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Joint development of Japan’s first anti-explosive remotely operated mobile robot

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT) have jointly developed the remotely operated “Sakura No. 2 (anti-explosive model)” robot. It features greatly reduced risk of electrical spark or heat creation that can cause explosions or fire when inflammable gas is present. It is the first mobile robot in Japan that can be remotely operated either wirelessly or by wire. Applications and demand will be developed for safe and efficient data collection, inspection and light work in environments that require equipment to be anti-explosive such as tunnel accidents and petrochemical plants. The robot is based on the “Sakura No. 2” robot developed by CIT that has built up experience in applications such as accident resolution support activities in nuclear power plants, and the advanced anti-explosive design has been realized by utilizing MHI’s broad technical capabilities in industrial fields. It received outsourcing support and assistance from the “Project to develop systems to handle the social challenges of infrastructure maintenance management and renewal” of The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). It also passed the anti-explosive model inspection of the Technology Institution of Industrial Safety (TIIS) in Japan. Further, it is planned to obtain anti-explosive certification based on the ATEX Directive that is widely adopted in Europe and around the world. In order to make the robot anti-explosive, the pressure resistant anti-explosive casing that houses components such as the lithium ion batteries and battery management system (BMS). The casing for the electrical parts such as the motor and controller have a higher internal pressure than the external atmosphere, giving a two-fold internal pressure plus pressure resistant anti-explosive protection. This means that inflammable gases cannot penetrate to the interior of the casing due to the pressure difference, and if the casing internal pressure drops, for example if the […]

AUTOMATICA 2016 Shows the Future 4.0

AUTOMATICA 2016 (June 21 to 24) exceeded all expectations: around 45,000 visitors (+ 30 percent) and 839 exhibitors from 47 countries (+ 16 percent). One-third of the visitors came from foreign countries. Managing Director Falk Senger: “AUTOMATICA has reached a new dimension. It showed the future of production with deep insights into the possibilities of digitalization, human-robot collaboration and professional service robotics.” Automation and robotics make Industry 4.0 possible in the first place. Tremendous energy could be felt at the trade fair thanks to the topic. Service robotics recorded a big increase at AUTOMATICA and provided a fascinating insight into the everyday life of tomorrow: the care car in a hospital or the inventory robot for department stores, service robots as driverless transport systems or assistants for people. New production methods – new work processes: Work 4.0 is a main topic at AUTOMATICA. Man and machine will work together in the team in the future. People are the focus with their emotional intelligence, and robots assist them. Interest from China was never so great. The number of visitors and exhibitors has more than tripled. The Chinese automation boom is becoming increasingly noticeable at AUTOMATICA. A total of 13 delegations came just from China. Song Xiaogang, General Secretary of the China Robotics Industry Alliance (CRIA): “AUTOMATICA is absolutely one of the leading trade fairs for Automation and Robotics, which gives a very strong impression to the Chinese visitors and exhibitors. Through communication and exchange, CRIA delegation believe, there is a bright future of Sino-German cooperation in automation and robotics.” Full halls and a great atmosphere: 96 percent of the exhibitors and 98 percent of visitors evaluate the trade fair as excellent, very good or good. Sixty-eight percent of visitors believe that the trade fair will increase in importance in the future. […]

New version of SIMATIC PCS 7 enhances production processes

Siemens has further developed its SIMATIC PCS 7 process control system and released Version 8.2 to meet the rising demands of automation. This version comes with a range of new functionalities to improve user convenience as well as the performance and efficiency of the process control system over the entire life cycle of process plants – from the planning stage through to maintenance. Plant engineers will benefit from more efficient engineering solutions, while operators will experience greater convenience in daily operations due to greater system availability and lower overall running costs. Jessica Liao, Senior Consultant for Southeast Asia, Process Automation, Siemens Pte Ltd, said, “It is critical for businesses to respond swiftly to market requirements that are constantly changing. An integrated control system enables operators to have a holistic view of the entire work process and be able to make informed decisions more efficiently to reduce downtime. With the new version of SIMATIC PCS 7, our customers will have an edge in today’s competitive manufacturing environment.” “The Southeast Asia region is an important market for Siemens and we have a proven track record in industries such as Oil & Gas, Pharmaceutical, Glass as well as Water, to name a few. We look forward to working even more closely with our customers to ensure that all operations are running smoothly and efficiently with the new offerings of SIMATIC PCS 7,” added Liao. Mobile plant monitoring To allow production processes to run with the greatest possible stability and efficiency, Version 8.2 of SIMATIC PCS 7 offers individual, networked and reliable plant monitoring. Web systems can now also be operated and observed over the Intranet/Internet. For this, operators can use extensive configuration possibilities for individual and secured online access to the operating and monitoring level of a production plant, enabling the implementation of […]

Simplifying manufacturing processes using CAD

As we all know, manufacturing is the production of merchandise for sale; using labor, machines and tools. Manufacturing process management refers to the technologies and methods that determine how labor, machines, and tools are put to use during production. For manufacturers, planning manufacturing processes can pose some difficulties. Hence the need for large enterprises to hire project managers. But for small manufacturing businesses, hiring a project manager may not be practical. And this is where the need to consider other planning and execution techniques come in. Using CAD for Product Design Designing a functioning prototype is the first stage of the product manufacturing process and with the aid of 3D CAD applications like Autodesk’s Maya or Microstation, a realistic representation of your product can be designed, analysed and have its functionalities tested to gauge its performance once built. These techniques are being used every day by both major corporations and SMEs to save cost as the following case study will show. GINTIC Institute of CIM—a national Research & Development (R&D) Center and a BIM company in Singapore—have continuously made use of CAD techniques to simplify their production processes in multiple ways. In 2014, GINTIC commenced the design of knee-joint prosthesis uniquely suited to Asians in order to reduce muscle strain cue to continuous kneeling. To accomplish this, the Singaporean institute made use of CAD applications to design the prototype and test its efficacy in order to cut cost before production. This new project adds to GINTIC’s use of CAD as a product design tool and its previous success in using CAD to design jewelries and a lightweight, diskless laptop computer means this new goal is certainly achievable with the aid of computer aided design techniques. Using CAD for Product Testing Computer aided design also helps simplify the processes involved […]

AUTOMATICA 2016 -A new robot generation

For the first time, this year, all renowned robotics manufacturers with innovations across the board are at AUTOMATICA in Munich from June 21 to 24. Gone are the days when progress was defined by improvements in details. This time solutions are signaling a new era of automation with new approaches that do justice to the demands of human-robot collaboration (MRC) and Industry 4.0. The robotics business around the world is booming. The World Robot Association IFR reported a global sales record of eight percent in 2015 in the industrial robot sector. The number of industrial robots sold worldwide reached the mark of 240,000 units for the first time. “The worldwide sales of industrial robots in 2015 confirmed that we are in very exciting times for the robot industry,” Per Vegard Nerseth, Managing Director at ABB Robotics, stated. “With the start into 2016, the traditional drivers in our industry are being complemented by a huge demand for solutions in the Internet of Things (IoT) as well as the services & people areas. I believe that this development will result in a new record year.”MRC: A new generation of robots is ready for the market Collaborating robots are paving a revolutionary new way for SMEs to automate their production on an optimum technical level and consequently secure their competitive position while cutting costs. Manufacturers are taking different approaches in developing their collaborative robots. While one faction, including ABB, Kuka, Universal Robots, Yaskawa and Co. relies on special machines for MRC, Stäubli and Fanuc design their standard robots for MRC applications. A big advantage for AUTOMATICA visitors: All major robot manufacturers are represented at the trade fair, which enables a direct comparison of these solutions. Industry 4.0 and MRC Stäubli will highlight the performance of his new TX2 six-axle series in a variety […]

3D ScanArm for reverse engineering and CAD applications

FARO Technologies has launched the FARO Design ScanArm, a portable 3D scanning solution tailored for 3D modeling, reverse engineering, and CAD-based design applications across the product lifecycle management (PLM) process. As a limited-time promotional offer, the FARO Design ScanArm will be bundled with 3D System’s Geomagic software at a reduced launch price. The available software options have capabilities that range from an automatic meshing software that delivers ready-to-use files without any post-processing to a full-featured reverse engineering software that combines history-based CAD with 3D scan data to create feature-based, editable solid models compatible with all major CAD platforms. The FARO Design ScanArm was purposefully-engineered to meet the needs of the Product Design market. By combining FARO’s best-in-class 3D scanning technology with 3D System’s Geomagic software offerings, the Design ScanArm provides a turnkey solution that allows users to quickly digitise any part or object, easily design or modify reverse engineered models, create manufacturing-ready CAD models, and verify design intent of prototype products.” The FARO Design ScanArm features optically-superior blue laser technology with fast scanning speed to deliver high-resolution point cloud data and the ability to seamlessly scan challenging materials without the need for spray or targets. The device is lightweight and maneuverable for convenient desktop mounting in the design studio or engineering lab. The Design ScanArm features a simplified user interface that makes it easy to operate regardless of skill level or 3D scanning experience. ScanArm is the ideal 3D scanning solution for any organisation that may have the need to manufacture parts without existing CAD models, develop aftermarket products that need to fit tightly with existing products, reverse engineer legacy parts for design changes or replacement, create digital libraries to decrease inventory and warehouse costs, design aesthetically pleasing, freeform surfaces, or leverage the power of rapid prototyping. www.faro.com/DesignScanArm/sg.

Factory Robo-Imager, factory automation solution

Factory Robo-Imager is a system that combines the FARO Factory Array Imager with a collaborative-robot to provide highly adaptable, safe and automated in- and near-line inspection solutions. This product line pairs the FARO Factory Array Imager, with a human-collaborative robot in two configurations: either a fixed installation or turnkey mobile station. The Robo-Imager fixed installation can be mounted anywhere in the factory and deliver automated measurements while the Robo-Imager Mobile is the same Robo-Imager mounted on an instrumented cart that can be quickly moved to wherever measurement tasks are required. The FARO Factory Array Imager is a new metrology-grade 3D sensor with blue light technology, capable of quickly capturing high-resolution measurement data for dimensional inspection on parts, assemblies and tools. When coupled with a collaborative-robot, the Robo-Imager provides a turnkey solution to automate the inspection and verification of parts at any location in the production environment. “The manufacturing world is quickly evolving, with smart factories, LEAN thinking, and emphasis on automation, driving the need to shift quality control and inspection processes closer to the production line,” stated Dr. Simon Raab, President and CEO of FARO Technologies. “To that end, FARO is committed to developing new metrology solutions for Factory Automation. The Robo-Imager does just that, moving metrology from the QC lab to the shop floor for improved productivity.”

How the AoThings will help unlock the value of the IoT

While the Internet of Things (IoT) offers awe-inspiring possibilities, companies must prepare to reap the full benefits by ensuring they have adequate analysis capabilities, according to Teradata. Alec Gardner, general manager, advanced analytics, ANZ, Teradata, said, “A comprehensive study in June 2015 by the McKinsey Global Institute concluded that IoT is one of those rare technology trends where the hype may actually understate the full potential. (1) “At the moment, companies are tapping into IoT to achieve greater reliability, resource efficiency, and cost reduction. The results are small, often benefiting a single person or process. But this will change when visionary organisations start to think more competitively and much bigger. This will lead to a new approach called the Analytics of Things. “By adopting the Analytics of Things, companies will aggregate data, then use advanced analytics to give the data greater context, making it part of a richer picture. For example, monitoring a patient’s heart rate across a period of time will provide some insight into their heart health, letting doctors recommend appropriate treatments for that individual. Aggregating the same data from thousands of people instead of just one lets researchers get a fuller picture. They can use that ongoing body of insights to support better treatments and medicines, ultimately saving more lives.” Savvy organisations are already starting to use the Analytics of Things to make the IoT more powerful, creating new revenue streams. For example, Teradata customer Siemens uses it to move from reactive to predictive maintenance on trains, reducing failures. As a result, Siemens has changed its business model, moving from selling trains to selling the performance of trains over a fixed period of time. The company does this by managing maintenance so customers don’t experience any appreciable unplanned downtime. Analysing data from train component sensors, the […]

Transparent metal touchscreens

A touchscreen is an essential feature of many modern devices, but the material that gives most screens their touch sensitivity is in short supply. By adapting newspaper printing technology, researchers have developed a low-cost alternative capable of printing conductive metal ink in lines so thin that they are invisible to the naked eye. A film of this fine metal mesh could potentially form the touch-sensing layer of future smartphone screens. Most touchscreens rely on an electrically conductive material called indium tin oxide (ITO). As skin is conductive, touching the screen alters its electric field, which is detected as a tap. Crucially for a surface layer of a screen, ITO is also optically transparent. Very few materials possess this combination of properties. Industry has responded to the spike in indium prices accompanying the rising demand for ITO by intensifying the search for alternative transparent conductive materials. XinQuan Zhang from the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology and his co-workers are working on a promising alternative touch-sensitive film: a printed, mesh-like pattern of ultra-fine metal lines, created using roll-to-roll gravure printing. Gravure printing traditionally uses an etched mould to transfer ink on to paper. Here, the etched cylindrical mould instead transfers a precise pattern of conductive metal ink on to the touch-sensing substrate. Light from the screen passes through the holes in the printed mesh. Before this study, the finest lines that could be printed this way were approximately 50 micrometres wide, which blocked more than a third of the screen’s light. Zhang and his co-workers have overcome this limitation through diamond micro engraving. Instead of using a laser to etch the grid-like pattern of tiny inkwells into the printer’s cylindrical mould, Zhang uses a tiny diamond-tipped cutting tool to pattern the roller using ultraprecision machining technology. Originally developed to manufacture lenses and […]

3D mapping more accurate

PIC CAP:This new mapping software technology allows monthly updates and handling of massive data and can cater for the needs in the big data era. It can be used in topographic mapping and 3D modelling of cities for smart city development. A new 3D mapping model integrates multi-platform satellite/aerial imagery and laser scanning data to achieve a higher accuracy in mapping products by 26-66% to centimetre level compared to the conventional mapping technologies. The two major traditional 3D mapping techniques are photogrammetry using satellite/aerial imagery and laser scanning. The former offers higher accuracy in the horizontal direction while the latter shows higher accuracy in vertical direction. They may produce errors at different levels and there are usually inconsistences between the mapping products derived from them. To eliminate data errors and integrate the advantages of the existing technologies, Prof. Wu Bo at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)’s Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics developed a “Novel Integrated 3D Mapping Model”. Integrating multi-platform satellite/aerial imagery and laser scanning data, the technology greatly improved the accuracy in mapping products by 26-66% to centimetre level. The cost of the mapping products produced by this model is more or less the same as the satellite imagery. This new technology allows monthly updates and handling of massive data and can cater for the needs in the big data era. It can be used in topographic mapping and 3D modelling of cities for smart city development. For example, it is particularly useful in analysing ventilation, visibility and sunlight distribution between buildings. The invention won a Gold Medal and Special Merit Award from the Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University, Russia, at the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva.

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