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Robotics in Play with New Animated Application Using ConvexBT

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Numerous factors are driving the industry 4.0 revolution. From big data to IoT technology, industrial facilities and manufacturing plants are looking at new ways to automate their process and create a more efficient and cost-effective environment. One of the most important technology advancements in this mix is robotics.

Robotic equipment is a common industry 4.0 innovation used to create an autonomous or semi-autonomous machine capable of carrying out a variety of repetitive tasks that used to take up the time of skilled labor. Some of the tasks or processes that robotics enhance include stock management and logistics, manufacturing automation, janitorial duties and, there are even robotic applications called co-bots that assist human workers when ultra-high precision is needed.

To facilitate the demand for robotics, a variety of sensor and measurement components are necessary to ensure the highest quality and reliability of these application. Many tasks carried out by robotic applications are ultra-precise and require more accuracy than what a human hand or eye can handle.

Sensor technologies embedded in the actual robotics instrument must also be used to constantly calibrate or monitor the robotics. If robotics is used on an automated manufacturing line, any issues with the robotics can disrupt and compromise the entire process. Therefore, robotics manufacturers utilize Interface solutions when they need quality sensors that can monitor the precision of the robotics and ensure that their accuracy and reliability is maintained.

Interface develops high-quality test and measurement solutions designed for hardware testing of all kind. For robotics, our products are frequently used as a component within an OEM device. We understand the premium accuracy and reliability necessary to help develop robotics solutions and have provided both off-the-shelf and custom force measurement solutions designed to meet a variety of applications. We recently created an animated application note on an industrial automation robotic arm using our new light weight, light touch load button load cell, the ConvexBT.

The ConvexBT is designed for testing and also for full integration into the robotic element to measure the force pressure during use.  ConvexBT is available in multiple capacities, including our latest release of the 500lb and 1Klb models.

NEW! Interface Robotic Arm Application Note

A customer came to Interface with a robotic arm product that would be used to lift and move delicate objects, such as a glass bottle, in an automated environment. The goal in using Interface was to find a force measurement product that could ensure the robotic arm did not damage the products it was moving by applying too much force. The main component that Interface products would be applied to is the robotic arms’ clamp. The objective was monitoring the grabbing pressure of the clamp and ensure that the device would stop applying pressure when the necessary force was used to pick up the object without doing damage.

Using its new line of Load Button Load Cells, ConvexBT, and a DMA2 DIN Rail Mount Signal Conditioner, Interface provided a solution that would produce an electric signal on the clamping process that tells a controller to have the device stop applying pressure. Two ConvexBT products were connected underneath the rubber pads on both sides of the robotic arm clamping device. When the clamps made contact and applied pressure, the DMA2 Signal Conditioner converted the signal from the ConvexBT from MV/V to volts to a PLC controller. This signal tells the controller when to have the robotic arm stop applying clamping force.

Ultimately, the two ConvexBT Load Button Load Cells were able to accurately measure the amount of pressure applied to the object the robotic arm was lifting and moving without causing any harm or damage to the object.

This is just one of many examples of force measurement products being used in the robotics and automation industry. As the demand for robotics grows and a wider variety of applications are introduced, Interface will continue to engineer the best solutions to help customers reach the age of Industry 4.0.

To learn more about Interface solutions for the robotics and automation industry, please visit /solutions/. You can also check out our case study on the for industrial automation and robotics use here.

Faces of Interface Featuring Dan McAneny

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Our Faces of Interface series provides readers with an inside look at all the brilliant and talented people that work for our 52 year-old company.  There is also a team of experts and experienced individuals that are part of our sales engineering network. These representatives and distributors are integral to the work we do, and they are considered part of the Interface family.

In this post, we are featuring Dan McAneny, co-founder and sales engineer at Tritek Solutions, one of Interface’s sales representatives covering the Pacific Northwest. Dan has been working with Interface for many years, so we have gotten to know him pretty well and are grateful to have him part of our team.

Dan began his career as a design engineer in New York after graduating with a bachelor of science in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University. He spent a few years in this design engineer role before quickly realizing that he had a passion for being out in the field and working directly with customers, rather than behind a desk.

His search for sales engineering positions took him out west to work for a rep company in Los Angeles, California, that sold electronic test equipment. This position helped Dan develop his proficiency in sales, as well as better understanding of the test solutions critical to the evolution of technology. When the LA company went out of business in 1988, Dan and his good friend and co-worker decided to start Tritek Solutions.

Tritek Solutions is a manufacturers’ representative with sales and administrative staff capable of providing a complete sales and support solution. The company focuses on test instruments, systems, specialized components and board-level products.

The company quickly ascended, growing into Northern California, the Rocky Mountain region, and the Pacific Northwest. And after 28 years in Southern California, Dan and his wife decided to take their talents to Seattle, Washington, where he could focus his work with Tritek in the Pacific Northwest.

Dan learned about the diverse and innovative technology ecosystem in this region and has developed a wide range of experience and expertise on how to serve customers in various industries such as aerospace and defense, medical, industrial, automotive and construction. In fact, this is the aspect of his job that he enjoys the most, working with customers in all of these different technology sectors in Seattle to learn about their challenges in bringing new innovation to market, and offering synergistic solutions available from the many manufacturers he represents.

“In a single day, I could be standing next to a 777X airplane for an hour, and then the next hour, I could be discussing a solution for developing delivery drones or ventilator production. The possibility of learning about and working with customers on hundreds of new technology is something I enjoy every day.”

When Dan began working with us many years ago, he noticed that our presence in the Pacific Northwest was mainly focused on large aerospace OEM’s and knew he could help us break into a larger variety of markets. Dan has been successful in proactively searching for and securing new opportunities for Interface force measurement products across new markets, innovators and advancing technology sectors.

“Working with Interface has been a pleasure. Their more than half-century in business has provided them with a deep understanding for efficiently working with reps like myself, and the quality of their products and engineering talent makes it easier because I know my OEM customers know and trust the Interface brand.”

When he is not making a killing helping original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) find test, engineering and manufacturing solutions for their product development process, Dan enjoys taking advantage of the beautiful outdoors in the Pacific Northwest. Dan’s wife of 30 years and two sons age 23 and 25 enjoy road and mountain biking, hiking and swimming together, as well as exploring the hidden gems the region has to offer.

Stay tuned to our blog for new Faces of Interface ForceLeaders profiles to learn more about our valued network and team members. You can subscribe to receive the blog weekly at www.interfaceforce.com/blog/.

 

Introduction to Interface Application Notes

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Interface has a long history of sharing valuable resources to help our fellow colleagues and customers with various use cases for test and measurement applications. Whether it be with our in-depth technical library, the Interface Load Cell Field Guide, free access to design files for our breadth of products, or industry case studies highlighting how our customers use Interface products. Access to all of these resources is available on Interface’s website www.interfaceforce.com.

A frequently visited area of these online resources is our Interface Application Notes archive. These resourceful explainers are of interest to engineers, new product designers, metrology and engineering students, as well as T&M industry professionals.

Interface created a large collection of App Notes to showcase how Interface load cells, torque transducers, accessories and instrumentation are used by OEMs and for various test and measurement projects across all types of industries.

Each Interface App Note has the following details:

  • Name of the App Note with Primary Product
  • Industry
  • Summary of the Application Use Case Need or Challenge
  • Interface Solution
  • Results
  • Materials
  • How it Works
  • Visual Representation of the Application

Interface App Notes are great conversation starters. They help to showcase how various Interface products and systems are used across all types of industries including medical, automotive, energy, industrial automation, consumer products testing, and aerospace. Additionally, several application notes highlight specific test and measurement lab projects.

Interface Top 10 Application Notes

  1. Race Car Suspension Testing
  2. Aircraft Wing Testing
  3. Surgical Stapler Force Verification
  4. Drone Parcel Delivery
  5. Bluetooth Brake Pedal
  6. Medical Bag Weighing
  7. Seat Testing Machine
  8. Industrial Automation Friction Testing
  9. Vascular Clamp Testing  
  10. Bolt Fastening and Torque

We have many more for you to check out. Visit the entire library of Interface Application Notes here. We are adding new application notes on a regular basis, so check back frequently.

Be sure to check out the full line of Interface solutions here. If you have questions or would like to talk with our application engineering experts, drop us a note or give us a call.

Interface Most Promising Energy Tech Solution Provider

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Interface is proud to be recognized as one of the ‘20 Most Promising Energy Tech Solution Providers” of 2020 by CIO Review Magazine.

As a pioneer of load cell technology, Interface has long been recognized around the world for providing the most accurate and reliable force measurement solutions on the market. Accuracy matters for safety and reliability in test and measurement projects, engineering and product design and in the original equipment manufacturing of products that require precision sensor technology capabilities.

“The key ingredient to our product’s quality is our more than 50 years of experience and the fact that we have vertically integrated the entire manufacturing process from design to production. Because of this, we have a deep understanding of the materials and product capabilities necessary to suit every industry, application and customer need.” Brian Peters, Director US Sales, Interface

One of the industries where our knowledge of force measurement is vertically integrated processes is in the energy industry. The conditions energy professionals work in can be harsh. They’re often in dangerous environments extracting oil and natural gas, wind, or coal to fuel our nation’s need for power. The equipment our energy sector customers use must be ruggedized and provide the most accurate results possible. If the equipment fails, our customers risk steep financial losses and their staff is more exposed to safety hazards.

Interface has a special line of intrinsically safe solutions for harsh environments. These low profile load cells with loop-powered intrinsically safe amplified output are designed for use in the oil field and other hazardous locations. These load cells are specifically designed from Interface models by adding high resistance strain gages for low-current loop power and shielded internal amplifier for extra low emissions and minimal EMI susceptibility. Interface’s S-type load cell provides a suitable force measurement sensor for applications in coal mining and transfer and other heavy industries where explosive dust and environment conditions are potentially explosion-hazard rated.

Often times, our energy customers come to us needing a custom force measurement solution to deal with these unique challenges for all energy types including thermal, radiant, chemical energy, nuclear, electrical, motion, sound, elastic, and gravitational energy. Innovation in the energy is also heavily dependent upon accuracy in performance, whether it is advancing in the capabilities in the extraction of oil or measuring forces in solar and geothermal. Interface is relied upon by the energy industry leaders and OEM solution providers for their vast ranges of standard and customized load cells, torque transducers, digital instrumentation products and expanding wireless technologies. Read more here about our innovative solutions for the energy industry.

Upon selection for this recognition, Interface application expert Brian Peters contributed to an article for CIO Review Magazine detailing our work developing a custom downhole rig solution for an oil and gas customer. He also explains how Interface has evolved to meet the rising challenges of an industry that is addressing the need for more sustainable energy sources. Click this link to be redirected to Brian’s article online to share.  If you would like to speak with Brian or an application engineer about your test and measurement project or requirements for sensor technology, contact us here.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Faces of Interface Featuring Raymunn Machado-Prisbrey

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Raymunn Machado-Prisbrey has spent his entire professional career at Interface. His first job was right out of high school, where he was hired to work on the assembly line at night. During the day he attended Arizona State University as a full-time student and after four years graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

After graduating, Raymunn was a shoo-in for an engineering job at Interface as he was already well-versed on all the products and knew all the people. He has held his current job as a Production Engineer for four years and continues to grow in his role.

His connection with Interface started long before he joined the company. It’s generational. While he was growing up, his dad worked at Interface and regularly brought him to company picnics and events. He got to know several of his father’s co-workers who would eventually become his own teammates. It’s this family atmosphere that Raymunn enjoys the most.

“The people are what make this job great.” Raymunn Machado-Prisbrey

Raymunn was always drawn to engineering and he knew right away that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He has a persistent fascination for how things work and enjoyed helping his dad work on cars and ATVs. He loved school and was gifted at math. Pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering was a natural fit and working at Interface aligns with his goals of personal development and life-long learning.

In his current role, Raymunn works closely with the sales team to help turn customer requirements into reality. He designs load cells and helps in the entire process of their creation. He also handles the calibration and electrical adapters for load cells, an area he earned a unique perspective from working on the calibration floor out of high school. He strives to make a positive impact on the production personnel’s job with each new design since he’s been on both the production and engineering sides of the manufacturing business.

While Raymunn is very proud of several of the projects that he has worked on while at Interface, he notes that designing custom load cells for the Giant Magellan Telescope was the coolest. The lens on the telescope itself was 8.4 meters, an incredible feat in engineering and a unique challenge for Interface.

Raymunn loves the strategic aspect of his role. He likes collaborating with a team to solve customer problems. Many of his other favorite projects relate to unique customer circumstances, where he had to think outside the box to come up with the best solution. Load cells going on mountaintops in Chile, load cells that needed to withstand a huge temperature swing, custom load cell geometry and load cells that needed to exist in a vacuum were some of the examples he cites. Raymunn loves a challenge, and it is this aspect of his job that keeps him constantly engaged and inspired.

When not working at Interface, Raymunn is an avid backpacker and loves to camp and get away from the city. He enjoys four-wheeling, target-shooting, and mountain biking. Basically, anything that involves exploring the outdoors. He also loves to travel and has recently visited Germany and Mexico with several additional trips in the works.