Fagor Automation has acquired the majority of the shares of the Italian company FR Engraving S.r.l. located in Legnano (Italy). It is a technology company dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of engraved substrates, based on metal strips and glass. This engraving is carried out through different processes.

The transaction was formalized on May 23, with Fagor Automation taking a 51% majority stake in the company.

This operation reaffirms Fagor Automation’s direction towards strengthening its technological capabilities associated with its diversification strategy in the field of position measurement for different applications.

“The majority stake in FR Engraving S.r. is related to our innovation strategy, which in recent years has been aimed at focusing efforts on our core technologies. This operation will help us to strengthen the development of new measurement substrates to complete Fagor Automation’s wide range of products and further improve their performance,” says Jose Emilio Oti, R&D manager of Fagor Automation’s Feedback Systems business.

Industry diversification

This new acquisition is another example of Fagor Automation’s strategy, whose main objective is to continue to strengthen its commitment to technology. Specifically, one of the main lines within the strategic plan of Fagor Automation’s feedback systems division is the generation of business in other sectors outside the machine tool sector.

The acquisition of FR Engraving has a direct impact on the development of these industries as it reinforces its leadership spirit, moving forward to continue offering its customers the best solutions to meet their needs.

The Basque Country-based company, with great experience in the development and manufacturing of products for machine automation and control, is distinguished by its capacity for hardware and software development, and by the flexibility of its production system to offer customized solutions.

The firm Norgestion as financial advisor in this transaction has assisted Fagor Automation, while the Italian firm Quorum Studio Legale e Tributorio Asociato has acted as legal advisor.

La entrada Fagor Automation takes over the company FR Engraving S.r.l se publicó primero en Aotek.

The R2M project is born, led by SMARTPM in collaboration with AFM CLUSTER, focused on seeking the best integration of automation technologies and intelligent robotics.

For some years now, robotics has been considered a key area in technological progress and development. Countries and companies that have a large implementation of robots achieve high levels of competitiveness and productivity compared to their competitors. In most developed countries, investments in robotic technologies have grown significantly and well above other sectors.

In this context, the R2M project was born, “Flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing systems based on robot-machine collaboration”, led by SMARTPM and in which AFM CLUSTER is part of a consortium in which leading companies of the machine tool sector such as Fagor Automation (together with the companies belonging to the cluster Fagor Arrasate, Soraluce, Juaristi, Aldakin, and Virtualware) also participate.

Five areas of application

The R2M project is aligned with the RIS3 Smart Industry strategy defined in the framework of the PCTI 2030. Within this framework, there are five key application areas focused on specific links in the manufacturing value chain, and the R2M project is oriented towards “Sustainable, flexible and zero-defect production processes” and “Smart connected machines”.

R2M’s strategic objective, within the key technology areas, is to seek the best integration of both automation and intelligent robotics technologies and advanced manufacturing technologies.

The project addresses the research of manufacturing systems based on robot-machine collaboration, with the aim of offering flexible and reconfigurable solutions. In addition, it seeks to offer a value proposition for the customer to have multifunctional, resilient, and future-proof manufacturing systems, without incurring in costly re-engineering investments.

Change in the paradigm of the robot-human relationship

One of the highlights of the project is the radical change in the paradigm of the robot-human relationship. The emergence of Cobots enables the execution of collaborative tasks between human-robot in a safe way, sharing the same space without the need for physical barriers.

The R2M project has been financed by the Basque Government, through the SPRI through the R&D&I support program Hazitek Estratégico, to improve the competitiveness of companies during the period 2021-23.

La entrada Fagor Automation participates in the R2M project, which seeks the best integration of automation technologies and intelligent robotics. se publicó primero en Aotek.

Fagor Automation participa en el proyecto Power2Power, un ambicioso proyecto europeo que tiene por objetivo proporcionar soluciones mas eficientes basadas en el silicio y contribuir a la descarbonización.

El proyecto Power2Power reúne a 43 socios de 8 países con el fin de desarrollar semiconductores eléctricos de silicio con una eficacia energética y densidad eléctrica mayores. 

Aumento del rendimiento

Este tipo de tecnologías aumentará el rendimiento de un gran número de aplicaciones en la industria, la movilidad, la red de suministro y las energías renovables; y contribuirá considerablemente a la reducción de las emisiones de dióxido de carbono. 

Los socios del proyecto han establecido líneas piloto de alcances paneuropeos para desarrollar innovadores dispositivos eléctricos adecuados para el futuro. 

Han dado prioridad al silicio porque todavía supera a los nuevos materiales emergentes por su alta fiabilidad y excelente relación rendimiento-precio. Power2Power reforzará la posición predominante de los semiconductores eléctricos basados en silicio en el mercado mundial durante el próximo decenio.

El proyecto comenzó el 1 de junio de 2019, tiene una duración de 3 años, y cuenta con un presupuesto de 74.257.768,75 euros financiados por la Comisión Europea y el Ministerio de Energía, Turismo y Agenda Digital.

El proyecto está liderado por la multinacional alemana Infineon Technologies AG, líder mundial en fabricación de semiconductores. 

Minimizar el impacto sobre la huella de carbono

El modelo de mercado en equipos de regulación para motores de Fagor Automation, requiere de muchas referencias disponibles, de las cuales las cantidades demandadas de cada una son pequeñas.

Esta circunstancia hace que los costes no sean los que se alcanzarían si la demanda estuviera concentrada en unas pocas referencias.

Con este pr0yecto, Fagor tiene  como objetivo  dar respusta a su mercado de reguladores para motores, optimizando los costes en fabricación, compras, gestión, almacenes, chatarras, etc….

En Power2Power, la participación de Fagor Automation corresponde al diseño, calificación y fiabilización de un demostrador para un módulo compacto de inversores/convertidores flexible y configurable.

Por ello, se ha marcado como objetivo racionalizar y reducir el consumo de energía, y minimizar el impacto de su  actividad sobre la huella de carbono. Para ello, va a diseñar una nueva familia de productos que permitan fabricar, con el mínimo de materiales, la mayoría de las referencias de productos que le demanda el mercado.

Módulo de potencia básico

Alcanzar este objetivo es posible disponiendo de un elemento base denominado IPBB (Inverter Power Building Block). Se trata de una H trifásica completa, que incluye los IGBTs de potencia, los Gate Drivers, DC/DC converters, sensor de corriente, DC Link capacitor, refrigerador y ventilador. Todo ello conforma una unidad base de potencia. 

Combinaciones de ellos, generan diferentes Inversores/Convertidores de capacidades que son múltiplos de la capacidad de potencia base, permitiendo la fabricación de un amplio catálogo de productos.

Para el demostrador diseñado se ha elegido una caja que incluye cinco IPBBs, denominada MACS (Multi Axis Control System). Dicha caja puede conformar un módulo compacto para una máquina completa (fresadora), compuesta por una fuente regenerativa más un cabezal y tres ejes o también un torno con una fuente regenerativa un cabezal de doble potencia base y dos ejes.

La versatilidad del producto permite combinar los cinco IPBBs que se incluyen en la caja de la manera que desee multiplicando o no su capacidad de potencia base.

Asimismo, es posible combinar también diferentes MACS posibilitando configuraciones para máquinas multieje de la potencia que se desee. 

La entrada POWER2POWER: más energía, menos impacto ambiental se publicó primero en Aotek.

The IIOT4ALL project has been successfully completed. This project, carried out in collaboration with AFM cluster and Savvy Data Systems, has aimed to deploy and validate a solution to acces a management system of a plant that integrates devices from previous generations that are not compatible with the new communication standards.

In other words, the integration of older machines with other more modern ones in a single layer at plant level that brings together all the systems present and allows comprehensive data management has been addressed.

Adaptation of the communications system

This layer is of vital importance because many of the older systems, even those with connectivity, do not use the latest communication standards and therefore cannot operate in the same way as new systems in a digitized plant. In addition, the idea of using this layer is to avoid having to modify the machine’s original software, since the aim is to adapt the old and the new communications system.

The fourth industrial revolution, also called Industry 4.0, is at its peak. Virtually all companies have in their strategy, lines related to the digitization of their value chain and the integration of data in it. Advanced digitization, the Industrial Internet and smart technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) are shaping production systems that have little to do with the industry of 5 or 10 years ago. The factories of the future are going to be smart, geared towards efficiency, sustainability, flexibility and competitiveness, in a connected environment where people will be a central element.

However, these developments in Advanced Manufacturing are being limited (in their application) to young machines, manufactured less than 10-15 years ago. Older machines, due to their connectivity and sensorization limitations, are being left out of these developments, and this is why these 3 companies have cooperated to find a solution to the problem.

Funded by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism through the General Secretariat of Industry of Small and Medium Enterprises with an overall budget of 119,210 euros, this project started on July 1, 2020 and has had just one year of duration.

La entrada Project IIOT4ALL has been successfully completed se publicó primero en Aotek.

Fagor Automation has accepted a new challenge: the design and manufacture of a high precision encoder for space applications. We have joined forces with companies from the aerospace sector in Gipuzkoa and the Basque Country to participate in the HI-Prest project, led by Sener. We will join forces in order to bet on a local network of suppliers and compete for large international projects, and we will work to give added impetus to the project.

Open to diversification

According to José Emilio Oti, Director of Research and Development, “the cooperative has traditionally focused on the machine tool sector, although it has always been open to diversification“.

José Emilio Oti underlines that, due to the demanding requirements demanded by aerospace projects, the HI-Prest project “will involve research into new technologies, the acquisition of knowledge and the improvement of production processes within Fagor Automation”.

In turn, José Emilio Oti indicates that it will be an opportunity to improve the products for the sectors in which Fagor Automation is already present, and thus be able to increase the technological differential with respect to other companies.

Increasing the technological differential

According to the Research and Development Director of the cooperative, “Gipuzkoa already has a powerful network of suppliers for the aerospace activity” and affirms that there is a great potential for growth: “That is why we believe it is interesting to enter this market”.

The main objective of the HI-PREST project is to achieve a high-precision scanner demonstrator from a consortium of companies in the Basque Country, resulting in a competitive and innovative product capable of being offered in space programs of the European Space Agency (ESA) or the American space agency (NASA). In this way, the entire manufacturing value chain of this type of components will be trained, in order to turn the consortium partners into reference suppliers in the design, development and manufacture of sub-micrometer precision and high stability mechanisms in critical applications and environments.

The Tu Lankide portal includes in this video José Emilio Oti’s statements on the HI-Prest project.

La entrada Design and manufacture of a high-precision encoder for space applications se publicó primero en Aotek.

Fagor Automation and AVS collaborate together to work in the space sector. The companies Added Value Solutions (AVS) and Fagor Automation started a collaboration two years ago to develop an encoder for space applications capable of meeting the demanding requirements of current and future missions.

AVS develops for the space sector mechanisms for space applications for robotics, specifically for space exploration, instrumentation for earth observation, thermal control systems for communication satellites and electric thrusters.

Fagor Automation is a company that is part of MONDRAGON Corporation, with extensive experience in developing and manufacturing automation and machine control products. It stands out for its software development capacity and the flexibility of its production system to offer customized solutions, depending on the needs of the customers.

Typically the mechanisms must include an element for measuring the position of the moving parts. The systems that require such elements are: altitude control system, solar panels, antenna pointing, door opening, propeller pointing, instrument deployment, etc. In many of these cases, the measurement element is critical for the operation of the equipment, since parameters such as accuracy and resolution are linked to their operation. In addition, these devices must operate in the demanding environmental conditions of space, ie, radiation, high temperature gradients, vacuum, etc.

AVS provides its experience in developing mechanisms and instrumentation for space missions to carry out the qualification of the new product, and Fagor Automation its leadership and R&D capacity with its own technologies in the four fields involved in the manufacture of encoders: mechanics, optics, electronics and software.

This collaboration has resulted in a product that has just successfully passed the functional tests and will be qualified in the coming months.

This development will allow AVS to improve the precision of its mechanisms, enhancing its offer for highly demanding areas such as earth observation, and improving its market positioning in the development of space mechanisms. Likewise, this will allow Fagor Automation to enter the space sector.

La entrada AVS and Fagor Automation collaborates in the space sector se publicó primero en Aotek.

Fagor Automation, a company at the forefront of technological innovation, has been collaborating in the Laser4Surf project. The aim of the project is the industrialization of the material surface treatment process during lasers with femtosecond pulses.

For 45 years, Fagor Automation has been a leading single source provider for automation products, controls, motors, drives…including high accuracy linear and angular encoders. needed for the machine from the. Accuracy is guaranteed with Fagor Automation encoders; thus a long and careful process is required to achieve reliable results. Now, an international research initiative called Laser4Surf (short for Laser for Mass Production of Functionalized Metal Surfces) has made significant strives to improve Fagor Automations process of manufacturing encoders. This project will have several benefits for linear and angular encoders including:

Faster and more efficient production of the scales
Increased repeatability
A chemical free process that is better for the environment

Fagor Linear and Angular Encoders

Positioning encoders are used in a wide range of industries such as aerospace, automotive, electronics, manufacturing, medical, metrology and renewable energy. For example, the aerospace industry uses encoders to provide position feedback in antenna positioning systems, airborne guidance systems, X-Y positioning in automated assembly systems and even baggage handling systems. One of the most common applications for encoders is the manufacturing industry, ensuring machine tools are able to make parts with the tightest tolerance possible. There are two categories for these encoders, linear (measuring nanometric distance) and angular (measuring nanometric degrees of rotation).

Encoders are also crucial to positioning the many antennas that are used in giant telescopes. At the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) observatory in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, angle encoders are used to position 25 antennas that form one of its arrays. Each antenna weighs several tons, so exact positioning is critical as even the slightest imprecision distorts results, leading to blurred images. “Encoders are one of the most enabling key technologies for measuring distance and displacements, and all industries are interested in using them,” says Morlanes.

Traditionally, scale gratings on Fagor encoders have been produced through a process called Photolithography. In this case, Photolithography involves UV light traveling through a cut pattern in a mask to the steel tape, reacting with chemicals to imprint an image of the pattern to the tape. Lithography is able to consistently produce an accurate pattern of 1nm. However, the process has several drawbacks. It’s time consuming, uses many chemical processes, and a master pattern mask must be replaced very often to ensure accuracy and repeatability.

 Laser4Surf

Laser4Surf is an EU funded research project aiming to remove technical and economic barriers that prevent the use of laser technologies for obtaining functionalized metallic surfaces with textures ~1μm or less on mass production. Eight organizations from five countries contribute their skills and resources to the project, including Fagor Automation. The development of this system is continuously being tested in three different industrial sectors:

Energy sector: to increase the efficiency of battery electrodes
iotechnology sector: to improve the biocompatibility of medical prostheses
Manufacturing sector: to improve the manufacturing of position encoders

Laser4Surf is set to ease the manufacture of both optical linear and angle encoders by replacing the photolithography process. The Laser4Surf system uses a program-controlled ultra-short pulse laser for surface texturing, and this laser source can be used to repeatedly and reliably produce grating features into the encoder.

The Laser4Surf process will also create sub-micron relief structures designed to reduce distracting background light. “We also hope to use this property to increase the optical contrast of our optical signals” says Tomas Morlanes PHD, optical technology manager at Fagor Automation. “Translating this effect to the electronic field will also provide a better signal to noise ratio”.

With the use of the ultra-short pulse laser, Fagor Automation aims to reduce the processing time of the scales by 95%. The process is fast, one step, and is chemical free making the process more “Eco-friendly”.

By participating in this research, Fagor Automation is contributing to the development of laser technologies, as well as a more eco-friendly and sustainable future.

Check out the original article published by Rebecca Pool of Laser4Surf

La entrada Fagor Automation has participated in the Laser4Surf project se publicó primero en Aotek.

Fagor Automation has joined umati, an initiative of VDW, the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association. umati‘s aim is to establish a worldwide standard for the connectivity of machine tools and is based on an OPC UA companion specification.

There‘s no better connection than a common language, which is also true for machine tools. The easier they exchange and share information, the more efficient they are.

In a joint effort, 17 partners and VDW created umati (universal machine tool interface). It enables machine tools and peripherals to connect to customer-specific IT ecosystems – easy, secure, and seamless. Umati is an open standard for machine tool users throughout the world. It serves to exploit new potentials for manufacturing of the future.

Umati EMO Connectivity Scheme

At the EMO Hannover 2019 umati will be showing a demonstration of the interface standard in a special show. Trade visitors can inform themselves about the project in hall 9 and learn how a central consolidation of the data on a demo dashboard takes place. Implementations of the common interface can be experienced at the project partners’ booths (Fagor Automation booth, among others) throughout the show. They feature various machines and controllers which connect to a variety of communication partners and the umati demo dashboard.

Connectivity with umati is simple, secure and future-oriented. Any machine with umati interface can be easily connected with applications. In this context, Fagor Automation keeps moving forward within the Industry 4.0 framework to support its customers in the digital transformation process.

Do not hesitate and visit Fagor Automation stand at EMO trade fair, Hall 9 Booth G50.

   See more about Umati 

La entrada Fagor Automation has joined Umati: Universal Machine Tool Interface se publicó primero en Aotek.

An internationally relevant project which, thanks to its extreme accuracy requirements, will allow the Basque cooperative to discover how their products behave in order to perfect them
The initiative has been made possible by the cooperation and financial support provided by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, a body that has backed more than 120 R&D projects in the last tow years.
It has been inaugurated during a visit to the facilities of the research organisation made by the three parties

The IK4-TEKNIKER technology centre and Fagor Automation-Aotek, specialised in manufacturing automating and control systems for machinery have presented this morning, together with the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, a new project that reinforces the joint development of cutting-edge technologies for nanometric calibration and measuring systems.

Specifically, the company and the technology centre have developed an ultra-precision linear test bench that will allow the Basque cooperative to run tests and apply state of the art  technology to the behaviour of linear position encoders.

In this way, it is expected that a development of this kind will make it possible to optimise the performance of several industrial machines such as high-output lathes and machining centres.

The presentation has taken place within the framework of a visit to the facilities that the technology centres owns in Eibar with the presence of the Regional Deputy for Economic Promotion, Rural Environment and Territorial Balance,  Ainhoa Aizpuru, as well as of the director general of Fagor Automation-Aotek, José Pérez Berdud and the assistant general manager of IK4-TEKNIKER, Luis G. Uriarte.

At the end of the visit, Deputy Ainhoa Aizpuru  stated that the project presented does not only represent “a highly significant technological breakthrough” that will allow Fagor Automotion’s products “to gain competitiveness and excellence in increasingly demanding markets”, but  also offers “a clear example” of the collaborative work carried out by this company and the technology centre.

In the words of Aizpuru, “the generation and transfer of advanced knowledge to our companies is a key element as regards maintaining the industry’s competitiveness. The Provincial Council has set itself the target of positioning Gipuzkoa as a leading region in terms of R&D at a European level and it is along these lines that we should support and intensify the degree of cooperation between our companies and our technology centres”.

As detailed, and within the framework of the so-called Economic Reactivation Plan, the Provincial Council has supported 124 R&D projects in the last two years –55 in 2016 and 69 in this fiscal year of 2017–, by allocating 8,841,620 euros in 2016 and 2017 through the support programme for the Science, Technology and Innovation network. A total of 66 centres, university departments and entities devoted to R&D have been involved in these projects, mainly focused on the areas of advanced manufacturing, energy and biosciences /health.

An ultra-accurate and internationally relevant system

During the event, the technology centre and Fagor Automation-Aotek have presented the results achieved to officials from the Provincial Council. The project has given rise to a very innovative test bench that has a high degree of international relevance due to its ultra-precision requirements and which it has been possible to develop thanks to the financial support provided by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council.

IK4 TEKNIKER, an expert in precision engineering and metrology, has designed and manufactured this test bench to calibrate linear catchment systems under different misalignment conditions.

The ultra-precision test bench has been designed to operate with the entire range of Fagor’s linear catchment products. The test bench offers a maximum calibration length of 3200 mm. Its most salient feature consists in interferometric measuring of off-load shifting, free from Abbe errors, which means that the test bench can achieve an unprecedented measurement accuracy below 10 nm/m

The expertise and know-how of the Basque cooperative have transformed it into the first and only Spanish company that is able produce these position encoders in their entirety as Fagor Automation has proprietary know-how in all four fields of production, namely mechanics, optics, electronics and software.

This project will allow the cooperative to investigate the operational and design parameters of position encoders to develop new and more accurate models.

 The project is another example of the current collaboration between the Basque research centre, the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council and Fagor Automation-Aotek and whose goal is to develop elements that will improve the accuracy of the materials they manufacture.

La entrada Fagor Automation and IK4-TEKNIKER present an innovative test bench for nanometric calibration se publicó primero en Aotek.

Fagor Automation has created Equipment for angular patterns with a precision of up to 10 nanoradians.

Fagor Automation has positioned itself on the cutting edge of the nanometric precision measurement market with state of the art solutions.

The progress made has been developed by the construction of a machine that measures angular patterns and thus ensures «Precise measurements with nanometric repeatability» within the machines sensors.

Fagor Automation, through it’s Fagor Aotek Technology Center, has successfully culminated the design and construction of a machine to measure angular patterns on a nano scale. The Project, carried out in collaboration with IK4-Tekniker and with the backing of the Guipuzcoa provincial council, has successfully produced one of the first machines in the world with «International system traceability» making it a benchmark for pattern measurement and mass produced Angular sensors. In this same line of work, Fagor is collaborating on the «Angles Project with National European Metrological centers, as well as Japanese and Korean centers, in order to engage in a cross-comparison. This consolidates their role as an International metrology leader in this industrial segment.

For Fagor Automation, the measurement element must guarantee «Ten times the precision of the object being measured» which has led them to enter the scales nanometers and picometers. In fact, the machine measures, passing from the angular (second arch) to the linear (nanometer) scale, distances as small as «0.8 nanometers, which eliminates the uncertainty in 8 nanometer

measurements». It is interesting to note, that 0.8 nanometers is approximately half the size of a water molecule.

The company’s next challenges lie in replicating the model for linear patterns and encoders and achieving repeat measurements of as little as 2 nanometers. The Fourth industrial revolution is popularity linked to the connectivity of machines and factories, but ensuring precision on a nanometric scale is an element that is just as crucial to ensure progress with guarantees towards the industrialization of «nano» elements and equipment, to support the change in this era within the science, aerospace, ICT and automotive industries, among many others.

Fagor Automation is one of only two European companies participating in the «JRP 58 Angles Project», which focuses its action on «remeasuring the radian» with an improved uncertainty of less than 0.01 arch seconds.

La entrada Fagor Automation strengthens its industrial base and R&D in nanometric measurement se publicó primero en Aotek.