Augmented Reality Tool Assists Manual Assembly Processes

Augmented Reality Tool Assists Manual Assembly Processes

Humans are still essential for many manufacturing processes. Especially for assembly. But assuring the correct parts go in the assembly in the correct orientation is essential. Enter an augmented reality (AR) tool to help.

Light Guide Systems partnered with information technology company HP Inc. to release a tech tool an augmented reality (AR) dubbed Light Guide Stratus. Leveraging Sprout Pro computing platform by HP, Light Guide Stratus provides a flexible, adaptable benchtop platform for assembly processes.

Light Guide Stratus builds on the company’s initial product Light Guide Systems Pro, which launched in 2016. The Stratus system integrates the Sprout Pro directly into a bench structure to increase the display surface area and free up critical space on the workstation. This expanded workspace can be used to integrate new types of applications and tools for a particular assembly sequence.

“The launch of Light Guide Stratus is a testament to the growing demand for flexible and powerful AR guidance systems,” said Paul Ryznar, OPS Solutions founder, president and CEO. “We knew that Light Guide Systems Pro brought a critical level of functionality and flexibility to improve outcomes for nearly any industry. We expect Light Guide Stratus to address even more applications and become an integral part of assembly and manufacturing operations for companies in every space, from medical to auto to aerospace and energy.”

Light Guide Systems projects a digital operating “canvas” onto virtually any work surface to provide audio and visual prompts, guidance, pacing, and direction. Light Guide Systems Pro takes the tool to the next level by incorporating its proprietary software into the Sprout Pro PC platform. Light Guide Stratus takes user experience into account with a flexible and repeatable design that opens up the workspace.

“HP’s Sprout Pro with Light Guide Systems reduces training time and improves quality in manufacturing assembly through projection and scanning in an augmented reality platform,” said Louis Kim, vice president and general manager of Immersive Computing, HP Inc. “Light Guide Stratus demonstrates the flexibility of the Sprout Pro platform combined with Light Guide’s innovation and leadership.”

A New Approach to Automation Beginning With Robots

A New Approach to Automation Beginning With Robots

Despite the bad press that robots receive these days, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the technology. I first learned to program one in 1985. I’ve seen how robots remove humans from unsafe working conditions and improve product quality.

I have also liked what I’ve seen from Rethink Robotics. However, the press release I recently received was so filled with superlatives, that I was beginning to wonder if there was substance behind the hype. I’m betting there is. (And I removed most of the superlatives so that it reads better. Maybe I’ll see them at Automate and get a deeper dive.)

Rethink Robotics has announced Intera 5, a first-of-its-kind software platform that connects everything from a single robot controller, extending the smart, flexible power of Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer to the entire work cell and simplifying automation with ease of deployment.

Intera 5 fundamentally changes the need for integration, making it substantially easier and more affordable, allowing manufacturers to deploy full work cell automation in a matter of hours, not weeks, according to the press release.

Intera 5 is much more than the latest version of Rethink Robotics’ software; it’s a new way to approach automation that allows manufacturers to control the robots, orchestrate the work cell and collect data.

“With the introduction of Intera 5, we’ve created the world’s first smart robot that can orchestrate the entire work cell, removing areas of friction and opening up new and affordable automation possibilities for manufacturers around the world,” said Scott Eckert, president and CEO, Rethink Robotics. “Intera 5 is driving immediate value while helping customers work toward a smart factory, and providing a gateway to successful Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for the first time.”

Rethink Robotics’ Intera 5 modernizes the traditional work cell by improving coordination, increasing flexibility and drastically reducing deployment times. Run through the robot’s controller, manufacturers can orchestrate conveyors, equipment and other machines from a central Intera 5-powered robot.

Tuthill Plastics Group, a full-service custom injection molding company, is using a Sawyer robot with Intera 5 to power improved product quality and more efficient production. Operating 24 hours a day, five days a week, Sawyer with Intera 5 is picking parts from a conveyor belt and communicating with a computer numeric control (CNC) machine to precisely place the part into the machine by using Intera 5’s unique force-sensing capabilities. By applying a precise level of force while placing the part, the Tuthill team has been able to improve part quality and consistency, reducing a length defect on the part by 98 percent since implementing Sawyer.

“Sawyer with Intera 5 is a major step forward in manufacturing automation,” said Richard Curtain, president, Tuthill Plastics Group. “Part placement is extremely critical to our machining process. Sawyer is able to effectively ensure product quality and consistency, handle the variability of the production line, and automatically re-register to the environment in the event that any parts move.”

German magnet manufacturer, MS Schramberg, is also leveraging Sawyer with Intera 5 and has substantially improved deployment time. With six robots operating on three machines, MS Schramberg has one robot selecting parts from a series of patterns and loading the part into the machine, while a second robot removes the part from the machine and loads the part into a tray.

With less than a day of training, an MS Schramberg engineer is able to deploy and train the robots in just more than an hour. The robots now run 24 hours per day, six days per week, and can easily configure complex logic tasks, minimizing the need for human interaction and freeing up employees for more complex tasks.

“We’ve cut our deployment times by hundreds of hours with Intera 5, and are able to easily deploy our Sawyer robots on an extremely complex task in just over an hour,” said Norman Wittke, general manager, MS Schramberg. “The ease and speed of deployment is extremely valuable for our company, and is helping make our manufacturing processes more efficient, while improving our ROI.”

With Intera 5, manufacturers will reap the benefits of:

  • Industry-leading embedded vision, which will allow the robot to perform tasks just as humans do, reducing the need for expensive part presentation fixturing and additional integration costs.
  • Adaptive force-sensing, allowing users to precisely set the amount of force required, or enable the robot to feel and respond to a specific force, so the robot can make adaptive decisions while performing a task.
  • Intera Studio, an intuitive and powerful new tool to simply and effectively deploy automation like never before, providing a gateway to the factory of the future.

“Intera 5 is equipping industry leaders like Tuthill Plastics and MS Schramberg to achieve immediate bottom-line improvements in productivity, quality and efficiency on the factory floor,” said Eckert. “By implementing our robots equipped with Intera 5, manufacturers will have unprecedented work cell coordination, greatly reducing the need for complex, time-consuming and outdated automation options.”

Beginning in March, Intera 5 will be available for download on all existing Sawyer robots, and will come standard on all new robots.

A New Approach to Automation Beginning With Robots

Siemens Making Digital Manufacturing Acquisition

Make no mistake about it, Siemens in “all in” on industry 4.0, otherwise known as digital manufacturing. As the company experiences some restructuring, the PLM business continues to add companies and technologies to its digital manufacturing business.

A news item from Reuters, also reported in many outlets this morning, says that Siemens is set to acquire privately held CD-adapco. This computer-aided-engineering (CAE) developer focuses on simulating engines and other mechanical systems. It looks like a good fit.

Reuters says the deal would be for about $1 billion. The founder/CEO of CD-adapco passed away in September. Is widow has been running the company since then.

The race between Siemens and GE just keeps getting more interesting. Meanwhile, Rockwell Automation focuses on the factory and process automation space, preferring to steer clear of the engineering and PLM software space. Schneider Electric’s moves have been interesting, although its attempt to acquire Aveva collapsed. ABB has been busy divesting and refocusing following former-CEO Joe Hogan’s sudden departure.

Digital manufacturing, especially featuring digital simulation of manufacturing processes, is the core of Germany’s Industrie 4.0 initiative. GE is pursuing a somewhat similar path, but it prefers the strategy of “Industrial Internet of Things.” Targeting automotive and aircraft manufacturers, these strategies hold the promise of not only increased manufacturing and supply chain efficiencies, but also possibilities of new business and income models.

What will be interesting to watch is whether Siemens and GE get so large in the space that they can no longer efficiently manage the diverse portfolio.

Digital Manufacturing Does It Need PLM

Digital Manufacturing Does It Need PLM

Zvi Feuer SiemensDuring my continuous research for topics such as Industry 4.0, digital manufacturing, smart manufacturing and the industrial Internet of things, I came across this Siemens PLM software blog.

In it, Zvi Feuer, Siemens PLM Software’s Senior Vice President, Digital Factory, Manufacturing Engineering Software, shares his perspective on “how Siemens helps companies worldwide to realize innovation in manufacturing.”

Feuer says, “I want to be able to offer our customers industry solutions which provide the means to turn any manufacturing operation into a high tech manufacturer. In order for us to sell not only the software but also usage methodologies And, in fact, to increase productivity with the customer and to help the customer deliver to his customers in a better and faster shape. This will obviously create opportunities for people, opportunities for jobs.”

Siemens executives have explained its digital manufacturing strategy to me for more than 10 years. And the vision has been remarkably consistent. The first conversations were even before the UGS acquisition that led to the Siemens PLM business.

PLM As ERP for Manufacturing

The blog refers to a white paper, PLM For Manufacturing, “If you are looking for ways to connect all domains of the design/build lifecycle, consider a manufacturing process management (MPM) solution. This provides an enterprise-scalable foundation that allows you to perform product design, while simultaneously optimizing manufacturing processes. This means that you can better manage lifecycle cost, meet launch dates and maintain product quality targets.”

That statement reflects Siemens thinking even before the acquisition. Is it possible to design not only the product but the manufacturing digitally, and then proof it all out digitally before even cutting the first steel.

“We believe that an MPM system that is part of an enterprise PLM system is the best way to move
forward. This will provide an environment that supports a flexible process plan capable of reflecting any changes to the product design or requirements. This might be called a single window for enterprise data management – a single application that supports the complete lifecyle of product data in an enterprise environment. The main idea is to provide users with one platform for all their data management needs. Teamcenter PLM software is the only comprehensive system that provides a platform in which users can conduct all their data management needs from engineering to manufacturing to execution.”

Is it sustainable?

This is a grand vision. It reads like Goldratt’s “The Goal” coming to life totally automated. But, there are inherent problems to the grand scheme. I have witnessed and otherwise seen the benefits of more and better information informing production/maintenance teams enabling better decisions and improvements. But to think that this could eventually happen without human intervention–I doubt that ever happens effectively.

The white paper also talks about complexities of manufacturing and software, then it argues that it would be better to put everything into one overarching software application. I would argue, along with my Lean friends, that this would just make for one very complex software application.

Any of us who have actually done automation know that when the application gets too complex, then it doesn’t work. It is not maintained. It is not understood. People begin developing their more simplified (and understandable) workarounds.

The vision is like most things I have witnessed over the past 40 years of applying technology. We develop something. We get benefits. We get over ambitious and build something cumbersome. People stop using it. We develop something simpler. People use it. And so on.

Digital manufacturing and Industrie 4.0? Interesting. The jury is still deliberating as to whether it is giving Germany the desired competitive edge in manufacturing.

3D Printing–The Future of Manufacturing is Here?

One potentially disruptive technology rapidly developing beyond the hobbyist stage is 3D printing. It has been around for a while, but new developments in printers and materials pop up at least weekly.

Most manufacturing has been subtractive–take a hunk of iron or steel or plastic, put it in a mill, lathe, machining center, and do like the famous artist who, when asked how he sculpted the statue said, “I just chip away all the marble that didn’t look like the statue.”

We also mold in various ways. My second manufacturing position was at an operation that included vacuum forming parts from plastic sheets. Later, I was involved with blow molding and injection molding.

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, works by laying down a thin layer of the material, followed by another layer, and so on until the final part is manufactured. It is possible to do complex parts that could never be machined or molded. The possibilities for product designers are exciting. And the prices are dropping enough and the reliability improving enough so that maybe you, too, could start a manufacturing business in your garage.

Here’s an advance I just read about.

Stratasys Ltd., a manufacturer of 3D printers and materials for personal use, prototyping, and production, has announced the launch of the “ground-breaking” Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer, it claims to be the first and only 3D printer to combine colors with multi-material 3D printing.

From the release, “A game-changer for product design, engineering and manufacturing processes, the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer features a unique triple-jetting technology that combines droplets of three base materials to produce parts with virtually unlimited combinations of rigid, flexible, and transparent color materials as well as color digital materials – all in a single print run. This ability to achieve the characteristics of an assembled part without assembly or painting is a significant time-saver. It helps product manufacturers validate designs and make good decisions earlier before committing to manufacturing, and bring products to market faster.”

Revolutionize manufacturing

“Stratasys’ goal is to help our customers revolutionize their design and manufacturing processes,” says Stratasys CEO David Reis. “I believe our new Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer will transform the way our customers design, engineer and manufacture new products. In general and with the Connex technology in particular, we will continue to push the envelope of what’s possible in a 3D world.“

Engineers at beta user Trek Bicycle in Waterloo, Wisconsin are using the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer for assessment and testing of accessories like bike chain stay guards and handlebar grips prior to actual production. “The Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer changed the way we manufacture at Trek, augmenting our traditional, time-consuming CNC processes with fast, iterative and realistic prototyping and functional testing,” says Mike Zeigle, manager of Trek’s prototype development group.

“Now we produce bicycle parts that look and feel like production parts. We are particularly excited about 3D printing our models directly in color. This gives our designers the ability to graphically display color contact pressure map data on rider contact parts like seats and grips. We are also working on doing the same with FEA & CFD stress data on structural bike components,” adds Zeigle.

Similar to a 2D inkjet printer, three color materials – VeroCyan, VeroMagenta and VeroYellow – are combined to produce hundreds of vivid colors. These color materials join Stratasys’ extensive range of PolyJet photopolymer materials including digital materials, rigid, rubber-like, transparent, and high temperature materials to simulate standard and high temperature engineering plastics.

Follow this blog

Get a weekly email of all new posts.