News » Technology News Novel coil-winding technique cuts losses by up to 25%
The German wound components manufacturer REO has developed a more efficient way of winding coils that, it claims, can cut power losses by up to 25%. It also results in components such as chokes and transformers that are smaller and up to 10% lighter than conventional designs.
Smart machine sensors venture into hazardous areas
ABB has developed a new version of its smart condition-monitoring sensor technology that can be applied to rotating machines operating in hazardous areas. The wireless sensor, aimed mainly at applications in the chemical, oil and gas industries, will make its public debut at the Hannover Fair in April.
CC-Link TSN products are up and running within a year
Just one year after the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) announced its CC-Link IE TSN open networking technology which supports Time-Sensitive Networking, the organisation was demonstrating compatible products from several manufacturers on its stand at the recent SPS show in Germany.
Groups vie to offer single-pair Ethernet connectors
At the recent SPS show in Germany, two groups of companies were trying to persuade visitors to that they had the connector technologies needed to make industrial applications of single-pair Ethernet (SPE) a reality.
New generation of controllers will ‘stretch the limits’
The German automation and drives manufacturer Lenze has developed two control platforms that, it says, “stretch the limits of what is technically feasible”. The first is a dedicated controller said to be powerful enough to handle complex projects that previously required industrial PCs. The second is a combined PLC and IPC for tasks, such as database management, that require Windows capabilities.
GaN devices boost the efficiency of ELV servodrives
Siemens has adopted a power semiconductor technology based on gallium nitride (GaN) for a new range of extra-low-voltage servodrives that it launched at the recent SPS show in Germany. The GaN devices are said to deliver benefits in terms of power density, efficiency and robustness.
Laser etching cuts terminal rail marking times by 90%
Weidmüller has developed a laser-based system that marks pre-assembled terminal rails automatically, cutting the time normally needed for marking by up to 90%. The Automated RailLaser system can handle manually or automatically assembled rails up to 1.2m long.
Touch-free gripper uses sound waves to hold tiny objects
A Swiss researcher is developing a gripper technology that uses ultrasonic waves to hold and manipulate small objects without touching them. Marcel Schuck from ETH Zurich university believes that his invention could be used to handle fragile objects such as semiconductor devices and watch parts that could be damaged by conventional grippers.
PCB-stator motor with IE5 efficiency will debut in June
Infinitum Electric, the US company which has patented a new design of motor that uses PCBs (printed circuit boards) instead of copper windings for its stators, has announced that its first commercial product – a 15hp (11.2kW) motor aimed at HVAC plenum fan applications – will start shipping in June. The IoT-enabled IEx series motors are said to be a third of the size and weight of conventional motors, while delivering class-leading efficiency and IoT capabilities.
Linear-motor delivery system could remove trucks from roads
A British start-up is hoping to revolutionise the way that parcels and other small items are moved around by carrying them in pipes on carts propelled by a proprietary linear synchronous motor technology. London-based Magway reckons that its technology could cut the UK’s CO2 emissions by more than six million tonnes a year by reducing the number of delivery vans on the country's roads.
‘First private 5G industrial network’ is set up in Germany
Siemens and the communications specialist Qualcomm Technologies have implemented what they say is the first private 5G wireless standalone network in a real industrial environment using the 3.7–3.8GHz band. The network has been installed in Siemens’ automotive showroom and test centre in Nuremberg, Germany, where AGVs (automated guided vehicles) are developed and tested before being put into service at customer sites.
Start-up brings real-time AI to machines on the shopfloor
A German start-up that Festo bought last year claims to be implementing AI (artificial intelligence) directly on machines on factory floors and interpreting data there in real time. Resolto Informatik says it already has applications at work in manufacturing environments.
Li-Fi and TSN deliver real-time comms via light beams
German researchers have combined data transmission via light waves (Li-Fi) with TSN (Time Sensitive Networking) to allow wireless transmission of real-time and deterministic data.
Real-time condition monitoring needs no extra sensors
At the recent SPS show in Germany, Lenze demonstrated two different approaches to providing condition monitoring of a two-axis machine without needing any extra sensors. One was model-based, comparing values measured on the machine with those from mathematical descriptions of the machine. If certain tolerances are exceeded, this is interpreted as a fault.
Indiegogo campaign promises ‘world’s first open controller’
An Italian engineer has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to help develop what he describes as “the world’s first open hardware and multi-platform controller”, which could also be used for edge computing and as an IIoT gateway. Giacomo Falcone is hoping to raise €120,000 to develop his Yaba (Yet Another Backplane Architecture) technology, which he sees as filling the gap between low-cost, but hard-to-assemble, boards, and costly dedicated industrial controllers.
