19April2017
Press ReleaseHANNOVER MESSE 2017 (24–28 April; Hannover, Germany):
HANNOVER MESSE trendspots – a glimpse of what’s coming to Hannover!
–No. 8
Successful integration
Drive specialist Wittenstein – based in Germany’s Tauberfranken region – is at HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to present a version of its brushless servo motors from the “cyber dynamic line” that features an integrated spindle drive.
By integrating the screw drive into the actuator housing, the new brushless servo motors in the cyber dynamic line are the first products of their type to combine servo motor, spindle drive, linear bearing and encoder system in one self-contained and ready-to-install unit. “This is a unique feature in such compact servo motors,” says Carolin Ank, product manager at Wittenstein cyber motor. “Until now, it’s been practically impossible to find appropriate solutions in this size on the market. Companies have either had to use pneumatic cylinders that need extensive maintenance and cannot be controlled with any flexibility, or solutions have had an open spindle and therefore been unsuitable for industrial use.”
The mini servo motors are maintenance-free thanks to their lubricating system, which lasts throughout their service life, and are a key addition to Wittenstein’s portfolio of rotary servo motors and servo actuators in the cyber dynamic line product range. Among other things, they are ideal for highly dynamic machine positioning axes and for joining, bending, gripping and metering applications in forming and handling technology, the semiconductor industry, assembly automation and packaging machinery. The completely stainless steel version with IP65 protection can also be used for filling plants and other systems in the food and beverage industries.
WITTENSTEIN SE (97999 Igersheim, Germany), Hall 15, Stand F10
Contact: Sabine Maier
Tel.: +49 7931 493-10399
E-Mail:
“Mesh mold” offers new hope for the construction industry
The NCCR Digital Fabrication center of competence at ETH Zurich has been focusing on boosting sustainability in the manufacturing of reinforced concrete structures. It is now presenting its findings, arguing that new “mesh mold” technology could be a key step toward sustainable digital construction.
Reinforced concrete structures are currently shaped by the formwork system that surrounds the reinforcements. However, these formwork panels wear very quickly, and, when it comes to special designs, may not be used more than once. This makes little sense, and not just because of the high costs involved – there are also sound environmental reasons for wanting an alternative technology. Researchers at ETH Zurich in the NCCR Digital Fabrication center of competence have recognized the potential that digital technologies offer in relation to the efficient and sustainable manufacture of reinforced concrete structures and are now at HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to demonstrate the “mesh mold” construction technology developed from their research.
Thanks to innovative “mesh mold” technology, reinforced concrete structures can now, for the first time, be produced in any shape without separate formwork. First, a computer is used to design a steel wire mesh model, which is then manufactured with exceptional precision using a robot before being filled with concrete. The reinforcing mesh is so fine that it completely absorbs the concrete, allowing none of it to escape. Combining the two functions of formwork and reinforcement generates significant savings in materials and production costs. This method could be used to develop complex and even unique concrete structures and thus represents a key step toward a sustainable digital approach to construction.
NCCR Digital Fabrication (8093 Zurich, Switzerland), Hall 2, Stand C39, co-exhibitor with Schoch Marketing - SWISS PAVILION
Contact: Christophe Giovannini
Tel.: +41 31 308 23 87
E-Mail:
The benefits of predictive maintenance
Nuremberg-based Baumüller GmbH is at HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to unveil its BAUDIS IoT service, a predictive maintenance system with built-in added value.
Predictive maintenance (PdM) offers a whole host of advantages over its more basic relative “preventive maintenance”, because it responds to the actual status of equipment instead of relying on pure averages. As well as increased plant safety, plant availability and service life, these advantages naturally also include the resulting cost savings. The often very painful consequences of unexpected equipment failure will largely be avoided in the future. But how can these types of measures be implemented? Nuremberg-based Baumüller GmbH is at HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to premiere its BAUDIS IoT service, a predictive maintenance system that offers a whole host of possibilities.
Broadly speaking, BAUDIS IoT consists of networked sensors, the BAUDIS IoT box and a software solution with big data algorithms. Data collected by the sensors on site is used to report impending damage via the BAUDIS IoT box to service staff, who can then make an appropriately swift response. As the system can be used regardless of the make of the automation components and sensor technology, it can also be easily retrofitted in existing equipment. Besides its actual PdM functions, BAUDIS IoT also generates strong added value, as the big data analysis for maintenance can also be used for process optimization. For example, emission increases and the rated loads of production facilities can be optimized thanks to continuous condition monitoring, without damaging the facilities.
Baumüller Nürnberg GmbH (90482 Nuremberg, Germany), Hall 14, Stand H12
Ansprechpartnerin: Stefanie Lauterbach
Tel.: +49 911 5432-319
E-Mail:
World number two is in Hannover!
“Sweaty”, a two-legged humanoid robot that came second in the AdultSize League at the RoboCup 2016 in Leipzig, is now being introduced to the public at HANNOVER MESSE 2017 by its proud developers from Offenburg University.
Since 1997, a very special event for robot developers has taken place each year – the RoboCup. This is a soccer world cup for robots held at alternating venues attended by an average of around 2,000 scientists and students from all over the world who pit their robots against each other individually or as a team. The “Robot Soccer World Cup” – to give it its official name – also acts as a congress where new scientific findings from artificial intelligence and robotics are discussed. Unfortunately, few people realize that the reigning world number two from the RoboCup in Leipzig last year actually comes from Germany. Sweaty, as the robot is called, has been created by Offenburg University, which is looking to use HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to finally give its “star” the media attention it has long deserved.
The two-legged humanoid robot was developed in an interdisciplinary project that brought together elements from mechanics, kinematics, electronics, mechatronics and information technology. Sweaty made its first public appearance in the RoboCup 2014 in João Pessoa, Brazil, where man and machine evidently learned the lessons that saw them succeed in Leipzig two years later. As its name implies, Sweaty is the first robot whose motors are cooled by evaporative cooling. What’s more, other new technologies have been created in Sweaty, such as the decoupling of joint and servomotor and a kinematic system with variable gear ratio. Sweaty is currently back in the “training camp” to be given further improvements in mechanics, electronics, IT structure, AI and spatial awareness. After all, the robot has already qualified for the upcoming RoboCup in Nagoya, Japan.
Offenburg University, Institute for Applied Research (77652 Offenburg, Germany), Hall 2, Stand A18, co-exhibitor with Baden-Württemberg International
Contact: Christina Dosse
Tel.: +49 781 205 262
E-Mail:
Need more detail?!
Then take a look at the new OptaOne 3D scanner with innovative zoom-tilt technology, which Berlin-based botspot GmbH is showcasing as a genuine world first at HANNOVER MESSE 2017 – nothing escapes its attention!
3D scanners that are able to create highly realistic reproductions of three-dimensional structures are well-established on the market. They are based on a bewilderingly large number of technologies, each with its own advantages, limitations and costs. Berlin-based company botspot uses photogrammetry for its scanners, with distinct points on an object being scanned and then transmitted to a three-dimensional coordinate system using triangulation. Joining these points produces an exact 3D model known as the “mesh”. In this process, botspot doesn’t just scan the object’s surfaces but also its texture, enabling it to produce high-resolution 3D models with 16.7 million colors in one hundredth of a second. Yet that wasn’t enough for the inventors from Berlin – the fledgling company is using HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to present a genuine world first on the 3D scanner market in the form of OptaOne.
The innovative, patent-protected OptaOne 3D scanner boasts unique zoom-tilt technology in which the scanner’s photosensors adjust automatically to the size and position of the object being scanned. Three-dimensional items of all sizes can thus be scanned by the sensors with pin-sharp precision in a range between 80 millimeters and two meters. As all 64 sensors are equipped with the zoom-tilt technology, they cover the maximum scanning area and produce high-resolution 3D scans in next to no time. This innovative and user-friendly technology makes OptaOne ideal for demanding VR and AR applications, but also for printing figures, animations, and complex object scans with extremely complex surfaces and structures.
botspot GmbH (12459 Berlin, Germany), Hall 3, Stand C16, co-exhibitor with Young Tech Enterprises
Contact: Thomas Strenger
Tel.: +49 30 53042370
E-Mail:
How’s that for precision!
Measuring technology for high-performance mechanical engineering is set to be nanoprecise in the future, thanks to the high-resolution IDS3010 sensor from attocube Systems AG, premiering in Hannover.
“Citius, altius, fortius” – if the motto of the Olympic Games, coined by French Dominican preacher Henri Didon, were applied to the digital world of Industry 4.0, it might be phrased as “more speed, more efficiency, more precision”. This principle can, of course, be approached in a completely different way. Munich-based attocube systems AG, for example, which has been a fully owned subsidiary of the WITTENSTEIN Group for a number of years, has adopted the motto “The revolution for high performance engineering: Measurement becomes nanoprecise” for its trade fair presentation at HANNOVER MESSE this year. A claim that is fully justified by the premiere of its industry-ready, sub-nanometer-resolution IDS3010 sensor.
The remarkably compact and highly dynamic IDS3010 is a contactless, interferometric sensor for high-performance mechanical engineering. The IDS3010 easily outperforms existing sensor technologies of this kind in terms of precision, speed and suitability for industrial use. With a measurement bandwidth of 10 MHz, it can simultaneously track objects in up to three axes at a speed of two meters per second. It achieves a position resolution of one picometer with working distances of up to five meters. This innovative sensor can be used for applications such as calibration of machine tools and coordinate measuring machines, vibration measurement of production facilities, high-precision in-line process control and adjustment technology, concentricity measurement for engine shafts, crankshafts and camshafts, and ultra-precision pick-and-place robotics applications, for example in the semiconductor industry.
attocube systems AG (80539 Munich, Germany), Hall 15, Stand F10, co-exhibitor with WITTENSTEIN
Contact: Emily Clark
Tel.: +49 89 2877 809 0
Sabine Maier
Tel.: +49 7931 493-10399
E-Mail:
Innovative simulators
Altair Engineering GmbH is in Hannover to showcase the latest version of its HyperWorks CAE platform, innovative development processes for cutting-edge production methods and solutions for developing smart devices.
In the Industry 4.0 environment, engineers often face completely new challenges in developing products. They have to assemble the entire, usually highly complex mechatronic system for a product solution, including the structure, sensors, actuators, controls and a whole lot more, to create a fully functional whole. That’s why Altair Engineering GmbH – based in Böblingen, Germany – is at HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to present solutions and methods for simulation-led innovation and is using technological demonstrations and customer examples to show how these solutions and methods can be successfully harnessed to develop innovative products.
The company is using a virtual collaborative robot (Cobot) to demonstrate the challenges in developing smart devices, and at the same time is showing ways of tackling these. The HyperWorks environment, for example, can be used to simulate and adapt the Cobot’s connectivity, to scan the environment using sensors, and to control and regulate drives and their efficiency System simulation is also deployed in load calculations for topology optimization, enabling the creation of lightweight structures using organic design. These structures are ultimately key to the excellent efficiency, high levels of precision and the necessary occupational safety.
Altair Engineering GmbH (71034 Böblingen, Germany), Hall 6, Stand L17
Contact: Mirko Bromberger
Tel.: +49 7031 6208 0
E-Mail:
Evelyn Gebhardt (Blue Gecko Marketing)
Tel.: +49-6421-9684351
E-Mail:
Robots on the right path!
The IPS Robot Optimization software tool from fleXstructures GmbH enables automated task planning and sequencing, saving a huge amount of time when programming single or multiple robot stations.
Kaiserslautern-based fleXstructures GmbH is a high-tech spin-off company from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM) that specializes in developing software solutions using state-of-the-art, high-efficiency algorithms. Thanks to ongoing cooperation with the Fraunhofer ITWM and the Fraunhofer-Chalmers Center in Sweden, the latest research results are continually integrated into the development process. The company’s ever-expanding product portfolio centers on its IPS (Industrial Path Solutions) software, including IPS Cable Simulation, IPS Path Planner and IPS Virtual Paint Spray + Sealing. Just in time for HANNOVER MESSE 2017, fleXstructures GmbH has now launched another new tool – IPS Robot Optimization.
IPS Robot Optimization can be used to define robot movements across an entire production line. As a result, collisions both with other robots and with the surrounding environment can be prevented at the planning stage. In addition to internal monitoring within the cell, monitoring is also carried out automatically between the individual stations. fleXstructures GmbH is keen to highlight IPS Robot Optimization as an exceptionally reliable, high-quality solution that also speeds up processing times, with commissioning up to 75% faster and cycle time improved by up to 25%.
fleXstructures GmbH (67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany), Hall 7, Stand D11, co-exhibitor with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Contact: Daniel Dengel
Tel.: +49 631 68039360
E-Mail:
Follow your inclinations
The N1201 inclination sensor from Offenbach-based tecsis GmbH is designed for applications right up to Performance Level d.
In modern art and photography, unusual angles can go down very well, but they are rather less desirable in other contexts. In applications such as cranes, work platforms and wind turbines, a tilt in the wrong direction can cause serious problems. This is precisely why inclination sensors were invented, to be used wherever maximum precision is required in defining the angles of machinery or components relative to the horizontal plane. At HANNOVER MESSE this year, Offenbach-based tecsis GmbH is showcasing its N1201 sensor – an inclinometer designed for applications with particularly stringent safety requirements up to Performance Level d (PL d).
The sensor operates using a dielectric liquid, ensuring precise measurements covering 360° with a maximum deviation of 0.3° and minimal interference from lateral inclination and temperature changes. The angle resolution is 0.01°, and angle changes can be recorded at speeds of up to 5° per second. Designed to be exceptionally robust, the N1201 meets the requirements of higher-level protection categories, is insensitive to vibration and shocks, and can be used within a temperature range of -40 °C to +85 °C. As well as a redundant-design version for applications with PL d, a version with pressure-resistant encapsulation is also available for applications in potentially explosive areas. The devices can therefore be used in offshore systems for transporting oil and gas.
tecsis GmbH (63073 Offenbach, Germany), Hall 11, Stand A61
Contact: Anja Melzer
Tel.: +49 69 5806 0
E-Mail:
The Return of the Bavarian Batmen!
The 3D ultrasound specialists at Munich-based Toposens GmbH are in Hannover with yet another exciting trick in their box.
Ultrasound technology in itself is nothing new – originally inspired by the echolocation techniques that bats use, we humans now harness the waves for our own purposes, even if we can’t actually hear them. For some time now, ultrasound has been used to produce the much-cherished first images of prenatal babies, as well as to clean dentures and glasses and make high-precision distance measurements in industrial applications. However, the approach that Munich-based Toposens GmbH has developed really is new. The company’s innovative 3D ultrasound sensor technology is designed to help robots “see” – just like bats! At HANNOVER MESSE 2017, the Bavarians are presenting both a brand new prototype and their first market-ready product – an Evaluation Kit for R&D departments.
Toposens is also running live demos of a controller based on its 3D ultrasound sensor technology, enabling game play via gesture recognition. Further possible real-world applications include screen navigation in cars and other household displays – and that’s just the start. In fact, the innovative technology makes the sensors so compact, powerful, precise and robust that they can be used just about anywhere. For instance, they can also be installed to identify, count and track people in smart buildings, generating data that can be used for optimizing business in stores and for smart heating and lighting control in offices. The potential that this innovative, cost-effective technology opens up is virtually unlimited – head to the “Batmen” themselves to find out more.
Toposens GmbH (80799 Munich, Germany), Hall 2, Stand A52, co-exhibitor with Bayern Innovativ
Contact: Barbara Brauner
Tel.: +49 89 2375 1540