More Insightful Machines, Thanks to Ultrasound
Sensors have long given machines the ability to perceive their environment. The next generation of this technique is encapsulated in the 3D sensor from Munich startup Toposens that will be presented at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. It's the first sensor to use ultrasound to scan in three dimensions in real time.

Here's how the sensor system works: similar to the echo sounding used by bats, an ultrasound signal is emitted, followed by measurement of its travel time to the object and back to the sensor. This sensor can evaluate the signals in real time to create an image in three dimensions. The dimensions and spatial positions of objects up to eight meters away can be detected down to millimeter precision. Up to 100 scans per second can be performed, depending on the application scenario. The new sensors measure roughly 5 x 5 x 3 cm, weigh just 50 grams and draw 2 watts of power from a 5V infeed. Potential uses include identification of people and gestures in various industries, from analyses of customer flows in stores to monitoring of public and private spaces and smart home applications.

Toposens GmbH
Heßstraße 89
D-80797 Munich
www.toposens.com

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Tobias Bahnemann
Hall 2, Stand A52, partner to Bayern Innovativ
Mobile: +49 178 180 81 35
Email: bahnemann@toposens.de

Adhesive Technology Skips the Weld — and Cuts Time, Energy and Weight
There are a variety of methods available to bond different methods. Adhesive technology is recommended for energy-efficient, lightweight construction where rigidity and stability limits for the implemented materials can be utilized to their full extent. This is no field for beginners - a tremendous store of process expertise is required, as is the case for 3M Germany. The company has a long history of pursuing forward-looking solutions, especially in the automotive industry. At the HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the world's most important technology event, the company from Neuss, Germany is presenting adhesive strips, low-scene acrylate adhesive materials and safety films.

For automotive design in particular adhesive solutions have been in standard use for over 30 years - one can expect to find up to 15 liters of adhesives in a vehicle nowadays. Adhesive bands can be used to affix components onto a vehicle, from spoilers and antennas to door seals. Adhesive processes don't just save time and energy compared with welding, they also cut the weight of the car. The same applies for connections between plastics and aluminum, where screws or rivets can weaken the fiber compounds - unlike when double-sided adhesive tape is used as a high-performance bonding system. Nowadays manufacturers and suppliers can use 3M adhesive solutions to save up to 50 kilograms of weight on a mid-sized vehicle.

For simple processing, 3M construction adhesives use a traffic-light status system. An integrated color indicator signalizes the optimal mix of two components and then provides a visual clue to the state of hardening. The change of hue from yellow to green shows that the piece is ready for further machining.

3M Deutschland
Carl-Schurz-Straße 1
D-41460 Neuss
Tel.: +49 2131 143408
Fax: +49 2131 142649
www.3m.com

Contacts at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Anke Woodhouse
Hall 6; Stand B44
Email: awoodhouse@3m.com
Iris Kaffanke
Mobile: +49 151 117 429 50
Email: ikaffanke@3m.com

Guided by Gentle Hand Pressure
Anyone who's ever visited a logistics center knows how chaotic things can be there. Fast-moving forklifts and motorized trolleys are constantly on the move. The latter are steered by employees using a control panel featuring five to ten buttons. This poses a problem: the fully loaded carts can weigh up to 500 kilograms, so a single control error can cause serious accidents. To minimize this risk in the future, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) will be using HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to present a tactile servo controller for picking trolleys.

The user steers the vehicle solely through pressure from the hands. The grip has a type of servo controller built in. In practical terms: a small amount of directed pressure from the driver is enough to send the trolley moving in the right direction. This is enabled by the pressure sensors built into the grip. Because the grip is designed with sensors for both hands, the cart detects whether it is being pushed or pulled as well. By comparing the pressure from both right and left hand, the cart also registers the respective direction that the user is indicating. The hand-pressure guidance being generated by the user are forwarded on to a motor capable of implemented the instructions in just milliseconds. To prevent this from overwhelming the human user, the system actually adds in an artificial delay.

There is also integrated car-to-car communication to improve safety. All instructions issued by the employee are first passed on to the cloud for collation and coordination. The system can detect for example if the user is steering the vehicle into a blind curve when another vehicle is approaching, stopping both cars automatically. Stand visitors can try out the servo controller for themselves, using real grips to maneuver a virtual trolley. They can also modify the parameters of the picking trolley, such as load weight and reaction time to instructions.

Fraunhofer-Institut für Fabrikbetrieb und -automatisierung IFF
Sandtorstraße 22
D-39106 Magdeburg
Tel.: +49 391 4090 0
Fax: +49 391 4090 596
www.iff.fraunhofer.de

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Dipl.-Inform. Kathleen Hänsch
Hall 17, Stand D29, partner to the Fruanhofer-Gesellschaft
Email: kathleen.haensch@iff.fraunhofer.de

Making Micro-Production Machines Short and Small
The SPP 1476 program of emphasis is focused on the development of "small tools for small workpieces." It will be front and center at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 thanks to the efforts of the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG) together with the Institute for Laboratory Production Technology (LaFT) of the Helmut Schmidt Universität and 18 additional institutes from German universities.

The general trend is away from mass production of a specific product and toward broader product diversity in smaller batches. In these scenarios innovative machine tools adjusted to appropriate sizes have proven significantly more efficient. The DFG will have a range of prototypes on hand at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to show how this might look. Compared with traditional machine tools, many of which are not cost-effective to operate, these innovative prototypes are small, light and flexible. They can be quickly reconfigured and relocated at needed, meaning the workpiece is no longer brought to the machine, but rather the mobile machine tool is brought to the workpiece. Multiple machines can even work effectively on a single workpiece. Once ready for series release, the manufacturers are counting on costs dropping to as little as a fifth of the levels observed with traditional production systems. Industries such as medical engineer, optics, biotech, mechatronics, fluidics and many others have expressed strong demand for this type of miniaturized machine tools.

Helmut-Schmidt-Universität
Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg
Laboratorium Fertigungstechnik
Holstenhofweg 85
D-22043 Hamburg
Tel.: +49 40 6541 2271
Fax: +49 40 6541 2839
www.hsu-hh.de

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Adam Sanders
Research Area Microproduction
Hall 2, Stand C64
Email: adam.sanders@hsu-hh.de

A Practical Introduction to Industry 4.0
How in practical terms can a mid-sized company implement Industry 4.0 into their operations? Visitors to HANNOVER MESSE 2016 can see for themselves at the Dassault Systèmes stand.

There they'll experience how agriculture machine builder CLAAS is successfully networking multiple sites and disciplines together. The family-owned German firm uses the 3DEXPERIENCE platform from Dassault Systèmes as the central hub for all development and production processes. CLAAS Employees can use the platform to access all product data and supplemental information. A uniform data management system, accessible from anywhere, makes this possible, while also ensuring that everyone is working with the most current product data. Duplicate files are a thing of the past, and records need only be maintained once. Using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, CLAAS also promotes interdisciplinary work: Single Source for Speed, a solution developed especially for machine and facility builders, allows electrical and hydraulic engineers to work simultaneously on the same design. This ensures that electronic and hydraulic systems are functionally adapted, reviewed and harmonized to one another early in the design process. The result is fewer production errors and lower reject rates.

Dassault Systèmes Deutschland GmbH
Meitnerstraße 8
D-70563 Stuttgart
Tel.: +49 711 27300 0
Fax: +49 711 27300 599
www.3ds.com/de

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Carola von Wendland
Hall 6, Stand K30
Email: carola.vonwendland@3ds.com

Always Power Available: Combined Cycle Power Station Compensates for Fluctuations in Demand
One of the biggest hurdles on the path to exclusive use of power based on renewable resources is the fact that fresh electricity from wind and sun is not available at all times of day and in all weather conditions. To compensate for fluctuations in supply and demand, intelligent storage systems have proved an important tool in the switch to new sources of power. GP Joule GmbH is focused on the use of decentralized combined cycle power stations to achieve this goal. It will present its plans in this area at HANNOVER MESSE 2016.

Its exhibition, part of the larger "Integrated Energy" theme, uses decentralized combined cycle power stations built around a bio-gas facility. An electrolysis unit is added to the facility to convert locally generated solar and wind power into hydrogen - at 75 percent efficiency. That hydrogen is then stored in tanks for later use. The 25 percent waste heat generated during electrolysis is captured and harnessed for the bio-gas facility's own thermal needs.

When power demand rises, the cogeneration unit can also burn portions of the hydrogen together with its bio-gas. This process saves biomass and also increases burn efficiency, all while preserving the flexibility to adjust to fluctuations in power demand. In this way, a bio-gas facility functions as a decentralized backup power station.

GP Joule GmbH
Cecilienkoog 16
D-25821 Reußenköge
Tel.: +49 4671 6074 235
Fax: +49 4671 6074 199
www.gp-joule.de

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Timo Bovi
Hall 27, Stand K41
Email: t.bovi@gp-joule.de

Directing Sunbeams to Work Harder
The clever minds at the Institut für Solarenergieforschung GmbH (ISFH) are hard at work making sunbeams work harder. They'll be demonstrating their successes at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, including their novel use of light-redirecting structures. Special highly reflective materials divert light that would normally be lost in the space between cells back onto other functional cells. The enhanced yield per module helps sink system costs. Bifacial cells can use both their front and rear sides to gather light. When set at an angle, they can collect up to 30 percent more energy. The institute is also presenting macro-pore surfaces for high-efficiency solar cells that reflect just one percent of the incoming light without requiring supplemental anti-reflective coatings. For solar cells that contact only on the rear side, reflection onto the front-side contacts is avoided, allowing more light to strike the cell.

Institut für Solarenergieforschung GmbH
Am Ohrberg 1
D-31860 Emmerthal
Tel.: +49 5151 999 100
Fax: +49 5151 999 400
www.isfh.de

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Dr. Roland Goslich
Hall 2, Stand A08
Email: r.goslich@isfh.de

Innovative Locking Systems Make Security Doors Even More Secure
When security doors alone aren't enough, special locking systems can help fill the gap. Pilz, an international manufacturer of automation technology, is presenting its new PSENmlock system at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. The system can be used with almost any doors, including large, heavy swinging and sliding doors as well as hatches and covers.

The system is framed with LEDs and works with a user-friendly diagnostic system. The impressive part: PSENmlock delivers 7,500 Newtons (N) of tensile force, as well as an integrated latch-in force of 30 N. This modern sentinel is particularly effective for machines with a dangerous cool-down process, such as rotating blades or robots. A two-channel control mechanism keep the lock sealed until no danger remains from opening the door.

Among the company's other products are sensors, electronic monitoring devices, security switches, configurable and programmable control systems and automation solutions with motion control. Visitors to the stand can test their soccer skills against the company's Robokicker, with the chance to win a planner for the upcoming European soccer championships. At its heart, it provides a demonstration of the PMC drive technology and the configurable PNOZmulti 2 control system, which uses light barriers to provide extra safety.

Pilz
Felix-Wankel-Straße 2
D-73760 Ostfildern
Tel.: +49 711 3409 0
Fax: +49 711 3409 133
www.pilz.com

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Martin Kurth
Hall 9, Stand D17
Email: m.kurth@pilz.de

Natural Rubber from Dandelions
A technical revolution lies ahead, ContiTech is reporting in advance of HANNOVER MESSE 2016: an engine mount using natural rubber gleaned from dandelion roots. The product's characteristics matches those of traditional materials, at a similarly unchanged level of quality.

Natural rubber has traditionally been harvested from caoutchouc tree farms in the world's rain forest regions. The transport paths are long, but there has been no real alternative to date. That would change if natural rubber with at least equal performance ratings can be produced from dandelion roots. The new product is slated to be used in automotive construction. Yet it's hardly limited to that field. Continental has already successfully tested prototype tires using natural rubber from dandelion roots.

ContiTech
Vahrenwalder Straße 9
D-30165 Hannover
Tel.: +49 511 938 02
Fax: +49 511 938 81770
www.contitech.de

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Jens Fechner
Hall 6, Stand F18
Stand phone: +49 511 89-694060
Email: jens.fechner@contitech.de

What's the Condition of Your Car? New app check provides up 50,000 notifications per second
An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. This applies to smart vehicles as well. Automotive developers are well aware of this, which is why in-tech is using HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to present its orangeCtrl app. Running on a Linux operating system, it communicates with a hardware box installed in the trunk that can be linked into key vehicle buses, including CAN, FlexRay and Lin. Up to 50,000 notifications per second can be sent. The precise diagnoses gathered in this way are crucial in detecting potential breakdowns in advance.

Software developers and engineers can use apps on smartphones or tablets to check test vehicles directly, a major convenience in their daily work. A few major automotive firms have already run successful pilot programs using the innovative app. Vehicle data is visualized in real time, while an intelligent energy management system ensures that power consumption is extremely minimal. The system can also be transferred as an "Industry 4.0 project" to other industries, such as machine construction and transport.

in-tech GmbH
Automotive Engineering
Parkring 2
D-85748 München/Garching
Tel.: +49 89 321 9815 0
Fax: +49 89 321 9815 99
www.in-tech.de

Contact at HANNOVER MESSE 2016:
Martin Farjah
Hall 7, Stand F18
Email: m.farjah@profil-marketing.com