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Automation: The Dream Machine

The synchronous interaction of the individual processes is the result of near-fully-automatic programming via push-button.

A high-precision, fully automatic machine that takes care of production largely autonomously – that’s the new TruLaser Center 7030. It offers extremely efficient, automated and synchronous processes, from its programming all the way to sorted and stacked workpieces. The machine works with a hybrid drive system to meet the ambitious development goal of eliminating all obstacles to smooth processing in laser cutting today. These include shutdowns due to collisions involving parts tilting over, refinishing work on microjoints, spatter on the undersides of components and excessive programming work. 

The TruLaser Center 7030 moves the sheet and the cutting head simultaneously and the slats have now been replaced by brush tables. The machine can eject small parts safely and sort them into containers, it disposes of residue and slag, it sorts and stacks larger parts during machining, it can load itself with blank sheets on a very tight space, it stacks scrap skeletons and the programming is also largely automatic. Numerous innovative and patented solutions contribute to the coherence of the entire concept. Heinz- Jürgen Prokop, Head of Development and Procurement in the TRUMPF Machine Tools division, explains, “we were gradually having to face more and more calls for help from our customers, asking us for solutions that would create a secure overall process. It turned out that this wasn’t possible with the machine concepts we already had, so a complete re-think was required.”

High dynamics through additional axis of the optic

The SmartGate – two slides move
synchronously with the cutting head,
and the distance between them changes automatically. As a result, parts rest securely on top and smaller parts can be directly ejected.

The TruLaser Center 7030 works with a TruDisk solid-state laser, with six kilowatts of laser power. In terms of cutting productivity, it is easily on a par with today’s high-end machines with flying optics, even though the sheet, with its relatively high mass, is moved precisely over the brush table in the Y direction. This was made possible by two solutions. Firstly, the sheet – maximum large format 3000mm by 1500mm – is moved across the short side. And secondly, the cutting optic, which moves mainly in the X direction, has an additional axis in the Y direction with travel of ± 55mm. This means that with smaller contours, only small masses need to be accelerated, enabling high dynamics.

Increased process safety due to a
pressing-out cylinder – the TruTops Boost programming software calculates the ideal pressing-out point automatically.

Secure part support thanks to the mobile SmartGate

On a hybrid machine, the support table for the sheet has to be divided beneath the path taken by the cutting head. This creates a gap through which the laser beam can escape downwards, but through which slag, slugs and cutting gas are also extracted. To prevent any sheet contours from getting caught there and to enable a far more efficient exhaust system, the TRUMPF developers invented the SmartGate – two slides which move synchronously with the cutting head. They can also change their distance from each other, to create different-sized gaps. This results in two major benefits – the sheet is securely supported during the cutting process and small parts measuring up to 160mm by 160mm can be simultaneously ejected downward.

To ensure maximum process reliability, an ejector cylinder has been attached to the cutting head that presses the sheet metal parts outward and downward. The programming system TruTops Boost calculates the ideal pressing-out point automatically to suit the respective part contour. Since the slides below form a counter-bearing parallel to the sheet, the workpieces cannot tilt over. Scrap and slag fall directly into the scrap cart, or are transported out of the machine on a conveyor belt. Good parts are intercepted by a retractable sorting flap and the SortMaster Box Linear distributes them into a maximum of eight containers.

Process-safe removal of parts from the scrap skeleton

For the automatic removal of the remaining parts from the scrap skeleton, the TRUMPF experts developed SmartLift and SortMaster Speed – and this represents an intelligent, completely new and above all, process-safe solution. With one stroke on the SmartLift, the cut parts are lifted off the scrap skeleton from below via a total of 180 freely positionable pins. Each individual pin can lift a weight of up to ten kilograms, making the process far more powerful than today’s suction solutions. At the same time, the SortMaster Speed pushes down from above with its suction plates, ensuring precise linear guidance during lifting. As a result, any risk of parts tilting over into the kerf can be safely ruled out. The two telescopic arms on the SortMaster Speed are equipped with three suction plates each, and can sort and stack parts onto a maximum of eight Euro pallets across a total area of 1.6 by 4.8 meters.

With its cutting productivity, the TruLaser Center 7030 is easily on a par with any classic high-end machine using flying optics.
Safe removal – with the SmartLift, the freely positionable pins push the cut parts upward from the sheet skeleton, while the
SortMaster Speed, with its suction plates, presses down on them from above.

Only minimal cutting interruptions

TruTops Boost also calculates the optimal position of the pins and suction plates automatically – enabling removal of very large parts as well as smaller ones no larger than a credit card. Even highly complex or very filigree geometries – considered impossible to remove mechanically until now – are lifted safely from the sheet, without the need for any additional programming. The strategies for removing and cutting the parts are coordinated in such a way that the machine continues to cut even while the parts are being transported away.

Today, productivity per unit area is an important criterion, and the developers of the TruLaser Center 7030 were instructed to save space wherever they could. They did so successfully, with a solution that temporarily includes the transport route through the production hall. The machine has three electrically powered drawer-type carts, which can be extended as far as the aisle. Pallets with stacks of blank sheets up to 130mm in height, and weighing a maximum of 3 tons, can be placed onto the middle cart from the aisle by, say, forklift trucks. Similarly, there is a cart for scrap skeleton stacks up to 250mm in height, and also a cart that transports pallets with cut parts from the machine. Separating, lifting and insertion of the blank sheets into the clamping unit takes place automatically, parallel to unloading of the scrap skeleton.

Programming in a single step

The numerous options, and the synchronized interplay of the individual processes, make near-fully automatic programming indispensable. In fact, the TruLaser Center 7030 operates almost as simply as a printer in an office. If you send it a document with corresponding job data – geometries, amounts, material types, thicknesses – it provides you with the finished parts, sorted and stacked to suit the order. This includes nesting of the parts on the sheet, assignment of cutting technologies, removal strategies, placement of cut parts onto the storage shelves and ejection into the container.

Here, the SmartGate, ejector cylinder, pins, sorting flap and SortMaster Speed do not have to be individually programmed. Simulations running in the background take into account the component geometry and material characteristics, ensuring an optimal calculation result. They are supported by the clearly laid-out order management of the programming software TruTops Boost. As a result, programming takes place in one single step and largely automatically, but can be adjusted interactively at any time.

Consistently oriented to the future

The TruLaser Center 7030 is capable of working autonomously over long periods, without any operator intervention, and is also equipped with all the necessary interfaces and functions. This makes it an ideal machine for Industry 4.0, and many TruConnect solutions can be used directly. The Performance Cockpit gives an overview of relevant production data. The Dot Matrix Code supports connection to various processing technologies and creates transparency during part tracking. Moreover, the MobileControl app reduces the already low attendance of the operator to a minimum via remote control.

With the TruLaser Center 7030, TRUMPF is addressing sheet metal fabricators from all sectors who cut sheets from one to twelve millimeters thick at high capacity. And this fully-automatic laser cutting machine reveals its potential from the very first shift onward. With two-shift operation, processing costs are up to 30 percent lower compared to standard automated machines with solid-state lasers. As Prokop summarizes, “TRUMPF’s mission has always been to define the technological state of the art in its core areas, and to give its customers the competitive edge. The TruLaser Center 7030 is further proof of this.”

For more information, contact Retecon – Tel: (011) 976-8600.

LVD Adds Two New Models To Phoenix Series Of Fiber Lasers

LVD expands its fiber laser portfolio with the Phoenix FL 4020 and Phoenix FL 6020, two new laser cutting machines designed to handle sheet dimensions of 4000 x 2000mm and 6000 x 2000mm, respectively. Available in 3, 4 and 6 kW versions, the new Phoenix models offer high versatility as all-round machines able to deliver first-class cut quality in both thin and thick materials in standard steels as well as non-ferrous materials, while processing large sheets quickly and economically. Phoenix Series machines provide the highest energy efficiency and productivity benefits of fiber laser technology. 

Phoenix FL machines achieve superior cut quality through an advanced cutting head design that allows automated adjustment of focus position and focus diameter, known as zoom focus. To achieve the highest possible speed in every material thickness, focus position and diameter are automatically controlled and adjusted by the CNC controller. This advanced technology makes the Phoenix FL the most flexible fiber laser cutting machine, able to cut different sheet thicknesses with high productivity and excellent cut quality.

Phoenix 4020 and 6020 models feature uprated drive systems to achieve the same dynamic performance as 3015 models allowing fast processing of large format sheets.

Phoenix lasers provide high dynamic processing and fast cutting speeds thanks to the 1μm fiber wave length. Acceleration and overall accuracy is further supported by the machine’s rigid welded steel frame construction. An integrated control and drive system ensure the highest reproduction of programmed contours at fast processing speeds.

Phoenix machines keep uptime high with an integrated automatic shuttle table system that allows one table to be loaded, while the machine is cutting on the other table.

A touchscreen control and LVD’s TOUCH-L user interface make the Phoenix easy to use and operate, further increasing machine uptime. The 19-inch touch screen and icon-driven user interface guide the user through all necessary man-machine interactions. TOUCH-L also incorporates a part programming and nesting feature so users can import drawings directly into the control, applying cutting technology and nesting sheets at the machine.

Productivity-enhancing options include a 10-station automatic nozzle changer and CADMAN-L programming software. CADMAN-L allows automatic or interactive determination of cutting sequences, nesting, full cutting path simulation, as well as other powerful features to simplify programming.

For more information, contact Walch Engineering – Tel: (011) 826-1411

The Energy-Saving Data Glasses

Fraunhofer researchers have developed an energy-saving display that reduces the power consumption to a fraction. © Fraunhofer FEP 

Via a small display, data glasses present the eye with information or images which are received using a radio link from the frame of the glasses. The big advantage – with the data glasses, the wearer’s hands are free – in contrast, a smartphone has to be held in the hand. This may be interesting for mechanics. They can look at assembly instructions and construction plans via the data glasses while keeping their hands on the tools. 

Data glasses are becoming increasingly attractive for athletes, as well. Mountain bikers, for example, can follow the projected navigation arrows as they travel cross country. The cyclists can keep their hands on their handlebars, while the smartphone with the GPS remains in the pocket. Despite such benefits, data glasses have not really made a breakthrough yet. The problem – the displays use up a lot of battery power because the video images process lots of data. In most cases, the battery is out of juice after an hour. What’s more, the microprocessors get hot very quickly. The frame of the glasses warms up, which is unpleasant on the sensitive area around the temple.

Engineers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP in Dresden have developed a particularly energy-saving display that is also very bright. The scientists have many years of experience in the design and manufacture of displays with organic light emitting diodes (OLED). These are based on electrically conducting organic semiconductors that emit very bright light while energized. The OLEDs are applied to a silicon semiconductor which controls the individual pixels. The FEP has integrated a camera function into the chip. As a result, the OLED microdisplays not only emit light, but also perceive the surroundings. There is also a small light-sensitive photodiode located in each pixel. The camera function, for example, is important in order to determine the direction in which the wearer looks. However, these displays have the same problem as all other displays of data glasses – high energy consumption.

Reduced data stream

In order to avoid the flickering of a moving video image, many successive images have to be played in one second, like with a flipbook – in the case of the video display, this amounts to 60 images. The control electronics and the chip therefore have to process large amounts of data in a split second. That eats up a lot of electricity. Moreover, the chip and the control electronics heat up. Project manager Philipp Wartenberg and his colleagues at the FEP have found a way to reduce the large data stream. “We now control the chip so that the entire video image is not constantly renewed, rather only that part of the display in which something changes.” For example, if an actor runs through a room in a movie, only his position changes, not the background. In applications such as a navigation system for cyclists, in which only arrows or metre information is displayed, it is unnecessary in any case to constantly renew the whole picture, says Wartenberg. “To put it simply, we have now adapted the circuit so that it only lets through that portion of the data stream which changes.”

Semiconductors and control electronics redesigned

Meanwhile, there is a prototype that the experts are now presenting at the electronica trade fair in Munich. The energy savings are considerable – while ordinary data glasses require an output of 200 milliwatts, the FEP display suffices with two to three milliwatts – a mere one hundredth of the original amount. Nevertheless, it is still bright, thanks to the OLED technology. In order to reduce the video data stream, Wartenberg and his colleagues first had to redesign the chip and the control electronics in large parts. The pixels of today’s displays, which are designed for rapid, repeated imaging, normally stop lighting up after a short time. In a model that does not constantly update the entire screen, that cannot be, because the still areas of the display quickly appear black otherwise. The development by the FEP controls the pixels so that they continue to light.

Wartenberg can imagine the display being interesting not only for industry, but also for private clients and athletes in the future. Joggers could use it to constantly check their heart rate and would no longer have to look at the jiggling smartphone display. The scientists are ready for projects in order to bring the display to the market soon.

DrillRush Doubles Margin On 8-19.5mm Diameter Ranges

The new addition to the highly popular line opens the door to high surface roughness and high precision drilling applications and expands TaeguTec‘s reach into the drilling market while also extending the application range of the successful DrillRush line by improving upon the steel drilling (ISO P material) process. 

Known for its optimized edge geometry and innovative clamping structure, the addition to the DrillRush family continues the line’s remarkable performance compared to existing solid carbide or other conventional drills.

With two guiding areas – four in total – on two cutting edges, the new double margin indexable DrillRush ensures high hole quality in relation to the cylindricity and straightness of the tool during the machining process.

This new TaeguTec DrillRush double margin indexable drill head enables reliable high quality hole machining which includes close hole tolerance, premium surface roughness and production stability.

Furthermore, the double margin type heads are available in the latest GoldRush TT9080 grade for prolonged tool life and are interchangeable with standard DrillRush bodies.

Like all DrillRush products, the double margin indexable drill head has a quick change system that permits for head indexing on the fly. It can incorporate different size heads on one drill body, while its twisted coolant channels and polished chip gullet offer smooth and excellent chip evacuation. Its rigid connection presents remarkable performance with a maximum number of head indexing.

Unity And Common Goals Between Government And Private Sector

Day 2 of the Manufacturing Indaba in Ekurhuleni culminated in delegates sitting on the edge of their seats to hear the banter and camaraderie that flowed between various CEOs and governmental representatives at the final afternoon of the two day event.

With a well-subscribed programme, a collaborative approach between government and the private sector was emphasized by many panellists from various manufacturing interest groups.

The theme for the conference was manufacturing the future and what that future will look like, both in the globalized and South African context. The manufacturing sector is the powerhouse behind many top performing global economies.

Government is pulling out all stops to encourage and stimulate growth in manufacturing in the face of tough headwinds anticipated in 2016 and the third annual Manufacturing Indaba was once again the platform for the public and private sector to find collaborative solutions to boosting South Africa’s manufacturing sectors.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura, who gave the closing keynote address after sitting through some of the panel discussions including The Mining Clusters, Localization in Manufacturing and Key Enabling Technologies, spoke about the importance of attending the annual Manufacturing Indaba to ‘keep us on our toes so we don’t miss the train and do things that are late, and lose time and money’.

“I regard this Manufacturing Indaba as a laboratory helping us to re-industrialize our province,” said the Premier. “It is significant that we are having this Indaba in Ekurhuleni because this is our manufacturing hub. This Indaba is a laboratory where we can reflect on and explore strategies to boost and revive this sector,” said Makhura.

The conference enjoyed high profile attendance from both government and the private sector with the Minister of Trade & Industry, Dr Rob Davies and the MMC of the City of Ekurhuleni, Cllr Thumbu Mahlangu hosting a press conference in conjunction with the private sector’s Bruce Strong from Mpact and Manufacturing Circle. Included in deliberations were CEOs of big corporations, cutting edge manufacturers and small business innovators who brainstormed the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0 and what that will look like in South Africa.

“Reindustrialization needs to be placed at the centre of economic policy today. If you’re not converted into a manufacturing activist yet, I hope you will be by the end of today,” said Stavros Nicolaou, Senior Executive of Strategic Trade at Aspen, who moderated sessions yesterday. “Think TMR when you go out of here – Transformation, Modernization and Reindustrialization.”

Despite tough economic times and global volatility, there were good news stories that were shared – South Africa’s thriving automotive sector, the reviving of the country’s textile sectors, the dti’s Black Industrialist Programme and Ekurhuleni’s Aerotropolis vision which sees the City leveraging its location, the presence of OR Tambo International Airport, and its existing industrial base to support rapid industrial growth and redevelopment of its communities.

“Reindustrialization is complicated and there aren’t quick wins. The Black Industrialists Incentive is to ensure that we give a leg up to emerging black industrialists and ensure people in South African local companies are being supported,” said Garth Strachan, Deputy Director General, Industrial Development Division with the Department of Trade and Industry (dti). “We’ve got to collaborate together to get it done. We’ve faced bigger battles as South Africans, we can do it together – let’s do it!” charged Strachan.

Three international manufacturing experts came to South Africa to address South Africa’s biggest manufacturing event.

Emeritus Professor of Economics at the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Prof. John Sender spoke about important lessons from abroad and practical tips on implementing industrial policy in South Africa. He encouraged manufacturers to “reject the prevailing concern to catalogue preconditions for successful outcomes and to focus instead on possible paths, unexpected and unintended effects and inverted sequences. Aim for a few islands of excellence and pockets of effectiveness. Build on your strengths and shoot with a rifle, not a scattergun,” said Sender.

Professor Marco Taisch, the Scientific Chairman of World Manufacturing Forum 2016, the world’s leading global manufacturing event, shared with delegates how the digitization of manufacturing is changing the world we live in. “In future, companies will need to go from mass production to customization of mass production. They will have to go from product design to usage, like car sharing and bike sharing for increased value-adds. They will also have to go from real to digital where the physical and digital worlds are synced and matched, and from industrial automation to cognitive automation,” said Taisch.

Professor David Romero spoke on the development of Industry 4.0, sharing examples and lessons from Mexico’s booming manufacturing sector and tips from those nations that are at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Professor Romero is Professor-researcher at the National Graduate School of Science, Engineering and Technology (part of the Tecnologico de Monterrey’s Center for Innovation in Design and Technology in Mexico) and this was his second visit to the Manufacturing Indaba. Both international speakers were brought out by the Department of Science & Technology.

Hundreds of members of the public attended the free exhibition of local manufacturing products and technical workshops which were hosted by the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa.

The event and its corresponding exhibition has strategic partnerships with the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti), Department of Science & Technology (DST), host City of Ekurhuleni, Department of Public Enterprises, the Manufacturing Circle and the NCPC-SA.

South Africa is living in a digital era but the country’s transition and re-industrialization will look very different from that of other nations. We are at different levels of development and we have a unique background. What was clear from the 2016 Manufacturing Indaba discussions is that we need to develop our own solutions and make smart choices that encourage innovation, constant learning and skills development. And that is exactly what the Manufacturing Indaba is all about. The 2017 Manufacturing Indaba will take place on the 27th and 28th June 2017.

BC80: Designed To Be Unstoppable

BC80 is a fully automatic system with high throughput, which has been developed for continuous production of bushings, starting from either tubes or solid bars. The bushings with a diameter up to 80mm and lengths from 10 to 350mm are cut, faced and measured at a rate of up to 2,200 pieces per hour.

The fully automatic system is designed to ensure high quality part finish even on delicate bars. All machine settings for diameter changes are handled from a central location.

The control panel has a touch screen and an easy to use graphical interface which simplifies the control parameters settings and the monitoring of the production status, while the entire system is designed to work 24/7, without stopping.

The tube or bar loading system with lengths up to 12.5m can be reloaded while the machine is working, thus never stopping or slowing production and end drops plus chips are collected in independent conveyors that can be easily emptied without stopping the machine.

Finished parts are discharged via a chute containing a two position mechanical separator which can be used to sort out parts that the measuring system rejects.

All finished parts are measured and certified. The dynamic washing system flushes chips from the part allowing accurate and reliable measurements. The operator has the ability to specify what to do if the parts exceed tolerance, for example he may stop the machine when the first error occurs or after a certain number of consecutive mistakes.

For more information, contact First Cut – Tel: (011) 614-1112

NASA’s Next Mars Rover

After an extensive review process and passing a major development milestone, NASA is ready to proceed with final design and construction of its next Mars rover, currently targeted to launch in the summer of 2020 and arrive on the Red Planet in February 2021.

The Mars 2020 rover will investigate a region of Mars where the ancient environment may have been favourable for microbial life, probing the Martian rocks for evidence of past life. Throughout its investigation, it will collect samples of soil and rock and cache them on the surface for potential return to Earth by a future mission. 

This image is from computer assisted design work on the Mars 2020 rover. The design leverages many successful features of NASA’s Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, but also adds new science instruments and a sampling system to carry out new goals for the 2020 mission.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“The Mars 2020 rover is the first step in a potential multi-mission campaign to return carefully selected and sealed samples of Martian rocks and soil to Earth,” said Geoffrey Yoder, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This mission marks a significant milestone in NASA’s Journey to Mars – to determine whether life has ever existed on Mars, and to advance our goal of sending humans to the Red Planet.”

To reduce risk and provide cost savings, the 2020 rover will look much like its six-wheeled, one-ton predecessor, Curiosity, but with an array of new science instruments and enhancements to explore Mars as never before. For example, the rover will conduct the first investigation into the usability and availability of Martian resources, including oxygen, in preparation for human missions.

Mars 2020 will carry an entirely new subsystem to collect and prepare Martian rocks and soil samples that includes a coring drill on its arm and a rack of sample tubes. About 30 of these sample tubes will be deposited at select locations for return on a potential future sample-retrieval mission. In laboratories on Earth, specimens from Mars could be analyzed for evidence of past life on Mars and possible health hazards for future human missions.

Two science instruments mounted on the rover’s robotic arm will be used to search for signs of past life and determine where to collect samples by analyzing the chemical, mineral, physical and organic characteristics of Martian rocks. On the rover’s mast, two science instruments will provide high-resolution imaging and three types of spectroscopy for characterizing rocks and soil from a distance, also helping to determine which rock targets to explore up close.

A suite of sensors on the mast and deck will monitor weather conditions and the dust environment and a ground-penetrating radar will assess sub-surface geologic structure.

The Mars 2020 rover will use the same sky crane landing system as Curiosity, but will have the ability to land in more challenging terrain with two enhancements, making more rugged sites eligible as safe landing candidates.

“By adding what’s known as range trigger, we can specify where we want the parachute to open, not just at what velocity we want it to open,” said Allen Chen, Mars 2020 entry, descent and landing lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. “That shrinks our landing area by nearly half.”

Terrain-relative navigation on the new rover will use on-board analysis of downward-looking images taken during descent, matching them to a map that indicates zones designated unsafe for landing.

“As it is descending, the spacecraft can tell whether it is headed for one of the unsafe zones and divert to safe ground nearby,” said Chen. “With this capability, we can now consider landing areas with unsafe zones that previously would have disqualified the whole area. Also, we can land closer to a specific science destination, for less driving after landing.”

There will be a suite of cameras and a microphone that will capture the never-before-seen or heard imagery and sounds of the entry, descent and landing sequence. Information from the descent cameras and microphone will provide valuable data to assist in planning future Mars landings and make for thrilling video.

“Nobody has ever seen what a parachute looks like as it is opening in the Martian atmosphere,” said JPL’s David Gruel, assistant flight system manager for the Mars 2020 mission. “So this will provide valuable engineering information.”

Microphones have flown on previous missions to Mars, including NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander in 2008, but never have actually been used on the surface of the Red Planet.

“This will be a great opportunity for the public to hear the sounds of Mars for the first time, and it could also provide useful engineering information,” said Mars 2020 Deputy Project Manager Matt Wallace of JPL.

Once a mission receives preliminary approval, it must go through four rigorous technical and programmatic reviews – known as Key Decision Points (KDP) — to proceed through the phases of development prior to launch. Phase A involves concept and requirements definition, Phase B is preliminary design and technology development, Phase C is final design and fabrication, and Phase D is system assembly, testing and launch. Mars 2020 has just passed its KDP-C milestone.

“Since Mars 2020 is leveraging the design and some spare hardware from Curiosity, a significant amount of the mission’s heritage components have already been built during Phases A and B,” said George Tahu, Mars 2020 program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With the KDP to enter Phase C completed, the project is proceeding with final design and construction of the new systems, as well as the rest of the heritage elements for the mission.”

The Mars 2020 mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Driven by scientific discovery, the program currently includes two active rovers and three NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars. NASA also plans to launch a stationary Mars lander in 2018, InSight, to study the deep interior of Mars.

JPL manages the Mars 2020 project and the Mars Exploration Program for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Changes In Solar Cell Technology

Dr. Jan Nekarda and Dr.-Ing. Ralf Preu (from the left) developed the Laser Fired Contact process for series manufacturing of highly efficient PERC solar cells. © Photo Dirk Mahler/Fraunhofer

The transformation of our energy system towards the goal of more electricity from renewable energy sources is one of the major challenges facing our society for the upcoming decades. Solar technology will play a decisive role in reaching that goal. 

“The total amount of electric energy from photovoltaic sources is more than 250 terawatt hours, approximately equivalent to the amount produced by 30 nuclear power plants. In order to help meet international climate objectives, the amount of photovoltaic power newly installed each year will have to increase by ten times over the next 15 years. On the whole, solar technology will have to become more efficient and cost-effective in order to meet the demands of this market,” explains Dr.-Ing. Ralf Preu, Director of the Division‚ PV Production Technology and Quality Assurance, at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg. The researcher and his colleague Dr. Jan Nekarda have already made an important contribution to climate protection with the development of Laser-Fired Contact (LFC) technology, enabling the manufacture of more efficient solar cells at lower cost.

Today most solar cells are equipped with a wide-surface metallic contact, covering the entire backside of the silicon wafer and allowing electricity to flow from the cell to the electrode. This configuration however limits efficiency. A more high-performance alternative, discovered in 1989, is the Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell technology (PERC). In contrast to conventional cells, this technology includes an additional reflective layer on the backside of the cell and thousands of electric contact points. The LFC process developed by the Fraunhofer researchers has enabled the first industrial mass production of PERC solar cells.

Series Production of Highly Efficient Cells

A very thin non-conductive layer is deposited on the underside of a PERC solar cell between the contact layer and the wafer. Acting as a mirror, this layer reflects the share of sunlight not absorbed when penetrating the wafer back into the silicon wafer. Since the front side also reflects this light back into the wafer, it is also captured in the silicon wafer and the efficiency level of the solar cell increases. Drawing the electricity from the wafer requires many small apertures in the non-conductive layer in order to establish contact between the electrode metal and the silicon wafer. The LFC procedure creates each of these approximately 100,000 contacts per wafer with a single laser pulse. “The challenge was to coordinate the pulses in such a way that contact is completely established, while damage to the silicon is kept to minimal levels. Here it‘s crucial that the laser light effect is limited to between 50 and 2,000 nanoseconds,” explains Nekarda, group manager at the Fraunhofer ISE. An innovative system for guiding the laser beams makes it possible to create all the contacts in approximately one second.

“PERC solar cells made this way have an improved efficiency level of one percent absolute. With today’s solar cell efficiency of approximately 20 percent, that’s about five percent relative. We gain an additional two percent in the system, which means we increase the overall energy yield by seven percent,” Preu is happy to report. The efficiency level is of enormous importance since the majority of costs in photovoltaics are directly proportional to surface area. “Where we need 100 square meters of solar cells today, in the future we’ll only need 93 square meters to produce the same amount of electricity. This not only means less silicon, but also less module material, less material in the systems and ultimately also savings in terms of planning costs.”

Successful Implementation in Industry

Solar cell manufacturers can easily and inexpensively integrate the laser procedure in existing production processes. According to company information, Hanwha Q Cells has already made 20 million cells – using LFC technology since beginning production. Companies around the world have in the meantime put PERC technology into mass production. “In the current year alone manufacturers have invested more than 200 million Euro in the implementation. This finally means the establishment of the next evolutionary stage of the silicon solar cell,” Preu is excited to report.

Ralf Preu and Jan Nekarda have received the 2016 Joseph-von-Fraunhofer prize for their role as initiators and drivers of this change. The jury based the award among other things on the fact that the researchers‘ development helps German companies continue to succeed in the highly competitive photovoltaics market.

Sacrificing The Steel Industry To Save Mittal

I do not claim to fully understand what’s currently happening in this space and the reasons for it. 

The Steel Industry is in troubled waters. There are many indicators to this effect, but job losses is an important one. According to the MEIBC, the Steel Industry has lost 150 000 jobs over the last ten years, of which 40 000 jobs were lost in 2015 and 9 000 in the month of November 2015 alone. The MEIBC is predicting a further 30 000 job losses in the Steel Industry this year.

There is more than one reason for this job-bloodbath. There is of course the effect of the global economy and certain factors over which we have little control. The MEIBC and its continuous unconstitutional and unlawful actions have exacerbated the situation in that it has deprived business of the flexibility to counter the global challenge. The MEIBC and those who benefit by this system, and those opting to sit on the fence, must take a huge amount of blame for the state of the Steel Industry.

For many years there was the impact of the senseless ‘import parity pricing’ arrangement – when that arrangement suited Mittal – and when it no longer suited them, they arranged for the introduction of the current, similarly devastating, protectionist duties and safeguarding measures, all aimed at protecting Mittal. They somehow always find a way to convince government that they deserve some extraordinary arrangement which either benefits or protects them. How they manage to do that only they will know, especially since protecting old, outdated, expensive liquid steel manufacturing facilities, the Industry’s demise will continue and millions of South Africans will suffer under inflated prices of downstream steel products.

Nobody can deny the challenge posed by China. But Mittal, at least for now, is posing a much bigger threat to downstream manufacturers. Since the introduction of protectionist duties in September 2015, and further looming safeguard duties, Mittal has increased its prices on five occasions, the cumulative effect thereof is an increase of approximately 25 percent in the price of steel since September 2015, all the while denying local manufacturers the benefit of imported high quality, but cheaper steel. The effect in the market is severe.

Mittal is not a South African asset, it is foreign owned. There is nothing to suggest that it is doing anything other than pursuing its own short term interests. In this sense its objectives are not dissimilar to that of China. Thus far they have done nothing of concrete significance to improve their operations in order to serve downstream manufacturing better and cheaper.

These repeated Mittal-special arrangements affect all South Africans, either directly or indirectly. Employers and workers are affected immediately. But there will inevitably be a much wider ripple effect. When an industry as important as this one is dying, nobody will escape unscathed.

So, where to from here? The answer isn’t obvious, but there must be a better solution than the one Mittal and the Department of Trade and Industry is pursuing. That, however, can only be the result of honest consultation and solution seeking, not the farce that took place until now.

We urge government to appoint a judicial commission of enquiry to determine the state of the Steel Industry. What the real causes are of the alleged situation Mittal finds itself in, the effect of various very unique arrangements with government, the suitability of current protectionist measures, the effect thereof on downstream manufacturing and to advise government on appropriate measures.

The Minister of Trade and Industry is called upon to take the initiative in this regard.

Presswerk 4.0

Making smart data out of big data. Presswerk 4.0 takes data that today is rarely or never evaluated and integrates it using an analysis and feedback system. This is then connected to create new knowledge, such as solutions for specific problems. The information is then made available to staff, for instance using smart devices, or sent directly where it is needed. © Fraunhofer IWU 

It costs companies a lot of money to have machines out of operation due to failure. This applies to press shops, too, the focus of Fraunhofer’s Presswerk 4.0 project. Researchers want to employ targeted data networking in manufacturing to help employees recognize and correct failures more quickly – and reduce failure-related downtimes by at least half. Smart, connected machines balance out disturbances so that material that normally lands in the scrap pile can be processed.

Steel sheets are delivered in huge rolls to the press shop, where they are first cut to the required size. Then they pass through several presses to be stamped into the desired shape – a car door, for instance. If, however, workers discover a crack in the component, they have to reject it, after all each subsequent process step costs money. Things get really tricky when the fault is not a one-off occurrence but rather affects all the components coming from the press. Then workers have to stop the press and start troubleshooting. Is the problem due to the raw material or the lubrication? Is the tool faulty? Is the press not running properly? It takes a while to check out all the parameters and possible faults – during which time production is at a standstill.

 

At the joint Fraunhofer booth, IWU researchers made Industry 4.0 visible. A miniature press plant that also served as a projection surface helped visitors experience Industry 4.0 using a tablet computer, virtual information such as data flow from sender to receiver is displayed on the screen over the model. © Fraunhofer IWU

The right information, at the right time, in the right place

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU have made it their mission to develop Industry 4.0 in the field of mechanical engineering. One of their areas of focus is the press shop of the future. “We combine the various streams of data in our Linked Factory, a data and service platform developed here at the institute. From that, we generate new information that we can provide to staff, for example on mobile devices,” explains Sören Scheffler, a scientist at Fraunhofer IWU. “On the basis of this data, researchers are able to isolate the cause of a failure more quickly and make targeted suggestions to staff as to how to rectify it as quickly as possible.” Together with partners from industry and science, Fraunhofer IWU is working on reducing failure-related downtimes by around 50 percent. However, Presswerk 4.0 is set to not only tap potential related to downtimes. The aim is also to help operators react more quickly and flexibly to market needs and customer preferences, even when plans change at short notice.

The researchers’ first step is to build on data that is already being collected – by sensors or camera systems, for instance. Often these are insufficient for the position where they are connected. In future, a software application will collect this data centrally, associate it with the other information, and thus generate new knowledge. In the case of the faulty door, for example, it will merge data from the sensors in machine tools with information about lubrication and data on the raw material used, then it will check which values lie outside the pre-defined tolerance limits in each case. On the basis of these results, staff will receive suggestions for troubleshooting options to enable them to solve the reported problem in a targeted way.

In the long term, researchers want to develop the system further to the point where it can issue a warning even before a fault has arisen. In order to achieve this, additional data sources are installed in the form of sensors. “For instance, we could examine the material before it goes into production. Is a given sheet in good shape? If not, the employee can discard it before it is formed and other components are mounted onto it. In this way, resources are saved because we don’t have to throw away the entire assembly,” explains Scheffler. The IWU researchers are taking it a step further. With a combination of process sensors and active components, it is possible to optimize the forming process window. “If I provided the press with this newly collected information about the nature of the raw material, it could then carry out appropriate measures to compensate and

balance out disturbances, for instance by using active components such as smart guide shoes or adaptive warehousing. That means I can process raw materials that normally would have landed in the waste container,” says Scheffler.

Making Industry 4.0 visible

Fraunhofer researchers recently presented Presswork 4.0 at Hannover Messe, where the overarching theme was “Making Industry 4.0 visible.” Visitors experienced a miniature press shop model, which also served as a projection surface. By holding up a tablet computer in front of the model, they saw virtual information about the real model. “In this way, we can visualize the stream of information that otherwise remains hidden – in other words, we make Industry 4.0 visible,” says Scheffler. Visitors could take a virtual tour of the various scenarios and saw how Industry 4.0 technologies can be used to save energy, material and time.

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