High-tech company Trumpf recently presented a new blank cutting system during a customer event at its Neukirch site. The new system uses laser blanking to process up to 25 metric tons of sheet-metal coil stock without any human intervention. This is of particular interest to high-volume manufacturers such as automotive suppliers and automakers, electrical cabinet manufacturers, elevator producers and HVAC manufacturers. “Volume manufacturers often use presses for blanking operations. But that means they need to adjust or even replace the tool whenever they make the slightest modification to their components, which ultimately costs time and money. Many industrial sectors are seeing significant reductions in the scale of individual production runs, which makes these modifications even more costly and time-intensive. The laser allows users to carry out these modifications without requiring a new tool, so it’s much, easier, faster, cheaper and more flexible,” says project manager Oliver Müllerschön, who is responsible for the new system at Trumpf. The company developed the new system in cooperation with the Siemens technology group and mechanical engineering company ARKU. Together with Trumpf, Siemens is responsible for the control system and ARKU for the coil system.

Compared to conventional blanking presses, the new system heralds a significant reduction in construction and logistics costs. It makes production more profitable by eliminating tooling costs, optimizing the use of material, reducing assembly costs and boosting flexibility in the production environment.

The material flow is different to that of conventional 2D laser machines, leading to much lower cycle times and new automation opportunities for high-volume production series. The system can be flexibly adapted to any contours, and the ability to arrange all the contours at different angles greatly improves the nesting of parts as compared to conventional press lines. This can reduce the amount of material used by up to 30 percent. The new system is designed for thin-sheet processing and can generally handle sheet thicknesses of up to four millimeters. This figure can rise to six millimeters in some cases, though this depends on coil width.

Automation reduces cycle times

The production system is fully automated. An innovative system for transporting the sheet metal during cutting keeps the material moving quickly through the whole process, with impressive gains in productivity. The new system also uses many of the tried-and-tested features that Trumpf is known for. These include Smart Collision Prevention, which prevents cut parts from tilting and damaging the laser cutting head, as well as Highspeed Eco, which significantly increases the speed of the cutting process. The entire line – from the coil stock to the pallets of finished parts – can be conveniently monitored and controlled from a single operator module. The points at which parts are removed and stored are automatically programmed and displayed on the screen, for example, and the portable operator module can be used at any of the key points in the system for set-up and servicing tasks.

A robot is used to unload the entire system to ensure fast and reliable part removal. The TruTops Boost software calculates the input data for ready-made cycles/part programs that run on the Sinumerik. This means users do not have to worry about the specific robot movements or how these are programmed, so the robot can be handled without any specialist expertise or prior training.

Trumpf collaborated with Siemens on the control unit for the unloading system, which consists of a support conveyor belt and a robot. This makes use of the new Sinumerik One CNC control software, which is fully integrated in the TIA Portal. The TIA Portal forms the hub of an end-to-end digital engineering process. The data from the TIA Portal can be fed into Create MyVirtual Machine to create the digital twin of the automation. This digital representation of the control unit, machine behavior and kinematics enables virtual testing and commissioning of the system directly within the TIA Portal.

“The Sinumerik One lies at the heart of efforts to globally transform the machinetool industry and to future-proof manufacturing in an increasingly digitalized sector. Thanks to the seamless interaction between the virtual and real portfolios, the Sinumerik One enables machine makers such as Trumpf to significantly reduce time to market while offering users the benefits of improved machine performance,” says Uwe Ruttkamp, head of machine tool systems at Siemens. The loading module was developed by ARKU, a global market and innovation leader for roller levelers. It can accommodate coils up to 2,150 millimeters wide and accepts a variety of materials. The system is scheduled to go on sale in 2022.