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«Tuning» for the drive in cold forming

Ernst Grob AG in Männedorf has equipped its recently developed cold forming machine with a Sinumerik control of the latest generation. Thanks to the precise control of the tool axes, the machine impresses with efficiency and speed.

Innovation Made in Männedorf

With a certain "tinkerer mentality" and decades of experience, Ernst Grob develops innovative and demanding machines. The latest development "A9T" is very often used for solid material processing, but is also suitable for forming sheet metal. In roll forming or cold rolling of particularly difficult gears as well as gears on sheet metal parts, the so-called interrupted indexing process is used.

Highest demands on the control

Precision is the be-all and end-all in metalworking, but time also plays an important role. The heart of the forming machine, alongside the sophisticated mechanical construction, is the new high-end CNC control Sinumerik ONE from Siemens. It sits in a control cabinet designed by Ernst Grob and manufactured by the Siemens Works for Combination Technology in Chemnitz (WKC). The Sinumerik combines programmable logic and numerical high-performance controls and is suitable for highly dynamic applications as they are part of everyday life at Ernst Grob.

In Grob cold rolling, we divide the forming work into many small steps and thus achieve high degrees of forming even with high-strength steel.
Andreas Bretscher, Sales and Marketing Manager, at Ernst Grob

Multifaceted safety

The engineering of Ernst Grob's machines is complex; hardly any order is the same as another. Depending on the customer, components from specific manufacturers must be installed, particularly for the automotive industry there are usually precise specifications. All the more important that the control can be integrated without problems.

"In Siemens CNC controls, all basic functions are available, so that we can immediately proceed to the plant-specific adaptations. This makes our work significantly easier," says Bretscher. The clear machine control panel with the Simatic panel also allows intuitive operation, feasible for any person with basic mechanical training.

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"Tuning" for the drive in cold forming

The latest generation of the CNC control Sinumerik ONE determines the mass inertia of the workpieces and automatically controls the system with the "Auto-Servo-Tuning" function directly from the part program based on a strategy specified by the machine manufacturer. With this function, optimal productivity of the machine tool is possible through intelligent dynamic adaptation to different workpiece sizes.

SINUMERIK ONE
Sleek Sinumeric One product display highlighting cutting-edge technology and minimalist design aesthetic
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The system is among the first projects where "Siemens Auto-Servo-Tuning from the part program" was used. This function integrated into the control ensures that the system automatically adapts to the mass inertia of a component. After clamping the part to be machined, potential resonance frequencies are measured directly from the part program – i.e., those frequencies at which the workpiece would start to vibrate.

These disturbing frequencies are filtered out during the subsequent machining, which increases precision and has a positive effect on the speed during forming. "A time saving of a few tenths of a second per workpiece doesn't sound like much, but with a million parts produced per year, it adds up," summarizes Leutwyler.

Complete article 

Here you will find the complete user report from the customer magazine "insight 01/2024"

"Tuning" for the drive in cold forming - "insight 01/2024"

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