New hybrid intelligent design elements for technical intralogistic design Illustrated by the example of high-tensile fibre ropes with a novel termination

In designing intralogistic and general mechanical equipment, engineers frequently focus on the mechanical functionalities in a first step and only then, in a second design phase, add sensors, actuators as well as control devices. Therefore, an interdisciplinary fundamental research group was set up at the University of Stuttgart with the support of the German research foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) with the objective of developing new hybrid intelligent construction elements in order to provide design engineers with a new generation of construction elements that combine the above-mentioned mechanical, sensor, actuator and control functions. This paper first describes the system concept and then illustrates the potential of this new class of construction elements by the example of an intelligent high-tensile fibre rope with a novel termination.

Author(s): Wehking, K.-H.