Siemens Demonstrates Concrete Potential of Digitalization

Under the motto “Digitalization in Machine Tool Manufacturing”, Siemens demonstrates how machine tool users and manufacturers can benefit from digitalization. Siemens is driving digitalization in the machine tool industry forward from its leading position in the field. The future is a focus on the company’s extensive, integrated, end-to-end digitalization portfolio. With this unique offering, Siemens showcases ways in which machine tool builders can boost their production flexibility and efficiency significantly, drastically reduce their engineering input and time-to-market, as well as consolidate and expand their competitive standing in the global marketplace by digitalizing their operations.

“Digitalization is set to fundamentally transform and advance the machine tool industry.
By linking the digital and real worlds, we will be able to open up new, significant possibilities to boost productivity and develop totally new business models. This applies
to those who build and use CNC machines. It also applies to small- and medium-sized enterprises, as it does to the big players in the industry. Digitalization is the main driver
of growth and profitability in the machine tool industry — locally and worldwide,” said
Dr. Wolfgang Heuring, CEO of the Siemens Motion Control Business Unit.
Heuring continued: “Siemens is the world’s leading and sole supplier of fully integrated software and hardware solutions for every phase of the value chain — both in the construction and utilization of machine tools. By offering this broad spectrum, Siemens is laying the foundation for the digital penetration and restructuring of complete value chains in the machine tool industry.”

Within the scope of its overarching “Digital Enterprise” concept, Siemens supplies an
end-to-end portfolio for companies seeking to digitalize their operations. The Digital Enterprise Suite from Siemens comprises software-based systems and automation components which cover every conceivable requirement arising along the industrial value chain. Its backbone is formed by Teamcenter, the world’s most widely used digital lifecycle management solution. During actual production, products such as the Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM), Simatic IT, Sinumerik CNC and the Simatic S7 PLC portfolio have been widely established and proven in the machine tool world on a global scale.

The digitalization portfolio for machine tool builders ranges from the machine concept
and engineering, through to commissioning and servicing. For machine operators,
the range of digitalization solutions covers their entire value chain from product engineering and production planning, to actual production and digital services. With its holistic approach, Siemens is the only company which is capable of designing the real process chain for the machine tool builder and the machine user — identically in the
virtual world (digital twin).

One of the special highlights of this offering demonstrates the possibilities opened up by digitalization through connection to the cloud-based, open, IoT operating system MindSphere from Siemens. Siemens has unveiled its first MindSphere application for machine tools in the form of Manage MyMachines. Siemens currently links CNC machines across the world up to the Cloud using its open IoT operating system MindSphere. Using Manage MyMachines, this will allow machine operators to have a cloud-based overview of important machine data and the current operating status of their machines. The resulting transparency allows users the chance to respond and optimize their production accordingly.

Also featured in this offering is Sinumerik Edge, a new robust and high-performance hardware and software solution for machine-level application (edge computing). Sinumerik Edge processes and analyzes process data practically in real-time with the machining process. Decoupling the data processing tasks and process control ensures the necessary degree of process security, for which Siemens offers customized edge apps for functions such as monitoring and optimization. Machine tool builders and service providers can also integrate their own Edge apps into the open platform.

The comprehensive digitalization portfolio from Siemens opens up increased speed and flexibility, better quality and efficiency, and improved security — both in terms of machine functions and the customer’s business model. In concrete terms, digitalization can unlock previously unavailable potential; therefore, sustainably improving a customer’s productivity and competitive standing.

About Siemens

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2016, which ended on September 30, 2016, Siemens generated revenue of €79.6 billion and net income of €5.6 billion. At the end of September 2016, the company had around 351,000 employees worldwide.