7 BionicANTs 6 Festo AG & Co. KG BionicANTs Development platforms for new technologies and production methods 04: Unique combination: 3D MID technology on laser-sintered shaped parts 03: Precise control: piezo-ceramic bend- ing transducers in leg actuator technology 01: Ideal platform: Research basis for testing new technologies 02: Highly integrated components: design and electrical functions in one Over 2,900 patents worldwide and 100 new products a year speak for themselves: Festo has always offered its customers innovative automation solutions whilst keeping an eye on the production and working worlds of the future. The Bionic Learning Network provides new approaches and impetus for this. In association with universities, institutes and development firms, Festo is specifically occupied with transferring natural phenomena to engineering. Over millions of years of evolution, nature has developed the wid- est range of optimisation strategies to adapt to its environment, which can often be applied to Festo’s core business. One of the most significant developments is how individual animals communicate with each other. Engineers have been able to implement the special behaviour of ants by combining various technologies. They are the basic design principle for the highly integrated microsystems, which are also equipped with their own intelligence for acting at a local level. The ants thus illustrate possible production scenarios of tomorrow and the future beyond. Use of new production technologies Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing technique that Festo has already tested and developed further in numerous bionic projects. The bodies of the BionicANTs are also made of polyamide powder, which is melted layer by layer with a laser. For the first time, however, Festo is now combining sintered components with 3D MID technology. 3D Moulded Interconnect Devices feature spatial conductive tracks, which are visibly attached to the surface of shaped parts and act as circuit boards for electronic and mechatronic subassemblies. They make do without any cables and only require a small amount of effort to be assembled. Well-known areas of application for MID technology are automotive construction, medical and telecommunication engineering and the aerospace industry. For the first time, Festo is now producing miniature robots with the technology, thus acquiring new knowledge about a manufacturing method that could soon take hold in product development. Testing complete systems that are networked A fundamental change is taking place in the world of production. The future is calling for ultimate flexibility and convertibility. In future, the trend will increasingly move in the direction of customised products. The small quantities and high level of variety associated with this require technologies that continually adapt to changing conditions. The components in industrial facilities of the future must therefore be able to coordinate themselves. Tasks that are now managed by a central master computer will be taken over by the components in future. In order to make complete systems like these possible – and ones that are networked – Festo is continuing with intensive develop- ment of technologies such as precision engineering and micro- system technology. In these areas, a variety of materials and pro- duction methods are also being tested, which will make functional integration in such a small space possible for the first time. The research platforms of the Bionic Learning Network are thus the ideal way of not only investigating natural principles but of implementing them using new methods. Developing tried-and-tested skills In the field of piezo technology, Festo already has many years’ experience. Festo Microtechnology AG in Switzerland is a competence centre for piezo production. Festo also produces proportional valves here, in which the technology for flow and pressure regulation is integrated. The piezo valves made by Festo are used as seat comfort valves in vehicles, among other things. They can also be found in laboratory automation and medical technology; they are able to provide an exact dose of the air and oxygen supply in mobile breathing apparatuses. Their low energy consumption means that batteries seldom need to be changed. Finally, the switching operation runs almost without a sound, meaning patients are not further restricted. Piezo-ceramic actuators are meanwhile used mainly as pressure sensors and for energy recovery purposes. Yet their use in miniature robots is extremely rare. With the BionicANTs drive concept, Festo demonstrates once again how a familiar form of technology can be used in new ways. 04 01 02 03
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