Reconfigurable Tool Research Articles

Smart design and additive manufacturing of bending tools to improve production flexibility

For the automotive industry, especially on the part of Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, the future will be about maintaining sovereignty in the form of technology openness and accelerating digitization. The product portfolio, which is generally passed on by OEMs to suppliers for production, often includes body parts that cannot always be manufactured economically with the prevailing production technology. The reason for this is a high diversity of model-variants, which requires smaller batches. To this end, highly flexible large-series production cells for body sheet components that can be scaled in all dimensions are being developed and tested. For the first time, they will make it possible to redesign the process planning in series production on a component-specific basis. The aim is to reduce production costs for new, geometrically different component variants. The basic components of the flexible manufacturing system are, firstly, new flexible forming technologies which have the potential to produce typical vehicle part geometries. Secondly, a process generator develops the corresponding production plan. A digital mapping of the manufacturing processes enables the selection of cost-, efficiency-, flexibility- and resilience-optimized production chains depending on the number of parts. Established manufacturing processes to produce car body components are supplemented in the cell by flexible processes such as 3D swivel bending. As a use case for flexible manufacturing, a concept for Rapid Tooling of 3D swivel bending tools is developed. In the flexible manufacturing system to be developed, a method of a standardized process sequence to produce forming tools within 24 h has been lacking to date. For this purpose, the concept of an automated design is being developed in which a reconfigurable tool body can be sliced into sheet metal stripes The active tool surface is additively manufactured after the tool has been packaged using LMD and adapted to individual requirements. The goal in the application of Rapid Tooling is to reduce lead times and development costs through a largely automated tool design and lead time-optimized manufacturing concept.

Component-specific cushion design for stretch forming to enhance accuracy: considering space between pins in reconfigurable tools

Component-specific cushion design for stretch forming to enhance accuracy: considering space between pins in reconfigurable tools

Recentralization, reconfiguration, and re-marketization in China’s city-region-building: Multi-relational rescaling in Jiangbei state-level new area

This paper unravels the new multi-relational rescaling of state-level new areas (SNAs) in China’s up-to-date city-region-building. These nationwide SNAs have created an unimpeded governance pathway among multi-level governments and multi-scalar localities. As proofed by our empirical study on the establishment history of Jiangbei SNA, this new pathway has consolidated the re-centralization, reconfiguration, and re-marketization tools that can be adopted as comprehensive governance approaches by the state to resolve the long-term dilemma in city-regional governance since the incremental development in the 1990s characterized by frequent failure on administrative intervention, ungrounded regional strategies, and disordered inter-city competitions. Furthermore, the successful practice at Jiangbei SNA can function as a positive reference for developing China’s city-regions towards a region-in-becoming so that national initiatives in city-region-building can be dynamically adjusted accordingly.

Structural deformation and clamping force monitoring of reconfigurable tooling motivated by strain data in aircraft assembly

The quality of aircraft assembly is mainly guaranteed by toolings which are vital to the geometrical accuracy and service performance of aviation products. In this research, a real-time monitoring system that determines the structural deformation and clamping force of reconfigurable toolings using strain data is developed to perceive the service state of the toolings. By laying fiber Bragg gratings on positioning beam and baseplate of the reconfigurable tooling, strain data of the tooling structures are gauged and transferred to curvatures. The beam and baseplate are modeled as one and two-dimensional objects respectively and shape reconstruction algorithms are established to obtain their deflection curve and surface using curvature information. Distribution of fibers is optimized to minimize the conversion error from strain to curvature. An estimation that reveals the mathematical relationship between the shape reconstruction error and measurement interval is implemented, and a mapping model from strains to clamping force of the beam is established. These algorithms are integrated into the self-developed monitoring software and undergo simulating and experimental tests. The maximum relative errors of deformation and force are 4.53% and 4.12% respectively in simulation, and 9.21% and 7.29% individually in experiment, which validates the efficiencies of the method. Tests of the monitoring system suggest that it can provide a timely and accurate sensing of the deformation and force of the tooling.

Dynamics modelling and Layout optimization of CFRP in-situ machining system

The multi-support reconfigurable compliant tooling and robotic in-situ processing method provide a new technical direction for CFRP milling edge processing. Aiming at the layout optimization of CFRP in-situ machining system (CFRPIMS), the dynamics characteristics of the whole system were studied. A rigid-flexible coupling dynamics model of the CFRPIMS was proposed by applying transfer matrix method for multibody systems (MSTMM), treating CFRP as a thin-walled flexible plate and supporting fixtures as rigid bodies. And then the natural frequency and dynamics responses under the different support layout are simulated, which are verified by modal tests and excitation tests. To improve the support rigidity of CFRP workpieces, the optimization model of overall layout of the compliant tooling was established combined with genetic algorithm. Based on the milling test results, compared with the original scheme, the optimization method can effectively reduce the vibration response of the workpiece in the y-direction (along the milling edge direction) and the z-direction (perpendicular to milling edge direction) by more than 60 %.

Economic and functional-operational imperatives of forming the economic portfolio of a developer in construction

In the modern era of digitalization of the economy, construction companies are faced with the need to review and optimize their business processes. This article examines the update of the economic and managerial reconfiguration tools for construction companies in the context of digital transformation of their operations. The main emphasis is placed on the importance of introducing the latest technologies and digital tools to optimize the processes of planning, production, resource management and quality control in the construction industry. The benefits of using digital solutions such as integrated construction management systems, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and other innovative tools are highlighted. The author investigates how these technologies can support enterprises in improving efficiency, reducing costs and increasing competitiveness in the current market environment. The conclusion about the need for active adaptation of digital tools to achieve strategic goals and successful development of construction enterprises in the modern digital world is substantiated. Portfolio strategy is a key tool for managing risks and achieving strategic goals. The main aspects of selection, distribution and management of projects in the developer's business portfolio are considered. The article substantiates the conclusion that it is necessary to actively adapt digital tools to achieve strategic goals and successful development of construction enterprises in the modern digital world.Portfolio strategy is a key tool for managing risks and achieving strategic goals.The main aspects of selection, distribution and management of projects in the developer's business portfolio are considered.Attention is focused on the need to harmonize strategic goals with the real possibilities and limitations of resource, risk and investment management to ensure the stable functioning of the enterprise, as well as the importance of analyzing the efficiency and optimization of the portfolio structure.The methods and tools that help developers make informed decisions on the preparation and management of a business portfolio are highlighted.The conclusion emphasizes the importance of a systematic approach to project portfolio management to achieve the successful functioning of a developer enterprise in the construction industry.

FPGA-Based Methodology for Detecting Positional Accuracy Degradation in Industrial Robots

Industrial processes involving manipulator robots require accurate positioning and orienting for high-quality results. Any decrease in positional accuracy can result in resource wastage. Machine learning methodologies have been proposed to analyze failures and wear in electronic and mechanical components, affecting positional accuracy. These methods are typically implemented in software for offline analysis. In this regard, this work proposes a methodology for detecting a positional deviation in the robot’s joints and its implementation in a digital system of proprietary design based on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) equipped with several developed intellectual property cores (IPcores). The method implemented in FPGA consists of the analysis of current signals from a UR5 robot using discrete wavelet transform (DWT), statistical indicators, and a neural network classifier. IPcores are developed and tested with synthetic current signals, and their effectiveness is validated using a real robot dataset. The results show that the system can classify the synthetic robot signals for joints two and three with 97% accuracy and the real robot signals for joints five and six with 100% accuracy. This system aims to be a high-speed reconfigurable tool to help detect robot precision degradation and implement timely maintenance strategies.

ZyPR: End-to-end Build Tool and Runtime Manager for Partial Reconfiguration of FPGA SoCs at the Edge

Partial reconfiguration (PR) is a key enabler to the design and development of adaptive systems on modern Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Systems-on-Chip (SoCs), allowing hardware to be adapted dynamically at runtime. Vendor-supported PR infrastructure is performance-limited and blocking, drivers entail complex memory management, and software/hardware design requires bespoke knowledge of the underlying hardware. This article presents ZyPR: a complete end-to-end framework that provides high-performance reconfiguration of hardware from within a software abstraction in the Linux userspace, automating the process of building PR applications with support for the Xilinx Zynq and Zynq UltraScale+ architectures, aimed at enabling non-expert application designers to leverage PR for edge applications. We compare ZyPR against traditional vendor tooling for PR management as well as recent open source tools that support PR under Linux. The framework provides a high-performance runtime along with low overhead for its provided abstractions. We introduce improvements to our previous work, increasing the provisioning throughput for PR bitstreams on the Zynq Ultrascale+ by 2× and 5.4× compared to Xilinx’s FPGA Manager.

A Digital Twin system of reconfigurable tooling for monitoring and evaluating in aerospace assembly

Assembly tooling is essential equipment in aircraft production. Reconfigurable tooling can adapt to multiple aircraft products by reorganizing modular components. Its service state directly determines the final quality, production cycle, and economic cost of the aircraft assembly. This research developed a reusable Digital Twin (DT) system for reconfigurable tooling to monitor and evaluate its service state. A virtual entity of the DT system is established, containing geometric, physical, behavioral, and rule models. Particularly, both geometric-material similarity and individuality of tooling modules are considered, and calibration parameters are introduced into the behavioral model to ensure the consistency between the virtual and the physical entities. Rules governing positioning deviation identification, assembly sequence, and bolt tightening angle are also included in the rule model, so that the indicative processing data is supplied to evaluate the service state of the tooling and guide the assembly process. The high accuracy and generalizability of the developed DT system for monitoring and evaluating the service state of the tooling are verified by assembly experiments.

System reconfiguration ontology to support model‐based systems engineering: Approach linking design and operations

AbstractSystem reconfiguration is essential in complex systems management, as it is an enabler of system flexibility and adaptability. It ensures system operation and increases reliability, availability, maintainability, testability, safety, and reuse of system entities and technologies. For the reconfiguration of a system in use, it is necessary to assess, in continuity, the system's state with regard to its context. Identifying data supporting system reconfiguration represents a major industrial challenge and is linked directly to the development of industrial reconfiguration tools. Reconfiguration tools are based on a data model, also called ontology, which represents key concepts of system reconfiguration and their relationships. A particular difficulty of developing the data model is the multi‐domain nature of reconfiguration. Furthermore, it needs to address a considerable diversity of system types. Few publications propose an ontology supporting data identification and tool development for the entire process. Hence, in this paper we propose to formalize the system reconfiguration process and propose an overarching ontology, which we call OSysRec. This ontology considers data at the management, dynamics, and structure level. The proposed ontology has been developed based upon expert knowledge and several industrial uses cases. The OSysRec ontology allowed a better understanding of the reconfiguration process, and hence it can be deployed for developing efficient and effective reconfiguration tools at the industrial scale. The ontology has been tested on an industrial case study to validate the proposed approach.

Flexible Real-Time Operating System Co-Design Flow for Embedded Computing Systems

The adaptability of software portability and the strength of hardware efficiency can both benefit a system with the ability to alter its configuration. This signifies a significant shift in the way embedded programmes are conceived about and developed. There has not been a comprehensive design methodology provided for run-time reconfigurable systems that enable real-time operating systems, despite the fact that many different reconfigurable technologies and tools based on those technologies have been developed. The RTOS, or real-time operating system, is an integral part of system and co-design. A new co-design technique to meet the requirements of real-time operating systems on reconfigurable embedded systems is proposed based on the findings of this study. Co-design techniques needed to create an adaptive signal filtering system on a commercially available reconfigurable platform are highlighted in this study’s presentation of a design scenario. The incident has been documented on paper. The findings indicate that, in comparison to a purely software

Component specific elastic cushion design to enhance the accuracy with the usage of reconfigurable tools in stretch forming

Multi-point stretch forming (MPSF) is a flexible manufacturing technology that uses reconfigurable tools to produce a variety of three-dimensional sheet metal components. An elastic cushion is placed between the surfaces of reconfigurable tool and the sheet metal to reduce the possibility of dimple formation. It is well known that elastic cushion deformation behavior significantly affects the accuracy and surface quality of components. In the present work, a component-specific elastic cushion is designed to achieve better conformability between the pin heads and cushion (by scooping out the material from the flat cushion selectively). An analytical model is developed to determine the volume of material to be scooped out and its location based on pin head and component geometries. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed methodology, finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to form double curvature (spherical) component with a cushion of constant thickness and a component-specific cushion with different pin matrix sizes. Results indicate that the deformation is more uniform with significant improvement in shape accuracy of the component formed with a component-specific cushion.

Novel Reconfigurable Walking Machine Tool Enables Symmetric and Nonsymmetric Walking Configurations

Current research on walking robots strives to achieve a higher efficiency, a better load capacity, and an increased adaptability. Parallel kinematic manipulators (PKMs) are characterized by high payload and accuracy, but conventional PKMs with fixed configurations are limited to constrained workspaces in known structured environments. In this article, we propose a parallel reconfigurable walking machine tool that overcomes these limits by adapting its configuration and gaits to different scenarios. A lightweight and compact positioning system with shape memory alloy actuation is presented to achieve reconfiguration capabilities. Furthermore, kinematic, stability, and force analyses are reported to determine the optimal walking gaits in three different scenarios (with inclined slopes at different angles) and four robot configurations. Finally, a set of experiments with the physical prototype validates the proposed models. The results show that symmetric configurations present a better performance at lower ground inclinations (0.5% error), whereas asymmetric configurations can climb on slope conditions that would prevent the use of conventional PKMs (18% or 10°).

Guest Editors’ Introduction: SBCCI 2021

The Symposium on ICs and Systems Design (SBCCI) is an international forum dedicated to ICs and systems design, test and EDA, held annually in Brazil. Over the past four decades, SBCCI has established itself as an important international forum for the presentation of research results on leading-edge aspects of ICs and systems, such as analog circuits, mixed-signal and digital ICs design, dedicated and reconfigurable architectures, EDA tools, design methods, embedded systems, SoC, and nanoarchitectures, as well as verification and test methods. This 34th edition of SBCCI was initially planned to take place in Campinas, 100 km from São Paulo. However, due to the continued health insecurity of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was transformed into a virtual event that took place from 23 to 27 August 2021.

On-Demand Electrochemical Fabrication of Ordered Nanoparticle Arrays using Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy.

Well-ordered nanoparticle arrays are attractive platforms for a variety of analytical applications, but the fabrication of such arrays is generally challenging. Here, it is demonstrated that scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) can be used as a powerful, instantly reconfigurable tool for the fabrication of ordered nanoparticle arrays. Using SECCM, Ag nanoparticle arrays were straightforwardly fabricated via electrodeposition at the interface between a substrate electrode and an electrolyte-filled pipet. By dynamically monitoring the currents flowing in an SECCM cell, individual nucleation and growth events could be detected and controlled to yield individual nanoparticles of controlled size. Characterization of the resulting arrays demonstrate that this SECCM-based approach enables spatial control of nanoparticle location comparable with the terminal diameter of the pipet employed and straightforward control over the volume of material deposited at each site within an array. These results provide further evidence for the utility of probe-based electrochemical techniques such as SECCM as tools for surface modification in addition to analysis.

Guest Editorial: AI for Open Programmable Virtualized Networks in 6G

Programmable virtualized networks decouple data and control planes and have the power of supporting the demands of diverse and varied use cases, allowing the services to scale and adapt dynamically. The diverse demands of Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable and Low-latency Communications (uRLLC), and massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) users inevitably increase the network complexity, making programmability alone not sufficient. To fulfill these demands, next generation mobile networks need to respond with the capacity of supporting a greater number of heterogeneous devices, the availability of more spectrum and the introduction of complex protocol stacks, making automated and intelligent tools for management, reconfiguration, adaptation, and coordination of network resources an impelling necessity.

Enhancement of Accuracy in Multi-Point Stretch Forming: Cushion Stretching

Multi-point stretch forming (MPSF) is one of the flexible manufacturing processes that uses the reconfigurable tools to produce the three-dimensional sheet metal components. An elastic cushion is placed between the tools and sheet surfaces to avoid direct contact and reduce the dimples as well as wrinkles. The cushion is also known to play an important role as it directly affects the component surface characteristics (accuracy and quality) and thickness strain distribution. An attempt made to apply stretching on the cushion resulted in enhancement of accuracy. In the present work, an analytical methodology is proposed to predict the initial thickness of cushion and stretching load necessary to apply on the cushion. FEA of MPSF of the spherical geometry is carried out with and without application of stretching load on the cushion. Results indicate that effective stress and strain distributions are more uniform when the stretching is applied to cushion thickness in certain range. Proposed methodology can be effectively used to determine initial cushion thickness before stretch and stretch load necessary to achieve chosen final cushion thickness to enhance the accuracy of sheet metal components formed using MPSF.

Guest Editors’ Introduction: SBCCI 2020

The Symposium on Integrated Circuits and Systems Design (SBCCI) is an international forum dedicated to Integrated Circuits and Systems Design, Test and Electronic Design Automation (EDA), held annually in Brazil. The SBCCI has established itself as an important international forum for the presentation of advanced research results on leading-edge aspects of integrated circuits and systems design, such as analog circuits, mixed-signal and digital integrated circuits design, dedicated and reconfigurable architectures, EDA tools, design methods, embedded systems, SoC, and nanoarchitectures, as well as verification and test methods. This 33rd edition of SBCCI was initially planned to take place in Campinas, 100 km from São Paulo, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was transformed into a virtual event.

Open-Digital-Industrial and Networking pilot lines using modular components for scalable production – ODIN project approach

While robots have very well proven their flexibility and efficiency in mass production and are recognized as the production resource of the future, their adoption in lower volume, diverse environment is heavily constrained. The main reason for this is the high integration and deployment complexity that overshadows the performance benefits of this technology. This paper presents the vision of ODIN European funded project which is to strengthen the EU production companies’ trust in utilizing advanced robotics, by demonstrating that novel robot-based production systems are not only technically feasible, but also efficient and sustainable for immediate introduction at the shopfloor. To achieve that, ODIN brings together, by means of hardware and software, the latest technological advancements in the fields of a) collaborating robots and human robot collaborative workplaces, b) autonomous robotics and AI based task planning, c) mobile robots and reconfigurable tooling, d) Digital Twins and Virtual Commissioning and e) Service Oriented Robotics Integration and Communication Architectures. ODIN will provide a systematic approach for integrating these technologies under modular and reconfigurable large-scale robotic pilots. The performance of these robotic pilots will be tested and validated in three case studies, from the automotive, the white goods and the aeronautics industry.

Reconfigurable Computing for Reactive Robotics Using Open-Source FPGAs

Reconfigurable computing provides a paradigm to create intelligent systems different from the classic software computing approach. Instead of using a processor with an instruction set, a full stack of middleware, and an application program running on top, the field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) integrate a cell set that can be configured in different ways. A few vendors have dominated this market with their proprietary tools, hardware devices, and boards, resulting in fragmented ecosystems with few standards and little interoperation. However, a new and complete toolchain for FPGAs with its associated open tools has recently emerged from the open-source community. Robotics is an expanding application field that may definitely benefit from this revolution, as fast speed and low power consumption are usual requirements. This paper hypothesizes that basic reactive robot behaviors may be easily designed following the reconfigurable computing approach and the state-of-the-art open FPGA toolchain. They provide new abstractions such as circuit blocks and wires for building intelligent robots. Visual programming and block libraries make such development painless and reliable. As experimental validation, two reactive behaviors have been created in a real robot involving common sensors, actuators, and in-between logic. They have been also implemented using classic software programming for comparison purposes. Results are discussed and show that the development of reactive robot behaviors using reconfigurable computing and open tools is feasible, also achieving a high degree of simplicity and reusability, and benefiting from FPGAs’ low power consumption and time-critical responsiveness.