n TECHNOLOGY 18 September 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com SICK HAS UNVEILED an augmented reality (AR) app that merges machine, sensor and diagnostic information with images of a real environment to show machine data and errors where they are occurring. The Sara (Sick Augmented Reality Assistant) app takes data from any source, maps it into an AR engine and displays it on a tablet or smartphone, without needing costly devices such as headsets or fixed HMIs. It overlays the information on a view of the machine, showing operating data or where maintenance is needed. The app displays the data and errors at the location where they occur, helping to accelerate commissioning, diagnostics, condition monitoring and maintenance. It allows shopfloor staff to diagnose faults and monitor the performance of their machines. Sick believes that the app could help to tackle skills shortages by allowing both new and experienced workers to carry out tasks such as machine monitoring and basic maintenance. The app can gather data from devices such as PLCs, gateways or sensors (either from Sick or from third parties). They communicate with the app via MQTT. A Sick server processes and formats the data and displays it on a mobile device (iOS or Android) overlaid on a view of the machine captured via the device’s camera. Among other things, the app can show: diagnostic information (in text or numeric values); labelled lines and arrows; 3D point clouds; cubic volumes; cones; and hyperlinks to documents or sites. The app can display data such as: motor temperatures; PLC loads; vibration analyses; and liquid levels and flow rates. It can also show traffic light (good/bad) indicators. Sick has worked with Universal Robots to collect data from its cobots for use in the Sara app. A Sara licence costs upwards of around £1,000 in the UK. Sick has created various licences (including LiDar and robotics variants, in addition to a base licence) that unlock functions to allow users to customise the app for their uses. There are plans to develop more specialist licences in the future. www.sick.co.uk p The Chinese EV-maker GAC has developed “the world’s fastest” EV motor, with a top speed of 30,000 rpm. The Hyptec Quark Electric Drive 2.0 motor has an efficiency of 98.5% and a power density of 13kW/kg. It uses an amorphous soft magnet material with a permeability 20-100 times higher than silicon sheet steel, and a thickness a quarter that of a sheet of paper. The motor is said to operate with an efficiency close to that which would be possible with room-temperature superconductors. It could add 50-150km to the range of an EV. p ABB has developed a tool to make troubleshooting and diagnostics of gearless mill drives used in mineral processing faster and more efficient. The cloud-based Trendex application allows users of ABB’s Ability Predictive Maintenance for Grinding (PMG) platform to see fault data in high resolution 3 seconds before and 1.3 seconds after an event. It sends event files automatically to the cloud and links event data with transient records, providing near-instant access to operational data from any Internetconnected device. The tool is intended to boost uptime of gearless mill drives. p Phoenix Contact’s PLCnext Control platform has been certified by DNV in accordance with IEC 61850 Ed. 2.1 and IEC 62351-3 for secure communication in energy management systems. The controller was the first to be certified with functions in accordance with IEC 62443 4-2 SL2. It will help to improve the security and reliability of power supplies and to shape a sustainable future p A Japanese government panel is looking at building long-distance automated logistics systems that would move pallets carrying up to 1 tonne of cargo alongside motorways or in tunnels. The aim is overcome a looming labour crisis which could result in 30% of packages not being delivered in Japan by 2030. The first stage could be a 500km route between Tokyo and Osaka costing £35-400m per 10km. p The mining industry is a step closer to the all-electric mine following the successful deployment of the first battery-electric truck trolley system on an 800m-long underground mine test track in Sweden, with a 13% incline. Mine haul fleet electrification is one of the most effective ways to cut CO2 emissions in the mining sector. The development has been a collaboration between the Swedish mining company Boliden, the mining equipment company Epiroc, which has added dynamic charging to its Minetruck MT42 SG battery-electric haulage system, and ABB which supplied DC converters, inverters and motors for the project. TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS AR app shows machine and diagnostic data on phone or tablet At the SM&E Week show earlier this year, Sick demonstrated the Sara app displaying data and diagnostics from sensors and encoders LITTELFUSE HAS RELEASED a family of industrial solid-state relays (SSRs) which, it claims, deliver market-leading reliability and efficiency. The SRP1 relays are designed to offer durable switching for industrial and commercial applications, with service lives of over 750,000 stress cycles, compared to the 350,000 cycle lives of basic SSRs. Under prolonged use, conventional relays can suffer from mechanical failures. The new SSRs are said to eliminate the vulnerabilities associated with mechanical components. They are available in ratings from 10–90A, and can be controlled by AC or DC sources. “This product is set to minimise operational disruptions and maintenance, providing peace-of-mind in various applications, ensuring that our customers can focus on what they do best,” says Hugo Neri, Littelfuse’s SSR product manager. www.littelfuse.com/products/ solid-state-relays/solid-state-relays Solid-state relays promise lives of more than 750,000 cycles
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