Better City, Better Drive
The German pavilion is creating a furor even before the opening of EXPO 2010 in Shanghai on May 1 of this year. The reason for the ruckus is a globe three meters in diameter and weighing 1.2 tons. Visitors’ applause and cheers will cause it to swing and light up its 400,000 LEDs — driven by Rexroth technology. The interactive pendulum is an embodiment of the energy center for the so-called “balancity” — the “city in balance”. That’s the name selected for the German pavilion, reflecting the motto for the EXPO itself: “Better City, Better Life”. It is under this heading that new ideas for urban living are to be presented.
The concept for the interactive pendulum came from Milla & Partners, a creative projects agency in Stuttgart. The University of Stuttgart assessed feasibility, designed the automation, and programmed the software. One particular hurdle was that the scientists could not draw on any prior experience. Normally, systems that might oscillate have to be kept quiet. By contrast, the EXPO globe is quite deliberately to be set in motion. The hardware for the drive system is from Rexroth. The company delivered the rollerequipped guide rails for the pendulum. These rails are equipped in part with an integrated measurement system, ball screw drives, synchronous servomotors and intelligent IndraDrive servo actuators — all components as rugged as they are precise. The challenge here is the requirement that the pendulum survive more than one million cycles over the duration of the exhibition.
Engineered for more than one million cycles: X-Y skids comprising roller-equipped guide rails integrating a measurement system and ball screw drives.
A team for the sun
Rexroth can now offer more manpower to the solar industry in the form of a permanent team of solar experts. They support manufacturers and users with innovative solutions in plant automation. The team can draw on the firm’s development capacities all over the world and can select from a wide range of automation modules that have already proven their qualities in applications tailor-made for the solar industry. The result: The experts are thoroughly familiar with the industry — and that shows in their consulting efforts. Three TechCenters around the world — in the U.S.A., Europe and Asia — are ready to field questions posed by customers and their employees.
Machinery with a system
Rexroth IndraMotion MTX micro is the compact systemized solution for lathes and milling machines. The CNC system integrates a PLC and can be used to automate up to three advancing drives. A 32-bit microprocessor in the central switchgear cabinet module makes for short cycling times and superb manufacturing precision, right down into the nanometer range, and all this at enhanced productivity.
www.boschrexroth.com/electrics
A pair for Turkey
The two Rexroth operating sites in Turkey — Gebze and Bursa — have moved. Gebze, the Rexroth headquarters in Turkey, is now located at a strategic transport junction. It resides in a “green factory” that saves energy and resources while minimizing waste and emissions. The new plant in Bursa uses the latest equipment to produce hydraulic components. Bosch Rexroth AG invested 63 million euros in its two Turkish sites and expanded factory floor space to 120,000 square meters.
Green headquarters with attached plant: the new site in Gebze.
Mobile innovations
Rexroth is appearing at the 29th bauma construction trade exposition in Hall A4, at Booth 317/510. This is the world’s largest international trade fair devoted to construction machinery, building materials production machinery, mining equipment, and construction vehicles and equipment. Rexroth will be showing its innovative hydraulic solutions for mobile working machines, aimed at meeting the prime challenges of energy, ecology, costs and function. Playing a special role is support for OEMs in satisfying Tier 4 emission regulations. Last October participants from forty countries were able, at the Mobile 2009 in Ulm, to examine the system solutions to be seen at the bauma. Over and above that, Rexroth will be presenting product highlights not yet revealed. One example is Silence Plus — a new low-noise, external gear pump, and “Blue Hydraulics”. This concept shows energy-efficient and environment-friendly solutions employing a time-tested but nonetheless future-oriented technology.
A square peg …
The new EcoShape cylindrical tube system makes for clever connections. Examples include trouble-free combinations of round and rectangular profiles, easy realization of custom solutions, and reconfiguring systems in the twinkling of an eye — both during the planning stage and in operation.
Boat ahoy
At the “Boot 2010” trade fair, a major marine technology exhibition in Germany, Rexroth introduced an expansion to its Marex OS II steering system. Joysticks can now be integrated to augment traditional controls. These make for intuitive, one-handed steering, without having to coordinate the individual drive elements. The captain can concentrate entirely on the surroundings. This highly convenient control unit is scheduled to be introduced to the market this year.
Intuitive joystick control: Marex OS II-3D.
Anchoring efficiency
Contributing energy-efficient products and solutions from every imaginable field in automation technology, Rexroth is taking part in the new “Model Factory for Energy Productivity”, organized by the Institute for Machine Tools and Management Sciences (iwb) at Munich Technical University and by Mc Kinsey & Company, corporate consultants.
“Just like the Model Factory itself, Rexroth champions a comprehensive, systematic approach in efforts to boost energy efficiency,” emphasizes Dr. Karl Tragl, Executive Vice-President for Sales at Bosch Rexroth AG. “The common goal here is to propagate the technology and know-how needed to cut costs and reduce pollutant emissions, without compromises in performance and productivity.” One example is Rexroth 4EE. This concept for boosting energy efficiency in production technology can bring about savings of up to 75 percent, depending on the machine involved.
Working on almost 200 square meters, the Learning Factory demonstrates an exemplary production process with all the important process steps. “In the future our engineers are to receive hands-on training, close to real-world practice, at the Learning Factory so that, from the very outset, their thinking includes energy productivity,” emphasizes Prof. Gunther Reinhart, the iwb Director.
At the Model Factory students, engineers and managers discover first-hand the advantages of more energy-efficient production.
Superior sealing
Inspecting pneumatic gaskets during operation? This ingenious idea prompted Rexroth to recognize eight employees with the Innovations Prize. The condition monitoring concept for pneumatic cylinders works on the basis of a new, two-component sealing technology. Wear-based maintenance is achieved using the sensor function in this seal and a warning indicator located right at the cylinder. This avoids leakage and minimizes maintenance costs.
www.boschrexroth.com/pneumatics
Tunnel-proof
More than 300 frequency inverters made by Rexroth drive ventilation fans in the tunnels under the Quinling Mountains. There’s certainly enough to do: 270 kilometers of motorway pass through 130 tunnels. The units used in the past tended to break down. That’s why the operator is now putting its trust in Rexroth expertise.
www.boschrexroth.com/electrics
The motor as a sensor
It takes just a bit of software for the Productivity Agent to turn the intelligent IndraDrive actuators into sensors. That boosts machine availability. The software, in parallel to the process, analyzes data for the drive and thus provides insights into the state of the axle. If pre-determined values are exceeded, then the Productivity Agent will sound an alarm before quality can be affected. What’s more, the system offers active vibration damping. To do this, the software uses filters that enable compensatory motion to neutralize mechanical oscillations and prevent damaging eigenfrequencies.
www.boschrexroth.com/electrics
Safe machinery
The EU Machinery Standards Committee has indeed extended the transition period for implementing the new Machinery Safety Directive, but there is still good reason for manufacturers to act now. On the one hand, growing numbers of product specifications mandate EN ISO 13849-1 conformity. On the other hand, the Directive makes it necessary, aside from any presumptions of conformity, to implement state-of-the-art technology. Rexroth can advise manufacturers individually in the implementation of the Directive and also offers special training programs at the Drive & Control Academy.