Robots in the spotlight
Robots in production-oriented maintenance. What are they, what do they do? In Maintenance’s Robot Demo zone, several companies are putting robots in the spotlight. Smart robots, be sure. Because a welding robot, an Iristick Smart Glasses, a robot that can grow like a plant… that beckons to be discovered and tried, doesn’t it? Be convinced.
KicMPi
Knowledge and Innovation Centre Maintenance Process Industry is an independent cooperative association.
KicMPi stimulates cooperation between companies with the aim of innovating with maintenance in the process industry.
Our members consist of both asset owners and service providers. Supply and demand together, that is our strength.
By working together on innovation, industrial companies and service companies can achieve more.
ID-Tec
Tank maintenance is increasingly performed by machines. For cleaning, there are now several suppliers who provide equipment for this and inspection is also increasingly carried out by drones or other techniques without humans. From the inspections will come measures that often need to be carried out by people. Think of grinding, welding and coating in confined spaces. These activities are often more dangerous than inspections and yet we still enter a confined space to weld up a crack in the bottom of a tank, for example. For these activities, ID-tec BV has developed a solution where, from outside a confined space, the welder will send a welding robot to the site of the repair and then have the welding carried out by the welding robot.
So how does that work? The robot is visually driven to the work site using cameras, where the welder can then use image recognition to place a patch plate over a crack. The driver of the robot only needs to check that the robot has placed the patch plate on the marked plate and once approved, the robot will tack and weld the plate. Finally, the welds will be photographed for confirmation of a well-executed repair. If you would like to see our robot in action already, here is a video.
Be sure to come and watch the demo of this welding robot.
ITIS
Welcome to ITIS at Maintenance Fair 2024, where we proudly present our exhibition stand together with KicMPi.
Discover two revolutionary highlights shaping the future of industrial maintenance: ITIS Smart Glasses (powered by Iristick) and the ITIS Robot.
ITIS Smart Glasses: Digitale Transformatie in Focus
Step into the future of efficiency with ITIS’ smart software solution on the Iristick Smart Glasses. These innovative smart glasses seamlessly integrate into work assignments with voice commands, creating a digital transformation. The glasses not only offer practical convenience, but also an extra layer of security with built-in safety features. Colleagues and customers can watch in real-time during inspections, leading to improved remote collaboration. At our stand, experience how ITIS deploys the Iristick Smart Glasses as a total solution to pave the way for a streamlined digital future with full digitisation, traceability and efficient reporting.
ITIS Robot: Safe and Controlled Industrial Testing
Discover the ITIS Robot at our joint stand with KIC MPI. This innovative robot was developed for high-risk testing and inspection on pressurised components, with proven success in high-pressure testing where the test pressure sometimes exceeds 1000 bar. The robot’s versatility will be demonstrated with adaptations for different tasks and scenarios. Visit our stand and experience live demonstrations, where safety and efficiency go hand in hand.
At our exhibition stand, we share not only the latest technologies, but also the passion for progress, safety and innovation. ITIS is accelerating digitalisation with concrete results, and we invite you to join us in exploring the digital future of industrial maintenance.
Stop by, ask your questions and discover how ITIS and KicMPi are paving the way for the next generation of maintenance technology.
XINIX
A soft robot that can grow like a plant. This robot, with a maximum diameter of 12 cm, designed with extreme flexibility in mind, reaches up to 14 metres. Future versions can reach about 100 metres. Making it ideal for navigating tight pipes and hard-to-reach areas. It is fully compatible and bends in any direction, providing extensive coverage, including 90-degree turns and winding paths. With a payload of up to 500 grams, it can be equipped with a variety of sensors and tools, including cameras, microphones, lights, hyperspectral cameras, actuators and more, all connected for real-time data transfer. Whether acquiring data, sampling or deploying sensors, our robot provides a versatile, efficient solution for detailed inspections in the most challenging environments.
All data can then be processed using our AI application with pre-trained models that can automatically identify defects and anomalies, provide statistics and automatically generate a report. The models can be adapted to customer needs and the specific use case.
Highlights
Smart Maintenance Zone
Get to know and embrace virtual reality and discover the value.
Organized by: KicMPi
Participants
Driving technology for leading brands
Iristick creates industrial smart safety glasses to support enterprises in their digital transformation. Iristick smart glasses are ruggedized, certified safety glasses with 2 cameras with a powerful optical zoom lens, barcode scanner, voice commands, unrestricted field of view and ‘full-shift’ battery capacity. All combined in a unique and comfortable design.
Iristick enables hands-free operations in three domains:
‘Remote Assistance’ allows an expert to remotely support a colleague during field-maintenance and training.
‘Digital checklists’ provide hands-free instructions when executing daily tasks.
‘Pick-by-Vision’ is the new way of operating logistics warehouses.
Iristick smart eyewear is currently being used and tested by customers in maintenance, after-sales support, logistics, shop floor activities, quality control, tele-medicine and education.
Iristick, based in Antwerp, Belgium, supports customers globally. Winner of a Red Dot Award 2018.
While robotics has become the standard for many maintenance works completed today, the majority of coatings for industrial surfaces are still applied manually, resulting in a slow, unreliable, and even dangerous process. Qlayers has the ambition to change that.
With our crawler-based 10Q and 7CS robots for coating storage tanks and ships, as well as the BL8 painting tool for coating wind turbine blades using a robotic arm, we offer solutions for a variety of surfaces. The patented spray system includes our no-overspray hood and a suction system, forming a shield around the spray nozzle and that way eliminating overspray. This saves paint and protects both workers & the environment from the hazardous chemicals. By semi-automating the process using a remote control, we reduce people working at heights and thus lower risk, while at the same time increasing coating speed. Additionally, a consistent layer thickness leads to an improved coating quality and allows better prediction of degradation, enabling more accurate planning of maintenance.
For the future, we envision to make every surface functional by replicating microstructures as seen in nature, such as drag-reducing sharkskin. This can help to, for example, reduce emissions of ships and increase the energy output of wind turbines.
www.qlayers.com
ID-Tec supplies innovative solutions for the inspection, cleaning and renovation of pipes, tanks and other spaces that are difficult to reach by people. Your people and wishes are central to our solutions, which translates into innovative and safe products, easy to use and maintain. Our technologies are used worldwide so that your job gets done faster and safer!
Together with our partners, we also continued the innovation in the Smart Tooling project and developed the I-ball inspection robot!
This ball-shaped robot can perform inspections in pressure vessels filled with liquids. The inspection data can be collected and communicated to your screen. Easy, right?
Curious about what else we do? Feel free to contact us!
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Netalux was founded in early 2017 and started as the world’s first dedicated laser cleaning contractor. So we spent the first two years of our existence with the laser in our hands, on site at the job site. This allowed us to discover the possibilities, but also the limitations of the technology. We soon came to the conclusion that the potential of this people-friendly technology was important, but that there were areas for improvement to be worked out. One of the most important improvements is the machine itself. So we decided to start our own development project, with the first product being Needle, which also immediately earned a Red Dot Award. A second important lack in the market was proper knowledge sharing. There was no Laser Cleaning Academy. We founded it to give everyone the opportunity to learn about laser cleaning in depth and also to assist in its productive implementation. As a company, we consider it important to continuously improve our products and maintain a close relationship with the field. We also consider it our duty as a manufacturer to take the lead in research into the technology and its peripheral effects.
