N E W S - I N D U S T R Y M A T T E R S
Cobolts in action
at Omron IoT
Seminar
Depending on the time you
receive this issue of NZ
Engineering News, Cobolts will be
seen or are to be seen in action
as Omron takes its machines to
New Zealand.
To remain competitive with
Industry 4.0 Australian
businesses must embrace the
latest technology.
Efficient and fully connected
systems are critical to business
innovation.
Industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial
revolution – has opened new
market possibilities and enabled
businesses to be more responsive
to customer driven trends.
Significant advances in
technology, including big data and
analytics, the Internet of Things
(IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
robotics are changing business
operations globally.
Global automation giant Omron
will conduct a free technology
seminars in Palmerston North and
Napier next month to demonstrate
how collaborative robots (cobots)
and Industrial IoT technology can
transform your business.
Engineers will discuss and
demonstrate Omron’s latest
TM Series Collaborative Robots
(Cobots) and IoT hardware.
Two events are to be held on
October 8 and 10.
14 October 2019
New 3D-printed
glove set to
Reduce Injuries for
Automotive workers
Engineers from Jaguar Land Rover
are working on the next generation
of protective workplace clothing – a
lightweight 3D-printed glove which
could help better protect employees
from the threat of a musculoskeletal
disorder.
The 3D glove is designed for people
working on the production line, for
example those required to fit clips
or fasteners into the chassis during
assembly of Jaguar and Land Rover’s
luxury vehicles.
Musculoskeletal disorders, which
include more than 100 different types
of conditions, make up around 30% of
all workplace injuries that result in time
off and account for a third of the money
paid in compensation to employees.
Musculoskeletal disorders affect an
estimated 10% of the global population,
rising to as much as 40% in certain
industries**.
Engineers at Jaguar Land Rover’s
Gaydon site – home to one of the largest
3D printing facilities in the UK – saw
an opportunity to use the company’s
advanced manufacturing expertise
to design and 3D print a lattice-style
structure which would provide support
to reduce muscle fatigue, but also be
flexible and comfortable enough to
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REN374
wear during an eight-hour shift. Using
3D computer-aided design (CAD)
software, the team modelled designs
in different densities using a variety of
materials for testing.
Following feedback from trials, the
team is now working on a secondgeneration
prototype. It will include a
foam pad made using impact additive
D30 – a polymer material which absorbs
impacts when placed under pressure.
This will make the glove suitable for
those who fit parts, such as door
casings, using the palm of the hand.
In the short term the gloves will support
workers across Jaguar Land Rover’s
facilities, helping to protect against
musculoskeletal disorders. These form
part of a wider future plan to deploy a
range of technologies to assist those
with muscle weakness or patients who
suffer from physical or neurological
disorders – helping employees return
to work.
Chris Noble, additive manufacturing
strategic engineer for Jaguar Land
Rover, says: “The health and wellbeing
of our workforce remains our priority
across all factories and facilities.
“Technologies like the 3D-printed
glove allow us to use the world-leading
expertise and equipment we have
in-house to protect the hands of our
makers, developing equipment that will
make Jaguar Land Rover a great place
to work, now and in the future.”
The Jaguar Land Rover Additive
Manufacturing Centre produces over
80,000 parts a year for a variety of
applications, including functional
prototyping, design mock-ups and
manufacturing assembly aids and
fixtures. Jaguar Land Rover is also able
to 3D print parts for production cars
with the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 one of
the first vehicles to use them.
The programme forms part of Jaguar
Land Rover’s Destination Zero vision;
an ambition to make societies safer and
healthier, and the environment cleaner.
Delivered through relentless innovation,
the company’s focus is on achieving a
future of zero emissions, zero accidents
and zero congestion – across its
facilities, and through its products and
services.