Mitsubishi Electric in Japan has announced a new generation of general-purpose inverters which, it claims, will be the first to incorporate diagnostics functions based on AI (artificial intelligence). The first 44 models in the FR-E800 series, with ratings from 0.1–7.5kW, will be released in December 2019. They will be joined, from April 2020, by further versions with safety functions such as SLS (safely-limited speed) and STO (safe torque off). The family will eventually comprise a total of 120 models in ratings up to 22kW.
ABB has announced a range of large Nema-frame AC motors for hazardous area applications which, it says, deliver an average of 15% more power than conventional designs. The AXR 5000 and 5800 motors meet American Petroleum Institute 541 and 547 standards for motors used in the oil and gas industry.
Festo has developed what it claims is the world’s shortest pneumatic slide. The DGST slide has a twin-piston design and comes in diameters from 6–25mm and stroke lengths from 10–200mm. The slide houses an integrated guide and end-plate made from a single part, thus eliminating torsion and misalignment issues and providing precise movements. Impact shocks at the end-of-stroke are reduced by integral cushioning, while in-built stroke adjustment eliminates the need for additional parts.
Omron has announced a family of 164 new safety light curtains, with the claim that they form the industry's broadest portfolio. The F3SG-SR/PG curtains provide finger (10mm beam gap), hand (20mm), leg (40mm), and body protection (80mm), and cover protective heights from 160–2,480mm. They are IO-Link compatible, and can thus be linked into IoT systems on factory floors.
At the 2019 Hannover Fair, Schaeffler presented a series of ironless linear motors designed to reduce the mass of the primary part without compromising drive forces. The UPLplus motors are aimed, in particular, at applications where the maximum acceleration of linear drives has previously been limited by the relatively large proportion of the rotor mass to the total moving mass.
Nord Drivesystems has developed an app for diagnosing, analysing, monitoring and parameterising its drives. The Nordcomm app works with a Bluetooth stick to speed up commissioning, simplify maintenance and remedy faults faster.
Genesis Robotics, the Canadian company which unveiled a gearless, high-torque rotary actuator at the 2017 Hannover fair, was back at this year's show, previewing a new family of low-friction, back-drivable actuators which, it says, respond much faster than traditional actuators.
Siemens is making its TIA Portal engineering framework accessible via the cloud, providing fast, flexible, Web-based access to pre-installed environments via any type of hardware, at any place and any time, without needing any installation. It says that this capability will reduce the effort needed to test TIA Portal innovations, allowing the framework to adapt flexibly to a user’s hardware and way of working. There is no need to install the software on local hardware.
At the 2019 Hannover Fair, Schneider Electric announced seven new cloud-based apps for industry, smart buildings, data centres and energy grids, as part of its EcoStruxure platform. The Advisor apps and services provide visibility for connected products, while delivering analytics to drive efficiency. They include:
Bosch Rexroth has released an app that provides wireless access to the error memory of machines equipped with its control systems, allowing maintenance personnel to read error messages and service information, and to order spares.
Beckhoff has integrated a real-time machine learning (ML) capability into its TwinCat 3 automation software. It says that the ML technology is powerful enough to handle advanced tasks such as motion control, and predicts that it will open up new possibilities and optimisation potential in areas such as predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, collaborative robotics, automated quality control, and machine optimisation.
The German drives manufacturer Nord has announced a range of cabinet-mounting inverters whose functions can be extended using plug-in control, safety and option modules. The bookshelf-format Nordac Pro SK 500p inverters span ratings from 0.25–5.5kW and can be mounted side-by-side inside cabinets.
The German sensor-maker SensoPart claims that a new laser-based triangulation sensor represents a new generation of distance sensors. The FT 55-RLAM sensor, available with operating ranges up to 1m, can detect surfaces from black to shiny. It is equipped with an analogue output, two switching outputs, an IO-Link interface and an optional RS-485 port.
Omron has announced a new series of high-performance frequency inverters for induction and permanent magnet motors, that include an auto-tuning function said to maximise PM motor performance, leading to energy savings. In addition to the normal-duty (ND: 150% overload for 1 minute, or 200% for 3 seconds) and low-duty (LD: 120% for 1 minute, 150% for 3s) capabilities of the previous RX series, the new RX2 inverters add a very-low duty (VLD: 110% for 1 minute, 120% for 3s) rating, widening their range of applications.
Yaskawa has introduced a series of AC microdrives which, it claims, can achieve energy savings that are up to 6% higher than other drives. The GA500 drives span ratings from 0.2–30kW, and can be used to control permanent magnet and synchronous reluctance motors, as well as induction machines, without needing comprehensive tuning.
