The need to implement industry 4.0 and Internet of things (IOT) solutions while improving production quality and efficiency has led to a significant increase in the amount of factory data. PC based control technology has excellent performance and can be deeply integrated with it field, which provides an ideal basis for processing these huge amounts of data.

Aida engineering, a punch maker headquartered in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, has long recognized this advantage. Therefore, the company has been using Beifu’s PC based control technology for many years and the global standard EtherCAT technology for its stamping solutions (such as for the automotive industry).

Aida’s largest servo punch can apply more than 3000 tons of pressure to raw materials. Servo punch is designed for mass production and can be widely used in various industries, especially in automobile industry. Aida servo press can process this high-strength material with very high precision through accurate speed control. Especially in Europe, complex design has been adopted in body manufacturing. Aida has designed a series servo press specifically for such applications. This type of punch can punch out complex geometry in a very short time.

PC based control of large stamping line

The prerequisite for the smooth operation of such a large plant is the optimal control and accurate synchronous execution of multiple punches and conveying devices in a single process step. Aida uses Beifu’s industrial PC, TwinCAT 3 automation software and EtherCAT I / O terminal module to control medium and high performance servo presses. The conveyor connecting multiple punches is also controlled by the PC control system. According to sotoyuki Kaneko, director of Aida system control department, Beifu’s control platform has been tested for a long time and has been recognized by the majority of users even in the European automobile market with high requirements for metal forming. In this demanding environment, it is not uncommon to use a large series servo punch with six different process steps.

Sotoyuki Kaneko believes that replacing the previously developed controller with Beifu components as the standard control platform of Aida punch has brought obvious benefits: “If we continue to develop the control system ourselves, we must also develop all I / O terminal modules connected to the system. Considering various customer requirements, we will need to use a large number of I / O terminal modules, which is almost impossible for us. Beifu not only provides a variety of industrial PC products, but also provides all necessary signal modules The type provides the widest range of I / O terminal modules. A wide variety of products, rich engineering expertise and global distribution network are important reasons why we choose Beifu. ” He added that another key factor in choosing Beifu is that their control platform is very flexible. The industrial PC concept is fully suitable for Aida’s design concept, because all necessary control functions can be integrated with the highly flexible TwinCAT automation software.

Fast process control and convenient system configuration

In the production line composed of multiple servo presses in series, each step in the processing process is controlled by an industrial PC used as EtherCAT master station. They communicate with each other through the el669x bridge terminal module. Another high-performance industrial PC is used as the upper controller with EtherCAT “master clock” to ensure seamless synchronization of all presses and conveyors.

In the series production line, the robot is responsible for transferring the workpiece from one process to the next. Keeping an appropriate distance between the robot and the forming tool is the most important factor to improve productivity efficiency: the smaller the distance, the more products the punch can process. However, if the distance is too small, the production process may be interrupted, increasing the risk of system failure. Therefore, Aida has developed a solution based on TwinCAT, which has the functional characteristics of ultra fast control cycle, optimizing synchronization and minimizing robot distance, and has high production reliability. In this way, the servo series production line has the capacity of 20 strokes per minute, which is about 50% higher than the efficiency of the previous production line.

Aida digital motion system (ADMS) software is also integrated into the servo series production line, which allows operators to configure punch motion parameters for each production line conveniently and freely. ADMS can determine the best process control according to the form data of sheet metal parts, and users can fine tune the motion sequence on the on-site user interface. In addition, the user can pre adjust the motion controller using the offline 3D simulator. The I / O terminal module is used as EtherCAT slave station and is responsible for collecting a large amount of data, such as tool position, servo motor information used to locate the handling robot and sensor data. ADMS can simulate the motion sequence based on the control data processed by TwinCAT in real time and generate the corresponding path control data. Sotoyuki Kaneko explained: “TwinCAT can integrate the most diverse data into the runtime environment and send real-time feedback to PLC and motion controller, which benefits the system a lot.”

PC control system provides ideal support for Internet of things solutions

According to Aida, they are one of the pioneers in the development of Internet of things system. Sotoyuki Kaneko believes that EtherCAT and Beifu components are also powerful innovation drivers in this field. Based on Microsoft azure ™ Aida information care is a typical example. Aicare can monitor and display important stamping data, such as product quality, operation parameters and maintenance information. Aicare can continuously collect multiple data sets at the same time through EtherCAT distributed clock to analyze the quality of machined parts. Since each data has a time stamp, it is convenient to review and analyze the formed part quality obtained in each stroke. According to sotoyuki Kaneko, the machine learning process (support vector machine, SVM) used in this case can be easily realized by using Beifu’s PC control system.

Operation data, including temperature and energy consumption data, can be safely sent to azure ™ Cloud services can also be viewed on the aicare web page. In addition, authorized personnel will automatically receive all alarm and fault messages. With regard to these features, sotoyuki Kaneko concluded: “aicare has gained huge benefits from EtherCAT real-time communication system and PC control system, because these technical supports are consistent with azure ™ And other cloud services, and use advanced Internet of things technology. “

About Beifu, Germany

Beckhoff is headquartered in Weill, Germany. As the driver of global automation technology, Beifu has defined many international standards in the field of automation. The industrial PC, fieldbus module, drive products and TwinCAT automation software produced by the company constitute a complete and mutually compatible control system, which can provide open automation system and complete solutions for various industrial control fields.Beifu enjoys the reputation of “innovation engine” in the industry. The PC control technology advocated by the company has good openness, perfectly integrates it technology, Internet and automation technology, and helps to realize industrial 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing. With leading technical advantages and rich industry knowledge, Beifu’s innovative products and solutions are widely used in many fields, such as wind power generation, semiconductor, photovoltaic solar energy, electronic manufacturing, metal processing, packaging machinery, logistics and transportation, building automation and so on.