Drives & Controls October 2022

October 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com 10 n NEWS A TECHNOLOGY CENTRE due to open next year will help UK companies to deliver the next generation of electric motors. The Winding Centre of Excellence (WCE) is being set up by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and is being partly funded with £4m from UKRI’s (UK Research and Innovation) Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge programme. The WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) is contributing a further £300,000. As well as winding technologies, the centre will also offer other services, such as impregnation and machine-testing. It will be open to external partners. “We are building an internationally unique facility,”explains Mark Barnett, the WMG’s business development manager who is also head of business development for the WCE. “With its cutting-edge tools and capabilities, it will attract motor manufacturers looking at advancing the development of their solutions for the automotive, aerospace and many other sectors.” One innovation that the WCE will offer is the first automated system that combines two key operations used to assemble rotors for permanent magnet (PM) motors – the magnetisation and bonding of magnets. Usually, non-magnetised magnet blanks are first inserted into steel laminate rotors, with magnetisation taking place after assembly. To streamline the process while delivering powerful, more reliable motors with a lower risk of defects, the WCE researchers have re- arranged this process, magnetising the components before placing them in the rotor. The team worked with the East Sussex systems integrator Horizon Instruments to develop a flexible robotic system to perform these tasks. After magnets have been magnetised, they can be brittle, making them difficult to insert into the steel laminate. The ideal system would offer high accuracy and repeatability, similar to that provided by CNC machines. But it was also necessary for the system to be flexible enough to accommodate multiple motor shapes and sizes. This could only be done using robots. The machine uses a pair of Mitsubishi robots – a four-axis RH-6CH Scara machine and a six-axis RV- 2FR articulated arm – which offer repeatabilities of ±0.02mm. The four-axis device collects magnet blanks from a tray and transfers them to a magnetising coil. The six-axis robot, equipped with an adhesive dispensing head on its wrist, applies adhesive to the rotor slots. The Scara robot then inserts the magnets into the slots. Once all of the magnet positions have been filled, the operator can remove the tray and the assembled rotor, before loading new components. Robots will automate key motor assembly operations The six-axis robot applies adhesive to the rotor slots using a dispensing head attached to its wrist Photo: Mitsubishi Electric Europe Advanced Engineering 2022 2–3 November, 2022 NEC, Birmingham The 13th edition of Advanced Engineering will celebrate innovation, collaboration and sustainability in the engineering and manufacturing industries. Across the two days of the show, engineering professionals from all sectors can network, learn and discover new technologies and suppliers from the engineering supply chain. www.advancedengineeringuk.com Smart Factory Expo 16-17 November, 2022 Exhibition Centre, Liverpool Smart Factory Expo brings together the technologies enabling the digital manufacturing revolution under one roof for manufacturers at all stages of their digital journey. There will be six visitor zones, each anchored by a Solutions Theatre with free presentations delivered by manufacturing and technology experts. It forms part of Digital Manufacturing Week, described as “a national festival of advanced engineering”. https://www.digital- manufacturing- week.com/expo SPS 2022 8–10 November 2022 Nuremberg, Germany The huge automation event returns as a live event for the first time since 2018, after the 2021 event was cancelled at the last minute. It will take place two weeks earlier than in previous years and will be supplemented by a digital- format“SPS on air”event. More than 1,100 exhibitors have already signed up. https://sps.mesago.com/events/en.html Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 23 7–9 February, 2023 Farnborough, UK This annual show is aimed at people involved in design, engineering production and procurement. It showcases production hardware, components, consumables and technology for a wide range of industries. It also covers subcontracting services. www.industrysouth.co.uk Hannover Messe 17–21 April, 2023 Hannover, Germany The industrial megashow is expecting to attract around 4,000 exhibitors. The theme for 2023 will be Industrial Transformation – Making a Difference, and the partner country will be Indonesia. The event will be zoned into seven areas including: Automation, Motion and Drives; Digital Ecosystems; Energy Solutions; Engineered Parts & Solutions; Future Hub; Compressed Air & Vacuum; and Global Business & Markets. www.hannovermesse.de/en THETIMKENCOMPANY is buying the metal- polymer plain bearings manufacturer GGB Bearing Technology from EnPro Industries for $305m in cash. Timken says that GGB’s expertise in plain bearing coatings complements its own strengths in roller and ball bearings. Founded in 1899, GGB – formerly Glacier Garlock Bearings – has manufacturing sites in the US, Europe and China, and employs around 900 people. Its revenues this year are expected to be around $200m. It has been a subsidiary of EnPro since 2002. “GGB’s leading portfolio of metal-polymer bearings will further Timken's ability to deliver the best solution to our customers' most challenging friction management applications,” says Timken president and CEO, Richard Kyle. “GGB also presents an excellent cultural fit for Timken. The deal is expected to close before the end of this year. Timken believes it will be accretive to earnings in the first full quarter. Timken buys GGB plain bearings business from EnPro for $305m