FOOD AND BEVERAGE: How automation can help to cater for the low-alcohol trend BEARINGS, BELTS & CHAINS: Air bearings can o er bene ts over traditional systems BUILDING SERVICES: Dealing with VSD issues in HVAC installations Drives&Controls AUTOMATION FOR MANUFACTURING INSIDE Series MARCH 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com We have the solution. Position. Transport . Rotate To find out more, see page 15
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50 CONTENTS n Drives & Controls is a controlled circulation publication. If you live in the UK and want to subscribe phone 0333 577 0801 or fax 0845 604 2327. Alternatively for both UK and overseas subscriptions please subscribe online at www.drivesncontrols.com. If you have any enquiries regarding your subscription, please use these numbers . The content of this magazine, website and newsletters do not necessarily express the views of the Editor or publishers. The publishers accept no legal responsibility for loss arising from information in this publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the publishers. Paid subscriptions UK: £110 per annum Europe: £145 per annum Rest of World: £180 per annum Printing: Warners Midlands PLC., PE10 9PH ISSN 0950 5490 Copyright: DFA Media Group 2025 NEXT ISSUE The April issue of Drives & Controls will contain a feature on machine vision, a section devoted to developments in conveyors and material-handling, and a look at what’s been happening in the machine-building sector. UPDATE 12 Comment 13 Back to Basics 44 Gambica column 46 New Products 48 Design Data and Multimedia 49 Products & Services IN DEPTH Follow us on X @DrivesnControls Drives Magazine Web site www.drivesncontrols.com Follow us on LinkedIn @ Drives & Controls Join us on Facebook Drives & Controls Drives& Controls REGULARS DfAmedia group 32 30 27 24 6 48 DRIVES & CONTROLS MARCH 2025 Vol 41 No 3 Editor Tony Sacks t: 01732 465367 e: tony@drives.co.uk Consultant Editor Andy Pye t: 07808 137312 e: andy.pye@dfamedia.co.uk Production Manager Sarah Blake t: 01233 770781 e: sarah.blake@dfamedia.co.uk Marketing Manager Hope Jepson t: 01732 370340 e: hope.jepson@dfamedia.co.uk Financial Finance Department t: 01732 370340 e: accounts@dfamedia.co.uk ADVERTISING Sales Director and DFA Direct Damien Oxlee t: 01732 370342 m: 07951 103754 e: damien.oxlee@dfamedia.co.uk Sales Manager Sara Gordon t: 01732 370341 m: 07505867211 e: sara.gordon@dfamedia.co.uk Italy Oliver & Diego Casiraghi e: info@casiraghi.info t: +39 031 261407 f: +39 031 261380 Managing Director Ryan Fuller t: 01732 370344 e: ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk Reader/Circulation Enquiries Perception-MPS Ltd t: 01825 701520 e: cs@perception-sas.com HEAD OFFICE DFA Media Group 192 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BE t: 01732 370340 f: 01732 360034 e: info@dfamedia.co.uk www.drivesncontrols.com 5 News A round-up of the latest business and industry developments from around the world. 14 Technology Cutting-edge innovations in motion, power transmission, controls and related technologies. 24 Robotics 2025 could be a pivotal year for robotics. As AI matures and robots address new challenges outside of industry, we will see them paving the way to a future that is safer, more ecient and collaborative. An expert from Universal Robots identies ve key trends for the coming year. 26 Food and Beverage With alcohol-free beverages growing in popularity, we look at how automation can help drinks manufacturers to cater for the burgeoning low- and no-alcohol market. Plus we report on a machine designed to harvest grapes from the steepest vineyard slopes, 34 Bearings, Belts and Chains Mechanical bearings and guidance systems have many drawbacks, especially for high-performance motion control. Air bearings can oer advantages in applications where high precision, long lifetimes, low vibrations and good repeatability, are needed. Plus advice on how to pick the most suitable industrial chain for your application. 38 Building Services Using VSDs in HVAC installations can introduce electrical harmonics, voltage spikes and EMI, aecting reliability and increasing running and maintenance costs. We look at ways to tackle these issues. Plus how permanent magnet motors paired with VSDs can boost HVAC eciencies. 40 Average net circulation January to December 2023 44 47 Subscribe for your FREE copy now 18,942 14 38
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NEWS n 5 UK start-up raises £4m for ‘first universal robotics software’ A UK ROBOTICS START-UP has raised £4m of seed funding to boost its technology which, it claims, for the rst time allows software developers to program any make of robot using the operating system and programming language of their choice. Users can also port applications between dierent makes of robots, and manage and orchestrate eets of robots. The new money will accelerate development of the product and will help Sheeld-based BOW to scale its platform to meet growing demand from OEMs, developers and systems integrators. By removing the need for specialised robotics programmers, BOW says that its platform allows generalist software developers to create, manage and deploy complex robotics applications. It also opens up applications in sectors that have previously been underserved by robots. In addition, robots running the BOW SDK (software development kit) are said to benet from ultra-fast communications. BOW – Bettering our Worlds – spun out from the University of Sheeld in 2020. It is now working with OEMs, SIs and software developers, who are using the SDK to accelerate robotics innovation and use cases. “This investment is a dening moment for BOW,” says its co-founder and chief technology ocer, Daniel Camilleri. “It not only validates our vision, but also underscores the growing demand for crossplatform compatibility in robotics software. By simplifying robotics programming, we’re opening the door for all developers – not just roboticists – to shape the future of robotics. With BOW software, we’re enabling the ‘there’s an app for that’ revolution within the robotics industry.” “The robotics market is growing fast, but that growth would be exponentially higher if the tremendous cost and complexity of programming robots were reduced,” adds BOW co-founder and CEO, Nick Thompson. “Robotics has an almost unlimited potential to help humanity solve global challenges, but the world simply can’t aord to wait for robotics www.drivesncontrols.com March 2025 A BRITISH DEVELOPER OF high-eciency gallium nitride power electronic devices, Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD), has raised $32m in Series C funding which it will use to expand its operations in Cambridge, North America, Taiwan and Europe. The company’s founder and CEO, Dr Giorgia Longobardi describes the funding as “a pivotal moment” for CGD. “It validates our technology and vision to revolutionise the power electronics industry with our ecient GaN solutions and make sustainable power electronics possible. We're now poised to accelerate our growth and make a signicant impact in reducing energy consumption across multiple sectors.” GaN-based devices oer faster switching speeds, lower energy consumption, and more compact designs than silicon devices. CGD’s proprietary technology simplies the implementation of GaN and delivers eciency levels of more than 99%, leading to energy savings of up to 50% in high-power applications such as motor drives, electric vehicles and data centre power supplies. The global GaN power device market is growing at a CAGR of 41% and could be worth more than $10bn by 2029. The technology is a rival to silicon carbide (SiC), oering a combination of high eciency, miniaturisation and built-in smart functions. “I'm thrilled to see this funding helping to deliver on customer deals we’ve already closed for CGD's latest-generation P2 products,” says the company’s senior vice-president of sales, Henryk Dabrowski. “This investment will signicantly boost our ability to meet the growing demand for our reliable and easy-to-use GaN solutions.” CGD was spun out from Cambridge University by Dr Longobardi and Professor Florin Udrea in 2016. It aims to shape the future of power electronics by delivering the most ecient and reliable devices. It says they will lead to “a radical step change” in eciency. UK GaN pioneer secures $32m of funding to drive global growth to standardise around a single OS and coding language. “BOW’s universal software platform and SDK elegantly solve this intractable problem by enabling any software developer to program various types of robots using the coding language of their choice, make portable applications and enable easy interoperability between any make and model of robot,” he continues. “This £4m seed investment, led by Northern Gritstone, will be used to build on our strong commercial traction to date, expand our brilliant team, and accelerate our product development so we can unleash the full potential of robotics.” The closure of the seed funding round follows the appointment of Raspberry Pi co-founder, Liz Upton to chair BOW’s board. Thompson and Upton are hoping to do for robotics what Raspberry Pi did for computing – make it accessible to millions, rather than the few. The robotics industry is facing a critical bottleneck – a global shortage of roboticists, reckoned to amount to around 150,000 specialists worldwide. This shortage risks stalling growth in the sector, which has been projected to reach a value of $260bn by 2030. BOW’s SDK would allow the estimated 28 million general software developers around the world to apply their skills to robot programming. The funding round was led by the science and technology investor Northern Gritstone. Other investors include Finance Yorkshire and Praetura Ventures (part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II). https://usebow.com Hoping to be the Raspberry Pi of robotics: BOW CEO, Nick Thompson, and CTO, Daniel Camilleri
n NEWS March 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 6 HONEYWELL HAS announced plans to spin o its automation and aerospace businesses, following an evaluation of its portfolio. The announcement follows pressure from a major US shareholder, Elliott Management, which has been calling for Honeywell to be broken up. Honeywell’s announcement will result in three publicly listed businesses with distinct strategies and growth drivers. (Honeywell earlier announced that its Advanced Materials division is also being spun o .) The aim is to complete the separations by the second half of 2026. The automation division is the biggest of the three spin-o s, generating revenues worth $18bn in 2024. (Aerospace generated $15bn, and Advanced Materials produced almost $4bn.) The automation portfolio includes drives, sensors, controls, remote I/O, HMIs, industrial software, warehouse automation systems, and cybersecurity technologies. Honeywell says that following the separation, the automation business will be a “pure play” supplier with global scale and a vast installed base. It will be “the global leader of the industrial world’s transition from automation to autonomy, with a comprehensive portfolio of technologies, solutions, and software to drive customers' productivity”. The business will maintain its global scale, connecting connect assets, people and processes to power digital transformation with “a vast installed base to serve a variety of high-growth verticals”. Honeywell’s chairman and CEO, Vimal Kapur, says that it became clear that the strategies for Honeywell’s businesses were diverging. While the automation business needed to focus on AI, digital transformation and energy security, the aerospace operation had to concentrate on capacity expansion and supply chains. “Building on decades of innovation as its heritage, Honeywell Automation will create the buildings and industrial infrastructure of the future, leveraging process technology, software, and AI-enabled, autonomous solutions to drive the next generation of productivity, sustainability and safety for our customers,” Kapur predicts. “As a standalone company with a simplied operating structure and enhanced focus, Honeywell Automation will be better able to capitalise on the global megatrends underpinning its business – from energy security and sustainability, to digitalisation and AI. “The formation of three independent, industry-leading companies builds on the powerful foundation we have created, positioning each to pursue tailored growth strategies, and unlock signicant value,” says Kapur. “We have a rich pipeline of strategic bolt-on acquisition targets, and we plan to continue deploying capital to further enhance each business as we prepare them to become leading, independent public companies.” Honeywell to spin off $18bn automation biz p An alliance of engineering and manufacturing rms has been launched in Scotland to avert a “looming economic disaster” for the sector and to grasp an “Industrial Revolution sized opportunity” worth hundreds of billions of pounds to the Scottish economy. The Enginuity Alliance has told business leaders, educators and government representatives that more than £230bn is at stake over the coming decade. The Alliance will share best practice, generate discussion, and lobby policy-makers on both sides of the border. It is estimated that the sector will need more than 1.1 million workers over the next decade https://enginuity.org/the-alliance pABB is buying a Dutch energy management specialist, Sensorfact, to expand its digital energy management portfolio for industrial customers. It is also investing in a Canadian energy management start-up, Edgecom Energy, which uses AI to help industrial and commercial users to manage peaks in their power demand. pBeckhoff UK has opened an oce at the Alderley Park innovation campus in Cheshire. It will serve as the company’s software centre, and allow it reach customers in the North of England and Scotland more easily. A training centre will run sessions on Beckho’s TwinCat products. The oce will also have demonstration facilities for Beckho technologies such as XPlanar and XTS. pSmart Manufacturing Week has formed a strategic partnership with Wise (Women in Science and Engineering) as part of its goal of ensuring that its 2025 event in June addresses the technical innovations and pain points that the sector is experiencing. SMW says it is committed to supporting Wise in its mission to break down barriers and create more opportunities for women to thrive in Stem (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) careers. pSix companies – PP Control & Automation, Danfoss, Emerson, Glacier Energy, Phoenix Contact and Voltserv – have formed an alliance to boost the onshoring of manufacturing for the renewable energy sector. The Clean Energy Systems Partner Alliance (Cespa) will act as a single source for developers of clean technologies. A series of joint events and appearances is planned, followed by presentations and factory tours. www.cespa.org.uk p Global revenues from collaborative robots (cobots) will rise from $970m in 2023 to $7.2bn by 2030 – a CAGR of 28% – according to a new report from ABI Research. It adds that safety, falling prices, and improved accessibility will accelerate these sales. The automotive segment will drive cobot uptake, with shipments rising from 13,000 in 2023 to 115,000 by 2030. The growth of applications such as palletising and inspection could boost sales of cameras which, ABI predicts, will be attached to 59% of cobots by 2030. www.abiresearch.com NEWS BRIEFS SAMOTICS, THE DUTCH ELECTRICAL data analytics company, has signed a €20m nancing agreement with the European Investment Bank to boost its R&D activities and enhance its technologies which use AI to boost the reliability and e£ciency of motors. The money will also accelerate work on its next-gen system, due for launch later this year. Samotics’ electrical signature analysis (ESA) technology relies on the principle that subtle changes in the operating characteristics of a motor that often occur before a failure, a ect the machine’s magnetic eld. This, in turn, a ects the motor’s supply voltage and operating current. Using various analytical techniques, ESA provides an overview of the entire powertrain, from the motor to the load, to predict impending faults. Identifying and correcting energy ine£ciencies can reduce operating costs signicantly. The system uses AI-driven monitoring and analysis to predict malfunctions, detect ine£ciencies and provide actionable recommendations. It can be installed in an electric cabinet, avoiding the need to reach often-inaccessible motors. Dutch firm secures €20m for motor reliability and efficiency technology Honeywell CEO Vimal Kapur: as a separate business, Honeywell Automation will be better able to capitalise on the global megatrends
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March 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 8 Hannover Messe 2025 Hannover, Germany 31 March – 4 April, 2025 The main exhibition areas for the 2025 industrial megashow will be Smart Manufacturing, Digital Ecosystems, Energy for Industry, Compressed Air & Vacuum Technology, Engineered Parts & Solutions, Future Hub and International Trade & Investment. Drive and uid power technologies will be highlighted in the Motion & Drives areas. The conference programme will include around 1,600 speakers. The partner country for 2025 is Canada. www.hannovermesse.de/en Sensor+Test 2025 Nuremberg, Germany 6–8 May, 2025 The show describes itself as “the leading international trade fair for sensor, measuring and testing technology”. Its organisers say it is “in demand like never before because we oer exhibitors a platform where they are not only seen, but also appreciated.” In 2024, 383 companies from 29 countries took part. There will be areas focusing on condition monitoring and calibration. www.sensor-test.de/en CWIEME Berlin 2025 Berlin, Germany 3-5 June, 2025 The exhibition for the coil winding, electric motor, transformer and generator industries, returns to its Berlin venue and is expected to attract more than 550 exhibitors and around 6,500 visitors. Last year’s Start-Up Zone brought together edgling companies and their latest technologies. This year’s Innovation Zone will expand on this and provide a platform for cuttingedge technologies, including AI and machine learning, predictive maintenance and monitoring, IoTenabled tools, smart sensors and data analytics. https://berlin.cwiemeevents.com/home Smart Manufacturing Week 4–5 June, 2025 NEC, Birmingham More than 450 exhibitors and 13,500 visitors are expected at the two-day event that includes the Drives & Controls show, Smart Factory Expo, Maintec, the Air-Tech exhibition, Fluid Power & Systems and the Design+Engineering Expo. Running concurrently are the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit, the Industrial Data and AI Summit, and the Automation & Robotics Accelerator Symposium. www.smartmanufacturingweek.com 2025 OT Cybersecurity Summit 17-19 June, 2025 Brussels, Belgium This event, organised by ISA, will focus on strategic OT (operational technology) cybersecurity based on the ISA/IEC 63443 standards. It will include various technical tracks, training courses as well as a cyberescape room. https://otcs.isa.org n NEWS Alan Conn has been appointed managing director of ABB Robotics for the UK and Ireland. He is moving from ABB’s automation subsidiary, B&R Industrial Automation, where he has been for almost nine years, initially as MD for the UK and Ireland and, for the past two years, as regional MD for Northern and Eastern Europe. Earlier in his career he worked at Bosch Rexroth, HMK and THK. Trio Motion Technology has appointed Neil Moss as its sales manager for the UK and Ireland. He will support OEM machine-builders, systems integrators, and distributors for Trio’s machine, motion and robotics controls. Moss has had a 30-year career in motion control, including periods at BPX Electro Mechanical, Olsen Actuators, Iconsys, ABB Motion Products, Baldor and Bosch Rexroth’s Indramat division. A UK-BASED AI AND ROBOTICS start-up is aiming to develop the world’s leading, commercially scalable, and safe humanoid robots. London-based Humanoid (also known as SKL Robotics), founded in 2024 by serial entrepreneur Artem Sokolov, plans to develop and test prototypes for two platforms – wheeled and bipedal – later this year. “We’re also in ongoing discussions with leading retail companies for potential pilot projects,” Sokolov notes. The company’s 175cm-tall HMND 01 humanoid weighs 70kg and has 41 degrees of freedom. It has a walking speed of 1.5 m/s (5.4 km/h), a payload capacity of up to 15kg, and an average runtime of four hours. The company says it can achieve humanlevel or faster manipulation speeds for complex tasks, and can navigate confined spaces with “exceptional” accuracy. The robot’s hardware and software are modular. Customers will be able to combine different upper-body, lower-body and end-effector configurations to suit their application, and cut costs by eliminating non-essential hardware and software. There will be choice of interchangeable “garments” to protect both the robot and its environment. These garments will also allow the robot to take on different identities tailored to the application. The robots will incorporate high-torque, high-speed actuators, and use AI for environment perception and object manipulation. The company reports it is also developing model- and learning-based locomotion and whole-body control technologies. Humanoid says that its general-purpose robots will oer a low TCO (total cost of ownership) and be designed for mass commercialisation. They will be suitable for a variety of applications, including industrial roles such as goods handling, picking and packing, kitting and parts-handling. They could be used in retail and manufacturing sites, logistics and fullment centres, and warehouses. Humanoid is entering an increasingly competitive, but potentially lucrative, market. ABI Research predicts that the global market for humanoid robots will achieve a CAGR of 95% between 2022 and 2030, when it will be worth $6.5bn. Annual shipments could reach 1,000 robots this year and 182,000 by 2030. There are at least a dozen developers working on humanoid robots around the world, including Tesla, Figure AI, Boston Dynamics and several Chinese companies. The US developer, Apptronik, recently raised $350m from investors that include Google (see page 11), and Apple is reported to be working on humanoid technologies. https://thehumanoid.ai UK start-up says its modular humanoid robot will cut costs Humanoid plans to oer wheeled as well as bipedal robots
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n NEWS March 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 10 VDMA ROBOTICS + AUTOMATION (VDMA R+A), the German-based organisation that represents 415 automation companies across Europe, is calling for action to halt the sector’s loss of global competitiveness. “Europe's industries are falling behind in international competitiveness and urgently need to catch up,” warns the organisation’s chairman, Dr Dietmar Ley. “China, for example, has shifted its focus to advanced technology and high-value manufacturing. The country’s drive for automation has seen its robot density double in four years to 470 robots per 10,000 workers. “This is twice the European Union gure of just 219,” he points out. “Robotics and automation is the key enabling technology for the future growth of economies, increasing productivity, driving innovation and creating new opportunities.” VDMA has issued a 40-page action plan aimed at European policymakers, including governments and EU institutions. Its key demands are to: n Give Europe’s robotics sector a boost Europe is increasingly being challenged by aggressive industrial policies in other countries – such as the America First agenda and China’s Five-Year-Plan for Robotics. Boosting robotics will help Europe to become more competitive, safeguard its sovereignty, counteract demographic decline, and manage the transition to carbon neutrality. n More venture capital for European start-ups The regulatory framework for institutional investors needs to be updated to mobilise urgently needed venture capital for the robotics and automation sector. France’s Tibi Initiative has shown how capital can be put to work for innovation – the rest of Europe should follow, says VDMA. n Set up a competition roadmap Europe’s progress in robotics and AI needs to be benchmarked against developments in Asia and North America, and concrete national and European technology roadmaps created. n Focus on economies of scale Europe’s policymakers need to provide an environment that is conducive not only to innovation, but also to transferring innovation into mass production and wide adoption. VDMA says that Europe boasts a “fascinating” research and innovation landscape and great ideas are constantly being born. However, it adds, success must ultimately be measured by bringing ideas to market at scale. “We have no time to waste,” says Ley. “Our new strategy paper is a call to policymakers across Europe to set the course on how to use robotics and automation to make Europe more competitive and resilient. Let us get to work now.” VDMA R+A represents suppliers of components and systems in robotics, automated systems and machine vision. It is part of the wider VDMA organisation which represents 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies employing around three million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany. This sector is the largest employer in the capital goods sector in both the EU-27 and Germany. In the EU, it represents a combined turnover of around €910bn. www.vdma.org/robotics-automation Europe’s automation sector ‘risks losing its global competitiveness’ REVENUES FROM GERMANY’S robotics and automation sector will plummet by 9% this year to €13.8bn, according to the trade body that represents the sector, VDMA Robotics + Automation. This predicted fall is even worse than the 6% drop last year to €15.2bn. VDMA believes that the sector has “lost competitiveness”. “The sales trend in the robotics and automation industry calls for action,” says Dr Dietmar Ley, the body’s chairman. “The current downward trend is not based solely on cyclical fluctuations in demand, but has very tangible structural causes. These include, for example, the excessive dependence of the robotics and automation industry on the German automotive industry. In addition, there are weaknesses in competitiveness that business and politics must address with consistent reforms.” The German home market has been particularly hard-hit by the downturn, with orders falling by 16% during 2024, compared to 2023. Orders from abroad dropped by 2%, and the only bright spot for the German robotics and automation sector was exports to the Eurozone, where orders soared by 44%. Foreign demand excluding the Eurozone countries was 13% down on 2023. “Companies in the German robotics and automation industry need to focus on their own competitiveness,” says Ley. “The priority is to accelerate innovation. More agility is also needed to respond more quickly to customer demands and to set ourselves apart from competitors abroad. Finally, we also need to bring costs down to a competitive level.” Dr Ley is also calling for politicians to introduce reforms. “With a view to fierce global competition, Germany can no longer afford disadvantages such as disproportionate regulation and excessive costs,” he says. “The economy needs reliable framework conditions in Germany that support, not hamper, growth. Only then can robotics and automation thrive again. “All long-term growth trends for our innovative industry remain intact,” Ley states. “We now have to set the right course.” The robot population density in most European countries lags far behind the figure for China (2023 figures). Source: IFR German automation sales ‘will fall by 9% in 2025’, following a 6% drop in 2024
NEWS n A US DEVELOPER OF HUMANOID ROBOTS, Apptronik, has raised $350m of Series A funding from a group of investors that include Google. The company says that the funding marks “a pivotal moment” and will help it to deploy its Apollo industrial robot, scale its operations, accelerate innovation, and expand its 150-strong team to meet the demand for next-generation, AI-powered humanoid robots. Earlier funding rounds had raised $28m. “We’re creating the world’s most advanced and capable humanoid robots, designed to work alongside humans in meaningful and transformative ways,” says Apptronik’s co-founder and CEO, Je Cardenas. “By uniting cutting-edge AI with hardware engineered for meaningful interaction, we're shaping a future where robots become true partners in driving progress. It’s inspiring to have investors who believe in this vision and are committed to helping us bring it to life.” Texas-based Apptronik says the investment will allow it to: n Accelerate the development of its next-generation humanoid robots, including advancing the Apollo modular industrial robot, and exploring new form factors. New innovations will expand Apollo’s capabilities, enabling it to address a wide range of applications in industries such as manufacturing and logistics, as well as care for the elderly. n Push the boundaries of humanoid robot design and development using Apptronik’s full-stack approach to designing a humanoid robots. Its portfolio includes “unique” actuation/motor technologies said to be aordable, easy to maintain, and ready for mass production. n Meet “skyrocketing” customer demand Apptronik is scaling production of the Apollo humanoids to full orders across priority markets that include automotive, electronics manufacturing, thirdparty logistics, beverage bottling and fullment, and consumer packaged goods. The 172cm-tall Apollo robots can carry 25kg loads and are powered by hot-swappable battery packs with four-hour runtimes. The modular humanoids can walk on their own legs, or be mounted onto mobile or stationary platforms. A “unique” force control architecture ensures safe movements near humans. Inner and outer safety zones can be set up around the robot. With expanded deployment of the Apollo planned for 2025, Apptronik predicts that it will transform workplaces worldwide. Apptronik was founded in 2016 in the University of Texas at Austin’s Human Centered Robotics Lab. To date, it has developed 15 robotic systems, including the Valkyrie robot for Nasa. Last year, Apptronik collaborated with Nvidia to demonstrate dexterous manipulation, and it has also established a strategic partnership with Google’s DeepMind robotics team to combine AI with humanoids. It has also secured agreements with MercedesBenz and GXO Logistics to demonstrate real-world applications. US robot developer raises $350m from backers including Google
DOES GOOGLE NEED TO APPLY AI TO ITS SEARCH RESULTS? I frequently check Google News to catch up on what’s been happening around the world in the areas of business and technology that Drives & Controls covers. It’s impressive how quickly Google can return results to such a query – but there are also too many frustrations when using the process. For example, I often search for news items on “robotics”. As you would expect, most of the results that Google News returns are to do with recent developments involving humanoids, cobots, industrial pick-and-place systems, and the like. But too often, these searches will produce news items about footballers who have performed “robotically” in a match, or actors whose performances have been judged to be too wooden – or “robotic”. Then there are the news stories about “robot” vacuum cleaners or lawnmowers. There is no doubt that some of these appliances are very good at carrying out their tasks, no doubt aided by some form of electronics. But they are not robots, by any definition (other than those dreamed up by enthusiastic marketing departments). They cannot be reprogrammed to carry out other tasks. They will always be vacuum cleaners or lawnmowers. Then there is Google’s concept of what constitutes news. It is not unusual for the search results to include items that were first published six months ago, or sometimes even older. Surely if you are searching for news, you’d expect all of the items to be a few days old, at most? There is so much happening in the worlds of industrial automation and robotics, that plenty of items on these topics will have been published on the Web in the past day or so. But perhaps the most frustrating aspect of carrying out a Google News search is that there is no apparent logic to the order in which the results are presented – and no way for the user to specify their preferences. Whatever algorithms Google is using don’t always place the most important or newest items at the top of the list. Obviously what constitutes “most important” is subjective, but often it seems that trivial items find their way to the top of the list. Surely it would be possible to request for the results to be presented so that the most recent stories are at the top? But this option does not seem to exist. I don’t know whether the apparently random presentation of results is a ploy to keep visitors on the Google site longer, but it certainly is annoying. It seems to me that the Google News results would benefit from the judicious application of artificial intelligence – something that Google should know a thing or two about. Sometimes the results appear to have been “curated” so that stories on similar topics are grouped together. This is presumably done automatically. It would be just one step further to use AI to ensure that the results are presented in a useful way, and that searching for news items on robotics does not produce references to poor acting or sportsmanship, or to domestic appliances. Tony Sacks, Editor n COMMENT device-design www.escate OU n-to-manufacturing ec.com/medicalTNOW! & ecycle acturing Design, manuf lif www.escatec.com e solutions built
Drives&Controls & BACK TO BASICS n SPONSORED BY Does data centre downtime keep you awake at night? If a data centre goes down, the consequences can be dire. Outages can cost thousands of pounds every minute, and be catastrophic for people and businesses. ABB’s Carl Turbitt explains why looking after your drives is essential for resilient data centre operations. Data centres are now widely considered to be critical infrastructure – up there with hospital operating theatres in terms of their importance to modern society. Often when I talk to data centre operators about maintenance, they discuss the uptime of their server racks and security systems. Drives rarely enter the conversation. Yet drives, when used intelligently, are a critical component in assessing and maintaining data centre resilience. In some respects, they can act essentially as a canary in the goldmine, providing early warning of minor issues before they have a chance to turn into major ones. Nipping harmonics in the bud For instance, harmonics are an increasingly widespread problem in many facilities – particularly as more non-linear loads are plugged into networks. The early symptoms of harmonics – ickering lights, nuisance trips, equipment running hot – can be easily overlooked or misdiagnosed. This could be a serious mistake, because minor issues can easily snowball into bigger problems down the line. In critical applications, no potential issue should be ignored. Nuisance trips are easy enough to deal with but if, for whatever reason, your MCB doesn’t trip, then this could cause your cables to overheat and give rise to a re. Harmonic lters or ultra-low harmonic drives require additional investment, compared to conventional drive systems with no mitigation. But in facilities that are at such a high risk of harmonic distortion, assessing and mitigating harmonics is always money well spent. Drives play a crucial role in maintaining the e ciency of the entire drivetrain. During a recent site visit, I discovered a motor operating at full capacity without any drive. The motor was intended to power a belt, which had snapped some time ago, unnoticed by anyone. Consequently, the motor had been running needlessly at full power, for an unknown time. If a drive had been installed on that motor, the resulting current drop would have alerted the building management system immediately, potentially saving signicant amounts of energy and money. Issues such as these can be uncovered quickly and easily with a free ABB Energy Assessment. To nd out more, search for “ABB Energy Assessment”. pot en ti a l o f y o Are you inve our workforce? esting in the mproves Comp Creates an Adaptable a ncreases Productivi mproves Safe W Industry recognised co I I a I any Reputation nd Flexible Workforce y and Performance orking Practices ourses from the BFPA W t a p Please call 01608 6479 00 or bfpa.co.u RITISH FLUID POW B email enquiries@bfpa.co.uk k/training WER ASSOCIATION / Direct
n TECHNOLOGY March 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 14 AN INDIAN COMPRESSOR manufacturer, Elgi Equipments, has announced a technology that it says will revolutionise the way compressors operate in plants with dynamic air demand, achieving energy savings of up to 15%. The system, called Stabilisor, is designed to address the challenges of unstable compressor performance, ineciency and excessive wear, caused by frequent load/unload cycles. In industrial applications, the gap between a compressor’s capacity and a plant’s air demand is inherently dynamic. This variability leads to the compressor cutting in and out frequently, destabilising its operation and impairing critical components. Traditional ways of dealing with this – such as increasing the reservoir volume, altering the cut-in/cut-out pressures, or adding VSDs – often fall short, introducing new ineciencies or higher costs, according to Elgi. The new system – which Elgi calls “a signicant leap forward for industrial air compression” – is based on a principle called “recirculate and recover”. It aligns a compressor’s capacity with air demand using controlled recirculation and recovery techniques. By stabilising airows, the system reduces load/unload cycles, extends equipment lifespans, and achieves energy savings of up to 15% in typical applications. It also reduces system ineciencies, and maintains high performance across varying demand patterns. The system incorporates precisionengineered progressive and on-o valves to recirculate excess capacity. It uses stabilisation zones and low-pressure recovery techniques to balance airow demands dynamically, reducing energy losses by targeting pressure points with minimal dierences, while enhancing reliability. The new system competes with more expensive VSDs, which adjust compressor speeds dynamically, but can introduce instabilities and failure risks, according to Elgi. The new failsafe system ensures that even in the event of a malfunction, the compressor will continue to run without disruption. Despite the new system’s energysaving potential, the cost to customers is said to be minimal. “Compared to a VSDequipped compressor, our stabiliser system reduces costs by 30%, while ensuring higher reliability,” says Elgi’s managing director, Dr Jairam Varadaraj. “With its energy-ecient design and potential to reduce wear-and-tear, the Stabilisor aligns with global sustainability goals,” he adds. “Its implementation in industrial plants represents a shift towards greener, more cost-eective manufacturing processes.” The Stabilisor system works with rotary screw compressors which make up 8590% of the global market for industrial compressors. With modications, it can also be adapted for use with positive displacement compressors. Some early adopters have already reported signicant savings. One user with a 45kW compressor reports that stabiliser system helped it to save around £3,500 within six months. “This level of energy savings means the entire machine pays for itself in just two years,” says Elgi’s director of technology, Venu Madhav. Elgi has patented the Stabilsor’s design and control methodology worldwide, and plans to make the system standard on its future compressors. It will be oering the system globally in a choice of a “light” version designed to be tted in the eld, or a factory-tted “heavy” version. Elgi estimates that if the new technology was implemented on all compressors around the world, it could save up to 19 trillion kWh of electricity annually. The company, founded 64 years ago, says it is currently the world’s sixthlargest air compressor manufacturer. It is aiming to break into the top three by 2035-36, with revenues of at least $2bn. Its immediate goal is to achieve revenues of $450m in 2025-26, and it expects the new stabiliser system to accelerate its growth substantially. www.ELGi.com THE GERMAN CONTROL and measurement specialist PCE Instruments has launched a power meter for precise recording of current and voltage values in applications such as electric motors and drives. The PCE-PA 6500 power meter can monitor energy from main and subdistribution points to devices and systems. The Cat III 300V device senses currents and voltages via Rogowski coils or split current transformers without interrupting the power supply. The recorded values – including active, apparent and reactive power – are transmitted every second to a terminal device via a WLAN. Historical data can be viewed as tables or graphs, or exported in the CSV format. Configuration is carried out via a WLAN and Web browser, or using an Android app. Even if there is no Internet connection, no data is lost. A built-in 32GB memory stores measurement values as CSV files, every second more than a year. The data can be processed later or sent by email, FTP or directly from the platform. The IP40-protected power analyser can measure AC voltages from 40–400V, currents from 2–9.5kA, and active power from 80W–3.8MW. Measurements are carried out via magnetic measuring tips or connection terminals. There are three versions with differing current transformers and measuring ranges. The split current transformer version has an inner diameter of 11mm and can measure up to 80A AC. The Rogowski coil versions are available in two sizes: one with an inner diameter of 50mm for up to 20kA AC; the other with a diameter of 150mm for up to 9.5kA AC. www.pce-instruments.com/english Analyser helps to identify power-guzzling drives and motors Compressor ‘revolution’ promises energy savings of up to 15% Elgi says that its Stabilisor technology will enhance compressor eciency at a low cost
Oriental Motor, a leader in precision drive technology, has announced the launch of the AZX Series, an advanced range of high-precision servo motors. The AZX Series promises unparalleled performance and flexibility, catering to a wide range of industrial applications where precision and reliability are paramount. The AZX Series is designed to offer the precision and reliability of advanced servo motors. With superior control and feedback features, the AZX Series is an ideal solution for applications requiring precise movement and high torque at high speeds. This makes it perfect for demanding industrial environments where accuracy and performance are critical. Key Features of the AZX Series include: • Battery-free absolute encoder: the AZX Series is equipped with Oriental Motor's patented ABZO sensor, a mechanical-type multi-turn absolute sensor that retains positioning information even when powered off. This eliminates the need for external sensors and batteries, reducing maintenance and operational costs. • High torque and speed: the AZX motors deliver high torque at high speeds, making them suitable for positioning applications with extensive travel, such as ball screw or belt driven applications. The motors achieve superior performance in the high-speed range compared to conventional models. • Ease of integration: the AZX Series maintains the same basic operations as the existing AZ Series, allowing for seamless integration into existing systems. This compatibility extends to network-compatible drivers that support EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and ProfiNET, simplifying wiring and reducing installation errors. • Enhanced positioning and control: the AZX motors feature built-in positioning operation functions and various sequence capabilities, which can be configured using the MEXE02 support software. This simplifies the programming and enhances the operational flexibility of the host system. Applications and benefits include the fact that the AZX Series is designed for long-term reliability without the need for complex tuning. This makes it ideal for diverse applications across industries such as edical, automotive, and food processing. It’s also a very cost-effective solution. By eliminating the need for batteries and reducing wiring requirements, the AZX Series offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional servo and stepper motors. Last but not least, following the kaizen principle of continuous improvement the AZX Series reflects Oriental Motor's commitment to innovation and quality in precision drive technology. Pierce Ferris, UK Divisional Manager at Oriental Motor, comments: "The launch of the AZX Series is a significant milestone for us. It provides our customers with enhanced flexibility and performance, allowing design engineers the option to utilise both stepper and servo technologies. The battery-free design and high torque capabilities at high speeds make it a versatile and cost-effective choice for a wide range of applications." ADVERTORIAL Oriental Motor Introduces the Innovative Battery-Free Absolute range of Servo Motors For more information, please visit: Oriental Motor UK www.orientalmotor.eu/uk
n TECHNOLOGY March 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com 16 igus has added an AI chatbot to its RBTX.com online robotics market. The digital assistant helps users with little experience to put together low-cost automation (LCA) systems quickly and reliably from the site’s portfolio of 500 robot components, 95% of which cost less than €12,000. The text-based AI draws on data from hundreds of projects already automated using RBTX. For example, the technical manager of workshop can ask the chatbot: “Which robot is suitable for loading my CNC machine?”Within seconds, the bot provides an answer, suggesting a suitable arm, and detailing its its dimensions, speed, and ancillaries such as a vision system. It also quotes a price. The user can then dig deeper to explore which grippers may be most suitable for the application. “We want to eliminate all the barriers that stand in the way of companies entering the world of automation,” says igus vicepresident, Alexander Mühlens, who is also head of its LCA business. “The decisive factor here, for example, is to ensure guaranteed interoperability of all the components we oer, which makes it virtually impossible to make the wrong purchase.” The AI advisor is “a further step in this direction… It interacts with interested parties to reduce the time they spend searching for components in a range that keeps on growing." Mühlens reports that pilot users of the bot have been enthusiastic. “It has given them a better feel for the possibilities of LCA and signicantly accelerated the search for suitable components,” he says. “We are therefore planning to expand the AI advisor with additional functions,” he adds. For example, it should be possible in future to embed images and video material from references in the chatbot’s answers, and to oer LCA systems that meet a target price. https://chat.rbtx.eu SICK HAS UNVEILED an IO-Link wireless gateway that, it says, is the easiest way to make sensors and actuators wireless. It adds that the gateway will cut installation costs, and provide real-time data streaming to enterprise and cloud platforms for advanced analytics and predictive maintenance, without needing costly cabling. The bidirectional gateway, which supports multiple sensors, is said to be ideal for applications where wired connections are impractical or impossible. It will allow machine designs that were not previously possible, and can be retrotted easily to existing installations to provide £exibility, future-proong and scalability. The IP67-protected gateway consists of three main elements: an IO-Link master acting as a central controller; a hub with four IO-Link ports; and a bridge that extends communications to applications that need mobile accessibility over longer distances. The bridge and the hub feed data to the master, which can support up to 16 sensors. The gateway can provide smart connections over distances of up to 20m, with a latency of 5ms. Plug-and-play operation simplies installation and eliminates the need for programming or complex wiring. Sensors can be congured remotely via the gateway. To ensure uninterrupted data transmission and accurate data collection, the wireless network uses dynamic frequency hopping and blacklisting techniques. Local power cabinets reduce interference, voltage drops and electrical noise, to safeguard data accuracy. The point-to-point wireless communication system adapts to existing data infrastructures. Using the Connect X platform, it can provide access to various IIoT interfaces, including Rest API and MQTT, as well as eldbuses including Pronet, EtherNet/IP and EtherCat. Sick gives several examples of how the wireless gateway could be used, including: n helping food and beverage manufacturers to maintain strict hygiene standards by eliminating cabling, which can harbour bacteria and cause crosscontamination; n providing rapid, cost-eective scalability for conveyors and cross belt-sorters by supporting more sensors over longer distances, allowing additional sorting stations and extensions without costly hardware upgrades; and n enabling real-time, cable-free communications with transport systems such AMRs, AGVs and forklifts, with low latency and high data integrity. Wireless IO-Link gateway is ‘easiest way’ to make sensors and actuators cable-free AI chatbot helps users to specify low-cost robotic systems Sick’s wireless IO-Link gateway provides access to sensor data without needing cables. Igus’ interactive AI advisor reduces the time spent looking for components
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