Information JOURNAL for CNC-TOTAL SOLUTIONS

information JOURNAL FOR CNC-TOTAL SOLUTIONS

No 50 - August 2010

02 Words from our CEO 03 NUM Internet Shop Solution / NUM Event Calendar 04 Higher productivity by adapting the Flexium system 08 Daetwyler: Water jet cutting, a technology on the rise 10 EMOTEC: Making the old as good as new – thanks to retrofitting 12 NUM USA: NUM Exhibiting at IMTS 2010 - American successes 16 NUM Service: at your service worldwide 18 NUMROTO: core of Unimerco’s global tool manufacturing operation Words from our CEO

Dear readers,

“The only constant is change”. This NUM is a medium-sized company building up know-how also has its is how the editorial for the last NU- with branches worldwide. We are limits, as a company we rely on our Minformation no. 49 began. The large enough to develop our prod- partner companies which have spe- market has been stirring, and in the ucts ourselves, and small enough to cialised in certain sectors. NUM has process, market requirements have be able to adapt to any new chal- specialised in the automatisation of changed faster over the last few lenges the customer and the market m a c h i n e s w i t h s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s . T h e s e months than ever before. The crisis has also resulted in a new business environment for the machining and „Be unique – the recipe for future success“ production industry. For the machining industry, it is important to (Peter von Rüti, President & CEO NUM Group) approach the new circumstances positively and to turn them into strengths. present, both flexibly and quickly. special features can, for example, The continuous growth in market Our know-how about the develop- be in the productivity, operational, globalisation is making it increas- ment of unique machines can be precision, or workpiece quality sec- ingly important to develop a distinc- accessed in all NTCs (NUM branches) tors, to name just a few. Thanks to tive company profile and to commu- worldwide. Demands for increased the self-designed base products and nicate this accordingly. Just as every productivity and more and more the expertise of our staff, we are in person is unique, every company is flexibility are being made of the ma- a position to realise these unique unique too. A considerable part of chines. This heightens, in turn, the machines in close cooperation with this uniqueness is characterised by demands made of the mechanical the machine manufacturer, without the company staff and the company engineers and their knowledge of di- having to modify the base product strategy. verse disciplines. However, because itself. Any basic functions lacking can, when necessary, be integrated into the standard software immediately. This flexibility also applies for Impressum CNC, drives and HMI, of course.

Publisher NUM AG Editor & W e w i l l b e d e m o n s t r a t i n g o u r u n i q u e - Battenhusstrasse 16 Layout Marco Martinaglia ness to the visitors at the IMTS in Chi- CH-9053 Teufen cago, USA (13.09 to 18.09.2010) over Phone +41 71 335 04 11 an area of 83m2 (900 square feet). Fax +41 71 333 35 87 Come and visit, and discuss your ide- [email protected] as with us. We are happy to help you www.num.com make machines and products which are unique to the market! NUM information is published approximately twice a year in English, German, French, Italian and Chineese.

NUM Internet Shop Solution

In order to simply and quickly provide our customers with products at any time of day or night, NUM will be operating a shop in the Internet starting September 1, 2010.

The shop will support current NUM products which you can directly download to your PC. For example, to purchase a software tool you only need to log into the shop, place the software tool in the shopping cart and pay with a credit card. Within a few seconds you receive the download link with which you can then download the software tool.

Security and the strictly confidential handling of your data has top priority at NUM. To protect your data, we use only the most modern security stand- ards. The entire shop, all personal data, and of course all data regarding payment are SSL encrypted for Inter- net transmission. Based on the needs of customers, the shop will in future also offer additional products not re- quiring sales consultation.

NUM Event Calendar

IMTS From 13th - 18th September 2010 in Chicago, USA Bouth No E-4936 in the East Building

Industry Lyon From 5th - 8th April 2011 in Lyon, France

CIMT From 11th - 16th April 2011 in Peking, China

Ligna From 30st May - 3rd June 2011 in Hannover, Germany

EPMT From 24th - 27th May 2011 in Lausanne, Switzerland

Events

Higher productivity by adapting the Flexium system to customer requirements

The Flexium CNC system contains numerous different options for adapting to the customer’s needs. Depend- ing on what training the development engineer has had in machine applications, the Flexium system offers ultra-modern tools and programming languages for creating sophisticated developments in the areas of PLC, visualisation, NC and contour programming, direct expansion of the CNC core, as well as application-oriented user interfaces. This article is written primarily for software developers working with machine applications and seeks to familiarise them with the programming and modification options as well as the advantages of the modern Flexium CNC system.

PLC programming in accordance with IEC 61131-3 editors continuous function chart (CFC), func- IEC 61131-3 The project planning level contains tion block diagram (FBD), ladder dia- Embedded in the Flexium Tools configu- the CoDeSys programming system gram (LD), instruction list (IL) as well ration and startup tool, which is based with all offline and online functions, as optional supplementary object- on CoDeSys V3.3, the developer accesses editors, corresponding compilers and oriented programming. Two program- the actual machine and PLC applications debuggers. All the editors defined in ming versions should be considered through the device tree. With the aid of this the standard are available to you for more closely: PLC programming environment conform- programming your control applica- ing to IEC61131-3, practically all software tion: structured text (ST), sequential Structured Text (ST) automation tasks can be accomplished. function chart (SFC), free graphical “Structured text” is a higher-level programming language, comparable PLC programming environment in Flexium Tools to other high-level languages such as C or Pascal, which allows the development of complex algorithms. Ul- timately, in addition to the machine sequence, the PLC program consists of structured instructions with case dif- ferentiation, comparisons, alternative programming, evaluation of logical and arithmetical expressions.

Object-oriented programming With CoDeSys, you can also program your control in an object-oriented manner - conveniently and using constructs familiar from high-level languages such as JAVA or C++: classes, interfaces, methods, inheritance, polymorphy / dynamic linking. Ob- ject-oriented programming opens up enormous application advantages, such as the ability to reuse existing application components and to have simultaneous development by multiple programmers. Page 4 | 5

Debuggers, visualisation data types

Integrated compilers bling the developer to respond to into operation. The current values of In CoDeSys, integrated compilers these immediately. declared variables are shown in the generate fast machine code from the program code (orange cells). These control application. This makes op- Debugging options values can then be unproblematical- timal use of the performance of the After loading the machine code gen- ly modified or forced. By setting the programmed control. The compilers erated from the application onto the breakpoints and then processing the signal as soon as the program code target device, Flexium Tools offers program code - line by line - errors is input: syntax errors, warnings and numerous important functions for can be found quickly. information on the application are quickly and efficiently debugging your output prior to the translation, ena- PLC applications and putting them

NC programming to partially or completely program tween VAR and ENDV are of the “Real” For the NC program, Flexium offers an existing workpiece contour made data type. Indexes of field calls can all essential NC commands and cycles of geometric elements. Geometric also be symbolically programmed. for grinding, lathing, milling, drill- elements are lines, circles and their This enables mathematical parts of ing, thread-cutting (inner/outer), connections. For multi-axis move- programs to be efficiently embed- laser and water-jet cutting as well ments (3-5 axes machined simul- ded in the NC program. as additional special applications, taneously), linear as well as NURBS, e.g. machining of wood or plastic spline and polynomial interpolation Custom-developed NC cycles and gear hobbing. The following ar- are available, for which the speed In addition to the available standard rangement in groups is given: profiles (acceleration/braking) are cycles for lathing and milling, cus- programmable. tomers also have the option of de- Axis/ISO programming fining their own custom cycles. The Axis programming is generally un- Parametric and symbolic programming G-numbers G100-G199 are provided derstood as the positioning of the To construct NC programs with as for this purpose. These functions major/rotational and minor axes in much flexibility as possible, it is enable the calling up and execut- various channels in different ref- essential to use symbolic variable ing of a subroutine with the num- erence systems. These can be pro- names (single and multi-dimension- bers %10100 through %10199. If an grammed singly or as collective al fields) as well as efficient program already existing G-number is used, interpolations as well as axis pairs constructs such as case differentia- e.g. G81, the customer application (synchronous, gantry, master/slave tion, loops, arithmetical expressions has priority. This allows the creation axes). The complete ISO instruction and subroutines. Global variables (L- of customer-specific variations of set (G, M, S, T, E, D) is implemented parameters and E-parameters) with standard cycles. with NUM. variable and fixed definitions can likewise be selected. Symbolic fields Contour programming or tables can assume the dimensions The Flexium system enables the user 1 through 4. All variables defined be-

Example of polynomial programming in X, Y and Z with time basis I Development Real-time programming Dynamic operators in the ISO program: The dynamic operators allow the General example: programmer (machine manufactur- On = 2 Ea / Eb / Ec // equivalent to Ea = Eb - Ec er) to modify the real-time core of On: Operation n is defined the CNC control, without modifying 2: Dynamic operator 2 (subtraction) the NUM firmware, whereby world- Ea / Eb / Ec: Operands (in this case wide service is also possible for E- parameters). such special applications. Examples The result is stored in Ea. are overlapped axis movements or position-dependent output genera- Dynamic operators in C tion. The options available in ISO programming are not suitable for displaying complex Effect of RTCP function Dynamic operators always de- algorithms for the real-time environment fine various operations. These op- of the NC core. For these applications, erations are used to perform quick “dynamic operators in C” have been cre- RTCP transformation links/calculations in the speed of ated. The developer formulates his calcu- RTCP (Rotating Tool Center Point) the CNC cycle time. Such operators, lation rules as a true C program. These C can be understood as the kine- arithmetic or trigonometric, loading programs are first translated through the matic-dependent correction of the and writing of CNC-internal axis po- configuration in Flexium Tools, linked and major axes positions (X, Y and Z) in sitions and external E-parameters, then managed in the overall application the event that minor axes (A, B and overlapped movements, or the call- of the RTE. The operator function 22 is re- C) are programmed, thus ensuring up of ISO or C programs etc., can served for the activation of dynamic op- ing that the tool tip (TCP), regard- be added as a part program of the erators in C. The formal syntax for calling less of its orientation, remains in CNC and executed behind the in- up is as follows: the physically identical position on terpolators. The syntax for the use the workpiece. For all conventional of dynamic operators begins with a On= 22 COperatorName { P1/P2/…. /Pn} machine kinematics in the 4- and leading “O” followed by the opera- 5-axis range, configuration inter- tion number “n”. Operation numbers On: Operation n is defined faces are available in Flexium Tools are 1 - 128. There are 24 predefined/ 22: Dynamic operator in C for creating the transformation fixed operation types or operator COperatorName: Operator-ID matrices for the kinematic correc- functions; type 0 is the immediate P1..Pn: Parameters and/or axis addresses tion movements. cancellation of the operation.

Milling simulation with material removal Lathing simulation with traverse path analysis 3D simulation For the testing and validation of NC programs, 3D simulation is an available option. This tool simulates NC programs with the aid of “resource files” (such as machine models, tool lists, offset tables and machine parameters) in terms of the traverse paths, material removal and selec- tive collision analysis. A great advantage lies in the ability to modify basic machine models to the respective kinematics with the aid of the integrated machine editor. Page 6 | 7

HMI programming For customer-specific or application-dependent user interfaces, the Flexium system offers a software development kit for HMI programming. Based on HTML (static structuring of interfaces) and JavaScript (dynamic elements), both widely used and accepted languages, modifications or new interface screens can on the one hand be easily created or programmed. On the other hand, totally cus- tomised user interfaces (client developments) can be created with one’s own preferred programming system (C++, C, VB, Visual C). For communication with the control components, a COM server is available to the FXServer.

Flexium communication overview To be able to use certain components, the communication paths must first be briefly explained. On the HMI side, the Flexium user interfaces or a customer HMI is available. Both communicate with the RTS real-time environment of CoDeSys through the FXServer, Flexium Gateway. The CNC is connected with the RTS via a real-time Ethernet, ensuring that even control data and PLC information can be Flexium communi- sent to PC clients fast and efficiently. Flexium Tools can be used to, among other cation structure things, program the PLC, create visualisations and perform parametrisation of drives and CNC-related data. PDA analysis can be handled through the supplied process monitoring, camera functions OPC server. The connection of decentralised HMI devices (Multi-Panel) is enabled or analysis programs. As programming through the same procedure HMI-FXServer-Gateway and an Ethernet network. language, C++, Visual C or other high- level languages are available.

Flexium FXServer PC-Client application: Flexium HMI or Conclusion and outlook The FXServer plays a central role on customer-specific HMI From the standpoint of the developer, the HMI side as COM server, which Shown in the figure below is an inter- the Flexium system presents itself as controls the bi-directional commu- face screen of the Flexium HMI gener- open and easily adaptable to custom- nication between the user interface ated with HTML and JavaScript. This er-specific requirements. It provides software (HMI) and the PLC or the NC contains status information on the CNC accessing options for all levels of the core through Gateway. Each PC appli- at the top left. To the right of this is the control: PLC, NC core, HMI, in real-time cation (client) is thus served, as well area for system and user messages, cur- as well as from disconnected comput- as the Flexium HMI of the COM classes rent axis positions, spindle speed and ers. The core for the development is be- of the FXServer, which is set up as a feed rate displays as well as the vertical yond doubt Flexium Tools, offering con- multi-client server. This offers fast control panel on the right for switching figuration, programming, testing and and efficient interfaces for showing context-dependent screens. The hori- archiving as a project file. The ensures axis positions, CNC operating status- zontal control panel at the bottom with that the application is always consistent es, CNC memory capacity, and much individual buttons and popup menus and increases the benefits to the cus- more. The following diagram demon- offers functions for the respectively se- tomer. It is NUM’s strategic goal to de- strates the operation of the FXServer lected context menu. The inner (light- velop its own process-relevant automa- based on the example of “Read axis coloured) area of the mainframe can be tion components. This enables NUM the position”. modified for the customer. freedom to adapt its products quickly to the continuously changing demands of Extended CNC access ActiveX program link the market. The Flexium system is also This feature can be understood as a To use the HMI infrastructure of NUM, the continuously updated with new func- supplementary library available to framed area (grey area with verticle and tions for adapting to market require- the PLC programmer for gaining read- horizontal control panels) in the Flex- ments. Together with the numerous ing and writing access from the PLC ium HMI are fixedly specified. The inner, options for accessing and adapting that to selected data and information of light-coloured portion (“mainframe”) the system offers, it is ideally suited to the CNC. Representative for this PLC can be designed individually by the today’s market. All developments cre- <-> CNC interface are axis positions programmer. In the place of HTML code, ated are always made with the focus on as well as operating statuses and CNC the integration of an ActiveX component designing the system to be as open and functions. is also possible here, e.g. visualisations, customer-friendly as possible.

Example: „Production” interface screen of the Flexium HMI Example: Interface screen of the customer HMI Development Water jet cutting, a technology on the rise

Steadily increasing requirements in regard to precision, ease of handling and the weight of individual components requires not only new materials and technologies but also a competent partner with whom these market demands can be met. With the CNC high-end specialists NUM, we at MDC Max Daetwler AG have found this partner. Because the best way to predict the future is to create it.

The Daetwyler Group is a renowned wide, the Daetwyler Group employs ers. These production locations en- medium-sized and second genera- around 800 workers, of which about sure that the company has the most tion family-run business which has 150 reside in production locations important supply and distribution since 1951 had its headquarters in in the USA, Estonia, China and In- chains under its control in regard the Swiss midlands municipality of dia. In addition, the Group has ac- to target dates and quality and can Bleienbach near Langenthal. Since cess to an international partner and thereby fulfil its responsibilities to its founding, Daetwyler has evolved affiliate network in over 40 coun- its customers. as a precision machine builder and tries. Thanks to the global sales and manufacturer of key components for service network, Daetwyler’s ex- Daetwyler Industries and Waterjet a wide industrial spectrum. World- tensive presence wins over custom- AG, in collaboration with NUM, have invested heavily in research and development in the field of water jet A choice parts made water jet cutting, in the dimensions comparison cutting technology. This is because many new materials react negative- ly to the effects of heat during their machining. When processing with a water jet, the material structure remains unchanged. Practically all materials can be processed, even foodstuffs, providing they are not water soluble. The WOMAJET® / mi- croWATERJET© machine opens up new possibilities. The process ensures a stable, reproducible and precision manufacturing process for the finest contours with land widths to 0.02 mm.

With water jet cutting, optimal results can be achieved. A high-precision water jet > 0.3 mm, controlled by a Flexium control unit made by NUM, consumes considerably less water and abrasives, and thus raises not only the quality but also the efficiency. The desire for products that are smaller, lighter, more stable, more easily handled etc. demands Page 8 | 9

Beat Trösch, Head of Marketing + Sales, Daetwyler Industries (right) Martin Grob, Director branch NUM Biel, NUM (left)

aerospace industries, water jet cut- At the IMTS, September 13–18, 2010 in ting processes can be used to ma- Chicago, USA, the Daetwyler Group as chine heat-resistant, non-flamma- well as NUM will be represented at a ble, insulating, radiation absorbing large stand to present the WOMAJET® composite materials such as lami- / microWATERJET© water jet cutting nate and structured materials with- machine to a wide public. The ad- out altering their characteristics. vantages of this trendsetting tech- The WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© nology with its wide range of appli- also combines high reproducibility cations can thus be seen first-hand. and quality in the watch-making industry, currently celebrating a Innovation, precision and reliability renaissance of the automatic, me- – the values that gave “Made in Swit- chanical watch. Rigid, wear-resist- zerland” its stature, will be proudly ant and even extravagant materials and diligently furthered by MDC Max can also be used. With water jet Daetwyler AG. It is also these values cutting, even artistic elements can which bind the Daetwyler Group and be precisely implemented. The cut- NUM, since both companies share the ting of artful, complex and unusual same the philosophy. Our customers shapes or unconventional elements know: Only high performance satis- of combined materials can be crea- fies us, since that is the basis of both tively moulded. your and our success. highly precise water jet >0.3mm

WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© at work new manufacturing options. With the WOMAJET® / microWATERJET©, you have a tool that can implement the finest cut with the greatest accuracy, efficiency and process reliability in a conservative technique.

Water jet cutting has nearly unlim- ited areas of application. In medical technologies, biocompatible materials with complex part contours machined with high precision pose great challenges. The WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© meets these without changing the structure and with high process reliability. Resource- conserving mobility and the materials necessary for it such as Kevlar, carbon and glass fibres as well as hybrid materials, particularly in the automotive industry, demand innovative manufacturing processes such as the WOMAJET® / microWA- TERJET© offers. In the aircraft and Precision Making the old as good as new – thanks to retrofitting Increasing the efficiency of an underfloor wheel grinding machine through a new design Axium CNC with 16 axes

In the municipal transport services of the city of Zurich (VBZ), new types of trams have been recently introduced for daily use. The lower number of axles and smaller wheel diameters of the low-floor vehicles lead to higher loads on the wheels and thus to greater wear as in conventional rail vehicles. Worn wheel tyres could also lead to impaired riding comfort. Only through the mechanical reworking of the tyres (re-profiling) can this problem be remedied. VBZ and the company EMOTEC, in close collaboration with NUM, have come up with an innovative and reliable solution to get the wheels running true again.

Underfloor wheel grinding machine at These wheelsets will be reworked in controlled turning attachments for the maintenance hangar of the munici- the VBZ maintenance hangar in Zu- precision turning. This construction pal transport service of Zurich VBZ. rich-Oerlikon. With the 1991 under- enables a complete bogie with four floor machine of the Kellenberger wheels to be relathed or reground company that was used previously, in a clamping. Working closely with the wheels were ground through a NUM, a controller design was de- form grinding wheel. This process veloped which also included the is very time-consuming for heavier replacement of the existing control degrees of wear, since sometimes unit. The system also needed to be several millimetres of the tyre must equipped with a modern control be removed in order to bring the wheels to a uniform diameter. In Tram on the bogie of the machine addition, the upkeep of the nearly 20-year-old control unit could only be done at great expense.

The higher wear on the tram wheels requires greatly increased efficiency of wheelset machining and the manufacture of different profiles on the tyres. The VBZ trials first de- termined the fundamental feasi- bility of performing lathing on the existing grinding machines. Based on this, the Swiss company EMOTEC, in collaboration with VBZ, developed a concept for the enhancement of the machines with NC- Page 10 | 11

Wheel machining in the grinding process panel that would allow uncompli- cated and reliable operation of the machine. The design features two Axium controllers with a total of 16 axles, two FSi-151 control panels and NUM’s MDLU3 drive technology, which meet all these requirements. NUM developed the entire control and visualisation software. Such a machine retains the advantages of the grinding process while also meeting demands for performance and flexibility, since the wheels are trimmed before the grinding process or exclusively turned.

The advantages of turning are, above all, the clearly shorter machining times, primarily with heavily worn tyres, and re-profiling of the tyres including the flange and ing different tyre profiles without roughing and finishing. It quickly the back of the wheel. Other advan- having to adapt the tools, as well becomes clear that, for such com- tages include the option of machin- as optimised turning processes for bined machining, high demands are placed on the control unit. Two Control panel for underfloor wheel grinding machine completely different machining processes must be made operable in such a way that the machine operator is provided with clear procedures to ensure the production sequences are clearly understood.

For the success of this project, the use of modern materials for the tools, a machine construction based on the requirements, and not least of all the use of a powerful control unit with optimally set drives were instrumental. EMOTEC and NUM have demonstrated that the retrofitting of an existing machine using novel ideas can indeed compete with the purchase of a new machine. Expe- rience the result first-hand when you take one of the many trams in the city of Zurich and enjoy a gentle ride. Evolution Ralf Fernandez (left) and Steven Schilling (richt) NUM USA 22 years of quality time NUM in the United States

NUM Corporation has come a long way in the last 22 years. During all of this time, the company has operated under the guiding hand of Ralph Fern- andez. This year, Ralph hands over the reigns of General Manager to Steven Schilling, so we asked both parties for their views on the past, present and future.

What key factors lie behind NUM When examining the factors that and mergers, the industry is now Corporation’s success? have contributed the most to our primarily populated with small and Ralf Fernandez: “We started out with success over the years, one stands medium sized companies that build two basic goals in mind: to provide out above the rest; namely, the new machines, but also retrofit ex- service support for NUM products im- talented and dedicated employees isting ones. Since this has been NUM ported in foreign machines, and to of NUM Corporation. Our competi- Corporation’s target market all along, introduce NUM products to the North tors may have the quantity, but we, we are in recognizable territory. And American market, where we were without doubt, have the quality.” although we have also been affected virtually unknown. Our business by the severity of the market attri- strategy has remained essentially Why was Steve Schilling selected as tion, we are in a much better posi- unchanged: developing our strength the next General Manager of NUM tion than our competitors to weather around our competitor’s weaknesses Corporation? the storm.” and taking full advantage of the in- Ralf Fernandez: “Steve is ideally herent flexibility of NUM’s products’ placed to be my successor. He has Where do you see NUM Corporation in order to adapt rapidly to market a solid engineering background – now focusing its activities? conditions and to enhance the ef- with a particular expertise in control Steven Schilling: “Due partly to ficiency of machine tools. systems – and during his 20 years overseas competition, North Ameri- with NUM Corporation has acquired can manufacturing is no longer We have focused much of our ef- extensive knowledge of our prod- characterized by long production forts on the requirements of small ucts and customers. Steve also has runs of identical products. Most and medium sized OEM and retrofit an excellent understanding of sales manufacturing now involves short- /remanufacturing companies that and marketing.” run project times, engineer-to-or- address niche markets, such as gear der flexibility and highly regulated manufacturing, cylindrical, surface Where does NUM Corporation sit in production. Consequently, we will and tool grinding. To this end, we the US market today? continue to promote flexible NUM provide cost-effective control solu- Ralf Fernandez: “The American ma- products paired with very crea- tions using built-in programs – mac- chine tool industry started a long tive personnel, to create solutions ros – that address the requirements and steep decline in 1998. Large and for these new market demands. of the control process, combined well-recognized machine tool com- Although we have had consider- with user-friendly human-machine panies that populated the American able success with our offerings for interfaces – HMIs – to enhance the landscape have gone out of busi- existing niche markets, we need to productivity of machine operators. ness. Due to bankruptcies, attrition strengthen our position by contin- Page 12 | 13

ued product enhancement. We must What are the keys to success in team, by providing full solutions for also continue to be reactive to our supporting existing customers and targeted markets. customers’ demands, using the val- landing new business? ued experience of the end-user and Steven Schilling: “We will continue to 3. With our high quality products, cus- the machine builder to cultivate follow the path that has proven for tomer training and support services, we product evolution. years to be successful for NUM Cor- will help our customers reduce their cost poration, which is bring our custom- of ownership on machines controlled by With the Flexium CNC solution, NUM ers the highest possible value in a NUM, throughout the product’s entire provides a control platform that can machine control partner. So we will life-cycle. readily be adapted to customers’ continue to implement a targeted demands. While building upon our ‘complete solutions’ approach, while Our full range of machine control prod- history of delivering complete high- remaining focused on three key prin- ucts and our strategy of maximizing end machine tool control solutions, ciples: synergy with our partners, by offering the Flexium offers a fully customiz- NUM technical expertise where needed able HMI, true 3-D simulation, and 1. We will maintain our dedication to- to complement the OEM’s or integrator’s a flexible PLC architecture with IEC wards complete product support and engineering resources, gives the custom- 61131 and Can Open interface. Com- service to the machine builder/retro- er the freedom to adapt and prosper in bined with our exceptional product fitter, as well as to the end-user. the changing market. At the core we will range, this provides us with the ca- remain a true partner with our custom- pability to strengthen our solution- 2. We will continue to capitalize on ers, shoulder to shoulder, to deliver the based approach and to grow market the strengths of our product flex- most effective and efficient machine and share.” ibility and our talented engineering control solutions.”

American successes

NUM Corporation enjoys considerable success in the North American market. Here we take a brief look at three recent build-ins.

Anderson-Cook Machine Tool vertical column – each equipped Anderson-Cook Machine Tool is the with an AMO digital scale which pro- world’s leading manufacturer of vides 500 nanometre (20 millionths spline-rolling machines and associ- of an inch) accuracy. The two hori- ated tools. Based in Fraser, Michi- zontal axes employ precision linear gan, this company is a relatively new rails and are driven by high per- account for NUM Corporation, having formance digital linear servomotors, first approached us in March 2009 for which combine exceptionally high a CNC system for an innovative 3-axis positional accuracy and repeatabil- precision grinding machine that it ity with a very long service life. As Anderson-Cook’s new AC-Tru Grinder was developing. The machine was standard, the AC-Tru Grinder is also tool grinding machine uses a 3-axis launched just three months later, equipped with a 5 hp professionally NUM Power CNC system and is already enjoying considerable balanced spindle, controlled by a market success. variable speed drive. The spindle can accommodate wheel diameters up to variety of grinding processes, in- Anderson-Cook’s new C3-5-F AC-Tru 30 cm (12 in) and can attain speeds cluding centre-less thru-feed and precision grinding machine is capa- up to 3,600 rpm – the equivalent of plunge, multi-plunge mixed with an ble of form grinding, plunge grinding a linear speed in excess of 57 m/s (187 oscillation cycle, OD profile, surface and in-feed grinding, and features a ft/s). and creep feed. built-in acoustic system for polish- ing to a high micro using carbide All three axes are controlled by a According to Mike Vettraino, Grind- or steel. The machine incorporates NUM Power CNC system, and the ing Product Manager, of Anderson- a novel ‘AC-Tru Centerless’ grinding machine’s HMI comprises a NUM Cook Machine Tool, “The user inter- fixture, which can accommodate a FS151iCF operator’s panel and an face of NUM’s CNC software combines very wide range of work-piece di- MP03 machine tool builder’s panel, easy-to-understand graphics with ameters, from 0.127 mm (0.005 in) to co-mounted on an articulated ergo straightforward parametric program- 139 mm (5.500 in). arm. The NUMgear machine control ming, making it highly intuitive. software includes the NUMPass and This helps to reduce the time and The AC-Tru Grinder has three preci- PCProCAM packages for cylindrical cost overheads of operator training, sion axes – a 558 mm (22 in) longi- grinding. The control flexibility of and enables our customers to bring tudinal table, a 203 mm (8 in) cross the AC-Tru Grinder’s software ena- the AC-Tru Grinder on-stream very slide table and a 368 mm (14.5 in) bles the machine to handle a wide quickly.” NUM USA Bourn & Koch Machine Tool Company ity, where it produces an exten- One of NUM Corporation’s very first sive range of precision machine customers, the Bourn & Koch Ma- tool products. The company also chine Tool Company is nowadays rebuilds and remanufactures leg- a highly valued business partner. acy machines, retrofitting many Based in Rockford, Illinois, Bourn of them with NUM CNC systems to & Koch operates a large, 12,000 improve their performance. m2 (130,000 square feet) purpose-built manufacturing facil- According to Loyd Koch, Vice Pres- ident of Bourn & Koch, “We have been utilizing NUM controls in our products for over 20 years. The initial driving force was that NUM produced the only control system with an integral electronic gear- Bourn & Koch’s 400H Series II gear box that met our requirements for hobber has seven CNC axes gear hobbing and grinding. Over the years, this usage has expand- ed to other parts of our business bing. Custom hobbing screens – including turning, milling, bor- enable multiple hobs to be used ing and grinding machines – due to produce cluster gears within to the cost, support and complete the single setup; the CNC hob- product solutions offered by NUM shifting macros simply shifts Corporation.” from one tool to the next, while maintaining synchronization to Bourn & Koch’s latest gear manu- the gear to allow for tooth line- facturing machine – the 400H Se- up. The 400H series gear hobber ries II horizontal gear hobber – is can accommodate a work di- The 400H gear hobber features a unique a highly advanced seven-axis CNC ameter of up to 400 mm (16 in) CNC servo-driven tailstock system capable of exceptionally and features a unique CNC ser- high throughput. As standard, vo-driven tailstock. The tailstock the machine is equipped with can be programmed to have two NUM’s Axium Power CNC system pressures for each cycle; a high and FS151iCF control panel – which pressure is used initially, to em- features an integrated industrial bed the face drivers into the PC – and makes extensive use of part, and then a lower pressure NUMDrive C compact servo drives is used during the actual cutting and BPH series brushless axis mo- operation, to prevent the drivers tors with absolute feedback. from going deeper into the part and causing a small amount of The supplied NUMgear software rotation that would show up as features a multilingual user in- lead error when the gear is interface, which provides Bourn & spected. The NUM digital drive Koch with a significant competi- interface enables the tailstock tive advantage for machines that motor’s torque output to be ad- are exported to other countries, justed on-the-fly, to provide and includes the NUMPass and programmable set points for the PCProCAM packages for gear hob- tailstock pressure. Page 14 | 15

Star Cutter Company All eight machine axes are con- Founded in 1927, Star Cutter Com- trolled by a single NUM CNC sys- pany has grown to become a world tem. The machine also makes leader in the cutting tool indus- extensive use of NUMDrive C try. Headquartered in Farmington compact servo drives – their Hills, Michigan, the company op- small size is an important ad- erates numerous product-specific vantage, because the NTG is de- manufacturing facilities through- signed to take up minimal floor out the state. Star Cutter chose space – and employs linear mo- to adopt NUM CNC hardware and tors on two of its horizontal axes NUMROTOplus software for its lat- to maximize performance. est tool and cutter grinding machine. Linear motors on two horizontal axes eliminate the need for ball Star Cutter’s new NTG tool and screws and reduce the number cutter grinder is designed for of moving parts, lowering main- manufacturing and recondition- tenance costs and improving ing complex cutting tools quickly surface finishes. And, since the and precisely. Typically, these loader is integrated in the stand- tools would include end mills, ard enclosure, the NTG takes up drills, step drills, taps and form 30% less floor space than ear- cutters. The NTG is a five-axis lier generation machines. NUM’s grinding machine – featuring a NUMROTOplus software, designed three-station wheel and mani- specifically for tool production fold changer capable of switch- and re-sharpening tasks, ena- All 8 axes on Star Cutter Company’s ing grinding wheels within 10 bles the machine operator to new NTG tool and cutter grinding ma- to 15 seconds – complete with a easily check and optimize tool chine are controlled by a single NUM fully integrated 3-axis automat- alignment via a graphical HMI. CNC system ed loading and unloading stage. The high speed auto loader holds Star Cutter will be exhibiting its up to 288 parts, and can load new NTG tool and cutter grinder and unload 12.7 mm (0.5 in) di- at IMTS 2010. Check out Star- ameter, 200 mm (8 in) long tools SU booth N-6924 in the North to/from an automated tailstock Building. centre in less than 15 seconds.

NUM Exhibiting at IMTS 2010 – Booth No E-4936

NUM will have a large 83 m2 (900 square feet) exhibi- We will be demonstrating a wide range of our CNC tion booth at this year’s International Manufacturing solutions for machining and tool grinding, including Technology Show. Held every two years at the McCor- NUMgear, NUMgrind and other special products that mick Place complex in Chicago, Illinois, IMTS is one of we have developed for the North American markets. the largest industrial trade shows in the world. This We will also be displaying our high performance ser- year, the show runs from September 13 to 18. vomotors and drives, innovative software tools and leading-edge HMIs. Pride of place will go to our latest Flexium CNC system, which provides manufacturers with a highly flexible and scalable means of maximizing their production of precision parts.

We look forward to welcoming you to IMTS 2010. We would be delighted to discuss how we can help improve the performance of your machine to provide you with a significant competitive edge in the market. Our exhibition booth – number E-4936 – is located in the center of the Controls & CAD-CAM Pavilion, in the East Building. NUM USA NUM Services - At your service worldwide

Consultation and support during the entire product life cycle. When Replacement part supply you decide for a system and a solution from NUM, you are making a Thanks to our national representa- long-term investment. We consider ourselves to be your partner: from tives and partners, replacement parts the idea to its realisation and through to on-site customer service can be supplied the quickest way possible. Local warehousing of every NTC allows the duration of replacement NUM’s service concept is based on 3 pillars: part delivery to be minimised. The local replacement part store is replen- • Training & Support ished by the large central warehouse, • Repairs & Upgrades from which all NTCs and agents are served. We can produce and dispatch • Modernisation & Maintenance of value axis motors within 3 working days. NUM also offers a trade-off program for most replacement parts with a cost advantage of up to 40% when Training & Support Repairs & Upgrades - NUM Decades of a part which can be repaired is sent NUM is committed to transferring support back. Customers gain even more se- its know-how on a regular basis. Good, quick customer service ensures curity with a Service contract. This In training courses, our special- that waiting time is kept to an absolute guarantees the availability of parts in ists share their comprehensive CNC minimum. Thanks to its new logistics the NUM branches, allowing for the knowledge with you, as well as their structure and its 32 international serv- CNC systems the user has installed. special product expertise and drive ice points, NUM is constantly working and application techniques. Our ex- to reduce response times. Our special- tensive range of training courses is ists use their knowledge and skills to oriented towards your individual re- restore even older systems as quickly quirements, be these operator train- as possible – new or old, we are on ing, maintenance, repair and service the job. training, or programming training in PLC, CNC, HMI etc. NUM boasts a global, high-performance network of service points and branch offices. The tried-and-tested 3-level concept is structured as fol- Remote diagnosis and maintenance lows: Our service engineers can make a remote diagnosis online via the HMI NTC: Num Technology Center – Compe- (NUMpass or NUMROTO) – simpler tence centre with its own replacement problems can be rectified directly, part store or bridged provisionally. This means you have no call-out costs. Even in Agent: Independent NUM partner the event of a more serious accident, company with a local replacement time can be saved, as the mainte- part store. Support and regular train- nance personnel can begin to take ing by our specialists the necessary measures even before the NUM technician is on location. In Contact: Local contact person for our addition, any necessary replacement customers, who speaks the respective parts can be immediately sent or or- national language dered. Page 16 | 17

Technical Service Hotline also checked, and attention is called Retrofit – extra service life for the ma- Our hotline is staffed by well-trained to any parts missing. Know-how is chine engineers who can answer technical significant for every company. NUM If the machine’s mechanics are still questions competently. The prelimi- therefore develops individual train- flawless or the machine is one of a nary diagnosis made on the telephone ing plans, based on the latest level kind, which cannot be replaced by determines the further procedure for of knowledge, together with the cus- more recent methods, then a retrofit the service staff and whether a serv- tomer. These are then implemented is an attractive solution. NUM is able ice engineer will be deployed to the in accordance with the customer’s to extend the service life of these ma- site. The technical service hotline can specifications. The customer is there- chines, which is especially interesting be reached every day during normal fore optimally prepared should a from an economic perspective: working hours, and this, thanks to glitch occur and it can be ensured our global service network, in most that the machine is being operated - Investing in a Retrofit pays off in a important time zones all over the correctly. very short period of time. world. - The Retrofit machine is up and run- Service contracts ning again in only a few weeks. Minimising waiting time by securing data The NUM service contracts are aimed When valuable information such as at end users, machine manufactur- commissioning data, PLC programs or ers and distributors. First and fore- CNC processing programs can be lost, most, the service contract covers the recovering/replacing lost data can labour and travel costs for potential take longer and cost more than re- repairs at the user’s premises during pairing the hardware. This is why our the guarantee period; further main technical team offers special advice points are: in terms of data backup. • Detailed telephone support • Preferential support Easy Backup • On-site support Easy backup is the simple and quick • Increased availability of replacement parts backup & recovery solution. With this • Staff deployment software, images from individual partitions or entire data carriers can, directly and without any complicated Our specialists finely tune the ele- installation, be generated on the Easy ments to one another and on the Backup USB stick. Should Windows machine to combine perfection in suddenly no longer be able to run, a precision and efficiency even for de- data carrier image is always readily manding procedures. The simple op- available for this emergency. eration of NUM CNC systems ensures that this performance really can be Backup Agent achieved.The NUM customer service is This optional backup software, which also guaranteed for retrofit machines is integrated into NUMpass, allows for years to come. you to configure which items should be backed up. The backup occurs manually or fully automatically, de- pending on the setting. Modernisation & Maintenance of value Older machines tend to suffer from NUM customers can rely on opti- Software updates and extensions failure of the electronics, and their mal service for their control unit The ongoing development of the CNC reliability decreases from year to even after 20 years. Our NUM cus- system software and new hardware year. Compared to new machines, it tomer service works on this daily, components for our control family is often the flexibility of the program as satisfied customers are the best enhances the practical potential and and the CNC system that leave a lot business card our company can capabilities of CNC. The developments to be desired. This is compounded by provide. made in the NUM laboratories include the no-longer-adequate computer user benefits such as new functions in and servodrive power. programming and operating environment. Thanks to years of experience in practice, new tools emerge which support the machine manufacturer and the user when solving problems.

Audits A further form of customer service is represented by the audits NUM can perform. To provide customers with the greatest possible security, the machines are carefully checked by our NUM technicians. The complete- ness of the replacement part store is NUM Service NUMROTO at core of Unimerco’s seamless global tool manufacturing operation

Unimerco has earned one of the most interesting reputations worldwide for creating special-purpose tools. Its development services are heavily relied on by many of its end users to work with them to design better metalworking production solutions, and the company often produces custom cutting tools at extremely short notice. Underpinning Unimerco’s special tooling services, with 12 facilities worldwide, is a very close rela- tionship with its tool grinding machinery builder Saccke, and standardization on the tool grinding software package NUMROTO - the company’s key resource when developing and prototyping new special tooling.

This theme of uniform excellence runs deep within the company’s culture. Every Unimerco facility looks very similar, not just from the outside but also from the internal building layout. All employ-

ees, no matter whether they are Tool development manager, engineer, or machinist Unimerco has been in the tool sup- on the production line, works in ply business for over 40 years, and the same unified space - there is moved into the creation of special- no separation between office and purpose tools some 20 years ago, manufacturing areas. Everyone is following the acquisition of its own treated equally in these open-plan CNC grinding machines for recondi- environments, with the CEO having tioning tools.Customization of tool the same workspace as the secre- designs to improve cycle time and tary, the designer, the engineer or eliminate process stages was the the apprentice. And the company natural next step, and the company is also majority owned by its em- has steadily developed its know- ployees. This culture has enormous how in this sector. This is aided by benefits in terms of communica- its unique corporate culture which tion efficiency and team spirit, means that many employees stay and Unimerco has an enviable rep- with the company for very long pe- utation for retaining highly skilled riods - allowing enormous experi- staff. Another unusual feature of ence to be brought to bear on any the company culture is a small production requirement. Once ac- “hotel” area on major Unimerco cepted, the final tool specification sites with some 10-20 rooms and is stored on a master server at Un- living spaces. This makes it very imerco’s Danish headquarters, al- easy for the company to transfer lowing it to be accessed over the employees for training and knowl- company’s intranet by any subsidi- edge exchange, and to host major ary. Each of Unimerco’s manufac- meetings for tool development, turing locations in the Americas and machine handovers, and training Europe (and soon Asia) uses identical with both its clients and suppliers Saacke grinding machines, control- such as NUM and Saacke. led by the identical NUMROTO pack- Page 18 | 19

age used in the design - with the from left to right: Walter Grob, NUMROTO Head of Sales, Gerd Hotz, SAACKE Director exception of local-language differ- Marketing & Sales, Jorgen Bylov, UNIMERCO Group Production Director, Carsten Thomsen, ences in the HMI. This means that UNIMERCO CNC Grinding Specialist, Finn Hassing, UNIMERCO Group IT Manager and Ib Unimerco is able to faithfully repro- MUNK Nissen, UNIMERCO Technology Development duce every tiny aspect of the tooling design exactly as first conceived - of machining performance from Un- sheer length of its experience over wherever and whenever either new imerco. Examples include the very 20 years means that this is usually parts or regrinding is required. first automatic Tool changer on a the case) then a template design tool grinder or the unique network typically exists in its model library. Unimerco’s focus on custom tool- architecture. Likewise, Unimerco This means that many special-pur- ing typically involves the solving of relies on a sophisticated tool design pose tool designs can be imported, complex problems, and this in turn and machine control software, and modified, simulated and optimized has led the company to develop very standardized on NUMROTO in 1994. all within the space of an hour or so. close relationships with the grind- The package’s comprehensive three- NUMROTO’s rich virtual prototyping ing machine builder Saacke and the dimensional modeling, simulation facilities includes both workpiece grinding software supplier NUM. and optimization environment plays simulation and collision monitoring Numerous major developments to a crucial role in Unimerco’s ability for the Saacke grinding machines, the CNC technology inside Saacke’s to turn new designs around rap- helping Unimerco to build plenty of grinding centers can trace their be- idly. If Unimerco has encountered time into the development cycle for ginnings to requests for new levels a similar problem before (and the trials and customer evaluations.

Tools to boost productivity in hy- draulics parts One of numerous industrial application areas that Unimerco is heav- UNIMERCO Grooving Land N= 1990t/min Fn= 0,06 mm/rev. ily engaged in is special tooling for machining hydraulic valve bodies. lands in a spool bore in a single Complete tooling package for the It’s a sector that is characterised by operation. Some machinists work- machining of a cast iron valve body a need for ever more complex solu- ing in this market can use a cutter Unimerco has equally advanced tions, and many machining contrac- with inserts, and would typically solutions for other common valve tors have found that close relation- have to machine the valve body in body machining tasks such as ships with the tool developer holds several operations with different holes for compensators, oil, shock the key to meeting these demands. tools, and maybe from both sides. valves, etc. Unique know-how Unimerco has developed a range of With up to as perhaps 15 lands in a embodied in its designs means tool concepts for this market which bore, the time and cost savings of that its tooling solutions also en- can be easily and quickly custom- optimized all-in-one solutions can sure that bores are created “ring ized for individual applications. be enormous. free” - and do not require subse- One example is its land grooving quent finishing operations after tool, which can machine all the the initial machining stage.

A typical example of an efficient Unimerco all-in-one solution - a land grooving tool and the before and after results of a machined workpiece Special tooling CNC Complete Solutions Worldwide

NUM systems and solutions are used worldwide. Our global network of sales and service locations guarantees professional service from the beginning of a project to its execution and for the complete life cycle of the machine.

NUM has service centers around the world. Visit our Website for the current list of locations. www.num.com