Direct access to every single axis

The 5-axis-simultaneous milling machines with three linear and two rotary axes are constructed particularly for the treatment of turbine blades. Due to this for the company Hamuel Maschinenbau in Meeder it was important, to have flexible and individual access to all driving axes in the process monitoring. Hence together with MCU for the Siemens Solution Line an ideal interface was developed. Since then Hamuel relies continuously on the process monitoring Toolinspect; also because of the easy handling.

The first contact was established at the CIMT in Peking. However in the foreground was already a concrete project. It was about a process monitoring for the milling treatment of turbine blades. Until then due to a customer’s wish an alternative adaptive feed control was integrated into the HSC-mill-turn centres. Just in this moment the Moreover with this it was not possible to intercept data directly from the turning axes A and B, because for this the detour through the main spindle was necessary. Thus the company Hamuel also changed from the Siemens Power Line control to the Solution Line control and so the functionality of the system was not ensured to 100 percent.customer decided in China for the process monitoring Toolinspect from MCU. So at first in Meeder a test version was installed, the performance was compared to the currently used process monitoring and the optional features were put under scrutiny. For Rico Bertzick, Key Account Manager at Hamuel Maschinenbau, the results While for other systems the user has to be very involved into the matter, Toolinspect is very easy for the user to handle. But for us it was more important that in the Siemens Solution Line there is individual access to the three linear axes in Y, X and Z such as to the two rotary axes in A and B.” But the direct access also matters, because you can never know which customer’s wishes you will have to face. So every drive is viewed separately and in Addition a multi-variable evaluation of the cutting can be performed. 

The enormous importance of a process monitoring for the treatment of turbine blades underline the different materials which are used. These include aluminium, wrought aluminium alloy and high-alloyed stainless steel among other materials. Especially the treatment of titan and Inconel is a challenge for the users, because the service life of the tools is reduced enormously. If while processing the service life and the quality of the milling tool are not inspected continuously, this can lead very quickly to a tool break. In the worst case this means “scrap” for these very cost-intensive components.

Toolinspect set as default

As different as the materials are the customer’s requirements regarding the functions of a process monitoring. In the focus are at first usually the process safety or the increase in productivity. Due to this in the specification sheets there are mostly clear definitions of the functions of such a system. The problem is, that they often rely on known functionalities and so current possibilities are not used. As a significant advantage of Toolinspect Uwe Schr?ter, director of MCU, points out the possibility of the flexible construction of such a system: “Toolinspect can be scaled easily to customer’s requirements. This means a tool break control, service life and/or wear data monitoring up to an adaptive control or also a process and machine condition analysis can be integrated. Another advantage is the process and product variety. For example for the project with Hamuel it was also important, that the visualization can be implemented on a Windows and on a Linux OS.”

In this context a concrete demand, to test the tools of different manufacturers, seems especially interesting. So this was about the process analysis in Toolanalyzer. With this machining positions, fluctuation ranges or cutting forces can be surveyed, compared with each other and displayed in a graphic in the NC program. Despite the possibility of the different constructions in Meeder, according to Rico Bertzick, mostly the adaptive feed control for reducing the processing times such as a vibration control of the spindle is demanded. Unlike the Asian states and major OEM’s which often demand all available functions. However still the operator decides which process monitoring with which functions is used. But Hamuel Maschinenbau also acts as an advisor and since 2015 clearly tends to use Toolinspect.

By now for Rico Bertzick Toolinspect has become the standard: “We distribute our machines worldwide. It suits us very well, that Toolinspect covers the current software status of Siemens and that 21 languages can be selected and changed during the operation.”

Hamuel Maschinenbau on focus To the company group Hamuel Reichenbacher belongs the HAMUEL Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG in Meeder and Plauen such as the REICHENBACHER Hamuel GmbH in D?rfles-Esbach. The company group is part of the worldwide operating SCHERDEL group with registered office in Marktredwitz. The company produces turn-milling centres for metal working. Main customers are Energy, Aviation and Tool and Machine Engineering industries. With the machines from HAMUEL among other things mainly turbines and compressor blades such as crankshafts are processed. To the production program also belong components for partner companies from the Machine Engineering. Furthermore with its own business line HAMUEL has specialised on the production of mineral cast components.