Iban Retolaza

Ikerlan · Applied Mechanics - Mechanical Systems Design

The sealing head of a packaging machine is the area where the cross sealing or welding of the packages is carried out. Sealing is done by exerting pressure between two hot jaws, a process called heat sealing. For these packages to be completely hermetic, the sealing must be perfect, which is achieved by means of a uniform pressure distribution on t...

This paper presents a new design methodology for improving the installation of large size and long life cycle goods that need to be assembled in the field. The approach integrates a modified design for assembly (DfA) methodology. A new approach is proposed for integrating different DfA methodologies and tested in a real case study of a machine room...

The evolution of clearances in the joints of mechanisms due to the effect of wear has been already extensively addressed. This work goes a step beyond and studies the impact of clearance increase in the fatigue life of the machine. Moreover, a simplified method based on popular commercial software is proposed to analyze the effect of clearance evol...

One of the main aspects that must be considered while developing any industrial project is its cost. Design to Cost (DtC) processes allow the design team to manage any kind of project based on the costs of each of the phases and of the elements, by applying a number of methodologies, techniques, cost models and tools. In this paper, a DtC framework...

This paper studies the effect of wear that occurs in the contact between pin and bushing in revolute joints with clearances due to manufacturing tolerances, and the evolution of the size and shape of the free spaces with the work cycles. The objective is to propose an efficient method to estimate, during the design procedures of a machine or mechan...

A new design methodology for long life and large size (Ll-Ls) products called Design for Installation (DfI) is proposed. Ll-Ls products are usually made up of large parts that need to be assembled on field. The proposed methodology, based on adapted Design Structure Matrix (DSM) and Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) methods, enables to o...

This paper describes a new design methodology for long life and large size (Ll-Ls) product assembly, which has been developed modifying and merging existing Design for Assembly (DfA) methodologies to adapt them to the particularities of this kind of products. These goods are often formed by different large and heavy subcomponents that need to be as...

A Building Block Approach design strategy is used in this work to develop a multi-material elevator base, starting from coupon-level tests and reaching the component level. Adhesives and glass-fiber composites are characterized and a multi-material bonded element is constructed in order to conduct the design process towards the best possible option...

IKerlan's Orthosis (IKO) is an upper limb exoskeleton oriented to increasing human force during routine activity at the workplace. Therefore, it can be considered as a force-amplification device conceived to work in collaboration with the human arm and implementing biomimetic principles. The aim of the proposed design is to find the best compromise...

A Bowden cable performance analysis, based on a design of experiments (DoE) is presented for orthosis applications. The need for analysing these cables is based on the construction of IKO (IKerlan's Orthosis) with five actuated degrees of freedom (DoF) to help the human arm. The aim is for an individual to be capable of lifting weight without any g...

IKerlan’s Orthosis (IKO) is an upper limb exoskeleton oriented to increasing human force during routine activity at the workplace. Therefore, it can be considered as a force-amplification device conceived to work in collaboration with the human arm and implementing biomimetic principles. The aim of the proposed design is to find the best compromise...

This paper presents the design of IKO (IKerlanpsilas Othosis), an upper limb exoskeleton oriented to increasing human force during routine activity at the workplace. It can be considered as a force amplification device, conceived to work in collaboration with the human arm and implementing biomimetic principles. The proposed design is intended to f...

The characteristics of pneumatic artificial muscles -or McKibben muscles -make them very interesting for the development of robotic applications that feature low impedance in terms of their interaction with the environment, such as can be the case with orthoses or certain wearable robots. In order to research the applicability of these actuators in...