The sheet metal working industry is booming. An increasingly wide variety of products, varying batch sizes and strong cost awareness require maximum flexibility in the face of global competition. The scalability and flexibility of PC-based control technology offer significant competitive advantages.
Sheet metal components come in all shapes and sizes, requiring a wide range of machining processes including rolling, cutting, stamping, folding, drawing, joining, cleaning and finishing. Production is based on processing machines, presses, punch presses, machining centres or fully automatic production lines comprising sheet metal working equipment as well as handling devices, storage facilities, automatic material feeding and integration into the company network.
The production systems should be highly productive, precise, reproducible and, of course, cost-effective. This requires optimally adapted processes with minimum stoppage and setup times. The large forces in combination with high velocities, as required for pressing, call for advanced control technology. Manufacturers of production machines demand expandability and flexibility in order to be able to meet customer requirements efficiently and cost-effectively.
The benefits of PC-based control technology, which integrates all processes including control, regulation, motion and HMI on a single PC, have been demonstrated in a wide range of applications in pressing, cutting, bending and welding systems worldwide. The high processor power offered by PC technology eliminates the need for special hardware: position and pressure controllers for hydraulic valves, for example, can be replaced with software. The PC can deal with complex control algorithms and offers additional capacity for other functions such as measuring tasks. Complex and expensive special controllers and hardware PLCs with limited programming flexibility are no longer required.
High performance hardware
Sheet metal working processes have to be fast and precise and offer high repeat accuracy. These are perfect conditions for EtherCAT.
EtherCAT offers full Ethernet compatibility, maximum utilisation of the Ethernet bandwidth, and outstanding realtime characteristics. The benefits of EtherCAT for sheet metal processing systems are, for example, higher speed for punching, stamping or laser treatment, since actuators with exactly defined rate times enable switching with an accuracy of <100 ns and axis movements with maximum reproducibility.
Further benefits are multi-axis motion control with axes synchronised through distributed clocks that have reproducible accuracy in the nanosecond range. This is the type of control required when bending sheet metal where several axes must act in synchronism. Distributed clocks precisely synchronise the EtherCAT devices such as axes, die cushion controllers or synchronism controllers for hydraulic cylinders.
Beckhoff’s XPlanar boosts productivity in medical device assembly Beckhoff Automation
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The intelligent transport system, XPlanar from Beckhoff provided the basis for an innovative system concept allowing the specialists at Automation NTH to reduce the space requirement of an assembly machine for medical diagnostic devices by a factor of 10.
Read more...Smart features increase crane safety
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The newly launched Konecranes S series hoist offers a large bouquet of smart features which not only increase lifting device safety but also deliver a higher level of operator protection.
Read more...Redefining industrial lifting
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The Konecranes S-series hoist redefines industrial lifting through its integration of a ground-breaking synthetic rope with smart features, a lifting capacity of 20 tons, and the ability to adapt to diverse girder configurations.
Read more...Seven years of uninterrupted service
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
A set of hydraulically operated Corflex pinch valves, installed in 2018 at a major North African gold mine, has delivered in one of the continent’s most demanding slurry-handling applications.
Read more...New generation soft starter ranges Schneider Electric South Africa
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Schneider Electric has launched its new generation Altivar ATS430 and ATS490 soft starter ranges in Anglophone Africa, the latest innovations in motor control technology.
Read more...Prestigious award recognises inventiveness and entrepreneurial courage Beckhoff Automation
News & events
Hans Beckhoff, managing director, owner and founder of Beckhoff Automation, was recently honoured with the widely acclaimed Rudolf Diesel Medal 2025. This medal honours him as a visionary pioneer in automation technology.
Read more...Reinventing the wheel
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Once a curiosity in the early automotive age, in-wheel motors are now re-emerging with real promise. From electric cars to commercial vehicles and even aircraft, they are on the verge of transforming transportation engineering.
Read more...NORD modular drives for frequently changing motor speeds Bearing Man Group T/A BMG
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
BMG has made a substantial investment over the years to ensure assembly, stockholdings and technical support for the Nord range are in line with stringent international quality, safety and environmental standards.
Read more...PC-based control for sustainable fertiliser production on an industrial scale Beckhoff Automation
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
On a farm in the USA, valuable ammonia is extracted from slurry and processed into ammonium sulphate. NSI Byosis has transformed this complex process into a flexible modular system. This modular approach requires an automation solution with flexible scalability in both hardware and software, which this Dutch company has found in PC-based control from Beckhoff.
Read more...Redefining motion control with Festo’s vision for seamless and intelligent automation Festo
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The quest for precision, flexibility and efficiency continues to shape the future of industrial automation, and Festo, as a long-standing leader in automation technology, stands firmly at the forefront of this movement, driving innovation and setting the benchmark for excellence.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version