DMG Mori’s Pfronten digital event: innovation highlights

DMG Mori’s annual Pfronten, Germany open house took place virtually this year – a huge technical undertaking for such a colossal event that regularly attracts up to 10,000 visitors from around the world. The different format worked well with virtually no decrease in attendee numbers. Dave Tudor watched from the comfort of his home office chair.

DMG Mori’s live streamed global Digital Event, which spanned three days during February in seven languages featured a number of technical presentations, world premiere product releases, digital showroom tours, Q&A sessions and one-to-one online meetings.

Broadly, the three days focused on separate topic areas: world premiere products and enablement; automation; and digitisation.

Chairman of the Executive Board Christian Thones and Dr Masahiko Mori, president of DMG Mori Company Limited kicked off proceedings with an opening keynote speech which focused on the latest trends and innovations.

“2020 was an unprecedented year for entire world and every person and every business was affected, but as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly after the summer, I can see our customers – and the machine industry in general – becoming very busy,” Dr Mori predicts.

Both Dr Mori and Mr Thones emphasised that automation would be vital moving forward.

“We have a broad portfolio of 154 machines and 53 automation solutions and we see it as our responsibility to build digitisation and automation into the entire process chain to enable our customers to be ultimately more productive and profitable,” Mr Thones affirms.

Reflecting on events from the past year, Mr Thones quoted Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella: “Digital transformations tend to take place over a time period of two years. Because of COVID-19, the current transformation has accelerated to two months.

“One of the few winners from the pandemic is digitisation and sustainability. I believe our progress in these areas combined with our machine tool and product innovations is absolutely the right approach.”

Automation


Automated manufacturing processes do much more than reduce labour costs – they also increase efficiency, quality and flexibility. Machine tools are most productive when they run around the clock.

DMG Mori’s modular portfolio comprises a total of 53 automation solutions in 13 product lines for workpiece or pallet handling – which includes hardware and software.

The latest developments in the company’s automation portfolio include the PH Wheel, a standard automation system for pallet handling based on the proven and patented technology of the tool wheel magazine and the TH-AGV, an Automated Guides Vehicle (AGV). This driverless transport system enables autonomous transport of up to 16 tools to the respective machines.

PH Wheel offers highly productive automation for up to 125 workpieces: “It was a logical step to transfer this technology to the handling of workpieces as well as tools,” explains Cornelius Nöß, managing director of Deckel Maho Pfronten. “The concept is the same but we have adopted the magazine and the double gripper.”

Designed for workpieces weighing up to 50kg, the PH Wheel offers space per wheel for 25 carriers with a diameter of 150mm. A total of five wheels – 125 carriers are possible and with a beam diameter of 300mm, 12 stations are available per wheel. Component height can be up to 400mm.

“The high number of workpieces in an installation area of less than 9m², combined with the extremely fast workpiece changeover of less than seven seconds, makes the PH Wheel an unrivalled automation solution in its class,” Mr Nöß adds.

The TH-AGV offers driverless, autonomous transport of up to 16 tools to the machine tool enabling man and machine to work harmoniously together. It is designed for tools weighing up to 50 kg and 400mm in length.

They are picked up in two rows of eight tools each and no guide rails or tracks are required. Laser navigation ensures safe transport through production and mixed operation with manual vehicles and pedestrians is also possible.

World premiere: CLX 450 TC


With the new CLX 450 TC, DMG Mori focuses on universal turning. In order to meet increasing production requirements with smaller quantities and greater part diversity, the company’s CLX TC series comprises a B-axis with compactMASTER turn and mill spindle which replaces the traditional tool turret.

On board are an automatic tool changer with tool magazine, powerful main spindle and the tailstock or an optional counter spindle. This makes the world premiere the perfect entry into six-sided complete machining.

The central element of the CLX 450 TC is the B-axis. A Y-axis allows eccentric machining even on the standard version, while the tool magazine with up to 60 positions enables the production of several different components without intermediate tool set-ups. Tools can, of course, be loaded and unloaded in parallel with machining time, so that set-up times are again significantly reduced.

“The machine concept with B-axis requires only one tool for the main and counter spindles. Also the use of multitools and sister tools is possible, so that nothing stands in the way of flexible automation for unmanned shifts. The compactMASTER spindle offers similar advantages in CNC milling: there is only one tool for radial and axial milling, no special angle heads are required, and complex machining is possible with standard tools.”

On the control side, the CLX 450 TC is equipped with a user-friendly Siemens 840D solutionline and a 19" multi-touch panel.

World premiere: M1: entry-level quality


With the new M1’s slogan ‘Designed for your Profit’, DMG Mori engineers at its Famot, Poland facility have focused on the entry-level 3-axis milling market – a new segment for the company.

DMG Mori says the new M1 offers uncompromising quality at an ‘unbeatable’ price on machine tool that will fit into any sized shopfloor. Through a design based on monolithic machine bed and fixed table the M1 is an impressive performer. High static and dynamic rigidity as well as efficient damping characteristics result in a stable machine that is less susceptible to thermal deformation. In addition, the inlineSpindle, developed and built by DMG Mori, has already been installed on more than 3,000 machine tools worldwide.

On the control front, the M1 comes equipped with the Siemens 828D. Like all DMG Mori machines, the M1 is equipped with IoTconnector which secures connectivity at shopfloor level, accommodates future digital plans and enables users to benefit from DMG Mori’s software and digital solutions such as NETservice, Service camera or my DMG Mori customer portal.

After delivery, the machine is ready for operation within just one day. The machine configuration can be determined online in just a few clicks.

World premiere: DMF 300|8


After DMG Mori catapulted its moving column series into a new era with the DMF 200|8, the world premiere of the larger DMF 300|8 is hot on its heels.

A 3,300mm long table offers users optimum flexibility even when machining long workpieces with a further highlight being mill/turn functionality which optionally extends the machine's capabilities.

The DMF 300|8 benefits from the same innovative machine concept as the DMF 200|8: a constant cantilever ensures consistent milling performance over the entire working area; the newly developed tool change takes place behind the worktable in a process-safe manner; and a holistic cooling concept ensures high, long-term thermal accuracy.

The working area of the machine was also an important point for the latest new development. “We were able to increase the working area of the DMF 300|8 by another 60% compared to the previous model,” explains Fabian Suckert, managing director of Deckel Maho Seebach.

“The tool change mechanism on the new machine concept also contributes to this as it takes place behind the worktable – quickly, collision-free and process-safe. This allows the entire clamping area to be used – and the machine can be equipped with 400mm long tools – a unique selling point in this machine class.”

For increased flexibility, the DMF 300|8 can be optionally equipped with an integrated rotary table, with two integrated rotary tables, or with an add-on table as an A axis. The optional partition wall creates two separate work areas that can be set up independently of each other in parallel with production.

On the control side, the DMF 300|8 is equipped with Celos and Siemens as standard with Heidenhain available as an option.

DMG Mori https://uk.dmgmori.com

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