Patti Perspective

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AI through a PLC?  That's what we did on a recent project.  In our feature article, find out how we made a complex pick and place task quite simple.

In our spotlight, meet Controls Engineer Zachary Nedzlek!

Feature Article

What is an NPU?

The SIMATIC S7-1500 TM NPU (neural processing unit) is the new AI (artificial intelligence) module from Siemens.  It enables you to bring AI into any SIMATIC S7-1500 PLC without a separate computer. This new technology was released in late 2019; Patti Engineering is one of the few integrators that has experience with it now. 

In a recent project, we connected the Siemens NPU for a pick and place station.  Typically, the robot would know which object to pick using a vision system and creating a library of objects with exact measurements and/or other features like colors.  In this case, the NPU allowed the robot to learn to recognize anything - anything - within a defined area.  We defined a coordinate system so it would know where the bin was. 

The NPU used the information from the camera pictures to determine the size, height, and location of something in a bin.  The NPU then helps the robot pick up any item within the bin and move it to the transportation device to go to the next station.  For example, in this situation, the robot could pick up boxes, tubes, and t-shirts without making a change in tooling or reprogramming robot paths.

This, obviously, has tremendous implications for bringing new products to market, and just overall flexibility for the facility.  It is also a simpler solution.  In other pre-NPU stations within the facility, 6 cameras with all the associated wiring were used to perform a similar function.  In this new station, only one camera was needed.

This new technology is big news for pick and place options, but AI can be used for many different applications.  For example, also with a camera, this could be an improvement for vision inspection stations.  It can be somewhat challenging to program in exact pass/fail parameters.  With AI in the NPU, the system could learn the many varieties of what is a pass or fail. 

Another potential use case would be palletizing.  When boxes may vary in size, the boxes could be measured while on the conveyor, then an optimal layout could be decided through the NPU.

There are many other potential use cases for AI in manufacturing facilities.  This is a huge leap forward especially as large portions of the manufacturing workforce is nearing retirement and manufacturers are facing losing decades of institutional, experiential knowledge.  Making AI broadly accessible to manufacturing facilities is one way to fill that knowledge gap.

Spotlight

Zachary Nedzlek

Meet Zachary Nedzlek, Controls Engineer!  For the past month, Zachary has been doing commissioning for a new line for electric vehicle production.  He has been with Patti Engineering for 2 years and graduated from Michigan Tech in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. In his time at Patti Engineering, he has become a valuable asset to the team, diving headfirst into difficult projects and pushing himself to advance his skills every chance he gets.

"Zach has shown his ability and dedication to present Patti Engineering in a committed and professional manner to our clients,” says President & CEO, Sam Hoff. 

Shortly after joining the Patti team, Zachary was brought into the Drive Shack Gen 2 project and was immediately immersed in the startup of their Richmond, VA location. He states that the best part of working for Patti Engineering is the opportunity to work in a variety of different industries and learn through firsthand experience. He enjoys visiting new plants in job sectors he hasn’t served in before. Zachary started 2020 doing some commissioning in the Ford Chihuahua plant and spent most of the year supporting the Siemens Healthineers plant in Elkhart, Indiana. 

Zachary has a “hands-on” style and a passion for learning new things, which is reflected in both his personal interests and at work.  In his free time, he enjoys gaming with his fiancée and working on projects with his father. Their most recent endeavor has been building a teardrop camper using the same techniques as stitch-and-glue boats.  When he isn’t working on the camper, you can find him exploring leatherwork, tinkering with electronics, or camping with his extended family. 

Zachary was born and raised in Michigan and still calls it home. Family is very important to Zach. With siblings and a large extended family living close by, it was unusual, prior to the pandemic, to go a month without gathering together.

When reflecting on his experience to date at Patti, this is what Zach had to say, “Working at Patti Engineering has repeatedly given me the chance to rise to a difficult challenge and push my technical and problem-solving skills further every day. I am amazed at what I have been able to pick up in my time here, and I look forward to facing new challenges in the years to come.”  

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