DMG Mori will highlight its flexible automation and digitisation solutions during this year’s Farnborough Airshow.

Michael Kirbach, director of DMG Mori Aerospace Excellence Centre in Pfronten, Germany as well as an aerospace specialist from the machine tool manufacturer in the US, will join UK and Ireland managing director, Steve Finn on the group's stand (hall 3, stand 3528) at the Farnborough International Airshow.

Furthermore, the entire local team of sales engineers will be present in rotation at the exhibition during the trade days. The strong international and domestic presence will give customers and other visitors from the global industry a chance to discuss their requirements with the most relevant personnel.

“The aerospace industry is of significant importance to DMG Mori,” states Finn. “In the UK - before the pandemic - it accounted for 30% of our business and there are signs that civil aircraft build rates are rising strongly again. Additionally, we’re seeing an upturn in satellite manufacture and are receiving machine orders for the production of high level, complex parts.

“It is no secret that machine delivery is an issue in our industry at present, with customers often being quoted extended lead-times. However, we are fortunate to have good availability from stock of a variety of machining centres, lathes and other advanced production technology suitable for aerospace component production, which we will be able to discuss at the show.”

Kirbach adds: “DMG Mori is focusing more than ever on automation and digitisation technology. The opportunities for increased competitiveness in machining within manufacturing plants operated by primes and their supply chains have never been greater. However, automation today does not mean inflexible systems that need to be decided upon and invested in at the beginning of a project, after which they cannot be changed.”

He adds that DMG Mori production solutions comprise in-house developed and manufactured equipment tailored to the parts and quantities to be produced, and which are able to be modified after installation as requirements change. For example, an interface can be pre-prepared for a new machine tool so that automation may be retrofitted as soon as series production levels rise.

Highly productive

Depending on component sizes, workpiece and pallet storage and handling systems, such as the scalable WH-Flex, RPS circular pallet pool, multi-level PH CELL with up to 40 positions, and LPP linear pallet pools for linking several milling or mill-turn CNC machines, all offer high productivity.

Automation is particularly flexible when a DMG Mori automated guided vehicle (AGV) is involved. The vehicles move autonomously without the need for an induction loop in the factory floor due to their optical sensor technology and operate seamlessly with employees in the same workspace without safety fencing.

With the PH-AGV, machine pallets from storage areas can be brought to set-up stations and transferred directly into the machine tool. The layout of the machines and storage areas is completely flexible. AGVs can be integrated into existing layouts and later extended or changed as production requirements dictate. The technology in the guise of a TH-AGV in combination with central tool storage is able to load tools into the machines; or an AGV can even remove and replace swarf bins automatically.

Alongside autonomous handling, the need to automate processes in the machine tool is also increasing. DMG Mori’s Green Button processes minimise operator intervention and therefore maximise process reliability, while digitisation promotes intelligent machining. Technology cycles are available, comparable to assistance systems in modern cars.

For example, the sensor-based technology cycle Machine Protection Control (MPC) in a DMG Mori machining centre monitors spindle vibration, torque and impact and can avert damage in the event of a collision. If unbalance or excessive force is detected, automatic tool change is initiated.

With the highly sensitive spike® sensor system of the Tool Control Centre (TCC), 20 sensors are installed in the spindle nose, allowing processes to be monitored in detail close to the cutting edge. For example, the bending moment of the tool is measured during cutting, which is a perfect indicator of increasing tool wear. The machine can be stopped and, if possible, continue with a sister tool without the need for operator intervention.

Digitisation in the machining process also means making data available so that operators and further up the line to process engineers can work sensibly with this information. The DMG Mori Condition Analyser offers this option. Process-relevant data is selected directly on the CELOS control screen at the machine, or on a networked workstation and viewed via a timeline directly related to the NC program. Such visualisation provides the basis for using machine and process data in analytics for data-based process optimisation and process assurance and to move step-by-step closer to the vision of autonomous machining.

DMG Mori develops solutions such as these in close cooperation with selected customers and academia to make digitisation in machining tangible and usable for every customer.

www.dmgmori.com