersoll before being shipped to, and installed at, the GMT observatory site in the Andes.

The structure of the telescope will hold the seven giant mirrors of the GMT in position for analysis by the instrumentation built into the telescope.

The mirrors, the largest in the world, have been produced by the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab of the University of Arizona.

The structure of the telescope, complete with mirrors and all instrumentation, will weigh 2,100 tons and will float on a 50-microns-thick (2 thousandths of an inch) oil film which will ensure ictionless movement to offset the earth’s rotation and follow the celestial bodies in their paths across the sky. This “hydrostatic” technology was patented several years ago by INNSE. With this design, the GMT will have a resolving power ten times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope in the in a-red section of the spectrum.

The telescope’s primary mirror combines seven 8.4-meter (27- ) diameter circular segments to form an effective aperture 24.5 m in diameter. The GMT will be located at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert and the project is the work of an international consortium of leading universities and science institutions. Funding for the project comes om the partner institutions, governments, and private donors.

GMTO manages the GMT project on behalf of its international founders: Arizona State University, Astronomy Australia Ltd., The Australian National University, Carnegie Institution for Science, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Harvard University, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Texas A&M University, The University of Arizona, The University of Chicago and The University of Texas at Austin. DW

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Ingersoll Machine Tools and MT Mechatronics were specifically tasked with designing and manufacturing the 1,300-ton precision mechanism, known as the “telescope structure” that holds the GMT’s optics which will track celestial targets as they move across the sky.

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Design Notes

How to design a user friendly

heart sensor

Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor

What the UEGroup found was that the ZIO’s original instructions, illustrations, and word choice were tailored toward the medical professional applying the ZIO to the patient — not to the patient themselves.

Nearly half of all adults (48%) in the United States have some type of cardiovascular disease. This group of over 121 million people need to help physicians diagnose potential arrhythmias more quickly and efficiently to ultimately save lives. To develop the best remote patient monitoring service, at-home wearable medical devices applications’ company, iRhythm, partnered with user experience firm UEGroup to improve the user experience of their ZIO AT heart sensor.

The ZIO AT is a small, adhesive, water-resistant heart sensor that the user sticks onto their chest for 24-hour monitoring. To increase patients’ accessibility and convenience, UEGroup had to look at iRhythm’s existing overall user experience and improve it. The task was to convert the existing process to a 100% easy, at-home, remote experience with a mobile app… right out of the box. The UEGroup had to address multiple challenges:

• Creating a complex medical device that patients can easily use without needing in-person doctor visits to monitor their heart rates.

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The result was a streamlined, userfocused experience that iRhythm could implement for the ZIO.

• Designing a wearable technology targeted at a potentially tech-averse elderly population.

• Keeping in mind the average tech savvy user.

To address these challenges, UEGroup identified the key aspects of the ZIO

as: the out of the box experience, the instructions, the mobile app, and instructional motion graphics. By focus testing on a small sample size of the extreme age population, designers identified areas for improvement, opportunities for failures, assumptions that need to be challenged, and potential competing factors.

What the UEGroup found was that the ZIO’s instructions, illustrations, and word choice were tailored toward the medical professional applying the ZIO to the patient — not to the patient themselves.

Additionally, the ZIO’s material design was created partially for a medical team — further complicating the experience for the patient. The overall experience for a first-time user was a flood of materials at once — with no explanation. Focus test patients were reporting a sense of selfdoubt and feeling overwhelmed.

UEGroup recognized that if users feel like there are too many steps or too much to read, they are more likely to skip steps.

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Design Notes The design needed to take a complex setup and make it feel easy. To do this, designers sought to:

• •

• •

Group steps to make the process feel simpler Make all instructions as visual as possible to communicate key elements for users that do not read instructions Differentiate key information and warnings through visual treatments Place important content in key areas with high visibility

For one of the early user-testing rounds, UEGroup took the successful elements om the first version of the ZIO’s user experience and combined them with new ideas found during focus group testing. They took the successful themes and pushed information and graphics to the max. This determined the limit of information users would absorb and

which format they naturally gravitated towards.

The results showed that UEGroup still needed to reduce the amount of content and improve visuals. Crucially, they also had to focus the labeling and flow of materials to help orient the new user — the test subject participants were given all the materials without direction as to what to look at and when. No clear hand off in materials was making people feel like they needed to keep track of everything.

UEGroup looked at the materials being presented to the user and asked, “When should each item be introduced” and “What content is appropriate for that point in the process.”

Adjustments were made and a second round of testing was set forth with eight, primarily tech-averse, participants between the ages of 60 and 80.

The designers learned that the improved visuals, simplified content, and streamlined look and feel were working.

For improvement, UEGroup chose to set clear user expectations, improve item labeling, give users a clear path back to application instructions, and to further continue to improve the readability of lengthy content.

The result was a streamlined, userfocused experience that iRhythm could implement for the ZIO. DW

UEGroup | www.uegroup.com

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Design Notes

Three ways to handle downstream pulling equipment

Edited by Mike Santora • Associate Editor The C-22 is a Caterpillar Feed, designed to provide an even distribution of clamping force over the surface of the product, enabling greater pulling forces without deformation of the product — a critical aspect for the medicalgrade quality plastic.

There are as many ways to approach downstream handling as there are industries that use extrusion and other processes in their production; each approach has its benefits. From the full systems approach, to using individual components for various tasks, to a happy medium in between, here are three ways to handle downstream pulling equipment and examples om companies that have benefitted.

Meyer Enterprises is a true job shop, handling machining and fabrication for turnkey parts om start to finish. Allen Meyer and his team can build pretty much anything with as little as a drawing, regardless of the industry or application.

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DESIGN WORLD

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

For the past five years, Simonds Industries has used a Motorized PM-22 Pinch Roll Puller to help manufacture bandsaw blades and cutting tools. The puller takes bandsaw blade material off a 300-ft coil, feeds that material out, and pays it off to a required length to cut and process.

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w w w. a u r o r a b e a r i n g . c o m When his shop was tasked with building a machine that turns PTFE tubing into medical-grade heat shrink, he needed a puller assembly that could push and pull the tube through the equipment and take the tubing through the process. On a site visit to see how the PTFE tubing is made, they noted Versa puller systems pulling the material through the process, and later contacted them. Versa Machinery makes non-motorized pullers, motorized puller assemblies, and turnkey puller systems to pull materials downstream.

Meyer built a table 2½ x 14- and purchased two Versa C-22 non-motorized puller assemblies to pull the material through the heating process, one on the incoming and one on the outgoing side.

The C-22 is a Caterpillar Feed, designed to provide an even distribution of clamping force over the surface of the product, enabling greater pulling forces without deformation of the product — a critical aspect for the medical-grade quality plastic. Optional pneumatic operation of the belt booms along a constant centerline allows control of the pressure applied to the product being pulled and makes repeatable setup almost instantaneous. For Meyer, that means control over the product as it runs through the process run a er run.

What Meyer Enterprises does is working: the shop is working on three more machines for the medical group with two more on the way. Despite the high demand, the Versa C-22s continue to run.

Cutting Down Production Time For the past five years, Simonds Industries has used a Motorized PM-22 Pinch Roll Puller to help manufacture bandsaw blades and cutting tools. The puller takes bandsaw blade material off a 300- coil, feeds that material out, and pays it off to a required length to cut and process.

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February 2020

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Design Notes Blend-Pro had the Versa team design a puller system with silicone belts on the infeed caterpillar puller as well as a 3-ft long post-cut take-away conveyor, which the sealer wouldn’t stick to. An added roller encoder measures the speed of the material as it comes out of the extruder and adjusts the speed of the puller to match that of the extruder.

Before Simonds purchased the PM-22, Dan Stewart explained that the team would pull the material hand over hand, walk it slowly out over one line. Unrolling bandsaw blade material by hand is inherently dangerous, so Stewart needed to get his operator’s hands out of the equation. A modified device could sometimes pull smaller lengths out, but it never worked the way Stewart needed. He then purchased an off-the-shelf PM-22 motorized puller assembly, which included the motor, drive, gear reducers, and controls required to be productive om day one. While Stewart initially wasn’t getting the speed he hoped for, Versa team members worked with him to boost the speed to 350- /minute, making the Simonds bandsaw production safer and faster than before.

Relative to uncoiling bandsaw material by hand, the Motorized Pinch Puller saves time and labor for Stewart, who estimated that the whole process is 30% faster a er installing the new equipment.

Blend-Pro, in Allentown, PA manufactures construction products, including a rubber-type joint sealer: a specialized, sticky compound that they extrude onto paper and cut into pieces to package and sell. For years they cut the material manually with a pair of ordinary scissors; the employee that drew the short straw that day would stand next to the extruder and cut every 30- .

Manual cutting was a drag on resources: there are more productive things a skilled and trained employee could be doing rather than cutting. Plant Manager Kyle Jornov recalls a vendor that supplied them with an automated guillotine, basically a pair of scissors attached to a cylinder that shot every time an encoder reached the length.

While it eed up the employee om cutting, it jammed constantly,

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requiring maintenance and increasing production downtime. The sealer stuck to everything in sight, creating jams that smashed the sticky, glue-like compound as it came out of the extrusion die.

The resulting product was uneven and unsightly.

Jornov reached out to Versa Machinery and asked if they could help. The team designed a puller system with silicone belts on the infeed caterpillar puller as well as a 3- long post-cut take-away conveyor to which the sealer wouldn’t stick. An added roller encoder measures the speed of the material as it comes out of the extruder and adjusts the speed of the puller to match that of the extruder.

The silicone belt prevents sticking, and with the puller and conveyor speeds matching the material speed, jams are no longer an issue.

The result is better, but so is the process itself: the team in charge of extrusion can rely on the equipment to hold up its end of the deal without the need for constant maintenance. With the roller encoder, Jornov can run the machine about 10% faster than before. A week a er BlendPro installed its first cutter/puller system, they ordered a second unit just like it for their other sealer extrusion line.

Puller systems can solve many postextrusion or post-processing issues and increase production speed while they’re at it. NonMotorized Assemblies are built to outlast and outperform other equipment, and allow the use of motors, drives, gearing, and controls for the specific application without having to buy unwanted or unneeded components. Motorized Pullers include all the components needed for instant productivity, making them easy to purchase and to put into use. DW

Versa | versamachinery.com

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CAE Solutions Get better insight into product performance

The latest version of Simcenter 3D so ware, part of the Simcenter portfolio of simulation and test solutions, helps product engineering teams be more productive and produce consistent simulation results with a unified, easyto-use shared platform covering most simulation disciplines. This release includes improvements in four key areas: Multidiscipline Integration: New simulation methods increase realism and deliver better insight into product performance. Industrially validated rotor dynamics simulation capabilities have been extended, to include nonlinear connection elements, for example, allowing engineers to minimize rotational unbalance and unnecessary external forces in applications such as aircra engines, gas turbines, automotive engines, industrial equipment, and even electronics, for example when computer disk drives spin at high rates.

Faster CAE processes: The Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) composer tool helps engineers quickly create system-level finite-element (FE) models, starting om subassembly models such as an automotive body-in-white, door, suspension, and more. Automating the full-vehicle FE model increases process speed and helps reduce human error.

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DESIGN WORLD

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Ties to the digital thread: The seamless integration with data management is extended to enhanced ties to the physical testing group. Deeper test/ analysis correlation capabilities, such as new pre-test planning for determining sensor locations, can help determine the best methods to use for physical testing and increase confidence that simulations are accurately predicting real-world results.

faster CAE processes by using Simcenter 3D in connection with other CAE solvers.

Added support for cyclic symmetry can help engineers simpli the modeling and simulation process for components when using the Abaqus solver.

Simcenter 3D and the Simcenter portfolio are part of the Xcelerator portfolio. DW

Siemens Digital Industries So ware www.sw.siemens.com

Open and scalable: Simcenter 3D is an open environment where engineers and designers can gain the benefits of

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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February 2020

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CAE Solutions

Multiphysics for IronCAD 2020 released

Since the unveiling of Multiphysics for IronCAD, each year, additional improvements and refinement have been added to further increase the ease of use as well as the functions that set it apart om the competition. Most of these new features are based on user feedback and requests to speed up the design cycle, simpli analysis setup, and reduce analysis times.

MPIC 2020 includes several new technologies for CAD design analysis. IronCAD’s focus was on general CAD designers and users who want to adopt design analysis earlier in the digital prototyping cycle and aim to provide accurate, realistic and quick analysis. As such, most of these improvements are in the assembly analysis functions.

Some of MPIC 2020 new technologies and features include: • New tolerance assembly analysis technology is implemented with respect to how parts are assembled and meshed for analysis. This new option uses parts’ discrete boundary surface facets to unite parts for design analysis. This technology enables the healing of CAD assembly models with intentional or unintentional gaps so they can be glued together for quick design analysis.

• New drag-and-drop user interface has been implemented in the part tree of materials, boundary condition constraints, and load areas. Users can select the part’s tree node and drag it to a different material tree to quickly assign it to a different material.

In boundary condition constraints and loading, the sequence of

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the priority of the constraint can also be changed by selecting the condition and drag it up/down to change the priority of the boundary condition.

• MPIC model is upgraded to XMD 2.2 model and compatible with all AMPS product lines. It can be opened, modified, and analyzed by any AMPS XMD application if additional features/capabilities are needed.

Multiphysics for IronCAD offers basic to advance versions that include non-linear, fluid, dynamics, and rigid body kinematics. Once installed, users have access to the full functionality limited to 2000 mesh nodes that can be used to get started with the analysis application. DW

IronCAD | www.ironcad.com

DESIGN WORLD

2/7/20 11:49 AM

Make Cadence PCB and SOLIDWORKS work together

“This patent pending technology provides native bidirectional collaboration and traceability,” said Manny Marcano, president and CEO of EMA. “Design teams can work in concert for early communication and data sharing, enabling them to successfully launch mechatronic products on time and on budget.”

The current state of ECAD/MCAD ‘collaboration’ typically involves throwing large STEP files over the wall hoping each team can derive the data they need. This results in inaccuracy, miscommunication, delays, and design re-spins. CADSync is a native, bi-directional conduit between SOLIDWORKS and OrCAD/Allegro PCB Editor, providing a connection between ECAD and MCAD domains and eliminating the need for any middleware. PCB designers have intool access to leverage native CAD data structures for maximum performance, efficiency, and accuracy, versus other solutions using common interchange formats.

CADSync includes a PCB toolkit for SOLIDWORKS which enables SOLIDWORKS teams to work on PCB features in their native design environment, while automatically capturing the data needed to properly speci changes and requirements in Cadence PCB. Since DESIGN WORLD

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ECAD data is communicated to SOLIDWORKS using native solid parts, features, and assemblies, MCAD designers can also easily simulate and manipulate PCB elements in context of the mechanical assembly, which is not possible using traditional interchange format methods.

“Traditional ECAD/MCAD interface solutions either have a heavy server configuration that accompanies the product, or they have limitations in what information can be synchronized between the mechanical and electrical domain-CADSync has neither,” said Dan Fernsebner, PCB product marketing director, Cadence Design Systems, Inc. DW

EMA Design Automation, Inc. go.ema-eda.com/cadsync

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Internet of Things

Ethernet switch for Time Sensitive Networking

This multi-gigabit Ethernet switch helps automakers deliver the high-speed networks required for evolving connected vehicles. The NXP SJA1110 is an automotive Ethernet switch with safety capabilities built in, offering integrated 100BASE-T1 PHYs, hardware-assisted security as well as multi-gigabit interfaces.

It is optimized for integration with the company’s S32G vehicle network processor, the SJA1110 switch is also part of an overall networking solution which includes the VR5510 power management IC. Together, these components address issues of scalability, safety, security and high-speed traffic engineering.

Service-Oriented Gateways and domain controllers accommodate connected services such as Over-The-Air updates and emerging data-driven applications, while also supporting the underlying Ethernet-based web sensors, actuators and processing unit. These networks must be scalable and move data quickly and securely without posing dangers to the car, the passengers or their personal data.

Additionally, these car networks must deliver the functional safety needed to ensure that if vehicles fail, they do it safely.

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www.designworldonline.com

DESIGN WORLD

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The SJA1110 Ethernet switch helps carmakers obtain the scalability, security and performance with the right mix of hardware features and a balanced number of ports for high and low-port-count ECUs. The SJA1110 is aligned to the latest TSN standards and offers integrated 100BASE-T1 PHYs, hardware-assisted security and safety capabilities along with multi-gigabit interfaces.

Safety The SJA1110 enables customers to meet their ASIL requirements and enrich the safety capabilities of the vehicle by implementing dedicated failure-detection mechanisms that can enable predictive maintenance solutions. Such approaches can then

DESIGN WORLD

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significantly contribute to the comfort of the final vehicle owner and reduce cost and improve efficiency for large fleet management firms.

Security NXP’s heritage in bank cards and e-passports has been incorporated into the SJA1110 as part of a layered security approach complete with hardware assisted secure boot, denialof-service prevention and distributed Intrusion-detection capabilities. The SJA1110 switch processes every Ethernet ame reaching the ECU by validating it against HW-based security rules which in turn collect statistics and can trigger escalations if something is not conformant to specification. Such mechanisms are the basis for building

www.designworldonline.com

best-in class firewall and intrusion detection systems.

Scalability Available in four hardware (HW) and so ware (SW) compatible variants, with a rich set of NXP original SW, an open integrated controller, and several BOM optimization options, the SJA1110 switch provides a solid foundation for scalable ECU designs for complex gateways, advanced driving assistance systems and infotainment units.

DW

NXP Semiconductors | www.nxp.com

February 2020

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Internet of Things

Plenty of data, yet not enough data confidence

| AdobeStock.com

By: Jesse Cugliotta • Director of Industry Solutions at Qlik

The world is more connected than ever before. With worker demographics and skillset demands changing, the heavy industries are in an interesting position--too much data and not enough expertise and bandwidth to use that data most effectively.

There are many trends driving the need to better leverage data, om an increased reliance on integrated operations to a need for agile supply chains that can quickly respond to market demands. These trends aren’t slowing down anytime soon and will require the heavy industries to adapt or fall behind – and data literacy is a key element in success or failure.

Realizing the power of connectivity Industry 4.0 and the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) have made manufacturing, construction, transportation and utilities more data rich and connected. One can think of this phenomenon as joining forces: Industry 4.0 is o en characterized as bringing together advanced manufacturing techniques with IoT. The goal behind this merging of technique and IoT’s interconnectedness is to create

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digital, connected work environments that communicate, analyze and use information to drive intelligent actions, processes and create data-driven efficiencies.

These data-driven efficiencies have the potential to impact the entire ecosystem of heavy industries — beginning with production and spanning inspection, maintenance and logistics, as products are developed, deployed and optimized. At the lowest level, this involves testing, refinement and continual iteration, in addition to monitoring, managing and the movement of materials. At the highest level, this means strategically seizing market opportunities and competitive advantages as extracting even small gains can place a company in a winning position. All of these elements create data to manage and leverage to ensure www.designworldonline.com

smooth and productive output.

The largest gains are only possible when the power of data is fully realized to ensure all the operational aspects are working in sync. Ultimately, data richness and connectivity can help pave the way for this synchronization through better integration of processes, as well as through the development of better, smarter designed systems to transform production and unlock value.

Too many smart devices make some businesses data hesitant Some heavy industry businesses may not be able to mine the value of the gathered data. The near-everywhere availability and the growing universe of connected products have ushered in an era of unending information overload. Gartner forecasts that 25 billion connected things will be in use by 2021, producing huge DESIGN WORLD

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amounts of data that need capturing, processing and disseminating to extract their full value. The noise and distraction caused by too much data is real, but so is data’s value – if processed and used intelligently.

Imagine, for example, a fully automated “smart” truck manufacturing plant with interconnected systems and machine-to-machine communication.

This plant would have sensors capturing data on product predictability and traceability, on 3D printing systems, on robotics for transparent data reporting, and on autonomous vehicles. Leveraging all that data to its fullest value with a robust analytics platform could optimize productivity and increase efficiencies within plant operations.

One application could be assessing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), a score which ranges om 0-100 that would enable one to understand how productive the plant is against a given industry benchmark. Key machine-level data, such as availability, performance and quality, would be used to evaluate the plant’s OEE and make improvements.

Examining machine-level data would surface insights, letting plant supervisors understand at what intervals to check machines, how to optimize production schedules and when to take corrective action. Now, imagine not just one such plant but a dozen or even a hundred.

Then, imagine the amount of data. This is where having wide spread data literacy can transform data glut into opportunity.

Data literacy One can see how intimidating this can be – that having such a plant, or many for one company, means that businesses must grapple with what may seem like an overwhelming data deluge. However, this challenge can be overcome with data literacy, i.e., knowing how to work effectively with data. Beyond helping to create comfort with data, data literacy also has a bottom-line value. In fact, companies that have raised levels of corporate data literacy see an increase in enterprise value of $324 to $534 million, or 3 to 5%, according to Qlik’s Data Literacy Index.

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Heavy industry businesses, though, are not seeing the data literacy bottomline benefits, as recent surveys show data literacy itself is not well recognized and because internal perceptions show a lack of data literacy confidence. A survey obtained through the Data Literary Index revealed that heavy industries leaders didn’t have confidence in their companies’ data literacy. Of those surveyed, just 59% had heard of data literacy; that’s less than 8% of a cross-industry average. Yet, 97% of respondents noted that data is important to their businesses’ decisionmaking.

How much value leaders attribute to data literacy may be a factor. Despite the higher use of IoT and how prominently Industry 4.0 figures in business discourse, less than 50% of heavy industries business leaders surveyed believe that data literacy is very relevant to their industry. Perhaps even more telling, when it comes to hiring talent, data literacy seemed to rank low: Not even a third (30%) of those surveyed think data literacy is important when deciding who to hire.

This is creating a contradictory situation. On one hand, there’s an increasing number of smart factories with interconnected devices, equipment and production lines. On the other, there’s a seeming reluctance to enable employees to understand or fully leverage the data generated by those factories. A primary issue is that, although leaders recognize the value of having production lines with high-connectivity processes and hardware, many are not taking a broad view and instead looking at each part of the system in isolation. For example, it’s not uncommon for a company to invest in sensors to monitor large vehicles to know when they need maintenance. Yet, the same company will invest in a separate technology to track those vehicles’ locations. Problems arise when data om these different but complimentary aspects of the company’s operations cannot be brought together. This leads to data silos, leaving organizations with blindered views of their data landscape.

This situation likely arises unintentionally as the result of traditional role definition where data literacy is not www.designworldonline.com

emphasized. The survey results bear this out, with not many leaders making data literacy a priority for employees.

Just 14% of them indicated that they significantly encourage their workforces to be comfortable with data, and only 32% provide training in data literacy.

Moreover, only a quarter of the sector said they are willing to pay higher salaries to data literate employees.

Heavy industries still prize data analysis Nevertheless, there are some bright spots where heavy industries are surpassing the cross-industry average for data analysis, with more than a third (37%) reporting that data analysis influences how corporate performance and demand forecasting is measured. This is 11% above average across industries. Looking more closely at the findings reveals that 73% of engineers use data analytics. This sharply outpaces engineers in banking (54%), the commercial sector (56%) or services (58%).

Of course, as with any industry, there are outliers. These include businesses embracing data’s power wholeheartedly and others willfully ignoring it – and, with it, the power of a truly interconnected business ecosystem. Most companies, however, aren’t so polarized, finding themselves somewhere in the middle, perhaps grappling with issues rooted in their own organization — a bureaucratic slowness to accept new approaches or maybe an inability to achieve sufficient buy-in. Despite this, investment is still being made in technology to discover new opportunities. True success, though, cannot be realized without growth in enterprise-wide data literacy. Without it, heavy industries businesses are liable to lose their edge on competitors and fail to get ahead. DW

Qlik | www.qlik.com/us

February 2020

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Internet of Things Multi-sensor for remote data collection The InvenSense SmartSense is a compact, wireless multi-sensor for a number of IoT applications. The out-ofthe-box sensor enables accurate and remote monitoring, data collection and specific IoT sensor application outputs via BLE and Wi-Fi. IoT applications covered by the sensor module include smart doors, robotic vacuums, asset monitoring, patient activity monitoring, HVAC filtering and air mouse monitoring. The list of algorithms will be expanded in the coming months, based on emerging market requirements.

The module also provides autonomous SD Card data logging for applications deriving value om large data volumes.

SmartSense integrates TDK’s IMU, magnetometer, pressure, temperature,

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and ultrasonic sensors with highprecision algorithms in a one-size-fits-all solution.

The module serves as an easy-to-use prototyping platform by enabling OEMs to gain application insights, signatures and environment variations. Its small size, flat base and wireless features allow quick and easy prototyping. For example, a company manufacturing patient activity monitors needs both high-resolution and low-noise IMU data, as well as meaningful

algorithmic information about patients’ gait, body posture and balance.

SmartSense provides all this information, enabling OEMs to quickly prototype their products while working closely with TDK to get secure access to medical algorithms and IMUs. DW

TDK Corp. www.invensense.tdk.com/ smartsense/

2/7/20 12:05 PM

A Supplement to Design World - February 2020 www.designworldonline.com

Grippers:

Advancing telerobotics through tactile feedback

page 50

INSIDE: • ‘Active perception’ a novel approach to robotic grasping................................................58 • Flexible gripper handles dozens of parts for manufacturer...............................................62 • Force torque sensor shines in robotic glass polishing .................................................68 • Four trends in end-of-arm tooling ...............72

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The Robot Report

How Converge Robotics Group

plans to advance telerobotics through tactile feedback

Keith Shaw

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Successful demonstrations of concept provide for further collaboration between three companies.

www.therobotreport.com

THE ROBOT REPORT

2/7/20 12:07 PM

Tangible Research, part of the new Converge Robotics Group, drew large crowds at CES 2020 with demonstrations of the Tactile Telerobot system. | Credit: Tangible Research Inc. THE ROBOT REPORT

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www.therobotreport.com

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| Raytheon

The Robot Report

A

At re:MARS 2019, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos described the Tactile Telerobot demonstration as 'really impressive.' | Converge Robotics Group

A big “thumbs up” om Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, along with other successful demonstrations at technology events, have propelled a collaboration in tactile feedback for telerobotics operation into a more formal endeavor.

Converge Robotics Group, a consortium of Shadow Robot Company, HaptX, and Tangible Research, was launched at CES 2020 with the goal of integrating technologies into systems that allow an operator to control robotic equipment through natural user interfaces. The companies will share resources and collaborate toward a goal of advancing telepresence, telerobotics, and haptics.

The group’s Tactile Telerobot is a teleoperated system that allows an operator to precisely control robotic hands, which then transmit a sense of touch back to the operator’s hands through haptic gloves.

At Amazon’s re:MARS event in June 2019, Bezos walked by the group’s booth on the expo floor and asked to try out the system. His responses, which described the experience as “really impressive” and “the tactile feedback is tremendous,” made headlines around the world.

Since that demonstration, Converge Robotics Group launched the robot publicly at CEATEC 2019 in Japan in October 2019. The group participated in the CEATEC Society 5.0 TOWN exhibition, which showcased futuristic robot technology with the theme “A City in 2030.”

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The Tactile Telerobot integrates several advanced robotic components in order to create the experience, including the following: • HaptX Gloves, which capture hand motion with precision, providing realistic tactile and force feedback.

• Shadow Robot’s anthropomorphic Shadow Dexterous Hand, which mimics human motion with 24 degrees of eedom.

• SynTouch’s biometrics sensors, which capture force, temperature, pressure, and vibration with equal resolution to a human finger.

• Two Universal Robots UR10 cobots, one for each “arm” of the system.

An operator wearing the haptic gloves can control the robot hands at a distance, whether in the same room, another room, or even another location.

The robot hands will then mimic the operator’s hand and arm movements, handling materials and completing tasks.

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More than a typical teleoperated robot, the Tactile Telerobot provides feedback to an operator through hand sensors on the robot hands and haptic gloves worn by the user. This feedback allows for greater robot manipulation for tasks such as cup stacking, bottle cap opening, and Rubik’s cube rotation. These tasks are difficult to do through autonomy or artificial intelligence software.

(All photos courtesy of Converge Robotics Group)

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The Robot Report

Andrew Mitrak, HaptX

Rich Walker, Shadow Robot

Jeremy Fishel, Tangible Research

Sensors on the robot hands then relay touch sensations back to the operator’s gloves, so they can feel what the robot hands are touching.

At the re:MARS event, demonstrations included operators being able to stack plastic cups, manipulate a Rubik’s Cube, and pick up and flip a playing card sitting on a table.

At CEATEC, Converge Robotics demonstrated different scenarios in its “City in 2030” display, including:

• A kitchen scenario, which demonstrated how robot hands can master the fine motions necessary to prepare meals and pour drinks into a cup from a bottle.

• A school scenario, which used the platform to communicate with participants while moving around a classroom.

• A fish-market scenario, which demonstrated how to fish remotely from Tokyo using an avatar robot installed at a fishing pole pond in Oita on the island of Kyushu. In the future, ANA said it plans to deliver all of the fish caught using the avatar technology to the operator’s home directly from Oita.

• A mobility scenario, in which participants could remotely view and shop at museums around the world. This scenario showcased ways to make it easier for the elderly and people living with disabilities to enjoy outdoor activities and experience local attractions.

• A laboratory scenario, which used avatars to showcase technology that allows people to perform advanced activities such as climbing stairs or selecting the most efficient walking tasks.

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The collaboration was started with support and funding from ANA Holdings, a Japanese airline that was looking to create an avatar-like experience for its customers that want to travel to other locations and do “virtual tourism” without leaving their homes.

ANA is also sponsoring the ANA Avatar XPRIZE, a global competition focused on developing a robotic avatar system that transfers an operator’s senses, actions, and presence to a remote location in real time. The competition recently announced 77 teams for the semi-finals, which will be held in 2021.

The final 20 teams are expected to compete in 2022 for the $10 million prize.

The Converge group was initially considering competing in the XPRIZE, but felt that since it had already received some funding from ANA to develop the Tactile Telerobot, it would be a conflict of interest. However, officials from the group said they are very familiar with several of the teams competing, and may become a supplier or advisor to XPRIZE teams.

Because of the success of these early demonstrations, the group felt that a more formal designation was required in order to advance commercialization of the Tactile Telerobot.

“We needed a cohesive brand around this, because some people were saying it was the HaptX robot, or the Shadow Robot, or the Tangible robot, the ANA robot, or even the Jeff Bezos robot,” said Andrew Mitrak, director of marketing at HaptX. “Converge is a name that illustrates how multiple different pieces of technology coming together can create a whole that is bigger than the sum of the parts, and its own entity.”

Mitrak said, however, that the group is still a collaboration, and not a formal company. The individual companies can still operate their own businesses, but the group mutually benefits from the Tactile Telerobot system.

“From a business perspective, we’re trying to understand the market potential before we commit to something that would detract from what each of us are doing individually,” said Jeremy Fishel, Ph.D., the founder of Tangible Research and a scientific advisor at SynTouch. “We’re also looking at an informal consortium agreement on how we collaborate together, but a formal

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“Our system is being all about being natural and intuitive,” said Andrew Mitrak, seen here practicing with the telerobot.

entity would need to be justified by either a large market opportunity or an investment that would require us to have more structure.”

The group is actively seeking hardware partners, project sponsors, and early access customers. It has had discussions with companies looking to fund further research and development, Fishel said.

In the meantime, work continues to improve technology features on the system, which includes improving the network connectivity and reducing latency for the teleoperation, as well as improving visual systems so operators can better see the robotic hands when using them.

Currently, the system uses two cameras pointed at the robotic hands, one with a spatial view and one with a depth view.

“An operator has to look at two different cameras to manipulate his or her hands in space, and it requires a lot of cognitive workload,” said Mitrak.

“Our system is all about being natural and intuitive, so we’re looking at more immersive-style displays – maybe it’s AR or VR, or some other kind of emerging technology that has a sense of depth and space, to improve the telepresence and teleoperation.”

Mitrak said the group would also benefit from collaborators in telecommunications, 5G, and networking, since telerobotics requires the transmission of high-bandwidth data over reliable networks at low latency.

“The big picture vision is that we effectively want it to feel exactly like your hands as much as possible in an economically affordable situation for all the places you might want to use it,” said Fishel. “We’re hoping that we can fund the R&D that improves the system capabilities

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and ultimately reduces the costs through more of the high-risk applications first.”

Examples of environments where telerobotics can thrive include the nuclear industry, where it’s very expensive and dangerous to decommission nuclear reactors, or in space, where it’s expensive to send humans.

Shadow Robot, in particular, is focused on incorporating the technology in radioactive environments and solving industry challenges via remote handling in glove boxes. The company is looking at the following operations: • The Tactile Telerobot is set up at a glove box, and the Shadow Hand component is inserted into existing glove ports.

• An operator wears a haptic glove, which allows them to control the Shadow Hand at a safe distance, even in another room or location.

• The robot mimics the operator’s hand and arm movements, handling hazardous materials. The touch feedback, if preferred, can allow the operator to feel what they’re handling for better accuracy.

Benefits of this approach include zero exposure to workers, more operational hours, eliminating restrictive personal protective equipment, and reducing the cost of significant secondary waste, Shadow said.

www.therobotreport.com

Converge Robotics Group is also looking at additional environments, including deep sea, oil and gas, and bomb disposal situations, as well as less-dangerous environments such as clean rooms in pharmaceutical companies.

“If you said what do you want to be able to do with a teleoperation system, my answer would be pretty simple, and that’s anything that a person with gloves can do,” said Rich Walker, managing director of the Shadow Robot Company. “If I can do that, then there’s a wide range of problems that are worth solving that we can put that robot to work solving. If it can’t do the same set of things a person with gloves can do, then it’s not good enough yet, so we have to improve it. So that’s been our focus.”

The group’s members said they enjoy the reactions of people when they first try out the system, and have speculated on why operators get so excited.

“It’s getting that feedback, and it connects you with the robot in a different kind of way that just wasn’t possible before,” said Fishel. “We’ve said many times that we’ve been making terrible mistakes by not videotaping everyone’s first reaction when you squeeze their finger. They get the gloves, they play with the robot hands, and then you squeeze the robot finger and they feel it, and everyone’s faces light up. Some people have amazingly wonderful expressions when that happens, and it’s a special connection that maybe just didn’t exist before.”

“There’s all of these doomsday scenarios about robotics, and this is the exact opposite of that – we’re saying, ‘No, we’re in control of robotics,’ “ said HaptX’s Mitrak.

“We’re creating robots in our own image, and they are following us, matching our senses and augmenting us. It’s something that is so empowering. When you see somebody like Jeff Bezos or anybody at CES who had a chance to try it, they love it because they feel so empowered by it and they see this magic, and they see this massive general potential for it.” RR

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The Robot Report

‘Active perception’ a novel approach to robotic grasping

What do popular games like Jenga and Pick Up Sticks have in

common with training a robot to grasp and manipulate objects in the real world? The answer can be found in an “active perception” project at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision that examines the complex task of visual grasp detection in real-world clutter.

“The idea behind it is actually quite simple,” said Ph.D. researcher Doug Morrison, who created an open-source GG-CNN network enabling robots to more accurately and quickly grasp moving objects in cluttered spaces. “Our aim at the Centre is to create truly useful robots able to see and understand like humans. So, in this project, instead of a robot looking and thinking about how best to grasp objects om clutter while at a standstill, we decided to help it move and think at the same time.”

“A good analogy is how we humans play games like Jenga or Pick Up Sticks,” he said. “We don’t sit still, stare, think, and then close our eyes and blindly grasp at objects to win a game. We move and crane our heads around, looking for the easiest target to pick up om a pile.”

The Robot Report Staff

Stepping away om a static camera The project’s active perception approach focuses on real-time grasping by stepping away om a static camera position or fixed data collecting routines.

It is also unique in the way it builds up a map of grasps in a pile of objects, which continually updates as the robot moves. This real-time mapping predicts the quality and pose of grasps at every pixel in a depth image, all at a speed fast enough for closed-loop control at up to 30Hz.

Researcher Doug Morrison checks the 3D printed fingers for the end effector on the Franka Emika Panda robot. | Credit: Australian Centre for Robotic Vision 58

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| Raytheon

The Robot Report The Multi-View Picking Controller considers multiple informative viewpoints for an eye-in-hand camera while reaching for a grasp in clutter to reduce uncertainty in the grasp pose estimate caused by clutter and occlusions. This allows it to perform highquality grasps that may not be clearly visible from the initial viewpoint. | Credit: Australian Centre for Robotic Vision

The project’s active perception approach focuses on real-time grasping by stepping away from a static camera position or fixed data collecting routines.

“The beauty of our active perception approach is that it’s smarter and at least 10 times faster than static, single viewpoint grasp detection methods,” Morrison said. “We strip out lost time by making the act of reaching towards an object a meaningful part of the grasping pipeline rather than just a mechanical necessity.

“Like humans, this allows the robot to change its mind on the go in order to select the best object to grasp and remove from a messy pile of others,” he added.

Morrison has tested and validated his active perception approach at the center’s laboratory at Queensland University of

Technology (QUT). Trials involved using a robotic arm to “tidy up” 20 objects, one at a time, from a pile of clutter. His approach achieved an 80% success rate when grasping in clutter; more than 12% better than traditional single-viewpoint graspdetection methods.

Morrison said he was especially proud of developing the Multi-View Picking (MVP) controller, which selects multiple informative viewpoints for an eye-inhand camera while reaching to a grasp, revealing high-quality grasps hidden from a static viewpoint.

“Our approach directly uses entropy in the grasp pose estimation to influence control, which means that by looking at a pile of objects from multiple viewpoints on the move, a robot is able to reduce uncertainty caused by clutter and occlusions,” said Morrison. “It also feeds into safety and efficiency by enabling a robot to know what it can and can’t grasp effectively. This is important in the real world, particularly if items are breakable, like glass or china tableware messily stacked in a washing-up tray with other household items.”

The next step for Morrison, as part of the center’s “Grasping With Intent” project funded by a $70,000 Amazon Research Award, is moving from safe and effective grasping into the realm of meaningful vision-guided robotic manipulation.

“In other words, we want a robot to not only grasp an object, but do something with it; basically, to usefully perform a

From left to right: The position of the robot (and camera); the collection of objects being grasped; the depth image captured from the current pose pt; the quality output of the GG-CNN (Q); the average quality at each grid cell (q ̄); the entropy at every grid cell (H); the utility of a viewpoint (U) above each cell in the workspace, from which the velocity command v is calculated, and the traversed path superimposed in blue. (b) The histograms mj,k and qj,k which represent the counts of observations at, from left to right, grid cells with the best estimated grasp pose, a flat surface with low entropy and, a highly occluded area which results in a high measurement entropy.

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task in the real world,” he said. “Take for example, setting a table, stacking a dishwasher, or safely placing items on a shelf without them rolling or falling off.”

Active perception and adversarial shapes Morrison has also set his sights on fasttracking how a robot actually learns to grasp physical objects. Instead of using typical household items, he said he wants to create a truly challenging training data set of adversarial shapes.

“It’s funny because some of the objects we’re looking to develop in simulation could better belong in a futuristic science fiction movie or alien world — and definitely not anything humans would use on planet Earth!” said Morrison.

There is, however, a method in this scientific madness. Training robots to grasp items designed for people is not efficient or beneficial for a robot.

“At first glance, a stack of ‘human’ household items might look like a diverse data set, but most are pretty much the same,” Morrison explained. “For example cups, jugs, flashlights and many other objects all have handles, which are grasped in the same way and do not demonstrate difference or diversity in a data set.”

“We’re exploring how to put evolutionary algorithms to work to create new, weird, diverse and different shapes that can be tested in simulation and also 3D printed,” he said. “A robot won’t get smarter by learning to grasp similar shapes. A crazy, out-of-this world data set of shapes will enable robots to quickly and efficiently grasp anything they encounter in the real world.” RR

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Case Study

Flexible gripper handles dozens of parts for manufacturer Steve Crowe • Editor • The Robot Report

Tomenson Machine Works is a third-generation, family-owned manufacturer of precision hydraulic manifolds used in a variety of machinery across the agricultural, mining, and construction industries. Founded in 1977 by Thomas Roake, the Chicago-based company has become a world leader in hydraulic manifolds with the products now considered a “gold standard” in the industry.

The company turned to automation for its pin stamping application to improve quality, profitability, and worker satisfaction. An OnRobot RG6 gripper and Universal Robots UR3 cobot handle dozens of part sizes. They enable Tomenson to automate potential applications such as machine tending, deburring, and packaging.

Challenges When Tomenson looked at repetitive tasks ripe for automation, the task of placing parts in a pin stamper for engraving was low-hanging uit. It was having difficulty finding employees to staff this station.

“Operating the engraver is tedious. It’s not something people go by and say, ‘Yay, I’m going to go run the engraver for eight hours,’” said Geoffrey Rose, secondary operations lead and quality supervisor at Tomenson.

This was Tomenson’s first foray into automation, and it needed a flexible gripper that could handle parts that go through the pin stamper. “No one in the company had ever dealt with collaborative robots or anything of this manner, especially not Geoffrey, who’s doing the programming every day and running the system,” said Tomenson operations manager Alex Roake.

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Solution Tomenson chose OnRobot’s RG6 gripper because it could handle the variety of parts without extra programming or machining of extra end effectors.

“As soon as you plug the RG6 in, it works. Programming the pin stamper is actually much harder than programming the gripper,” said Alex Roake. “For the entire system, it took us maybe a couple of weeks, but for the gripper specifically, less than a day.”

The pin stamping application requires the gripper to handle as many as 30 different parts. Programming a new part now takes as little as five to 10 minutes since the robot can use the same basic code for every part and the gripper senses when it grasps the part, no matter what size it is.

Brian Einzig, automation specialist with FPE Automation, advised Tomenson on the system. “Whereas we normally see the one gripper, one part, we now see the flexibility that OnRobot’s grippers offer customers. It’s a customized tool out of the box,” he said. “Before they were using maybe a two-jaw gripper for one part and a three-jaw gripper for another part, now we’re seeing the RG6 can do multiple parts for multiple jobs.”

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Tomenson Machine Works uses OnRobot’s RG6 gripper and Universal Robots UR3 cobot to automate the placing of parts in a pin stamper.

This has freed up one operator per shift, who is now reallocated to more value-added tasks. | Credit: OnRobot

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Case Study “We knew we were not going to get a gripper and robot that might need safety guarding because we’re working in a tight environment in the cell,” said Tomenson operations manager Alex Roake. “The collaborative aspect was one of the main factors in how we picked out the gripper and the robotic system.” | Credit: OnRobot

The company turned to automation for its pin stamping application to improve quality, profitability, and worker satisfaction.

An OnRobot RG6 gripper and Universal Robots UR3 cobot handle dozens of part sizes and sets up Tomenson for automation in potential applications such as machine tending, deburring, and packaging.

Results “The biggest difference since we brought in automation and the gripper was that we’ve seen a huge reduction in misloads,” said Zach Roake, quality and post-production manager at Tomenson “I would say we’ve seen about a 40% reduction in misloads coming from engraving the wrong side or in the wrong direction since we’ve incorporated the system.”

Profit margins have also improved, especially on smaller products. “Before this system and the gripper, we definitely had lower profit margins on these small blocks,” said Alex Roake. “Now when

Case Study Breakdown Company

Chicago

Industry

Manufacturing

Challenges Gripper Cobot Task Value Drivers

ROI

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Location

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we see a small block, we’re not afraid to quote it because we know handling thousands and thousands of these will be done by the robot, not a human, which makes us less fearful of quoting very high-volume small parts.”

“By easily automating the small parts with the gripper and robot, we’re able to save engineering hours while also reallocating workers to focus on bigger parts with complex processes and longer cycles that require more attention.”

The easy programming and implementation of the RG6 gripper has allowed for fast response to customer needs. “Say it’s a Thursday and we get

www.therobotreport.com

Improving pin stamping process OnRobot RG6 Universal Robots UR3 Machine tending Flexible, collaborative, easy programming 40% reduction in misloads; increased profits; improved employee satisfaction 13 Months

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Case Study OnRobot RG6 Gripper Specs Payload Force Fit

13.2 lb

Payload Form Fit

22.04 lb

Gripping Force

25 N to 120 N

Gripping Stroke

Up to 160 mm

Gripping Speed

160 mm/s

Dimensions

10.3 x 8.3 x 1.6 inches

Weight

2.76 lb

Motor

Integrated, electric BLDC

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54

Compatiblity

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a hot order,” said Rose. “We’ll get the job set up and it’ll be on the saw, and on Friday I can have second shift run the robot, just loading and unloading it.

By Monday, we’re already shipping the parts to the customer. It gives us a lot of flexibility to respond to market demands and on-time deliveries, as well as just ease-of-use around the shop.”

Tomenson expects a fast return on its investment by replacing a first-shift operator with the robot and gripper, estimating 13-month return on the gripper for a single shift. Alex added, “If we’re calculating the fact that we can now run our gripper on first and second shift, the number would be roughly half— so around six to seven months we will get our return on investment.”

An additional benefit is increased employee satisfaction and excitement about the new technologies across the company. The process before automation was a human operator loading the pin stamp machine one part at a time, standing or sitting at a stool, and using a foot pedal to activate the pin stamp, all day long.

With the repetitive operation automated and staff moved to more valuable tasks, Tomenson also saw savings in where operators need to be deployed. “Now we load a conveyor that can run for around 45 minutes, and then just keep continuously loading and unloading the conveyor,” said Alex Roake. “Since we are able to let it run unattended for around 45 minutes, we’re

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able to use the same person to run the line saw and the robot, as opposed to having two separate people. In terms of cost savings, it’s basically equivalent to one operator.”

Tomenson is looking at other opportunities for collaborative automation. “Now that we have a successful application with the OnRobot RG6 gripper, we have looked into other possibilities in post-production or shipping or even loading up the CNC machines,” said Alex Roake. “The ease of programming is what leads us to be confident in this decision that we can carry over to other departments, because we don’t need to hire an extra programmer, but can use our existing workforce.” RR

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Case Study

Force torque sensor shines in robotic glass polishing Steve Crowe • Editor • The Robot Report

Saint-Gobain’s plant in Sully-sur-Loire, France, focuses on glass production for the military and aeronautical industries, as well as civilian markets. It was founded in 1665 under King Louis XIV’s reign. Now a global company, it employs more than 185,000 people worldwide.

Near its original headquarters in the outskirts of Paris, human labor provides high-value work to the finished product, but some tasks are more tedious than others. This is why the Sully-sur-Loire factory, like many other Saint-Gobain plants, began to deploy collaborative robot cells into their process.

Challenge Saint-Gobain has a two-step process to finish its products. The first step is polishing, which was done manually with an orbital polisher. Then there is the surface preparation of the glass. Freeing employees om these grueling tasks begins with finding a technology that would do the job on their behalf.

Saint-Gobain’s digital manufacturing manager, Ignacio Sanchez, had to find a solution for a difficult glass polishing process. The operation is painful, equently causing musculoskeletal disorders for workers.

“The operator had to polish all of the glass surface, repeating the same movement on and on,” Sanchez explained. “He then does the surface preparation of the glass before it becomes one of many layers of an armoured glass. This second step is a lot easier. We wanted an automated solution for the polishing part of the process.”

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Solution Saint-Gobain turned to local automation specialist HMI-MBS for help. “Saint-Gobain’s application had a very important diversity of reference points,” said HMI-MBS commercial director Nicolas Bouhet. “There was also a problem of production space, since the cell had to be deployed in a small area in order to work in collaboration with the operators.”

Due to the small space and safety requirements, a Universal Robots UR10 collaborative robot arm was selected. HMI-MBS performed many tests at its lab, but the first proof of concept did not deliver viable options.

“We ended up in a dead end,” recalled Bouhet. “Then we had the idea to use Robotiq’s ​FT 300 force torque sensor with the path recording function. We managed to integrate it into the robot and continued with tests at our offices. We then moved to Saint-Gobain and worked with the operator​ ​to​ ​see​ ​if​ ​the​ ​product​ ​met​ ​ Saint-Gobain’s​ ​expectations.”

The human operator can move the robot and manually make movements he or she wants the robot to perform. With the FT 300, the robot then records and reproduces the operator’s motions.

Testing at HMI-MBS helped minimize the time needed to implement the robot into production. When

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Case Study Breakdown Company

Saint-Gobain

Location

Sully-sur-Loire, France

Industry

Manufacturing

Challenges Force Torque Sensor Cobot Task Value Drivers Results ROI

www.therobotreport.com

Workforce injuries; productivity Robotiq FT 300 Universal Robots UR10 Polishing glass Path recording, collaborative Lowered injuries; increased production 30% < 1 year

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Case Study

everything was ready, the UR10 and FT 300 combo took part of the work over from the operator, and both started working together.

“Without the FT 300, this operation would have been quite complex since the programming of a robot movement that must follow a volume in space is a complicated thing to do,” added Bouhet.

“With the p ​ ath recording function of the FT 300, the operator can grab the device and make the movement; the Universal Robots UR10 then records and reproduces​ ​the​ ​operator’s​ ​motion.”

For Christophe Legeay, methods technician at Saint-Gobain Sully-surLoire, automating the polishing process of each layer of armoured glass gave relief to operators who were previously assigned to this task. “It allowed them to no longer experience vibrations in their shoulders or perform repetitive movements.​ ​The​ ​installation​ ​of​ ​the​ ​robot​ ​ was​ ​more​ ​than​ ​welcome,”​ ​he​ ​explained.

Results Now all the operator has to do in the polishing process is program the proper path for the product and set the glass for polishing. “The robot asks us to place reference marks to check the positioning,” said Sanchez. “You cannot run your application until you have validated your positions. As soon as the validation is done, you press​ ​start​ ​and​ ​the​ ​robot​ ​starts​ ​ running.”

While polishing is in progress, the operator simultaneously washes the glass

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that was previously polished. Then it’s time for surface preparation, a process in which human labor brings much more value into the product.

“We assigned the robot to the hardest part of the polishing process,” said Sanchez. “During this time, the operator can focus on surface preparation. We’re able to produce the same amount of work in​ ​two​ ​8-hour​ ​shifts​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​three,​ ​ before​ ​the​ ​robot​ ​arrived.​ ​We’ve​ ​achieved​ ​ ROI​ ​in​ ​less​ ​than​ ​a​ ​year.”

The company increased its capacity by 30% and was able to deliver​​orders​​on​​top​​ of​ ​those​ ​initially​ ​scheduled.​ ​ “A product​ ​might​ ​come​ ​back​ ​once​ ​ every​ ​one​ ​or​ ​two​ ​years.​ ​We​ ​often​ ​have​ ​to​ ​ create​ ​a​ ​new​ ​program,” said Sanchez. “​By empowering​ ​the​ ​operator,​ ​allowing​ ​him​ ​to​ ​ do​ ​the​ ​program​ ​himself,​ ​we​ ​avoid​ ​calling​ ​ an​ ​integrator​ ​every time​ ​a​ ​product​ ​comes​ ​ back​ ​into​ ​production.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​ goals​ ​of​ ​our​ ​digital​ ​manufacturing​ ​project,​ ​ in which​ ​cobots​ ​will​ ​play​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​role.”

In​ ​a​ ​factory​ ​where​ ​human​ ​labor​ ​ delivering​ ​high-end​ ​quality​ ​has​ ​been​ ​a​ ​ tradition​ ​over​ ​the​ ​last​ ​350​ ​years, robots​ ​ are​ ​now​ ​a​ ​helping​ ​hand​ ​for​ ​human​ ​workers​ ​ aiming​ ​for​ ​perfection.​ ​ “We​ ​do​ ​not​ ​cut​ ​jobs​ ​like​ ​it’s often​ ​ perceived​ ​when​ ​a​ ​robot​ ​is​ ​installed​ ​ somewhere,”​ ​said​ ​Sanchez.​ ​“It’s​ ​a​ ​ collaboration​ ​between man​ ​and​ ​machine​ ​ that​ ​allows​ ​us​ ​to​ ​remove​ ​grueling​ ​tasks​ ​ from​ ​the​ ​hands​ ​of​ ​operators.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​the​ ​ goal and​ ​it’s​ ​fairly​ ​well​ ​perceived​ ​here.” RR

www.therobotreport.com

In​ ​a​ ​factory​ ​where​ ​ human​ ​labor​ ​ delivering​ ​high-end​ ​ quality​ ​has​ ​been​ ​a​ ​ tradition​ ​over​ ​the​ ​last​ ​ 350​ ​years, robots​ ​are​ ​ now​ ​a​ ​helping​ ​hand​ ​ for​ ​human​ ​workers​ ​ aiming​ ​for​ ​perfection.​

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Sensors such as the cameras in this workcell are allowing for more collaborative applications. | Robotiq

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Four trends

in end-of-arm tooling New options and sensors are widening manufacturing applications for cobots.

Steve Crowe and Eugene Demaitre • Editors • The Robot Report

Although evolution in industrial and collaborative robot arms has been slow and steady, progress has been more rapid in grasping.

This is partly driven by the need for dexterous manipulation in pick-and-place operations such as e-commerce order fulfillment.

To understand current trends in end-of-arm tooling (EOAT), The Robot Report spoke with Dan O’Brien, president of Gibson Engineering, as well as Jean-Philippe Jobin, co-founder and chief technology officer at Robotiq, and Sam Bouchard, president of Robotiq.

1 Gripper options grow for collaborative applications The collaborative robotics market slowed last year because of a dip in automotive manufacturing, but most industry analysts expect it to continue to grow. The proliferation of predesigned EOAT such as parallel and so grippers or vacuum cups has accelerated adoption, noted O’Brien.

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The Robot Report 1 “Kristian Hulgard, [general manager, Americas, at OnRobot], recently told me of their plans to introduce between 20 and 30 separate new products this year,” he said. “That, along with their quick-change technology, should open up the number and types of applications that can be accomplished, along with speeding the time it takes to go from one application to the next. They really want to move the discussion from collaborative robots to collaborative applications.”

Robotiq is also well-known for its grippers, and it isn’t sitting on its laurels, either. Jobin said he expects the Quebecbased company to continue developing tools that help companies complete manufacturing tasks with cobots.

“There’s no reason why Robotiq would stop developing new tools,” he said. “It’s been one good aspect of the business that we’ve been recognized for grippers.

Now we don’t want to be recognized just for that - we want to be recognized for everything we can bring around the application.”

Robotiq is not just selling its grippers and end-of-arm-tools for cobots, but it’s also bundling different parts to build solutions for specific tasks. Last year, the company announced cobot application

Jean-Philippe Jobin, co-founder and CTO of Robotiq, announces new products at the gripper maker’s annual user conference. | Robotiq

kits and new learning platforms for customers and partners as a way to help companies “start production faster” in manufacturing environments.

“By taking the application first and bundling them together, I think we can simplify things at a certain level,” said Jobin. “The final goal is if we’re able to put things together and have them talk together, we would like the complexity to stay beneath, and only show the customer a ‘lever’ to make it work. The end user doesn’t care about the camera; they don’t care about the robot; they just want to do a task.”

2

OnRobot has a unified mechanical and electrical interface for its products.

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| OnRobot

www.therobotreport.com

2 EOAT suppliers go vendor-agnostic Many EOAT providers focused on being compatible with only one brand of robot, observed O’Brien. As the early market leader in collaborative robot arms, Universal Robots was an obvious choice.

However, that has changed. “Based on the speed with which new players are entering the cobot market, it’s now standard practice to support multiple robot brands with their new designs,” O’Brien said. “OnRobot currently supports eight brands and plans to continue adding to that as new cobots enter the market.”

One reason for Robotiq’s goal of simplifying the process of installing a cobot application into a production workflow is because of a continued lack of skilled workers.

“In order to make the production, the end users don’t have enough people in order to do the manual task, so they want to automate,” said Jobin. “But on the other side, it’s even more difficult to find skilled people in order to put in production robots. So we are trying to solve those two aspects at the same time in that phase, creating products that could automate the task, and then on the other side, trying to automate the automation.”

3 Safety moves to the end of the arm Cobot arms may be rated for hand guiding, power and force limiting, safetyrated monitored stopping, and speed and separation monitoring. But most vendors will remind you that a safety assessment is still necessary to evaluate the tooling, payload, and operating environment.

THE ROBOT REPORT

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Improvements in sensors, computer vision, and connectivity are helping cobots be safer, which is especially important for emerging mobile manipulation. With sensing technology such as that from Veo Robotics, “collaborative” could become more of a property of industrial robots than a standalone category.

“After a recent meeting with Johannes Marktl, [head of sales at] Blue Danube Robotics, I was impressed to see that they’d extended their AIRSKIN technology to include the end-of-arm tooling,” said O’Brien. “AIRSKIN mounts like an outer layer to robots and/or tooling, and it senses a collision in real time and sends a signal to the robot safety circuit.”

“This allows for more traditional robots like the Mitsubishi RV series to work safely around people, and it allows the end-of-arm tooling to be part of a safe collaborative application,” he continued. “Blue Danube has also introduced AIRSKIN Module Pads, which

THE ROBOT REPORT

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is a cost-effective way to quickly and easily add safety to moving machinery, cartesian systems and custom end-ofarm tools.”

More and better sensors, in combination with EOAT, can also improve productivity.

“We have a team continuing to look at vision, to see where it’s going,” said Jobin.

“We believe in force-torque sensing and tactile sensing. We did develop technologies related to tactile sensing.

“Four years ago, we had some samples and tactile sensors in order to recognize a part, but it was not good enough in order to make a product, so we continue developing that.”

“Port placement is an important issue right now for our partners, so how can we solve that? There are many companies doing things such as intelligent trays and feeders, so the question is how would such a product be if a robot was doing that?” he asked. “Feeding the parts through a robot is sometimes in some

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The Robot Report application as important as picking the part and placing it in the machine because of the complexity of the input and the output.”

4 New applications a ‘piece of cake’ New grippers, wider interoperability, and improved safety all enable cobot end users to apply automation to even more tasks, across industries.

“I remember the first robots we sold back in the mid-1990s,” recalled O’Brien.

“IAI had introduced some low-cost SCARA robots, and we had visions of high-tech applications in factories.”

“It was eye-opening that the first robots we sold were installed in a bakery to grease cake pans,” he said. “It turned out that the operators who were doing that job didn’t love it, and they’d occasionally let a pan get through that wasn’t completely greased. When that happened, the bakery would bake the cake, but then it would be destroyed while they were getting it out of the pan.”

“It turned out that robots could do the task repeatably, ending the problem of the wasted cakes,” O’Brien said. “Back in those days, the robots had to be in cages, and typically you needed engineering to get a system up and running. With today’s robot and end-ofarm tooling options, the number and type of applications we can solve has dramatically increased, while the engineering Samuel Bouchard, co-founder and CEO of Robotiq

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and design overhead has been greatly reduced, along with the time to deployment.”

A related challenge facing manufacturers looking to automate is determining whether an application is good or bad for robots to handle.

“The trap there is that things that are so easy for humans are extremely difficult for robots, and vice versa,” said Bouchard.

“That’s why sometimes if you’re new to robotics, it’s really hard to evaluate the complexity [of an application]. That’s where the knowledge of our team and partner network is very important.”

Bouchard said he advises partners to go to factories to see all of the applications and find out what the end user wants to automate. “If you see that it’s too complex because you know the complexity of robotics, make them understand that they should be targeting a simpler application,” he said.

“We have some guidelines and documents explaining the process, the parts, the parts presentation on the cycle time, etc.,” Bouchard added. “These are rough guidelines, but one of the challenges in this industry is that it’s hard to systemize all the learning, experience and tacit knowledge that adds a lot of value. That’s why once you’ve seen a lot of different projects, you can explain and really guide the partners in that direction.” RR

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Applying UHMW tape is a performance upgrade to all robotic rail systems. UHMW or (Ultra-high-molecularweight polyethylene) is an abrasion resistant material with anti friction performance similar to PTFE. This plastic can be used on conveyor or guide rail systems across many industries. This tape is extremely abrasion and impact resistant which enables it to withstand the repeatability of robotic gantry systems. Its low friction non stick surface allows gantry robots to slide across rail systems freely. Eliminate drag and protect your rails from potential wear and tear. UHMW Tape is available in slit to width rolls, sheets, strips, or custom die cut parts. UHMW is supplied in sheet stock for mechanical fastening or tape with a PSA adhesive for easy

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IKO International Inc. Industrial Robots Demand Versatile Crossed Roller Bearings Robotics and automated machinery demand highly versatile bearings. Not only must bearings carry diverse loads with high precision, robotic motion is also becoming more complex. Machine designers must also fit their bearings into shrinking mechanisms like articulating arms that position and rotate objects.

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Selecting mini motors for surgical devices

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Device makers and surgeons have for decades relied on sterilizable brushless direct current (BLDC) motors to meet the torque, speed, and reliability requirements of surgical handtools. Now surgical robotics are leveraging these same capabilities.

Keith Halbert, PhD • Portescap

Today’s surgical robotics and robotically-assisted surgical devices often require BLDC motors to meet demanding requirements. While motors and motion are core to all robotics, surgical robotics demand the capabilities of both traditional robotics and traditional surgical handtools. In addition, devices used in surgery must be sterile. Often these devices must reliably and consistently function despite repeated steam sterilization during reprocessing, in addition to demanding field use.

Beyond reliability requirements, surgical device designers must also ensure their end products satisfy exact speed and torque requirements, ability to withstand the high temperatures of sterilization, remain cool during operation, and meet extreme positioning demands. These device makers need motion components that are suitable for their application, and which have been appropriately customized to both integrate with their tool and make the proper tradeoffs to optimize performance. Methods to maintain and preserve the sterile field in the operating room to prevent infection, cross contamination, and the spread of disease are all critical concerns.

Shown at left is an example of a surgical robot. Portescap tailors motors to such designs with customized shaft cannulation, motor electromagnetics, mounting features, gear ratios, and pin connections (instead of flying leads). In short, Portescap’s expert design engineers collaborate with device engineers to customize these and other features to the unique requirements surgical handtools or surgical robotics.

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Here are the most common approaches to achieve the required sterilization: The disposable tool: In some cases,

High Precision Positioning Stages Higher Performance.

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hospitals and surgeons elect to use disposable, single-use tools. These generally employ inexpensive motors (given long life isn’t required) and often plastic components.

Such tools must be discarded after each surgery.

While this approach simplifies reprocessing and eliminates the requirements of tool maintenance, it also necessitates a consistent supply of tools be maintained and increases the amount of hazardous waste produced by the hospital. In addition, disposable tools aren’t typically the most economical option when considering the total cost to the hospital.

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Another approach is to design devices so that exposed components are sterilized and others are not. Here, a design may house the motor, controller, and battery pack inside an enclosure — and hospital staff remove the motor and battery pack from the tool prior to sterilization. This approach requires that a special process is correctly followed to ensure the reprocessed tool is properly sterilized and may also require more durable electronic components and connections in the design due to repeated disconnection and reconnection of the motor and battery from the system.

Protective barriers: Yet another approach

is to cover the robotic arm or instrument with a (typically disposable) sterile barrier — for example, a plastic draping or plastic clamshell. When successfully executed, such barriers maintain a sterile field and eliminate the need for components outside the field to be reprocessed. This approach is a common with large surgical robotic systems — for which autoclaving of the entire system is impractical.

The ergonomic requirements of robotic systems also differ from those of traditional handtools. More specifically, the motor may be physically located away from the surgical end effector and transmit motion via cable-

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

What is an autoclave cycle?

PRE and POST VACUUM CLASS B AUTOCLAVE CYCLE PRESSURIZING

The most common sterilization method

used in hospitals is autoclaving, also called

steam sterilization. During autoclaving, surgical

VENTING

handtools are exposed to 100% humidity, 135°

C (275° F) and pressure variations for up to 18

VACUUMING POSITIVE PRESSURE

minutes. Most autoclaves also have additional vacuum cycles to facilitate steam penetration and kill viruses, fungi, bacteria, and spores

that can hide in microscopic cavities on the NEGATIVE PRESSURE (VACUUM)

device. Repeated exposure to this environment is what typically causes significant electrical

and corrosion problems for motors and devices insufficiently designed to withstand these STERILIZING

VACUUM DRYING

conditions.

drive — which may not be feasible for traditional surgery when a surgeon must precisely manipulate a handtool to perform a delicate task.

This design approach is also common for medical procedures having less stringent sterilization requirements — such as dental and tattoo applications, for example. But a downside includes complex draping schemes needing systematic removal and replacement, which can significantly increase the time the operating room is engaged for a surgery. Draping can also be bulky and awkward and can reduce visibility in the surgical theater — in turn degrading the effectiveness of the surgeon.

Autoclavable motors: Medical

devices can also be designed utilizing only sterilizable components. In such designs, the motors must be sterilizable. The introduction of sterilizable BLDC motors three decades ago let tool designers produce high-power ergonomic tools that could be trusted to be sterile due to the entire tool having gone through the sterilization process.

The benefits carry over to robotically assisted surgical devices, most of which also necessitate sterile designs of small size, high power, durability, efficiency, low noise, and long life.

Autoclavable bldc motor design for surgical devices

Shown here is an example of a powered surgical handtool so essential in operating rooms. Portescap has supplied highly specialized motors for these designs as well as arthroscopic shavers, sagittal and oscillating saws, medium and high-speed drills, other orthopedic drills, wire drivers, and surgical staplers.

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Both traditional motorized handtools and robotically assisted surgical devices can use BLDC technology in either a slotted or slotless configuration. Note that slotted vs slotless refers to the lamination type in the stator of the motor. Both technologies have their strengths, and the application requirements dictate which technology is better suited to the design at hand.

DESIGN WORLD

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This is a brusless dc slotless motor.

Slotted BLDC technology has been a proven solution in the surgical motor market for more than 30 years. In slotted motors, the copper coils are wound within the slots of the lamination stack — so are inherently protected. Additional insulation layers and molding material can easily be added without impacting motor performance.

This physical configuration makes slotted BLDC excel in miniature motion designs rugged enough to withstand harsh environmental conditions, such as those seen in autoclave or during surgeries that expose the motor to saline and other contaminants.

In addition, the slotted design provides: • Easy customization to electromagnetics (windings, lamination stack length, and so on) • Very high dielectric resistance (1,600 Vac hipot or higher) • Improved heat dissipation and thus higher continuous torque • A small magnetic air gap to allow use of thinner magnets and a higher permanence coefficient (which imparts torque stability over a large temperature range) • Lower rotor inertia than slotless BLDC motors

This is a brushless dc slotted motor.

Slotless motors are the other BLDC motor technology. These motors are also very capable

Shown here are crosssections of slotted and slotless motors for precise motion control.

Traditional slotted motors have the space for winding protection in the form of coating molding. Slotless motors offer other benefits but allow no such room for winding protection.

CROSS-SECTIONS OF SLOTTED AND SLOTLESS MOTORS

LAMINATIONS

LAMINATIONS

SLOTLESS MOTOR TRADITIONAL SLOTTED MOTOR DESIGN WORLD

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

This is an autoclavable encoder.

and may be well suited to the application. In slotless motors, the coil is wound in a separate external operation and is a self-supporting subcomponent.

This rigid coil is then inserted directly into the air gap during motor assembly. In this design, the magnetic induction in the coil is decreased since the air gap is large. Induction in such a motor is usually much smaller than in a slotted BLDC motor, so a larger and more powerful magnet is typically needed to compensate for the loss of induction.

While slotless motors can be designed to withstand steam sterilization through insulation and other protective coatings on the exposed electronic components, achieving long-lasting and dependable protection from harsh environmental conditions is inherently more challenging when compared to a slotted motor. If autoclavability or very high numbers of sterilization cycles are not needed — there are aspects to a slotless design that may be an advantage for a given application: zero detent torque (no cogging), smooth operation at very high speeds, increased motor inertia, and high peak torque capability.

Some surgical procedures or device applications demand high-precision control of the motor. This is true of robotically assisted surgical devices using sophisticated sensors, vision systems, haptic feedback, or 3D mapping to target material manipulation at the sub-millimeter level. Successful execution of the surgery may need extremely high precision control of the motor output. The precision requirements may go beyond that which is delivered by traditional Hall sensors, which can detect rotor position in 60° increments.

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Using an encoder can provide feedback for control of speed and positioning of the rotor at increments that are far smaller than 1°.

Encoders provide angular position measurements of the rotor shaft at a much higher precision than three Hall sensors can provide. Such feedback supports position control and better BLDC-motor-control accuracy than otherwise possible. From the position measurements the encoders measure, both acceleration and direction can be inferred.

Tip: When specifying an encoder, first determine required accuracy and resolution.

The technology type must also be chosen.

Optical and magnetic are the most common technologies in rotary encoders.

In autoclavable applications such as surgical tools, magnetic encoders are typically a robust and reliable option.

Incremental or absolute feedback are two common variations for communicating the angle value. If using incremental signals an index pulse, once per revolution, and a counter is needed to calculate the absolute angular position. Otherwise the feedback is relative. Absolute feedback is typically serial communication such as SSI, SPI, or BiSS to provide an encoded angle value between 0° and 360°. Options include: • A sterilizable option — designed and tested to more than 2,000 autoclave cycles • Hall sensor signals for six-step commutation (U, V, W) • 10-Bit incremental encoder (A, B, Z) • 11-Bit resolution absolute angle encoder • Absolute position output via SPI • Differential output for noisy environments • Off-axis mounting allowing for cannulation Modern surgical devices — both traditional handtools and robotically-assisted devices — have extremely demanding and exact motion requirements. Those requirements can be met by working with a motor supplier with the necessary technologies and experience with both traditional surgical handtools and robotically assisted surgical devices. DW

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L i n e a r

M o t i o n

oil

Out with the

in with the screw

A new generation of electromechanical actuators is replacing hydraulic cylinders in demanding applications. Increasingly, that choice is being driven as much by cost advantages as by performance.

Tarek Bugaighis â&#x20AC;˘ Ewellix

Traditionally, when engineers wanted to produce large forces or move heavy loads their first choice would be hydraulic actuation. Today, however, hydraulic systems have a powerful rival in the linear motion world: the electromechanical actuator.

Electromechanical actuators replace hydraulic systems with a precision ball or roller screw, driven by a locally mounted electric motor and gearbox. In many applications, electromechanical systems provide a number of advantages over their hydraulic counterparts. They are smaller and lighter, and since the motor powering the actuator is connected directly, electromechanical systems eliminate the need for pumps, accumulators, oil tanks and piping. The absence of pressurized oil has safety and environmental benefits too, eliminating the risk of fire, pollution or injury

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associated with leaks and spills. Electrical actuation is also quieter than hydraulics.

Electromechanical systems also offer performance advantages. They can operate at a wider range of speed and power than hydraulic equipment, and offer a higher level of positional accuracy. They also work more consistently. The viscosity of hydraulic oils can change with time and temperature, effecting machine performance. Electromechanical systems go on working to precise tolerances, and because their moving parts

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The CASM series of electromechanical actuators from Ewellix are screwbased, using ball- or lead-screws for linear actuation.

are based on well-understood rolling element bearing technology, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible to predict their operating lifetimes under a given set of operating conditions.

Then there is control. With no need for separate control valves and associated hardware, electromechanical actuators are easier to integrate into a machineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electronic control system.

Together with their fast response, accuracy and repeatability, that makes it easier to program complex movements, or to build machines that adapt quickly to different process requirements.

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Whereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the catch?

Against this list of advantages, electromechanical devices have one apparent flaw: cost. On a peractuator basis, the initial purchase price of electric machines is higher than their hydraulic counterparts.

Historically that has been enough to discourage their use in certain applications.

When viewed from a total cost perspective, however, over the full lifecycle of a machine, electromechanical actuators offer sources of savings that outweigh their higher initial cost. Those savings arise from six principal factors.

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A cutaway view of a CASM series actuator shows the internal configuration with the screw drive attached to the motor via a belt drive

Traditionally, when engineers

wanted to produce large forces or move heavy loads their first choice would be hydraulic actuation. Today, however, hydraulic systems have a powerful rival in the linear motion world: the electromechanical actuator.

Energy efficiency – Hydraulic systems have multiple sources of energy loss from the initial conversion of electrical power into motion to drive the hydraulic pump, losses within the pump itself, fluid friction in transmission pipes and further losses within the actuator. Overall, a hydraulic system is likely to deliver only around 44 percent of its input power to the load. Electromechanical systems, by contrast, lose energy only due to the limits of motor efficiency and via friction in the gearbox and actuator components.

An electromechanical actuator will typically transfer 80 percent of its input power to the load. Moreover, while hydraulic pumps must run continually in most applications to ensure adequate response from the machine, the power consumption of electromechanical actuators is zero when they are not being used. In many applications, an electromechanical actuator may only consume its peak power for a tiny fraction of the machine’s operating time. Overall, this means that electric actuators can pay back their initial costs in energy savings alone in just a few months.

Reduced heat – The energy lost in hydraulic machines is converted to heat.

In precision applications, such as plastic moulding machines, this heat must be removed using chillers, further increasing overall energy demand. Thanks to their higher efficiency, electrically actuated machines require only around 35 percent of the cooling energy of a hydraulic equivalent.

Shorter cycle times – The higher speed and improved controllability of electromechanical actuators can allow machines to run faster, increasing output.

Take robotic spot welding in the automotive industry, for example. Between welds, the tongs mounted on a robot arm must be opened to allow the arm to access the next weld location. Fluid power systems typically require the tongs to be fully opened after every weld. Electromechanical systems, on the other hand, can be programmed to open just enough to allow the tong to be repositioned. When a Japanese car manufacturer switched to electromechanical welding tongs, this change, along with the higher speed of the new actuators, permitted an increase in throughput of 10 percent, equivalent to more than 100 vehicle body shells every day.

Roller screws are used in the higher force LEMC actuator series, combined with a choice of motor and gearbox. The actuators can produce a maximum dynamic axial force of 80 kN.

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M o t i o n

Improved material utilization –

Enhanced accuracy and consistency means electrically driven machines are typically offering twice the repeatability of hydraulic alternatives. That drives up quality and reduces scrap. Furthermore, since the electric machines deliver consistent performance from the moment they start up, losses after changeovers are reduced and production teams spend less time adjusting machine variables to get processes under control. Even in applications producing low precision components, savings from scrap reduction and quality improvements can outweigh the additional actuator cost in two years or less.

Increased uptime – Electric machines

have fewer wearing parts, and those are all located within the ball or roller screw mechanism and gearbox. Hydraulic devices rely on a network of valves, hoses, filters and seals. And as hydraulic power is distributed,

a failure in one part of the system is likely to bring the entire machine to a stop until the problem can be identified and repaired.

A problem with an electrical actuator can usually be addressed by quickly swapping out the affected device. As a result, uptime and machine availability is typically two percent higher with electromechanical actuators, improving output and reducing per-unit production costs.

Simplified maintenance – Finally, electric

machines have few reoccurring expenses.

Operators don’t have to buy oil, filters or seals. They don’t have to stop machines to replace these parts and they don’t have to spend money protecting against, or clearing up, leaks and spills. Electromechanical systems can also be equipped with fully integrated condition monitoring technology, alerting operations and maintenance staff to potential problems before they result in an unscheduled stoppage.

Together, these benefits can add up to significant savings for a typical production machine. Just under half of those savings come from areas other than energy use.

New generations The latest generation of electromechanical actuators have been engineered to build on the advantages inherent in the design, and to extend those advantages with products that are more powerful, even longer lasting and easier to integrate into machines. For example, the electromechanical actuators from Ewellix that are suitable replacements for hydraulic systems use screw-based drive systems.

The CASM series of actuators use high-quality bearings and ball- and leadscrews offering low friction for energy efficiency and low axial play for increased precision. The units are lubricated for life, with integrated filters and a wiper ring to prevent damage from dust and dirt ingress.

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An integrated magnet ring and slotted aluminum profile casing also make it easy to add external sensors.

CASM actuators are available with a brushless dc motor with integrated motion controller, brake and optional fieldbus interface. By removing the requirement for an external motor controller, the brushless motor option cuts installation costs and simplifies wiring, because the motors can be powered and controlled via a single cable.

Machine setup is more straightforward too, with a dedicated programming kit that allows motor parameters to be set using a graphical user interface. Up to 14 different actuator positions with associated velocities, accelerations and decelerations can be downloaded into the motor itself. The machine can subsequently be controlled by a PLC or simple switches, creating a cost-effective standalone motion control system for smaller machines.

For higher load applications, the LEMC electromechanical cylinders use a planetary roller screw instead of a ball-screw design. This results in an actuator with a higher power density than conventional designs and also improves performance in environments where the device is exposed to high levels of external vibration.

Like the CASM units, LEMC actuators use a modular design that can be configured for many different applications and a range of motor types. As well as conventional servo motors, they can be supplied with an integrated gearbox and smart asynchronous motor. This offers additional safety and machine protection capabilities with integrated soft start and motor protection function. As a further benefit for operations and maintenance staff, the controller incorporates near field communication (NFC) capabilities, allowing it to be adjusted wirelessly using a smartphone. DW

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The many uses for

reverse engineering Some look unfavorably at reverse engineering as a way to steal secrets from competitors. But the science has a number of important uses, especially in forensic engineering.

Jean Thilmany | Senior Editor

In legal cases, forensic engineers are commonly called upon to present evidence about how or why a part or a process failed. The forensic engineer often relies upon reverse engineering to understand how a part was created.

“By stepping back through the transformation stages, the engineer is in a better position to determine the most probable or expected points of failure within a component or system,” says Colin Gagg, an independent forensics engineering consultant in Milton Keynes, England.

Complicated—and even straightforward—systems can malfunction dramatically and tragically in seconds. When the malfunction becomes the subject of a legal case, Gagg is often asked to investigate.

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3D scanners, such as this Faro Arm from Faro, have become invaluable tools for capturing the geometry of an object and re-creating it in software. These scanners fire a beam of laser light that reflects back from the object it hits, collecting data on the object’s geometry. The collected data becomes a “point cloud” that is exported to software, and used to create a digital image and a CAD model.

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Software, like Geomagic from 3D Systems, helps engineers capture the data points of parts without CAD drawings. Engineers can use this software to exactly recreate the part as originally built or add dimensional features to the CAD model to meet design specifications. Geomagic scan to CAD and Geomagic Design X reverse enginerering software

“To recognize how a component or system failed, the engineer must understand how it worked and was manufactured in the first place,” Gagg says. “By stepping back through the transformation stages, they’ll be in a better position to determine the most probable or expected points of failure within a component or system.”

So, add “forensics engineering” to the ever-growing list of applications for reverse engineering. Engineering companies have also found the process can help reduce costs by refining already existing parts to a new process.

“It’s my view that a good forensic engineer will glean relevant information through meticulous investigation and by taking a reverse-engineering approach,” Gagg says.

“The same could be said of engineers charged with creating parts in the first place,” Gagg says. “Any engineer should aim to train himself to become a failure detective.”

Stuart Brown, managing principal at Veryst Engineering, Needham Heights, Mass., offers an example from his company’s own case file.

When the brakes of a Schindler elevator in a 23-story Tokyo condominium failed in 2006, trapping and killing a teenage boy, prosecutors in the resulting lawsuit laid out a number of scenarios under which the failure could have happened. But they weren’t able to home in on any one scenario, Brown says.

Forensic engineers at Veryst were able to show—using software to simulate and analyze the scenarios—that the brakes could have failed quickly, indeed within a matter DESIGN WORLD

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of hours. Their analysis helped to clear a maintenance official, who, prosecutors claimed, should have detected signs during a November 2004 check that the brakes could fail.

At issue in the case was determining when excessive abrasion occurred in brake parts that are believed to have caused the accident, Brown says. In September 2015, a Tokyo District Court acquitted Ryuichi Harada, a former Schindler employee in charge of maintenance. The court said that “no objective evidence” existed to show that the brake abnormality had occurred by November 2004 when Harada checked the elevator, according to the Japan News.

The judge in the case found three people at SEC Elevator Co. guilty, however. SEC took over Schindler’s maintenance work in April 2006. The judge said they overlooked the abnormality and “neglected their duty to establish an appropriate system for checks and maintenance,” according to the news source.

The rate at which the brake linings could wear, leading to the accident, was critical to analyze and depict in the case, Brown says. For example, police investigators had measured brake wear. Veryst forensic engineers entered those numbers and also input from a variety of other factors into their analysis software: brake drum temperature, changes in the expansion and contraction in brake drum size, the usage cycle of the elevator over a period of days, and changes in the brake system’s solenoid force and solenoid position as it wore, Brown says.

“Bringing in all these factors, we showed that once the brake temperature got high www.designworldonline.com

enough, the wear could have occurred within 30 hours,” he says. The forensic engineering analysis showed it didn’t take weeks or months or years for the wearing to occur. Failure didn’t happen slowly over time, but was caused by a “cascading effect which could tragically happen over short period of time,” Brown says.

Bringing it back Reverse engineering is commonly defined as the act of reproducing an already-created product by examining its construction and composition.

Designers scan the part with a specialized scanner capable of loading design coordinates into a software system.

The reverse-engineering process needs hardware and software that work together. The hardware is used to measure an object, and the software reconstructs it as a 3D model.

The physical object can be measured using 3D scanning technologies like a coordinate measuring machine, laser scanner, structured light digitizer, or computed tomography, says Braxton Carter, chief technology officer at ReverseEngineering.com, a software developer in La Jolla, CA. 3D scanners have become invaluable across a range of industries that need to capture the geometry of an object and re-create it in software.

To bring those real-world dimensions into the computer, 3D scanners fire a beam of laser light that reflects back from the object it hits, then measure the amount of time it takes for the light to return and calculate how far away the object is.

The scanner continues to rotate, measuring the object completely. The resulting “point cloud” is exported to software, and the dots are connected to create the digital image and a CAD model.

It’s true that reverse engineering is most commonly thought of as being used to determine February 2020

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how to recreate a no-longer-in-production part, says Johnson Shiue, a software quality assurance technology leader at Autodesk.

As he puts it, “Let’s say you have some partial data. How do you make something from it?”

“Whether you’re a designer doing benchmarking or are retrofitting an older design, you need to work with incomplete data,” Shiue says. “Digesting the incomplete data and changing it into useful model geometry is both a science and an art.”

Or, the goal could be to determine out how a particular part or piece of equipment works and improve upon it, he says. As the hardware and software used for the technique have become more affordable, small engineering companies can speed development and cut production costs by integrating existing parts with their CAD program, Carter says.

Take Excel Foundry & Machine, of Pekin, Ill., which makes replacement parts for nearly every type of mining and rock-crushing machine. When the company sought to expand about three years ago, executives faced a dilemma, says Chris DeWitt, a former senior design engineer at the company.

“We needed to venture off into more complex parts and systems, and in doing so, it’s rather difficult to get all the dimensions you need with the old hand tools,” DeWitt says.

The engineers knew the coordinate measuring machine alone wouldn’t be enough. DeWitt and his colleagues knew the coordinate measuring machine (CMM) needed software that could deliver measurement data into the company’s CAD system.

The company installed desktop reverse engineering software from Reverseengineering.com and purchased a separate CMM. The new system allowed the company to create more complex replacement parts than in years past, Dewitt says. Excel Foundry engineers estimate that measuring parts and creating replacements without the hardware and software package would take about four times longer than it does now.

Reverse engineering is also making its way into the maintenance repair overhaul (MRO)

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field, Carter adds. The field is seeing a new focus in using 3D reverse engineering to employ new and developing technologies such as augmented reality (AR) to help improve the accuracy and turnaround time in replacing unique or highly specialized parts in machinery.

Geomagic, which makes, scan-to-CAD software, details a project where one of its customers was developing a specialized, autonomous-driving, light-duty vehicle.

To speed time-to-market, the customer selected and combined a range of components and systems from vehicles on the market today to complete a working prototype. In this process, the customer’s engineers found a specific steering knuckle for the project, so they digitized and captured the design, then further refined and modified it within the CAD system.

It then manufactured the knuckle from a lightweight material.

“Typically, customers will follow either an as-built or design-intent modeling method,” according to Geomagic. That means customers will look to exactly recreate the part as originally built or will add dimensional features to the CAD model to meet design specifications.

For the steering knuckle, the customer used a hybrid modeling approach that combed both concepts to deliver a CAD solid model with both dimensioned features and accurate NURBs surfaces. With the strategy, the customer had a model ready in less than two hours, and then transferred the model to SolidWorks as a feature-based CAD design.

It planned to then create the steering knuckles using 3D printing.

To find manufacturing methods Gagg also uses reverse engineering to discover how a manufacturing process may not have performed as needed.

An example comes from his book, Forensic Materials Engineering: Case Studies, co-authored, with Peter Rhys Lewis and Ken Reynolds (CRC Press, 2003). This case began when a dock worker noticed a split in the end panel of a loaded 33-footlong container being lifted from a ship. The container showed no other obvious signs of www.designworldonline.com

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external damage, and the piece of machinery it held was still anchored inside.

Shortly after that first split was found, workers at other ports noticed similar failures in the same type of freight container. Costs quickly escalated as the damaged containers had to be either disposed of or repaired. Machines had to be loaded into other containers, and empty containers needed to be shipped to the ports with damaged containers.

Investigators found that all the containers had been made at the same factory during a twomonth period. On each one, the riveted seam between the two end panels in the side of the container had split open from bottom to top. All the containers had split in the same way, and all had been carrying heavy machinery rather than bulky loads evenly distributed throughout their length.

A mechanical engineer found nothing wrong with the original design or with the construction of the containers.

Forensic reverse engineers were called in to track each part and how it had been manufactured. They determined that the container’s side panels were sheets of aluminum alloy, riveted to each other and to the frame along vertical lap joints. All the failures involved the unzipping of the vertical lap joint between the first and second sheets from the end of the container.

As the aluminum sheets were deemed innocent, their focus turned to the rivets.

Although microscopic examination found no internal fault, wear, or corrosion, investigators found that if one rivet near the end of a seam failed, it would throw the extra load onto its neighbors, which could overstress them, causing all the rivets to unzip. After looking at the specification for the rivets on the engineering drawing, the Forensic reverse engineers performed a hardness test on the failed rivets.

The tests indicated that the rivets were well below the strength indicated on the drawing.

A mechanical engineer then found that a batch of containers was produced with rivets that had been set without being first solution treated, as specified on the drawing. It was subsequently discovered that a single employee at the container factory had omitted the solution heat treatment.

Case solved. And other case made for reverse engineering. DW February 2020

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The problem about data at the factory floor is that conditions constantly change. Sparse Modeling, an AI approach recently evolved from the academic space, may solve this problem as it needs only a small data set. One benefitâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it works on ultra-low power embedded computing platforms.

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A r t i f i c i a l

I n t e l l i g e n c e

A solution for the

visual inspection data problem —

Less is more Dan Demers | Director, Sales & Marketing | congatec Americas

Artificial intelligence has great potential to improve the performance and accuracy of modern visual inspection systems. But conventional AI approaches have some drawbacks: • Vision based Deep Learning must process every detail of a picture to provide reliable results. This is power and compute intensive – with lots of movement of data between processor and memory. In one hour, a 60 fps camera with UHD resolution and 8 bit color depth produces as much as 5.18 terabytes of uncompressed data for analysis.

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| AdobeStock.com

• Conventional AI needs a massive number of pictures to make reliable predictions, which consumes a lot of time and energy. Plus, recent studies indicated that a single AI model based on Deep Learning technology pollutes the environment up to much as five cars during their entire lifecycle. Embedded systems cannot provide such computing performance; only datacenters can.

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Artificial Intelligence

Tests have shown that for the same level of accuracy, Sparse Modeling consumes only 1% of the energy of a conventional Deep Learning platform.

It is therefore a suitable AI technology for embedded systems..

Conventional AI has several drawbacks.

Recent studies indicate that a single AI model based on Deep Learning technology pollutes the environment as much as five cars do during their entire lifecycle.

• The required training data for conventional Deep Learning based AI are not available within a few days or weeks. It can take a whole year or even longer to collect images of 1,000s of defective parts from a production line. If the production process is modified during that year, the definition of what is good or the nature of possible defects may have changed, rendering the previously gathered data virtually useless.

• Conventional AI always needs server grade training via Deep Learning before an inference algorithm can be compiled that is capable of making decisions at the smart factory edge.

And each new set of pictures needs the same

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resource intensive training. The energy and time-wasting process is repeated again and again for each new inference model replacing the previous. It’s a vicious circle.

• As the backbones of the industrial world, embedded systems are reliable and failsafe. They typically feature low compute power for fan-less operation in a fully closed housing. Embedding AI via inference logic into these systems leads to higher performance requirements. Embedded systems that have no additional headroom in their thermal envelope risk losing durability with AI. They also need a channel for the DESIGN WORLD

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delivery of Big Data towards central clouds. This consumes additional energy and often produces costly data traffic. This is why until now the benefits of AI were reserved for high compute environments and the ability to transmit edge data to external clouds.

Sparse Modeling at the edge Sparse Modeling offers a different approach and a broader path to bring AI to embedded low-power applications. It can continuously and dynamically adjust to changing conditions – such as lighting, vibrations, etc., or when cameras and/or equipment need to be moved – by re-training at the edge.

Sparse Modeling understands data by focusing on identifying unique features. Sparse Modeling understands data similar to the way the human mind does. Humans recognize friends and family based on key features – such as eyes or ears. Sparse Modeling embeds a comparable logic into smart vision systems, so the entire volume of Big Data does not need to be processed, as with conventional AI. Sparse Modeling based algorithms consequently reduce data down to just the unique features.

When presented with new data, rather than scanning the entire new entry, Sparse Modeling looks for the occurrence of previously determined key features. An added bonus of this approach is that the isolated features are understandable to humans, so Sparse Modeling produces an explainable, white box AI – which is another differentiator compared to conventional AI. The initial model creation stages, where the AI engine and customer specific data are merged to create a model tailored for the specific use case, rely primarily on human expertise. Standard new inference models require only about 50 pictures for initial model creation. This enables engineers to build next-generation inspection systems that don’t always need the best in class setup, e.g., when lighting conditions are constant. They also gain greater flexibility to adapt to changing production processes, which is essential for industrial IOT/ Industry 4.0 driven lot-size-one production.

Sparse Modeling on embedded edge devices A Sparse Modeling platform is lightweight and resource efficient and can be embedded into more or less any edge device. It can run on embedded x86 computing platforms and is poised for implementation on platforms such as Xilinx and DESIGN WORLD

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Artificial Intelligence

The Sparse Modeling platform integrates congatec Qseven Computer-on-Modules for most flexible performance scalability.

ARM or Altera and RISC-V. Compatible with both mainstream x86 processors and currently emerging open source options, this makes the design future proof.

However, as the final footprint depends on the task to be solved and the complexity of the model required, a modular hardware platform based on Computer-on-Modules is recommended.

A pioneer in Sparse Modeling in the manufacturing and medical fields is Hacarus. The company focuses on helping customers in industrial and medical use cases where rare conditions do not produce all the Big Data required to train a Deep Learning based AI model.

Another application field is precision manufacturing, where edge nodes lack the compute power to perform inference and training in parallel, and where sending data to the cloud is not feasible for confidentiality or connectivity concerns.

12 GB of memory per GPU, 64 GB DDR4 RAM, an Asus X99-E WS workstation class motherboard with 4-way PCI-E Gen3 x16 support and Core i7-5930K 6 Core 3.5GHz desktop processors.

The Sparse Modeling approach consumed 1% of the energy that the Deep Learning based approach used – with the same level of accuracy.

Only 50 pictures needed The small required footprint and performance efforts make it easy for vision system OEMs to implement AI. Existing platform solutions can often be re-used and system integration is relatively

straightforward as the Hacarus+ SDK (Software Development Kit) logic adapts to common vision inspection systems without too much change of the setup.

While existing visual inspection systems can continue to perform their primary inspection, the software takes care of only those images that were identified as ‘not good,’ which means ‘maybe defect.’

With around 50 or less such images, the Sparse Modeling can begin building a new inspection model. Once it has been validated by human inspectors it is ready to run as a second inspection loop beside the existing platform, and will deliver the inspection results back to the established system via its APIs. An optional HTML based user interface is available for monitoring efforts. It can also run stand-alone, but since vision data pre-processing is not the core competence of Sparse Modeling, connectivity to an existing vision logic is recommended. The Sparse Modeling tool can be implemented as a standard installation within the customer’s The first congatec conga-QA5 Computer-on-Modules supporting the Sparse Modeling software are based on Intel’s latest low-power microarchitecture code named Apollo Lake, which is available for series production.

Sparse Modeling is energy friendly As part of a project with an industrial customer, Hacarus performed a comparison of its Sparse Modeling tool and a conventional Deep Learning based technique. For this sample study a data set of 1,000 images was used by both models to create predictions. The customer had defined the accepted model prediction probability as 90%.

Both approaches produced comparable results, but the required effort differed significantly: The Sparse Modeling based model was trained five times faster than the Deep Learning based model even though the Sparse Modeling tool ran on a standard x86 system with Intel Core i5-3470S Processor and 16 GB RAM. The Deep Learning model required an industrialgrade Nvidia DEVBOX based development platform with four TITAN X GPUs with

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Starter kit with scalable hardware platform software environments or leverage a hypervisor isolated virtual machine cloud; even FPGA based implementations on custom carrier boards are possible to reduce the required power envelope further.

(Version 1.0 of the AI Sparse Modeling tool from Hacarus is available as part of an instantly deployable starter kit. The kit can run the tool stand-alone or connected to existing vision systems.)

Sparse Modeling is factory-ready, with support for industry standard image acquisition channels such as GigE or USB 3.x. Installation requires 3 simple steps: 1 Connect with the installed image acquisition system via the tool’s API; 2 Capture images to train the algorithm; 3 Tune the algorithm using human inspectors.

No external cloud training is needed. All AI training and inference-system based predictions run within edge computing devices. Easily trained on vision-based intelligence like ‘door is open’ or ‘switches are in wrong position,’ it is ultimately faster to train and implement than programmed solutions with many “if then else” lines of code, etc.

Sparse Modeling is also suitable for image data analytics and for analyzing time-series data. Useful for predictive maintenance purposes, this makes it an interesting IoT and Industry 4.0 edge logic for machine builders as well. DW

A starter kit has been compiled by Hacarus in cooperation with Japanese semiconductor trading company PALTEK and can be deployed and tested in any GigE and USB 3.x environment. It is designed on the basis of the palm sized industrial box PC using standard Computer-on-Modules. The system measures 173 x 88 x 21.7 mm ( 6.81 in. x 3.46 in. x 0.85 in.). It is slim and offers excellent performance thanks to the latest Intel Atom and Celeron processors (Codename Apollo Lake) that are available for series production. The system suits low-power, high-performance applications based on x86 processors.

The system also has a rich set of I/Os enabling different setups at end users’ factory floors. Standard interfaces are 2 x GbE ready for GigE Vison, 1 x USB3.0/2.0, 4 x USB2.0 and 1 x UART (RS-232).

Extensions are possible with 2 x Mini-PCIe with USIM Socket, 1 x mSATA Socket and 16-bit programmable GPIO. The range dc voltage input is 9 V-32 V. Based on the Qseven Computer-on-Modules from congatec, the system offers flexibility in CPU selection and upgradeability on the basis of Intel’s CPU generations. One of the key benefits of the Computer-on-Module standard specified by the SGET standardization body for embedded computing technologies is that it supports both ARM and x86 platforms. This makes the low-power form factor module future proof as it is also suitable for new Sparse Modeling setups in line with customers’ evolving applications.

congatec www.congatec.com/en Hacarus Inc. hacarus.com

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S e n s o r s

A look at the

industrial sensors

landscape

With so many industrial sensing technologies available, a general understanding of benefits and costs can help designers select the best types for their applications.

Andrew Waugh | AutomationDirect

A trip to the local coffee shop can serve to reveal the consequences of too much choice. Some patrons already understand the available possibilities from experience and quickly order exactly what they want. Others are confused or even intimidated by the variety of styles, flavors, sizes, and options — which may delay their selection — or even result in them buying something they didn’t quite want.

Most people appreciate the benefit of having many choices available to them, but it is possible to have too many options. For these situations, having a summary, guidelines, or some other assistance aid selection.

For designers of industrial automated equipment and systems, sensors are a crucial consideration because a control system operates most effectively with the proper feedback.

Sensing the position of parts and product is fundamental in this regard, and there are many types of targets.

Compounding the challenge are the wide variety of available sensing technologies and performance levels. Let’s examine some commonly available position sensing methods, benefits, and costs, sort of an introduction for those newer to the subject and a refresher for those with more experience.

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Sensor tradeoffs When it comes to industrial sensor selection, a basic balance must be achieved between cost and performance. The most straightforward cost is that of the sensor itself. More challenging to pin down are the initial design, installation, and configuration costs, along with required ongoing support and maintenance efforts.

Performance can be measured in many ways. The most important point is for a sensor to reliably sense the appropriate target with sufficient accuracy. The form factor needs to physically fit the application, and the sensor must survive the environmental conditions.

An inexpensive sensor that isn’t durable will require more frequent attention and replacement, significantly driving up costs

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over time. These costs are not just for servicing the problematic sensor, but also include downtime for the associated equipment.

Note that for this discussion we are simply looking at discrete sensors for detecting the presence or absence of a target. However, versions of some technologies can return an analog signal to indicate how far away a target is, instead of just an on-off signal.

Good engineering practice usually guides designers to follow a keep-itsimple approach, as long as the cost and performance needs are met. Therefore, the following sections are generally arranged to review sensing technologies in order of increasing cost and complexity. www.designworldonline.com

Figure 3. Photoelectric sensors are a popular and economical technology — and they are offered in many arrangements and light types for a wide variety of applications.

All figures courtesy of AutomationDirect.

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Limit switches The most basic sensing technology is the humble electromechanical limit switch.

They are compact, easy to adjust, available with many actuator types, may be mounted in many ways, and can be quite accurate.

Their biggest downfalls are related to their need to physically touch what they are sensing, and because they are mechanical with moving parts, they are more subject to wear and damage than other non-contact methods.

When the geometry or motion of equipment or parts can be arranged so that a rugged limit switch will work, this is a reliable and inexpensive approach.

Figure 2. Inductive proximity switches are usually the best option for repeatably sensing metal objects when extreme accuracy is not needed.

When the geometry or motion of equipment or parts can be arranged so that a rugged limit switch will work, this is a reliable and inexpensive approach.

Figure 1. Magnetic proximity switches can detect a magnetically equipped actuator position through the non-ferrous cylinder wall.

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Magnetic proximity switches The most basic magnetic proximity switches were originally very sensitive mechanical reed limit switches that closed in the presence of magnets mounted on the target.

The latest magnetic proximity switches are solid-state and much like inductive proximity switches (described in the next section) except they only detect magnets mounted on the targets, Figure 1.

This may seem like a specialized and limited application, but because it works through non-ferrous materials like aluminum, the widest industrial use for these switches is to detect the position of a magnetically equipped actuating rod within a pneumatic cylinder. Alternately, a magnetic target can be installed on an object to deliver reliable sensing without false trips, which could occur in milling or cutting applications with errant metal particles.

Because these sensors have a detection range of three to four times greater than inductive sensors, they allow for much better mounting flexibility. Also, the sensor can be mounted within an aluminum box for better protection while not impacting the detection ability.

Inductive proximity sensors When the target to be sensed is metal, and if a small sensing range is acceptable, then an inductive proximity sensor will usually be the best option, Figure 2. Inductive proximity sensors are durable and extremely DESIGN WORLD

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reliable solid-state technology. Their use of electromagnetic detection fields enables them to sense metal objects repeatably, but not with extreme accuracy. Note that they work best with ferrous materials, and for non-ferrous metals the sensing range is reduced.

Standard and extended sensing distances are measured in millimeters, which is usually sufficient for detecting equipment positions, especially at end-of-travel.

Because of the high performance, noncontact longevity, and low price, it often makes sense to configure equipment as needed, including adding dedicated targets, to take advantage of inductive proximity switch benefits.

Capacitive proximity sensors Capacitive proximity sensors look much like the inductive type but operate on the principle of detecting capacitance differences in the sensing zone when a target is present or absent. These sensors can be a great solution in many applications, although they are increasingly being passed over for newer technologies.

Because capacitive sensors will sense just about any type of material, they can be used in a wide range of applications. Their ability to detect liquids and other non-metal products is a very useful feature, although they can be affected by buildups of such products and may provide false readings due to ambient materials in the area such as wood chips or coolant.

An additional feature is the sensors can be adjusted or “tuned” to ignore non-ferrous materials between the sensor and the target.

This means the sensor can be used to detect “through” a window or sight glass, for example when used as a non-contact point level switch for a vessel or tank containing dry or liquid contents.

Ultrasonic sensors Ultrasonic sensors are another solution for presence sensing. As indicated by the name, it is possible for an electronic device to use sound, much like a bat, to determine the presence of an object. A sound impulse is generated, and the device operates by sensing an echo from the target. This

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method is not extremely precise or fast but offers a better solution than optical sensors in some applications.

Much like capacitance technology, ultrasonic sensors can detect most materials. Since they are not optical in nature, they are not affected by variations in color, transparency, reflectivity, or ambient lighting conditions, making them a good solution for detecting clear targets.

The most common variation is a diffuse “reflective” style, which is trained to recognize a consistent background and can therefore identify any object exceeding the trained baseline response.

Another style, referred to as throughbeam, uses a transmitter/receiver pair with a comparatively short sensing range of 300mm or so, but improved accuracy. A down-looking configuration can be useful for non-contact liquid level sensing in tanks.

Photoelectric sensors Photoelectric sensors, sometimes called optoelectronics, are some of the least expensive and most commonly used technologies. There are many variations and technologies in this family of sensors, but the basic concept is the same for all types.

Light is transmitted out of one lens and received into another lens. The amount of light received at any given time is used to evaluate whether a target is present or not, Figure 3. Due to the many available types and applications, photoelectric sensors require some design effort for correct application.

The light transmitted can be visible red, infrared, or laser light, with each offering specific benefits and improvements at an increasing cost. The beams can be very tight for detection of small objects, or broader for uneven surfaces or large detection areas.

on one side of a target and a receiver on the other. This is a more costly option for the sensor and installation, but it provides the most accurate and reliable sensing over a long range.

• Background Suppression: This style is useful when there are reflective backgrounds as it detects anything other than the trained background, but they are the most expensive and require the most setup time.

Photoelectric sensors offer many features and good versatility relative to cost, as long as a suitable configuration can be selected for the target and the environment.

Getting the right sensor Presence sensing is a fundamental industrial automation need, complicated by the countless combinations of targets and environments, but with a spectrum of technologies available to support these diverse conditions. As end users approach the design for a given application, they can use the fundamentals discussed in this article in conjunction with vendor resources to help them make the best technical and commercial choices. DW

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There are four popular arrangements: • Diffuse: Only needs to be mounted on one side of a target but are the least accurate and require more setup effort.

• Reflective: The sender/receiver is on one side of a target, with a passive reflector on the other side, and offer more positive sensing than diffuse.

• Through-beam: A sender is installed www.designworldonline.com

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A M U G

E X P O

Get ready for 2020 AMUG Conference Leslie Langnau | Senior Contributing Editor

One of the highlights of my editorial year is attending the annual AMUG Conference. I have been fortunate enough to attend this unique event for many years. It truly is unique, unlike any conference, tradeshow, or exposition you have ever attended. First, the AMUG association that develops the conference is a member-run, not-for profit corporation. About 140 companies participate as sponsors and exhibitors at this event. The next major difference is the exposure to so many experienced additive manufacturing users who willingly answer questions on how to make the most of additive technology.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little bit of booth exhibition for a couple of evenings, which is a great way to get more in-depth information on new systems. But primarily, the AMUG Conference is about education. It always has been. After all, this is still new technology and very few know everything about it.

Whether you are new to additive or have 30-years of experience, there is always something of value to gain by attending. Attendees are

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those who use, operate, or own AM technology professionally. You can expect an immersive environment where everyone you meet can contribute to your knowledge base. Networking is a key element of this conference and is always encouraged. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve heard many stories of people DESIGN WORLD

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connecting at this Conference and then calling each other at another time to solve a problem with their design.

As part of this immersive experience, you will be with your fellow attendees all day and into the evening. From morning talks, to sit-down luncheons, to afternoon sessions to evening dinner events, you will be immersed in additive technology.

The AMUG Conference is about creating a community that helps each other and that expands the use of this technology. Here’s a quick look at what you can expect at this year’s conference, going on from March 22 through March 26.

For first-time attendees, the members of the AMUG Association work hard to make you feel welcome and part of the AMUG community throughout the event.

The 2020 program will once again have a Sunday evening (March 22) reception for first-timers. New for 2020 are first-timer gatherings throughout the week where you will regroup, get answers to questions, and get connected with long-time AM users.

Monday, March 23, morning presentations will include extended discussions of insights and highlights with a focus on the tools/companies supporting the conference. This session is always interesting as it supplies guidance on what to investigate at the conference and after.

As the Conference has grown, it has added a feature called Innovators Showcase.

This will be the sixth time for this feature.

Here, a key player in helping to develop the field of additive manufacturing is interviewed about his experiences and his knowledge about the industry. Then, attendees get a chance to ask the innovator questions.

The recipient of this year’s Innovators Award is Hans Langer, founder of EOS. Previous recipients are: • Chuck Hull, co-founder of 3D Systems • The late Carl Deckard, creator of Selective Laser Sintering • Scott Crump, co-founder of Stratasys • Fried Vancraen, founder of Materialise • Gideon Levy, developer of materials and technologies

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The AMUG Conference also holds more than 160 speaker, panel and training sessions throughout the week. Track sessions include: Aerospace/Transportation/Defense/Military • AM Metal Technologies • AM Technologies Non-Metal • Casting • Education and Training • Materials • Medical and Dental • Scanning & Metrology • Software There will also be sessions from Platinum and Diamond Sponsors (the two highest support levels) throughout the week. A number of panel sessions will also take place. These sessions include the two-way communication that yields great insights and exceptional conversations (and sometimes great debates).

One of the highlights of the AMUG Conference is the Technical Competition.

Returning for the 26th year, the Technical Competition showcases the talent and ingenuity of attendees. All entries will be on display, and the user behind the project will be available to discuss the entry, Monday evening (March 23) during the AMUG Expo.

There are two categories: Advanced Finishing that shows visually stunning pieces, and Advanced Concepts where entries push the boundaries of possibility.

And one of the highlights of the conference is the announcement of the DINO Awards (Distinguished Innovator Operator) winners. The recipients have contributed to the advancement and development of additive manufacturing in some way. The awards are announced at the Tuesday, March 24, dinner and it is always a great way to engage with acknowledged experts.

You will have opportunities to experience extracurricular activities. This year, on Sunday, attendees can visit the Renishaw facility and the Fast Radius facility.

If you are interested in training, ASTM will hold sessions on Saturday, March 21 www.designworldonline.com

and Sunday March 22 at an addition cost.

UL+SME will hold a session on Sunday, at an additional cost.

So, are you ready to attend? Register at the AMUG site, https://www.amug. com/attendee-registration/ (Registration fee includes: Access to conference and AMUGexpo (March 22 – 26, 2020), All meals including evening meals and entertainment, Tuesday’s Offsite Dinner, open bar every evening, and daily breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon snacks. DW

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Product World “Paraflex” pin-hub couplings Miki Pulley US mikipulley-us.com Key features of the “Paraflex” Pin-Hub Couplings include high allowable misalignment, low backlash, and resonance dampening. With a pin-bushing type design, these Paraflex Couplings are available in two models. The CPU model has a maximum torque of 25 Nm and allows angular misalignment up to 4°.

The CPE model has a maximum torque of 10 Nm and allows angular misalignment up to 1°.

Proportional isolation valves Clippard clippard.com

Available bore sizes range from 3.0 to 22 mm.

An essential feature of these Paraflex Couplings is ease of installation. Clamp-style hubs made of sintered aluminum slip easily onto two connecting shafts with the coupling locked into position with recessed tightening

This patent-pending stepper-controlled proportional valve will lead the industry in performance and durability.

screws.

Handling system speeds up to 6000

The Eclipse is suitable in critical applications for liquid and gas delivery, medical,

rpm depending on the model, Paraflex

analytical, and industrial automation requiring ultra-fine resolution and repeatability. In

Couplings are RoHS compliant. They operate

addition, the unique design allows for custom flow profiles.

in temperature environments from -30° to

• Patent Pending ceramic sliding seal

+100°C. They are suitable for automated

• Liquid and air capable

packaging systems, chip mounters, electric

• Inert

discharge machines, and similar applications.

• Flow Resolution: 0.19 ml/min water and 0.007 l/min air max @ 30 psig • Zero dead volume • Leak-free: <0.05 sccm • Excellent Linearity: <4% of full-scale • Repeatability: <0.5% of full travel

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For further information about products on these pages visit the Design World website @ www.designworldonline.com

High bus voltage (ac input) stepper drives and motors AutomationDirect automationdirect.com This ac stepper drive is powered from 90 to 240Vac and is intended for use with step motors designed to handle a high bus voltage of 340Vdc. MTRAC motors are specially designed to work with high bus voltages, providing much higher torque, especially at higher speeds.

Stepper drive auto-setup measures motor parameters and configures motor current control and anti-resonance gain settings. The high-voltage drive uses ac input 90 to 240Vac and output current is selectable from 0.6-2.5A/ phase (peak of sine). Microstep resolution is switch selectable with 16 settings from 200 to 25600 steps/rev.

The high voltage, high torque, MTRAC motors are available in single-shaft and dual-shaft configurations with steel rotor case and stainless-steel shaft(s). Motors are available in NEMA frame sizes 23 and 34 with torque available from 75 to 1841 oz-in.

LVDT signal conditioners Alliance Sensors Group alliancesensors.com The S2A and SC-200 DIN-rail-mounted, push-button-calibrated, LVDT signal conditioners were developed by listening to customers and LVDT manufacturers’ comments and wish list. This feedback has allowed the design and creation of signal conditioners that work with all different types of LVDTs, LVRTs, GE “buck-boost” LVDTs for gas turbines, half-bridge pencil gaging probes, and RVDTs, rather than only satisfying markets where they are strong and not addressing the concerns of LVDT users with other applications.

Features: The S2A and SC-200 each offer the user: • Power inputs from 15-30 Vdc or ±15 Vdc • Cyber Security • More diagnostic features • Choice of 4 LVDT excitation frequencies • Choice of 6 voltage and 2 current loop analog dc outputs • Unique auto-mastering for master/slave operation — even if a master were to fail, the S2A and SC-200 can eliminate beat frequency effects in remaining units DESIGN WORLD

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Ad Index

SALES

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Aurora Bearing Company ...... 37

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Emerson Automation

Tormach ....................................... 101

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Trim-Lok ........................................23

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Zero-Max, Inc. ............................... 2

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Jim Powers

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Michael Ference

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Managing Director

mfrancesconi@wtwhmedia.com Scott McCafferty smccafferty@wtwhmedia.com 630.488.9029 310.279.3844 @SMMcCafferty David Geltman dgeltman@wtwhmedia.com EVP 516.510.6514 Marshall Matheson @wtwh_david mmatheson@wtwhmedia.com 805.895.3609 Neel Gleason @mmatheson ngleason@wtwhmedia.com 312.882.9867 @wtwh_ngleason

The Robot Report A Supplement to Design World - February 2020 www.designworldonline.com

Brother Gearmotors ....................... 65 CS Hyde Company ...........................75

Grippers:

Digi-Key ............................................... 55 Festo .....................................................61

Advancing telerobotics through tactile feedback

page 50

INSIDE: • ‘Active perception’ a novel approach to robotic grasping................................................58

FOLLOW US ON

IKO International, Inc ...................... 67

• Flexible gripper handles dozens of parts for manufacturer...............................................62 • Force torque sensor shines in robotic glass polishing .................................................68 • Four trends in end-of-arm tooling ...............72

Renishaw .............................................57 ROBOT REPORT COVER_2-20_FINAL.indd 49

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