Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FAMM (Innovation associate for future automatic mobile machining)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-10-01 bis 2021-09-30
Many key industries need large and heavy components in high precision quality either directly in their products, in the tools they use or in their production facilities. Examples are energy, aviation, mining, shipbuilding, transportation and the automotive industry. Big components are manufactured on even bigger machines. These manufacturing centres have severe disadvantages like high prices and high demand in space. Therefore, they are only economically viable in few locations, which are seldom at the usage site of the big components. This results in the need of transportation of heavy parts. These transports are expensive, time consuming and impact the environment and infrastructure. The current situation has an especially negative impact on repairs and modifications of large components, because even small amounts of machining cannot be carried out without transporting them back and forth from usage site to production site and vice versa. A few hours machining task can take up to three weeks to finish.
Picum MT has the answer to this problem. We offer a highly accurate mobile machining platform. Picum reverses the principle “the workpiece comes to the machine”. Our system comes to the workpiece. Transport of the relatively light Picum is much easier than of the corresponding workpieces. Hence, CO2 emissions are reduced as well as heavy transports, which strain the traffic infrastructure, if a Picum is transported instead of the heavy workpiece. Furthermore, the technology encourages repairs and modifications of big components instead of their replacement with new parts. This way, we extend their life cycles, which saves resources and energy. The modular Picum combines with arc-welding and milling additive and subtractive processing technologies in one system.
A challenge of the new technology is the positioning of the machine in relation to the workpiece. We can only achieve high accuracy if the positioning is accurate. The Picum is equipped with high-end optical measurement devices to solve this problem. These are currently operated manually. Automation of the positioning is a final piece in the puzzle. This way set-up times will be reduced, which increases competitiveness with the established processes for more use cases. Furthermore, automation of positioning will allow Picum to machine large areas in one go, which opens completely new applications like 3D-printing of large components. The size of the part is not restricted anymore by machine size when using a Picum, because the Picum can move around the part while printing.
Picum MT has the answer to this problem. We offer a highly accurate mobile machining platform. Picum reverses the principle “the workpiece comes to the machine”. Our system comes to the workpiece. Transport of the relatively light Picum is much easier than of the corresponding workpieces. Hence, CO2 emissions are reduced as well as heavy transports, which strain the traffic infrastructure, if a Picum is transported instead of the heavy workpiece. Furthermore, the technology encourages repairs and modifications of big components instead of their replacement with new parts. This way, we extend their life cycles, which saves resources and energy. The modular Picum combines with arc-welding and milling additive and subtractive processing technologies in one system.
A challenge of the new technology is the positioning of the machine in relation to the workpiece. We can only achieve high accuracy if the positioning is accurate. The Picum is equipped with high-end optical measurement devices to solve this problem. These are currently operated manually. Automation of the positioning is a final piece in the puzzle. This way set-up times will be reduced, which increases competitiveness with the established processes for more use cases. Furthermore, automation of positioning will allow Picum to machine large areas in one go, which opens completely new applications like 3D-printing of large components. The size of the part is not restricted anymore by machine size when using a Picum, because the Picum can move around the part while printing.
At the beginning of the project, Picum’s mobile machining platform had no awareness of its surroundings other than the machined area. However, the control system needs data of its surroundings for autonomous positioning to avoid collisions. Hence, we designed a system with different sensors containing among other cameras and LIDAR scanners. We implemented this system first in a scaled down prototype, which we developed especially for the FAMM project. Its mechanical function and electronics and are very similar to the mobile machining platform and the control system is the same. This way, we ensure a smooth transition of the autonomous positioning system from the prototype to the mobile machining platform. The use of a scaled down prototype is essential to ensure safety during testing of the system. The core project consisted of the implementation of the new sensors into the control system, the development of the autonomous positioning algorithm and extensive testing of the system.
The autonomous positioning system is now at the end of the project working in the prototype. The next step is its transfer to the commercially operating machines. Afterwards, we will present and market this new function to our customers.
The autonomous positioning system is now at the end of the project working in the prototype. The next step is its transfer to the commercially operating machines. Afterwards, we will present and market this new function to our customers.
We develop an automatic positioning process for our mobile machine tool in the project Future Automatic Mobile Machining (FAMM). High accuracy will be ensured by a novel combination of modern optical sensors with an interconnected control strategy for the machine tool kinematics and its omnidirectional drive. The tool kinematics move the tools during machining. The omnidirectional drive positions the Picum with regard to the workpiece. Currently, machining must stop for manually guided positioning resulting in additional set-up times and the need to split machining tasks into sections. Continuous machining of large areas is possible if the machine tool kinematics and the omnidirectional drive work together. The new control system will ensure this with sufficient accuracy. Picum MT’s mobile machining solutions will become more convenient to use when this aim is reached. Thus, Picum will be able to compete with conventional approaches for more use cases, which will increase its positive impact on CO2 emissions reduction and prolonging of life cycles of big components by their repair or modification.