Utilizing cable winding and industrial robots to facilitate the manufacturing of electric machines

AbstractCable wound electric machines are used mainly for high voltage and direct-drive applications. They can be found in areas such as wind power, hydropower, wave power and high-voltage motors. Compared to conventional winding techniques, cable winding includes fewer manufacturing steps and is therefore likely to be better suited for automated production. Automation of the cable winding production step is a crucial task in order to lower the manufacturing costs of these machines. This article presents a production method using industrial robots for automation of cable winding of electric machine stators. The concept presented is validated through computer simulations and full-scale winding experiments, including a constructed robot-held cable feeder tool prototype. A cable wound linear stator section of an Uppsala University Wave Energy Converter and its winding process is used as a reference in this article. From this example, it is shown that considerable production cycle time and manufacturing cost savings can be anticipated compared to manual winding. The suggested automation method is very flexible. It can be used for the production of cable wound stators with different shapes and sizes, for different cable dimensions and with different winding patterns

Platform Thinking in Incumbent Firms: From Concept to Capability

Incumbent firms struggle with new forms of competition in today’s increasingly digital environments. To leverage the benefits of innovation ecosystems they often shift focus from products to platforms. However, existing research provides limited insight into how firms actually implement this shift. Addressing this void, we have conducted a comparative case study where we adopt the concept of platform thinking to comprehend what capabilities incumbents need when engaging in innovation ecosystems and how those capabilities are developed

Robotized stator cable winding

Automated stator winding assembly has been available for small and medium sized conventional electric machines for a long time. Cable winding is an alternative technology developed for medium and large sized machines in particular. In this paper we present, evaluate and validate the first fully automated stator cable winding assembly equipment in detail. A full-scale prototype stator cable winding robot cell has been constructed, based on extensive previous work and experience, and used in the experiments. While the prototype robot cell is adapted for the third design generation of the Uppsala University Wave Energy Converter generator stator, the winding method can be adapted for other stator designs. The presented robot cell is highly flexible and well prepared for future integration in a smart production line. Potential cost savings are indicated compared to manual winding, which is a backbreaking task. However, further work is needed to improve the reliability of the robot cell, especially when it comes to preventing the kinking of the winding cable during the assembly

Levelling off of prevalence of obesity in the adult population of Sweden between 2000/01 and 2004/05

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The escalating global epidemic of obesity is of worldwide concern because of its association with several chronic diseases and premature mortality. Some subgroups seem to be more affected than others. The aim of this study was to examine whether the mean BMI (adjusted for age) and the prevalence of obesity (adjusted for all the explanatory variables) changed between 2000/01 and 2004/05 in different subgroups of the Swedish population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study compared two cross-sectional, nationwide random samples of persons aged 16 to 84 years: the first from 2000/01 (5515 men, 5838 women) and the second from 2004/05 (4681 men, 4821 women). After stratification by gender, a logistic regression model was applied to analyse possible changes in mean BMI and the prevalence of obesity between 2000/01 and 2004/05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Total mean BMI remained almost unchanged between 2000/01 and 2004/05 for both men and women. The prevalence of obesity increased slightly in both men and women, but not significantly (from 9.7 to 10.8% and from 9.6 to 10.2%, respectively). The prevalence of obesity in 2004/05 was especially high in some subgroups: men aged 45-54 (14.3%) or 55-64 (16.5%), women aged 65-74 (15.9%) or 75-84 (16.8%), men and women of middle educational level (15.6% and 14.4%, respectively), male former smokers (13.4%), and men from small towns or rural areas (13.1%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although the mean BMI and obesity were almost unchanged in the Swedish adult population between 2000/01 and 2004/05, obesity levels in Sweden remained unacceptably high, especially in certain subgroups. Primary and secondary intervention actions should strive to decrease the prevalence of obesity in Sweden.</p

Effect of a primary health-care-based controlled trial for cardiorespiratory fitness in refugee women

BACKGROUND: Refugee women have a high risk of coronary heart disease with low physical activity as one possible mediator. Furthermore, cultural and environmental barriers to increasing physical activity have been demonstrated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the combined effect of an approximate 6-month primary health care- and community-based exercise intervention versus an individual written prescription for exercise on objectively assessed cardiorespiratory fitness in low-active refugee women. METHODS: A controlled clinical trial, named "Support for Increased Physical Activity", was executed among 243 refugee women recruited between November 2006 and April 2008 from two deprived geographic areas in southern Stockholm, Sweden. One geographic area provided the intervention group and the other area the control group. The control group was on a higher activity level at both baseline and follow-up, which was taken into consideration in the analysis by applying statistical models that accounted for this. Relative aerobic capacity and fitness level were assessed as the two main outcome measures. RESULTS: The intervention group increased their relative aerobic capacity and the percentage with an acceptable fitness level (relative aerobic capacity > 23 O2 mlxkgxmin-1) to a greater extent than the control group between baseline and the 6-month follow-up, after adjusting for possible confounders (P = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: A combined primary health-care and community-based exercise programme (involving non-profit organizations) can be an effective strategy to increase cardiorespiratory fitness among low-active refugee women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT00747942

Security in public WiFi networks. A study regarding how users risk perception in public WiFi networks can be improved

Öppna WiFi-nätverk är i dagsläget en av de dominerande teknikerna för användare att få internetåtkomst på allmänna platser. Problematiken ligger i att de är designade med fokus på tillgänglighet snarare än säkerhet – något som användare överlag inte är medvetna om. Användare som oaktsamt använder sig av nätverken utsätter sig för risken att känslig information råkar i fel händer, vilket bland annat kan leda till identitetsstölder. Då användare ofta saknar kunskaper om säkerhetsaspekter vid interaktion med öppna WiFi-nätverk tyder all forskning på att de måste utbildas och informeras om de risker de utsätter sig för – men talar inte om hur det skall gå till. Därför ställde vi oss frågan: Hur kan medvetenheten om säkerhetsrisker i öppna WiFi-nätverk ökas? Utifrån tidigare forskning kring tekniska och psykologiska aspekter kopplade till problemområdet valdes relevanta metoder för datainsamlingen. Genom en enkätundersökning kunde användares kunskap om problemområdet analyseras och med hjälp av en intervju med en områdesexpert fick vi ta del av hans syn på problemområdet samt fick värdefulla råd om var arbetets fokus bör ligga. Slutligen utfördes en rad observationer där vi visade hur enkelt det är att ta del av informationen som skickas över öppna nätverk. Då ingen information från observationerna kunde presenteras, på grund av etiska och juridiska skäl, valde vi att exemplifiera genom ett praktikfall där vi visar hur användarnamn och lösenord skickas i klartext. På grund av områdets komplexitet var vi tvungna att avgränsa diskussionen till det område vi fann vara mest problematiskt. Juridiskt sett är området en gråzon där ett flertal lagrum är involverade, men övervakning av trafik i öppna WiFi-nätverk kan i Sverige göras lagligt. Slutsatsen grundar sig på tidigare forskning samt visar på att det finns ett flertal säkerhetsrisker vid interaktion med öppna WiFi-nätverk och att det går att utnyttja informationen utan svårigheter – även för en angripare utan omfattande tekniska kunskaper. Genom att visualisera potentiella säkerhetsrisker och tvinga användaren att göra aktiva val kan dennes medvetandegrad höjas och vidare kan de informeras om riskerna.Public WiFi networks is one of the dominant technologies for users to get public internet access. The problem is that the networks are designed for accessability rather than security – a problem users seldom are aware of. Users who carelessly access WiFi networks may reveal sensitive information which, among other things, can lead to an identity theft. Previous research suggests that users must be educated and informed about the risks they incur, but not how this should be done. Thus, we asked the question: "How can users’ awareness of security threats in public WiFi networks be improved?" Based on previous research related to the technical and psychological aspects of the subject, relevant methods for data gathering were selected. Using a questionnaire we examined the users’ knowledge and attitudes towards the problem area. Through an interview with a security expert we got an experts view on public WiFi security, as well as valuable advice on what to focus on in our study. Finally, a series of observations were made where we showed how easy it is to access the information sent over the networks. Since no information from the observations could be presented, due to the ethical and legal aspects, we chose to illustrate a case study, where we presented how usernames and passwords are sent in clear text format. As the area of the study was found to be very complex, we narrowed down our discussion to the area we thought to be the most relevant. Legally, our research method was found to be somewhat in a gray zone where multiple Swedish laws came in to play. However, we were able to determine that monitoring public WiFi networks is legal in Sweden. Our conclusion is based on previous research, which shows that there are many security risks involved in interactions with public WiFi networks and can be abused by an attacker even without extensive technical knowledge. By visualizing potential threats and force users to make active choices, their awareness could be increased when using public WiFi networks. Keywords: Public WiFi, WiFi security, riskperception, security threat

Länsstyrelsens bevakning av allmänna intressen inom fastighetsbildning

Enligt Fastighetsbildningslagen 15 kap 8 § så ska länsstyrelsen bevaka allmänt intresse i lantmäteriförrättningar utanför detaljplanerat område. Detta sker genom att man granskar samtliga genomförda förrättningsakter från Lantmäteriet och överklagar om man anser att allmänt intresse inte i tillräcklig grad tillgodosetts. För att titta närmre på hur detta arbete fungerar och vilka allmänna intressen som leder till flest överklaganden så har en studie genomförts. Samtliga överklaganden mellan 2013-2018 har studerats och kategoriserats utifrån skälen till överklagande. För att begränsa studien valdes de fem norrländska länen, Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland, Västernorrland samt Gävleborg. Som komplement till detta har även intervjuer med fyra handläggare vid länsstyrelserna intervjuats för att få deras syn på saken. Slutsatserna är att strandskyddet är det vanligaste skälet till överklagande med över hälften av de totala överklagandena. Det är också där man ser mest olika på bestämmelserna från Lantmäteriet och länsstyrelsens sida. Andra vanliga skäl till överklaganden är fastighetsbildning i strid mot varaktighetsvillkoret i Fastighetsbildningslagen 3 kap 1 §, förrättning som innebär olägenhet för lantbruket enligt Fastighetsbildningslagen 3 kap 6 § eller fastighetsbildning som inte möjliggör rationellt skogsbruk enligt Fastighetsbildningslagen 3 kap 7 §. Från intervjuerna med handläggare kan man konstatera att de flesta upplever att arbetet med granskning och överklaganden fungerar bra och att man upplever att länsstyrelsen och Lantmäteriet har ett bra samarbete

Integration of real-world project tasks in a course on automation and robot engineering

\ua9 2019 IEEE. The modern engineering profession requires classical technical skills combined with creativity and a high proficiency in cooperation and sustainable development. Research indicates that the engineering education should adapt better to this. This paper introduces a teaching approach where open-ended project tasks are fully integrated into a complete course, in a context relating to the students\u27 future working life. The teaching approach was implemented in a course on automation and robot engineering. Extensive written student course evaluations, the students\u27 examination results and the teachers\u27 experience were used for evaluation and compared with the previous classical course. Both the students and the teachers greatly appreciated the course. It was strongly indicated that the students\u27 theoretical knowledge and understanding of the subject had benefited, both with regards to the technical depth and to the non-technical engineering skills. It is likely that the presented teaching approach can be used also in other engineering courses

A cable feeder tool for robotized cable winding

Cable winding is an alternative technology to create stator windings in large electrical machines. Today such cable winding is performed manually, which is very repetitive, time-consuming and therefore also expensive. This paper presents the design, function and control system of a developed cable feeder tool for robotized stator cable winding. The presented tool was able to catch a cable inside a cable guiding system and to grab the cable between two wheels. One of these wheels was used to feed cable through the feeder. A control system was integrated in the tool to detect feeding slippage and to supervise the feeding force on the cable. Functions to calculate the cable feed length, to release the cable from the tool and for positional calibration of the stator to be wound were also integrated in the tool. In validating the function of the cable feeder tool, the stator of the linear generator used in the Wave Energy Converter generator developed at Uppsala University was used as an example. Through these experiments, it was shown that the developed robot tool design could be used to achieve automated robotized cable winding. These results also complied with the cycle time assumptions for automated cable winding from earlier research. Hence, it was theoretically indicated that the total winding cycle time for one Uppsala University Wave Energy Converter stator could be reduced from about 80 h for manual winding with four personnel to less than 20 h in a fully developed cable winding robot cell. The same robot tool and winding automation could also be used, with minor adjustments, for other stator designs

Automated Cable Preparation for Robotized Stator Cable Winding

A method for robotized cable winding of the Uppsala UniversityWave Energy Converter generator stator has previously been presented and validated. The purpose of this study is to present and validate further developments to the method: automated stand-alone equipment for the preparation of the winding cables. The cable preparation consists of three parts: feeding the cable from a drum, forming the cable end and cutting the cable. Forming and cutting the cable was previously done manually and only small cable drums could be handled. Therefore the robot cell needed to be stopped frequently. The new equipment was tested in an experimental robot stator cable winding setup. Through the experiments, the equipment was validated to be able to perform fully automated and robust cable preparation. Suggestions are also given on how to further develop the equipment with regards to performance, robustness and quality. Hence, this work represents another important step towards demonstrating completely automated robotized stator cable winding