The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago is, according to trade show organizers, the largest trade show for manufacturing technology in North America. Every two years it is the place to be for the who’s who in the industry. This year's 32nd trade show, from September 10 to 15, will provide a platform for the newest technology trends. With its closed loop system for cylindrical gears, a hybrid solution for optical measurement and a digital identification system for tools, Klingelnberg is now engaged in three areas of innovation. The solutions provider will showcase them in the North Building, Level 3, at stand 236817.
Klingelnberg is presenting the system provider's greatest innovations at the largest trade show for manufacturing technology in North America and will showcase what is possible these days – in terms of digitalization in production. On that account, the mechanical engineering company is bringing the cylindrical gear generating grinding machine Speed Viper 300 with KOENIG Automation, the P 40 precision measuring center (into which the innovative optical measuring technology, Klingelnberg Optical Metrology, will first come into use), and SmartTooling digital tool management to the stage. Each of these machines and solutions represent the newest, state of the art of technology and work together in a cyber-physical production system in which every step in the value chain is described by a digital twin. Therefore, Klingelnberg is setting benchmarks for production in the Industry 4.0 era. In June 2018, the trade magazine MM Maschinenmarkt just awarded the company the Best of Industry Award in the Industry 4.0 category.
The Speed Viper 300 is bringing the closed loop concept into the world of cylindrical gears
A winner of the iF-Design Award, the Höfler cylindrical gear generating grinding machine Speed Viper was developed by Klingelnberg with a very particular focus on high-production generation grinding in the large-scale series. To do this, the development team has further tested the boundaries of that which is technologically possible in productivity. With a cutting speed range of 100 meters/second, the Speed Viper 300 – which will be exhibited at the trade show – achieves extremely high productivity.
In doing so, the Speed Viper platform is optimally designed for the Industry 4.0 manufacturing environment. This most recent development makes it possible to connect cylindrical gear machines directly to the measuring devices. This technology is already being used successfully in bevel gear manufacturing. By transferring the closed loop concept established by Klingelnberg to the world of cylindrical gears, the mechanical engineering company has made another systematic step toward digitalization in gear manufacturing. Due to a wide variety of associated applications and software, Klingelnberg is implementing central production control using its cyber-physical production system, which will standardize rating results on different machines and even in different plants.
Precision measuring center P 40 in new design
Klingelnberg will have a measuring machine designed for these types of closed loop processes live at IMTS. The P 40 represents future-proof quality management of gears and it showcases Klingelnberg's new, ergonomically optimized design. The fully automatic CNC-controlled precision measuring center is conceptualized as a compact unit for the workpiece diameter range up to 400 mm. The machine and software concept is optimized for the measurement of complex drive components using a technology that replaces up to six conventional measuring devices: Gear measurement, general coordinate measurement, form and position measurement, roughness measurement, contour measurement and optical measurement. Maximum measuring and reproduction accuracies are guaranteed – the P series represents a widely used standard in the industry. The P 40 that Klingelnberg is presenting at the IMTS is equipped with a unique feature:
Klingelnberg Optical Metrology
Klingelnberg has equipped a P 40 with the new optical measuring technology for the first time, and specially for the trade show. Klingelnberg Optical Metrology is a smart combination of tactile and optical measurement. It combines the benefit of quick measured value logging using an optical sensor, with the flexibility and the extremely high accuracy of the tactile 3D NANOSCAN sensor system. In this way, the hybrid system distinguishes itself through its extremely rapid changeover from the tactile to the optical system and is designed so that the optical sensors can be adapted in a number of ways. In addition to this combination, optical measured value logging alone is also possible, of course. The measuring result then takes the form of a high-resolution 3D point cloud, which can be further processed and evaluated as a CAD file. The optical measurement is a new, extremely efficient option for the precision measuring centers of the P 26, P 40, P 65, P 100 and P 100L series. At the IMTS, visitors can see the advantages of the P 40 demonstrated live.
Also in our "trade show suitcase”: Digital identification processing with SmartTooling
With SmartTooling, Klingelnberg is introducing a digital identification system for tools and clamping tools, and is consistently further incorporating the bevel gear cutting machine into the Industry 4.0 subject area. With a look toward an extensive cyber-physical production system, it is a case of designing processes which are currently still carried out manually to be more efficient using software support and of establishing the basis for automation. SmartTooling facilitates traceability and with it, a 360 degree view of the production equipment. The additional data that is currently available also provides a good basis for the identification of optimization potential in process improvement. The goal is to support customers both in reducing costs and in increasing production quality.