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Operational Improvements
December 11, 2024
The rumors are absolutely true. The factory floor is changing at an incredible pace and the digitalization of manufacturing systems (Big data, Industry 4.0, IIoT, whatever you want to call it) is in full swing. If Hannover Messe 2017 proved anything it’s that the time is now to invest in the engineers and equipment that will play an active role in the digital factory of the future.
Collaborative robots, predictive maintenance and machine learning is in full swing in several organizations that appear regularly in the pages of PTE. Here are a few highlights from this year’s trade fair where more than 225,000 visitors (including this over-caffeinated editor) traversed the 27+ exhibit halls searching for the latest power transmission and industrial automation technologies.
Schaeffler:
Schaeffler displayed its FAG VarioSense, a rolling bearing system that is based on standard products and can be configured in a modular fashion using a range of different sensors, which allows virtually every desired bearing position to be equipped with sensors. Schaeffler is thus paving the way towards a future in which even simple assemblies and machines will have access to digitalization and the Internet of Things.
(www.schaeffler.com)
Bonfiglioli:
Bonfiglioli CEO Fausto Carboni discussed some of the company’s latest innovations and projects during Hannover Messe in Germany. Bonfiglioli is reinforcing its worldwide presence and capacities through the expansion of R&D centers, production lines and facilities such as the one in Forlì, Italy, focusing on mobile and wind dedicated solutions, as well as the opening of new factories such as the plant in Pune, India, entirely dedicated to gearboxes for industrial applications.
The family owned company, also started its digital journey basing tomorrow’s innovation on today’s victories. From a product perspective, Bonfiglioli can already count on the monitoring of several existing product ranges providing a detailed condition monitoring of the drives in operation and thus, giving the opportunity to operate preventive maintenance, anticipate machine breakdown and analyze a large set of drive operating data.
(www.bonfiglioli.com)
R+W
R + W presented many new products including a sneak peek at the improved R + W coupling app. With expanded service and virtual reality features, the R + W app utilizes videos to explain situations, such as the torque setting of a safety clutch. With Virtual Reality, the R + W products can be seen and understood with completely new eyes. The function of the couplings is visualized in an impressive way using smartphones and 3D glasses. The two existing areas of the app - Augmented Reality and Showroom - were also expanded. These provide users with further valuable information.
(www.rw-america.com)
SEW Eurodrive:
The Smart Factory concept for SEW Eurodrive looks at lean principles and methods to create a variety of customized solutions along the entire supply chain from configuration and production to assembly and delivery. Mobile assistant systems were exhibited during the show to highlight this process:
Mobile handling assistants are highly versatile – in production for automated machine loading/unloading or in the assembly/joining process to reduce the burden on employees, enabled by HRC (human-robot collaboration) functionality.
Mobile assembly assistants act as a mobile workbench and assist employees with interactive instructions in the assembly sequences.
Mobile logistics assistants navigate independently as a swarm and take care of delivery logistics. By adapting the working and transfer height, they can also be used as mobile assembly assistants.
Additionally, SEW offers advice on factory design and production automation, joining forces with customers to plan, configure and implement process solutions. Seminars and training courses give participants the opportunity to find out more about SEW solutions and sample applications.
(www.seweurodrive.com)
Dunkermotoren (AMETEK)
With motors getting more and more dynamic, requirements on gearbox technology are increasing. Additionally, the drives are driven up to their limits of their capability because of reduced available space (Automatic Guided Vehicles, for example).
Dunkermotoren offered a new gearbox series PLG 63 HP, PLG 75 HP and PLG 95 HP during the show. This series boasts high nominal torque of up to 160 Nm and acceleration torque of up to 320 Nm. Dunkermotoren is particularly focused on surge loads, as they occur in case of emergency stops or through vandalism in railway applications.
Even under occasional load peaks of up to 480 Nm, the gearboxes do not get damaged and continue to run flawlessly. One more highlight is the compactness of the drive solution – motor and gearbox. The planetary gearboxes are designed in a way that they do not need any clutch or flange to be mounted to the motor which results in drive length reduction. With the use of toothed motor shafts, one-stage gearboxes can be realized with a reduction ratio of 14,5:1.
(http://www.dunkermotoren.com/en/)
Voith Turbo:
Voith highlighted energy efficiency during the show. Hydraulic applications with high demands on control technology are subject to greatly fluctuating stresses during operation. To ensure cost-effective operation even under these conditions, the Voith servo pump adjusts to the power actually needed over varying volume flows and motor speeds. This provides clear advantages over conventional systems, particularly in the part load range, with a uniformly high volume flow that is needed only rarely within an operating cycle.
The advanced pump system consists of three main components: the servo inverter, the synchronous servomotor and the Voith internal gear pump. The servo inverter analyzes and processes the set point and the actual values of the pressure and speed. It controls the highly dynamic servomotor, which supplies the required torque in the shortest amount of time. This power is fed to the process as a function of the pressure or volume flow by way of the efficiency-optimized internal gear pump. As a result, classic valves are unnecessary, reducing the complexity of the system and the cooling capacity needed.
In addition to optimized energy consumption, the Voith variable-speed solution also reduces the noise emissions of the system by up to 20 dB(A). This reduces the cost and effort for noise abatement measures – in many cases, workplace guidelines are met without any additional measures.
(www.voith.com)
Additional Show Highlights:
RA605 Series, 6-Axis Robots utilize the power of The Force at the HIWIN booth during Hannover Messe. (www.hiwin.tw)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the Schunk booth to learn more about the company's 2017 Hermes Award that was presented during the show. (www.schunk.com)
In addition to clutches and sensors, Magnetbau Schramme demonstrated proportional controls using an activation glove to control an "Ironman."
( www.magnetbau-schramme.de)
Over an area of 3,800 square meters under the banner "Discover the Value of the Digital Enterprise," Siemens demonstrated how companies of any size can benefit from the digital revolution. (www.siemens.com)
Hannover Messe 2018 will run April 23-27 2018. Mexico will be the official partner country. (www.hannovermesse.de)
Collaborative robots, predictive maintenance and machine learning is in full swing in several organizations that appear regularly in the pages of PTE. Here are a few highlights from this year’s trade fair where more than 225,000 visitors (including this over-caffeinated editor) traversed the 27+ exhibit halls searching for the latest power transmission and industrial automation technologies.
Schaeffler:
Schaeffler displayed its FAG VarioSense, a rolling bearing system that is based on standard products and can be configured in a modular fashion using a range of different sensors, which allows virtually every desired bearing position to be equipped with sensors. Schaeffler is thus paving the way towards a future in which even simple assemblies and machines will have access to digitalization and the Internet of Things.
(www.schaeffler.com)
Bonfiglioli:
Bonfiglioli CEO Fausto Carboni discussed some of the company’s latest innovations and projects during Hannover Messe in Germany. Bonfiglioli is reinforcing its worldwide presence and capacities through the expansion of R&D centers, production lines and facilities such as the one in Forlì, Italy, focusing on mobile and wind dedicated solutions, as well as the opening of new factories such as the plant in Pune, India, entirely dedicated to gearboxes for industrial applications.
The family owned company, also started its digital journey basing tomorrow’s innovation on today’s victories. From a product perspective, Bonfiglioli can already count on the monitoring of several existing product ranges providing a detailed condition monitoring of the drives in operation and thus, giving the opportunity to operate preventive maintenance, anticipate machine breakdown and analyze a large set of drive operating data.
(www.bonfiglioli.com)
R+W
R + W presented many new products including a sneak peek at the improved R + W coupling app. With expanded service and virtual reality features, the R + W app utilizes videos to explain situations, such as the torque setting of a safety clutch. With Virtual Reality, the R + W products can be seen and understood with completely new eyes. The function of the couplings is visualized in an impressive way using smartphones and 3D glasses. The two existing areas of the app - Augmented Reality and Showroom - were also expanded. These provide users with further valuable information.
(www.rw-america.com)
SEW Eurodrive:
The Smart Factory concept for SEW Eurodrive looks at lean principles and methods to create a variety of customized solutions along the entire supply chain from configuration and production to assembly and delivery. Mobile assistant systems were exhibited during the show to highlight this process:
Mobile handling assistants are highly versatile – in production for automated machine loading/unloading or in the assembly/joining process to reduce the burden on employees, enabled by HRC (human-robot collaboration) functionality.
Mobile assembly assistants act as a mobile workbench and assist employees with interactive instructions in the assembly sequences.
Mobile logistics assistants navigate independently as a swarm and take care of delivery logistics. By adapting the working and transfer height, they can also be used as mobile assembly assistants.
Additionally, SEW offers advice on factory design and production automation, joining forces with customers to plan, configure and implement process solutions. Seminars and training courses give participants the opportunity to find out more about SEW solutions and sample applications.
(www.seweurodrive.com)
Dunkermotoren (AMETEK)
With motors getting more and more dynamic, requirements on gearbox technology are increasing. Additionally, the drives are driven up to their limits of their capability because of reduced available space (Automatic Guided Vehicles, for example).
Dunkermotoren offered a new gearbox series PLG 63 HP, PLG 75 HP and PLG 95 HP during the show. This series boasts high nominal torque of up to 160 Nm and acceleration torque of up to 320 Nm. Dunkermotoren is particularly focused on surge loads, as they occur in case of emergency stops or through vandalism in railway applications.
Even under occasional load peaks of up to 480 Nm, the gearboxes do not get damaged and continue to run flawlessly. One more highlight is the compactness of the drive solution – motor and gearbox. The planetary gearboxes are designed in a way that they do not need any clutch or flange to be mounted to the motor which results in drive length reduction. With the use of toothed motor shafts, one-stage gearboxes can be realized with a reduction ratio of 14,5:1.
(http://www.dunkermotoren.com/en/)
Voith Turbo:
Voith highlighted energy efficiency during the show. Hydraulic applications with high demands on control technology are subject to greatly fluctuating stresses during operation. To ensure cost-effective operation even under these conditions, the Voith servo pump adjusts to the power actually needed over varying volume flows and motor speeds. This provides clear advantages over conventional systems, particularly in the part load range, with a uniformly high volume flow that is needed only rarely within an operating cycle.
The advanced pump system consists of three main components: the servo inverter, the synchronous servomotor and the Voith internal gear pump. The servo inverter analyzes and processes the set point and the actual values of the pressure and speed. It controls the highly dynamic servomotor, which supplies the required torque in the shortest amount of time. This power is fed to the process as a function of the pressure or volume flow by way of the efficiency-optimized internal gear pump. As a result, classic valves are unnecessary, reducing the complexity of the system and the cooling capacity needed.
In addition to optimized energy consumption, the Voith variable-speed solution also reduces the noise emissions of the system by up to 20 dB(A). This reduces the cost and effort for noise abatement measures – in many cases, workplace guidelines are met without any additional measures.
(www.voith.com)
Additional Show Highlights:
RA605 Series, 6-Axis Robots utilize the power of The Force at the HIWIN booth during Hannover Messe. (www.hiwin.tw)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the Schunk booth to learn more about the company's 2017 Hermes Award that was presented during the show. (www.schunk.com)
In addition to clutches and sensors, Magnetbau Schramme demonstrated proportional controls using an activation glove to control an "Ironman."
( www.magnetbau-schramme.de)
Over an area of 3,800 square meters under the banner "Discover the Value of the Digital Enterprise," Siemens demonstrated how companies of any size can benefit from the digital revolution. (www.siemens.com)
Hannover Messe 2018 will run April 23-27 2018. Mexico will be the official partner country. (www.hannovermesse.de)
