Innovations 2022 - Production
Explore our latest "Production" innovations
Optimising production processes ranks high on the priority list in many companies. Through the innovations below, you will develop faster, more efficient and cheaper production processes.
OUR OTHER 2022 INNOVATIONS:
End-to-end design operation | Production
Visualisation of IOT data via Augmented Reality
Easy access to the right data is essential when troubleshooting or maintaining machines. We speed up this process through augmented reality visualisations of IoT data.
AUGMENTED REALITY FOR SMARTFACTORYBNL
In this demo, we show an Augmented Reality layer on top of the SmartFactoryBNL. The AR layer displays data uploaded to the edge or the cloud without the user having to switch between the machine's screen and that of the laptop or tablet. This facilitates and speeds up the process, thus increasing productivity.
Two views are available:
- A machine-centric view with an overview of the overall health of the different machines in the production line.
- A product-oriented view with a digital product passport containing all relevant information about the composition of a particular product during assembly as well as its position in the production line.
Robot programming by XR demonstration
Programming industrial robots and cobots is tedious, time-consuming and difficult. In this demo, we show how to use XR technology to capture operators' skills and translate them into robotic processes, without programming knowledge.
Our technology makes the process less complex, facilitates offline programming and minimises production downtime.
Flexibility through reconfigurable work cells (Infraflex)
Mass customization is a growing trend. But adapting your production line accordingly is challenging.
Through Infraflex, our open architecture of multiple reconfigurable work cells for flexible assembly, we speed up the reconfiguration process by up to 50%. The goal is to achieve a "one-piece-flow" through efficient movement of products and parts. We do this by planning the workflow around the product rather than around the organisation or machines.
Air leak detection - See where your money leaks out
Timely detection of compressed air leaks is important. We have therefore developed an innovative tool that transforms the inspection of pressurised parts such as valves, hoses or vessels.
AIR LEAKS IN 3D
By combining ultrasonic microphone arrays with optical perception, we can quickly locate pressure leaks. This saves time and costs. To further automate the process in the future, we would equip every vehicle in a factory with such a device.
When we, then, fuse this data with LiDAR data, we can generate 3D maps that maintenance crews can use to easily detect leaks.
Converter for digital work instructions
Creating digital work instructions is a time-consuming task and a huge challenge on a large scale. Because each supplier uses its own tools, digital work instructions vary from platform to platform.
To solve this, we have developed a generic tool that:
- Gathers information from existing processes, instructions or checklist and from common file formats such as PowerPoint, Word and Excel;
- Converts information to one or more commercial or in-house platforms for digital work instructions. This reduces start-up time and creates digital work instructions faster.
By generating digital work instructions in a uniform file type, based on the ISA-95 standard, we also simplify exchange between platforms.
Active vision for defect detection
Automatic quality control, in mass custom production, is difficult because of the large variance and quantity of products. In addition, customers demand ever-higher quality levels, which means that (human) quality control can no longer keep up and gets into trouble. Using robots is an alternative, but you need experts for their programming. Until now.
AI-BASED QUALITY INSPECTION
We have developed an automatic path planning technique that uses a product's CAD file and preset defect parameters. We combine this with state-of-the-art AI-based image processing techniques and workflows for enhancing annotations. Thus, we achieve 100% traceable and reliable automated inspection of new products or parts within minutes.
Assembly of parts using AI models trained on synthetic data
Digital work instructions are indispensable for modern industry. To guide operators even better, we need to adapt instructions based on the quality of the step performed. We do this through trained AI models.
TRAINING AI MODELS WITH SYNTHETIC DATA
To train AI models, we use synthetic data. With these models, we estimate the position and orientation of assembly parts. This allows us to track the progress of the assembly process and provide customised feedback to the user on how to correctly assemble complex parts.
This not only prevents errors, but also increases productivity and gives operators more insight into their tasks.
Adaptive ergonomic work instructions
30% to 50% of absenteeism among assembly workers is related to performing repetitive or heavy assembly tasks in a non-ergonomic way. We can solve many of these problems by ensuring that the operator follows the correct assembly procedure. By integrating ergonomic information and guidelines into digital work instructions, we help the operator to work in the right way.
IDENTIFYING RISKS IN REAL-TIME
To this end, we have developed a new digital work instruction system that adapts instructions to potential task-related risks. These risks are identified by monitoring the operator's ergonomics in real-time. We then adjust the instructions, effectively lowering the average Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) score.
Skill-based robot programming
Programming a robot is a challenging task. In this demo, we show a new software development that makes programming such a robot much easier.
Based on a CAD model, a planning tool and a "world model", our software programs the optimal sequence of robot movements in just a few seconds. (By comparison, traditional approaches take hours or even days to do this). This demo shows an AGV with a robotic arm transporting workpiece variants from warehouse to assembly cell.