There is much going on in the world of hydraulics, pneumatics and electronics motion systems, from technology introductions and industry advancements to new trends and industry leaders. Each week the Power & Motion team collects some of the latest industry news to help keep our readers up to date on what's happening in the fluid power and motion control sectors as well as the industries they serve.
Hexagon Acquires 3D Printing Software Provider
Hexagon AB has completed its acquisition of CADS Additive GmbH, a provider of software to aid preparation of designs for metal additive manufacturing (AM), also referred to as 3D printing. The software is designed to help simplify the process of 3D printing on powder bed fusion (PBF) machines by guiding users through the build preparation and turning design files into printer instructions explained Hexagon in its press release announcing the acquisition.
The two companies have been working together since 2021 by integrating the CADS Additive capabilities into Hexagon's Simufact Additive process simulation software. Hexagon said the companies have shared development roadmaps which will aid with the development of improved workflows for users so they can better adjust the the orientation and support structure of their 3D prints.
According to Hexagon, bringing together the companies' technology will aid with:
- computer aided design (CAD) model preparation,
- build preparation,
- simulation-based optimizations,
- quality and production intelligence, and
- automation of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) to finish parts.
"Our investments reflect the growing importance of additive manufacturing, which has huge potential but has been held back by a fragmented ecosystem that means manufacturers are not getting the results they need fast enough. The acquisition of CADS Additive enables us to provide our customers with integrated tools that empower manufacturing teams to reduce waste and increase efficiency as they move from prototyping to production," said Hexagon President and CEO Paolo Guglielmini, in the company's press release. "Opening up the Nexus platform to our ecosystem partners and providing building blocks like CADS Additive helps customers improve their processes throughout the manufacturing value chain and realise the potential of industrial additive manufacturing."
READ MORE: Additive Manufacturing Brings Opportunities to Improve Component Design and Production
Bosch Rexroth Opens New Production Facility in Mexico
Production has begun at Bosch Rexroth's new 42,000 sq. m manufacturing facility in Queretaro, Mexico. The production site will provide the company with more manufacturing capacity for the mobile hydraulics and factory automation industries in North America which Bosch Rexroth sees as continued growth areas.
The company announced plans to build the new facility in fall 2022 as a means of strengthening local production for customers in North America which is becoming a larger focus for many companies.
"With its local-for-local strategy, Bosch Rexroth increases the capacity, flexibility and robustness of supply chains, reduces the CO2 footprint by regionally manufactured products and achieves shorter delivery times,” said Reinhard Schaefer, Member of the Management Board of Bosch Rexroth with responsibility for manufacturing and quality, in the company's press release announcing the opening of the new facility.
"With our growing production capacity in this region, we can react even faster than before to customer requirements and meet the growing demand for components and solutions, in particular for agricultural and construction machinery and OEM machine builders in North America," added Christoph Kleu, Senior Vice President Finance and Administration of Bosch Rexroth in North America.
To date, the company has manufactured hydraulic pumps, motors, and valves for mobile machinery at the new facility. It plans to continue ramping up production of these and other components for mobile machinery, such as transmissions and radial piston motors, as well as linear motion technology for use in medical, plant engineering and factory automation applications.
Volvo CE Creates Electric Vehicle Charging Protocol
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is making its 48V DC software protocol for electric charges available to other OEMs and suppliers in the heavy equipment industry. By creating a brand-agnostic software protocol and plug specifications, the company is hoping to help accelerate the uptake of electric-powered machines.
According to Volvo CE, there is currently no industry standard for 48V DC charging, which is what is required for compact equipment — the most common type of electric machines available in the market at the moment. However, having a common protocol will help provide a standard solution for the industry and help with the development of charging infrastructure for use with equipment from any manufacturer. This will benefit construction equipment fleets with multi-branded machines which is quite common, preventing them from having to get different chargers from multiple sources.
"We want to contribute to a standardized, reliable and efficient electric ecosystem that makes it easy for our customers to go electric," said Fredrik Tjernström, Electromobility Solutions Sales at Volvo CE, in the company's press release announcing availability of the software protocol. "Today, lacking a standard brand-agnostic charging interface for compact machines, our customers will need different chargers for different machine brands. By making our charging interface public, we hope that we will see more and more charging solution providers and other machine OEMs using one and the same charging protocol – moving us a step closer to an industry standard for the benefit of customers everywhere."
Volvo CE notes heavier machinery uses a 600V power supply for which an industry standard protocol exists which was designed by the automotive industry.
Yanmar Breaks Ground on Manufacturing Facility Expansion
Heavy equipment manufacturer Yanmar Compact Equipment North America (Yanmar CE) has broken ground on the 32,000 sq. ft. expansion of its manufacturing facility in Grand Rapids, MN. With the additional space, the company will be able to increase manufacturing capacity for its compact track loaders under the Yanmar and ASV brand names.
The construction equipment industry will be a continued growth area due in large part to infrastructure investments being made in the U.S. and North America as a whole. Yanmar CE's facility expansion will help the company meet customer demand which is expected to be strong in the coming years because of these investments.
"We’ve talked a lot about expansion plans over the past year to our customers, dealers and those we visited with at CONEXPO, so it is thrilling to break ground and see those plans come to fruition," said Tate Johnson, president of Yanmar CE North America, in the company's press release announcing the facility expansion. "This project is ultimately about better serving our customers, both through expanded manufacturing capabilities and increased staffing to make sure their needs are met."
The new addition to the facility will house a paint system to increase painting capacity by up to three times. It is a powder paint system which the company said in its press release will be more efficient and have less of an impact on the environment. Parts manufacturing capacity will be increased by up to two times as well with the additional space.
