FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
Communication Keys Success of Multi-Process Work Centers T he age of smart work centers that combine laser cutting and other center components—machines and automation. The trend of ever-increasing laser cutting power has ex- panded the array of materials available for this fabricating pro- cess, and the speed at which these materials can be cut. With increased throughput has come a major uptick in material-load/ unload automation for handling the higher volumes, and in soft- ware tasked with ensuring material availability and placement of parts on sheets to ensure efficient processing. This has led to a focus on methods to supply and incorporate downstream processes such as press brake forming, welding and assembly. processes is here. Winning here means effective communication among all work-
Software-driven systems provide the answers. “Enterprise resource planning software knows the job order, the manufacturing execution system knows what needs to be manufactured, and the nesting software knows the material used and the way that the material will be cut,” Chakraborty explains. The age of multi-process fabrication work centers teeming with automation is here. An example: the recently opened smart factory at Trumpf Inc. in Farmington, CT, featuring cutting, bending and welding via advanced manufacturing. Success in any such setting demands communication to enable real-time management and control, and data analysis to aid decision making.
“Work centers no longer are just one stand-alone machine,” he says. “Upstream resides the material-storage towers and sheet-loading automation to feed a laser cutting machine, for example. Automation downstream sorts and positions cut parts, with more automation transporting parts (via automated guided vehicles in some cases) to perhaps a robotic press brake or welding operations and assembly. All of this resides in a single large work center.” How does all of this integrate to make these smart factories such powerful assets? This question leads Chakraborty to ask others: “How do we know what inventory we have in the tower, and if the material that we need to cut right now is in the tower? How do we know where the parts go after cutting?”
Tying Components and Automation Together
These smart setups add robust communication capabilities courtesy of Industry 4.0 technology that includes sensor inte- gration and rapid analysis of process data, as well as machine learning and artificial-intelligence features. Enabling laser cut - ting machines and all of the other components to communicate effectively is no simple feat, as Anupam Chakraborty, commer- cial director for Lantek USA, explained during a discussion with MetalForming .
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