Shorter product life cycles and increasing customer individuality - these challenges are being met in production processes with the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution. In order to be able to meet the changing requirements of end products at short notice, production systems and machines must also be available more quickly. "For us as a plant and machine manufacturer in international competition, one of the main challenges is to significantly reduce throughput times and delivery times," explains Alexander Goebels, Head of Production Planning at the SMS group plant in Mönchengladbach. This sums up one of the central objectives for the comprehensive modernization of production that began in 2010. The SMS group is a global systems supplier of plants, machinery and services along the metallurgical value chain; its business areas range from continuous casting plants and rolling mills to plants for steelworks, tube and forging technology.

"We are taking a number of smaller and larger steps on the way to Industry 4.0," explains Alexander Goebels. One of these steps is greater flexibility in in-house production, i.e. production planning with regard to flexible machine allocation. A key component in the new organization and automation concept is the comprehensive tool management based on 'Tool-ID' from Balluff, which handles tool identification using Industrial RFID. Instead of the previously practiced manual data acquisition - for example, of tool service life via notepads or paper labels on the tools - all tool-relevant data such as identity, manufacturer, duplicate number, cutting geometries and tool service life are stored contactlessly on a data carrier in the shank of the tool. The user brings the tool to the machine, inserts it into the tool holder and automatically reads the data into the machine control system via the Tool ID solution.

60 million euros investment volume

The aim of the project at SMS to completely modernize production is to increase productivity, reduce delivery times and ultimately secure jobs at the Mönchengladbach site in the long term. Of the investment volume of over 60 million euros, well over half was invested in a state-of-the-art machine tool park for the production of plant components for SMS's heavy engineering division. Within just over three years, all machines were replaced and a new large machine park installed in parallel with ongoing operations.

Prepared tools in the tool presetting department at the SMS plant in Mönchengladbach. In total, there are around 10,000 technologically and geometrically different tools that would be difficult to handle without RFID technology.

© Balluff

Boring mills, a double boring mill with two traveling columns and combinable multiple tables, portal machines, vertical lathes and flatbed lathes with a travel of up to 21 m are used today to manufacture components of any complexity from steel and tempered steel with workpiece weights of up to 200 t. These are usually individual parts or, at most, small series of up to ten pieces. These are usually individual parts or, at most, very small series of up to ten pieces, which often run continuously on a machine for many hours or sometimes even several weeks.

"All machines are integrated into a consistent environment organization with central NC programming in work preparation and decentralized PC stations for production data acquisition and NC program simulation via 'Exapt'," explains Judith Schmitt, Operations Manager of Mechanical Production. Exapt is the tool and production data management system used by SMS. A higher-level production control system works out the highest possible utilization of the machines. The overall system also includes a central tool presetting system from which all machines are supplied.

Tool supply to the processing machines is largely fully automated, such as in the core of production with four processing centers and an attached high-bay warehouse for workpiece pallet automation. "In this production area, the average processing time for components is two hours per clamping, with 70 to 80 different tools often being required," explains Alexander Goebels. A highlight in the high-bay warehouse is the integrated shuttle system for the fully automated supply of tools to the machining centers. The prepared tools are transported by a shuttle to intermediate storage areas at the machining centers. From there, a second shuttle picks up the individual tools and transports them synchronously with the ongoing movement of the respective traveling column machine, so that the machine's tool handling system can pick up the tools on the fly during the main working time. The tools are returned in the same way. According to Goebels, there are always around 1000 active order-related tools in circulation in this area alone - including the 120 magazine spaces in each of the four machines.

10,000 tools

The core component of the partly fully automated tool supply for the processing machines is the "Tool-ID" tool identification system from Balluff.

© Balluff

"We manage around 10,000 technologically and geometrically different tools in the entire plant, each of which is available individually or in multiples as required," adds Peter Sosnitzka, who is responsible for tool presetting. All tool components are kept in stock in his department and all tools are generally prepared. Here, the relevant tool parameters are transferred directly to the RFID data carrier in the tool holder without contact during measurement. At the same time, the data is transferred to the 'Exapt' tool and production data management system, which covers the entire process chain from tool recording and management to production deployment.

The tool ID system ensures that all required tool data is available correctly and always up-to-date at every location, including the tool life written back to the machines. Error-free, electronic data transmission via RFID read/write devices at all transfer points or machines is particularly important in production areas where tools are transferred manually. This can take place in tool magazines of machines or in connected magazine systems in which additional industrial robots handle the tools.

Project goal achieved

In the tool presetting, all tool parameters are transferred to the Balluff data carrier.

© Balluff

"One of the biggest challenges during the entire project phase was modernizing the infrastructure and setting up and starting up the new machines in the existing and fully operational production," sums up Wilhelm Plaßwilm, electrical maintenance foreman. During this time, manual tool management had to be used for a short time - which took more than three times the working time.

The advantages of tool management using 'Tool-ID' are the unmistakable data assignment to each tool on the permanently mounted RFID data carrier and the error-free transmission of parameters when changing tools. Another advantage is the optimum utilization of tool life. And even if the savings potential of SMS is not explicitly quantified, continuous checks and the recording of runtimes on the data carrier ensure that regrinding or replacement of indexable inserts or tools is carried out in good time and premature rejection is prevented. This reduces tool costs and allows stock levels to be adjusted precisely to requirements. Ultimately, the modernization has succeeded in halving delivery times.

Author: John Großpietsch is a freelance specialist journalist in Zell am Harmersbach.