New RIU subsystem adapts on-the-fly to fit different system profiles

Aitech Defense Systems is a pioneer in embedded and mission critical computing technologies for military, defence and aerospace applications. It has released A175, a rugged, self-contained, EMC/EMI-protected remote interface unit I/O expansion subsystem that provides dynamic mission profile reprogramming. This rugged unit optimises SWaP for critical, mobile applications.

The subsystem uses platform location monitoring built into the on-board FPGA to recognise its physical location within the platform and communicate with the main mission computer, allowing the unit to alter its functionality on-the-fly or at power up.
"This remote interface functionality is typical of port and starboard avionics platforms, where it’s most desirable to utilise the exact remote interface unit (RIU) hardware in multiple areas of the platform to minimise platform logistics and repair and overhaul costs,” says vice president of the military and aerospace business sector Doug Patterson.

"The RIU’s monitoring of key engine parameters, wing root loading, fuel levels, transmission and drive train vibration loading, auxiliary power unit loads, weapons pods and other critical functions are generally repeated on the aircraft sides.
"The unique platform location monitor in the A175 enables only one hardware unit to be used for both port and starboard, lowering overall development and long-term logistics and maintenance costs.”

Also classified as a data concentrator unit the A175 optimises SWaP (size, weight and power) with dimensions of only 17.8cm x 17.8 cm x 3.3 cm and a weight of less than 1.13 kilos (about the weight of one 6U conduction-cooled VMEbus board), while drawing only 10W, or about the same as a standard household incandescent nightlight.

Applications that benefit from the A175’s durable, compact construction and highly flexible functions include manned and unmanned vehicles such as wheeled, tracked ground units as well as tactical fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

In addition, subsurface naval ships as well as above and below deck implementations on naval surface ships will benefit from this reliable MIL-STD subsystem, Aitech says.

A large variety of I/O interfaces and large user-programmable FPGA for the application Operational Flight Program makes the A175 useful in highly data centric environments such as a remote interface data concentrator or engine and power train data monitor as well as in vehicle prognostics data collection and condition based maintenance.

The A175’s expansive I/O includes dual platform data channels for connection to the aircraft main bus with either dual GbE channels or one dual redundant MIL-STD-1553B channel.

In addition, there are two asynchronous RS232/485 serial ports, eight single ended 12-bit A/D input channels, up to eight ARINC-429 drivers/receivers, two differential 16-bit D/A output channels and four differential channels with an external or internal reference voltage.

The A175 also features a multitude of discrete input and output channels including 24 GND/OPEN input channels and five GND/OPEN output channels.

Other functions include an internal elapsed time data recorder and internal temperature sensor for high integrity, mission critical subsystems. Units have been qualified for manned aircraft use with added gunfire vibration and high shock.

The A175 operates from -40°C to +71°C with natural convection cooling and is powered from a standard 28 VDC input per MIL-STD-740D. In addition to EMI protection, endurance against shock, vibration and acceleration per MIL-STD 810F as well as extreme resistance to altitude, humidity and temperature are ensured by the subsystem’s rugged Faraday cage design.

For more information:
Email: sales [at] rugged [dot] com
Visit: www.rugged.com/a175.htm

Auckland University at the forefront of global electric vehicle technology

Car travel worldwide is set to be transformed by a revolutionary technology, developed by The University of Auckland, through the most significant technology transfer deal ever achieved by a New Zealand university by far.
Electric vehicles are predicted to begin an accelerated penetration into the automotive market traditionally dominated by internal combustion engines by 2015, and The University of Auckland will be in the centre of the transport revolution.
Qualcomm, a major US research and development company specialising in wireless communications, has paid several million dollars to acquire exclusive rights in and to certain wireless electric vehicle charging technology developed by the University.
Inductive power technology (IPT) was pioneered by professor John Boys and associate professors Grant Covic and Udaya Madawala from the University’s Power Electronics Group.
They have led the world in developing systems to transmit electric power efficiently across air gaps without using wires.
Qualcomm also acquired the assets and technology of spinout company HaloIPT. The company was set up in a partnership with international engineering firm Arup, the TransTasman Commercialisation Fund and the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund’s SCIF programme to develop IPT technology commercially for cars by building prototypes, establishing standards and making the technology reliable. HaloIPT’s staff has joined Qualcomm.
The University of Auckland and Auckland UniServices Ltd, the University’s commercial arm, will use the funds generated from the transaction to invest in further research and commercialisation, as well as sharing a portion with the inventors in line with the University’s intellectual property policy.
Qualcomm was impressed by the quality of research at the University and through UniServices will provide ongoing support for IPT research at the University.
Professor Stuart McCutcheon, University vice-chancellor and chairman of the UniServices Board, says IPT technology, now set to reduce the cost and environmental impact of motoring on a massive scale, had started out as fundamental research.
“Merely tinkering with plug-in cars, for example, would never have led to professors Boys and Covic unearthing this fundamentally different technology,” he says.
“It is an outstanding example of how fundamental curiosity-driven research, developed through painstaking investigation and testing, was brought to market through the region’s leading technology transfer company UniServices.”
Prof McCutcheon says the development path can exist only in a research-intensive globally-connected University.
“It demonstrates the ability of universities to influence the future in a radical and positive manner, and to bring global benefits.
“The scientific brilliance and diligence of Professor Boys and his colleagues plus the commercial savviness of Uni-Services make for an unbeatable combination,” he says.
Dr Peter Lee, chief executive of UniServices says IPT will become the standard technology for electric-powered vehicles.
“Vehicles fitted with our technology will be able to charge overnight using electricity generated by renewable sources such as wind.
“Because there is a low demand for electricity at night, little or no extra installed generating capacity will be required to power our fleet of electric vehicles,” he says.
Dr Lee says the University dealt with Qualcomm because of its track record in establishing the universal global standard for other technologies like mobile phones.
“The likelihood of the technology being successful or reaching a global market is now more likely with Qualcomm.
“This deal is fantastic news for New Zealand – we are providing access to technology in exchange for payments that will help ensure future investment in New Zealand research.”
Dr Lee sees ample opportunity for New Zealand-based companies to become a part of the high technology manufacturing required for IPT systems.
“Local companies will have the advantage of being close to the source of the technology and access to many generations of engineers who have graduated from our University with an in- depth knowledge of the underlying technology.
“We are already in discussions with some of them to make sure they are well positioned to capture benefit from this development.
“We will generate financial benefits to further advance IPT technology here in New Zealand and at the University,” Dr Lee says.
Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president of European Innovation Development at Qualcomm, says Qualcomm and Auckland University “can look back with pride and pleasure at how our two organisations worked diligently to achieve a wireless power solution.
“In the future I am greatly looking forward to helping develop a long lasting and successful collaboration with The University of Auckland and Auckland UniServices.”

Say goodbye to all those ingrained views of VSD technology you might have had

Variable speed drive technology is increasingly being deployed in air-compressor applications to cater for variable loads. As a result, developments for the motor/drive component and the compressor itself continue to improve.
Sean Richardson, product manager with WEG Australia and Andrew Dove, product development manager with Sullair Australia, discuss the implications of the WEG motor/drive technology incorporated into Sullair’s Champion range of VSD air-compressors.
Standard electrical motors are usually in one of two states – on or off.
In these cases, the speed of the motor is fixed – single speed motors typically drive fans, pumps, compressors and the like.
The principal drawback of this type of on/off, fixed speed motor is that the speed may not be optimised to the demand of the application.
It may be running too fast and wasting energy or, too slow and struggling to perform, creating undue stress on components.
The motor will always be in a state of compromise.
Single speed motors are most suited to applications when running at 100 per cent capacity for fixed periods and then turned off when no longer required.
In many instances, an air-compressor application may have varying demands, for example changes in production shifts or ramping up or down of specific machines in a plant.
In a typical facility there may only be a short time of the day during which the full 100 per cent of air compressor capacity is required.
For a fixed speed load on/load off motor, maximum efficiency only occurs when operating at 100 per cent capacity-the remainder of the time these devices will consume energy unnecessarily. Variable speed drive compressors alleviate these issues by better aligning the power intake and energy demand to the load variances of the specific application.
Historically, traditional VSD compressors were perceived to have limited usage.
Drive life was a concern if heat from the drive was not adequately dissipated. Low speed operation was inefficient resulting in motor de-rating.
Overall, drive life was not great and drive replacement costs were comparable to the replacement of the entire compressor.
Motor life insulation issues compounded the problems for the drives.
In some instances VSD compressors could not easily be run from power generators due to problems with harmonic interference with the drive. The initial costs of a VSD system and the reduction in efficiency when used at full capacity were also key shortcomings.
When used appropriately the system gains of variable speed drives outweigh any restrictions. The positive outcomes include reduced mechanical stress on the motor and consequently reduced maintenance and repair costs; greater control and automation allowing the operator to fine-tune response to specific application demands, and significant energy savings in varying load situations.
In recent years, government and industry have promoted the use of machinery with greater energy efficiency, particularly with respect to compressors. It is estimated that as much as 10 per cent of the electrical power consumed by Australian industry is expended on compressed air. A compressor typically is the largest single user of energy on site and an estimated 86 per cent of the cost of a compressor over its lifetime is spent on energy.
The installation of a VSD compressor may increase energy efficiency by as much as 30-35 per cent if applied in the right circumstances.
WEG design and manufacture variable speed drives and motors and have developed several patented technologies including Optimal Flux Technology and the WISE Insulation System to overcome the deficiencies of traditional VSD technology.
WEG have partnered locally with Sullair-a global leader in compressed air technology-to develop the Champion range of VSD air compressors made in Australia.
The key feature of WEG’s Optimal Flux Technology is the ability to maintain the torque at low speed by optimising the flux density of the motor.
The WISE Insulation system is designed to protect motor windings and limit voltage pulse intervals and peaks typical of the VSD application.
Motor torque is a function of voltage, frequency and current.
In order to maintain torque at low motor speeds, earlier versions of VSDs increased the current at lower motor output frequencies. The downside to this approach was a significant rise in operating temperature since fans were directly coupled to the motor shaft.
As the speed of the motor slowed, the motor fan would slow, compromising the fan’s cooling efficiency.
WEG has solved that problem by increasing the voltage/frequency ratio, thereby minimising the temperature rise associated with increased current. For every 10°C decrease in operating temperature, the motor life is doubled.
WEG’s Optimal Flux technology eliminates this issue making forced external cooling and ventilation requirements redundant.
WEG have developed the WISE Insulation System for all their industrial motors to insulate against high voltage spikes and _V/_t rises associated with the use of VSDs.
The technology is designed to reduce stresses on the motor windings thereby prolonging motor life.
The energy saving benefits of the Champion VSD range are clear. Whenever air demand is less than the full capacity of the air compressor, the Champion VSD range achieves energy savings compared to traditional on/off load compressors.
Given the significance of compressed air to industrial power bills, users have found that the Sullair Champion range of VSD compressors can save thousands of dollars per annum.
Installing a VSD compressor may have higher up-front costs, but the energy consumption savings achievable may see a payback period of as little as six months.
The benefits of the Optimal Flux Technology, WISE Insulation, variable speed and removal of external cooling requirements translates into a more energy efficient and reliable compressor.
In order to benefit from the energy savings available from the VSD range, the size of the compressor needs to be chosen to match those requirements.
Sullair Australia offer air audits to assess the overall air demand of an installation. From an air audit, air demand, load variation and usage levels are calculated to determine which compressor system is appropriate.
An ill-suited VSD compressor will not give the benefits of reduced energy consumption if it is operating outside its efficiency range. The safest, surest way of selecting the most suitable compressor package is to commission an air audit.
In New Zealand, Sullair’s complete range is represented by long standing distribution partner Secair, which is based in Onehunga.

For more information, contact: New Zealand: Secair,
Tel: 09 634 4211, or Email: secairnz [at] xtra [dot] co [dot] nz
Australia: Michael Knowles, Sullair, Tel: 61 3 9703 9014,
or Email: mknowles [at] sullair [dot] com [dot] au

Into the future with a millimetre-scale rubber muscle motor

By Romy Udanga

What can you do with a motor or generator that is made entirely of rubber?
Since they will be completely non-magnetic and non-metallic, they could be used in places where there are high magnetic fields like in MRI machines.
And since they are very, very thin, they can be scaled down to a couple of millimetres and used in autonomic robotic devices, or even inside the human body.
These uses are among those being contemplated by the team at Auckland Bioengineering Institute’s Biomimetics Lab that has designed a soft, bearing-free artificial muscle motor that can move a shaft in five different ways.
Principal investigator Iain Anderson who heads up the laboratory said there are other groups who have worked on membrane devices where they can make a shaft tip-up, go side-to-side or back to front but his team “…are the first to make the membrane turn the shaft with the freedom to move it side-to-side too.”
The design, which removes the need for rigid components such as bearings or gears, for example, mimics the human hand’s ability to manipulate and move an object in several degrees-of-freedom.
“For most motors, motion is typically limited to only one linear or rotary degree-of-freedom. By comparison, the human hand, while unable to match the precision and high torque capabilities of motor technology, can manipulate an object between thumb and forefinger, rotating it by moving thumb and fingers in opposing directions or repositioning by moving thumb and fingers together,” says Mr Anderson.
The motor consists of a soft acrylic elastomer gear embedded within a stretched elastomer membrane that supports several radially arranged artificial muscles. The muscles are electroactive structures, made up of two layers of conducting carbon grease separated by a stretchy insulating polymer film.
When a voltage is applied to the artificial muscle, the opposite charges attract one another so the insulator is squashed between them and flattens and stretches.
Muscle actuation releases membrane tension and this, in turn, causes deformation of the polymer gear.
The gear can be made to turn a shaft or reposition it. Two motor membranes, placed one behind the other, can be used to fully support a shaft that can be moved, tipped and turned.
“What’s unique about this motor, apart from it being very light, very soft, and particularly very flat – is that you get high specific torque and potentially high efficiency at low speeds. If you don’t need it to go very fast you can do away with the gear box, it requires a lot fewer parts to make something turn or moving something around,” Mr Anderson says.
One of the team members, Dr Ben O’Brien, is looking at scaling the motor down to the millimetre scale for use in implants and microsurgical applications.
As part of his PHD project, he developed a way to make logic elements out of rubber.
He was also able to build a NAND gate using a combination of artificial muscle and a switch – also made from the artificial muscle.
“In theory, if you can build a NAND gate, you can build a computer. So it becomes possible in theory to make an entirely rubber computer,” says Mr Anderson.
The other members are also adding to the team’s knowledge base.
Todd Gisby is working on giving the artificial muscles the “ability to sense their position” – like the way your own muscles in your arm, with your eyes closed, can touch your nose with your hands.
Tom McKay is working on energy harvesting principles using the same technology to produce “all rubber generator” and Scott Walbran is trying to get electrical signals, from say the arm, to control artificial muscle devices.
“We’ve taken the basic technology and what we’re very good at doing is making it do something useful. That’s kind of where our strength really lies,” notes Mr Anderson.

Innovative dry screw pump for industrial vacuum applications

Edwards Ltd is one of the pioneers of dry vacuum pump technology. It recently launched its new GXS range of dry running vacuum pumps. The GXS range is the latest iteration of dry vacuum technology introduced by Edwards in 1986.
In the intervening 25 years, the Edwards has delivered more than 150,000 dry vacuum pumps to customers around the world.
Dry pump performance is now well established in arduous vacuum applications involving dust and liquid contamination, with contaminated gas streams typically being difficult for other types of vacuum pump to accommodate.
Edwards says that the new GXS series improves efficiency, improves the vacuum capability and greatly extends service intervals, while retaining the proven toughness of their dry screw technology.
In addition to the enhanced screw design, the GXS range benefits from long-life ceramic bearings, long-life synthetic lubricants and pumping chamber temperature control. Edwards considers the latter to be important where the incoming gas stream contains contaminants which are prone to condense if the pumping chamber is too cold or, alternatively, burn onto pump surfaces if too hot.
Because of its importance, pumping chamber temperature control is an integral part of the GXS range, not an add-on.
The end result, according to Edwards, is a robust pump suitable for a wide range of normally difficult vacuum applications.

In most cases, the GXS range can easily replace other types of vacuum pumps. Because the patented tapered variable pitch screw rotors deliver high pumping speed and efficiency, the GXS pumps are typically more compact than rotary vane vacuum pumps of equivalent capacity.
The water cooled temperature management system significantly reduces plant room heat load and the non-pulsating,vibration-free nature of the pumping cycle reduces noise output.
As an example, the 740 cubic meter per hour capacity GXS pump emits a noise level of less than 70 dB(A).
This compares with about 78 dB(A) from a similar capacity rotary vane vacuum pump. The compact size and clean exterior of the GXS pump facilitates easy installation and the low noise level and low heat output often permit installation in open factory areas and eliminate the need for an expensive plant room.
Other technical advances for the GXS include options such as automated high flow purging and solvent flushing. These provide on-going internal cleaning without need for disassembly. Along with the fully enclosed, high efficiency motor, advanced bearing and lubrication technology, the end result is reduced power consumption and long service intervals – 5 years in most applications.
On a population basis, New Zealand’s food industry, in particular, is a heavy user of vacuum technology.
Several local vacuum duties are prone to contamination, including milk powder conveying and degassing, vacuum packaging of meats and cheeses (often prone to liquid carryover from wash-down, or high water vapour loads from hot-boned meat) and freeze drying.
Vacuum users in these applications experiencing high maintenance costs and down time from existing vacuum pumps should consider the Edwards GXS as a long-term cost saving replacement.
The GXS pump should also be considered as a fire risk reduction strategy for dairy factories and the like presently using oil sealed rotary vane pumps discharging exhaust air through long exhaust lines.
Unlike the oil-sealed rotary vane pump, the pumping cavity of the GXS pump is oil-free and temperature controlled. The GXS pump cannot initiate an exhaust line fire.
GXS pumps include serial, LAN and web-serving communication capabilities as standard. Parallel (digital I/O) and Profibus modules are available as options. PID vacuum control is a standard on-board feature.
The Edwards GXS pumps are distributed by VABS Limited (Vacuum And Blowing Solutions). Members of the VABS team have a long running involvement with Edwards, dating back to 1987.

For more information:
VABS
Tel: 0800 822 726
Email: info [at] vabs [dot] co [dot] nz
Visit: www.vabs.co.nz