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Abstract
Automation in various forms constitutes the backbone of most major industries. An
increase in production volume, product variety and manufacturing process complexity
necessitates automation to ensure consistency and profitable production. Automated
material handling becomes a crucial aspect of factory automation because it frees up
manual labor, streamlines the flow of material, allows for complexity management,
reduces work in progress (WIP) and improves the utilization of expensive equipment.
Existing material handling solutions typically cater to specific industries and can also be
exorbitantly expensive. There is an emerging need for affordable automated material
handling in smaller industries, and in hitherto unconventional settings like homes, offices
and hospitals. The keys for an automation technology that can meet the widespread
demands of such varied customers are simplicity, flexibility and integrability. With this in
mind, we present a very simple yet versatile material transportation concept. We propose
an overhead ceiling-based trackless transportation system that uses vehicles with
magnetic wheels. The concept is developed following the principles of deterministic
mechatronic design. Due to its inherent simplicity and judging from its extremely wide
applicability, we propose an 'open hardware' environment so that the concept can be
developed in a manner similar to the Linux Operating System.
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One of the earliest examples of automated material transportation comes from the
automobile industry where the introduction of moving assembly line revolutionized the
face of the industry [1]. Production volumes and profits soared as a result of this efficient
streamlining of material flow. A more recent and very relevant example is that of
automation in semiconductor manufacturing. The US semiconductor industry was on the
verge of stagnation when an industry-wide collaborative effort backed by the
SEMATECH paved the path for widespread automation [2]. This systematic automation
of wafer fabs has helped to spur the phenomenal growth that the semiconductor industry
has witnessed over the last decade. There are significant lessons to be learnt from this
case. It exemplifies the importance of defining standards and protocols for large-scale
automation to be possible.
There are many emerging industries and unconventional arenas that are now finding
automation necessary. The photonics industry, for example, is facing an acute crisis in the
lack of an efficient automation technology and a set of well-defined automation standards
[2]. The manufacturers of photonics devices are finding it difficult to produce large
volumes profitably, so as to meet the increasing market demands. A similar situation is
arising hospitals and clinical labs, where an increase in volume of material that needs to
be moved has raised a concern with the material handling personnel. Complexity
management in material movement is becoming an increasingly difficult task. Thus many
hospital administrations are eagerly looking forward to automate the transport of samples,
reports and documents, instruments and even patients3 . Medical associations are also
keen on developing operation theaters (OT) of the future [3]. These shall incorporate
automated transfer of machines, equipments and lights, wireless technology for
communication, automated drug delivery systems, and possibly a reconfigurable
overhead ballroom of medical equipment. The ultimate objective is to make operations
more time-efficient and convenie nt for surgeons, reduce the number of medical personnel
required in the OT, and improve the quality of service provided to patients by using
intelligent machines4 . Automated material handling is also finding increasing uses in
health care, a prime example being comfortable movement of patients. Flexible motion
systems also have a significant potential in architectural applications 5 . Flexible lighting
systems that can easily be reconfigured under computer control promise to be of great
value to architects who design public spaces, offices, hospitals and performance theaters.
This not only adds to the aesthetic value of an architectural design but can also lead to
considerable savings in power consumption, thus leading to an energy efficient design.
Clearly, there is a growing need for automated transportation systems. There do exist
quite a few material handling solutions in the market, some of which are listed in the
references [4-13]. These solutions are exclusive in the sense that they cater to specific
industries whereas the need for such technology, as we have noted, is widespread.
Furthermore, these solutions are very expensive and therefore are justifiable only in
applications for which they are tailored. It is a well-known fact that for any new
automa tion technology to be incorporated in a factory, it has to meet the so-called 'cost
3
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vs. performance' requirements. The basic question that arises is: Does the improvement in
performance due to the added technology justify the initial investment and subsequent
maintenance costs?
Fig. 1 shows representative cost vs. performance curves for a given technology [14]. As
long as the user operates around the knee region of the curve, economic sense prevails.
Beyond this region, the technology is simply too expens ive to justify the improved
performance. While a given technology might make economic sense for one particular
industry, it is likely that the same technology will not be the optimum choice for a
different industry. This is precisely the case with most cur rent material handling
solutions. For example, the automated material handling (AMH) systems used in the
wafer fabs of IC manufacturers are specifically designed, both in terms of cost and
performance, such that they are suitable for use in cleanrooms. However, even a sibling
industry, the Testing, Assembly & Packaging (TAP) segment of IC manufacturing is not
able to use the cleanroom AMH solutions because these do not meet the economic
requirements of the TAP factories.
Similarly, most existing solutions are specifically tailored to the needs of particular
industries rendering them of little use to other areas that are hungry for automation. If the
need is not limited to a few high-end applications why should the solutions be? Why can't
there be an inexpensive yet highly versatile generic automation system that can cater to a
very wide range of industries and applications? This is the motivation behind our current
research. We seek to develop simple automated material handling solutions that promise
a very high degree of flexibility and integrability at low cost.
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Simple System: A simple system leads to lower initial investments and lower
subsequent maintenance costs.
High performance: The system should be capable of high performance in terms of
speed of transportation and complexity management. The system should be robust so
that it can operate in relatively harsh as well as variable settings. Above all, it has to
meet strict safety protocols. All these factors lead to improved productivity and
profits.
Extendibility, Flexibility and Scalability (EFS): These enable a seamless integration
of the automation solution in an existing facility without demanding unreasonable
changes in the infrastructure. The system must be capable of replacing manual
material handling which is inherently very flexible.
The battle between cost and performance is the biggest impediment to automation. Since
material handling is non-value adding to the product, the productivity advantages
resulting from automation have to break even with the installation and maintenance costs.
The next obvious issue is then to ask what is needed to meet the above cost and
performance requirements. There are three key links in the 'big picture' of automation.
These are essential to the successful implementation of an automation strategy:
A technology that meets the cost vs. performance requirements: A very simple system
with a high degree of operational flexibility is needed.
Good productivity and cost models for the client industry: These are essential to test
the effectiveness of any automation scheme before it is bought by an end user.
Automation standards: Integration of the automation technology in an existing factory
is possible only if the equipment and communication interfaces are based on certain
industry-wide protocols.
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Solution Approach
The above discussions clearly indicate the need for a simple technology for material
transportation that can deliver the desired high performance. Referring back to the cost
vs. performance curve for a technology (Fig.1), our objective is to push the knee of the
curve further to the right by introducing a simple yet novel concept. While simplicity in
design promises to keep the costs low, novelty in ideas can provide the high performance.
We handle the cha llenge of developing such a technology by invoking the fundamental
principles of deterministic design and mechatronics design. As shown in Fig.2,
deterministic design leads to a systematic funneling of creativity based on two key
guidelines: continuous risk assessment; and systematic collection, creation and analysis
of design information [15]. In deterministic design, we start with strategies to meet the
functional requirements; this is followed by generation of concepts to implement the best
strategy. To realize the best concept we generate engineering modules, and finally we
come up with components that are the building blocks for these modules. At each level
there is immense room for creativity in the form of idea generation. This brainstorming is
followed by thorough risk assessment and analysis to select the best of all ideas. This
procedure eliminates risk and redundancy, and ensures an appropriate allocation of
resources, thus resulting in simple, cost-efficient, high performance and reliable
machines.
Mechatronics design, as illustrated in Fig. 3, is a synergistic integration of mechanics,
electronics, controls and microprocessor technology [16]. It involves the use of sensing,
actuating and controlling technologies to significantly augment the performance of
machines. The concurrent nature of this design methodology keeps the costs and risks of
development low. Based on the functional requirements listed earlier, and these design
methodologies we now present a magnetic wheels based overhead transportation system
concept.
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Reproduced with permission from Prof. Kevin Craig, Mechanical Engineering, RPI
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Magnetic Wheel
A simple magnetic wheel is assembled by attaching concentric steel washers to the sides
of a cylindrical permanent magnet roller. The washer diameter is slightly larger than the
magnet diame ter so that when the assembly is placed on a ferromagnetic surface, only the
washers are in contact with the surface and not the magnet itself. The washers focus and
direct the magnetic flux by providing a low reluctance path, thus improving the attraction
force for a given magnetic strength. This idea is illustrated in Fig. 5. Such a magnet
wheel assembly also ensures that instead of a cylinder rolling on the surface we now have
two knife-edges rolling on the surface. This feature accommodates ceiling surfaces that
are not perfectly flat. Furthermore, the driving of the wheels is no longer entirely
dependent on friction. The magnetic wheel assembly ensures a high normal attractive
force, which in turn provides high traction even in the absence of a good coefficient of
friction.
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Fig. 5 Magnetic Flux distribution for a PM roller with and without steel washers
Rare earth permanent magnets, for example Neodymium-Iron-Boron based ma gnets, that
have an extremely high energy density can be used for this application. A single magnetic
roller can provide as high as 50 pounds of attractive force. The price of such a magnetic
wheel assembly is estimated to be on the order of $100 [31], which is quite reasonable.
The possibility of using electromagnets can also be considered, although that makes the
assembly more complicated. The attractive forces in this latter case are incumbent on a
continuous power supply, which might become a severe limitation. In either case, the
ceiling can be made of a ferromagnetic stainless steel for high durability and corrosionresistance.
Two-wheeled vehicle
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: Yaw Motion
(steering)
X: Linear Motion
: Pitch Motion
(oscillation)
10
(Fig. 8). It can be shown that we can impart dynamic stiffness to the pitching motion by
means of a simple control system design.
x
M
F
L
1
=
2
F MLs + ( m + M ) g
These transfer functions reveal that controlling the linear travel (x) and swing angle ()
by means of the driving force (F), constitutes the classical problem of collocated and noncollocated controls respectively. Extensive previous research provides methodologies to
design a robust control system for this problem [32-36]. The caveat though is that we
need to maintain close to zero, and at the same time achieve a good command
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following for x using the same input force F, thus making it a multivariable control
design problem.
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Wireless Communication
Computer
Integrated
Manufacturing
System
MicroController
Material Traffic
Control
Software
Motion
Command
(Travel &
Steer)
Command tracking
algorithm
Input
Motor 1
Input
Motor 2
Pitch suppression
algorithm
Vehicle
Sensors
x (travel)
x_dot
theta (pitch)
theta_dot
phi (steer)
phi_dot
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Trackless ceiling
In the proposed concept, motion of the vehicles is not restricted to any particular set of
tracks. The vehicles are free to move anywhere on the ferromagnetic ceiling. This
completely eliminates the need for a track switching mechanisms, which not only
increase the system complexity and cost, but also increase the transportation time due to
delays at intersections. The ceiling itself can be passive, with all intelligence being
limited to the vehicles. In this case, the ceiling can have narrow (two lane) or wide
(multi- lane) paths to accommodate any traffic. Furthermore, since the ceiling is passive
and nominally flat, it is easy to add lanes or branches. A second option is to have active
ceilings with embedded sensors that can keep track of the vehicles.
&&
x cos cos + L&& + g sin = 0
( m + M ) &&
x + mL&& cos +mL& 2 sin = F ( M + m)g sin
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It is clear from the above equations tha t for small angles , the previous flat ceiling
discussion holds. As approaches 90o , the equations indicate that the controllability of
the system starts vanishing. This can also be verified intuitively; on a vertical wall
(=90o ) it is impossible to influence by means of the driving force F.
Thus for low ceiling angles, the oscillation suppression algorithm can provide the desired
pitch stability. Clearly the controller has to be robust and insensitive to parameter
variations, and also possibly adaptive in nature to handle any significant changes in loads
and ceiling inclination. Using this concept, different levels of the ceiling can be
connected by means of ramps, and the vehicles can climb up or down these ramps easily.
This eliminates the need for expensive elevators, which usually slow down the
transportation process.
It is important to note that controllability decreases as the angle of the incline increases.
For a vertical wall, the oscillation suppression algorithm will not work at all. To avoid
this drawback, a set of passive (i.e. non-driven) non-magnetic rollers can be included in
the vehicle design, as shown in figures 10 and 11. These rollers provide kinematic
stiffness in the absence of the pitch control action. Estimates can also be made to find the
maximum payload that can be carried up a ramp without causing the rollers to slip.
Active (driven)
magnetic wheels
Passive (non-driven)
non- magnetic wheels
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and size of the payload does not matter as long as the vehicle can carry it. The fact that
any vehicle can carry any payload results in highly flexible system. The effectiveness of
standardized kinematic coupling interfaces is well known from their successful
implementation in wafer carrier pods in IC manufacturing [42]. Kinematic couplings
provide a high degree of repeatability and exchangeability, and are an excellent example
of hardware standards necessary for effective automation.
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tracks, where it is required the most. A vehicle power system can be designed that will
switch between the battery power and inductively coupled power appropriately.
Conclusion
The magnet wheel based overhead transportation system represents a promising concept
for automation that can meet the stringent cost vs. performance requirements of a wide
range of industries. Because of its simplicity and high flexibility, it makes automation
both affordable and advantageous.
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Previous successful automation stories teach us that technology constitutes only a part of
the big picture, and is not sufficient by itself. For an automation technology to be
successfully implemented, it has to be bolstered by standards, and justified by means of
reliable cost and productivity models. Keeping this in view, we feel that the development
of such an inexpensive and industry-wide automation scheme should take place in a
collaborative fashion so that all participants can contribute their resources and creativity.
Collaboration is necessary to define standards, which shall enable a seamless integration
and thus bring down automation costs. It also gives the participants an opportunity to sit
together and discuss the risks associated with the new technology, work on models to
predict the impact of automated material handling, decide protocols related to operational
safety etc. Furthermore such collaboration does not preclude competition. In this paper,
we have presented the basic aspects of the Magnabot system. Many different
configurations and designs using the same basic concept can be developed for different
applications. There is immense room for creativity and customization in the future.
We would like to conclude by proposing an Open Hardware Consortium at MIT, which
shall comprise of members from the industry and academia, working together in an effort
towards developing a cheap and efficient automation system that can potentially have
wide-scale applications and major implications.
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