Industrial Automation Magazine India

MindApp - Fleet Manager for Machine Tools

Published on : Tuesday 30-11--0001

Getting quickly and flexibly from the blueprint to the finished machine

CNC Shopfloor Management Software: Increased productivity in engineering

In order to be able to quickly and flexibly react to the market and customer requirements stated, machine manufacturers increasingly virtualize and parallelize the development phases of new machines. Prerequisite for this is the consistent use of all digitalization options – from the first idea to the commissioning of the ready-to-use machine.

 

Digital twin

How can the development of your machine become more efficient?

Two objectives have been set up for the machine building sector: On the one hand, increased efficiency and flexibility in development, e.g. through consistent virtualization during the development process. On the other hand, the provision of supplementary products and solutions for digitalization in the customer production, through to new business models.

Optimization of the engineering process

Increase the productivity and efficiency in the machine development process

To be able to launch products quickly and cost-effectively on the market, you must be able to flexibly react to the change requests stated. Individual machine concepts and short delivery times are increasingly requested. This is why the mechanical and electrical development must become more efficient.

Therefore, added value must be generated for the machine, and high-quality parts manufacturing must always be ensured.

Digital twin increases the flexibility

Due to the digitalization of the development process, the machine manufacturer has already at an early stage all the necessary data as a virtual machine model available.

The result is a digital twin of the machine, which is used in various applications: At the beginning, when creating a machine concept, during virtual commissioning, when demonstrating a machine on sale, when loading parts in production, through to retrofit and service. This provides significant time savings and enhancements regarding the concept, quality and the production output.

Virtual CNC commissioning shortens the real commissioning time

The NX Mechatronics Concept Designer supports Siemens in significantly reducing the machine development process. Through virtual commissioning, the cost-intensive real commissioning phase can be reduced significantly.

For this, the virtual machine model is connected to the real controller, the SINUMERIK. The machine functions can thus be tested and further optimized under almost real conditions.

Increased safety due to virtual environment

This procedure provides the machine manufacturer maximum safety. Possible damage to the real machine during the commissioning respectively start-up phase can thus be prevented. Another advantage: The machine operator can test his part manufacturing programs at an early stage under almost real conditions in a virtual environment.

Siemens AG, Germany