Safety Integrated fulfills latest safety standards Perfect Precision

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10 EiMa CASE STUDY Machining Centers Automation standards for highly specialized machines in travel trailer manufacture The Safe Way to More Productivity Today, modularization, efficient automation standards and modern simulation methods allow individualized production solutions to be streamlined more than ever before. The reduced engineering effort enables rapid, precise and calculable implementation, along with an attractive price-performance ratio. For a highly specialized machine, the travel trailer manufacturer Dethleffs and the EiMa Maschinenbau company rely on Sinumerik-based automation with integrated safety technology. In 2006, 12,400 travel trailer and motorhome RVs ran off the production lines at Dethleffs – that is more than 60 vehicles per day. When the decision was made to purchase a machine for processing sheet-shaped composite materials, the future walls and roofs of the vehicle bodies, overall streamlining of the operation and Popular with families: the individual travel trailer from Dethleffs higher capacity ranked among the most important objectives. The machine would need to perform more processing steps, increase throughput and availability, and the level of integration improved on the production line. Standards save time and money EiMa Maschinenbau in Frickenhausen, which specializes in custom-built machines, won the contract. The company uses standards wherever possible to save time and money in the interest of their customers. In order to capitalize on the streamlining factor of high-performance standard automation, an often critical as- spectrum LIGNA 2007
EiMa pect for the success of custom-built machines, EiMa uses Sinumerik-based automation technologies with Safety Integrated technology, as well as 1FK7 servo motors with absolute value transmitters. The remote maintenance and diagnostics functionality of the CNC system, which extends down to drive level, forms the basis for efficient and resource-friendly servicing. The gantry machine automatically transports the composite plates from the press to the processing section of the machine via a roller track, and then clamps them into place fully automatically. The positioning range of the X-axis is 10,200 millimeters, and 4,000 millimeters for the Y-axis. Two independently operated milling spindles with 15 kilowatt and 24,000 rpm each, as well as several drill heads and special units perform all of the necessary machining steps on the future walls and roofs of the travel trailers, whereby feed speeds of 60 meters per minute are achieved. The high-level cutting and positioning speed of the system has a direct influence on the productivity of the machine, because tool change and processing algorithms have been designed in such a way so as to eliminate ancillary times altogether; despite the fact that both milling spindles are spectrum LIGNA 2007 operated by a common tool changer. The finished travel trailer part is automatically forwarded to the next station on the production line, while the machine cleans itself of any drilling and cutting chips. Narrow deadlines not a problem The newly designed machine had to be completely commissioned and integrated into the production line over the three- Sinumerik technology streamlined manufacture of interior travel trailer components week plant vacation period. Approximately a total of six months were available for the design, engineering, construction and preliminary commissioning – not long for a new design with 13 axes, two spindles, a large number of special units and a complex functionality. All of the machine functions and the speed control of the sheet machining center were implemented with the help of an NCU 572.5. The multi-channel design of the Sinumerik CPU allows independent and therefore easier programming of simultaneous machining processes of the two spindles as well as the drill and special tools. Gunter Nagel, head of design at EiMa, stresses the importance of an integrated standard automation solution for a tight schedule: “For a project as functionally complex as this one, it is particularly important that everything in the automation solution is a good match, that the entire team is working in a familiar technical environment, that we can continue to use existing program standards and HMI elements from earlier projects to a large extent, and that we can fall back on efficient support from our automation partner, if necessary.” The CNC functionality also helps to ensure that special machine projects can be handled quickly, starting with the milling with dynamic tool orientation, standard cycles and the gantry. As a result, the required machining precision was achieved with relatively little moderate construction effort, despite the long positioning distances and the gantry drives. The integrated safety functionality and the simple HMI and control computer link via Profibus or Ethernet help to keep the system architecture manageable while minimize cabling costs. While EiMa handled the development of the necessary user programs and the HMI, Dethleffs assumed responsibility for the NC part programs. The Siemens plant in Chemnitz supplied the electrical cabinet construction. On-site commissioning was also completed in a very short period of time. The CNC thereby once again made a major contribution. With its guided commissioning, drive optimization and extensive diagnostic functions, the basic machine functions were quickly verified. As a result, attention soon turned to optimizing the actual machining functions and the line integration. At the end of the company vacation period, the travel trailer production immediately resumed with increased productivity and capacity. The throughput and availability of the new sheet machining station fully met the expectations of everyone involved. In the meantime, Dethleffs is continuing to expand its production capacities. At an entirely new travel trailer production site located in Neustadt near Dresden, Germany, EiMa technicians are already in the process of commissioning a second sheet machining center, and also making preparations for the production of a new model series. More information: www.siemens.com/sinumerik E-mail: peter.hofsaess@siemens.com 11
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Safety Integrated fulfills latest safety standards Perfect Precision

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