Machine and robot — in one project before the first cut
The part program is checked by material removal simulation; the machine and the loading robot are assembled into one cell and run together.
Which machines the platform runs
Milling machines
3 axes — production level; 5 axes with a table or head — 3+2, beta.
Lathe, laser, EDM
Lathe and EDM — in simulation; laser plotter — beta.
Cutter grinding
A 5-axis tool grinder: programs for cutter flutes and end face.
What the process engineer gets
- One program — different machinesZero is the blank corner; the position on the table is set by the work offset.
- The tool is a machine tool-table slotAn empty slot is not substituted silently: the program refuses with a list.
- Check before cuttingMaterial removal simulation, checks before start, a controller run without motion.
- Machine and robot in one cycleLoading, program, unloading — tending scenario.
A machining area in one twin
A machining area has three tasks: write the part program, check it before metal and connect the machine with what serves it. In SyncTwin all three are solved on one twin of the area.
The program describes the part, not the machine. The machine is an instance of a breed with its own travel, drives and tool table. The loading robot is a unit with a motion program across cell places. Together they are a project where the machine comes up first and the units after it.
From drawing to a finished part on a pallet
- ProgramBlank and operations — from the part; tools — by machine slots.
- CheckMaterial removal simulation, pre-start checks, a controller run without motion.
- LoadingThe robot moves the blank into the vice across cell places.
- CuttingThe machine executes the program; the monitor shows the line and axes from actual data.
- UnloadingThe robot removes the part onto a pallet; the cycle repeats.
What is cut and with what
A mode the process engineer did not name is calculated from material, cutter and machine; one named explicitly is not overridden. The process engineer names the cutter. In detail — “CNC machines”.
One cycle — two programs and one procedure
Machine phases
A machine tool is a unit too: its phases are loading, program, unloading. The cell procedure commands the phases and waits for their completion by tag.
Flip — with probing the zero
A flip invalidates the part zero: before the next cut of the same part, the blank is probed by touch on the same machine.
An axis — to one owner
At any moment an axis is written by exactly one executor: the machine program or the unit block. Changing it — only at rest.
The full scenario — machine tending.
Open control — as an experimental work-out
The customer’s machine can be moved to an open CNC core and EtherCAT servo drives within an R&D stage: the machine datasheet becomes a twin, the control configuration is generated from it, drives are commissioned in the browser.
- Breed referenceThe example program passes checks and sending without remarks — that is how it is verified that the machine is set up.
- Axis binding is the drive’s identitySwap the drives — the axis will not move, and the screen will say why.
- Panel at the machine without the cloudStart-up steps, axes, program and line, emergency stop.
Who gets what in the area
Process engineer
A program from the part, portable between machines; a check before metal.
Operator
A panel at the machine with the same axis and channel names as in the twin.
Commissioning engineer
Axis profiles, a bus oscilloscope, stick-out touch by drive torque.
Area manager
The run log and the state of machines and robots in one window.
What works and what is worked out in the implementation
- Runs3-axis servo mill every day, lab, material removal simulation, pre-start checks, sending to the machine.
- Beta5-axis mill with 3+2 machining, laser plotter.
- Experimental levelLathe, wire EDM, tool grinder; a 6-axis loading arm — worked out in the implementation.
Questions about metalworking
Is there continuous 5-axis machining?
No: 3+2 machining — the table or head sets to a pose and stays, cutting goes with three axes.
Can our machine be connected?
Compatibility of drives and machine is checked at the start of the implementation; an experimental control work-out on your machine is an R&D stage.
Who chooses the cutter?
The process engineer. The platform filters the catalogue by operation and material and refuses if the cutter physically cannot make the step.
Discuss an implementation
Describe the unit or line — we will tell you what we will verify and in what time. Target indicators are fixed in the implementation specification.
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