加强工人的日常工作
Grinding castings is a strenuous and demanding job – and assigning workers to that necessary task is a real challenge for metalcasting operations. 但这是必不可少的工作, and as foundries produce higher volumes of castings the strain and need grow proportionally. Waupaca铸造 is pioneering use of “adaptive technology” to support workers assigned to manually grind iron castings.
“Adaptive” is the term of art that developers have adopted to describe how established tools are made more functional or effective by applying newer technologies. 铁手的® glove that Waupaca铸造 workers are using now is described as “the world’s first” soft exoskeleton designed for human hands – to improve gripping strength and reduce the strain required of the machinist. The exoskeleton was tested first at Waupaca铸造’s finishing operation in Etowah, TN, and as of Q4 2022 it was being run in trials at the Waupaca foundry in Marinette, WI.
威尼斯注册送38元是日立金属有限公司的子公司. 持有, 产生灰色, 韧性, 压实石墨, and austempered 韧性 iron castings for manufacturers in the automotive, 商用车辆, 农业和建筑设备, 以及其他工业市场.
铁手的 system consists of a glove that covers all of a machinist’s fingers, and a power pack that he or she wears as a backpack or holstered to the hip. The system is activated when the operator starts moving his/her hand to perform a task, relying on sensors located on the palm and on the fingers.
The system draws information from each operators’ use to customize its work. This "Smart Assist" function means that Ironhand learns how each operator uses the glove and adapts its control functions to provide a natural force. The entire system weighs only 6 pounds and it is integrated with existing personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to the grinding room workers.
目前, 30 of the Ironhand systems are in use at two Waupaca铸造 operations and team members have reported it supports their bodies, 穿着和使用是否舒适, 并且操作方便.
The most common use of the Ironhand glove is for manual grinding, but it’s also used for press functions in which the workers lift castings and perform other repetitive tasks.
截至2023年底, Waupaca铸造 indicated plans to expand the use of Ironhand to other foundry functions – namely in the molding and core room operations. 经过6个月的试用和调整期, the Ironhand system was due to be implemented at all Waupaca铸造 locations.
在过去的25年里, we have improved technology with the goal of eliminating manual casting processing, but we cannot eliminate handling iron castings as part of our daily jobs,” stated Waupaca铸造 director of health and 安全 Jon Loken. “This technology bridges the gap between manual processing and total automation.”
“铁手的 works well for 持有 onto air tools for an extended period of time,沃帕卡的一名研磨室操作员说, 安德鲁·朗.
另一个磨室研磨机, Trever Godfrey added: “I had to see what it was all about, 所以我说我想试试... It makes a big difference because the glove takes over and does most of the work for you. 这也减轻了我手臂上的震动.”
Loken called the workers response to the new technology “outstanding.”
“It’s better than imagined and this is one more step in our goal to improve ergonomics and the overall work environment for our team,他说.
铁手是由一家瑞典公司开发的, Bioservo Technologies – which developed the SEM (soft extra muscle) process that draws power from batteries to multiply grip force. 手套的传感器, 致动器, 肌腱和人类的神经相比, 肌肉, 和肌腱, so the glove increases the wearer’s power and reduces his/her fatigue, such as the fatigue that sets in soon after a worker begins to continuously grip a tool.
The technology has been applied in different manufacturing sectors, but the foundry setting introduced specific challenges – such iron dust in the mill room that penetrated the gloves and connectors. In response, Bioservo enhanced the insulation on the Ironhand’s cables. 开发人员 is continuing to improve the system based on discoveries during the product testing phase.
“The application with Waupaca铸造 opens new possibilities for Ironhand to truly make a difference for people in their daily work life within a large and demanding industry. The initial results show that a majority of workers who tested Ironhand want to use it in their daily work to stay healthy,彼得说Bäckgren, Bioservo首席执行官.
开发人员, 它的经销商, 犀牛工具屋, and Waupaca铸造 aimed to arrive at a design for a long-lasting glove that may be used in both foundry work and machining operations.
“This is a product we are very excited about and we have deployed this in various production environments around the country,奇普·保尔森解释道, 犀牛工具屋的分销总裁, which is supporting installations at multiple Waupaca locations and working with Bioservo to monitor the results. “从汽车工厂, 航空航天的植物, 仓库, fabrication shops and now foundries are using the technology.”
