Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Transformers are comprised of a stacked core, which is made up of laminations of thin silicone steel. The process*of arranging such laminations into the core shape is a labour-intensive process, that slows down the overall*production rate, and gives rise to quality problems.*Rex Power Magnetics (Rex) is seeking a process improvement within a specific step of transformer assembly. As*competitive pressures mount, rapid and flexible production becomes more and more of a pressing requirement for*Canadian manufacturers to embrace. Furthermore, with efforts to improve environmental efficiencies of*transformers, the required core assembly becomes more complex and time consuming, as high-efficiency cores*have a special design that is more labour-intensive to assemble.*Through this proposal, the applied research team at Sheridan Colleges Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and*Design Technologies (CAMDT) in Brampton, Ontario seeks to initiate a long-term partnership with Rex. The*objective is to design and fabricate a robotic system to be used for assembling the core sheets of a transformer.*Further, the research aims to employ a vision system to analyze the cores geometry, plan out a pattern, and use*the robots end effector to stack the sheets according to the pattern. The vision system will also be used for*quality inspection. Finally, the project team will test the system for accuracy and repeatability to ensure viability*in a mass production setting.