Siemens brought the first industrial NC (numerical control) onto the market in 1960 under the Sinumerik brand name, developed using discrete electronic components.
Shortly afterwards, the Sinumerik versions 200 and 300 followed, which were controls for turning, milling, grinding and nibbling, and for electro-hydraulic drives. Sinumerik 500C, the first CNC (computerised numerical control) was introduced in 1973, initially only for turning and milling applications. Inexpensive microprocessors then speeded up developments. This enabled the company to offer a DNC network for universal program management and transfer for the first time in the mid 1970s. Just three years later Sinumerik System 8 appeared; a CNC with multichannel capability and an integrated PLC. This was suitable not only for turning and milling, but also for drilling and nibbling machines. The Sinumerik Primo was produced at the same time, a compact CNC, no bigger than a shoebox, with specific functions for grinding. In 1981, Sinumerik System 3 appeared, a CNC with an application-specific operator interface and graphic programming functions.
Since that time, machine manufacturers have been able to design their own operator interfaces and add individual items, such as images and menu trees. Some 10 years later Siemens introduced the Sinumerik 840D, a CNC for the high-end of the performance range. It has a digital drive link and an open NC kernel, which enables software components to be integrated into the CNC. In 1996, Siemens launched Sinumerik Safety Integrated, the first CNC-integrated safety solution. One year later, ShopMill and ShopTurn were presented. These are workshop-oriented graphic programming interfaces which enable work pieces to be programmed through a graphic user interface.
In order to increase the productivity of machine manufacturers and users, the range was then extended to include web-based condition monitoring and mechatronic support for machine simulation and virtual prototyping. In 2005, Sinumerik 840D sl, an open and innovative CNC for up to 31 axes, and the Sinumerik 802D sl, for turning and milling machines in the lower and mid performance ranges were presented as solutions for the entire CAD/CAM/CNC process chain.
At the 2009 EMO trade show for machine tools, Siemens exhibited not only the compact Sinumerik 828D CNC and the Sinumerik Operate interface, but also the Sinumerik MDynamics technology package for milling applications. Nowadays, customers use Sinumerik to network all areas of their production operation in order to exchange data between the development and design departments right through to actual manufacture on the CNC machines.
Bringing physical AI to the factory floor by deploying humanoids in industrial operations Siemens South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
Siemens and Humanoid have marked a landmark milestone in the journey to bring physical AI from vision to industrial reality. Humanoid’s humanoid robothas been successfully tested in operations at Siemens’ electronics factory in Germany, performing autonomous logistics tasks.
Read more...Siemens ecosystem strengthens data and AI integration Siemens South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Siemens has announced significant expansions to its Industrial Edge ecosystem, accelerating data and AI integration and releasing enhanced cybersecurity functionalities. These enable a seamless integration of IT and OT environments, optimise processes and reduce operational disruptions.
Read more...Siemens manages shipbuilding process for HD Hyundai Siemens South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Siemens has been selected by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering as a preferred partner to establish an integrated platform to manage the entire shipbuilding process as a single data flow to help ensure consistency across all its global shipyard facilities.
Read more...Transforming the process industry through digitalisation Endress+Hauser South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
By connecting field devices, systems and people, digitalisation creates new opportunities to optimise operations, enhance maintenance strategies and support continuous improvement. As a leading instrumentation provider and major source of process data, Endress+Hauser plays a key role in enabling this transformation.
Read more...The assets you can’t see are the ones that can shut you down
IT in Manufacturing
ABEGuardOT is an asset management solution that delivers continuous, non-intrusive visibility across multi-vendor environments, including Siemens, Rockwell, ABB, Honeywell, Schneider Electric, Emerson, GE and Yokogawa, with support for OPC UA, EtherNet/IP, Modbus and Profibus.
Read more...Edge I/O NTS and the need for industrial speed Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
One of the most compelling solutions to emerge from industrial automation is Edge I/O NTS, which represents a natural evolution of computing from centralised servers to localised, device-level input/output processing, offering improved speed, efficiency and resilience.
Read more...The next wave of AI-driven process automation Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
As process industries hurtle toward an AI-driven future, four powerful trends are set to redefine automation strategies in 2026: hyper automation, AI-first automation, low code/no code platforms, and advanced process intelligence.
Read more...Huge increase in denial-of-service cyber threats
IT in Manufacturing
NETSCOUT has released its Distributed Denial-of-Service Threat Intelligence report, revealing sophisticated attacker collaboration, resilient botnets and compromised IoT infrastructure that drove more than eight million DDoS attacks worldwide.
Read more...Sustainable manufacturing ABB South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
ABB’s production facility in Shandong province, China is delivering measurable energy and emissions reductions through the implementation of advanced digital energy management and electrification solutions.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version