Manufacturing Technology

Universal Robots helps Betacom light up NZ

A New Zealand outdoor lighting manufacturer has invested in robotic technology to ensure it stays ahead of the competition curve. Established in 1988, Betacom Limited designs, manufactures and assembles a range of road, area and tunnel lighting products which are sold throughout New Zealand and Australia. The company’s 3,500 square metre manufacturing and product design facility in Christchurch applies many technologies to ensure the highest quality product is delivered to its customers. However, Betacom wanted to increase its automation capabilities so they sought out the advice and counsel of project engineering group, Design Energy. To assist in finding an affordable and flexible solution, the team at Design Energy quickly resolved to apply a UR10 robot which is developed and manufactured by Universal Robots, a leader in the new industrial collaborative robotics market. The UR10 was deployed to take over specialised production line tasks and support higher volume manufacturing runs. The enhanced automation enabled Betacom to service new high volume jobs with unparalleled precision due to increased orders for its new range of LED road lighting products from city councils throughout the country. Quality assurance One of the major factors in Betacom’s decision to deploy the UR10 robot was its ability to deliver a quality product. Using a multi-head vacuum gripper the UR10 picks a circuit board from a rack and positions it on an aluminium pressing. The robot then picks six LED lenses and locates them onto the circuit board. The final step is to pick up a pneumatic screwdriver with auto feed screws and fasten the lenses and circuit board to the aluminium pressing. Given the lenses need to be positioned in different orientations to ensure the best spread of light, Betacom was very focused on ensuring no mistakes were made during the production process to guarantee the delivery […]

Delcam enhances section measurements in PowerINSPECT software

Delcam has released the 2016 version of its PowerINSPECT inspection software, the world’s leading hardware-independent 3D inspection solution. The new release includes greatly enhanced options for section measurement, more comprehensive collision avoidance, improved point cloud inspection, the ability to add notes to reports, and improved user control of CNC surface inspection routines. For video demonstrations of the new options, please go to www.delcam.tv/pi2016/lz/en/index.asp Section inspection has been improved with easier creation of sections, better visualisation and enhanced reporting. The enhanced options for section editing in PowerINSPECT 2016 include a slider that can be used to move the section through the part with real-time updating of the CAD view. A specific value for the section intersection can still be entered if required. New graphics options help with visualisation and reporting. In the CAD view, the default option highlights the section cut and displays a semi-transparent representation of the material in the foreground, providing an accurate 3D visualisation of the section in place on the part. During section creation the shading is updated dynamically as the section moves through the model. Alternatively, the near side can be hidden completely, or the complete CAD model can be shown in a solid colour as before. Once the desired section has been chosen, the inspection path can be generated automatically. The points generated can be edited if necessary. The section can also be viewed and reported as a 2D true view of the section profile that is currently selected. As with other PowerINSPECT measurements, the results of the section inspection can be viewed as spot confetti, deviation lines or vector lines. The results can be displayed either on their own or as part of a larger inspection sequence. Automatic collision detection was introduced in PowerINSPECT 2015, with probe paths adjusted automatically when a direct move […]

ALMA sheetmetal software – More profitable nesting for PALFINGER

Every year PALFINGER processes around 20,000 tons of high-tensile steel panels to manufacture loading cranes and other loading and hoisting equipment. Off-cut optimisation is therefore a key concern shared by the whole management team in the company. Thanks to Alma’s act/cut software, the sheet metal plates to cut can be automatically nested in half of the time with minimised off-cut. “The fact that Alma is internationally established has been a key criterion when we decided to choose act/cut software… Today, act/cut has become our group-wide nesting standard solution” “The software was not only faster but also almost as efficient as an experienced user… We estimated time savings of 50 percent throughout all plants” The more little parts of different geometry are contained in the nesting orders, the higher the off-cut. When processing big parts, we sometimes have considerably less than 20 percent”. To minimise the off-cut rate orders may be over-nested. If there is still some space left on the panel, the system places additional parts beyond the scope of the order. In addition to that orders may be declared as filler parts, in order to fill panels showing voids where necessary. Alma has programmed these additional functions especially for PALFINGER. Time savings of more than 50 percent The users have become much more efficient thanks to the automatic nesting with act/cut. “Orders, which were formerly manually nested by an operator during his working time, today barely take one third of the operator’s time. We estimated time savings of 50 percent throughout all plants”. Thanks to the time savings, PALFINGER is able to process with the same team much more nesting orders than in the past and accept special tasks, which can’t be automated as easily. The probably most important benefit from the company’s point of view is the stability […]

IIoT gateways allow communication with power grids

A new family of Industrial IoT gateways for Smart Grid applications, the Anybus SG-gateways, enable communication between industrial applications and energy protocols. This communication is the very basis for the so called “Smart Grid” where power plants and energy equipment are interacting with industrial applications. The SG-gateways are yet another example of how HMS realizes the Industrial Internet of Things. Anybus SG-gateways make the Smart Grid possible The new SG-gateways enable communication between industrial devices running Modbus, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, or M-Bus and energy protocols (IEC61850 and IEC60870-5-104). This means that a power plant control room which is using the IEC protocols, can connect to industrial devices such as generators, drives, filters and protection equipment. Since the SG-gateways can act both as a master and slave, it is also possible to connect Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) which communicate over IEC-standards, to industrial networks, allowing them to be controlled by PLCs from e.g. Siemens, Rockwell or Mitsubishi. The Anybus SG-gateways can also be used to enable remote control and management of electrical equipment in power grids. Data is sent over Ethernet or the 3G cellular network using the telecontrol protocols, after which the data can be presented by a software application in the power plant control room. Different versions – same configuration The Anybus SG-gateways are available in different versions for handling various industrial networks and communication standards. These include I/O, Modbus, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, or M-Bus. All versions use the same web-based configuration tool where commands are dragged and dropped, allowing for a quick and easy installation. No additional engineering tools are needed, only a standard browser. Anybus SG-gateways are very powerful tools for handling the conversion between energy and industry standards. The Smart Grid can offer substantial energy savings and optimisations and there is a great demand in the […]

Smart chip tells you how healthy your battery is

In the picture: NTU Prof Rachid Yazami (left) holding his smart battery chip with research fellow Sohaib El Outmani holding a prototype testing device. Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have developed a smart chip which can tell you how healthy is your battery and if it is safe for use. If the battery in your smartphone or electric vehicle is faulty and is at risk of catching fire, this smart chip will warn you. Current warning systems only alert users when the battery is already overheating which may be too late for any remedial action. Developed by Professor Rachid Yazami of the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N), this smart chip is small enough to be embedded in almost all batteries, from the small batteries in mobile devices to the huge power packs found in electric vehicles and advanced aeroplanes. A pioneer in battery research, Prof Yazami won the 2014 Draper Prize for Engineering awarded by the Washington-based National Academy of Engineering for being one of the three founders of lithium-ion battery. The prestigious award recognised his discovery in the 1980s in making lithium-ion batteries safely rechargeable, paving the way for its universal use today. “Although the risk of a battery failing and catching fire is very low, with the billions of lithium-ion batteries being produced yearly, even a one-in-a-million chance would mean over a thousand failures,” explained Prof Yazami, who holds more than 50 patents and has authored more than 200 scientific papers, book chapters and reports on batteries. “This poses a serious risk for electric vehicles and even in advanced aeroplanes as usually big battery packs have hundreds of cells or more bundled together to power the vehicle or aircraft. If there is a chemical fire caused by a single failed battery, it could cause fires […]

PowerMILL chosen for new additive/subtractive service from Star Prototype

Delcam’s PowerMILL CAM software has been chosen for a new service from Star Prototype that combines additive and subtractive manufacturing. The new service, which Star Prototype calls AddSub Manufacturing, combines metal 3D printing and five-axis CNC machining to deliver quickly complex, low-volume components that would previously have required the input of two separate bureaux. British-owned Star Prototype has been based in Guandong Province, China, for over ten years, where it has been breaking manufacturing ground by using a combination of new technologies, including 3D printing, alongside their traditional counterparts like CNC machining to deliver top-quality parts for a host of applications. The company developed the new service after it identified a significant demand for a one-stop-shop for such components. “Many metal 3D printed parts are no longer used as prototypes but as complex low-volume manufactured components,” explained Gordon Styles, president of Star Prototype. “As a result, many of these parts need certain high-precision features that are virtually impossible to produce with 3D printing alone. Problems arise because most 3D printing companies don’t carry out secondary machining, meaning the customer needs to take care of the finishing work themselves or farm it out to a separate specialist machining bureau.” With the AddSub process, Star Prototype first uses its Renishaw AM250 3D printer to produce extremely dense, high complexity metal parts that are often not possible to produce using traditional machining techniques. The Renishaw equipment uses direct metal laser melting to produce components in titanium, stainless steel or aluminium. The resulting parts are then finish machined on a recently acquired Haas five-axis machine programmed with PowerMILL. Star Prototype sees this combination as being ideal for the production of mating faces, precision bores, tapped holes, spigots and other very necessary high-precision features. Whenever possible, the parts are built on the AM250 in the […]

Fujitsu launches manufacturing industry solution VPS

The software’s tracking functionality has now been enhanced so that changes to the original 3D CAD design data are reflected to the parts affected in VPS, which enables improved response to design changes and manufacturing process development. Viewing functions have also been enhanced, such as with the ability to use iOS devices to display process-flow diagrams for assembly verification. These enhancements make it easier to further utilize 3D data in production-preparation processes, thereby contributing to improvements in product quality, shorter development times, and cost cutting. VPS is packaged software that uses a product’s 3D model data created in CAD to provide cohesive support for production-preparation tasks and processes, including product reviews in assembly production planning, process reviews when assembling products, studies of production line layouts, and document creation for use in manufacturing. In on-site preparation for production, it has been a challenge to reduce the amount of work needed to reflect CAD data revisions, frequently occurring at the design stage, to VPS data that has already been generated with production information attached. In addition, there was a growing need to view VPS data at work sites in order to improve the efficiency of assembly operations. This new VPS version provides agility in responding to changes in design and manufacturing processes, as well as enhanced viewing functions. Product Features 1. Less editing time required with improved support for design changes and manufacturing-process development 1) Enhanced design-change tracking functionality that greatly reduces the work needed to reflect differences when changes are made (VPS Digital Mockup and VPS Manufacturing) This version improves the design-change tracking function that replaces only the parts that have changed when changes are made to the 3D CAD data, without losing manufacturing data attached to the VPS data, such as the assembly operation animation or the expected task times […]

VIDEO Worth a look: Disruptive technology trends

ArtCAM Pro allows the most complex designs to be modelled and machined

Delcam’s ArtCAM Pro CADCAM software for artistic applications has made it much easier to create complex designs, with a new approach called interactive distortion modelling. This allows users to distort either vectors or reliefs within ArtCAM models by bending or stretching the design, and to see the results in real time. Unlike most other CADCAM systems, ArtCAM Pro is aimed at skilled artisans rather than engineers and requires little knowledge of engineering or computing. It has been particularly successful in the signmaking, woodworking and engraving industries. In these areas and in other artistic applications, ArtCAM Pro allows users to increase productivity, improve quality and deliver new designs more quickly, by combining their craft skills and creativity with the power and precision of computer-aided manufacturing. The addition of interactive distortion modelling in the latest release makes ArtCAM’s unique free-relief modelling even more powerful. Interactive distortion modelling makes it possible to create the most complex shapes quickly and easily, with the ability to see the effects of any changes as they are being made. Once the design of the particular element has been finalised, it can be moved, rotated, rescaled and copied, either individually or as part of a group. Any part of the design can be isolated, edited and then recombined into a group for duplication or further editing within the group. At any stage in the process, either individual items or a group of items can be saved within ArtCAM Pro’s clipart library for use in future projects. A second major focus in the new release is on vector creation and editing. New snapping options make vector creation much quicker. They include the ability to snap to anything in the design, including any point on a vector, intersections between vectors, guidelines and key points within a model, such as the […]

Sistema invest $6M to expand NZ manufacturing

Sistema has imported a 1,300 and a 650 tonne injection moulding machine to boost its manufacturing operations in New Zealand, allowing the company to create a new range of durable plastic home and office storage products made exclusively for The Warehouse. The 1,300 tonne machine is one of the biggest of its type brought into New Zealand during the last 20 years according to Sistema’s managing director Brendan Lindsay. “This equipment is a one-of-a- kind industrial machine. I have not heard of any other company bringing in a similar machine to manufacture products like this in New Zealand.” “This investment has allowed us to diversify our product offering and produce heavy duty storage containers ranging in capacity from 14 to 90 litres. The range will include utility trays and organiser tubs, filing clips and removable wheels, making them the most sophisticated plastic box storage system on the market,” said Mr Lindsay. The company is proud to collaborate with The Warehouse to bring this newest offering to the public, with the storage range going on sale this month. TW Group CEO Mark Powell considers this a smart business move. “We have formed a long term partnership with Sistema to support the development and manufacture of this product, which reflects our commitment to stock New Zealand made products.” Sistema’s business has evolved dramatically growing from a simple backyard garage operation 30 years ago to an international success story today. “We now export our products to more than 65 countries around the world, including the United States, the UK, Europe and South Africa, but we are committed to keeping our manufacturing in New Zealand,” said Mr Lindsay. In March 2012, Prime Minister John Key opened Sistema’s new $7.5 million purpose-built production factory, allowing the company to establish an additional 50 jobs. The company currently employs more than 540 staff.

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