Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
The Siemens Machine Tool Business sadly announces the death of Randy Pearson, 70, on May 21, 2024 in Reno, Nevada, following a long battle with lung cancer. Randy had recently retired after more than 20 years with Siemens, where he served as dealer support manager … and much more.
Randy Pearson, 1954-2024
As Motion Control group VP Rajas Sukthankar notes, “When I think of Randy, I think of my good fortune in life to work with an individual that cared as passionately and deeply about his work as I do. I first met Randy when he was hired as an application engineer at Hyundai Machine Tools in 1995. Our association went back over two decades. I had the chance to work with him as both a customer and a valued Siemens employee. As a skilled machinist himself, Randy trained and educated a generation of new machinists in his career. I treasure the time I spent working with Randy and will miss his infectious laugh and energy.”
Randy’s associate in machine tool training at Siemens, Chris Pollack, recalls, “I was always amazed how he remembered everyone’s name. Walking around a trade show with Randy was like being with the mayor of the town. Everyone knew him and, more importantly, he knew everyone. He was always there to help others and he surely helped me a lot in my career.”
Marion Kica, executive assistant at the Siemens Machine Tool headquarters in Elk Grove Village, IL adds, “He always brightened my day with his humor and good cheer, plus he was there to handle all the engineering questions callers would have. He was a kind, supportive friend who took his responsibilities very seriously but could still find humor in life’s ups and downs.”
John Meyer, head of marketing communications for the motion control group, was a close associate of Randy’s throughout all his years at Siemens. He notes, “As a marketer, when I came to Siemens, I had a challenge to learn about machine tools and manufacturing technologies such as CNC. I wasn’t an engineer, so Randy took me under his wing to teach me what I needed to know to be successful in my career. It became a technical education over 20+ years and I’m very thankful for the knowledge Randy instilled in me.”
During his long career in the machine tool industry, Randy served as an applications engineer or sales manager at such leading companies as Bridgeport, Toyoda, ROMI, Kitamura and Hyundai, as well as machine tool dealer Iverson & Company.
Always willing to share the talents he possessed, Randy authored regular CNC expert advice columns that appeared in several machine tool magazines, over the years. He brought a wealth of technical expertise in CNC technology along with his hands-on practical experience as a machinist, when giving his help to the industry.
A native of Chicago, Randy and his wife Susan, whom he met when they both worked at Bridgeport, were married 34 years and had two children.
Following in his dad’s footsteps, Randy’s son Jeremy has now been with DMG machine tools for 10 years.
After his retirement from Siemens, Randy and Susan decided to “go west” and landed in Reno.
A memorial service for Randy Pearson will be held at 11 AM Central on July 13 at United Methodist Church in Roselle, IL. Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org or the American Lung Association at www.lung.org.
Bringing together a number of its hardware automation, digitalization software and services, Siemens will present the new path towards digitalization for machine tool users and machine builders
At the upcoming IMTS 2024 in Chicago, September 9–14, Siemens will present its extensive machine tool CNC portfolio and digitalization software technology, highlighted by the digital native SINUMERIK ONE control platform for machining applications. Also, using a sports theme of “Speed, Agility and Endurance,” aimed at the machine shop on its path to digitalization, Siemens will introduce MACHINUM to the North American market. MACHINUM brings together machine tool controls, digitalization software and machine shop services from Siemens to help manufacturers optimize their production processes, to provide agility for quick adaptation to changing customer requirements and calculated uptime needs, plus enable digitally proven endurance to maximize the productivity of the entire machine shop or production department.
Detailing the elements of MACHINUM:
Speed
Siemens adaptive feedrate control reduces cycle times, while maintaining a stable machining process. This results from instantaneous and continuous analysis of the current cutting conditions on a machine tool in real time, automatically optimizing the feedrate.
Agility
Through strategic digitalization and software that seamlessly integrates the machine tool CNC systems and a shop’s internal communications, MACHINUM can significantly boost the agility of a machine shop or production department to accommodate changes in design, quantity output and even machining characteristics, based upon customer input and overall production and workflow landscape characteristics.
Endurance
Continuing the sports theme, over the long “run”, MACHINUM enables a heightened level of maintenance capability with leading “edge” machine monitoring that anticipates potential issues before they escalate. This results in reduced cost and substantially less downtime on machines, due to unplanned maintenance. This feature is especially useful for linked and sequential production lines.
MACHINUM also offers substantial benefits to machine builders, as Siemens integrated digital twin technology allows more streamlined off-machine programming and machining simulation in an office environment. This approach facilitates faster prep time, more accurate design specs on the final machine, faster component acquisition near the build time and a reduction in costly downtime, due to last-minute design changes, as those are anticipated, simulated and resolved, all in a virtual world. MACHINUM also represents the integration of existing Siemens digitalization software such as Create MyVirtual Machine, Run MyVirtual Machine, Adaptive Control and Monitoring (ACM), Analyze MyWorkpiece and Manage MyMachines.
Under the theme “Empowering the Digital Machine Shop”, Siemens will display its digital threads, from blueprint to finished part, digital twin to simulation, part production, as well as the total integration of these processes into the digital factory for job shops and production departments, all brought to life by Siemens hardware automation and digitalization software.
eRod Continues Its Path
Building off the successful rollout of its eRod “electric buggy” at IMTS 2022, Siemens will further demonstrate the end-to-end production of the aluminum wheel rim and gear housing for this electric vehicle on display in the booth. The wheel rim is made by traditional 5-axis and multi-technology machining (mill-turn, turn-mill) and the gear housing is manufactured through additive/subtractive machining processes. At every stage of each part’s development, including machining, displays will take visitors through the digital manufacturing process. From the popular Siemens NX CAM software, which enables the use of 3D models, data and processes to seamlessly connect planning and shopfloor operations, to the powerful SINUMERIK ONE, the digital-native CNC that permits a digital twin of the machine tool and its full operation in production, Siemens has streamlined machine shop operations as well as leading automotive, aerospace, off-highway, medical part and myriad consumer durable production facilities worldwide.
Additional highlights of the Siemens booth will include:
Aimed at developing a complete eco-system for the machine tool builder and end-user, the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio brings together the breadth of engineering and manufacturing to provide the optimum solution for customers of any size in any industry.
Digitalization solutions will shorten the machine tool builder’s time-to-market through Digital Twin technology, where all machine design and operational kinematics are simulated prior to the machine being built. This development enables substantial savings for the builder and end-user alike — not only in the design, building and commissioning, but also during the startup and training phases of machine implementation.
With SINUMERIK ONE, Siemens is accelerating the digital transformation of the machine tool industry. The new CNC control platform works with software to create the machine controller and the associated digital twin from a single engineering system and thus contributes to the total integration of hardware and software. Thanks to its seamless interaction between the virtual and real worlds, including high-performance PLC, drive and motor hardware, SINUMERIK ONE is setting new standards in terms of productivity, performance and digitalization. It is the future-proof machine controller in the increasingly digital world of manufacturing.
With Create MyVirtual Machine and Run MyVirtual Machine, SINUMERIK ONE is provided with software to create the universal concept of the digital twin, powerful hardware and integrated IT security, making it a forward-looking CNC.
Using Mcenter, the open and modular platform for efficient shopfloors, end-users can seamlessly link all their machine tools and network with company’s IT landscape.
Finally, a fun highlight at this year’s show, Siemens will hold a golf putting contest and raffle two putters twice daily during IMTS 2024. The putter heads will be machined utilizing Siemens CNC hardware automation and digitalization software and feature custom engraving.
For more information about Siemens at IMTS 2024, please visit: https://usa.siemens.com/imts
For more information about the new MACHINUM portfolio, please visit: https://usa.siemens.com/machinum
Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is an innovation leader in automation and digitalization. Closely collaborating with partners and customers, DI drives the digital transformation in the process and discrete industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI provides companies of all sizes with an end-to-end set of products, solutions and services to integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific needs of each industry, DI’s unique portfolio supports customers to achieve greater productivity and flexibility. DI is constantly adding innovations to its portfolio to integrate cutting-edge future technologies. Siemens Digital Industries has its global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and has around 75,000 employees internationally.
Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse focusing on the areas of power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Through the separately managed company Siemens Mobility, a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is shaping the world market for passenger and freight services. Due to its majority stakes in the publicly listed companies Siemens Healthineers AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital healthcare services as well as environmentally friendly solutions for onshore and offshore wind power generation. For more than 160 years, the company has innovated and invented technologies to support American industry spanning manufacturing, energy, healthcare and infrastructure. In fiscal 2018, Siemens USA reported revenue of $23.7 billion, including $5.0 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Production facilities are increasingly the targets of cyberattacks. Industrial companies are therefore required to identify and close potential vulnerabilities in their systems. To address the need to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities on the shop floor as quickly as possible, Siemens has launched a new cybersecurity software-as-a-service.
The cloud-based SINEC Security Guard offers automated vulnerability mapping and security management optimized for industrial operators in OT environments. The software can automatically assign known cybersecurity vulnerabilities to the production assets of industrial companies. This allows industrial operators and automation experts who don’t have dedicated cybersecurity expertise to identify cybersecurity risks among their OT assets on the shop floor and receive a risk- based threat analysis. The software then recommends and prioritizes mitigation measures. Defined mitigation measures can also be planned and tracked by the tool’s integrated task management. SINEC Security Guard is offered as cybersecurity software-as-a-service (“SaaS”), is hosted by Siemens and will be available for purchase in July, 2024 on the Siemens Xcelerator Marketplace and on the Siemens Digital Exchange.
Increasing protection by reducing manual effort
“With SINEC Security Guard, customers can focus their resources on the most urgent and relevant vulnerabilities, while having full risk transparency in their factory. It is unique because it takes the specific situation of the customer’s operational environment into consideration while providing a single pane of glass for security- relevant information in the OT area,” says Dirk Didascalou, CTO of Siemens Digital Industries. “When developing the SINEC Security Guard, we drew on our extensive experience with cybersecurity in our own factories.”
Today, industrial operators are tasked with continuously safeguarding their production assets on the shop floor. They need to analyze vendor security advisories, manually match them to the asset inventory of their factory and prioritize mitigation measures. Because this process is time-consuming and error-prone using the existing tools, factories are running the risk of missing critical vulnerabilities in their assets or producing false-positives. This can lead to incorrectly configured plant components and inadequately allocated resources. With the SINEC Security Guard, industrial operators can tackle these challenges without needing in-depth cybersecurity knowledge.
Attack detection at scale with Microsoft Sentinel
For a comprehensive view of IT and OT cybersecurity, SINEC Security Guard will also offer a connection to Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution for proactive threat detection, investigation and response. Once connected, SINEC Security Guard can send alerts for security events including attacks to Sentinel, enabling a security analyst to incorporate SINEC Security Guard insights and conclusions in investigations and responses with Microsoft Sentinel powered Security Operations Centers.
“As information technology and operational technology systems continue to converge, a holistic cybersecurity architecture is key to protecting IT and OT
capabilities alike. By combining our domain knowledge, Siemens and Microsoft make it easier for industrial operators to efficiently detect and address cybersecurity threats at scale,” says Ulrich Homann, Corporate Vice President, Cloud + AI at Microsoft.
SINEC Security Guard also supports the manual upload of existing asset information for asset inventory. Siemens recommends, however, that industrial operators use the Industrial Asset Hub, the Siemens cloud-based Asset Management solution, to enable continuous automated asset inventory management.
Functionalities also include signature-based network intrusion and attack detection via the SINEC Security Guard Sensor, an Industrial Edge app, which gives users live information about their industrial network. The SINEC Security Guard Sensor App is available at the Siemens Industrial Edge Marketplace.
The initial release of SINEC Security Guard only supports Siemens OT assets but third-party device support is planned in the future. SINEC Security Guard will expand the existing Siemens software portfolio for OT network security consisting of SINEC Security Inspector and SINEC Security Monitor.
SINEC Security Guard is a cloud-based cybersecurity software that provides full risk transparency and cybersecurity management of OT assets.
Further details on the new SINEC Security Guard can be found at: www.usa.siemens.com/sinec-security-guard
Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is an innovation leader in automation and digitalization. Closely collaborating with partners and customers, DI drives the digital transformation in the process and discrete industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI provides companies of all sizes with an end-to-end set of products, solutions and services to integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific needs of each industry, DI’s unique portfolio supports customers to achieve greater productivity and flexibility. DI is constantly adding innovations to its portfolio to integrate cutting-edge future technologies. Siemens Digital Industries has its global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and has around 75,000 employees internationally.
Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse focusing on the areas of power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Through the separately managed company Siemens Mobility, a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is shaping the world market for passenger and freight services. Due to its majority stakes in the publicly listed companies Siemens Healthineers AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital healthcare services as well as environmentally friendly solutions for onshore and offshore wind power generation. For more than 160 years, the company has innovated and invented technologies to support American industry spanning manufacturing, energy, healthcare and infrastructure. In fiscal 2018, Siemens USA reported revenue of $23.7 billion, including $5.0 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
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Advanced, real-time, cyber-attack response limits the impact within milliseconds at machine speed, isolates and quarantines the infected production equipment to facilitate faster resumption of normal operations
Following years of technical development and operational implementation design, Siemens introduces SIBERprotect for protection of critical infrastructure and OT systems at various industrial concerns, including power plants, water treatment facilities, all types of discrete manufacturing enterprises, military depots, data centers and control stations. SIBERprotect brings the SOAR (Security, Orchestration, Automation, Response) concept to cyber-physical systems with an OT-friendly and OT-managed methodology.
SIBERprotect can respond to and dramatically limit the impact of a cyber attack within milliseconds, resulting in the identification of the infected production equipment groups or plant networks and enabling full visibility and a fast initial response at the automation system level. This quick response leads to much easier remediation and resumption of normal operations, usually in less than a day.
Working in conjunction with Siemens SCALANCE S industrial security appliances, SIBERprotect can securely place OT into a safe, isolated condition, after determining the credible identification of a cyber-attack through best-in-class threat detection technology, including Intrusion Detection Systems, Next Generation Firewalls, Endpoint Solutions, Threat/Risk Intelligence and other attack or intrusion detection platforms, often enhanced with AI and machine learning capabilities. SIBERprotect then initiates a rule-based notification, network isolation and equipment management sequence to protect the selected equipment, as well as other desired response actions. Rapid assessment and remediation can then be performed, vastly limiting the risk of additional malware contamination. Work cells and equipment clusters can continue operation, while SIBERprotect prevents recontamination during remediation.
SIBERprotect further provides detailed situational awareness, alerting operators to the exact nature of the threat, where it was detected in the network and a criticality level. This level of immediately available detail allows the response engine to simultaneously execute emergency measures to alleviate predetermined worst-case scenarios. Unlike a conventional system that merely sends messages to an SOC (Security Operations Center), the SIBERprotect system is linked directly to network firewalls, automation hardware and a prioritized system of alarms to facilitate isolation of equipment and jumpstart the cyber incident response. After a thorough introduction to SIBERprotect, many automation engineers label it a cyber safety system or Cyber-SIS.
Other key features of SIBERprotect include the ability to automatically activate emergency backup equipment, interface with legacy technology such as Ethernet hubs, recover one segment or “restore all” functionality, isolate from the site IT network to prevent attack and provide all the benefits of a truly industrial solution.
As Chuck Tommey, a digital connectivity executive with Siemens, explains, “SIBERprotect represents the reimagining of how to do SOAR, that is, Security, Orchestration, Automation and Response, where an alert was typically sent to an SOC, then reviewed by a security analyst and addressed 30 minutes to hours after initial detection. Meanwhile, a virus could spread throughout a line or the entire plant. What Siemens is doing with SIBERprotect is sending the alerts directly to a PLC for instant action, based upon a predetermined priority of status and threat levels.” Tommey notes that the PLC parses the messages for its criticality level and instantly responds. (See the video below for a demonstration.)
SIBERprotect is part of the overall “Defense In Depth” suite offered by Siemens in compliance with IEC 62443, the international standard for industrial cybersecurity.
To find out more information about SIBERprotect, please visit:
usa.siemens.com/industrial-cybersecurity
To watch an informative video and review the specifications, please visit:
Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is an innovation leader in automation and digitalization. Closely collaborating with partners and customers, DI drives the digital transformation in the process and discrete industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI provides companies of all sizes with an end-to-end set of products, solutions and services to integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific needs of each industry, DI’s unique portfolio supports customers to achieve greater productivity and flexibility. DI is constantly adding innovations to its portfolio to integrate cutting-edge future technologies. Siemens Digital Industries has its global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and has around 75,000 employees internationally.
Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse focusing on the areas of power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Through the separately managed company Siemens Mobility, a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is shaping the world market for passenger and freight services. Due to its majority stakes in the publicly listed companies Siemens Healthineers AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital healthcare services as well as environmentally friendly solutions for onshore and offshore wind power generation. For more than 160 years, the company has innovated and invented technologies to support American industry spanning manufacturing, energy, healthcare and infrastructure. In fiscal 2018, Siemens USA reported revenue of $23.7 billion, including $5.0 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
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