3D Printing Add-On for Vertical Machining Centre „Haas Minimill“

Lõputöös antakse ülevaade 3D printimise tehnoloogiatest ja termoplasti ekstrusioon prindipea põhilistest osadest. Projekteeritakse lisaseade, millega vertikaalne töötlemiskeskus muuta 3D printeriks ilma lõiketöötlusvõimekust kaotamata. Lisaseade koosneb kuumutusdüüsist, materjali etteandjast, kinnitustest, töölauast, kasutajaliidesest, filamendi poolist ja toiteplokist. Projekteerides olid eesmärkideks seadme lihtne paigaldatavus, ühildumine firma Haas kontrolleriga ja kasutus mugavus. Käsitletud on riistvara, elektroonikat, tarkvara, lisatud on tehnilised joonised.The thesis gives an overview of 3D printing technologies and basic parts of a thermoplastic extrusion print-head. The paper describes how to build an add-on instrument to turn a vertical machining centre into a 3D printer without loosing it's machining capabilities. The add-on is made out of a hot end, an extruder, mounts, a heated bed, an user interface, a filament spool and a power supply. The design goals were ease of installation, seamless integration with Haas controller and ease of usage. The project covers hardware, electronics, software and technical drawings

Precision fertilisation technologies for berry plantation

Increased cost-effectiveness in crop production can be achieved by automating technological operations. This is also the case for berry cultivation in plantations. Starting any berry cultivation automation process should, quite naturally, begin with fertilisation, since this is the first technological operation to be carried out during the vegetation period and is a relatively simple one. The main task here is to apply the correct amount of fertiliser under the canopy of plants. Blueberry plantations that have been established on milled peat fields have plants that have been planted in parallel rows at a pre-designated interval. The fertilisation of plants must take place individually in the first years of their growth, so that each plant is fertilised separately. This form of fertilisation can be referred to as precision fertilisation. The aim of this paper was to provide an overview of the levels of technology now available when it comes to precision fertiliser equipment and to introduce the concept of a new precision-automated fertiliser unit, while also justifying the efficiency of using automated equipment. The automated fertiliser unit that is to be designed will be autonomous, will move unmanned through the plantation, and will include the necessary sub-systems for the precision fertilisation of individual plants, such as a plant detection system, a fertilising nozzle, a motion system and, additionally, a service station. On the basis of the results obtained, it can be argued that the use of an automated precision fertilisation unit increases productivity levels by approximately 2.25 times and decreases the specific fertiliser costs by approximately 8.4 times when compared with the use of a portable spot fertiliser

Methodical possibilities using industrial robot for teaching

Magistritöö Tootmistehnika õppekavalRobotite rakendamine tööstuses ja automaatika suurendamine on kasvav ja pidev trend arenenud tööstusriikides. Selle tõttu on hangitud Eesti Maaülikooli tööstusroboti õppestend. Mille kasutatavust õppetöös on võimalik suurendada. Töö eesmärgiks on koostada õppeaine Masinaehitustehnoloogia tööstusrobootika osa läbiviimiseks vajalik metoodika koos materjalidega. Ülesanneteks on tutvuda tööstusrobotite tüüpide ja liikidega, tutvuda tööstusrobotite kasutusvõimalustega õppetöös, välja töötada või tõlkida tööstusroboti RV- 4FL ja õppestendi lühikasutusjuhend, välja töötada labortööde juhendid, enesearenduseks projekteerida uus tööstusrobotile sobiv haarats ja lihtsam tööstuslik manipulaator. Lõputöö raames valmisid viis labortööd, vaakumkiilhaaratsi ja manipulaatori prototüüp. Edaspidi saab töötada välja masinnägemise võimekusega näidiskoostamis labortöö, et rohkem välja tuua õppestendi võimekust ja parendada prototüüpe.The increasing rate of adoption of industrial robotics into the workplace of developed countries drives the demand for specialists. As a result Estonian University of Life Sciences has acquired a training cell with industrial robot, that usage level can be raised. The main goal of this thesis is to develop laboratory exercises for teaching industrial robotics part in the subject Technology of Mechanical Engineering. The tasks are to look at the industrial robot types, explore possibilities to integrate robotics to the subject, develop or translate short instruction guide to the industrial robot RV-4FL and learning cell, develop laboratory work guides and for self-development to design and manufacture a new gripper and manipulator. Five laboratory works were developed and prototypes were designed and manufactured that will be used with the learning cell. For further improvements the suggestions were made to develop laboratory exercise about machine vision to show off the assembly process that is possible with the training cell and to improve the prototypes

Laser Additively Manufactured Magnetic Core Design and Process for Electrical Machine Applications

Additive manufacturing (AM) is considered the enabling technology for topology optimized components, with its unparalleled, almost free-form design freedom. Over the past decade, AM of electromagnetic materials has evolved into a promising new area of research. Considerable efforts have also been invested by the electrical machine (EM) research community to develop and integrate novel additive components. Several challenges remain, however, in printing soft magnetic flux guides—most prominently, reducing the induced eddy currents to achieve competitive AM core efficiency. This paper demonstrates the workflow of laser additive manufacturing magnetic cores with superior magnetic properties to soft magnetic composites (at 50 Hz excitation): describing the workflow, parameter tuning for both printing and annealing, and shape optimization. Process optimization yielded the optimal energy density of 77 J/mm3 and annealing temperature of 1200 °C, applied to prepare the samples with the highest relative density (99.86%), lowest surface roughness Rz (0.041 mm), minimal hysteresis losses (0.8 W/kg at 1.0 T, 50 Hz), and ultimate yield strength of 420 MPa. For Eddy current suppression, the sample (5 × 5 × 60 mm toroid) with bi-directional grading reached specific core losses as low as 1.8 W/kg (W10,50). Based on the findings, the advantages and disadvantages of AM graded cores are discussed in detail

Laser Additively Manufactured Magnetic Core Design and Process for Electrical Machine Applications

Additive manufacturing (AM) is considered the enabling technology for topology optimized components, with its unparalleled, almost free-form design freedom. Over the past decade, AM of electromagnetic materials has evolved into a promising new area of research. Considerable efforts have also been invested by the electrical machine (EM) research community to develop and integrate novel additive components. Several challenges remain, however, in printing soft magnetic flux guides—most prominently, reducing the induced eddy currents to achieve competitive AM core efficiency. This paper demonstrates the workflow of laser additive manufacturing magnetic cores with superior magnetic properties to soft magnetic composites (at 50 Hz excitation): describing the workflow, parameter tuning for both printing and annealing, and shape optimization. Process optimization yielded the optimal energy density of 77 J/mm3 and annealing temperature of 1200 °C, applied to prepare the samples with the highest relative density (99.86%), lowest surface roughness Rz (0.041 mm), minimal hysteresis losses (0.8 W/kg at 1.0 T, 50 Hz), and ultimate yield strength of 420 MPa. For Eddy current suppression, the sample (5 × 5 × 60 mm toroid) with bi-directional grading reached specific core losses as low as 1.8 W/kg (W10,50). Based on the findings, the advantages and disadvantages of AM graded cores are discussed in detail

Torrefaction of Agricultural and Wood Waste: Comparative Analysis of Selected Fuel Characteristics

Abundant biomass is a potential energy source. However, it possesses several challenges when considered for energy applications. Torrefaction, a thermal pretreatment process can improve the properties of biomass as energy source. This study focused on comparing effect of torrefaction operating parameters on agricultural and wood wastes properties as fuel. The physiochemical properties, composition, moisture-biomass interaction and ash melting behavior were determined. The result show that higher torrefaction temperature and longer residence time increased lignin content, reduced hemicellulose and cellulose content. The moisture uptake of torrefied biomass was reduced in the range 2.47–9.94% compared with raw biomass depending on torrefaction temperature that indicate torrefied biomass was more hydrophobic than raw biomass. The moisture adsorption isotherm curve shows type II isotherm based on the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller’s (BET) classification and was best described by the Oswin model. In addition, torrefaction treatment showed significant influence on the melting behavior of the biomass ash. Especially for agricultural wastes, the fouling tendency shifted from serious range to low range with torrefaction treatment. Torrefaction showed promise for improving fuel characteristics of the studied biomass