DESIGN WORLD JULY 2017

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www.designworldonline.com July 2017

INSIDE:

MOTION CONTROL: Differences between conventional and plastic modular belting PAGE 48

ELECTRONICS The development of online instrument exchanges.

PAGE 64

TEST & MEASUREMENT Measuring temperature quickly and easily in a range of applications and environments.

PAGE 80

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Lenseven sees clearly through shock and vibration

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I n s i g ht s

Engineering options in retirement A family friend’s recent retirement got me thinking about the opportunities that engineers have at the end of their careers. Retirement, for many, means traveling the world with a spouse, downsizing their home, moving to a warmer climate, or spending time with grandchildren, family and friends.

Many people look toward the ability to volunteer, as well. And engineers are certainly qualified to tutor in their local school districts, helping students with subjects like math and science—something that’s in great demand today. But there are even more options, for those who want to keep on working.

Kelly Services recently released a report describing how engineers can remain professionally active in retirement, and it highlights the options available to our field in so-called second careers. The company explains that many employers are open to rehiring or contracting retirees, contrary to the notion that older workers aren’t valued. In fact, in highly technical fields, experience—not to mention good, old-fashioned judgment—is paramount.

Making things more attractive, part time work is often available, and being onsite 100% of the time may not be necessary. This allows for a great deal of work-life balance, which is high up on the want list for the average retiree.

Kelly notes that many engineers who worked for larger entities end up consulting for the same company in retirement. This is due to the decades-long relationships that have formed, not to mention the critical corporate knowledge that the employee has. But if this isn’t the case, working with a recruiter might make sense, to increase your confidence in this second career search and to find the right position quickly.

It seems to me that older engineers can also play a critical role in mentoring younger workers. Retirees are freed from having to be competitive with their peers in order to climb the corporate ladder. They are more able to coach recent engineering graduates in everything from design to safety to working in a team environment. They can offer shortcuts and hacks that they’ve successfully discovered over their careers. They can even offer some wisdom on how to avoid getting caught up in petty things like office politics—although for some that likely has to be learned by example.

What are your goals in retirement? Do you foresee yourself continuing to work and contribute to the manufacturing world in some capacity? Or are you planning to run for the hills the day you finish? Drop me a note at the email below. DW

Pa ul J. He n ey - Edi tor i al D i re ctor phe ney@wtwhme di a.com

On Twitter @ DW—Editor

4

Insights 7-17_Vs2.LL.indd 4

DESIGN WORLD

July 2017

6/27/17 4:28 PM

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When hot weather causes the electronics inside a control cabinet to fail, there is a panic to get the machinery up and running again. The operator might choose to simply open the panel door and aim a fan at the circuit boards. In reality, the fan ends up blowing a lot of hot, humid, dirty air at the electronics and the cooling effect is minimal.

If the machinery starts functioning again, the likelihood of repeated failure is great since the environment is still hot (and threatens permanent damage to the circuit boards).

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Type 316 Stainless Steel Cabinet Coolers

Type 316 Stainless Steel Cabinet Coolers for NEMA 4X applications are available for heat loads up to 5,600 Btu/hr.

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“It took us three days to get a replacement computer cabinet and we didn’t want to risk another heat failure. Fans weren’t an option since they would just blow around a lot of hot air. Freon-type air conditioners like those on some of our other machines were a constant maintenance project of their own. We purchased EXAIR’s Model 4330 NEMA 12 Jeff Hauck, Lasercraft Inc. Cincinnati OH

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Cabinet Cooler System since it was easy to install and requires no maintenance.”

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Te s c h l e r o n To p i c

You can’t control your way out of poor mechanical design With all the hoopla surrounding software startups, you might think the only innovative technology these days involves C++ programs and SIM cards.

Worse, a lot of software-types seem to have the same opinion: A product that doesn’t depend on some kind of esoteric algorithm in software can’t be any good.

You aren’t alone if you sense this sort of arrogance coming from software engineers.

“I have a healthy respect for software people, but they don’t have the same respect for mechanical engineers,” says Dr. Nevan Hanumara, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Software types think they can control their way out of any problem. I will tell them bluntly that a sloppy machine is going to be a complete pain to control. You can’t control your way out of poor mechanical design. An elegant machine will be beautiful to control from the perspective of software.”

Hanumara and fellow MIT professor Alexander Slocum know a lot about elegant machines. They teach, among other things, a professional development course in engineering design called Innovative Precision Product Design that conveys some of the same ideas made famous in

MIT’s famed annual student competition of remotely operated robots, held annually as the culmination of an undergrad “Introduction to Design and Manufacturing” course.

It looks as though even manufacturers with a reputation for innovative software ought to take heed of the design principles that Slocum and Hanumara teach. Consider Tesla, for example. The car maker gets kudos for its software-control features and its automatic remote software updates. But Tesla is experiencing mounting mechanical problems and manufacturing defects, including brake troubles that led to a voluntary recall of 53,000 cars, another issue of exposed adhesive on roof liners, out-of-alignment trunk latches, and sunroof leaks. All these difficulties, of course, have roots in the car’s mechanical design.

If Tesla engineers sat in on the MIT design course, they might be told that the solution to such woes lies in adopting what Slocum and Hanumara call a deterministic design process. “The magic is how to get high performance and precision without paying buckets for it,” Hanumara says. “You can machine your way to any tolerance you want, but that is the expensive way to do it.”

The approach taken to tolerancing in the MIT class sounds enlightened. “”Life is a box of springs and everything is flexible,”

says Hanumara. “You need to visualize how and where the structure will bend and then analyze around those points. Do it this way and you can make significant progress.

You have to figure out where to put the tolerance stack-up so it doesn’t matter and where it might even be helpful. A key message is that not everything has to be difficult. Sometimes you need to step back and see if there is a better way to approach what you’re doing.”

The MIT precision product design course where Slocum and Hanumara teach these ideas lasts just five days. Though it is structured for practicing engineers and engineering managers, it sounds as though almost anybody can talk their way into it.

Hanumara says there’s a lot of hands-on work involved as well as a sharing of ideas and case-history-style story telling.

Perhaps best of all, the textbook for the course is online and is free for anybody to see: http://tinyurl.com/ybpextfy DW

Le la n d Te sc h le r - Exec u t i ve Edi to r ltesc h ler@wtwh m edi a .co m

On Twitter @ DW—LeeTeschler

6

DESIGN WORLD

Lee Teschler Column 7-17_Vs1.indd 6

July 2017

6/27/17 2:56 PM

Engineered elasticity Application specific designs Integrated attachments, One piece solutions Exotic materials...no problem

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Te c h n o lo gy Fo r wa rd

Metal 3D printing comes to the desktop Thanks to all the 3D printing hype over the last few years, vendors have developed innovative ways to format metal for use in desktop 3D printers.

The use of metal material with desktop 3D printers is still new with only a couple of vendors in the market, but development will continue.

One of the challenges of working with metal, especially in an office environment, is safety—metals powders are not something you want hanging around the office. Some metals are easily explosive.

And metals can get into users’ skin, putting them at risk for future health problems.

(Design World held a webinar on 3D printing safety, and it’s a available online if you want to learn safety precautions.)

Nevertheless, 3D printing vendors found solutions to the safety issue, as well as other issues of trying to make metal 3D printing practical on a desktop sized 3D printer.

One solution is to combine metal powder with binders and shape them into rods. Desktop Metal, Burlington, MA, uses this approach with its DM Studio officefriendly 3D printer. The developers came up with a proprietary process of turning metal into extrudable rods that they refer to as Bound Metal Deposition. The rods are automatically inserted into an extrusion style nozzle, which softens them enough to flow and print a part.

Another way to render metal materials safer is to combine metal powder with liquid components such as binders into a slurry. For this stereolithography like process, Admatec, Moergestel, Netherlands, uses digital light processing to help cure parts made from such a metal slurry.

In both of these inventive solutions, the 3D printed part must undergo some time of furnace sintering to burn out the binder.

The sintering process often condenses the remaining metal material until it reaches an impressive density—in the high 90% range.

So the units a user would need would be the 3D printer, often at a considerably lower price than more traditional metal additive machines, and a furnace similar to ones used with ceramics materials for example. Thus, the industry has found ways to deal with two factors that used to prohibit metal 3D printing in an office—cost and safety.

What will they think of next? Stay tuned—more innovations are on the way. DW

Le sli e La n gn a u - M a n ag i n g Edi to r lla n g n a u @wtwh m edi a .co m

On Twitter @ DW—3Dprinting

8

DESIGN WORLD

Leslie Column (Technology Forward) 7-17 Vs1.indd 8

July 2017

6/27/17 2:54 PM

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6/26/17 9:52 AM

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3/10/2016 9:40:50 AM 6/26/17 9:52 AM

» Gre e n Engi neeri ng

Cooling systems for plant machinery goes green n Paul J. Heney • Editorial Director

Cooling is said to account for as much as 15% of a machine tool’s entire power consumption. The amount is so high because the temperature of the cooling medium needs to be controlled precisely—with a maximum hysteresis of just 0.5 K. Larger temperature fluctuations would lead to inaccuracies in the machined work piece due to thermal expansion of the components As an energy saving response to this challenge, Rittal launched the Blue e+ series at the recent Hannover Messe in Germany.

This chiller enables a huge leap in energy efficiency. The measure of energy efficiency for refrigeration, the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER), is the ratio of cooling capacity to electrical power consumed. Conventional chillers with hot gas bypass control systems have an EER of 1, while an EER of 3 is possible with the Blue

e+. The basis for this high degree of energy efficiency is a variable speed compressor.

Instead of operating the cooling compressor at full capacity, the inverter-controlled dc refrigeration compressor can provide exactly the cooling output required. This minimizes the hysteresis without having to waste cooling power unnecessarily.

“There are no other prior systems like this. The blue e+ is a patented design that incorporates the traditional compressor-based system with a heat pipe,” said Eric Corzine, Product Manager.

To drive the compressors, Rittal uses dc synchronous motors that achieve a higher efficiency than conventional ac asynchronous motors in most areas of operation. An inverter in conjunction with dc radial fans and an electronic expansion valve precisely controls the speed www.designworldonline.com

Green Engineering_7-17_Vs3.LL.indd 11

of these motors, so the chillers always operate at an optimum speed. This innovative drive and control technology saves up to 70% energy compared to chillers with hot gas bypass control systems. Because the motors are rarely switched on and off, the components also have a longer service life.

“This unit will work anywhere a traditional ac will work, only better,” said Corzine. “It is a multi-voltage rated unit; 115 V – 480 V. Whereas previously you would need a different unit if you wanted 115 V, 230 V, or 460 V, the Blue e+ with inverter technology will work with virtually any voltage source in the world. There are no jumpers to change, no buttons to switch … just plug it in, the unit senses source voltage, and it’s up and running.”

A further innovation that Rittal is using in the new chillers is a microchannel technology in the July 2017

DESIGN WORLD

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» Gree n E n g i n e e ri n g

heat exchangers. The larger surface in relation to volume for exchanging heat between refrigerant and cooling water reduces the quantity of refrigerant by up to 55%.

The new chillers are available in three performance classes with cooling outputs of 2.5, 4 and 6 kW (adjustable between 20 and 100%). They are flexible and can be used at ambient temperatures of -5° C to 50° C. Various pre-configured option packages are available, for example with a more powerful pump, an inverter pump, for outdoor use (down to -20° C), with oil cooling, with integrated free cooler (hybrid operation) or with integral heater to pre-adjust the temperature of the medium.

A Blue e+ app communicates with the units; this enables wireless transmission of important information and makes life easier, especially if the configuration includes several chillers. RiDiag III parameterization and

diagnostic software can also be used with Blue e+ chillers. This software can communicate with the chillers through USB and, in the future, will be able to do so through various network protocols using communication modules.

Certifications for all key markets such as cULus Listed, EAC, CCC and GS make international use simple.

Corzine said that the product is being well received and noted that Rittal has several test sites throughout Europe and the U.S. The results have shown efficiencies of 75% electrical savings, on average, and there are some sites that have realized about 80% efficiency. DW Rittal | rittal.com

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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July 2017

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Co ntent s |

July 2017 • vol 12 no 7

|

designworldonline.com

F E AT U R E S

Differences between conventional belting and plastic modular belting Plastic modular belting has transformed manufacturing. Understanding the differences between it and synthetic fabric belting can help engineers plan and determine the most suitable conveyor for a given application.

56

LINEAR MOTION

64

ELECTRICAL

72

VISION

14

80

TEST & MEASUREMENT

ASRS

Feeling the heat New thermal imaging cameras measure temperature quickly and easily in a range of applications and environments

ASRS Automated Storage Retrieval Systems

www.designworldonline.com

A Supplement to Design World - July 2017

Covering the latest motion and control components, equipment and systems in ASRS design

| istockphoto.com

48

MOTION CONTROL

88

Designs reach new heights New technologies boost the reliability and efficiency of vertical motion designs (including an array of lifts and hoists) for setups of various sizes.

ELECTROMECHANICAL How can differential signals improve encoder signals?

As systems continue to increase in speed, electrical noise may cause faults and miscounts. Learn how differential signals can clean up these signals and prevent miscounts.

ASRS COVER 7-17_FINAL.indd 93

6/26/17 2:14 PM

92-112

The modern economics of renting test instruments The development of online instrument exchanges puts a new wrinkle into how to get the optimum use of test gear.

Lens sees clearly even through shock and vibration Many applications demand more from a lens than the performance delivered by standard imaging lenses, which introduces the need for ruggedized imaging lenses. A new imaging choice may alter this situation.

DESIGN WORLD

CONTENTS JULY 2017_first page_Vs2.LL.indd 14

July 2017

ON THE COVER Photo: istockphoto

ON THE COVER Developers create a more rugged lens. | istockphoto.com

A | S | B | P|E

A | S | B | P|E

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IMPACT CAN DESTROY AN OBJECT OR A SINGLE ELEMENT OF THAT OBJECT

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1 1 Green Engineering 19 Design For Industry 24 Design Notes

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32 CAE Solutions 38 Internet of Things 113 Product World 128 Ad Index

16

Contents JULY 2017_second page_Vs1.indd 16

DESIGN WORLD

July 2017

6/27/17 4:37 PM

Follow the whole team on twitter @DesignWorld EDITORIAL

GRAPHICS

Editorial Director Paul J. Heney pheney@wtwhmedia.com @dw_editor

VP, Creative Services Mark Rook mrook@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_graphics

Managing Editor Leslie Langnau llangnau@wtwhmedia.com @dw_3dprinting

Art Director Matthew Claney mclaney@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_designer

Executive Editor Leland Teschler lteschler@wtwhmedia.com @dw_leeteschler

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Senior Editor Miles Budimir mbudimir@wtwhmedia.com @dw_motion

Traffic Manager Mary Heideloff mheideloff@wtwhmedia.com

Senior Editor Lisa Eitel leitel@wtwhmedia.com @dw_lisaeitel Senior Editor Mary Gannon mgannon@wtwhmedia.com @dw_marygannon Associate Editor Mike Santora msantora@wtwhmedia.com @dw_mikesantora

Director, Audience Development Bruce Sprague bsprague@wtwhmedia.com

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Videographer Manager John Hansel jhansel@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_jhansel Videographer Bradley Voyten bvoyten@wtwhmedia.com @bv10wtwh Videographer Derek Little dlittle@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_derek MARKETING Digital Marketing Director Virginia Goulding vgoulding@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_virginia Webinar Manager Stacy Combest scombest@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_stacy Marketing and Events Coordinator Jen Kolasky jkolasky@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_jen Leadlift Onboarding Specialist Mike Ulanski mulanski@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_mike Digital Marketing Specialist Aly Ryan aryan@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_aly ACCOUNTING Controller Brian Korsberg bkorsberg@wtwhmedia.com Accounts Receivable Specialist Jamila Milton jmilton@wtwhmedia.com

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2011 - 2016 2014 Winner

WTWH Media, LLC 6555 Carnegie Ave., Suite 300, Cleveland, OH 44103 Ph: 888.543.2447 • FAX: 888.543.2447

Medical Design & OUTSOURCING www.designworldonline.com

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TOMPKINS PRO WRAP Nothing ruins a workday like a repair that could have been prevented. That’s why Tompkins Pro Wrap is the quick, convenient, and affordable way to protect your hose from unnecessary damage and costly mistakes.

Wrap your hoses for increased longevity and even color-code them to reduce the chance of user error. www.tompkinsind.com

www.tompkinsind.com | 800-255-1008

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Design for Industry | f o o d a n d b e v e r a g e

Bushing makes cleaning pumps easy This impeller lobe assembly will help food and beverage users speed through cleaning tasks. The ETP-CONNECT shaft connection is for pump drives with solid shafts. It simplifies the cleaning and maintenance of pumps, so it suits applications in pharmaceutical, chemical, and food and beverage processing systems where cleaning and maintenance must be done quickly and easily. This patented device connects the pump impellor to the motor using a single actuation screw.

The ETP-CONNECT is a precision bushing. The design accurately expands the ID of the connection when the single actuation screw is tightened. Since the expansion is caused by self-contained hydraulic pressure, the resulting force is perfectly even along all surfaces. The bushing aligns precisely

without axial movement as it is tightened. The positioning accuracy maintains impeller concentricity for reduced vibration, improved pump and motor life.

Another key feature is that it can be actuated thousands of times with repeatable accuracy and without any axial movement.

An Allen wrench is all that is required to mount and lock it into position. The bushing’s sealed, clean lines resist debris collection and clean easily without any special maintenance. DW Zero-Max | zero-max.com

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imagineering

AS9100C Certified By an ANAB Accredited Agency

for printed circuit boards & assemblies.

This certification is an internationally recognized standard focused on quality requirements necessary in the defense and aerospace industry. www.PCBnet.com sales@PCBnet.com 847-806-0003 ITAR Registered ISO Certified UL Approved WEEE Approved SAM Registered

Certifications: Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) Woman-Owned Small Business(WOSB) Imagineering_ 4-17.indd 20

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2 POWER TRANSMISSION

Design for Industry | o f f - h i g h w a y

Sealing system keeps tunnel industry digging

RETAINING DEVICES & maintenance & assembly tools BEARLOK

SHOELOK

BEARLOK Shrink Disc

BEARHUG

CLAMPNUT

TANGENTLOK

PRECISION NUTS & WASHERS

INCH and METRIC THREADS LEFT HANDED as well as RIGHT -HANDED

ADAPTER SLEEVE ASSEMBLIES

Materials of: CARBON, ALLOY and HARDENED ALLOY STEELS Materials of: ALLUMINUM and CORROSION RESISTANT STEEL

Tunnels are getting larger, deeper, and excavated in more challenging conditions. There is also growing pressure to successfully complete these projects while meeting increasing demands for performance, on-schedule delivery, and safety. However, on many projects, concrete tunnel segments are fitted with rubber gaskets onsite and secured using adhesive, which can lead to time-consuming and cost-intensive repair work as a result of displacement between segments that are not accurately positioned. This can reduce the gasket’s ability to withstand water pressure, exerting negative effects on the outcome of a project.

Cast-in profile sealing systems help the tunneling industry keep to project timescales and budgets, and shorten the production process of concrete tunnel gaskets.

The sealing system is pre-cast into the tunnel segment during manufacture, removing the need for adhesive on installation, which enables installers to save time and money. The gasket forges a superior bond connection with the segment to improve installation accuracy and ensure increased water tight performance. DW Trelleborg | trelleborg.com July 2017

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NUTS & WASHERS

HARDENED TONGUE WASHERS

SPLIT COLLAR

RETHREADING DIES

ADJUSTABLE SPANNER WRENCH

BEARING ASSEMBLY SOCKET

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Design for Industry | p a c k a g i n g

Encoder helps packaging machines operate faster The Sendix F58 encoders combine certified EtherNet/IP support with patented mechanical and electro-optic technologies for accuracy and reliability. These optical absolute single- and multi-turn EtherNet/IP encoders have a diameter of 58 mm.

The encoders have a RPI time as low as 1 ms, which allows them to transmit position data about 5 times faster than many conventional encoders. This speed advantage makes the encoders well suited to packaging, textile and printing applications—or any other application with fast machines that could be even faster with a position sensing upgrade.

EtherNet/IP also makes the encoders easy to commission because they look start up instantly as soon as they receive power and look for their IP address settings and configure them through software. Due to EtherNet/IP’s Device Level Ring feature, the F58 encoders will not lose communication in the event of a single cable break or signal interruption.

All four models in the F58 Series use Kuebler’s Safety-Lock bearing design, a mechanical design feature that protects bearings from wear or damage due to shock, vibration or misalignment. DW Kuebler | kueblernews.com

“I saw immediately the advantages in easy integration, zero maintenance, and higher productivity.”

Cyril Hogard, Plant Manager, Continental Automotive Spain Operator can safely enter work cell

Universal Robots Powers Industry 4.0 Continental Automotive Spain has installed six Universal Robots — with more projects underway —to handle printed circuit boards and components in its smart factory. Industry 4.0 processes have cut costs and improved productivity, reducing changeover times by 50% and providing an estimated ROI of just 24 months.

50% REDUCTION IN CHANGEOVER TIME

See the smart factory of the future in action. Scan the code: www.universal-robots.com/case-stories/continental/ Find your distributor: www.universal-robots.com/distributors

Easy programming with no prior experience

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Design for Industry | r o b o t i c s

Robot meets man-robot collaboration needs The TX2 line of collaborative robots consist of six-axis machines with corresponding CS9 safety control. The features comply with the stringent requirements of the highest safety category and suit such applications as high-volume manufacturing as well as collaborative scenarios.

To ensure maximum safety, sensors monitor every movement of the robot, while the robot’s coordinates, speed and acceleration are recorded in real time. This feature also helps users adjust to changing production needs.

One robot covers all five stages of Man-Robot Collaboration:

• Stage 1: Hard guarding separates the operator and robot.

The manufacturing process is performed by the robot.

• Stage 2: Laser (virtual) guarding separates the operator and robot. The manufacturing process is performed by the robot, and the operator enters the area periodically.

• Stage 3: Laser (virtual) guarding separates the operator and robot. The robot and operator are involved in the manufacturing process. The operator enters the zone regularly during production.

• Stage 4: There is no separation between the robot and operator. The robot and operator are involved in the manufacturing process. The robot stops when it comes into contact with the operator.

• Stage 5: There is no separation between the robot and operator. The robot and operator are involved in the manufacturing process. The robot and the operator move safely in the same space simultaneously. DW Stäubli | staubli.com

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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www.designworldonline.co

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» D e s i g n N o te s

Edited by: Mike Santora • Associate Editor

Rubber seal inspection gets taken to new heights

In the PosCon HM, algorithm s analyze up to 60 0 items of heig ht information pe r measurement and determine the m aximum height of the object, irr espective of its position.

The measurement of object height is an important aspect in quality control applications. Baumer’s PosCon HM light-section sensor is a compact measuring device for these kind of tasks.

One example is the inspection of black rubber seals for side windows in the automobile industry. In this case, random samples are tested off-line on a special test bench. The seals are fitted into special mounts on a measuring setup. The forms and the curves of the seal may vary, but they must not exceed special limit values.

The challenge for the sensors is not only the form, or, to be more precise, the curves, but also the black, light-absorbing material.

In the sensor, algorithms analyze up to 600 items of height information per measurement and determine the maximum height of the object, irrespective of its position. The sensor makes it possible 24

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7/3/17 2:17 PM

ca i r e m in A 1934. e d a m since Y R VE n of the inspectio dows ls for side win a se er b b ru black . The forms obile industry in the autom l may vary, es of the sea and the curv ecial limit not exceed sp st u m ey th t bu sensors llenge for the a ch e h T . es valu be more e form, or, to is not only th the black, rves, but also precise, the cu g material. light-absorbin

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to carry out this measurement, and it supplies precise, reliable measurement results with a measuring rate of up to 1540 Hz.

The PosCon HM is also a suitable measuring tool for the inspection of metallic, glossy preformed parts, for example the inspection of car doors. The sensors can check the correct form of the car door by performing measurements at numerous test points. The sensors can also be mounted close beside each other without influencing each other. The sensor provides the measured values directly in mm, allowing an immediate OK/Not OK check for each test point. DW Baumer | baumer.com

Easily substituted into existing Pb-free processes Comparable reliability to SAC305 and SnPb eutectic • Superior drop shock resistance • Maintains thermal cycling reliability with Mn

Contact our engineers today: askus@indium.com

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©2017 Indium Corporation

July 2017

DESIGN WORLD

25 INDI-6036 Design World VMIA SACm Ad (E).indd 1

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6/28/17 9:43 AM

» D e s i g n N o te s

More powerful motor drivers for faster cycle times Terry Persun • Technology Journalist

The MicroMax 2.0 has upgraded specifi cations from faster oper ation to more flexibilit y in handling.

e Closeup of th

MicroMax 2.0 tion. during opera

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When the MicroMax was initially released, Axis Robotics supplied one of the most robust single site test handlers available at the time. Over the years, Axis Robotics has collected user feedback on the machine’s operation, noting where upgrades would be useful. The team also listened to customer’s design suggestions. After several years of development with these two concerns in mind, an updated version of the MicroMax, the 2.0 is being released.

On the MicroMax 2.0 single site handler, the motion control systems have been completely redesigned using more powerful motor drivers for faster cycle times, more reliable performance over long periods of use, and quick recovery from power down or EMO events.

The motion system is controlled by three high-efficiency, high power, AllMotion controller-drivers. Two are EZHR23ENHC drivers, July 2017

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7/3/17 2:18 PM

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Âť D e s i g n N o te s

which measure only 2.25 by 2.25-in. and are fully intelligent stepper motor controller + drivers. One of the units is used to operate the Z axis on the system, while the other one was designed into the tray lift feature. The controller is designed to bolt directly to the back of the stepper motor it controls or can easily be mounted externally from the system. Each controller is capable of operating independently, executing a preset program upon power up, or can be fully controlled via communications through a computer USB interface. Each EZHR23ENHC uses a single 4-wire bus, containing two power wires and two communications wires. Commands can be issued from any serial terminal program.

The MicroMax 2.0 also uses an EZ4AXIS four-axis compact controller and driver combination to maintain tight accuracy operations for

NHC motion n EZHR23E o ti o M ll A e Th high-accuracy provides the r ve ri d r/ lle o nductor contr in the semico ed d ee n es ti ili capab 0 these e MicroMax 2. on of the industry. In th ooth operati sm e d vi ro p controllers ations. e tray lift oper th s a l el w s Z axis a

the X and Y axes. At only 2.25 by 2.25 by 0.6in., the EZ4AXIS is one of the smallest controller/drivers on the market. The EZ4AXIS is the four-axis position controller with built-in power drivers chosen for Axis Robotics’ positioning system needs.

Axis Robotics required a controller with at least 16 microstep resolution and one amp drive current. The EZ4AXIS provided these capabilities for four outputs. In addition, the design called for the use of hardware limit switch capability, something that was already incorporated as part of the controller package. Because of the AllMotion controller, each axis moves smoothly and accurately, which is important when handling delicate semiconductor components.

The EZ4AXIS was originally designed to allow for the most rapid implementation of multiaxis stepper motor solutions in the industry, and has maintained that position in a variety of automation applications in a broad range of industries. Each independent axis functions through a 1 Amp (2 Amp peak) PWM chopper

Linear Components through

See the full line of PBC Linear Components at www.pbclinear.com Design Notes 7-17_Vs.2.LL.indd 28

6/28/17 9:45 AM

n axis positio The X and Y e MicroMax control on th n’s d by AllMotio 2.0 is handle troller/driver.

EZ4AXIS con

driver. Optional heat sinks are available for high power applications, as well.

The MicroMax 2.0 system is portable and specifically designed to fit through a standard width door. It requires only power, oil free air, and a USB connection to get started. The MicroMax 2.0 can also accommodate a variety of test-board sizes on its mounting plate, and offers the flexibility of running thirteen thick or twenty-three thin JEDEC trays in its tray stacker. These capabilities alone promise to maximize productivity for the user.

Each MicroMax 2.0 includes fully rewritten and optimized software routines for all the motor drivers used throughout each positioning system operation. The MicroMax 2.0 also includes a programming and teach pendant interface for easier programming, setup, and operation.

The MicroMax 2.0 system’s safety features include an ESD resistant polycarbonate enclosure and rolling stand for operator safety and to prevent unwanted handling of the trays during production operations, plus a SEMI-compliant EMO and keyed door interlock system. DW Axis Robotics | AxisRobotics.com

Mechatronic Solutions

Multi-Axis

And the full line of Mechatronics at www.pbclinear.com Design Notes 7-17_Vs.2.LL.indd 29

6402 Rockton Road, Roscoe IL 61073 USA • 1-800-962-8979

6/29/17 9:41 AM

» D e s i g n N o te s

Edited by: Mike Santora • Associate Editor

Gripper system for protective film removal

With cycle tim es of 30–45 se conds, the CNC-contro lled Foilpuller w ith FIPA EOAT and vacu um technology au to mates the film-remov al process for m etal sheets used in w hite goods.

FIPA recently created a custom EOAT solution for the removal of protective film from sheet metal with an automated process. Developed for Foilpuller GmbH, a stainless steel sheet metal processing company, the custom system combines high holding force vacuum cups with pressure regulating, air-saving compact ejectors for the Foilpuller system. With cycle times of 30–45 seconds, the CNC-controlled Foilpuller with FIPA EOAT and vacuum technology automates the film-removal process for metal sheets used in white goods, eliminating manual labor and delivering up to 97% savings in overall operating costs over standard vacuum generators.

The Foilpuller automates the processing of sheet metal in standard sizes of 1 x 2.5m using flat vacuum cups and compact ejectors to apply suction to single pieces of sheet metal in a designated stack at the pick-up site. The vacuum cups prevent wobbling, while a vacuum shuttle delivers the sheet to a worktable where a cutting wheel lightly scores the protective film on the surface of the sheet. Through precisely controlled cutting, the wheel only makes inci30

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sions where film needs to be removed to allow for mounting fittings, hinges, cutouts, and welding work, leaving the rest of the protective film intact. A scraper then removes the scored film to reveal a residuefree surface before FIPA’s gripper system places the sheet in a second designated stack for further processing.

The SM-F Series flat vacuum cups used in the Foilpuller have a flexible sealing lip for non-slip contact with sheet metal, and are suitable for almost all standard metal surfaces, including flat or textured stainless steel, varnished steel metal, coated plates, and printed film.

The series’ reinforcement ribs provide slip resistance, absorb the high lateral forces from tipping metal sheets, and prevent deep-drawing effects that could warp thin metal sheets. Made of silicone-free NBR materials with a hardness of 60° Shore A, the vacuum cups also have a vulcanized aluminum connection thread designed to minimize leaking and ensure a tight fit, even during dynamic gripping cycles.

The EMA Series compact ejectors combine a pressure regulating, energy-saving function with an electronic air-saving function to achieve outstanding operational efficiency for the Foilpuller. Designed for maximum energy savings without limiting performance, the ejectors supply a Venturi nozzle with compressed air to generate a vacuum, allowing the attached vacuum cup to quickly grip the workpiece.

A vacuum switch continually monitors the vacuum level to control air savings and triggers the “item gripped” signal at the first vacuum threshold limit (V1, 65%), allowing the scheduled item transfer to take place. When the vacuum reaches the second threshold limit (V2, 75%), the ejector interrupts the compressed air supply to the Venturi nozzle, reducing energy consumption to zero. The vacuum is sustained by a closed, non-return valve and continues to reliably grip the workpiece without any additional energy expenditure until naturally occurring leakage eventually lowers the vacuum threshold back to 65%, at which point the air-saving control cycle briefly generates a new vacuum until the 75% threshold is again achieved. Once the item transfer is completed, the ejector’s blow-off valve generates a manually adjustable air jet to quickly release the metal sheet. DW

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» CA E S o lut i o n s

Ron Fritz • CEO, Tech Soft 3D

Helping users visualize the data

An example of a developer kit is the HOOPS family of toolkits that offer a way for software vendors to tackle their user visualization challenges.

Developing an engineering application has never been more complicated than it is in today’s environment, with challenges emerging from all corners of the industry.

In today’s fast moving and complex design space, one of the main challenges is simply using the right technology for your product. On the graphics side, you have technologies such as Metal, Vulkan, WebGL, and many more.

If you’re building for the cloud and client server architectures, there’s a whole separate range of software development tools and technologies. Keeping up with the ever-changing software tools landscape is critical to success.

Meanwhile, requirements around graphics and data keep increasing.

Engineering graphics are increasingly more complicated —and not just because of the different technologies now required. It’s no longer sufficient, for example, to only display CAD data, or analysis 32

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information. Increasingly, customers want an application that can visualize point cloud data overlaid with CAD data —while also allowing them to do granular selection, as well as advanced analysis at fast frame-rates and with high visual fidelity.

Data reuse is also key. Having accurate geometry is merely the beginning of what users expect today. Users are looking for digital continuity with their data models as they move through different applications — and that requires not just accurate BREP, but other aspects of the data, including semantic and visual Product Manufacturing Information (PMI), views, metadata, and a way to accurately

www.designworldonline.com

6/28/17 10:08 AM

Forming the Future

LEADING THE

INDUSTRY track these items throughout the product development lifecycle.

One of the biggest trends driving engineering software development is the customer need to view more (bigger) and more (complex) data. As an example, people don’t just want to see the machine that they’re creating —they want to see their machine in the context of the factory that it’s going to be operating, with all the other machines that are going to be in that factory.

Similarly, they don’t just want to see the building they’re designing —they want to see their building in the context of the entire neighborhood or the entire city block where it’s going to be sited. As a result, applications need to handle very, very large data sets.

This is a trend that shows no signs of slowing down or reversing—the current sentiment is that “you can never have too much data.”

In a world of pay-per-use and subscription business models, it is easier for customers to switch if any aspect of the their experience is unsatisfactory. This extends beyond the user interface to the performance of the application. Basic graphics capabilities that are “good enough” are no longer sufficient.

This goes for data translation as well—users don’t want to wait forever while a part or assembly is loaded. Additionally, functionality that might’ve been exotic a few years ago —like the ability to use data downstream in Additive Manufacturing workflows — is now expected. Simply put, customers now expect more in the way of user experience —or they’ll move on.

What these examples show is that developers need technologies that are tightly

integrated and work together optimally. If, for example, an application’s data exchange and translation is very fast, but the connection to the visualization engine is not optimal, all the benefits of fast translation are gone — because it takes such a long time to visualize the data on the screen. Completeness of functionality is essential, and all modules need to work well together.

User experience and performance also inform the discussion around whether to build a native application or a web application.

The answer is that it could be web or native —and in many cases, it will be both. What’s important is that customers have access to the right tool for whatever task is at hand. For example, they might want the convenience of a browser-based solution, but also the option of using a native-installed solution that can access the full power of a computer or mobile device. Developers need to be prepared to deliver on any of these fronts.

These competitive market dynamics demand you get a high-quality solution to market ahead of the rest. Developer kits are on option. These kits can help you build successful desktop, mobile and web applications.

Developing an engineering application in today’s environment is not without its hurdles. But with the right tools, software developers can successfully address the challenges they face and deliver highperformance applications for today’s market.

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»»

» CA E S o lut i o n s

Motor predesign tool increases efficiency

For designers and manufacturers of electrical rotating

Capabilities of FluxMotor: • A design environment, with dedicated interface, helps motorists to finalize machine, step by step within minutes.

• 4 different winding modes help users to find the right winding architecture.

• Parts Library focuses on the visualization and choice of parts; standard libraries are available.

• Standard parts, magnets and slots can be edited and customized for unlimited configuration.

• Comprehensive and scalable material database.

• Automated standard and relevant tests ready to be performed.

• The motor catalogue environment allows easy management of motors and projects, helping users classify the machine and quickly access past studies. DW

motors, FluxMotor software helps you define machines and assess their technical-economic potential within minutes.

FluxMotor is a dedicated platform for the pre-design of electric rotating machines. It is part of Altair’s HyperWorks CAE Suite, which includes Flux, software for low frequency electromagnetic and thermal simulations. You can design and create machines from standard or custom parts, as well as intuitively add windings and materials to run a selection of tests and compare machine capacity.

FluxMotor’s working environment ensures good visualization of machine performances, enabling fast and accurate computations which can easily be connected to Flux finite element software and other tools within the HyperWorks suite for further studies, including multiphysics optimization capabilities.

Altair | altair.com

Benefits of FluxMotor software include: • Dynamic libraries offer standard or custom options ready to be used to compose motors.

• Facilitated project management allows a quick access to past studies and helps manage the full range of products.

• Computing methods wisely using the high power of finite element modeling.

• Automatically driven workflow offering an efficient user- oriented environment to different level of users.

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6/28/17 10:09 AM

N E WS

» CAE Solu t i ons

Simulate multi-body dynamics EDEM for Adams is a simulation tool that lets engineers include realistic bulk material loads as standard in Adams system dynamics analysis without the need for Discrete Element Method (DEM) knowledge or expertise in bulk material simulation.

EDEM for Adams is specifically for use with the Multi-body Dynamics (MBD) software Adams of MSC Software in the design of heavy equipment such as excavators, bull dozers and ploughs that are intended to handle bulk materials like coal, ores, rocks, and soils.

When in operation, the performance of such equipment – from stresses on load arms, to the hydraulic forces, to the traction of the tyres and delivery of power – is dependent to some degree on the bulk material being handled. Understanding how equipment will perform in a specific material environment ensures an optimal design that combines strength and durability, with performance efficiency.

EDEM for Adams lets engineers simulate bulk materials and use these realistic loads in Adams system dynamics simulations.

Including high-fidelity representation of the loads and the forces acting on equipment reduces hand calculations and approximation when designing heavy equipment.

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This standalone software tool connects to Adams using the Adams Co-Simulation Interface (ACSI). During simulation, the coupling transfers the realistic material loads directly into Adams where they are used to calculate the effect on equipment dynamics. The updated dynamics are then passed back to EDEM to provide realistic force-feedback. DW EDEM | edemsimulation.com/software/ edem-for-adams/ WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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I nter net of Things

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In the IIoT era, what do your motors really do?

The Industrial Internet of Things presents manufacturing managers with a conundrum. Most food manufacturing and processing plants have motors powering essential equipment such as mixers, conveyors and packaging machines. These motors are just motors and do not play in the same league as the other intelligent or IoT enabled devices in their factories.

With years of service often left in the motors, it’s difficult to justify replacing motors that work effectively for the sake of an upgrade with smart features. However, there are alternatives to a complete overhaul in order to connect motors to the IIoT.

Instead of investing in new, more intelligent / smart equipment, a solution is to install sensors that provide similar functions to connected devices. For example, ABB offers smart sensors that can be fitted to almost any standard low voltage induction motor. The pocket-sized sensor, dubbed ABB Ability Smart Sensor, is directly attached in a couple minutes to the motor’s frame, without wiring.

By using sensors that feed performance data to the cloud through a smartphone or gateway to a secure server, users can bring their motors up to date with the IIoT. These data give users a fuller picture — even on mobile devices — of how the motors are 38

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working. Such data enable condition based or predictive maintenance, rather than periodic maintenance.

Unplanned downtime can be reduced as much as 70% through sensor-based motor monitoring. This is particularly important in the food and beverage industry where even a short downtime can be costly.

Infrastructure failures in this industry cost up to $75,000 per hour and have a serious impact on seasonally produced items such as sugar. This is a cost that can be avoided by using the right performance insight and awareness.

An increased awareness of the condition of any motor also leads to a better awareness of how an entire system is performing. For example, a motor overheating or burning out may indicate a problem elsewhere in the production line, such as a line moving too fast and producing waste.

Eliminating this problem could improve energy efficiency by up to 10%.

Motors, the heart of the food and beverage plant, don’t have to be left behind in the age of the IIoT. Just like a home security camera connected to your mobile phone, a smart sensor could give a motor a new lease of life, making it perform as an integral part of the data-rich factory and providing all the additional benefits that this creates. DW ABB | New.abb.com/food-beverage

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6/28/17 10:11 AM

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memory and is available in both normal and extended temperature versions. This product series not only supports mainstream MLC flash technology but will extend the support for 3D V-NAND technology.

SSD technology supports higher performance than it used to and even small form factor flash drives such as mSATA / M2 can attain 6.0 Gbps SATA performance. High performance usually results in increased power consumption and heat generation – especially for small form factor SSDs such as mSATA and M.2. These modules are powered by a high performance SATA 6.0 Gbps IC controller chip with low energy consumption of 2.6 W compared with similar products.

These modules allow compact system designs and support -40 to 85°C wide operating temperature, yet deliver ultimate performance and reliability for industrial fields such as railways, outdoor applications, and defense. DW Advantech | advantech.com

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Connectivity and ...... .... control at the edge ..

The SeaConnect 370 IoT edge device lets users monitor and control processes and trigger actions with SeaCloud, a cloudbased, built-in event engine. This edge device is suitable for a variety of applications including asset management, data acquisition, environmental monitoring and facility management.

The SeaConnect 370 features two Form C relays, four digital inputs (wet or dry contact), two 12-bit A/D converters, a 1-Wire bus interface and a TI SimpleLink CC3200 ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller unit. An optional QuickStart Demonstration Kit is available for demonstration and testing purposes.

With integrated Wi-Fi capability, the SeaConnect 370 can also be configured with a Verizon Cat 1 cellular modem. For applications where geolocation is required, the SeaConnect 370 is available with an optional cellular and GPS module.

For data logging, the 370 interfaces with Sealevel’s optional SeaCloud service. SeaCloud offers a secure, robust, scalable, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) software platform and monitors, tracks, analyzes and controls data from Sealevel I/O devices. The current iteration is designed for data-at-rest applications such as condition monitoring and operational intelligence. An additional cloud option is under development for data-in-motion to provide real-time, actionable information. DW Sealevel Systems | sealevel.com

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Accelerate digital transformation DiRXNTM (pronounced “Direction”) is a digital productivity platform based on the integration of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and e-commerce technologies. DiRXNTM directly connects customers to data and information that allows them to optimize productivity across all stages of product lifecycles.

The DiRXN platform delivers on operational savings and metric-driven goals, including mean time between failure (MTBF) and mean time to replace (MTTR), as well as overall equipment effectiveness. These are key performance indicators that DiRXN can positively impact.

Initial and near term examples of valuable productivity enablers include:

• Selector, configurator and drawing tools that use robust criteria and logic to quickly and accurately guide users to the right products for their needs.

• An e-commerce center allowing users and partners to fill a shopping cart, view their transaction history, and track individual orders in a streamlined process.

• Remote connection for customers to instantly reach step-by-step instructions on how to properly install a fixed mount bearing – the exact model they have – saving significant time in searching and using sub-optimal content.

• Linking known product installations with appropriate technical documentation and learning modules to improve maintenance response times.

• Connection of critical products to the IIoT to improve predictive maintenance (PdM) – informing users of pending issues long before occurrences that can cause unplanned downtime.

• Use of Rexnord’s data on its installed base, quickly giving users time-critical and product-specific predictive maintenance information remotely and securely.

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• Using mobile technology and e-commerce data to alert customers automatically for the need to reorder or service a product, based on usage patterns from remote monitoring and analytics of real-time production processes.

The designs follow a set of digital technology standards and use a common IT infrastructure to ensure a consistent user experience and allow for future expansion. DW Rexnord | rexnord.com/DiRXN

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6/29/17 9:45 AM

Internet of Thi ng s

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This family of serial device servers and gateways support most common industrial protocols, with various combinations of HART, HART IP, Profinet, Modbus TCP, Modbus RTU, Raw/ASCII, and EtherNet/IP.

These serial device servers brings the serial devices into the world of Ethernet without disrupting the communication method. A gateway converts the protocol of one device to the protocol suitable for interoperability with another device or tool.

Variants are available with one, two, or four D-SUB 9 serial ports and one or two RJ45 Ethernet ports. Startup and configuration is simple using an embedded web server. To ensure secure communication, the devices include 256-bit AES encryption and optional authentication. The servers and gateways can operate between -40 to +70 C and have hazardous location approvals. DW

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Plug and play entry-level unmanaged Ethernet switches for harsh environments

These DIN-rail-mount unmanaged Ethernet switches offer a reliable, robust, and cost-effective solution to most of the simple network topologies. With IP30 rating, all of the unmanaged switches are certified for Industrial EMC (EN61000-6-4 and EN61000-6-2), and support redundant power-input for enhanced safety that can be connected simultaneously to a range of dc power sources.

If one of the power inputs fails, the other live source acts as a backup to provide the power needs automatically. They can operate in temperatures ranging from -10 to 70 °C with steel and aluminum housing, and 0 to 60 °C with the plastic housing.

Selected products support packet Prioritization for Profinet.

During normal use, broadcast packets will be forwarded to all ports except the source port. However, it will discard broadcast 46

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or multicast packets if the number of those packets exceeds a threshold in a preset period of time. When the preset period expires (about 800 ms), it will then resume receiving broadcast or multicast packets until the threshold is reached again.

Enhanced versions have Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and Gigabit Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) support to ensure suitability for simple industrial applications. The number of Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet ports on the switches range from 4 up to 8 and selected models have both single-mode or multi-mode fiber-optic uplink. All the entry-level unmanaged industrial Ethernet switches provide no configuration required plug-play environment. DW Mencom Corp | mencom.com

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6/28/17 10:26 AM

Internet of Thi ng s

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It offers high-density for eight full gigabit Ethernet ports with PSE: 30W per port and two 10G SFP+ fiber slots for long-distance connectivity.

This product series has an IP30 rated metal casing design that has DIN-Rail or wall mounting support. The device provides a dual redundant power input range of 24 to 55 Vdc with an overload current and reverse polarity prevention, as well as high EFT (2,000 Vdc) surge protection and ESD (6,000 Vdc) protection. Additionally, there is a built-in relay warning function to alert maintainers when power failures occur. Each unit is built to withstand industrial networking hazards like shock, drop, vibration, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and temperature extremes (-40° ~ 60°C). The units conform to the following dimensions of 54mm (W) x 99mm (D) x 142mm (H) and a unit weight of 3.0 lb. DW

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P.O. Box 9070 • Fort Wayne, IN 46899 USA

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

Differences between conventional belting and plastic modular belting Plastic modular belting has transformed manufacturing. Understanding the differences between it and synthetic fabric belting can help engineers plan and determine the most suitable conveyor for a given application.

Kate Nadeau

| mk North America

Conveyors are a part of everyday life. They are seen at the grocery store, in the gym, at the redemption center, and in the airport.

Conveyors are also an integral part of manufacturing — used during all stages of assembly, packaging, and distribution.

The earliest conveyors date to the 18th century. They were constructed of wood with leather belts to transport goods and were driven via hand-cranks and series of pulleys. As new inventions were introduced, they were adapted to conveyors. The dawn of the 20th century brought with it a major development — the steel-belted conveyor. Steel-belted conveyors first grew in use for carrying bulk materials such as gravel and sand; soon they were adapted for use in the mining industry. American

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Shown here is a curved conveyor from mk North America. Plastic modular belt conveyors can easily be designed with curves provided that the correct type of belt is used.

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l Synthetic belt conveyors as on this horizontal incline conveyor can be outfitted with corrugated sidewalls that act as side rails and contain product on the width of the belt. This belt also has cleats for aiding product upward on inclines.

While plastic modular belting has transformed the conveyor industry and various manufacturing processes, understanding the differences between synthetic fabric belts and plastic modular belts can help in planning and determining the suitable type of conveyor for use in specific applications.

slaughterhouses and Henry Ford paved the road for conveyors in modern manufacturing processes. World War II and its depletion of natural resources such as cotton and rubber forced inventors and industrialists to look for alternatives, and some of these materials (including synthetic rubber and polyurethane) ushered in a new era of conveyor technology.

Conveyors, of which there are many types, are primarily defined by the conveying medium — as belt conveyors, chain conveyors, and roller conveyors, for example.

Conveyors referred to as belt conveyors more often than not are synthetic belt conveyors

that use the synthetic fabric belting materials pioneered during WWII. This type of conveyor belt is seen most often at grocerystore checkout stations. It’s a continuous loop of fabric that delivers continuous motion through use of friction between the bottom belt surface and a motor-driven conveyor pulley.

In 1970, Intralox founder J. M. Lapeyre pioneered plastic modular belting. These belts are pieces of plastic that join together in an interlaying brick fashion. Conveyors that use such belting are called plastic modular belt conveyors or (by some manufacturers) modular plastic-belt conveyors.

Design features and applications for fabric belts Synthetic fabric belts are the belts most commonly seen in everyday situations at airports, retail stores, fitness centers, and in and around agricultural (farm) settings.

Versatility is one of their main benefits.

Synthetic belts also excel in industries and applications such as printing and tapes where plastic modular belts cannot be used.

Synthetic belts are monofilament in design and fabrication. This results in two distinct and important advantages — high tensile strength and an excellent width-tostrength ratio. Synthetic belts are lightweight but very strong and flexible. This flexibility lets synthetic belts run on very small pulleys and even knife edges. With diameters down

Comparing conveyor belts

50

Synthetic fabric belts

Plastic modular belts

Monofilament woven fabric

Interlocking plastic brick modules

Friction drive

Positive drive

Lower cost

Higher cost

Can change belt material post install

Locked into belt series post installation

Cleats possible but not change-able

Cleats possible and change-able

Replace entire belt if damaged

Replace belt section(s) if damaged

Curved belts and conveyors are custom

Curved belts and conveyors are standard

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M o t i o n

to 3 mm in some cases, knife edges are ultra-thin conveyor ends defined by small-diameter rollers or (more commonly) fixed bars tapered to make a rounded point. Such knife edges facilitate the transfer of small parts on and off the conveyor surface.

Some advanced modular plastic-belt variations work well with small pulleys, but they still cannot compete with traditional belts on knife edges. Traditional belts combine flexibility with availability in low overall thicknesses

Motion Control (MK North America) 7-17_Vs.4.LL.indd 51

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(often less than 1 mm and almost always less than 2 mm) so are suitable for transferring small and delicate parts between conveyors as well. This is because the thickness of a conveyor’s belting adds to the overall radius of the pulley transferring parts — and the smaller this dimension, the smaller the part that can be transferred.

While the size of the part to be conveyed is one consideration, another important factor in determining what type of belt to use is the speed of the conveyor. Synthetic fabric belts can handle a greater speed range than plastic modular belts. At high speeds, plastic modular belts can become loud, making them undesirable in locations where excessive noise is an issue for workers or processes.

However, synthetic fabric belts are not without their design and implementation challenges. Where fabric-belt limitations leave applications unserved is where plastic modular belts excel. Conveyors that use fabric belts are friction drive systems, meaning the friction DESIGN WORLD

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l Plastic modular belts are suitable for conveying food products such as pizza due to their ease of cleaning.

between the underside of the belt and the drive pulley or drum causes the belt to move. If conveyor designers and fabricators fail to account for the material and finish of the pulley in relationship to the load, speed, and other environmental concerns, then the conveyor will not operate as intended. Furthermore, designers must adhere to design specifications for the drive pulley as outlined by the belt manufacturer.

While this seems simple in principle, designers often implement pointed crown pulleys instead of trapezoidal crown pulleys. This results in conveyors that don’t run ... or that run but with belting that doesn’t track or stay on the conveyor frame.

In fact, a major downside of fabric belts and their associated conveyors concerns tracking — the ability of a belt to stay centered on the conveyor. Proper conveyor design and installation are necessary to get optimal belt tracking. There are some schools of thought that this hurdle can be overcome by adding a v-guide to the underside of the belt (or less often to the topside outside edges). This v-guide is a small

trapezoidal polymer rope that travels in a channel or notch on the conveyor frame.

In theory, as long as the v-guide remains in the notch, then the belt remains tracked.

This method of belt tracking is considered suboptimal by most belt manufacturers, as the v-guide is simply another possible point of failure and doesn’t guarantee that the belt will remain tracked.

Plastic modular belts: Design features and operation Tracking ability is one of the biggest selling features of plastic modular belt. Unlike fabric belts, which rely on friction for the means of driving, plastic modular belts are based on positive drive. This means that a series of sprockets engages with the underside of the belt to propel it forward. This positive engagement — the fitting of sprocket teeth into specific pockets on the underside of the

belt — is what ensures belt tracking.

As with synthetic belts, it is important for the conveyor designer to follow beltmanufacturer instructions for drive sprocket design. Using the correct number of sprockets and placement will ensure optimal belt and conveyor performance.

Furthermore, the concept of a positive drive provides for a friendlier and more flexible design. Plastic modular belt conveyors are low-tension systems, especially compared with synthetic belt (which requires proper tension for the friction drive to work).

Lower tension allows use of fewer pulleys.

Plastic modular belts also impart greater design freedom to let engineers dimension conveyors with more latitude. To illustrate, synthetic belt conveyors typically require a length-to-width ratio of 2:1 to track properly.

In contrast, plastic modular belts allow conveyor designs that are wider than they are long while still maintaining belt tracking.

Plastic modular belts excel in applications where a conveyor must travel around corners.

While corners can be negotiated using synthetic belts, these conveyors are highly customized and often cost-prohibitive. Plastic modular belt conveyors can travel straight, go around corners, straight again, incline and decline all using one belt and one motor — one conveyor.

Plastic modular belts and their conveyors are often considered too expensive compared with other conveyor types because of the way which the belts are fabricated.

While the small plastic blocks or modules that are used to construct such belts are

Sprockets for plastic modular belt mount on the drive shaft of the conveyor and engage with the underside of the belt to form a positive drive system.

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

Conveyors with a modular design give engineers more flexibility.

relatively inexpensive, it requires manpower to assemble them. It is this human effort needed to construct them that drives up their cost. All belt manufacturers have assemblers who piece together the belt bricks and join the rows using rods. No manufacturer has yet found an effective way to automate the assembly of these belts.

Choosing between various conveyor-belt options With all of these different features, benefits, drawbacks, and design considerations, it can feel like a daunting task to pick the right belt type and the correct conveyor type for an application.

Reviewing design options with a belting representative or sales engineer from a conveyor company is a good starting place. Both will help account for various factors that ultimately determine the best selection — or if a different (non-belted) conveyor style is necessary. Working directly with a conveyor supplier can and should help design engineers consider various belting types and even different belt companies.

When working with either type of company, the engineer must ultimately determine the best fit for the application. Both belting types come in a variety of materials, finishes, and styles.

However, plastic modular belts have limitations because they are designed around pitches. This means that once a pitch is selected and the conveyor is designed around it, the conveyor can only use belts of that pitch. To further complicate 54

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matters, many belt manufacturers make the same pitch belt but in different series.

Because of innate characteristics of a design (such as belt thickness or sprocket design and style) a conveyor may be able to accept only belts in that series. Synthetic belts are not limited in this aspect. There are many more options from which an engineer can choose when making post-install changes. For this reason, the lifecycle of the product being conveyed is another important parameter.

Other product aspects such as temperature and material also can affect the selection. Generally speaking, synthetic fabric belts have a wider range of accepted exposure

temperatures. The choice of belt option also can depend on the specific-purpose equipment with which the belt may be used.

These specific purposes include conveyors for X-ray machines, static-sensitive areas, cleanrooms, and food manufacturing.

Both belt types are available with top slide flights or cleats. These paddle-like attachments are designed to aid in conveying product up inclines or provide for crucial pocketing or spacing on assembly lines. With synthetic belts the cleats are typically welded ultrasonically to the belt. These cleats are seen as permanent, so if the spacing needs to change, a new belt is needed. Likewise, if one of the cleats breaks it cannot be simply glued on; here too, a new belt would be needed. Plastic modular belt cleats are specialized modules with the belt brick and cleat injection molded into one solid piece.

This allows for easier changing of cleat height and spacing. If one gets broken, only the associated module needs replacing. Both styles come in a variety of heights and side profiles (including straight up and scoop style).

FDA-approved belts in both synthetic and plastic modular types are available for food manufacturing facilities. There has been a huge shift recently in the food industry toward the primary use of plastic modular belts. The driving factor in this shift is the ability to easily sanitize plastic modular belts. Because of the more intricate and interlocking belt design, one might assume just the opposite. However, the ease in taking

This is a food-grade fabric belt carrying strawberries.

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M o t i o n

C o n t r o l

Many synthetic belts can easily flex over small conveyor pulleys, such as this 20-mm rolling nose bar; this enables the transfer of small delicate parts between conveyors.

plastic modular belts apart or off a conveyor makes it easy to clean them and to clean the conveyor. With fabric belts, a belt-lifting device is needed on the conveyor to assist sanitization. This device lifts the belt off the conveyor so that the conveyor under it (as well as the underside of the belt) can be cleaned. But this process is cumbersome and nearly impossible with long or wide conveyors. That’s why plastic modular belting is increasingly common in such applications.

In the baking industry as well as meat, poultry, and seafood processing, plastic modular has become the standard. Even so, fabric belts are still widely used in the confectionery industry (because of product-release capabilities) and in pharmaceuticals (due to the size of the various medications and pills processed).

Fabric belts also remain the suitable choice in many consumer-oriented markets such as security systems in courthouses and airports, bottle and canredemption machines, grocery stores, and treadmills.

Because these conveyor types are commonplace in public venues, they are what most people think of when they hear the word conveyor. However, plastic modular belts are making inroads into the carwash industry, which was once dominated by chain conveyors.

High-speed applications as found in mail and logistic industries still heavily rely on synthetic belts because plastic modular belts cannot handle the speeds needed.

Choosing the right belting style for a given application might seem like a matter of personal preference, but the two belt styles that predominate in industry settings today have distinct advantages and disadvantages that may make them right for some applications but not others. Plant and design engineers owe it to themselves to discuss the relative merits and demerits with a knowledgeable conveyor-company representative or belting manufacturer and then choose wisely. DW

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Designs

reach new heights New technologies boost the reliability and efficiency of vertical motion designs (including an array of lifts and hoists) for setups of various sizes. In the feature, we get input from one industry expert on the subject and then outline five key parameters that dictate what makes linear actuators suitable for lifting.

Mounting orientation — especially when vertical — greatly influences which types and sizes of linear actuators are sufficient for a motion systems. Some actuators (because of their guide design) can support higher downward or liftoff loads than side loads; others can handle pitch and yaw moments more than roll moments. These factors dictate which linear actuators can run in vertical builds. The mechanical axis drive also determines actuator suitability for vertical setups. Ball and leadscrews outperform belts and linear motors in carrying loads vertically, but aren’t without limits.

To get more details on these special challenges of vertical applications — for everything from small jacks to large installations for gantry robots in AS/RSs — we spoke with Travis Gilmer of Thomson Industries — product line specialist for industrial linear actuators. Here’s what he had to say.

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Vertical motion designs (as this lift application powered

by Thomson WhisperTrak electric linear actuators) must work against and with gravity. That has broad-reaching implications for force ratings, lubrication methods, and more.

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M ot i o n

ABM Drives offers myriad travel motors and drives for hoists and cranes. A Profi-Line offers two travel speeds; pole-switching motors (8/2-pole) with special windings and rotors allow soft starts. Applications include vibrationfree transport of sheet-metal coils and moving components for assembly. In contrast, ABM’s Automation-Line motors deliver variable speeds and pair with inverter drives for programmable acceleration and deceleration ramps.

This makes for exceptionally soft starts and braking to minimize load swings. Automation-Line motor-drive setups are suitable for motion designs that handle glass, paper coils, and molds and other large dies.

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What are some technologies to increase the efficiency of vertical applications?

Gilmer: Typically, a vertical lift must resolve two components of force — lifting force and side-load (or moment load).

Technologies to handle those loads range from simple pulley or winch-type lifts and hoists (which only handle the vertical load) to more complex and complete lifting columns that handle both lifting force and side-loads. More complete technologies make for more efficient lifting action. Further integration of electronics (such as feedback sensors and controls) into older-generation lifting devices allows for turnkey setup for controlling the lift in a vertical application.

Additionally, the program includes an unprecedented DECONSTRUCTION feature.

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What are the unique challenges in terms of forces and acceleration on these vertical lifts?

Gilmer: One must consider both the load of what is being lifted vertically and any side or moment loads that the application encounters along the lift. Consider an ergonomic adjustable desk.

The application calls for a vertical lift. One challenge here is whether or not the load on the desk is evenly distributed. Lifting from the center may provide excessive moment loading and lead to failure, while lifting from both sides (with two devices) presents offset loading. The latter can in turn cause uneven lifts.

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Phone (352) 373-3578 • Fax (352) 375-8024 July 2017 DESIGN WORLD 59 E-Mail service@fabco-air.com

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HIGH LOADS. LONGER LIFE. EXTREME RELIABILITY. NH/NS SERIES LINEAR GUIDES NSK’s NH/NNS Series linear guides equipped with K1™ Lubrication Units deliver a maintenance-free solution to extend operating life. Engineered to deliver extremely high load ratings, NSK NH/NS linear guides can be designed for a wide range of applications. If you’re looking for smooth operation, reduced noise and increased durability, trust NSK.

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Secondly, there may be forces acting on the desk surface after or during the lifting process that introduce more uneven loading and moment loads for the lifting devices to resolve. This is why one typically sees bearing-supported actuation doing this type of lift. Actuators inside the linear-bearing structure handle the vertical load, while the linear bearing supports keep the structure level and stiff in the presence of uneven loading or sideloads. Keeping multiple devices in sync (given various accelerations and forces due to offset loading) is likely the most common problem in this application type.

What kinds of sensing feedback are common in such setups?

Gilmer: The most common design uses an encoder that communicates position feedback as a pulse-train signal relative to the home or starting position of the lifting device. One caveat here: It’s important to zero out the encoders before a lift is enacted, or else there may be uneven lifting or inaccurate positional feedback.

M ot i o n

What are common features to ensure safety in vertical setups?

Gilmer: A common safety measure is another integrated control called either electronic load sensing or current sense.

With this, an onboard controller monitors current draw on the lifting device and stops movement if an overload is encountered — or if an end-of-travel limit is reached.

Stopping motion in these scenarios ensures the device is operating only when told or when it should move given the application parameters. The load-sensing devices can be calibrated for alternate applications — for example, to allow more current in one direction (lifting) and less in another (lowering) to prevent any sort of pinching or damage to anything that may get caught underneath what’s being lifted. Once the movement is done, designs can incorporate

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static holding brakes to prevent the load from moving — even when power is lost.

Oftentimes these brake designs allow for a larger load than the lift can handle (referred to as static loading capability), which gives the application an appreciable margin of safety.

What’s behind the increased use of electric actuators in vertical lift applications?

Gilmer: Electric actuators typically resolve the vertical and lifting forces in these applications. They’re responsible for moving and ultimately holding loads in place after moves are done. The aforementioned controls and electronics are now integrated into electric linear actuators to ensure efficiency.

Once lifting forces are resolved, all that’s eft is to support the actuator with bearing surfaces (linear rails or guides) to prevent the side-loading that can potentially damage the electric actuator.

The design parameters Gilmer describe above can be outlined quantitatively as well. Consider the special case of lifting with a fully integrated actuator (including linear bearing supports — going beyond free hanging hoist and crane setups) on a moderately sized axis. As we’ll now outline, complete analysis of such vertical linear actuator applica- tions requires consideration of five design factors.

First parameter: Vertical load orientation Load placement and orientation dominate actuator setup in vertical arrangements. Actuators in such axes (whether pulling, pressing, or transporting the load) work against gravity during lifts and are assisted by gravity during declines. So, load on the motion design varies with these two motions. This affects guide-bearing and drive-mechanism life in addition to required motor torque. What’s more, the force of gravity on the load when starting and stopping will influence the inertia of the system, which also plays a role in both actuator selection and motor sizing.

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Note: Vertical applications benefit from the use of two bearing blocks on each guide rail to help the assembly support pitch and yaw moment loads during acceleration and deceleration. What’s more, actuators with two guide rails in parallel let the actuator handle roll moments that arise from unevenly distributed loads or external forces due to other processes. Wherever space allows, choose actuators that use twin guide rails with two bearing blocks each.

Second vertical-motion parameter: Buckling load When using a ballscrew or leadscrew in a vertical application, the full load is experienced as an axial force, which can cause the screw to bend and, eventually, buckle under the load. The buckling load depends on the screw’s root diameter, unsupported length, and end-bearing arrangement. The end bearing arrangement significant impacts buckling load. More rigidly fixed screw assemblies have higher permissible buckling load. So a screw with a fixed-fixed bearing arrangement has 16 times the permissible buckling load than that of a screw with fixed-free end mounting:

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Where Fc = Maximum compressive load, N; fb = End-bearing correction factor; d1 = Root diameter of screw, mm; and L = Unsupported length, mm. Loaded screws are in tension where the fixed bearing is top. This prevents excessive compressive forces on the screw. Most ball or leadscrew actuators have a fixed bearing on the driven (motor) end. That said, check the bearing arrangement and ensure the actuator is mounted so its fixed bearing is up.

Third parameter: Backdriving during drops Screws are more suitable than belts or linear motors in vertical motion axes because they can prevent loads from catastrophically crashing during power loss. That said, screws with lower internal friction and certain lead angles can back drive. (Note that leadscrews are less efficient so are less likely to backdrive.)

Quantitatively speaking, the likelihood that a screw assembly will backdrive is dictated by backdriving torque versus the assembly’s friction force — including nut drag torque as well as seal and endbearing friction. If backdriving torque is less than assembly friction, the load probably won’t cause backdriving:

=

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Where Tb = Backdriving torque, Nm; F = axial load, N; P = Screw lead, m; η2 = reverse efficiency — 0.8 to 0.9 for ballscrews. Here, efficiency when backdriving is often lower than that of typical setups. Check manufacturer specifications for efficiency.

Fourth parameter: Lubrication of vertical motion designs Some linear bearings and actuators have lubrication ports on multiple sides to accommodate access where obstacles impede access to one or more ports. www.designworldonline.com

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Sometimes assembly orientation also dictates which lubrication ports are usable.

Because gravity makes it challenging to keep upper linear-guide tracks or uppermost screw raceways lubricated, manufacturers usually outline special lubrication guidelines for vertical strokes.

(Usually use of oil is discouraged.)

What’s more, many assemblies that use grease lubrication have metered lubrication pathways to get the grease to critical internal surfaces — especially those at the top of the machine axis.

more drop-in interchanges

Fifth parameter: Contamination Vertically oriented actuators tend to shed contamination and moisture, so are less prone to corrosion than those in horizontal arrangements. That said, light particulates of fiberglass and ceramic are more likely to stick to linear-bearing surfaces and get pushed by end seals into areas of contamination buildup — which increases the odds of ingress in the linear bearings.

One solution is linear guides with both front and side seals. Another is actuators with sealing or covering mechanisms (preferably full-contact seals and not just cover plates) for protection against liquids and particulates. DW ABM Drives | www.abm-drives.com Optimal Engineering Systems (OES) | www.oesincorp.com Interlake Mecalux | www.interlakemecalux.com

from the air cylinder source

Bison Gear and Engineering | www.bisongear.com Thomson Industries | www.thomsonlinear.com

FABCO-AIR

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The modern economics

of renting test instruments

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The development of online instrument exchanges puts a new wrinkle into how to get the optimum use of test gear.

LEE TESCHLER EXECUTIVE EDITOR

When

a project comes up that involves expensive test gear like gigahertzrange signal analysis, statistics from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation show this kind of instrumentation is increasingly acquired through some kind of financing scheme. And the financing scheme of choice is often temporary ownership: EL&FF figures show 39% of all financed equipment last year was obtained through leasing or renting.

The usual way of obtaining temporary use of test gear is to employ the services of rental equipment firms. But the landscape for test equipment is changing because of online exchanges. Economy-conscious instrument buyers have long been able to get well-used test gear via eBay and similar internet sites. But newer online exchanges deal not in second-hand gear, but rather in state-of-the-art equipment that can be had through the same kinds of rental or lease agreements available via traditional rental firms.

The price is right Whether the equipment comes from a traditional rental firm or from an online marketplace, rental rates tend to be in the same ballpark. Industry insiders say the monthly rental fee is usually around 10% of the equipment’s list price. Equipment that is leased goes out for monthly fees that are generally between 3% to 5% of the price tag, over lease periods that generally range from 24 to 72 months.

That said, rental industry veterans say rental rates have eroded in recent years.

The reason: “Everybody is a rental company at some level,” says one rental executive who prefers to remain anonymous. “In addition to the big rental firms, there are used-equipment resellers who will rent equipment if they can. Even instrument manufacturers offer bridge-loan instruments at no cost to some of their customers, which effectively makes the loaners rental instruments.”

The majority of equipment obtained for temporary use is rented rather than leased. The reason is straightforward: Much of this gear is procured either to cover for an instrument out for repair, or to handle specific projects or contracts that have a set duration. Consequently, it is easy to build the monthly rental cost of the instrument into the bid for the job.

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Temporary ownership is also sometimes a means of taking instruments for a trial run. So says TestEquity LLC, a large distributor of Keysight, Tektronix, and Rhode & Schwarz instruments. According to TestEquity southeast sales director Sam Valdivia, about 20% of TestEquity’s business is in instrument rental. Many of the rentals or leases that TestEquity handles are a means of financing an instrument acquisition rather than a way to meet temporary needs, Valdivia says.

Indeed, the rationale for leasing rather than renting equipment tends to center on financing. Leasing arraignments are often lease-to-own deals. They are effectively used as a way to keep outlays low when expensive equipment is involved.

But there are considerations besides finances that bear on whether to rent, lease, or buy. For one thing, equipment that breaks down is treated differently depending on whether it is rented or out on lease. Rental companies are generally responsible for fixing their equipment if it breaks down in the field. The usual policy is to replace the broken instrument and give the customer a credit for any resulting downtime.

In contrast, the situation when leased equipment breaks down isn’t quite so straightforward. Often, leasedout equipment is under a manufacturer’s warranty. So the equipment maker may be responsible for repairs, much as if the company leasing the gear had simply bought it. And there may be extended warranties available when the lease is signed, as with any expensive capital purchase.

Interestingly, some big users of test instruments are adopting practices that blur the distinction between equipment that is owned and that which is only on-site temporarily: They are using equipment rental firms to manage instruments the company already owns. The reason is that large engineering firms sometimes find themselves with a warehouse full of test equipment they’ve acquired over the years. In an effort to get better 66

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use of such stockpiles, they sometimes find it beneficial to have an outside company manage the operation, which is where rental companies come in.

Explains one industry insider, “Particularly in aerospace, companies may buy instruments for a military project where the contract doesn’t permit the test equipment to be shared with other projects. So there is a lot of equipment that just ends up being shelved until somebody does the right paperwork.” Rental firms will keep track of such instrumentation for a monthly fee. The fee usually covers not just storage but also calibration, repair, and other maintenance issues.

Differentiating suppliers All rental firms can buy the same instruments for roughly the same prices. You might wonder how these firms compete with each another.

One way, according to industry insiders, is by focusing on specific industries. Concentrating their efforts on specific industries helps rental firms be top-of-mind when the need for an instrument arises. “After a time, you establish a base of customers with whom you have an incumbent mentality,” says one industry insider.

“A lot of customers are loyal because they have worked with you in the past and know there’s a high likelihood you’ll have the instrument available that they need.”

The thought, at least in the traditional rental industry, is that these sorts of close relationships between rental firms and their customers may make online instrument exchanges less compelling. “Right now instrument users are relatively close to the rental companies.

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They already know how to shop for instruments, and they know how to play one rental firm off against another. Big companies have buyers who call around and get the best deal.

So to some degree, the online instrument exchanges are trying to the place of the buyer in the instrument acquisition process,” says an industry insider.

One thing for sure: The process of renting an instrument online is quite different from working with traditional rental firms.

The equipment on offer for rental can be quite varied as well.

For example, consider the equipment available from Kwipped.com which describes itself as a B2B equipment rental marketplace where organizations rent specialized equipment from a network of pre-sourced suppliers. The Kwipped site carries not just electronic test equipment but also lab gear, light construction equipment, AV and pho-

The landscape for test equipment is changing because of online exchanges. tographic equipment, as well as surveying instruments, to name just a few categories.

People who pick instrumentation from the Kwipped site aren’t renting it from Kwipped; they are renting from a supplier that Kwipped has vetted. “We have standardized the rental contract so once an organization approves it for one supplier, the same contract can be used for other suppliers without having to get internal approval every

time. It works a bit like the Amazon store,” says Kwipped CEO Robert Preville.

As Preville explains it, the process of renting through Kwipped usually starts with a renter putting in an RFQ (request for quote). Kwipped matches the test gear spelled out in the RFQ with suppliers in the same geographical area. Though this may sound cut and dried, Preville says the renting process tends to be interactive; the Kwipped site lets renters and suppliers shoot questions back and forth about specifics of applications and instruments. Suppliers often make suggestions about what instrument to use, Preville says, because users sometimes don’t have the best information about what instruments handle specific needs best.

The Kwipped site handles many of the logistical details involved in a rental and has automated the pricing process through a proprietary quoting engine, Preville says.

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For example, the site factors in items such as whether renters are required to have specific amounts of liability insurance, the replacement value of the equipment, as well as the means of shipping equipment back and forth.

The fact that Kwipped renters and suppliers never actually talk to each may make the process sound a bit free and easy, but make no mistake: The instruments going through the Kwipped site are handled through formal business transactions, not through informal swapping. “There is a lot of discussion in the media about the sharing economy,” says Preville. “We don’t really but into that idea because at the end of the day, a lot of money can be lost if the equipment isn’t properly maintained and applied. We make sure the suppliers on our marketplace have domain expertise and can both setup and train users.”

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Used equipment The equipment loaned out by rental firms eventually becomes obsolete. Some rental test equipment has a relatively short life not just because it tends to be used more, but because of technological obsolescence. All in all, that leaves a lot of used equipment that must be disposed of. TestEquity, for example, says it starts selling off electronic instrumentation after about three years of use.

One place rental equipment tends not to wind up is in auctions on eBay. “EBay has a negative connotation in the electronic test world,” says Kwipped’s Preville. “A lot of professional users won’t buy on eBay because you don’t know who you are getting the equipment from.

So companies with used equipment to sell often communicate with each other through want lists. And the leasing firms would rather sell equipment in large lots rather than deal with one instrument at a time on eBay.” Though it tends to stay off eBay, used equipment finds a market through a variety of other avenues. And apparently a lot of it simply collects dust on shelves. “Every rental company as had serious initiatives over the last five years to figure out what to do with their used stuff,” says one industry insider. “By revenue, not a lot of equipment winds up stockpiled because the high-end stuff tends to get sold once it is finished as rental gear. Not much gets scrapped, and it doesn’t cost much to leave it on a shelf once it is depreciated.” DW References TestEquity LLC | testequity.com

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Lens sees clearly even through shock and vibration

Many applications demand more from a lens than the performance delivered by standard imaging lenses, which introduces the need for ruggedized imaging lenses. A new imaging choice is the Stability Ruggedized imaging lens.

Jessica Gehlhar, Vision Solutions Engineer, and Cory Boone, Optical Engineer • Edmund Optics

Historically, Industrial and Ingress Protection Ruggedized imaging lenses have addressed many environmental and application challenges. But as imaging systems increase the number of moving elements and as products move through inspection systems faster for higher throughput, these movements require greater calibration and image performance. As applications like factory automation, measurement, robotics and autonomous vehicles continue to expand and develop, the need for Stability Ruggedized imaging lenses will increase along with the progression of the industry.

Each of these applications presents environmental challenges--such as shock, vibration, and contamination--to imaging systems. Unlike lab and observatory setups, which tend to have relatively controlled environments, manufacturing facilities can be rife with environmental operating difficulties.

To address these challenges, ruggedized imaging lenses have a number of features and benefits. But to determine the best ruggedized lens for an application, first let’s clearly define the various ruggedization techniques.

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V i s i o n

Figure 1: Edmund Optics Cr Series Stability Ruggedized lens with all elements glued in place.

In the industrial arena, power tools are highly engineered products that reduce worker fatigue and improve productivity and quality. They are routinely used in all types of operations such as, driving (fasteners), drilling, cutting, shaping, sanding, grinding, routing, polishing and more.

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Standard imaging A standard imaging lens can be insufficient in some applications and environments due to the large number of moving parts within the lens assembly, such as the doubled threaded focus adjustment, the multi-leaf iris diaphragms, and their corresponding thumb screws. For example, the thin overlapped iris leaves are especially susceptible to high shock and vibration, which can cause them to easily spring out of place and be damaged. By replacing the iris leaves with a fixed aperture, the survivability of the lens can be greatly improved.

Another component of the lens that may come loose during shock and vibration are the thumbscrews. Although they may not completely fall off, they can be loosened enough that the focus changes, potentially degrading the image quality. On a machine vision inspection system, faulty image quality can increase the potential

to reject passing units or pass failing units.

Debris and contaminants in the area can compound these effects.

Ruggedization Historically, there have been two primary ruggedization techniques to address these environmental difficulties – Industrial Ruggedization and Ingress Protection Ruggedization.

In an Industrial Ruggedized imaging lens, many of the moving parts of a standard imaging lens are eliminated: the multi-leaf iris is replaced with a fixed aperture stop the focus adjustment is replaced with a simple single thread the thumb screws are replaced with set screws.

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V i s i o n

Industrial Ruggedization prevents many of the unintentional movements and focus shifts described above, and therefore maintains ideal image quality. Industrial Ruggedized imaging lenses can also prevent a user from accidentally changing the focus and iris settings.

In an Ingress Protection Ruggedized imaging lens, the lens assembly is either fully enclosed or sealed with O-rings (or RTV silicone) to withstand environmental contaminants. IP66 or IP67 environmental ratings are the most well known standards for particulate and water resistance.

Enclosures and seals can be especially critical for lenses used to inspect food quality. The lenses must withstand direct exposure to liquids and humidity in such wash down applications.

Many manufacturing, processing, and packaging applications are in unfavorable environments where dust, debris, dirt, adhesives or fluids are commonplace. Ingress Protection Ruggedized imaging lens are designed to withstand these harsh environments.

Stability ruggedization Some of today’s more demanding applications in factory automation, measurement, robotics, and autonomous vehicles levy additional requirements on imaging systems

beyond those of Industrial Ruggedization and Ingress Protection Ruggedization. In such situations, there’s another type of ruggedization: Stability Ruggedization. The Edmund Optics TECHSPEC Compact Ruggedized (Cr) Series Fixed Focal Length Lenses are an example of Stability Ruggedized imaging lenses.

While Ingress Protection Ruggedization prevents contamination and Industrial Ruggedization eliminates moving parts, Stability Ruggedization maintains (or stabilizes) optical pointing and positioning even after heavy shock, vibration and temperature change.

In a Stability Ruggedized imaging lens, the individual lens elements are glued into place to prevent them from moving within the housing (see Figure 1).

In an optical system, lens elements sit within the inner bore of the barrel. The space between the outer diameter of the lens and inner diameter of the barrel is typically less than 50 microns; decenters of even tens of microns are enough to significantly affect the pointing of the lens (see Figures 2, 3, and 4).

When using a Stability Ruggedized lens, if an object point falls on the exact center pixel, it will always fall there even if the lens has been heavily vibrated; therefore pixel shift is reduced and the image is stabilized.

Even in clean inspection environments with well-controlled robotic movements, there are challenges. Conveyer lines and

Figure 2: Unperturbed system where object crosshair is mapped to the image crosshair.

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Figure 3: Perturbed system after vibration in which lenses are decentered within the barrel and the optical pointing stability changes. Object crosshair is mapped to a different place on the image.

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V i s i o n

robotic systems move at higher speeds and handle heavier products than ever before.

Vibration comes from operation speeds and weight of the objects, or by the lines and systems located next to equipment. These high intensity environments create tough shock and vibration requirements for imaging systems, making the lens performance more critical.

Additionally, users have higher resolution and image quality expectations. As camera pixel sizes become smaller, even slight misalignments in imaging systems become apparent. Pointing and alignment changes that were once unnoticeable with a camera having 5.6 micron pixels may be very obvious with a camera having 1.4 micron pixels either over time or after a strong shock.

Stability Ruggedization is important in applications where the field of view must be calibrated, such as measurement equipment,

3D stereo vision, lenses used for robotic sensing, and lenses used for tracking object locations.

These applications often require the pointing to be stabilized to values much smaller than a single pixel.

In 3D stereo vision, two imaging lenses are used to image a pattern that’s been projected onto a 3D object. The two images are then compared to extract the 3D information about the object, but to do this the angle of the two lenses and field of view must be well calibrated.

Once calibrated, any shift in the pixel mapping will offset the information in the 3D model, affecting the measurements. Many times these systems experience heavy shock and temperature shifts during shipping or relocation. If the system were to require recalibration for each relocation, it would be costly to send a technician onsite, whereas setting up and calibrating the system once would keep costs down.

Another similar application is distortion

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Figure 4: Image crosshairs overlaid, red crosshair is image from Figure 2 and the decentered yellow crosshair is image from Figure 3. Example is exaggerated, as actual changes tend to be on the order of a pixel or less.

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Vision enabled robots rely on imaging systems to know where they are in space. As robots move to perform their task, the constant movement can cause pixel shift, affecting their ability to know where they are and their accuracy. Machine vision is also expanding beyond the final pack-out robots on a line. calibration. Information is not lost in an imaging system that has distortion - the information is simply moved. Distortion can be mapped or calibrated from your imaging systems to remove it. If pixel shift occurs, the distortion mapped is now incorrect; shifting the distortion calibration map can move your values affecting your accuracy.

Another recent challenge machine vision imaging systems face is an increase in traditional robotic imaging systems crossing over into autonomous systems, along with many embedded vision solutions beyond the relatively stationary conveyer line and robotic setups.

Vision enabled robots rely on imaging systems to know where they are in space. As robots move to perform their task, the constant movement can cause pixel shift, affecting their ability to know where they are and their accuracy. Machine vision is also expanding beyond the final pack-out robots on a line. After products are packaged and boxed up, vision-guided robots can transport and load them on and off of trucks - even the trucks themselves may be autonomous vehicles, guided by many sensors including vision.

Back in the factory and warehouses, there are more autonomous robots, driving or flying around to move products or inspect storage locations. Large distribution centers often carry a variety of goods, inspection and handling systems to handle a variety of weights, sizes, and packaging materials. As industrial machine vision systems make their way outside of typical applications and onto autonomous vehicles, once ‘controlled’ environments, no matter how challenging, are no longer controlled in many ways. DW Edmund Optics | www.Edmundoptics.com

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Feeling the

heat Miles Budimir • Senior Editor

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New thermal imaging cameras measure

temperature quickly and easily in a range of

applications and environments

Whether baking bread or heat treating manufactured parts or being aware of when something overheats (or preventing it from overheating in the first place), being able to measure temperature gives insight into manufacturing processes and aides in preventative maintenance.

A common tool for measuring temperature in both industrial and non-industrial settings is the thermal imaging camera. Thermal imaging has been around for decades.

Early cameras were bulky and expensive, but the latest offerings from manufacturers have evolved along with technology trends to become smaller, less expensive, and more feature-rich.

Thermal imaging itself has become more ubiquitous. Better and less expensive sensors and mobile apps have driven prices down for thermal imaging systems. What this means for the design engineer is the availability of more accessible and powerful diagnostic tools.

Thermal imaging cameras are following a similar path as ordinary digital cameras.

There are point-and-shoot type cameras and even apps for mobile phones all the way up to expensive, high-resolution cameras for applications requiring more accuracy. Still, two of their most common uses remain a stronghold; detecting mechanical faults (think bearings that are running hot and therefore about to fail) and energy losses (think drafty windows or a hot wire or cable.)

Industrial uses Typical of cameras for industrial uses is a new camera series from Teledyne DALSA. The company’s new Calibir GX series are long-wave infrared (LWIR) cameras for industrial vision applications. Built to achieve frame rates of up to 90 fps, the shutterless and small form-factor GX series are good for non-destructive testing in applications that include food inspection, parts and packaging, and electronics inspection.

The Calibir GX series come in 320 x 240 and 640 x 480 resolution versions and feature shutter-less operation. With radiometric functionality, the cameras can accurately measure temperatures between -25° C and 125° C. Advanced calibration lets the camera deliver images within milliseconds upon power-up.

The ETS320 from Flir is designed specifically for testing thermal properties of electronic PCBs and components.

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Physical dimensions of the cameras are 29 x 29 x 29 mm.

They are available with shutterless operation or with an integrated mechanical shutter, advanced trigger options, as well as a GigE Interface.

The influence of consumer electronics design and its focus on user friendliness of a device has also influenced the design of industrial products. An example of this is seen in Fluke’s new series of infrared cameras that offer on-screen editing of thermgraphic data.

Fluke’s TiX620 Infrared Camera joins other models in the company’s Fluke Expert Series. Its 640 x 480 resolution provides high measurement accuracy and a 5.6-in. high-resolution LCD screen makes identifying problem spots quick and easy. The large screen lets users identify issues and edit images directly on camera while still in the field, reducing time in the office that was previously spent optimizing images and generating reports.

The TiX620 provides users with EverSharp multifocal recording that captures multiple images from different focal distances and combines them into one image, displaying each object, from foreground to background, sharply for the best image quality.

The camera also features Fluke IR-Fusion technology with three different operating modes: Picture-in-Picture, full visible

Calibir GX series long-wave infrared cameras from Teledyne DALSA are designed for use in industrial settings such as inspection and packaging.

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Thermal imaging basics So, how does a basic thermal imaging camera work? Thermal imaging systems work by sensing infrared radiation. All objects whose temperature is above absolute zero (-273 K) emit infrared radiation, which lies just beyond the color red in the visible light spectrum.

Generally speaking, the higher the temperature of an object, the more infrared radiation it emits. This radiation can be detected by special sensors attuned to the infrared wavelength of radiation. These sensors only detect infrared radiation and not visible light. The visible image, or representation, of the infrared energy is called a thermogram.

Thermal cameras have traditionally been expensive. One reason is the

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lens. Thermal imaging camera lenses don’t use ordinary glass because it blocks longer wave infrared radiation. So they must be made from special materials, including sapphire and germanium, which are more expensive to fabricate than ordinary glass lenses.

Another factor impacting cost is the type of sensor used. There are two types; so-called cooled detectors and uncooled detectors.

In the cooled detector case, they must be cooled because of the semiconductor material used. Usually this is some type of cryogenic cooling.

On the other hand, uncooled detectors use materials that can operate at ambient temperature and thus do not need cooling.

These sensors work by detecting changes in electrical quantities such as resistance, voltage, or current which corresponds to levels of infrared radiation.

This is one of the reasons prices of cameras have gone down recently, due to new types of detectors and their lower cost than older cooled detectors.

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light, and AutoBlend. These different ways of viewing the data makes it easier to identify and report problems. On-board advanced analytics lets users adjust or enhance images right on the camera without additional software. Also included is Fluke SmartView software, which provides a suite of advanced tools to view, optimize, annotate, and analyze infrared images, and generate fully customizable professional reports.

Manufacturing and beyond Many manufacturing processes benefit from thermal imaging as well. For example, in electronic printed circuit board (PCB) design and testing, PCB layout and component placement are critically linked to heat dissipation and to a well-designed and functioning circuit board. This is especially true as electronic circuits become smaller and more compact, making thermal characteristics more important for overall successful design.

To this end, FLIR’s ETS320 thermal imaging solution for electronics testing in engineering benchtop environments is the first FLIR camera designed specifically for benchtop work in testing and analyzing the thermal characteristics of electronic components and PCBs.

The ETS320 combines a high-sensitivity thermal camera that’s engineered for imaging PCBs and other electronics with an adjustable, hands-free table stand to provide consistent, non-contact thermal testing through the entire electronics design, development and production process. With more than 76,000 points of temperature measurement, it offers the ability to monitor power consumption, detect hot spots, and identify potential points of failure during product development. The camera’s high measurement accuracy and its ability to visualize small temperature differences helps evaluate thermal performance, ensure environmental compatibility, and troubleshoot problems for a wide range of electronic products.

The rechargeable, battery-powered unit is quick and easy to set up, so product developers can have an immediate, real-time view into the thermal performance of their designs. The unit comes fully assembled and ready to connect to a PC running FLIR Tools software for detailed data analysis, recording, and reporting. The integrated test stand and sliding mount design provides optimal flexibility when imaging both large and small electronic components.

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With features like on-screen editing of thermographic data, Fluke’s TiX620 infrared camera is an example of more feature-rich and user-friendly thermal imaging systems.

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The Flir One, a thermal camera attachment for mobile phones, features 160 × 120 resolution thermal accuracy. It blends both a visual image and the raw infrared image, providing physical detail to the raw thermal reading.

Beyond uses for industrial and manufacturing purposes, thermal imaging is becoming readily available for general purpose uses as well. Earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, FLIR announced several products aimed at both the general user as well as professionals.

The Flir One is a thermal camera attachment for mobile phones, both iPhones and Androids. A step above the Flir One is the Flir Pro, which is more rugged and features a higher resolution sensor. And two more offerings, the Duo and Duo R, are designed for use in commercial drones. The Duo R features more accurate temperature measurement capabilities for commercial applications such as agricultural, construction, and building inspection, among others. DW

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How can

differential signals improve

encoder signals?

Sarah Walter, M.S., Electrical Engineering • Technical Sales Manager • Encoder Products Co.

As systems continue to increase in speed, electrical noise may cause faults and miscounts. Learn how differential signals can clean up these signals and prevent miscounts.

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An encoder is an electromechanical transducer that converts mechanical rotary motion into digital signals for the control of machinery. The encoder produces a square wave signal as the shaft rotates. Speed, position, servo feedback, and other factors can be determined through proper processing of this signal. As the electrical signal leaves the encoder, it is “clean” of electrical noise. However, by the time the signal reaches its intended counter, such as a PLC, it may be degraded and may not be “clean” enough for the system to work properly.

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Cable length is one of the main causes of encoder signal fault.

Ensure the length is only long enough for the application.

Signal degradation causes One of the common causes of this signal degradation is the cable length. All cable has small amounts of capacitance between its adjacent conductors, and this capacitance is a direct function of the cable’s length.

This capacitance tends to round off the leading edge on the square wave signal. If rounding is excessive, the receiving device may begin to miscount.

As a rule of thumb, use only enough cable to reach where you are going and use proper engineering practices when installing the cable (for example, to avoid routing adjacent to AC power cables).

Another common cause of signal degradation is electrical noise. The longer the cable run, the more electrically induced noise the cable picks up. If this noise becomes excessive, miscounts will occur. Electrical noise causes miscounting because the receiving device cannot tell if an input signal is a valid encoder signal or a noise pulse. Normally there is sufficient input signal conditioning, or filtering, to take care of this problem.

However, filtering at the input of the receiving device will reduce the speed at which the system can operate. Years ago, most counters had high frequency limitations of between 5 and 20 kHz. Speed is now the name of the game, and these frequency limitations are simply not acceptable in today’s production environments.

Avoid these issues with differential signals One method to alleviate the problem of electrical noise is using what is called differential signals. With differential signals, the output from the encoder is “split” into two signals that are exactly 180° out of phase with

Cable noise is a direct result of too long a cable length, which can cause signal miscounts.

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Application example of Encoder Products' 25T encoder installed on a Marathon motor. Offering precise counts and accuracy, this encoder is designed for extremely high-speed motors.

"In today's world, speed rules supreme. With speeds increasing all the time, using a line driver output circuit option may be just what you need for foolproof encoder system operation. " each other. This is also called complementary signals, because one signal is the complement, or mirror image, of the other. As long as the two signal conductors are next to each other, any noise picked up by the cable will have equal and in-phase components on each conductor in the cable. Using differential input circuitry, the input will recognize only the DIFFERENCE between the signals. As one signal line is in a high, or logic 1 state, the complement is at a low, or logic 0 state. The differential input circuitry will accept this as a legitimate signal, and the in-phase noise products are simply ignored.

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Electromechanical

To use this type of noise immunity, the encoder must have what we refer to as a line driver output circuit. However, having the line driver output circuit is only half of the equation. Transmitting the signal in differential form is not enough; it must also be received in differential form. To accomplish this, the receiving device must also have a differential input circuit, or what is commonly called a “line receiver” input.

Many people believe that by specifying the differential output on the encoder, their noise problems will simply go away. However, without the proper line receiver input circuitry, it is a waste of money, and may even be worse from a noise standpoint. If the differential output of the encoder is not properly terminated, ringing and other spurious oscillations will appear on the signal lines.

Encoder Products offers differential output circuitry on most models. It operates over the voltage range of 5 to 28 Vdc supply voltage. The older standard for differential signals (also known as RS-422) called for 5-V operation.

By raising the voltage in the system, a much better signal to noise ratio results. In a 5-V system with 3-V spikes, the spikes are nearly as great as the desired signal amplitude.

In the same setup with the voltage increased to 24-V, for example, it is easy to see that the same 3-V spikes can be easily ignored. However, it is important to remember the input circuitry must also be able to handle this higher voltage.

W HEN

DESIGNS DEPEND ON PRESSURE

Conclusion In today’s world, speed rules supreme. With speeds increasing all the time, using a line driver output circuit option may be just what you need for foolproof encoder system operation. DW

D E S I G N E RS

DEPEND ON

K ELLER

Encoder Products Co. | encoder.com

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ASRS Automated Storage Retrieval Systems

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A Supplement to Design World - July 2017

| istockphoto.com

Covering the latest motion and control components, equipment and systems in ASRS design

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A S / R S

Motion

and control objectives for automated storage and retrieval systems Automated storage and retrieval systems are a key enabler of the next-day delivery we’ve come to expect from online retailers. But like other types of automation, AS/RS equipment must meet the customer’s objectives for safety, footprint, and energy efficiency.

Danielle Collins • Senior Editor

It used to be that as you drove through industrial suburbs, just beyond cities such as Indianapolis or Little Rock, you would encounter huge warehouses and distribution centers, housing thousands of items for wholesale distribution or retail operations. And if you were a manufacturer of motion control components or systems, you passed right by these giant industrial buildings without a second thought, because you knew that virtually all of the stocking, picking, and transporting going on inside was being done manually.

•

AS/RS systems use both mechanical and electrical safety mechanisms to ensure the safety of workers and of inventory.

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Storing and retrieving 40 foot long sections of carbon fiber required conveyors that could extend into and out of the storage area. Guide wheels and tracks were used to create the necessary telescoping conveyor sections while keeping overall height to a minimum.

Fast-forward to the present, and the explosion of e-commerce over the past 10 to 15 years has caused a fundamental shift in the way warehouses and distribution centers function. The “Amazon effect” on consumer behavior has resulted in buyers – both B2C and B2B – who want their purchases delivered in shorter and shorter timeframes, putting pressure on warehousing and distribution providers to speed up and streamline their operations. The solution to achieve these goals, while maintaining profitability, is automation – or, more specifically, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS).

Warehouse operators, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities implement AS/RS equipment for a variety of reasons. For warehouses, the primary concern may be to maximize storage density in the available space. Distribution centers often see increased customer satisfaction through shorter delivery times, and manufacturing operations use AS/RS to improve workflow and maintain better control over inventory.

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manufacturers of AS/RS equipment choose motion and motion control systems, three important criteria stand out: safety, footprint, and energy efficiency.

Putting safety first When handling a load that’s located 40 ft (or higher) above the floor – whether that load is a 10 lb bin or a 500 lb pallet – there’s a significant risk of injury to people and damage to the product or equipment if something goes wrong.

And in many cases, the transporting portion of an AS/RS is moving at very high speeds, increasing the possibility of injury or damage.

Automated storage and retrieval equipment is intended to operate with minimal human interaction until the final point of delivery. But because of the loads, speeds, and heights at which these systems operate, human safety is especially critical. Not to mention the

safety of the product being transported.

A single bin or pallet of finished goods can be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

A combination of mechanical and electrical/electronic means are used to ensure safety in storage and retrieval systems. Rick Graff, Senior Product Manager at Intelligrated points out that vertical axes typically incorporate a friction break, providing a mechanical means of protection in case the vertical driving belt breaks. And Johann Tang, Product Specialist at Oriental Motor says that it’s typical for AS/RS manufacturers to require an electromagnetic brake on the vertical motor for protection in case of an electrical failure.

Safety is also addressed in the higher-level control system.

Matthias Heddinga, Head of Product Management – Storing at SSI Schaefer says, “The use of safety PLCs is standard on our AS/RS equipment. This is

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Mechanical components such as energy chains can significantly affect the moved mass and overall efficiency of an AS/RS system. The guidelok slimline P energy chain from igus is constructed from lightweight plastic components in order to minimize the weight added to vertical axes.

“Another benefit of minimizing footprint is that it often results in lower mass to be supported, moved, or managed, which ultimately results in lower energy usage.”

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especially important during maintenance and troubleshooting,” when human interaction is required. Similarly, Mark Duncan, Marketing Manager – Material Handling at Schneider Electric sees drive-based safety, with integrated STO (safe torque off), SS1 (safe stop 1), or other safe stop functions, becoming pervasive in this industry. And some AS/RS equipment manufacturers are moving one step further, by using motion controllers with safety functions that run on the fieldbus, replacing hardwired safety logic. This makes the system more cost-effective and more efficient.

Minimizing footprint One of the principle reasons for implementing automated storage and retrieval is to put warehouse and inventory space to better use. In fact, Heddinga of SSI Schaefer says that according to their customers, expanding storage capacity is one of the key objectives when setting up an AS/RS. So it’s no surprise that manufacturers of AS/RS equipment strive to use the smallest components and most compact systems possible.

For example, in AS/RS applications, you typically want a motor with a high torque-to-size ratio. “But at the same

time, you need to carefully define the motion profile to ensure you’re not oversizing the motor. A motor with a continuous torque rating that meets the application’s peak torque requirements is clearly oversized,” said Terry Auchstetter, Business Development Manager at Bodine Electric.

Similarly, when choosing linear guides and systems, compactness is one of the key criteria for AS/RS manufacturers. In shuttle systems, this typically means using telescoping guides on the horizontal axes, which retrieve and replace bins or trays from the storage rack. The application’s bin density strategy – that is, the number of bins that are stacked one behind the other in the storage rack, or the number of “bins deep” – dictates the reach needed by the guide rails, which can be as much as 3 ft for a single bin.

Rick Wood, General Manager at Rollon Corporation says, “Double-stroke telescoping rails are typically preferred, due to the long extended lengths that are needed. And it’s not uncommon to mount two rails on top of each other to achieve the requirements for both the extended length and the retracted length.”

Brian Burke, Senior Product Manager at Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation gives an example of a customer who needed to automate the storage and retrieval of carbon fiber segments that were 40 ft long. DualVee guide wheels and linear guide track were used to create doubleextending telescoping conveyor sections that could achieve the required reach while keeping height to a minimum.

Supporting equipment, such as energy chains, can also be chosen to minimize space. For example, E-chains with a tight bend radius allow the user to select cables that also have a small bend radius, which shrinks the overall height of the chain. Dan Thompson, Product Manager – Energy Chain at igus, points out, “In vertical applications, the E-chain, if left unguided, could sway and

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» Types of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems

A typical fixed-aisle AS/RS configuration. Goods are stored on fixed racks in totes or cartons. Operators can either pick the goods based on lights indicating the desired tote or carton, or the goods can be retrieved by lift and shuttle systems and delivered to the operator (referred to as “goods-to-operator”) by means of a roller conveyor.

Automated storage and retrieval systems use sophisticated controls to store, retrieve, and deliver materials to specified locations. The Material Handling Industry identifies six main types of AS/RS equipment, which can be grouped into three categories:

1 Fixed-aisle (F/A) storage and retrieval systems are constructed with one or more

aisles of storage racking, which are served by a moving structure – often a crane

or shuttle – that can reach each storage location and place or retrieve loads with

a telescoping arm.

• Unit-load AS/RS: These are generally the largest AS/RS systems, typically used for handling pallets or pallet-sized materials weighing 1000 lb or more.

• Mini-load AS/RS: Rather than handling pallets, mini-load systems handle totes, cartons, or trays weighing less than 1000 lb.

• Micro-load AS/RS: Micro-load systems deal with loads that are typically less than 100 lb, stored in small totes or trays.

2 Vertical lift modules (VLMs) have vertical columns of trays or storage bins

in both the back and the front of the module, with a mechanism in the center to automatically insert or extract materials.

3 Carousels are characterized by a series of bins that rotate horizontally

or vertically.

• Horizontal carousels: These systems rotate horizontally around a track to position the bin in the picking position.

• Vertical carousels: These rotate vertically and are typically enclosed on all sides to secure the materials being transported. The requested bin or shelf i presented to a window, and products are picked though this window.

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A S / R S potentially break. But guiding structures take up space, so igus has developed a guide tray that is low-profile and sits very close to the E-chain to minimize the overall width of the system.”

Another benefit of minimizing footprint is that it often results in lower mass to be supported, moved, or managed, which ultimately results in lower energy usage.

Increasing energy efficiency Energy efficiency starts with the selection of individual components and sub-systems. For example, when a product is being retrieved, the vertical axis is held in position for a certain period of time, and as Don Labriola, President at QuickSilver Controls points out, “To maximize energy efficiency, you should choose a motor that is able to hold the vertical load with minimal power.” He adds that another way to improve efficiency is to capture regenerative energy – especially from vertical axes – and feed it back to the power source or store it in battery packs.

Mechanical components typically contribute to energy efficiency by way of lowering the moved mass, and therefore, the inertia of the system.

“Vertical lifts that were once driven by chains have migrated to steel-reinforced timing belts and pulleys,” explains Graff of Intelligrated. As AS/RS equipment has evolved, the required speeds and accelerations of the horizontal and vertical axes have increased greatly.

“Chain drives can’t achieve the performance requirements of modern equipment, and belt and pulley systems have the added benefits of lighter weight and lower inertia than chain drives,” says Wood of Rollon. Other examples of mechanical components that can contribute to lowering energy consumption are E-chains constructed from lightweight plastic and guide rails with an optimized, weight-reduced profile.

“Energy efficiency is important to AS/RS manufacturers because it helps

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them deliver a better value proposition to their customers,” says Duncan of Schneider Electric. Maximizing energy efficiency requires not only using components and sub-systems that are themselves energy efficient, but also using those components and systems intelligently. This is best accomplished by monitoring the actual system requirements and comparing those with the expected performance. To this end, Schneider Electric offers a dashboard that allows users to monitor the energy usage of their AS/RS equipment. With this information, they can adjust the machine’s operation to match the process requirements, thereby improving efficiency. Schneider Electric also offers energy efficiency audits of storage and retrieval systems. For one manufacturer of automated handling systems, an energy efficiency audit, together with hardware and software adjustments to better match the machine’s operation to the required throughput, resulted in energy savings of 15 percent. l AS/RS Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation | bwc.com Bodine Electric Company | bodine-electric.com igus | igus.com Intelligrated | intelligrated.com Oriental Motor | orientalmotor.com QuickSilver Controls, Inc. | quicksilvercontrol.com Rollon Corporation | quicksilvercontrol.com Schneider Electric | schneider-electric.com SSI Schaefer | ssi-schaefer.us

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A S / R S

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to run new manufacturing and distribution center by 2019 Cimcorp North America of Murata Machinery (Muratec) will supply an installation for end-to-end material handling to Giti Tire at a new South Carolina manufacturing facility. Scheduled for completion in 2019, the turnkey Cimcorp system is called a Dream Factory and will include all the facility’s automation equipment and system control, project management, and integration. Singaporebased Giti Tire Group has an annual revenue of $3.5 billion and sells GT Radial, Primewell, Dextero, and Runway tires through retailers and distributors. Cimcorp is a supplier of intralogistics automation based on robotics and software. Besides serving the tire industry, the integrator of material-handling systems also sells robotic setups for order fulfillment and storage in food and beverage, retail, e-commerce, FMCG and postal-service industries.

Cimcorp will install the automated logistics system for making and handling new passenger car radial (PCR) tires in Chester County, S.C. — Giti’s first manufacturing location in the U.S. and its eighth worldwide. The facility will generate 10 million passenger and light-truck tires annually and 1,700 new jobs.

“We’re building an advanced tire-manufacturing facility with the latest automation technologies; Cimcorp’s Dream Factory will ensure throughput,” said Wu Zhicheng of Giti Tire and lead on the U.S. plant.

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• One Chester Country, S.C. facility will output 10 million passenger and light-truck tires

annually by 2019. The automated warehouse will run off Cimcorp’s Dream Factory setup for material-handling automation that includes raw material storage, transportation to manufacturing processes, buffer and product storage complete with AS/RS and high-bay warehousing (HBW), and warehouse control software to manage it all.

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Gantry robots are core to many automated-warehousing tasks.

The Cimcorp offering here is aluminum but just as rigid as steel counterparts — and has less mass for better dynamics and less energy consumption.

The Cimcorp setup will handle and store raw materials (including natural rubber, polymer rubber, belt steel, bead wire and textile ply) and components such as calender rolls as well as belt, ply and inner-liner, sidewall, tread, and bead carts. Its automation will include conveyors for unloading tire-building machines and transferring delicate green (uncured) tires to curing buffers; a miniload automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) for greentire buffer storage; and monorail transfers to deliver the tires to presses.

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Tire transport to testing area, buffer, and palletizing stations will also be automated.

A mini-load AS/RS is a smaller machine module that is usually (though not always) for the picking of items in trays or totes. Some industries call miniload AS/RSs either tote stackers or casehandling modules.

A high-bay warehousing (HBW) section of the Giti Tire installation will feature stacker cranes for raw materials and finished components.

HBW designates racking of about

40 feet or taller with some form of powered retrieval system to efficiently store similar batches of product, often with a direct supply from production stations as well. In most cases, HBW includes parallel isles of racks or shelves having thousands of storage locations.

How and where products are stored is determined largely by logistics software.

The powered retrieval system to access an HBW can take the form of anything from manually driven forklifts to AGVs to fully integrated AS/RS and conveyor networks.

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•

High-bay AS/RS and mini-load AS/RS setups from Murata will complete the Giti Tire intralogistics facility.

All automated equipment at the automated warehouse — robots, monorails, conveyors, stacker cranes and miniload cranes — will be controlled

by Cimcorp’s warehouse control software to ensure availability of all materials at all process machines. With control of manufacturing at each stage (including real-time data for production and inventory management) the Dream Factory optimizes use of the most precious equipment (such as building machines and curing presses) to boost production.

Gantry robots are core to Cimcorp installations for production transfer

as well as some AS/RS functions, and most of these run off electric motors instead of pneumatics (as in some legacy designs). Some gantry iterations for the tire industry cover lengths to 14 meters and X-axis travels to 80 m; in the Z axis, the bridge commonly sports a gripper that lifts one to ten tires. Here, gantry variations sporting aluminum mechanical structures instead of steel have better overall efficiency and acceleration. Such light-weighted gantry robots paired with performance motion controllers to run the axes and (through regenerative braking during deceleration) reclaim 30% of consumed energy by feeding it

back into the network (a dc power link or supply) for reuse instead of shedding as heat waste. Controllers in such setups can also cut power peaks during acceleration to enable use of smaller and less energy-hungry motor-drive combinations. More specifically, some versions have Rexroth servodrives that switch the motors to generator mode during braking.

Some iterations of Cimcorp’s gantry for tire handling — to both transport and stack blanks and finished tires — also leverage synchronization between a master of drive-based Rexroth IndraMotion MLD controls; slave drives; and other drive-based controls. Some use the open standard SERCOS III for real-time communications — including that for controller-to-controller (C2C) communication to enable quick control-network setup without centralized controls. This allows modular automated-warehouse concepts to simplify integration. l AS/RS

Cimcorp Group of Murata Machinery (Muratec) | muratec-usa.com • cimcorp.com July 2017

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Linear motion

for robotic handling in automated warehouses

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When designing and configuring an automated warehouse, one design goal is to keep the system as light and compact as possible. Depending on the size of the load being moved, there are two common types of automated warehouses. In lighter applications, aluminum structures can handle loads up to 100 kilograms, while steel structures are good for heavier loads of more than 100 kilograms.

Most traditional warehouses use forklifts with limited height, while automated warehouses make use of vertical space. Choosing the right components is key to making sure an automated warehousing system optimizes logistics management. And linear actuators are a good place to start.

Often used for the picking arm in automated warehousing shuttles, the inductively hardened raceways of telescopic rails deliver optimal running properties. They exhibit little deflection when subjected to heavy loads, even when fully extended.

One recent critical handling application in the medical industry used linear actuators to give this automated warehouse a new look.

•

Maximize space and use vertical storage when designing and configuring an automated warehouse.

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Pick-and-place robot moves along a Compact Rail axis to reach shelves positioned along the automated warehouse corridors.

Pick and place system for test tubes

“Depending on the size of the load being moved, there are two common types of automated warehouses.

In lighter applications, aluminum structures can handle loads up to 100 kilograms, while steel structures are good for heavier loads of more than 100 kilograms.”

This pick-and-place system moves test tube containers for blood tests in a refrigerated warehouse. The robot moves along a network of axes to reach shelves positioned along the automated warehouse corridors,

adopting a perpendicular trajectory and changing direction by 90 degrees.

Further complicating the situation is the possibility of irregular surfaces where the rails slide.

As the robot passes from one track to a perpendicular track, this type

• Automated warehouses

make use of vertical space, while traditional warehouses use forklifts with limited height.

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Often used for the picking arm in automated warehousing shuttles, our telescopic rails have optimal running properties due to their inductively hardened raceways.

of handling is managed with common recirculating ball bearings that need precise alignments. At the same time, configuring a sliding system with wheels or a set of bearings on the rails doesn’t guarantee the necessary stability and precision needed to place objects.

The task was to find the right solution for these handling operations and a reliable configuration for the entire system.

position, it unhooks from the main axis, and two additional sliders enter the perpendicular rails and guide the robot along the Y-axis. The convenient size of the compact rail bearing helps manage the passage of sliders from the rail sections on the carriage, to the perpendicular rail tracks with relative ease. Made from hardened steel, this system consists of hardened raceways and high precision radial ball bearing sliders. l AS/RS

Precise, smooth robotic handling Since the customer needed smooth, Rollon | Rollon.com accurate movements along the X-axis, Rollon recommended its compact rail for managing the system’s robotic movements and helping it reach and pick up test tubes positioned on warehouse shelves. Available with different profiles and a slider that fits into a rail profile, these linear rails come with hardened raceways that absorb any surface misalignments.

Rollon managed the passage from the X- to Y-axis by mounting another pair Connect and discuss this and of sliders on the carriage to sustain and other engineering design move the robot, as well as two sections of issues with thousands of rails positioned perpendicularly to the first professionals online set. When the carriage reaches the lateral

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AS/RS

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The NH/NS Series Linear Guide features a new ball groove geometry that distributes contact surface pressure more evenly to increase overall load rating capacity. This optimized design achieves significant increases in reliability and service life for high-precision linear motion applications. Delivering longer service life, increased production speed and higher load ratings, the NH/NS Series is an optimal solution for Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems.

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AS/RS

Linear Motion for Robotic Handling in Automated Warehouses Rollon is a manufacturer of linear guides, telescopic rails, linear actuators and Cartesian systems. Our products are designed to meet the requirements of engineers designing and configuring applications in industrial automation, automated storage and retrieval systems and robotics.

Rollon’s engineers are experienced in creating solutions and custom products for OEM’s and machine builders everywhere to solve unique and difficult applications.

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AS/RS

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Energy Absorption Products for AS/RS For over 50 Years Enidine’s innovative engineering and application assistance has solved your most challenging shock absorption and vibration isolation requirements for your material handling needs.

Each range of stacker crane has unique characteristics for the specific warehouse it is used, Enidine Heavy Duty (HD/HDN) Series hydraulic shock absorbers are available in a variety of sizes to provide the highest level of quality, safety and reliability for these automated storage and retrieval systems.

With state-of the-art manufacturing, on time delivery and unsurpassed quality, we can support all of your critical material handling applications. At ITT, we solve it.

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Prod uc t World Epoxy meets aerospace standards for flame retardancy Master Bond masterbond.com Formulated to meet Airbus specifications, EP93FRHT passes the twelve second vertical burn test per AITM 2.0002B and Section 7.1.2 of ABD0031, Issue F; the smoke emission test per AITM 2.0007B, Issue 3 in the flaming mode and Section 7.3.2 of ABD0031, Issue F; and the toxic gas emission test per AITM 3.0005, Issue 2 in the flaming mode and Section 7.4 of ABD0031, Issue F.

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Wide area sensors AutomationDirect automationdirect.com

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These area sensors from Micro Detectors (MD) are multi-beam, through-beam sensors with emitter and receiver elements used for detecting the presence of any object by sensing the light beam

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Prod uc t World Predictive maintenance information on HMI Mitsubishi Electric us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en The GT2107 Wide Series Human Machine Interface is an interface that monitors and controls machine components with a graphical touchscreen that connects to equipment such as PLCs, VFDs and servos. This compact HMI has a 7-in. wide display with 800 x 480 resolution for clear image quality and is equipped with a remote connectivity option through a VNC server.

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LM Linear Actuator / SAR Linear motor driven high acceleration and accuracy, unlimited travel.

KA Type Linear Actuator / SAR Ballscrew or belt driven, exible design.

High load slide guides NB nbcorporation.com

KK Type Linear Actuator / SAR Ballscrew driven, high accuracy and reliability.

SGL slide guides are high-precision, high-rigidity, high load capacity linear bearings with low friction, non-stick or slip mechanisms that provide smooth linear motion even under high loads. SGL Slide Guides range from 160 to 3000 mm lengths. Six types of blocks are available depending on the mounting space and desired mounting method. The three accuracy grades offer the right Slide Guide for every high-precision positioning device or high-precision machine.

The number of tracking grooves for ball elements or rows of rollers varies by type of glide KS Type Linear Actuator / SAR Ballscrew driven for clean room applications.

and width ranges. Both retained and non-retained ball elements are available. Product lines for demanding applications as well as products for standard industrial applications. Detailed drawings and tables provide dimensional and mechanical information. 3-D CAD available.

AC Servo Motors.

Hiwin D1 and D2 Servo Drives for Servo Motors, Torque Motors and Linear Stages.

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Prod uc t World Compact ring drive Nexen nexengroup.com The CRD 250B includes a built-in zero backlash locking/brake design that delivers twice the nominal torque without increasing the CRD footprint. It is extraordinarily durable, with a brake life of 1 million cycles, and requires little to no maintenance.

The CRD 250B is suitable for applications including cutting systems, automated welding, medical packaging, robotics, and semiconductor. The CRD 250B brake is spring engaged and pneumatically released so that it will default to lock in a power failure or emergency situation. Nexen has also made air line management easy with radial slots for cable/line routing and pneumatic bard fitting installed.

Highlights of the CRD 250B include:

Motor Feedback Systems for linear and rotative drives

• Holding torque: 800 Nm

• Maximum release pressure: 60 psi

• Thru hole: 31.7 mm ~ 1.25-in.

• Fully sealed IP65-rated housing

• E-stop capable

Absolute and incremental magnetic measurement ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Contactless and completely wear-free and maintenance-free Extremely precise, even if the scale is covered with dirt Flexible dimensioning of measurement lengths and diameters Easy handling, high accuracy of position for highly dynamic processes Safety SIL2 certified (optional)

SIKO Products Inc., Phone +1 (734) 426-3476, www.siko-global.com

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Purely digital motor feedback SICK sick.com HIPERFACE DSL interface complies with the RS485 standard and enables reliable data transfer between drive and motor in servo drive systems via two wires which are directly integrated into motor cables with a length of up to 100 m. Electric drives featuring motor feedback systems and an integrated HIPERFACE DSL interface have a distinctive outward appearance with just one motor connector. Hybrid cables that combine both servo and encoder elements are becoming increasingly popular. Signals coming from other sensors that are integrated into the digital motor feedback protocol are also transfered. Special processes and the application of pulse transformers ensure that the encoder signal is decoupled from disturbances created by the motor power cable cores.

Advanced Passive & Interconnect Solutions AVX offers a broad line of advanced passive and interconnect solutions in a wide range of sizes, styles, and ratings.

With an expanding portfolio of multilayer ceramic chip capacitors and a strong focus on quality, reliability, and R&D, AVX is committed to st provide First In Class Technology, Quality and Service, by establishing progressive design, manufacturing and continuous improvement programs for total customer satisfaction.

For More Information, Visit: http://www.AVX.com 1 AVX Boulevard, Fountain Inn, SC 29644 +1 864-967-2150

July 2017

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Prod uc t World 2k to 16k resolution image sensors Teledyne DALSA teledynedalsa.com/sensors Positioned at the heart of the company’s highest value line scan cameras, this class of sensors enables fast, high resolution monochrome, color, and near-infrared (NIR) imaging for document scanning, parcel sorting, glass, and wood inspection among countless other of the most challenging quality applications.

Sensors are available in resolutions from 2 to16k with the following features: Fast line rates – Data throughput up to 1.1 Gpix/s for improved productivity allowing faster scanning in less time.

True color imaging – 3-line Red/Green/Blue, 4-line Red/Green/

Self-clinching fasteners for attachment applications PEM pemnet.com

Blue/NIR, and bilinear subsampled color.

Common interface – Common pinouts, data interfaces, control interfaces, and mechanical connectivity enable easier design-in for multiple sensor solutions.

Multi-line scan with independent exposure control – the ability

to control the amount of light hitting every line enables dynamic white balancing, and flexible lighting for advanced defect detection.

The VariMount fastening system from PennEngineering enables the use of self-clinching fasteners for attachment applications in composites, plastics, metal, and any rigid material or panel. The system integrates a self-clinching nut, stud, or standoff pre-installed permanently into a steel or stainless steel base plate. The base plate with multiple radial holes effectively becomes a mounting platform, which

High bit depth On-Chip ADC – enables enhanced dynamic range

can be bonded or mechanically attached to virtually any

and low noise by minimizing issues due to quantization. Improved

rigid material. Once mounted, the pre-installed self-clinching

overall contrast for more image clarity

fastener ultimately is positioned where designed to accept mating hardware.

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Electromagnetic brakes and clutches Inertia Dynamics idicb.com Inertia Dynamics offers a full line of electromagnetic clutches and brakes, wrap spring clutch/brakes, motor brakes, controls and moment of inertia measurement equipment.

These products can be found in various

markets including material handling, food processing, and packaging machinery on applications such as conveyors, filling and cartoning machines and mixers.

Features of Inertia Dynamics Brakes & Clutches: • 12 V, 24 V, 90 Vdc or 120 Vac windings • Static torque to 250 lb-in.

• Bore sizes from 1/8” to 1.5” • Low current consumption • Metric bores & special voltages available

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Prod uc t World Workstation with 10-core Intel Core i9 X-Series processor BOXX boxx.com This is the first BOXX workstation to feature the new 10-core Intel Core i9 X-Series processor. This is Intel’s most scalable desktop platform ever, X-Series processors offer significant performance increases over previous Intel technology. One of those key Intel X-Series advantages is Intel Turbo Boost 3.0. This technology identifies the two best cores to boost, making the new CPUs suitable for multitasking and virtual reality, as well as editing and rendering high-res 4K/VR video and effects with fast video transcode, image stabilization, 3D effects rendering, and animation.

When comparing previous generation Intel processors to X-Series processors (10core vs.10-core), the X-Series is up to 14% faster in multi-threaded performance and up to 15% faster in single-threaded performance.

Planetary Gearheads Sesame servo gearheads offer all the typical planetary design solutions plus a whole lot more. With multiple designs in multiple quality and precision levels, we have the model that can meet your specific needs.

Zero Backlash Cycloidal The Spinea TwinSpin cycloidal reduction unit is ideal for precise rotary positioning where high torque density and system rigidity is required.

Right Angle Miniature Series

Rotary Flange Standard Series

Flange Series

• 7 sizes from 42-220 mm

• Round or Square Face Mounting

• 10 Sizes 50-300mm

• High Moment Capacity

• Precision and Economy Models

• Ratios from 3:1 to 1000:1

• Zero Backlash

• High Torsional Stiffness Phone: 630-980-1133 Web: www.diequa.com

Phone: 630-980-1133 Web: www.diequa.com half page ad 2017.indd 1

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Machinery drive

2-Axes yaw-tilt rotary system

ABB abb.com

IntelLiDrives intellidrives.com

The ACS380 machinery drive is part of an allcompatible drives portfolio designed to offer

Integrated two-axes rotary assembly

technically compatible drive, as well as an all-

provides high-speed micro-machining

compatible solution for people, process, business,

capabilities for complex 3D part

and environmental goals. The ACS380 offers an

geometries and for general testing,

intuitive control panel with an icon based menu

purpose pointing, scanning and tracking

for easy commissioning of the drive. All essential

applications for small optics, antennae

features are built-in as standard, which reduces the need for

and other sensors. The precision-aligned

additional hardware and simplifies drive selection.

The drive offers EMC and connectivity variants for ease of integration

and connectivity appreciated by machine builders that install hundreds of drives per year. There is a fixed space in the machine for automation and motor control, and the drive needs to meet the space restrictions and connectivity requirements (fieldbus, I/O etc.). It really is one drive that fits different needs easy, from product customization to volume customers.

system allows accurate positioning on a hemispherical surface.

System is equipped with high

performance rotary stages and offer stiffness and load capacity making them suitable for a wide variety of applications and motorized with high torque NEMA 17 stepper motors.

Positioning stage

Optionally, can be equipped with

rotary encoders mounted to the back of the stepper motor to provide closed loop

H2W h2wtech.com

servo performance with IntelLiDrives ServoStep controllers.

The VCS20-20-03-MC-01-XYZ is a 3-axis positioning solution where compact size and cost were important. Using voice coil motors instead of 3-phase brushless linear motors significantly reduced the overall size, weight, and cost of the system.

The VCS20-20-03-MC-01-XYZ is a closed loop voice coil driven XYZ positioning

stage. It is suitable for three axis positioning applications. It uses H2W voice coil motors NCC20-18-020-1A (XY Horizontal Axis) and NCC03-15-050-2X (Vertical Z-Axis). The XY Horizontal Axis motors have a 2.00-in. [50.8 mm] stroke; generate 2.0 lbs [8.9 N] of continuous force and 6.0 lbs [26.7 N] of peak force. The Vertical Z-Axis motor has a 0.25-in. [6.4 mm] stroke; generates 5.0 lbs [22.3 N] of continuous force and 15.0 lbs [66.8 N] of peak force. The 1.0-micron resolution encoders allow for precise positioning.

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Adhesives

Spotlight

Light-curing adhesive has good peel resistance This light-curing acrylate, Delo Photobond GB4033, offers good peel resistance for use in wearables and consumer electronics.

Designed for material

joints that require adhesives to be strong, flexible and tight, this low-viscous, one-component, solvent-free acrylate seals against water, humidity and dust. It can be used in temperatures ranging from -40°C to +120°C.

Featuring an elongation at tear of 400%, it is a flexible, tension-

equalizing product. Its elasticity also allows for good peel resistance on glass and plastic. The average peel strength on PEEK, PC or PET is 14 N/cm compared to 1 to 3 N/cm for standard acrylates.

It is fluorescent in blue light, making precise application control

of the seal bonding easy.

The adhesive cures under both UV and visible light. This large

wavelength coverage makes it possible to use transparent materials with low transmittance, like PC. The minimum curing time to reach final strength is four seconds at typical intensities of 200 mW/cm², enabling high-volume applications in short cycle times.

It can be stored at room temperature.

Delo delo-adhesives.com

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Adhesive

Master Bond Inc. Epoxy Meets Airbus Specifications for Flame Retardancy Master Bond EP93FRHT non-halogenated epoxy was developed for aircraft applications where stringent requirements for flame retardancy, smoke emission, and toxicity levels must be met.

This material has passed rigorous Airbus requirements including the following tests: • vertical ignition • optical density of smoke generated by solid materials • toxic gas analysis All three tests passed with flying colors, well under the permissible acceptable criteria.

Master Bond EP93FRHT is a two component epoxy that can be used as an adhesive, sealant and potting system. It is ideal for use in aircraft interior applications. To learn more about this specialty product, contact us today.

Tel: +1-201-343-8983 Fax: +1-201-343-2132

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MASTER BOND INC. 154 Hobart Street Hackensack, NJ 07601-3922 main@masterbond.com

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Ad I n dex

SALES

Key Bellevilles Inc. ........................... 118 Lemo USA ............................................ 86 Master Bond ................................. 31,127 Memory Protection Devices, Inc. .......43 Newcomb Spring Corp ........................33 NSK Americas ..................................... 60 OKW USA ...............................................17 ON Semiconductor ............................. 53 OPTO 22 ............................................... 40 PAVE Technology, Inc. .........................69 PBC Linear .......................................28,29 PHD Inc. ...........................................47,87 Prince Manufacturing Corp. ..............116 Proto Labs ..............................................9 QA1 ........................................................16 R+W America ........................................55 Rotor Clip Company, Inc. ................... 89 Rutronik ............................................... 42 SEW-EURODRIVE ..................................BC SIKO Products ................................... 120 Smalley Steel Rings ............................10 Sorbothane ..........................................16 Tensility International Corporation ...........................75,77,79 THK America, Inc. ...............................IFC Tolomatic, Inc. ......................................19 Tompkins Industries ...........................18 Tormach ................................................45 Trim Lok ................................................12 Turck ................................................83,85 Universal Robots USA, Inc.................. 22 Visumatics Industrial Products..........37 WAGO .....................................................67 Weintek USA, Inc. .................................78 Whittet-Higgins ....................................21

Aignep USA ......................................31,71 All Motion ................................................4 Allied Electronics ......Cover/Corner,3,84 Allied Moulded Products, Inc. .............76 Anchor Fluid Power ............................. 82 Anderson Metals ...............................123 Aurora Bearing Company ...................71 AutomationDirect ................................13 AVX ......................................................121 Baldor Electric ..................................... 36 Bimba Manufacturing Company ..... .Cover Bishop-Wisecarver ............................. 58 Bison Gear ...........................................IBC Branson Ultrasonics ........................ 126 Caplugs .................................................27 CGI ........................................................ 39 Del-tron Precision, Inc. .......................51 DieQua .......................................... 68,124 Digi-Key Electronics ............................15 Dunkermotoren ...................................35 Encoder Products Company ............114 Endress+Hauser .............................. 118 EXAIR Corporation .................................5 EZAutomation ........................................1 Fabco-Air ....................................59,61,63 Fluid Metering, Inc. ...........................121 Helical Products Company Inc. ............7 Hiwin Corporation ............... 115,117,119 HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution .....2 igus Inc. ............................................... 70 Imagineering ....................................... 20 Indium Corporation .............................25 ITT Enidine ........................................... 90 IXYS .......................................................41 Keller America Inc ...............................91

ASRS

ASRS

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Ag & Construction

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Motion Control

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No matter what your next challenge may be, our engineers at Bison are ready to help you take it on…head-on. We design gearmotors, reducers and drives that fit your exact needs, and provide superior results, for a variety of power transmission requirements. With our combined brainpower, we are here to fully support your efforts.

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= $?

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the cost?

Actually, a single-worm gearmotor costs a lot more than just the gears and motor.

You must also add the dollars spent every year in wasted energy.

A premium efficient motor may yield 2-3% energy savings, but you still lose 50% or more through an inefficient worm gear.

Solution: Use a helical-bevel gearmotor from SEW-EURODRIVE and get 96% gear efficiency. It makes a lot of cents!

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