OCTOBER 2019 THE INTERVIEW
technology group. Spur gears
are connected via a universal
joint shaft with bevel gears. A
90° offset by the bevel gears
in turn allows the different
sprockets to be driven. The
use of a roller chain, as well
as clamping sets, can also be
viewed here in more detail.
The second area shows our
pneumatic handling modules
and driven ball screws. The
workpiece is our novelty
‘norelem cube’, implemented
in cycles and simulates a
component feed.
MM: You worked with
engineering students to
create these machines.
Can you explain how this
came about?
MA: We collaborated on
the exhibits’ concept
development with students
at the Karlsruhe Institute
of Technology in Germany,
known as KIT for short.
We have always had close
ties to young designers and
talents. As part of our norelem
ACADEMY, we’re always
looking to give students their
first professional and project
experience, and understand
engineering outside of the
academic environment.
In this particular project,
we selected a group of
students and tasked them with
delivering creative automation
ideas, which we then assessed
and tested. It was a great winwin
situation, as the students
were paid for their work, as
well as getting first-hand experience.
We then took the ideas to an automation
specialist to deliver the final design and
implementation phase. Ultimately the whole
project was about teamwork – from students
for the ideas, to norelem as the component
providers, and the automation specialists to
assemble it all together.
MM: How should automated machinery
be serviced?
MA: For our example applications, a remote
maintenance solution is the optimum choice.
Faults can be read out at any time and sent to
our head office. This permits us to monitor the
exhibits independently of their location and
remedy possible sources of error remotely.
In general, the subject of predictive
maintenance and condition monitoring is also
becoming increasingly important. By using
numerous sensors on the handling units, the
system is fed with data, which in turn sounds
the alarm before the plant suffers failure or
stoppage. This recording of physical parameters
ensures ‘round-the-clock’ condition monitoring
throughout the process. Early maintenance
intervals on high-wear gripper modules help
to minimise downtime. Machinery downtime
can therefore be prevented thanks to efficient
condition monitoring.
In future, we want to offer the operator
even greater support by equipping some of our
products with sensors. This eliminates the need
for lengthy and tedious testing, and the data
transfer is integrated in the ongoing process.
For example, we are working on developing
clamping jaws with intelligent clamping force
monitoring. Here, a power clamp indicates
the clamping force exerted on the workpiece.
Long and tedious checking procedures are thus
eliminated and data is constantly sent back to
monitor the clamp.
MM: Are there any health and safety
benefits to automation?
MA: Yes, definitely. Especially when involving
monotonous work, the risk of injury for
employees is very high. Concentration can quickly
wane, and an incorrectly executed work step can
lead to injury.
Thanks to the automation of handling tasks,
we can relieve the employee of these activities
and thus also reduce the risk of injury. This should
be something that every employer strives for.
MM: What do you hope for the future
of automation?
MA: We hope smaller companies can drive
forward with the expansion of automation
at an ever-greater speed. Cost-effective and
standardised handling solutions enable a good
start in this area, even when it comes to small
companies. Every company must be able to
automate sub-areas in the component feed in a
simple and efficient manner.
showcase automation and other
engineering possibilities. On
the truck, we had a ‘pick and
place’ automation example,
which we found very popular
with our customers.
Since our enquiries within
this area increased, we wanted
to present more illustrative
examples on a larger scale.
The purpose of the new
handling and transport exhibits
is simply to show our customers
just how diverse standard
components can be and how
they can come together.
For example, in the ‘norelem
movement’ exhibit alone, there
are more than 1,200 norelem
parts that have been installed!
The aim of this exhibit is
to simulate a technical run
that fulfils a handling task.
Pneumatic linear modules,
lifting units and rotary modules
show the handling tasks of a
cylindrical body. A key feature
is the linear axis – this shows
how easy it is to implement and
integrate a component conveyor
with this compact unit. Another
feature is the customisable
small conveyor belt.
In the ‘norelem drive’ exhibit
we demonstrate an application
sample from the field of drive
technology. In this machine,
more than 400 norelem parts
have been installed, including
linear, pneumatic and rotary
modules, dovetail slides, spur
gears and sprockets and more.
This exhibit has two
areas: one area shows various
components from our drive
Automation
has a number
of substantial
benefits
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