INDUSTRY News I
ndustrial start-up and mechatronic pioneer Mirmex Motor has developed a new method of manufacturing high power density electric micromotor windings. Seven years of research and development have resulted in the commercial availability of this groundbreaking technology, which completely revolutionises traditional winding design and manufacturing methods.
Constructed from flexible printed circuits and developed using artificial intelligence (AI), the micromotors feature unmatched performance and maximum precision. They can be up to 50% more compact, 70% more dynamic, with three times lesser heat losses and assembled ten times faster than most of the existing solutions using conventional windings made from copper wire.
“This represents a huge leap forward for the micromotor industry,” said Cedric Van Rossum, CEO of Mirmex Motor. “Feedback from industry professionals has proven that our solution is well above market standards.”
Designed for use in high-performance industrial and surgical
precision powered tools, active prostheses, aerospace and robotics, the motors are fully customisable thanks to Mirmex Motor’s proprietary software. The motor production is greatly simplified, resulting in a quicker manufacturing time with reduced tooling costs – an almost impossible process using traditional copper coils. Mirmex Motor’s technology is primarily applicable to slotless permanent magnet motors, whether used as synchronous machines or as slotless brushless direct current (SBLDC) machines. These devices have existed for 40 years but have not seen significant innovation since their inception. While traditional high-performance coils are extremely complex to design, manipulate and manufacture, the company’s innovation meets the demands of users looking for increased performance and the convenience of compactness.
“These days, micromotors are everywhere, from drones to surgical devices and robots, a demand that continues to grow,” said Bruno Dehez, Chief Scientific Advisor at Mirmex Motor. “The performance of such motors depends entirely on their copper coils. Their windings are particularly long and tedious to wind in order to obtain the best possible result. ”
ABB COLUMN
ROBOTS – FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR F&B PRODUCERS
I
n today’s demanding and highly-competitive climate, food producers must be able to respond to rapid changes in consumer demand, including the growing need for
products to be delivered to the doorstep. For many this means finding ways to overcome challenges such as high staff turnover, flexibility
of production lines and the ongoing pressures caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. For UK companies, particularly SMEs, the challenge is to deliver high-
quality, short shelf life products quickly, efficiently and safely. With the large supermarket chains relying on their reputation of delivering the highest quality of produce on their shelves at the best possible prices, the onus is on suppliers to stay one step ahead. Given these pressures, it is not surprising to see an increased interest
in robotic automation in the food sector. A recent report from the British Automation and Robotics Association (BARA) has revealed that the food and beverage (F&B) industry accounted for 29% of all industrial robot sales in the UK from April to June 2020, making it the largest adopter of robots since the start of lockdown in March. Here are some of the benefits that robots can bring to F&B manufacturing: • Consistent product quality Robots solve consistency issues throughout production lines. Major developments in vision inspection technology, for example, are enabling robots to quickly spot defective products that don’t conform to a given specification. • Increased reliability and flexibility A robot’s ability to switch between multiple production or packaging processes with minimal downtime required for set up provides suppliers with the flexibility needed to complete orders in the shortest time. The innate flexibility of robotic technology enables different object types and shapes to be handled on a single line. With today’s robots offering high Mean Time between Failure (MTBF) rates, reliability is also greatly enhanced. • Offline programming Offline programming tools such as ABB’s RobotStudio suite enable a robot or a robot system to be thoroughly tried and tested in an offline environment, helping reduce the time and cost of designing and commissioning physical installations.
Nigel Platt LBL Manager, UK and Ireland, ABB Robotics
automationmagazine.co.uk
Automation | November 2020
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