The topic of electro mobility has become more and more present over the last few years. To increase the acceptance within the population, the continuous expansion of the charging infrastructure is immensely important. In this paper a developed cost efficient charging robot is presented, with only four actively controlled DOFs and an installed low cost camera in the CCS connector. The control scheme is based on using infrared LEDs inside the inlet, which reduce the influence of external light and reflections. The described plugging process includes the pose estimation and pre-positioning, a plausibility and identification check, visual servoing and the plugging/unplugging. Finally, the workspace is examined. Afterwards the developed elastic compensation unit of the robot is analysed for its capabilities to compensate angular deviations. In addition, the reaction forces and torques are measured. In summary in the pluggable workspace a plugging success rate of 97% can be achieved. © The Authors(s) 2021. Published by Inderscience Publishers Ltd. This is an Open Access Article distributed under the CC BY license. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In fused layer modeling (FLM) manufacturing technology, there is an increased demand for semi-crystalline materials due to their favorable mechanical properties, such as high strength and toughness. The reasons for their limited use are process-related residual stresses and reduced interlayer bonding, resulting in component distortion, warping and poor strength. Addressing these problems, this paper presents the development and implementation of a rotary print head that enables local laser pre-deposition heating and forced air cooling in the 2.5-dimensional FLM process. Samples of polypropylene are fabricated to investigate the effects of the modified process on residual stresses and interlayer bonding. The investigations show that local laser pre-deposition heating can positively influence the interlayer bonding. In combination with a reduction of the extrusion temperature and additional cooling, it is possible to considerably reduce the residual stresses. The results of this research show that pre-deposition heating and forced air cooling significantly improve the processability of semi-crystalline thermoplastics in the FLM process. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The MERCUR research project Pr-2017-0003 "Analysis of the product development process in the combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing processes for the manufacture of multi-material products" combines different manufacturing and post-treatment processes to connect the respective advantages. The additive fused deposition modeling (FDM) together with the anisotropic component properties resulting from the process are used in this investigation. The influence of chemical and mechanical post-treatment steps on these properties will be investigated. © Carl Hanser Verlag.

These article researches different aspects of the overhead ultralight electro monorail system (uEMS) as a solution to transfer up to 20 kg objects in large industrial areas with the aphesis on high degree of flexibility and long-term use suitability. The purpose of the uEMS to bridge over long transport routes in enterprise with help of the efficiently transporting small objects over long distances. © Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft fur Technische Logistik. All rights reserved.

Vulcanized fiber is a macromolecular cellulose-based composite material manufactured using the parchmentizing process. The cellulose is produced from the chemical digestion of plant-based raw materials (wood, cotton) or textile waste. Chemical additives used during manufacturing are completely removed. After the process, vulcanized fiber possesses improved properties concerning mechanical strength and abrasion as well as corrosion resistance in comparison to its raw materials. Concerning its economic life cycle assessment, low density, electrical insulating capability and balanced properties, vulcanized fiber has a potential, up to now unused, as a light and renewable structural material for applications in automotive or civil engineering industries. Research activities concerning the mechanical properties are insufficient and existing standards are out-of-date. In this work, for the first time a direction-dependent characterization of the process-related anisotropic mechanical properties of the material is realized with the aim to formulate an adequate material model for numerical simulations in the next step.

For optimal performance a modern intralogistic system needs to monitor its maintenance state to avoid unnecessary down-times. This paper proposes the Smart Drive concept of a distribution of static and mobile sensors and presents an approach to localize mobile measurement units on conveyor tracks and to map disturbances and areas of potential future failure. The localization is performed using stochastically robust methods to allow applicability under real-world conditions including imperfect sensor calibration or imprecise information about the tracks. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using real sensor data gathered in an experimental scenario. © 2010 IEEE.

The reliability of conveyor systems is the main requirement because of the high consequential costs in case of malfunction of intralogistic systems. In order to ensure this claim manufacturers react with robust modules of which these systems are composed. The consequence of this is that the design of intralogistic systems is not adapted to customer requirements. To develop a basis on which continuous conveyors can be designed, three Response Surface Models based on measurands have been worked out. With the help of a statistical software the response values of the models have been optimised. ©2010 by ASME.

Currently the focus of planning and designing intralogistic systems lies on the technical quality rating in the form of maximum fulfilment of the mechanical requirements. This compliancy is often achieved by oversizing the mechanical components. A re-orientation in designing such systems is especially necessary because of the multitude of electrically-driven components. The current guidelines for embodiment design for intralogistic systems are not sufficient to optimise such plants regarding their service conditions. That is why adapted statistical models have been developed with the help of DoE based on measurands. These models conduce to generate new guidelines for embodiment design for such plants. © 2010 IFAC.

The availability and reliability of intralogistic systems depends significantly on the maintenance of these systems which demands modern maintenance concepts. Hence condition-based maintenance concepts are a very important development. To determine the condition of intralogistic systems a holistic concept has been developed, which combines mobile and stationary sensor units. Mobile units travel along with the regular containers on the conveying system and gather several data. Additional data is collected by the stationary sensor units. Each sensor unit, either mobile or stationary, pre-evaluates the data and only necessary data is transmitted to a central evaluation unit. By using the concept it becomes possible to determine the condition of an intralogistic system. This paper introduces measurement techniques which can be used in this context. Furthermore the new developed monitoring concept will be explained by using a common intralogistic system as an example. © 2010 IFAC.

The determination of the overall condition of an intralogistic system is one of the significant requirements of an effective planning of maintenance activities. Conventional maintenance concepts like time-based or event-based concepts already reach their limitations. By the application of conditionbased maintenance concepts the single activities take place when the reserve of abrasion of a component is nearly optimally used. The application of the smart drive concept helps to determine the condition of the system while data of stationary and mobile sensor units are gathered and evaluated. Another aspect helps to delay potential breakdowns by the adaption of certain system parameters depending on the actual system load. In that way the individual load on some components can be reduced which makes it possible to schedule an appropriate maintenance activity before the breakdown occurs. Hence the availability can be enhanced since the probability of breakdowns and unplanned maintenance activities can be reduced. To adapt system parameters based on the actual load of an intralogistic system a mathematical model is needed which describes the system behavior to a certain extent. Based on the method of DoE (Design of Experiments) such a model can be established. In the first place screening designs are necessary to determine significant factors and factor interactions. Subsequently more detailed regression experiments have to be performed to derive the mathematical model. The first step of this process (screening experiments) has been performed and will be discussed at one example in this paper while the second step which will be performed in future work (regression experiments) will be introduced and prepared. It will also be explained how the derived model will be used in a technical context at a roller conveyor as an example of an intralogistic system. ©2010 by ASME.

Roller conveyors are composed of a high number of recurring modules and components. These modules and components often are oversized because vague estimates are used to plan the design. The oversizing of roller conveyors has a multiplicative effect because of the high number of current modules and components. If the forces with which the components are affected during the conveying are known the embodiment design of roller conveyors can be adapted to the forces. That is why a statistical model has been developed with the help of Design of Experiments based on measurands to determine the dynamic forces at that point where the force transmission in the conveyor takes place. This model conduces to generate new guidelines for embodiment design for roller conveyors. © 2010 IEEE.