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Drive system development assistance

12/09/2017

Drive system development assistance

As economics, society and politics continue their dynamic evolution, the constant process of change is being accelerated by digitalisation. Value networks, too, have to keep up with the pace of development. In such an environment, the intelligent factory of Industry 4.0 is an essential requirement.

Only with the aid of automation technology can enterprises secure their current competitiveness in the long term, prevent the migration of expertise, and enter new markets. Today, the only way to achieve lower unit costs, better quality and safety, and high productivity is in highly efficient automated plants. This entails a permanently increasing need for industrial automation.

Automation solutions find applications in numerous technological fields: sensors and measurement, control and drive systems, human-machine communication and connectivity, components and software, and industrial image processing.

As indicated in a recent VDMA report (http://www.hansecf.de/maerkte-im-fokus-industrielle-automatisierung-und-robotik/), the German market for automation technology has seen significant growth, with sales of EUR 12.2 bn in 2015 – 7% more than the previous year. It is estimated that industry-wide sales in 2016 reached EUR 12.5 bn. With advancing globalisation and the rise of countries like China, the market for automation and robotics is changing fast.

According to the World Robotics Report 2017 by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) (https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/ifr-forecast-1.7-million-new-robots-to-transform-the-worlds-factories-by-20), more than 1.7 million new industrial robots will be installed in factories around the world by the year 2020. The robotics industry in Asia is currently experiencing the strongest growth – headed by global market leader China. In 2017, robot installations are expected to increase by 21 percent in the Asia-Australia region, 16 percent in North and South America, and 8 percent in Europe.

The report states that the robot boom is a response to faster economic cycles – in all manufacturing sectors, there is a need to produce more flexibly and cater to customers’ individual needs. At the same time, a new generation of industrial robots is paving the way for the automation of the future.

By 2020, the global stock of industrial robots will increase from around 1,828,000 units (2016) to 3,053,000 units, at an average annual growth rate of 14 percent (2018 to 2020). In 2017, the stock of operational robots is set to grow by 16 percent in Asia-Australia, 9 percent in America, and 7 percent in Europe. Since 2016, China has had the most robots in use. There will be around 950,300 units in 2020 – significantly more than in Europe (611,700 units). Japan’s stock of robots will increase only slightly between 2018 and 2020. In Asia as a whole, around 1.9 million robots will be in use in 2020. This is almost as many as the world’s entire stock of robots in 2016.

Future trend: smart factory

Industry 4.0 – the digitally connected factory – will play an ever greater role in global manufacturing in the future. As obstacles such as system complexity and data incompatibility are overcome, companies are integrating industrial robots into production, with factory-wide machine and system networks. Robot manufacturers are already developing and marketing new service models of this kind, based on real-time data from robots, collected by sensors. Analysts also predict a rapidly growing market for cloud robotics. This is where data from one robot is synchronised and compared with data from other robots – at the same location or at different locations. A cloud network allows all connected robots to perform the same activities. It means that parameters such as the robot’s speed, angle or force applied can be optimised. The resulting new volumes of data in production are likely to redefine the typical industry boundaries between plant engineers and manufacturers.

Top design challenges in motor control

Industrial robots carry out their tasks with the utmost precision. For example, they can pick up an engine block, set it down precisely in a vehicle chassis, and return to their original position to perform another task with identical precision each time. But without precise motor control, this would be impossible.

From powerful drive motors to robots and conveyor belts for industrial automation, and even entertainment electronics in the form of CD and Blu-ray drives, drive systems are an essential element of electronic applications. It is estimated that they account for up to 50% of global energy demand. With advancing automation and the further spread of electrical appliances in emerging and developing countries, this share will increase still further.

For this reason, modern systems should have low power consumption – and intelligent driver options. The only way to satisfy these requirements is through a combination of advanced controller technology and efficient power semiconductors. In addition, rapid application development is desirable.

Developers have to take aspects such as RPM speed, vibration and performance optimisation into account, and choose the right components. Electronics manufacturers therefore offer easy-to-use evaluation kits (EVKs), which help developers arrive at a good product quickly. Using established standards such as Arduino can also help save substantial time.

Motor drivers made easy

Rohm’s evaluation kits facilitate motor control adjustment in the design phase, while still leaving developers with all configuration options open. Based on the Arduino standard, the kits can control one or two motors. They help developers find the optimal decay mode and monitor the junction temperature, and they simplify the power supply. Once the design has been tested, developers can move from the prototype stage into the production phase, for which Rohm provides parts lists and Gerber-based printed circuit board (PCB) layouts. Currently, versions are available for stepper motors with supply voltages of 8 to 42 V and phase currents up to 2.5 A, but Rohm is expanding its EVK range for other motor drivers.

 

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