Matrix International recently approached FCS to upgrade their exisiting brake test capabilities by designing a new Burnishing Rig.
After a previous successful project with Matrix International, Finesse Control systems were approached again by Matrix with another challenge to solve. Following on from the ‘Brake Conditioning Machine’, Matrix International asked Finesse Control Systems to mechanically design and control a Burnishing rig used to test 2 brakes independently. This design, although only one machine, can run two tests independently using 1 display screen.
The Concept
The concept design work began using 3D CAD designs, showing the customer the full scale of the design and how the Mechanical team had designed the intricate parts to meet their specification.
After a previous successful project with Matrix International, Finesse Control systems were approached again by Matrix with another challenge to solve. Following on from the ‘Brake Conditioning Machine’, Matrix International asked Finesse Control Systems to mechanically design and control a Burnishing rig used to test 2 brakes independently. This design, although only one machine, can run two tests independently using 1 display screen.
The Concept
The concept design work began using 3D CAD designs, showing the customer the full scale of the design and how the Mechanical team had designed the intricate parts to meet their specification.
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The Design
With the Perfect blend of our Mechanical, Electrical and Software Design teams, every aspect of the design could be carefully analysed and refined to meet desired controllability, ergonomics, safety and aesthetics.
In this project, our teams had to design a test rig that would spin an electromagnetic brake up to a required RPM, disable the drive and enable the brake to stop the spinning shaft, creating a Torque calculation from the time taken to stop the shaft. The Inertia was also needed which had to be implemented in some way; this was added using 3 different diameter plates which were designed with the same inertia which allowed increments to be added to be specific for the calculation.
The mechanical team had to design the framework of the machine as well as bespoke parts not available on the market to meet the requirements of this design. This included designing the motor shaft to the bearing plate as well as the inertia plates - all of which were unknown before but with the use of Inventor software could prove their purpose before manufacturing the part.
As a Siemens Solution Partner, Finesse Control Systems electrical team chose to integrate the control solution using siemens S7/1500 PLC and S110 variable frequency drive with Siemens comfort HMI giving a clear graphical interface for the user. Using the Siemens HMI allowed recipes to be preprogrammed into the system, allowing the operator to choose a specific brake type from the list. This quick selection enables the operator to and begin working straight away, making a complicated system very user-friendly. All this equipment was programmed using Siemens ‘Totally Integrated Automation’, (TIA) software. This combination of control and drive equipment was chosen due to the demanding range of speed and torque required to cover the wide range of breaks being manufactured and tested on this machine.
Results
With the completion of delivery and validation, Matrix International were delighted with the final result, which is a great success for Finesse Control Systems. This machine has upgraded their existing test rig, significantly reducing the footprint while maintaining the quality standards required. This more user friendly machine has also provided further versatility to their testing capabilities and in turn will increase their assembly and testing productivity.
With the Perfect blend of our Mechanical, Electrical and Software Design teams, every aspect of the design could be carefully analysed and refined to meet desired controllability, ergonomics, safety and aesthetics.
In this project, our teams had to design a test rig that would spin an electromagnetic brake up to a required RPM, disable the drive and enable the brake to stop the spinning shaft, creating a Torque calculation from the time taken to stop the shaft. The Inertia was also needed which had to be implemented in some way; this was added using 3 different diameter plates which were designed with the same inertia which allowed increments to be added to be specific for the calculation.
The mechanical team had to design the framework of the machine as well as bespoke parts not available on the market to meet the requirements of this design. This included designing the motor shaft to the bearing plate as well as the inertia plates - all of which were unknown before but with the use of Inventor software could prove their purpose before manufacturing the part.
As a Siemens Solution Partner, Finesse Control Systems electrical team chose to integrate the control solution using siemens S7/1500 PLC and S110 variable frequency drive with Siemens comfort HMI giving a clear graphical interface for the user. Using the Siemens HMI allowed recipes to be preprogrammed into the system, allowing the operator to choose a specific brake type from the list. This quick selection enables the operator to and begin working straight away, making a complicated system very user-friendly. All this equipment was programmed using Siemens ‘Totally Integrated Automation’, (TIA) software. This combination of control and drive equipment was chosen due to the demanding range of speed and torque required to cover the wide range of breaks being manufactured and tested on this machine.
Results
With the completion of delivery and validation, Matrix International were delighted with the final result, which is a great success for Finesse Control Systems. This machine has upgraded their existing test rig, significantly reducing the footprint while maintaining the quality standards required. This more user friendly machine has also provided further versatility to their testing capabilities and in turn will increase their assembly and testing productivity.
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