Showing posts with label industrial automation. Show all posts
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January 22, 2017

This is sick.
Of all the things we take for granted in our everyday lives, the engines that keep our cars running have to be one of the most ubiqutious.
It's not really our fault that we don't know how awesome these underrated marvels of technology actually are - they're tucked away under the hood, and all the incredible chemistry going on is concealed by that big metal casing. But what if you had a piston engine with a clear cylinder head that lets you see everything?
YouTuber Matt Mikka has done just that at his Warped Perception channel to show you the combustion process of a 3 HP flathead Briggs and Stratton Internal Combustion engine in Ultra Slow Motion.

He takes it from a 'rich' state (too much fuel and not enough air) to a 'lean' state (too much air and not enough fuel), and burns gasoline, rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol), and the hydrocarbon compound acetylene for comparison.
In case you're not familiar with the internal parts of a piston engine, in the video above, you'll see the piston moving up and down on the left, and the intake and exhaust valves on the right.
There's a spark plug hanging above these two valves, which ignites the whole thing, and when you see those gas flames slowed down 150 times... well, let's just say it's a thing of beauty.
Okay, so the gasoline is beautiful, the rubbing alcohol is kind of stressful with all that liquid squishing around, and then the acetylene? That stuff is downright scary.
The reason those last two fuels flood and mess up the engine is because they don't strike the same kind of fuel-air balance that gasoline does.
As Avery Thompson explains for Popular Mechanics, the process should go like so:
"This is a four-stroke engine, which means the full cycle has four steps. Step one is the intake valve opening and letting air and fuel into the chamber while the piston moves down. On step two, the piston moves up, compressing the fuel.
On step three, the fuel is ignited, and the force of that ignition pushes the piston down again. And finally, step four sees the piston move upward again, forcing the exhaust out of the newly opened exhaust valve."
Now that we've seen that in action, we want every machine in our lives to be see-through.
And now, for something completely different, check out this older Warped Perception video, where he pops corn kernels at 30,000 frames per second in Ultra Slow Motion.

All hail the crunchy ballerinas:

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January 20, 2017

Over the past 15 years, robotics and automation specialist TRACLabs has used its 3T robot intelligence software to perform inspection tasks for the International Space Station (ISS). Robots programmed with the latest software are able to search for, find and recognise people, hunt for underwater mines and carry out repair and replacement tasks on earth or in space. Impressive so far, but wait, there's more.
Layered intelligence can now be utilised by any computer-controlled machine, even stationary ones. TRACLabs has also been busy developing intelligent control for advanced life support systems such as biological water processors, oxygen generation and CO2 recovery systems. The results of several of these efforts were used in human-related tests, including one with four people living and working in a NASA biosphere for three months. With a little more work, industrial automation might have the power to keep us alive in the most unfriendly environments imaginable.
In terms of the types of technology industrial automation is contributing to keeping the ISS up and running, we've not even scratched the surface. Supplier of industrial networking technology, Hirschmann is also in on the action, providing the ISS with industry-proven managed OCTOPUS switches, used in data communication.
On the ISS, the OCTOPUS switches are subjected to electromagnetic radiation that is around 100 times higher than on Earth, mostly caused by high energy protons. To ensure they were up to the job, the switches underwent extensive testing prior to being implemented. Luckily, the radiation-sensitive integrated switch circuits proved their suitability for their trip into space.
After proving their worth in the communication system of the Russian segment of the ISS, the OCTOPUS switches have also been in use since 2011 in the American segment. This part of the ISS is the home of the Cupola, the observatory module used to conduct experiments, dockings and observations of Earth. In addition, the OCTOPUS switches transport data from the space station's joint Local Area Network (LAN). In the future, videos in HD quality are to be transmitted from the Cupola to ground control.
Across the pond, leader in power and automation technologies ABB is in the midst of developing a new industrial sensor that will be used to study planetary rocks from a Mars or Moon Rover. The new design is around half the size of its predecessor with better performance and lower service requirements. It includes a solid-state laser designed to operate in space, without any servicing for more than 20 years. To compare, its predecessor needed servicing every three years.
With the help of the new sensor, ABB hopes to advance understanding of issues such as global warming, ozone depletion and the impact of pollution on air quality, as well as weather prediction and climatology.
Apart from the latest generations of robots and industrial automation technologies, the ISS also relies on more traditional industrial automation components like motors and drives. The critical process of cooling, for example, is heavily dependent on liquid ammonia pumps.

It’s fair to say that industrial automation plays a key part in humankind’s exploration of outer space. And it’s helping us go further and further every day. So there you have it, you can officially say that your industry is making its mark in space.

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January 20, 2017
In the last few years, fitness tracking technology has been increasingly popular, with a range of devices available to help you become healthier, improve your fitness performance and ultimately live longer. These devices use non-invasive, easy to use sensors that connect directly to your smartphone or computer, giving you instant results to track your progress. At this year’s Hanover Messe, a new fitness tracker was announced. Only this time, it’s a fitness tracker for industrial motors.
Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director of industrial equipment supplier EU Automation discusses how this new development helps bring legacy systems forward.
At this year’s Hanover fair, ABB revealed that it has developed a smart sensor that can monitor the condition of a Low Voltage (LV) motor. This development consists of two parts; the sensor and the software. The sensor, which can be applied directly to the motor, collects data on the motor’s parameters including; vibration, temperature, magnetic fields and power consumption. This information is sent to a server and analysed. This means an electric motor can report wirelessly on its own condition.
The encrypted data from the sensors is transmitted wirelessly to a secure cloud based server. It is analysed and graphically presented through an internet based customer portal. The condition of all motors in the system can be monitored at any time, with alerts if a problem or sub-optimal performance is detected. This information can then be used to plan maintenance, with the aim to reduce downtime.
When an alert from the predictive maintenance system flags up that a motor is performing sub-optimally or nearing the end of its lifetime, maintenance engineers can take the necessary steps to find a like-for-like replacement before downtime occurs.
The smart sensor can be attached to new motors or can be retrofitted to almost any LV motor, not limited to those made by ABB. The technology has the potential to improve energy efficiency in any industrial automation system.
Without predictive analytics, motors often run until they fail, which usually results in unplanned downtime. This sensor system is a significant advancement, as it makes monitoring and preventative maintenance more accessible and straightforward than ever before. ABB claims that using the sensor can cut motor downtime up to 70%, extend motor life by up to 30% and cut energy consumption by 10%, three key considerations for anyone running an industrial plant.

Measuring simple parameters can bring almost any motor into the fourth industrial revolution, leading to a longer, healthier life for legacy systems. Just like smart sensors are changing the way we understand and monitor our own health and fitness levels, they are also facilitating preventative maintenance for automation systems, reducing downtime and saving costs.

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