Siemens Supports the Machine Tool Industry in Utilizing the Full Potential of Data for Flexible and Sustainable Action

• “Digitalization in Machine Tool Manufacturing — Infinite opportunities from infinite data” is this year’s theme of the Siemens booth at EMO 2021

• Utilizing the full potential of data for increased productivity

• New SINUMERIK ONE CNC Machine Control Panels for more user-friendliness, increased efficiency and greater flexibility

• Siemens Industrial Edge — extensions for machine tools

Under the theme “Digitalization in Machine Tool Manufacturing — Infinite opportunities from infinite data”, Siemens will demonstrate how the full potential of data can be used for increased productivity during this year’s EMO Milano tradeshow, October 4-9, and during the virtual Siemens Machine Tool Days 2021 event.

The challenges are quite large: the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the pace of change in manufacturing markets. Added to this are growing demands of individualization and the urgent need for more sustainability — and these can be achieved with the help of digitalization and automation. Siemens brings together the extremely large volumes of data generated in this process during a continuous cycle between the real and digital worlds. This enables the employees of industrial manufacturers to make the appropriate decisions based upon data and respond more quickly to trends and changes.

SINUMERIK ONE is core element of highlight case with two technologies

During EMO in Milan and the Siemens Machine Tool Days virtual event, Siemens will demonstrate how to react quickly to trends with the new SINUMERIK ONE CNC, which was introduced in the North American market as a digital-native control. To demonstrate this, the focus of the real and virtual Siemens booth is a production line that shows two machines controlled with SINUMERIK ONE — a 5-axis milling center and a robotic-based additive manufacturing machine.

With these two machines, for example, the gears of large gearboxes can be repaired instead of replacing them. Such large gearboxes are used in industries such as wind energy, where they are subject to natural wear-and-tear due to the enormous frictional forces and must be replaced at certain time intervals. Siemens will demonstrate how the gears are initially milled flat in the milling center. Next, a robot is used to rebuild the teeth in an additive manufacturing process. And the final precision grinding takes place at the end again on the 5-axis milling center.

Instead of new production, the repair not only saves material resources, but also approximately 60 percent of energy. SINUMERIK ONE, the first digital-native CNC, represents the core element for the digital transformation of the machine tool industry. Thanks to the Digital Twin known as Create MyVirtual Machine, both machines could be developed, tested and functionally approved simultaneously, long before the real machine was put into operation. This gives machine tool builders the advantage by getting to a better machine faster, while machine tool users can get to the right workpiece even faster.

With the Digital Enterprise portfolio, Siemens supports manufacturers exactly where the current challenges lie. With the help of Digital Twins, such as SINUMERIK ONE, the use of future technologies such as artificial intelligence or industrial edge computing, and the Siemens digitalization portfolio, machine builders and machine users can collect, analyze and understand the data generated and use it in a productive way. This allows them to react quickly and flexibly to challenges, adapt their products and manufacturing processes to new requirements and save resources. 

Greater flexibility and innovative technology for machine operation

SINUMERIK ONE offers new functions and technology updates that further increase manufacturing performance, flexibility and modularity. Visitors to the Siemens booth during EMO in Milan, as well as the visitors attending the virtual Siemens Machine Tool Days event, will have the opportunity to see new SINUMERIK ONE Machine Control Panels (MCP) in action.

With the new SINUMERIK ONE MCPs, Siemens brings intuitive machine tool operation to CNC users including more comfort, increased efficiency and greater flexibility. The new ergonomic metal design can be integrated into existing operating concepts and fits 19-inch to 24-inch panels. The new MCPs can even be configured individually for customer-specific requirements.

New functionalities make machine operation even easier. Powerride combines the override switch with the NC start button for easy and efficient machine setup. With the integrated LED scale in Powerride, ACTUAL values can now be visualized. With Powerride, the feed is automatically reset after the end of the set, which makes operation effective and easy. In addition, Powerride provides haptic feedback through short vibration as soon as a defined limit value is exceeded. This increases the perception of these values and supports the blind operation of the panel.

The QWERTY keyboard is provided as standard for the MCPs for the 22-inch and 24-inch variants, so users no longer need an additional keyboard. An integrated RGB LED in the QWERTY keyboard enables customizable color concepts for simplified work. The SINUMERIK ONE MCP can be used in harsh industrial environments thanks to its IP65 protection class rating.

 Siemens Industrial Edge — extensions for machine tools

With Industrial Edge, Siemens offers a concept in which both machine tool builders and machine users can flexibly use the advantages of data processing using Edge or Cloud computing as required. Siemens is also expanding its Edge computing portfolio for machine tools that will enable real-time analysis of data on-site during production. During EMO and Siemens Machine Tool Days, the scalability of Edge hardware will be presented with new Industrial PCs IPC 127E and IPC 427E hardware variants.