Machine builder demonstrates competitive advantages and economy

Digitalisation and automation in the production are currently billed as the remedy for lack of skilled staff as well as the shortage of energy and resources. However, what does it look like in practice and how can digitalisation solutions really bring competitive and economic advantages through the networking of machines and systems?

Messer Cutting Systems will answer these questions at Cutting World in Essen and show best practice solutions on their stand and at two technical lectures: Roger Kilian-Kehr, CDO Global, and Ingo Staudinger, Product Manager Material Handling and Laser, will focus on the competitive advantages of digitalisation and economies from automation in their lectures on April 25th at the thermal cutting day at Cutting World. Interested participants will have the opportunity afterwards to exchange views with the technical specialists on the Stand 8C112 in Hall 8.

Laser stays in ascendancy

The very fast developing laser technology plays a very important role in automation. Available laser powers have increased dramatically in a short time. The trend is reenforced by further technologies such as different beams forms and optimisation through gas mixtures. 

With the new laser cutting machine ELEMENT L, Messer Cutting Systems makes possible performance jumps in laser technology. The combination of various features and powerful software ensures maximum productivity and performance. “We have developed a very special highly dynamic laser bevel unit for the ELEMENT L. It covers a range of inclination of +/- 50 degrees and is characterised by a greatly increased dynamics with focus on the cut quality. We no longer need to stop the machine for hole piercing. This naturally means a better efficiency and protects the machine as well”, summarises Ingo Staudinger. “The resulting increased output forces an acceleration of the unloading process. Thanks to the improved quality we can – wherever possible – also change to top side bevels. This leads to a drastic acceleration for manual sorting and reduces the error quotient for automated unloading of bevel parts to a minimum.”

Digitalisation is so simple

Roger Kilian-Kehr shows what competitive advantages are possible in contract manufacture from digitalisation and automation using impressive examples from practice. “Many companies have no idea how easy it is to get into digitalisation and how much even small steps can achieve”, the digitalisation expert explains.

“We have numerous customers who just started with individual processes and then built up further step by step. A modular solution concept is most suitable for this. Our modular approach includes various software modules which can be combined in such a way as to provide the appropriate solution to specific customer problems.”

Live Demos during Cutting World on Stand 8C112 in Hall 8

Visitors to Cutting World can find out, during the exhibition from 25th to 27th April on the Messer Cutting Systems stand, how metalworking companies can work ever faster and more purposefully in their production using this digital modular solution for relevant information in real time.

Here the digital offering covers the production process from creating quotations, via nesting plans and production planning right up to material handling, production monitoring and process analysis. With these solutions aligned to the customer, the company can optimise the metal processing of their processes, work more efficiently, reduce their costs and increase their productivity. 

With their presence in Essen the company underlines not only their World-wide leading position as producer of the most modern cutting machines but also demonstrates once more their expertise with “solutions beyond machines”. 

Pic: Digitalisation of the production with OmniFab Machine Insight

The most modern laser technology for maximum productivity and quality

Rapidly increasing laser power, different laser beam profiles, new cutting gasses – for laser cutting machines to be able to meet current demands innovative solutions are required to make applications more effective and transparent. Bearing in mind the increasing lack of skilled personnel, automated processes are also decisively important. The new laser machine ELEMENT 400 L from Messer Cutting Systems scores with high dynamic performance and the newest laser technology. Even XXL sheets can be processed economically on it. The combination of various features and powerful software ensure maximum productivity and performance. Thus the ELEMENT 400 L becomes a seamless total solution for metal processing in just a few steps.

With the ELEMENT machine platform metalworking companies can achieve a previously unavailable flexibility to be able for configure their equipment exactly to suit their individual requirements. “The laser cutting machine ELEMENT 400 L is the newest member of our ELEMENT family. It represents a leap in performance of power in laser technology and unites consistent hole piercing and fast cuts with laser precision cutting. If cuts mild steel, stainless steel, and Aluminium with O2 and N2 as well as an optional automatic gas mixing unit. During development automatic nozzle management as well as material loading and unloading and continuous data exchange and updating over the entire workflow were kept in focus”, Jörg Mosser, CEO Messer Cutting Systems Europe.

Powerful components for maximum productivity

Working widths from 1,600 mm to 5,100 mm and a working length of up to 25,000 mm are possible with the ELEMENT 400 L. It can cut sheets of mild steel, stainless steel, and Aluminium up to 40 mm thick. It does this with positioning speeds of up to 140 m/min and a high acceleration (combination X-/Y axes) very fast and, thanks to the linear guides, with a high positioning accuracy. This is also helped by the calculated design of the bridge.

High speed lifters and modern process optimisation ensure a significant increase in productivity. The high-quality components ensure a reliable, laser appropriate, high precision with the highest dynamics. Independent, servo driven tools offer versatile processing options. The CNC control: developed to give significant improvements in efficiency, eliminate unnecessary information and give more clarity to the process operations. Reduce set-up times by automatic positioning of multiple tools from the part program or the control (optional). “High performance components are the basis of every ELEMENT machine. Thanks to the special features of Messer Cutting Systems, the ELEMENT 400 L can be matched perfectly to your requirements”, add Ingo Staudinger, Product Manager Laser and Material Handling.

Plasma and Laser combined

Up to six torch stations can be integrated in der ELEMENT 400 L – including automatic torch spacing and programmable torch selection. With this the user can combine the latest laser technology (maximum two stations) with advances plasma technology.

Ingo Staudinger: “The highlight of the ELEMENT 400 L is the bevel cutting head specially developed for the laser process, the Bevel-U. With its unique design, the Bevel-U is perfectly suited to produce precise and repeatable bevel parts – a great advantage in weld preparation for automated robot welding.” Bevels in material between -50° and +50° as well as various edge shapes are possible for a subsequent welding process. The bevel angle is continuously adjusted during the laser cutting process. A magnetic collision protection for the cutting head is as much a part of the design of the Bevel-U as the manual control panel for all drives to be able to carry out adjustments directly on the machine.

Automatic check and calibration routines

“Automated processes are today the basis for an economical and precise production. One feature for the automation of the ELEMENT 400 L is the next generation Laser Nozzle Control (LNC). It automates set-up tasks quickly and reliably and ensures maximum cutting quality and productivity – for every material, thickness, and process – and that with no manual intervention”, says Ingo Staudinger. This ensures a reliably high cutting quality and shortened set-up times. Machine idles times are prevented and the plate processer gets planning reliability and optimisation.

High precision in the production process

The plate position is of decisive importance for accurate cutting. There are always orientation errors here. With the ELEMENT L not a problem. So, before cutting starts, the cutting nozzle sensing, which normally controls the stand-off to the plate surface, is used to go to the edge of the plate in 3 places without any contact. This enables calculation of the exact plate orientation, and the CNC program is rotated to match – manually from the operating console or fully automatically from the program. This significantly reduces the work in loading the plate and helps to utilise the plate to the optimum.

Marking included

In die ELEMENT 400 L it is also possible to integrate various marking tools: to make non-permanent marking such as layout lines or simple part identification on the plate, Messer Cutting Systems offer an Inkjet marker. For permanent marking, a pin marker is available for the ELEMENT 400 L.

Safety first

“High protection of persons and machines is the highest priority for us when designing a machine”, affirms Ingo Staudinger. “The functional safety technology of the integrated, internationally certified, TwinSAFE systems not only prevents damage to the machine and minimises downtime, but also gives optimum protection, especially to the operator.”

Digitalisation in the production

The ELEMENT 400 L is complimented by the powerful software solutions from Messer Cutting Systems. They ensure maximum transparency for operating sequences, production planning and control. To smooth the path to increased networking, the Global Connect can process production orders directly and achieve maximum productivity, especially in cooperation with the products of the OmniFab family. The user interface stays clear and simply structured which helps the user to call and operate all features with no problems.

Improve efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce costs

Anybody who wants to master the current and future challenges such as lack of skilled staff, the energy change and shortage of resources needs digital processes. Digitalisation solutions from Messer Cutting Systems network machines and systems. Thus, metalworking companies operate fast and purposefully with the aid of relevant real time information in their production. The modern solutions range from creating quotations, nesting plans and production planning right up to material handling, production monitoring and process analysis.

Messer Cutting Systems is the World-wide leader in the production of cutting technologies. As a solution supplier, the company not only offers the most modern cutting machines but is also the expert for all processes around cutting. Following the motto “Solutions beyond machines”, Messer Cutting Systems offers customised solutions using digitalisation for companies to optimise metalworking processes, improve efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce costs.

This covers all phases of production digitalisation: with the Sales Quotes module of the OmniFab Software suite, for example – linked to the ERP system – quotations are calculated quickly and reliably. These are based on the processing times, material consumption, dimensioned drawings, production parameters and many other key data. This saves time and minimises errors.

The OmniFab module Material Flow recognises exactly which cutting orders are planned for a machine at which time. It controls and coordinates the entire material flow automatically. This includes material handling systems such as loading and unloading stations, storage towers and material transport units with pallets and lifters which are fully integrated. This ensures minimum idle times.

With the process analysis tools, the production can be further optimised using real time data from every connected machine with machine loading, errors, and the causes for down-time. 

Dream Team: OmniFab and Global Connect

The deep integration of the OmniFab software suite in the new Global Connect control raises production processes to a new digital level. It digitalises all cutting orders and the checking of the cut parts. All cutting orders are directly available in the control ready for processing. Important information is transferred to the control pre-configured by OmniFab, even while another cutting order is just being cut.

Thanks to the nesting plans and NC programs, even complex cutting orders can be processed with high cutting quality, quickly, efficiently and with economic material usage. Digital cutting orders in production planning ensure an optimum utilisation of the machines. The cutting orders are sorted automatically according to urgency, material or other important attributes. In this way, users get the best out of their production.

The Global Connect does not only score through its modern design, but also proves to be extremely easy to operate. The operator is guided intuitively, and with tolerance for mistakes, through all production steps. Plate processing takes place without manual intervention. Reliable production data reports support an unbroken traceability chain.

The networked systems and machines from Messer Cutting Systems work together perfectly. They supply relevant information from the production in real time so that companies can operate faster, with more economy of resources and more purposfully. Thus the flexible and automated processes offer the ideal prerequisites for mastering the current and future challenges such as the lack of skilled staff, energy change, and the shortage of resources.

Picture: Screenshot of the new Global Connect control with cutting jobs from OmniFab.