ADVERTORIAL TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION Universal Robots boost profitability at machining company Rousant Sherwood Manufacturing (RSM) is a family-


owned company based at Henley-on-Thames that has been specialising in the subcontract manufacture of complex machined components for over 40 years. In this time, the company has built up an outstanding international reputation in industries such as medical, aerospace and oil and gas.


RSM has always understood that continued investment


in state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies is the key to its success. The company has 11 Nakamura-Tome multi- axis, multi-turret, twin-spindle turn-mill centres, complemented by the latest 13-axis sliding-head turning and four-axis milling capability. As a result the company has minimised both cycle times and the number of set-ups required. However, faced with an increasingly competitive global marketplace, the 35-employee company wanted to make further efficiency gains, deciding to focus its attention on automation. Surveying the entire range of industrial


Automation to load and unload its machine tools. A mix of seven UR5 and UR10 robots have helped Rousant Sherwood maximise the productivity of its workforce by automating repetitive tasks and allowed the company to bid for contracts which would have otherwise been unprofitable.


A


leading specialist in multi-axis machining is leveraging the benefits of Universal Robots supplied by RARUK


robots available, RSM concluded that six-axis Universal Robots were the ideal match for its machine- tending requirements, largely due to their ease-of- programming, competitive price and collaborative operating capabilities. Collaborative robots (‘cobots’) use innovative sensor technology (programmed with a pre-determined force) to stop safely in the event of human contact. As a result, around 80% of the thousands of Universal Robots in use worldwide operate with no safety guarding (after risk assessment). RSM’s seven Universal Robots are


today busy tending the company’s 14 CNC machine tools, with robots frequently relocated


SMARC makes digital cockpit designs smarter The platform utilizes an Intel Atom E39xx


processor based SMARC 2.0 module from congatec in combination with an Intel Cyclone V SoC FPGA with integrated ARM cores and MAX 10 FPGAs to provide unsurpassed design flexibility for extra connectivity options and hardware encoded preprocessing tasks. The platform allows multiple functions to be hosted on a single system, including ADAS through video data analytics on the basis of deep learning algorithms and artificial intelligence as well as occupant safety systems such as driver awareness sensing plus navigation, passenger infotainment and rear-seat entertainment. The highly modular system design is


c


powered by congatec SMARC 2.0 modules that are interchangeable and support multiple devices and architectures – including the Intel Atom automotive processors for in-vehicle experiences – and utilizes powerful Intel automotive-grade Cyclone V SoC FPGAs with integrated ARM cores and MAX 10 FPGAs providing unsurpassed design flexibility. The platform offers four independent on-board display interfaces with support for additional displays via expansion slots. Two HMSC connectors provide massive high-speed I/O


ongatec – a leading vendor of standardized and customized embedded computer boards and modules – and global IT service provider Luxoft introduce a next-gen automotive platform with SMARC 2.0 Computer-on-Modules. Launching with the conga-SA5 as the first official supported module, the Automotive Reference Platform (ARP) co- developed by Intel and Luxoft makes digital cockpit designs of next-generation vehicles smarter. The new platform enables clustering of previously separately managed


38 MAY 2018 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS


functions such as head unit display, cockpit occupant monitoring and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). By utilizing a standards based SMARC 2.0 Computer-on- Module, engineers benefit from high design efficiency with lowest NRE cost for the core and maximum scalability ranging from low-cost to premium performance. Target customers are new and established mobility OEMs and their suppliers who develop hardware and software solutions for digital cockpit systems of next-generation vehicles.


extension capabilities. A wide variety of expansion boards is already available through the partner ecosystem, supporting all major existing and emerging automotive wired and wireless connectivity standards.


congatec AG  +49-991-2700-0  info@congatec.com  www.congatec.com


CONNECTINGINDUSTRY.COM/DESIGNSOLUTIONS


RARUK  01462 670044  info@raruk.com  www.rarodriguez.co.uk


to different machines in line with customer/contract demands. One of the UR10 robots is currently serving a Nakamura-Tome Super NTJX multi-tasking turn-mill centre. The robot loads square billets of aluminium into the machine, where they are turned into aerospace components in a 40-minute cycle. The machine and robot are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


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