The high-tech company Grenzebach’s portfolio includes the simulation of material flow in complex plants in the glass industry, which it achieves using Siemens simulation solutions. Together, the two companies have developed the most recent product from Grenzebach, the tin-air speed stacker, a machine for stacking all types of glass sheet. This expertise has produced a Siemens digital twin that allows all the functions and permutations of the stacker to be simulated, while simultaneously developing the initial motion control program to provide an optimum starting point for virtual commissioning. By running what were previously sequential development steps in parallel, it was possible to reduce both development times and costs significantly.
The stacker is a three-axis system that can selectively pick up glass sheets, from the tin side or the air side, and place them vertically on a glass rack – up to 20 times a minute. This represents a 30% improvement in stacking performance and makes the tin-air speed stacker the most powerful of its type. The motion control is provided by a Simotion D445 system with the Handling Advanced universal library, as well as Sinamics S120 modular converters and Simotics S servomotors. Grenzebach was venturing into completely new ground with this development. “In order to get to grips with the potential singularities of the kinematics, which were similar to those found in articulated robots, we decided to build a digital twin for the first time,” explains Roland Jenning, head of Innovation at Grenzebach.
Erring on the side of caution
The digital twin was produced using the NX Mechatronics Designer from Siemens PLM Software. The initial motion control programs were created at the same time as the digital twin, which reduced the development time and time-to-market significantly. To make the simulation of the programmed movements in the digital twin as close to reality as possible, Grenzebach chose a ‘hardware in the loop’ design in which the control is connected to the kinematic modal in NX via a Simit simulation unit. The program is then tested using the Simotion Scout engineering system: Simit picks up errors and highlights weak points. This allows processes to be optimised long before the first actual commissioning. However, this is not the end of the digital twin’s usefulness. Future modifications to the plant or changes to the product can be played out virtually in advance and checked for errors without disrupting operations.
Bringing brownfield plants back to life Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Today’s brownfield plants are typically characterised by outdated equipment and processes, and face challenges ranging from inefficient operations to safety hazards. However, all is not lost, as these plants stand to gain a lot from digitalisation and automation.
Read more...Award-winning Gen AI solutions
IT in Manufacturing
Amazon Web Services recently hosted an exclusive event in South Africa on ‘Elevating Possibilities with Partners - a Showcase of GenAI Excellence’. This event brought together ten esteemed partners, including Synthesis Software Technologies, to highlight innovative advancements in the field of Generative AI.
Read more...Siemens to acquire industrial drive technology business of ebm-papst Siemens South Africa
News
Siemens has signed an agreement to acquire the industrial drive technology business of ebm-papst. The business includes intelligent, integrated mechatronic systems in the protective extra-low voltage range and innovative motion control systems.
Read more...AI is driving data centres to the edge Schneider Electric South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
The data centre has become the cornerstone that links our digitally interconnected world. At the same time, the rapid growth and application of AI and machine learning (ML) is shaping the design and operation of data centres.
Read more...Full-scale central control room simulator Valmet Automation
IT in Manufacturing
Valmet will deliver a full-scale central control room simulator to Nordic Ren-Gas, the leading Nordic green hydrogen and e-methane developer in Finland.
Read more...Re-imagining business operations with the power of AI
IT in Manufacturing
inq. has introduced a range of artificial intelligence solutions to assist organisations across industry verticals in optimising business operations and improving internal efficiencies.
Read more...Safe, sustainable cycling helmet technology Siemens South Africa
IT in Manufacturing
Lazer Sport, one of Europe’s leading cycling helmet manufacturers, has adopted the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to bring to market KinetiCore, its new proprietary rotational impact protection technology.
Read more...Defending against modern-day cyber threats
IT in Manufacturing
The anatomy of cyber threats has changed, meaning that organisations can no longer rely on traditional cybersecurity solutions to protect their perimeter, but should instead rethink their data protection strategy and become proactive in their defence against breaches.
Read more...Data centre sector 2024 market outlook
IT in Manufacturing
As the world adapts to the digital transformation of almost every aspect of everyday life, the data centre sector, which plays such a pivotal role in digitalisation, is constantly evolving.
printer friendly version