Manufacturing Technology

NUM and Chinese partnership develop machining centre

CNC specialist NUM has helped the Chinese machine building company Original Point Machine Tools (OPMT) to develop an advanced 8-axis CNC machining centre capable of processing many different types of materials, including metal, ceramics, glass and cemented carbide. OPMT is a relatively small but fast-growing company based in Fo’shan – of Guangdong Province – in south China. It is rapidly acquiring a reputation for innovative complex engineering: after developing a highly successful 4-axis milling centre for an automotive production line, it then created a compact 5-axis milling station for the dental industry. For its latest project, OPMT was asked by Guangdong University of Technology to develop a machining centre that combined high speed laser cutting and milling capabilities. This key provincial university is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, and provides a wide range of courses, with a major emphasis on engineering. OPMT chose to partner with NUM for its CNC expertise and with the Xi’an Zhongke Microcrystalline Manufacturing Company and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to help with some of the complex materials processing issues. The result is the ML125 8-axis multi-function machining centre. The machine has a dual laser head that is capable of switching between a 20 watt picosecond laser for very high speed cutting and an ultrafast 10 watt femtosecond laser for improved process quality. The femtosecond laser is capable of drilling and cutting almost any type of material, and its very short 1030 nm wavelength means that it is suitable for micro/nano processing applications. Entirely controlled by NUM’s latest-generation Flexium+ 68 CNC platform, the ML125 machining centre has eight servo axes, two independent NC channels and fast application-specific I/Os embedded in the NCK hardware. Movement of the fully articulated laser head is controlled by five NUMDrive X servo drives, with high speed interpolation between all five […]

First demonstration of drone-based deliveries along power-line routes

TEPCO Ventures, Inc., Zenrin Co., Ltd. and Rakuten, Inc. have begun examining the utilisation of “drone highways,” or the airspace above infrastructure such as power transmission lines, for drone logistics. The three companies also announced that they have safely carried out the world’s first demonstration test utilising a drone highway. TEPCO Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., and map publisher Zenrin formed an alliance on March 29, 2017 to confirm the use of drone highways for safe drone-based deliveries. The concept, which is attracting increasing interest, is a focus of the “2018 Roadmap for the Industrial Revolution of the Sky,” which was approved by the Public-Private Conference on Infrastructure Creation for Drones in Japan in June 2018. To develop a drone highway, TEPCO and Zenrin have been studying how to combine data on TEPCO’s infrastructure, such as transmission lines and towers, substations and utility poles, with Zenrin’s three-dimensional maps of the sky, which are currently under development. Going forward, several test courses will be set up in eastern Japan’s Kanto Region during 2018 to demonstrate the practical use of drone highways. Internet services company Rakuten, which has been operating a drone-based delivery service called “Rakuten Drone,” has joined the initiative. The first demonstration test, conducted in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, successfully achieved the world’s first drone-based delivery using a power line route for the flight path.

First Pacific Patrol Boat launched

The first of 21 Guardian Class Pacific Patrol Boats to be designed and built by Austal has been launched. The launch of the first vessel comes just two years after the contract was awarded to the Australian shipbuilder. The first vessel is now scheduled for delivery to Papua New Guinea in late October 2018. The launch of the first Pacific Patrol Boat is a milestone for Austal, with the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPB-R) program marking the company’s first steel ship program. “Austal is proud to be delivering the PPB-R program for the Commonwealth. This is the first steel ship program we have managed and we are doing so on time and on budget,” Austal chief executive David Singleton said. “It is a testament to the skills, experience and management of the Austal PPB-R team that the first vessel has met its project milestones for design and build, on schedule. The overall construction program is well underway, with vessels two and three in build and the fourth vessel commencing construction in June.” Singleton said the program will support 200 direct jobs at Austal and 200 indirect jobs in the broader Australian industry in a program that now extends out to late 2023. This employment is in addition to several hundred jobs at Austal created by a number of large commercial export contracts currently under construction and planned for construction at the Henderson shipyard. “We are already working on export opportunities leveraging off the Pacific Patrol Boats, which will assist Australia to sustain its sovereign naval shipbuilding industry. Austal has already delivered over 40 patrol boats to international customers around the world,” Singleton said. The Pacific Patrol Boat contract was awarded to Austal in May 2016, worth $305 million for the original 19 vessels and associated in service support, with a […]

Will fine circuit traces soon become ubiquitous?

In the manufacture of industrial applications, more and more industry sectors are turning to a new technology as an alternative to classic PCBs. The revolution is called 3-D MID (Moulded Interconnect Devices or Mecha-tronic Integrated Devices) – injection-moulded plastic parts with conduc-tive traces integrated by using laser direct structuring (LDS). This technique adds power to the trend towards miniaturisation in the electronics industry and provides product developers with new design op-portunities. The projects from Multiple Dimensions, illustrates the diversity of possible ap-plications for 3D-MID. They simplify the operation of household appliances, improve driver experience in power steering systems and open new ways of saving space — for example in sensing and industrial electronics. These fine, golden traces on formed plastic are transforming industrial produc-tion. The basis of all 3D-MID applications is a thermoplastic material: Using injection- moulding, first manufacture the part to fit the customer’s application, using different types of thermoplastic, which contain an additive that can be activated by laser. A laser ray then engraves the surface of the plastic and activates the additive. A copper bath then follows, which lets the conductive traces form directly on the thermoplastic. Depending on the type of application, the MID parts may have to be extremely robust or temperature-resistant. Some even must be acid or sweat-resistant, for example applications for hear-ing aids or headphones. In a final step, a barrier layer of nickel is applied and then conditioned with a thin layer of gold to ensure good solderability. What differentiates the company from the competition is that it produces trac-es in almost microscopically small dimensions. Their manufacturing expertise can compete with anyone in the world, especially their uniquely fine trace width and the narrow spacing between traces. Most suppliers are currently working with 300 – 400 µm spacing between trac-es. At Multiple […]

The Interview: FARO

Spokesperson: CHEW Beow Kwan, Product Marketing Associate Manager, Asia Pacific, FARO Technologies. Please tell us what BuildIT Construction is all about? The BuildIT Construction software leverages on FARO’s cutting-edge 3D metrology capability. FARO is to first to offer this fully integrated building lifecycle Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) management tool empowering construction professionals to continuously evaluate projects with real time comparisons against CAD designs using 3D scan data. The software from FARO uniquely enables laser scanner users to perform immediate, real-time build and verify analysis throughout the entire project, and facilitates a new level of cost management and operational efficiency. BuildIT Construction can be fully integrated with 3D data collected from FARO Focus Laser Scanners, optimised for the FARO TracerM Laser Projector for placement and layout of structural components and is compatible with the FARO Laser Tracker for prefabricated modular positioning. It can also be used seamlessly with other third-party hardware. Where do you see this software being used most? Application areas that will benefit most from the BuildIT Construction software include Architecture, Civil Engineering/Surveying, Construction, Facility Management, Historical Preservation, and Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP). AEC professionals will find the software useful for: ⁃ Verifying accuracy of scan data to design models ⁃ Detecting incorrect placement or missing features such as walls, columns, beams, pipes, etc. ⁃ Performing important measurements accurately and quickly ⁃ Inspecting construction for adherence to building standards ⁃ Verifying shifts and movements within structural performance over time with 4D analysis ⁃ Performing real time monitoring of adjacent structures throughout the project lifecycle Is there a lot of construction underway across ASEAN? Prospects for construction in the ASEAN region is generally bright. According to the Global Construction 2030 Report , the ASEAN construction market is expected to exceed US$1 trillion by 2030, with growth […]

Technicians using computer in server room

The promise of the edge and IIoT in Asia’s manufacturing industry

Dave Laurello, CEO, Stratus. To remain competitive in today’s always-on world, organisations require near-instant access to data and resources. That’s where the edge comes into play: the place where computing occurs, in between the data centre and the cloud. In Singapore and Asia, edge computing poses a great opportunity to enable improved real-time decision-making – especially in Asia’s booming manufacturing sector. In a rapidly growing industry, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is lighting the way for a highly automated future. The IIoT refers to a combination of intelligent computers and devices that enable instant data sharing and automated processes in industrial manufacturing. The IIoT is set to revolutionise manufacturing by providing accessibility to large amounts of data at far greater speeds. According to a report by Boston Consulting Group, Five Profiles That Explain China’s Consumer Economy, GDP growth in China, the world’s second largest economy, has slowed from more than 10% in 2010 to around 7% in 2017. To remain competitive, Asian economies – once reliant upon low-cost labour and exports – are under pressure to adopt smarter technologies, such as robotics and the IIoT. Going forward, it is predicted that smart technologies and IIoT networks will allow industrial organisations to break open data silos and connect people, data and processes like never before, from the factory floor to executive offices. Automation and the future of manufacturing – So where does edge computing fit into all of this? The promise of edge computing in industrial environments means switching into the right device in near real-time to drive faster decision making. For this to work, the edge device and its embedded software, edge servers, gateways and cloud infrastructure must be up-and-running correctly at all times. According to a recent report by ARC Advisory Group, Is IIot Living on The Edge In […]

Delivering enterprise Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Fujitsu Limited and Blue Prism Group PLC will be working closely together to deliver Blue Prism’s market leading Robotic Process Automation(RPA)(1) offering to enterprise clients across a wide range of industries. With the acceleration of digital transformation in recent years, the use of RPA has drawn attention in the context of automating processes to achieve improvements in productivity and quality of service. As Proof of Concept (PoC) and full-scale RPA deployments gain traction and wide scale adoption, Fujitsu and Blue Prism have agreed to collaborate to meet this demand. Through this collaboration, the companies intend to support the creation of a framework for customers in Europe, North America, Japan and beyond to launch, operate and entrench, and grow their RPA-related activities. They will do this by applying Fujitsu’s AI and other cutting-edge technologies to Blue Prism RPA software through joint planning, proposals, and proof of concept creation for solutions, building on Blue Prism’s proven record of delivering large-scale enterprise systems around the world. Blue Prism was named one of MIT Tech Review’s 50 Smartest Companies for 2017, as well as being the winner of the 2017 UK Tech awards. The company has also been recognized by Everest Research as an RPA market leader in their PEAK Matrix Assessment report in 2018. Billions of transactions and hundreds of millions of hours of work are executed on Blue Prism robots for renowned companies. (1) Robotic process automation (RPA) Software can automate and improve the efficiency of white-collar processes, in particular, by substituting software robots for defined tasks that were previously done by people. It has also been called digital labour, because it can execute processes as a supplement to people.

Vricon Precision 3D Registration (P3DR) available

Vricon unveiled the next in a series of GEOINT solutions — Vricon Precision 3D Registration (P3DR) — at the year’s GEOINT 2018 Symposium in Tampa, Fla. Vricon P3DR is a software suite designed to automatically georegister imagery, regardless of collection platform, against the most accurate 3D geospatial foundation available, The Globe in 3D. P3DR can be implemented as a real-time processing workflow for imagery feeds without the need for GPS location, heading information, or ground control points. While we’ve always been able to perform georegistration of individual data sets using 3D models as an accurate foundation, Vricon P3DR takes this capability to a whole new level. Users now have multiple options for where and when they can automatically georegister their FMV or other imagery sources in real-time and at an enterprise scale. Precisely locating geospatial data from different sources is a persistent challenge for the geospatial community. Imagery data is collected at different times, on different platforms, and with different look angles, sensor characteristics, and raw pointing accuracies. High-off-nadir Full Motion Video (FMV) is particularly challenging, given the relatively narrow field of view, high resolution, and often poor initial pointing accuracy of the sensors. All of these complexities yield data sets that are significantly misaligned with each other and the real world. The alignment is often off by tens or even hundreds of meters. As a result, users are unable to automatically correlate multi-sensor data, making it difficult to fully leverage collection assets on critical targets. This also creates additional work for analysts, who spend hours trying to align various image sources. Vricon P3DR software — enabled by Vricon’s Globe in 3D — provides a way to quickly and accurately georegister data anywhere on the globe. Vricon P3DR provides critical accuracy enhancements to other ISR sources, enabling GEOINT data to be used to […]

Robot see, Robot do: Bots learn by watching human behaviour

Robots following coded instructions to complete a task? Old school. Robots learning to do things by watching how humans do it? That’s the future. Stanford’s Animesh Garg and Marynel Vázquez shared their research in a talk on “Generalisable Autonomy for Robotic Mobility and Manipulation” at the GPU Technology Conference recently. In lay terms, generalisable autonomy is the idea that a robot can observe human behaviour and learn to imitate it in a way that’s applicable to a variety of tasks and situations. What kinds of situations? Learning to cook by watching YouTube videos, for one. And figuring out how to cross a crowded room for another. Cooking 101 Garg, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Vision and Learning Lab (CVGL), likes to cook. He also likes robots. But what he’s not so keen on is a future full of robots who can only cook one recipe each. While the present is increasingly full of robots that excel at single tasks, Garg is working toward what he calls “the dream of general-purpose robots.” The path to the dream may lie in neural task programming (NTP), a new approach to meta-learning. NTP leverages hierarchy and learns to program with a modular robot API to perform unseen tasks working from only a single test example. For instance, a robot chef would take a cooking video as input and use a hierarchical neural program to break the video data down into what Garg calls a structured representation of the task based on visual cues as well as temporal sequence. Instead of learning a single recipe that’s only good for making spaghetti with meatballs, the robot understands all the subroutines, or components, that make up the task. From there, the budding mechanical chef can apply skills like boiling water, frying meatballs and simmering sauce to other situations. Solving […]

Three game-changers for the manufacturing industry in 2018

Antony Bourne IoT being built into the product design, manufacturers adopting a more service-centric business model, and 3D-printing reaching the tipping point of realizing business benefits on a large scale. These are the three game-changing predictions that Antony Bourne, IFS Global Industry Director of Industrial and High-tech Manufacturing outlines for 2018. 1) By the end of 2018, over 50 percent of manufacturers will be building IoT technology into the design phase of their products. In 2018, IoT will take a decisive step forward in its evolution. If we once thought of IoT as a product’s nervous system, this year will see it grow from picking up signals at the periphery to being the brain of the product, constantly sending, receiving, growing and gathering information, from the center of the product throughout its lifetime, and in the process enabling new services and revenue streams. Manufacturing is undoubtedly heavily impacted by IoT today. According to Global Market Insights, IoT in the manufacturing market was valued at over US$ 20 billion in 2016 and will grow at more than 20 percent up to 2024. Current IoT investments that are unique to the manufacturing environment are taking place in three major initiatives: Smart manufacturing to increase production output, product quality, or operations and workforce safety as well as lower resource consumption Connected products to impact product performance, including collecting detailed information on products in the field, remote diagnostics and remote maintenance Connected supply chains to increase visibility and coordination in the supply chain, tracking assets or inventory for more efficient supply chain execution We will see IoT included as a part of the design process in all three of these IoT initiatives. Manufacturers are realizing that by engineering IoT technology into products and equipment already in the design process, you can monitor not only […]

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