The topic “Industry 4.0” is dominating the discussion of the future like no other, even in the sector of machine tool construction. Metal removing machine tools companies like DMG Mori supports its customers seeking to transform their business to having the digital edge with the app-based Celos system and other intelligent software solutions.

The digital change is also taking place in machine tool construction with increasing momentum. This in turn means that software is also becoming more and more important, even in the manufacturing environment. That is why companies in the branch are keeping a close eye on the developments and are fully aware that the foundations for Industry 4.0 must be laid in everyday manufacturing now and in the near future.

Digitalising With Ease

The app-based Celos system was presented around three years ago and has been consistently been updated ever since. Using this uniform user interface for machine and office PC, employees in shop floor and job scheduling can manage, document and visualise job order, process and machine data.

With an open architecture, the system allows the exchange of information with higher-level structures in addition to its effects in the shop floor area. So the system offers customers complete integration of their machines in the company organisation while simultaneously creating today the interface of metal cutting production in the cyber-physical production system of the future. The benefits in day-to-day operation have indicated a 30 percent time saving in tooling times and 50 percent lower time and effort for the calculation of technology values or the search for important information.

And what is more, the “Control APP” in the system enables the continued use of existing programmes, so employees can go on working in their familiar programming and control environments.

Machine Tool 4.0 –

In a collaboration project “Machine Tool 4.0” DMG Mori and Schaeffler Technologies have taken the DMC 80 FD duoBLOCK mill-turn center as an example and have integrated more than 60 additional sensors in total in critical components of the machine. Vibrations, forces and temperatures are continuously recorded during operation by these sensors and then collected, processed and saved in a special evaluation unit.

The benefits for users are twofold. Firstly, process parameters are visualised in the Celos system with the aid of the “Condition Analyser”, so analyses of the performance and status of the machine can be undertaken in realtime.

Secondly the data collected are brought together in a superordinate cloud architecture as well as undergoing cross-machine and cross-plant evaluation with the aid of special algorithms. Specifically, this enables a qualified forecast of potential events of damage, for example on the spindle, from the submitted status data based on empirically determined “behavioural patterns”.

So taken all together these functions and functionalities constitute an intelligent early warning system that optimises service and maintenance intervals, prevents unscheduled machine downtimes and significantly increases machine availability. The Machine Tool 4.0 is therefore an excellent example of how data can be determined from the symbiosis of mechanics, electronics and information technology and then used to generate real qualitative added value for the customer.

DMG Mori process chain – a key component of software strategy

The DMG MORI process chain is a prime example of a successful digital transformation and a practical link from the virtual to the real world. This is substantiated by both numerous successful customer applications and by the competence partnership between Deckel Maho Seebach GmbH and the Porsche LMP1 team. The background of this cooperation is the premium partnership between DMG Mori and the Porsche Motorsport Team. Porsche has won the drivers’ as well as the manufacturers’ classification in the recently finished season of the World Endurance Championship.

The Porsche 919 CNC Motorsport Center in Seebach produces among other things complex pump housings from different materials and technically demanding fixing elements in mini-series. The developers from the racing team supply the necessary CAD data, while the machining experts in Seebach are responsible for the entire process through to the finished workpiece: starting with the processing of the CAD data and CAM programming with the NX CAM and on to 1:1 simulation on the DMG MORI Virtual Machine and right on through to the high-precision finishing on our high-tech machines.

Based on the virtualised process chain machining centers can be optimised in advance thus allowing perfect planning, effective prevention of collisions and a reduction of setup time to an absolute minimum. In other words, the importance of the DMG MORI Virtual Machine is comparable to that of the racing simulator for the pilots. It enables a 1:1 simulation under real conditions – including machine kinematics and control. The result is a high degree of safety and speed in the (exciting) real world.

The Software Offensive In Workshop Programming

Workshop-oriented programming is still of great importance especially in single item production and the production of small and medium-sized quantities – and it will remain just as important for a long time to come. Whereby working with cycles is now state of the art and standard cycles for turning, milling and drilling have long been included in the performance range of modern controls.

Based on its decades of application experience DMG Mori currently has 24 technology cycles for the fields of turning / turning-milling or rather milling / milling-turning in its portfolio. These enable the operator in the workshop to programme complex machining him/herself up to 60 percent faster directly on the machine via a dialog using parameterised context menus.

Examples here include the machining of free-form surfaces using 5-axis inter-polation or various cycles for gear cutting or gearwheel production. Other cycle highlights include the machine protection control for the protection of machines, workpiece and tool, the 3D quickset toolkit for checking and correcting the kinematic accuracy of 4 and 5-axis machines or the application tuning cycle for the process-oriented tuning of feed drives at the push of a button in relation to the table load.

The machine tool manufacturer sees optimum integration of employee potential as the key success factor in the implementation of new production principles. This applies above all to the operation of machine tools due to the complex tasks this involves.