Manufacturing Technology

Rockwell Automation has announced the launch of the Allen-Bradley ArmorStratix 5700, its first on-machine switch. Built with ruggedised IP67 protection, the Layer 2 managed industrial Ethernet switch can be mounted directly onto a machine or application, reducing the overall size and cost of a control cabinet, and shrinking the machine footprint. In many applications, cabinet space for system-level networks is limited or nonexistent. The ArmorStratix 5700 switch expands the Allen-Bradley On-Machine offering from Rockwell Automation – an industrially hardened portfolio of products that requires no cabinetry – and leverages pre-configured, quick-connect systems and simplified wiring layouts to reduce installation, troubleshooting and maintenance activities.” The ArmorStratix 5700 managed switch advances connected enterprise goals by delivering integration of machine-level data that, due to cost or location, would otherwise remain isolated from business-level systems. Using the Cisco IOS network infrastructure software, this switch manages the transfer of production data to enterprise-level databases and information systems for improved decision making. Senior analyst with ARC Advisory Group comments: “Machine-mounted Ethernet switches with M12 connectors and IP67 ratings are very popular among machine builders. The new ArmorStratix 5700 switch is a joint Rockwell Automation-Cisco developed product that includes these features along with Cisco IOS. This robust, machine-mounted switch is a new development that should go a long way toward resolving the information technology/operational technology struggles in manufacturing plants today.” This industrial switch simplifies the design and development of machine-level networks through configuration and monitoring tools. These tools help enable easy setup and diagnostics from within the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture system – bridging the gap between IT and the automation engineer. The ArmorStratix 5700 Layer 2 switch offers high availability, Quality of Service (QoS), and automated monitoring to help simplify network optimization and convergence. The switch comes standard with 8, 16 and 24 fixed-port configurations, and […]

The AeroCheck Eddy Current Flaw Detector is fully capable of all the typical eddy current inspection applications on an aircraft including paint thickness, sub-surface and surface crack detection. The AeroCheck is ideal for inspecting areas such as: Wheel brakes; Wheels; Landing gear; Fasteners; Engine mounts; Fuselage; Wing surface and hinges; Bulkheads; Door access points; Engine blades; Engine discs and much more. Fitted with the industry standard 12-Way Lemo connector and co-axial Lemo 00 connectors the AeroCheck can be used with absolute, bridge and reflection probes without the need for adaptors. The AeroCheck includes rotary capability as standard and can be used with the ETher Mercury, Hocking 33A100, and Rohmann MR3 Drive. With a crisp daylight readable LCD colour screen, weighing just 1.2kg and housed in a tough case, the AeroCheck is ideal for working in any environment and can be used for up to ten hours with a pencil probe and seven hours with the rotary drive and probe attached. The intuitive menu options can be configured to the user’s personal preferences and with the built-in “flip” function the AeroCheck works equally well for left or right-handed operators.

The latest release of Delcam’s PowerINSPECT inspection software has a new interface with new icons that make the software more intuitive and even easier to use. Other enhancements in the new version include the ability to create compound items, and so speed up and simplify repetitive measurements, enhancements to the measurement dialogs and a further increase in the range of geometric features that can be inspected. The new interface was developed to further improve the ease of use that has been central to PowerINSPECT becoming the world’s leading hardware-independent inspection software. Over the last few releases, the software has seen a significant increase in the range of measurements that it can make. The software can now be used to take all types of simple measurements and to inspect a growing variety of geometric features, as well as offering more tools for analysing complex 3D surfaces. In addition to making it easier to negotiate the greater range of options, the new interface features freshly-designed icons, which give a cleaner look and feel to the software. In addition, PowerINSPECT now has the ability for users to create custom toolbars, which allow frequently-used commands to be grouped together in one convenient place, and so improve speed and ease of use. It is possible to export and import toolbars, so users can easily transfer their set-up to a different PC or share their toolbars with other operators. During inspection, 2D features (circles, slots, rectangles and the like) are always projected to a reference plane. For example, when inspecting a circle representing the top of a cylinder, the user will want to measure the properties of the circle and its height. PowerINSPECT can now create a compound item that combines the plane and the feature together into a single compound feature, and assumes that the […]

“One of the most appealing aspects of Universal Robots’ new generation of industrial robots is they no longer require specialist knowledge to operate.”       Pic: Steve Wilson High labour costs and geographic remoteness have meant to be competitive in global markets, New Zealand (NZ) manufacturers have needed to apply new, innovative technologies to their production processes to deliver products to market faster, cheaper and with the highest level of quality. To solve part of that problem, Talbot Technologies deployed two of Universal Robots’ UR10 industrial robot arms to perform in-mould modelling, transfer moulding and co-moulding tasks on the company’s Christchurch production line. Since the installation of the first UR10 in 2013, Talbot Technologies has already reported increases in productivity, reliability, quality and cost savings. Best-in-class technology and support: Talbot Technologies is an integrated technical plastics manufacturer and solution provider that works as a design, development and production partner across a wide range of industries, for companies across the globe. Talbot Technologies, like so many NZ companies, has been trialling various technologies aimed at providing high quality output at a lower cost. Having been introduced to Universal Robots’ technology by Design Energy, the company’s NZ distributor, Talbot Technologies began exploring various application options. According to Steve Wilson, Executive Director of Talbot Technologies, the business required a flexible, ease-to-program five axis robot for a particular type of application. “We conduct complex in-mould labelling which has quite a few components and a fixed rail robot simply doesn’t have the capacity or the versatility to deliver the type of results we need. After extensive discussions with Design Energy, we agreed that the style of robot offered by Universal Robots would best suit our requirements,” Wilson commented. “We had looked at other robots, however the strong ROI combined with its reliability and versatility […]

Offering both tools and services, Maplesoft Engineering Solutions help engineers validate and optimise product designs, produce extremely fast simulation code for hardware-in-the-loop and other types of simulations where execution speed is critical, and develop specialised analysis and design calculation tools. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions also support model development for model predictive control, an advanced technique used to represent the behaviour of complex systems. The Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team has expertise in a variety of engineering fields and extensive experience in model-based design. By leveraging the unique benefits of MapleSim and Maple, advanced engineering design tools from Maplesoft, they help engineers reduce development risk, create better products, and get to market faster. MapleSim and Maple are also available for engineers to use directly in their own development projects. MapleSim is an advanced system-level modelling and simulation tool from Maplesoft that applies modern techniques to dramatically reduce model development time, provide greater insight into system behaviour, and produce fast, high-fidelity simulations. MapleSim is based on Maple, the technical computing software for engineers, mathematicians, and scientists. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions are used by customers in a variety of domains, such as electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, ground transportation, space systems, batteries, mining, and manufacturing. Past projects include a robotic arm for drilling in mines, a motion platform for driving simulators, a torsional vibration analysis tool for marine drivelines, batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, and dialysis machines. While projects vary greatly, they frequently involve the following: High performance plant models for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications. Generating high-fidelity plant models from many system design tools typically results in code that is not fast enough for real-time, HIL execution, and engineers often perform a trade-off between model fidelity and performance.

There is now a range of new 802.11ac features in AirMagnet Survey PRO/Planner and AirMagnet WiFi Analyser PRO to help organisations optimise their migration or co-existence path to the new 802.11ac technology standard. With new modeling applications, toolkits, and the industry’s only 3×3 portable capture and analysis capability, businesses can now leverage the industry’s first complete wireless lifecycle solution to design, deploy and troubleshoot 802.11ac networks accurately, quickly and more cost effectively. As enterprise networks rely more heavily on Wi-Fi networks and increasingly face bandwidth and capacity challenges, IT is transitioning from the 802.11a/b/g/n wireless standard to Gigabit 802.11ac for more reliable connections, better performance, and higher capacity. Independent research firm Infonetics Research estimates 802.11ac access points (APs) could well account for three-quarters of access point shipments by 2017. But just moving to 802.11ac will not solve all IT challenges. According to Gartner, “More bandwidth is good, and 802.11ac can better support high transaction dense environments; however, this does not solve the underlying problem of poorly or inadequately implemented WLANs.”** Wireless engineers and system integrators are already facing challenges integrating new equipment and ensuring deployments meet and maintain the Gigabit Wi-Fi standards. However, with the AirMagnet tools, the users are assured of designing and deploying networks that “simply work” and with the maximised performance possible. To help address these challenges, AirMagnet Survey PRO, the industry’s most accurate wireless design and site survey solution, and AirMagnet WiFi Analyser PRO, the premier solution for mobile auditing and troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks, now include 802.11ac functionality to help IT teams effectively phase new wireless infrastructure into existing WLANs without blindly performing a 1-to-1 rip-and-replacement of existing equipment. The AirMagnet tools also let IT teams solve 802.11ac network issues correctly the first time, which prevents costly repeat visits and, more importantly, minimise user downtime. 802.11ac […]

Delcam has launched the 2015 version of its PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining. The new release includes improvements to the Vortex high-efficiency area-clearance strategy, improved collision checking to also cover near misses, and more efficient raster finishing. The Vortex area-clearance strategy produces safe toolpaths with a much deeper cut by using a controlled engagement angle that maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the whole toolpath. As a result, higher feed rates and material-removal rates are possible, making the cutting time shorter by as much as 70%. In addition, cutting is undertaken at a more consistent volume-removal rate and at a near constant feedrate, so extending tool life and protecting the machine. Two enhancements in PowerMILL 2015 will give even greater reductions in machining time with Vortex compared to conventional roughing. The first change allows toolpaths to approach the part from outside the stock at the cutting height, both for open pockets and in areas where earlier cuts have made this possible. Previously, all entry moves had to be made by plunging onto the surface or by ramping into the material. The second change allows an increased feed rate to be set for non-cutting moves. The default value is set at double the rate for the cutting moves but this can be altered as required for each machine tool. The extra time that can be saved depends on the shape of the part but an additional saving of around 20% should be expected above the earlier releases of Vortex. Another problem in previous versions of PowerMILL was that unnecessary lifts could be added to area-clearance toolpaths when the cutter moved outside the stock or close to its edge. Changes to the roughing algorithm in PowerMILL 2015 have reduced the number of lifts per toolpath slice to the minimum […]

Delcam will launch the 2015 version of its PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining at IMTS 2014 in Chicago from 8th to 13th September on booth E3222, the largest CAM software booth at the show. The new release will include improvements to the Vortex high-efficiency area-clearance strategy, improved collision checking to also cover near misses, and more efficient raster finishing. The Vortex area-clearance strategy produces safe toolpaths with a much deeper cut by using a controlled engagement angle that maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the whole toolpath. As a result, higher feed rates and material-removal rates are possible, making the cutting time shorter by as much as 70%. In addition, cutting is undertaken at a more consistent volume-removal rate and at a near constant feedrate, so extending tool life and protecting the machine. Two enhancements in PowerMILL 2015 will give even greater reductions in machining time compared to conventional roughing. The first change allows toolpaths to approach the part from outside the stock at the cutting height for open pockets or in areas where earlier cuts have made this possible. Previously, all entry moves had to be made by plunging onto the surface or by ramping into the material. Picture:The improved collision detection in PowerMILL 2015 will be demonstrated at IMTS.  The second change allows an increased feed rate to be set for non-cutting moves. The default value is set at double the rate for the cutting moves but this can be altered as required for each machine tool. The extra time that can be saved depends on the shape of the part but an additional saving of around 20% should be expected above the earlier releases of Vortex. Another problem in previous versions of PowerMILL was that unnecessary lifts could be added to area-clearance toolpaths when […]