Eureka’s 2009 Design Days provided engineers with the lowdown on Motion Control and Automation technologies. So what did you miss at the Swindon and Nottingham events? UK firms need to be faster, more flexible and have lower costs if they are to complete globally. It is up to design engineers to rise to the challenge and make this happen.

Motion control and automation technologies are the catalyst to improving the bottom line of many companies as they look to improve efficiency during these tough times. Firms need to be more efficient and they need to be able to add more value to products and processes.

Technology application
Airbus test engineer Piers Talbot Keyzar, gave a fascinating insight into the role that motion control technology played in the development of the world’s largest airliner. He talked about his involvement in the design and development of the landing gear test rig for the A380.

Dr Benjamin Drew, from the Centre for Power Transmission and Motion Control at the University of Bath also gave an independent view of how the application of motion control technologies could help to make the urban vehicle of future a reality.
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Drive and linear system selection
Diversification of automation solutions and drives was the focus of the presentation by Festo. Nigel Dawson, Festo’s product manager, handling and positioning, described how the product range in 2009 aims to accommodate every type of company and functionality requirement from low cost to intelligent, from very large to very small actuators and drives.
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Sensor selection
Chris Jones, managing director of Micro Epsilon, talked through correct sensor selection as well as recent innovations from the company. He spoke about the trade off between contact and non-contact sensors and the application that each of these could typically be used for.
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Control techniques
Automation control specialist Aerotech went through practical steps and advice to get the most out of a motion control and automation system. Examples included ‘tuning’ machine tools to eliminate vibration and get extremely accurate position readings, down to the submicron level.
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Workshops
Afternoon breakout sessions saw Festo, Micro Epsilon and Aerotech give practical examples of the technology on offer to smaller groups. Delegates got the chance to ask specific questions that they had about live projects and gain some advice from the experts.

Festo talked through drive and linear system selection. A free piece of software from the company sizes actuators, motors, and drives with pretty much everything that is needed for a complete system. Micro Epsilon had a display of the sensors and gave in depth explanations as to how each worked, their potential applications and how they should be used correctly. Aerotech gave delegates a practical demonstration on how its software can minimise harmonic resonances of a system using its controlling software. This can then improve the throughput of a system and operate a machine much more effective and efficiently.

For a full report on our recent design day go to:
http://www.eurekamagazine.co.uk/article/18714/A-grand-day-out.aspx