Connecting Virtual to Real: Siemens to Demonstrate How PLM Software Meets Shop Floor Systems and Equipment for Part Manufacturing

Virtual Machine Tool Solution Helps Reduce Setup Time by up to 90 Percent

PLANO, Texas — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 8, 2009 — Siemens will exhibit an exclusive combination of PLM software and production systems and equipment at EMO Milano 2009. The combined solution will be presented by Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, and Siemens Drive Technologies Division, the world's leading supplier of products and services for production machinery and machine tools.

EMO, a trade fair held once every two years for the world production of machine tools, systems, robots and automation products, will be held from Oct. 5 – 10 in Milan, Italy.

The software portfolio of the Siemens PLM Software presentation at this year's EMO focuses on the workpiece-oriented process chain between the initial idea for the product and the finished piece. The software fully covers the requirements for sophisticated PLM tasks across a range of industries, beginning with product development using CAD/CAM systems and the generation of programs for parts via optimization of the post processor and the CNC parameters, and extends to online and offline simulations for controlling and optimizing the manufacturing process on the PC.

“Siemens PLM Software and Siemens Drive Technologies are leading the way by bringing the virtual and the physical worlds together to provide significant competitive time-to-market and productivity advantage to our customers – the machine tool builders and the machine end users,” said Dr. Helmuth Ludwig, president, Siemens PLM Software. “Now more than ever, manufacturers across all industries need tools to enhance productivity, competitiveness and profitability, and Siemens’ solutions, which connect the virtual and physical worlds, deliver the tools to enable right the first-time manufacturing, improved utilization of equipment and enhanced product quality.”

“From a machine tool user perspective, this enables the manufacturer to accurately emulate the characteristics, features, and nuances of the machining process in a virtual environment prior to physically producing the finished part, eliminating the iterative approach on the shop floor,” said Florian Güldner, Analyst Automation, ARC Advisory Group. “Virtual emulation is defining the future competitive advantage for manufacturers by providing a means to maximize the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) the utilization and productivity of high value production equipment, thereby conserving capital resources.”

Virtual Machine

Siemens PLM Software will exhibit its Virtual Machine technology, a complete one-to-one copy of a machine tool on a PC with full virtual Sinumerik® controller functions and machine tool simulation that will provide added value to both the end-user and the machine tool builder. This new technology will maximize machine tool productivity by eliminating the need to use the physical machine for non-production tasks. The Virtual Machine delivers the next generation of shop floor NC programming validation and off-machine set-up preparation and checking which reduces the errors and setup time while transforming the way in which machine tools are built and utilized.

For complex machining operations it can take a day to a day and a half to setup a machining tool for a new work piece which has a negative effect on the overall productivity of the machine.

INDEX Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of CNC turning machines, wanted to increase the efficiency of multi-function production center setup, programming, and validation. INDEX implemented Siemens PLM Software’s innovative Virtual Machine technology to increase machine tool utilization for production work, eliminate collision and reduced setup times by up to 90 percent without any additional need for training.

“The main idea of the virtual machine was to install a one-to-one copy of the machine tool on a personal computer and make it available as a tool to the machine operator,” said Eberhard Beck, Head of Electronic Control Systems, INDEX. “Virtual machining is just the beginning. In cooperation with Siemens, we will continue to optimize the process chain from engineering through to production so we will be able to produce even more economically in the future.”

To view a video case study of INDEX Group’s innovative implementation visit www.siemens.com/plm/emo.

For more information on INDEX Group visit www.index-werke.de.

Connecting Virtual to Real and Part Manufacturing

In addition to the Virtual Machine, Siemens PLM Software will demonstrate examples of extending engineering process chains from product design right to the machine tool, connecting the virtual world of engineering design and planning to the real world of the shop floor; and part manufacturing solutions that can be applied to a range of industries including aerospace, machinery, medical devices and automotive.

Optimized CAM-CNC connection with advanced post processing is a key example of connecting virtual to real. NX™ CAM software provides enhanced output to drive advanced functions on the Siemens’ Sinumerik controller for higher quality surface finish, advanced tool axis control and faster machining.

To illustrate the PLM to shop floor process chain, a mold and die theme will include demonstrations of NX tool design for injection molding, high speed machining using NX CAM for NC programming, and machining simulation and advanced post processing for the Siemens Sinumerik controller. The second theme will focus on a complex part, representative of aerospace or power generation machining, with a process spanning the software functionality of NX CAD for part design and NX CAM for five axis programming. Example parts will be machined at the EMO booth using a 5-axis high speed cutting machine tool equipped with a Sinumerik 840D sl controller.