Wandering the aisles and meeting vendors for interviews at the recent MD&M West and co-located shows in Anaheim, Calif., gave a mixed view of current manufacturing and assembly processes.
There are lots of ways you can build a product, from high-speed robotic assembly lines to small, refrigerator-sized 3D printing machines that make actual metal production parts for medical or aerospace uses. Two of these stood out from the rest.
In 3D printing, 30 percent of the business now consists of medical applications, and that proportion is growing, Andrew Snow, director of EOS North America, told us. EOS had on display plastic patient-specific devices, such as a cutting guide for knee surgery. Another, FHC's STarFix mobile fixture that fits on a patient's head, holds the probe used in a deep probe tumor biopsy, or in deep probe stimulation for Parkinson's patients. These fixtures reduce operating room time and increase patient comfort.
A titanium bone rasp for hollowing out femurs before inserting an implant can be custom-designed for a specific patient's bone using EOS' laser sintering additive manufacturing technology. (Source: Within Technologies)
But the thing that impressed me the most was how costs are going down in titanium implants, one of the biggest medical applications. For example, a titanium hip implant, an acetabular cup made by Within Technologies with EOS systems, has an optimized lattice structure and surface pores that help speed integration with the patient's bone. Eighteen of these can be made in 20 hours, with an overall net cost of $70 each, which includes capital equipment depreciation, said Snow. That's an insanely low price.
Other titanium devices made by Within using EOS' direct laser sintering (DSL) machines include spinal and finger implants, as well as a bone rasp that surgeons use to clean and hollow out the femur before inserting an implant.
Snow said the additive manufacturing (AM) industry will continue to focus on rapid prototyping, but that there's a definite shift toward manufacturing production parts, especially medical and dental implants and devices. AM will also boost the growth of electronic spare parts warehousing, where designs are inventoried electronically instead of parts warehoused physically.
In robotics, my most memorable visit was to the Rethink Robotics' booth where I interviewed Eric Foellmer, marketing communications manager, and saw the company's Baxter robot demonstration. Unlike other industrial robots, Baxter isn't dangerous enough to be surrounded by a cage. I think the company has a good argument for what Foellmer said was a rethink (word play intended) from the ground up of how industrial robots can be made safe enough to interact with people so both can work together side by side. The company used some revolutionary technology -- at least in industrial robotics -- to make this possible.
Baxter was designed for small to midsized companies. A few fundamental principles governed its design. First, it had to be able to operate close to people outside a cage. "Baxter lets people work collaboratively with robots," said Foellmer. "We want it to be an addition to the line." (You can watch a video of Baxter doing the same things I saw here.)
I know exactly what you mean, Chuck--actually, it looks more like what's called a fantasy weapon, which are more extreme versions of actual (usually medieval) weaponry used in both historical and fantasy movies and some role-playing/re-enactment games, and are represented in some video games.
Tim, Baxter isn't really designed to handle fine pick and place movements such as is needed in small-parts electronics assembly. Those are very sophisticated, expensive, precise machines. It's targeted at less precise movements. It's also designed to work alongside humans more than to interact with other robots.
Good article, Ann. Looks like the trade show had a lot of interesting products to keep you busy.
You've got two great concepts here, but keeping them separate might be a good idea. Imagine Baxter with that bone rasp in each "hand" and an angry face on the computer screen!!!
Seriously, as for the concern about differentiating between a person or a part, I wonder if the flesh-sensing technology used in saws (i.e. table saws) would be able to be integrated into the "skin" of a robot to help it identify humans. Since the saw companies are resisting using the technology, perhaps the robot industry would be able to incorporate it.
But the real point is that 3D printers can make complex shapes that would be too costly (translated: impossible) by other methods. I can imagine that bone cells would really gather 'round this object and build new bone. Additive technology will help us build shapes previously unattainable.
@CLMcDade , That "skin detector" used in the sawstop system would not help in a robot system because it uses a resistance principle, not a touch principle. And the reason that the saw companies are not rushing to adopt this system is that it has a few very big shortcomings, including a very expensive reset process and a propensity toward false triggers from wet wood and nails.
The two steps to make a robot safe for humans to be around is to slow it down to human speeds, and to eliminate pinch-points. By no means a trivial task, but certainly an achieveable target.
Interesting use of safety technology. From their website, Baxter contains sensors and software protocols that detect people within contact distance and trigger the robot to slow to safe operation speeds. May be that the robot sets up programmable safety zones on sensor inputs. Every motor can also be "back driven" in order to comply when unexpectedly pushed backwards.
Ann, Did they mention any specific commercial applications for Baxter? There is certainly interesting technology here but I'm not certain of its application niche.
Thanks Clinton. I did not think of Baxter wielding the bone rasp--I take no responsibility for others' imaginations! OTOH, Chuck, pointed out that it looks something like a medieval weapon, so I can understand the association. That's an interesting idea about flesh-sensors; I didn't know about that. Sounds like a good cross-app possibility. Hope Rethink is reading these comments...
eafpres, it's pretty simple. if something larger than a part--like the human body--gets inside its working zone, it stops. This is determined by its sensors. Also, if you bump into it faster than it can respond, it won't hurt you because of its softer surface (plastic) and its considerably lower force, compared to other industrial 'bots. More details are available on the website.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
The 100-percent solar-powered Solar Impulse plane flies on a piloted, cross-country flight this summer over the US as a prelude to the longer, round-the-world flight by its successor aircraft planned for 2015.
GE Aviation expects to chop off about 25 percent of the total 3D printing time of metallic production components for its LEAP Turbofan engine, using in-process inspection. That's pretty amazing, considering how slow additive manufacturing (AM) build times usually are.
A $1,500, hand-operated, bench-model, plastic injection machine crowdsource-funded via Kickstarter can be used to mold small, quality, plastic parts inexpensively, on demand.
The federal government is launching competitions to kickstart three more manufacturing innovation institutes, including one focused on Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing Innovation.
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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