Rain Room with Random International
What was now required was a brain capable of deciphering information every 6 milliseconds
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Author Archives: Sahar Mirshafiei
When visitors step into beautiful gallery spaces, polished to perfection and methodically laid out to guide people through their journey, it’s a world away from what leads to the final flourish.
Old site photos such as these are always a nostalgic yet stark reminder of the tumultuous hardships along the way. Indeed, site work is hard work, and as you’re on your hands and knees slotting and sorting and testing and coding in all manner of conditions, pristine galleries are a world away.
Every project bares its own storms ~ there are so many unexpected factors and mishaps to consider and solve along the way. Though it’s important not to feel disheartened and continue rising to the challenge.
Ultimately the hardships lead to growth, a better understanding of the way things work ~ and last but not least, successful projects which rewrite the rules.
Are you an institution, artist, or sponsor? Do you have an idea or vision you would like to see come to life? Drop us a line with your enquiry!
Further Reading
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Prosthetic testing machines here will deliver 5 million cycles (movements) to joint imitations and sockets such as this at a variety of angles, in a variety of directions, and at a variety of pressures –
Motion control is fascinating most of all for its range and scope. Today we visited a wonderful company called Simulation Solutions who build machines for testing prosthetic limbs and joints. The aim of course is to develop parts with both optimal life span and functionality. The human impact of this is reduced requirement for implant replacements and surgeries.You learn something new every day, and today’s revelation was that across the pond in the USA, developers are allowed by law to use real limbs for impact testing. This is facilitated by people who gift their bodies to science and research after death. The clip below is not one for the fainthearted!
Throughout the world, using software and robots, real or mimicking limbs and joints, developers are continually testing and tracking impacts and the new materials and designs required to enhance the human experience and recovery of those injured or debilitated.
Below is a robot used to deliver impact and pressure to femur bone replicas –
And here is one of the machines diligently impacting joints and sockets on a daily basis. What a fascinating visit we had – thank you Simulation Solutions!
TPS Weldtech offer one of the most progressive products in the cladding and welding markets used in the install and repair of pipes.
An exciting client of 2Ms, we work with them to bring new technology to their cladding product range; you’ll find just a few of our new features outlined below.
Data Logging
When it comes to welding of oil and gas pipes there is no room for mistakes. TPS Weldtech need to be able to offer their clients full traceability at the point of the job and to future proof the work.
In response to this we installed a new data logging feature which records all the critical parameters as welding occurs. These parameters include;
- welding voltage, current, speed, and heat input
- hot wire voltage and current
- water temperature, water flow, gas flow, and wire feed speed
The careful combination of these elements determines how much of the wire is being deposited, the quality of the weld taking place, and ultimately the standard of the product being welded.
Diagnostics
Operators can select which parameters to log, and parameters may be logged as often as every second – they’re infinitely configurable.
Alternatively, data can be logged on a trigger basis when any of the selectable critical parameters fall outside of the acceptable tolerances set by the operator.
This extensive tailorisation is very rare helping TPS Weldtech be at the forefront of their industry.
At the end of every job the user may produce a CSV file containing full diagnostics of the job for further analysis. This is a fantastic tool for the cladding industry in terms of traceability of product at the point of sale.
Twin Tables
This new feature allows extra production capabilities.
The twin table allows two stages of the production process to be happening side by side and simultaneously, so whilst cladding is being carried out on one table, pre heating, product investigation, or grinding can be carried out on the second table.
Essentially, the operator has been given a second work space, increasing efficiency vastly. For example, whilst work pieces can take several hours to heat up prior to the welding process, now with a second table heating time does not eat into welding time.
Sector Welding
2M have also worked with TPS Weldtech on their sector welding, meaning they can now offer more intricate repairs to more complex problems.
Sector welding allows part of the face or bore to be welded.
Linear Welding
As opposed to circular/rotational welding.
Whether you’d like welding machinery or system upgrades to existing machines drop us a line with your enquiry!
Further Reading
Cladding Control System with I.O.D.S
Sometimes motion control can lead to wondrous, engaging projects.
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The Ironclad Case for Cladding
Cladding - what is it and why is it so important? One of the fastest growing industries in the world tries to bridge the ethical dilemma facing energy consumption.
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What happens when you create a remote natural phenomenon in an industrial setting?
Several storeys high, Tower cycled up to 30,000 litres of water per minute. This instant structure roared at the centre of the Zollverein industrial complex in Germany as part of the music and arts festival Ruhr Triennale 2013.
For this project of monumental scale, 2M designed a fully responsive control system. Infinite pattern generation for the cascading walls was developed, creating a unique and immersive experience for each visitor.
With the freedom to stand beneath and within the structure itself, the public were invited to brave the thrashing falls. Tower proved a firm favourite with children and adults alike, not least due to the unusual and rare visitor experience it provided.
Below are some clips taken by Mal from within the waterfall itself. It’s easy to see why visitors had so much fun, with such an immersive and playful sensory overload. So working at the polar opposite end of the spectrum from Rain Room, Tower is the place to get drenched if you so wish.
For those who preferred the sound and the spray to the beating water, they could time their entries and exits and cunningly attempt to escape the Tower’s walls as they sprung in and out of existence.
Are you an institution, artist, or sponsor? Do you have an idea or vision you would like to see come to life? Drop us a line with your enquiry!
Further Reading
Early Storms – “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing”
Reflecting on the trials and tribulations of R&D and site work - "Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing"!
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Our Social Network
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This blog post touches on something important – automation’s role in supply, demand, and essentially, leveling out the playing field. Electricity distribution to homes and communities in Africa is of critical importance, as it is in other emerging markets. Optimization, efficiency, safety and reliability are key aspirations.
Nigeria, with a population of 166 million, has the same electricity capacity as Manchester and Liverpool which have a combined population of just 2 million. This illustrates the critical nature of distribution in certain parts of the world, to ensure productivity and diminish waste.
Load sharing is a technique where planned shutdowns are coded into electricity grid systems, ensuring industries receive power at peak times. In tandem with this, residential areas are also afforded greater planning and consistency of power.
For 2M, key considerations in an R&D project of this scale involve:
Inclusion – how best to ensure equality of supply throughout the population?
Community – how best to avoid overcompensating in favour of industries?
An intuitive system is better able to avoid loss of power to the general public unnecessarily.
Early Warning – how best to provide up to a weeks notice of precise and planned power cuts?
Currently, little or no notice is common. Our aim is to enhance individual autonomy, whilst also enabling the protection of equipment and appliances from unexpected power surges.
It’s surreal to think that a city like Manchester has vastly greater energy capabilities than Ghana’s capital Accra – imagine what the impact on infrastructure, education, health, and other vital services would be?
Power plant in Ghana –
