Talk is cheap; only vivid and practical case studies can fully demonstrate the advantages of open CNC systems.
Beckhoff's open bus CNC system solutions have been widely applied in a wide range of applications, from five-axis cutting machines to metal 3D printers, from metal powder forming machines to fully automatic punching machines, from turret punch presses to various grinding machines, from bending machines to EDM machines, from fast and slow wire EDM machines to various welding machines, as well as metal surface grinding / polishing machines, etc.
Beckhoff's innovative "PC + software CNC + EtherCAT architecture " CNC system has successfully addressed the " application challenges " posed by numerous customers worldwide . This article will provide a glimpse into this success through four case studies.
01. High - efficiency & customized high-tech dental machinery
Dentsply Sirona, USA
Dentsply Sirona is the world's largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies. In 2017 , the company's advanced technical team developed the new IM4P dental drill.
Special requirements:
Providing efficient and customized high-tech dental machinery to all Dentsply Sirona manufacturing sites worldwide , the company aims to maintain its core expertise while supporting its customers and their product development activities with new processes and technologies.
Beckhoff's solution:
Beckhoff's TwinCAT CNC simplifies the setup process for the IM4P dental drill grinder and improves machining quality, making the grinding process faster and more stable than previous grinders. It also makes switching between various drill bit types easier and more flexible. Now, if you want to change products, you only need to change the software. No mechanical components need to be replaced, reducing tool wear, and product changeover time is only half of the usual changeover time.
02. High - quality, high-precision grinding and polishing process
Peitzmeier Mechanical Engineering GmbH, Germany
Peitzmeier GmbH , headquartered in Gütersloh, Germany, specializes in the development, design, and manufacture of machine tools for machining stainless steel, general steel, and aluminum parts. The company's product range includes standard application machine tools and process-oriented, custom-designed machine tools.
Project requirements:
Peitzmeier 's fully automated modular finishing gantry is used for workpieces including kitchen exhaust hoods and sinks, as well as laminated sheets used in food processing and packaging machinery. These are typically the final sanding and polishing step in the production process, thus requiring extremely high processing quality. On the other hand, manual finishing is an exhausting and demanding task that also involves inhaling a lot of dust. Therefore, automating the belt sanding process must be efficient, economical, and consistently high-quality, especially for batch sizes of only one piece.
Beckhoff's solution:
The Omni-Grind gantry control system utilizes the Beckhoff CX2020 embedded controller, a 15- inch CP3915 control panel , and TwinCAT NC PTP software. Beckhoff's solution is highly flexible and modular, with a response speed capable of meeting the requirements of a grinding belt speed of 30 m/s and a tool travel speed of 40 m/min . This means that even as the workpiece geometry changes, the ratio of table speed to workpiece machining speed remains constant, achieving a uniform finish pattern.
03. Requires demanding steel and metal smelting tasks
Herkules Machine Tool Factory, Germany
Herkules Machine Tool Plant, located in Siegen , Germany , has a 100- year history in the development and manufacture of roll grinding machines and is a leading company in an important segment of the global steel industry.
Project requirements:
Herkules Machine Tool Plant is to deliver four roll grinding machines to the roll workshop of Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation in China. Due to the extremely high pressure exerted on the rolls during the rolling process, the requirements for grinding accuracy and uptime of the roll grinding machines are extremely high. These are among the most demanding tasks in the steel and metal smelting industry.
Beckhoff's solution:
To accomplish this precise and complex task, Herkules fully utilized Beckhoff TwinCAT PTP and NCI/CNC software, a customized control panel, an industrial PC , and the EtherCAT bus . By leveraging the open software architecture and dynamic functions provided by TwinCAT for controlling axis motion, Herkules integrated its own control system, which would have taken experts years to develop, into a soft PLC , creating the "HCC/KPM 10" roll grinding machine control system.
04. Deep Hole Drilling System with Reduced Costs and Increased Efficiency
KKays Engineering, USA
KKays Engineering, located in Marshall, Missouri, USA, offers two main series of deep hole drilling systems: the Eldorado series for drilling three-quarter-inch holes and the Dehoff series for drilling 2- inch holes. The Dehoff series is used to control cooling systems, fixture systems, automation systems, and many other optional components that can be installed within the machine tool control system according to customer requirements.
Project requirements:
Dehoff drilling machines are mounted on a flat surface, rather than along linear guideways. This ensures unparalleled machine stability and minimizes vibrations during drilling, which can lead to numerous quality issues in the finished product. Furthermore, Dehoff drilling machines offer a very wide spindle speed range, resulting in exceptional drilling flexibility.
Beckhoff Solutions:
Based on the Beckhoff CX1010 embedded controller, the Dehoff gun drill system's control system saves more than 50% of the cost compared to the original PLC control system; the built-in motion control library of Beckhoff TwinCAT saves a lot of programming time; the drive system uses the AX2000 servo driver with EtherCAT interface , which greatly improves the performance of the equipment, with fast processing speed and high reliability.
