Tag Archives: Siemens Industry

Sinumerik 828D Basic for Milling and Turning Machines in the Mid-range Job Shop Market

By Bernard and Company Tags: Ad agencies, Drive Technologies, EASTEC, inamics S120 Combi, Motion Control, Siemens, Siemens Industry, Siemens Machine Tool Systems, Sinumerik, SINUMERIK 828D BASIC M, Sinumerik 828D BASIC T, Tim Daro 1 Comment

At this year’s EASTEC Show in West Springfield, MA, Siemens will demonstrate new versions of its popular, compact CNC for the job shop, the Sinumerik 828D.

SINUMERIK 828D BASIC T

The Sinumerik 828D BASIC T is designed to address the needs of shopfloor turning machines.
It combines CNC, PLC, operator panel and axis control for five axes/spindles, including live tooling. Milling and drilling operations on a turning machine, both for face and peripheral surfacing, are therefore possible. In tandem with the new Sinamics S120 Combi drives package, the 828D BASIC T represents a new level of efficiency and virtually maintenance-free operation, as the fans, hard disks and batteries of past CNC generations have been eliminated.

With rugged diecast magnesium front panel on an IP65 enclosure, the BASIC T enables an Ethernet connection, USB or Compact Flash (CF) card program loading. An 8.4-inch color display for easy readability and simple QWERTY keyboard provide fast ramp-up for the operator. Various communication ports in USB, Ethernet, Drive-CLiQ, PLC I/O interface, RS232 C and NC inputs/outputs are standard.

In operation, reliable 80-bit nano accuracy means contour control precision and a better workpiece, every time, while Siemens intelligent kinematic transformations provide the proper orientation of machining plane to work surface.

Though simple command language is provided for operator ease, the BASIC T functions with the highest level of ISO programming language. Established cutting cycles can be utilized with fully Animated Elements for the faster visualization of part production on various levels with combinations of Sinumerik CNC and ISO programming languages possible, as well.

SINUMERIK 828D BASIC M

Similarly, the new Sinumerik 828D BASIC M class features the same quality performance as the T class, but for use on milling machines. Even in complex moldmaking operations, mirror-smooth surfacing and reduced machining times are enabled. Again, in tandem with the Sinamics S120 Combi drives package and Simotics feed and spindle motors, the 828D BASIC T will operate a milling machine at the highest level of performance possible. Superior axis and spindle dynamics within a broad speed bandwith yield quality workpieces, every time.

All the other benefits of the Siemens CNC family, including the Sinumerik Operate graphical user interface platform as well as ShopMill and ShopTurn easy programming are offered in these new 828D CNCs.

SINUMERIK 828D

The Sinumerik 828D is capable of full graphical, high-level language command and supports ISO programming that is customary in the United States. This control family is ideal for single-part and small-batch production. Programming time can be further reduced for small-batch production with the use of the ShopMill and ShopTurn graphical workstep programming systems, while high-level language programming can be used in conjunction with programGuide to significantly reduce programming times for large-scale serial production.

Also included with this expansion of the Sinumerik 828D family of CNC, modern PC and mobile phone technology are also available for the mid-range machine tool. Extensive online help animations and a new type of input prompting system with moving picture sequences provide the basis for exceptional user convenience. USB, Compact Flash (CF) card and Ethernet ports enable high-speed data transfers onto storage media or integration of the control system into corporate data networks.

Through the use of its Easy Message functionality, the Sinumerik 828D family offers production status monitoring by text messaging (SMS). Depending on the recipient’s profile settings, the machine tool can transmit information about workpiece machining status, report on the tool condition currently
in use and send machine maintenance bulletins to a mobile phone, anytime and anywhere. These combined functions are designed to help keep machine downtime to a minimum.

For more information about Siemens CNC solutions for the machine tool industry, visit our website: www.usa.siemens.com/cnc.

For more information on this story, please contact:

SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC.
DRIVE TECHNOLOGIES
MOTION CONTROL
MACHINE TOOL BUSINESS
390 Kent Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847-640-1595
Fax: 847-437-0784
Web: www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
Email: SiemensMTBUMarCom.sea@siemens.com
Attention: John Meyer, Manager, Marketing Communication

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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit.

The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability.

Turbine Blades Produced With Highest Precision

By Bernard and Company Tags: Ad agencies, CNC-gantry milling machines, Drive Technologies, five-axis turning-milling centers, Hamuel Maschinenbau, HMS Series, HSTM series, machine tools, Motion Control, Siemens, Siemens CNC, Siemens Industry, Siemens Machine Tool Systems, SINUMERIK 840D sl, Tim Daro No Comments

Turning-milling centers with coordinated drive and CNC engineering achieve superior accuracy and repeatability

Hamuel CEO Dr. Markus Stanik (right) and his sales manager Jochen Schaede agree: “The Sinumerik 840D sl CNC complements perfectly the capabilities of our five-axis turning-milling centers in the HSTM Series. Because of this fact, we can usually convince leading turbine manufacturers from the aerospace and automotive industries about the dynamics, high-performance and precision of these machines.”

The complete machining of turbine blades requires striking a balance between powerful roughing and ultra-precise finishing, a task for which the modern five-axis turning-milling centers are ideal, when robust machine construction is combined with high-quality drive and control engineering. Experience is the solid basis on which the Hamuel Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Meeder, Germany, can offer a great deal: with 85 years of machine tool manufacturing, 35 years of CNC machining, 25 years of five-axis simultaneous machining and over 10 years in the construction of five-axis turning-milling centers. CEO Dr. Markus Stanik knows that experience by itself cannot be any yardstick for the quality of machine tools, noting, “It certainly helps us, together with the right partner companies, to design and build the machines so that our customers can be successful in the marketplace.” This machine builder and its many customers have developed correspondingly positive accomplishments together. Today, Hamuel stands on three standards:

The production of machine-tool components (such as axis units, machine bases and machine bodies)
The development and construction of CNC-gantry milling machines
The production of five-axis turning-milling centers

The latter, as evidenced by Hamuel’s HSTM (high-speed turning-milling) series, has been marketed since 1999 and makes a decisive contribution to the sales and success of the company. Leading turbine manufacturers from the aerospace and power-generating industries have been particularly impressed by the dynamic response, capability and precision of these machines. Even the smallest faults are unacceptable on turbine blades

Form deviations are unacceptable for products such as turbine blades and blisks because even the smallest error would significantly reduce the efficiency of the power plant or aircraft turbine.

The HSTM that runs on the Sinumerik 840D sl CNC controllers is used mainly to manufacture turbine blades and blisks (turbine disks) deployed in stationary steam and gas turbines as well as in mobile turbines for aircraft jet engines and large turbochargers. These products always consist of high-strength materials, such as titanium or high-alloyed steels. Form deviations are taboo in such applications, because even the smallest error would significantly reduce the efficiency of the turbines. Correspondingly high and comprehensive are the requirements placed on the machine tools. Hamuel sales manager, Dipl.-Ing. Jochen Schaede, explains: “Our customers normally manufacture large turbine blades longer than approximately 1000 mm from forging blanks. In contrast, shorter workpieces are milled from a solid piece of material with a stock-removal ratio of approximately 80 percent. This makes it obvious that our machines must not only rough-cut very productively but also finish with high precision.” Whereas productivity takes precedence for rough-cutting, accuracy is more important for the subsequent finishing of the spatial free-form surfaces. “With regard to accuracy, our high-performance machining centers achieve a precision in the micrometer range coupled with excellent surface quality,” added Schaede.

Form deviations are unacceptable for products such as turbine blades and blisks because even the smallest error would significantly reduce the efficiency of the power plant or aircraft turbine.

Key to this capability is the combination of compact machine construction together with perfectly matched drive and control engineering. The basis is the robust machine design with a one-piece machine base – either as welded construction cast with special concrete or latterly directly as polymer-concrete made from a single piece of material. The careful distribution of the masses ensures the best dynamic rigidity. The experience of the developers at Hamuel paired with the knowledge of the Siemens mechatronic experts make such results possible, as Jochen Schaede confirmed: “Thanks to various simulation tools, the Siemens engineers could provide us with very exact data to which we could add or remove masses. It was certainly advantageous that we could procure all components required for the dynamics from Siemens starting with the spindle, including the axis drives, and ending with the CNC. This means we needed only a few iteration loops in order to obtain a perfect dynamic rigidity in the machines.” It is also important that all components are arranged so that the horizontally clamped turbine blades and blisks can be machined optimally. This is also facilitated by the 45°-inclined orientation of the axes that ensures a favorable swarf removal further augmented by the permanent rinsing of the machine internal area. The accessibility has also been enhanced by this inclined axis orientation. Such designed and built HSTM machines equipped with precise direct drives from Siemens achieve a maximum positioning accuracy of 5 µm with traversal speeds exceeding 40 m/min in all linear axes. Indeed, the extremely fast rotary axes have a positioning accuracy of 3 µm. This allows the user to achieve maximum productivity, accuracy and surface finishes in the range of Ra = 0.8 µm, and so fully meet the industry requirements placed on the blade machining. CNC ensures optimized surface transitions at the inlet and outlet edges One of the biggest challenges for the turbine-blade manufacturing industry concerns the critical surface transitions (leading and trailing edges) of the turbine blades. To achieve a high quality, the milling paths described with curve interpolation points must have a constant machining speed. As a consequence, the leading and trailing edges demand extreme angular accelerations. The number of curve interpolation points to be described is correspondingly quite high.

The manufacturing of precise free-form surfaces for turbine blades demands the highest performance from the CNC. The excellent block-cycle times of the Sinumerik 840D sl and its look-ahead function improved as part of the new “Advanced Surface” motion control, which play a significant role here.

The controller now faces the challenge to reliably process the generated NC steps that are supported by the fast block cycle times and the look-ahead function of the CNC. “Hardly any other controller can supply the drive information for all five axes in the required short time as reliably as the Sinumerik 840D sl controller,” confirmed Jochen Schaede, who added, “The new Advanced Surface motion control that includes among other things an optimized look-ahead function is also excellent. And I would also like to mention the five-axis high-speed turning-milling of free-form surfaces requires a continuous spatial reorientation of the geometry vectors.” This leads to the use of the Traori (transformation orientation) principle in the Sinumerik 840D sl. Hamuel’s customers can therefore achieve reproducible results with the best-possible surface finish, exact contour accuracy and with the maximum possible machining speed.

Despite being a high-end controller that offers many modern features, the Sinumerik 840D sl CNC is easy-to-use.

In addition to the primary properties of precision, productivity and reliability, Hamuel also appreciates other properties of the Siemens drive and control engineering – an example: the DRIVE-CLiQ interface. When this digital connection is used, all appropriately equipped drive components are detected automatically. Only a cable for the connection is required to achieve this result. Equivalent circuit diagram data for the motors and the characteristic values of the installed encoder systems are all stored. This avoids the need for manual data input during the commissioning and so makes this task more reliable and much faster, according to Hamuel engineers. Sales manager Schaede is also impressed with the “know-how” protection onboard the control. With the help of innovative software, his customers can protect all their programs and their application know-how, using individual passwords and so largely prevent unauthorized access. According to Hamuel, the Teleservice offered by Siemens has proven to be an important advantage for its machine users who often operate globally. It allows not only software problems to be rectified but also updates to be installed fast and reliably without needing to be present onsite. Manufacturing operations save time and money and they always remain up-to-date with the latest software releases, via this service. Powerful motor spindle with Hirth gearing

Leading turbine manufacturers are particularly impressed by the dynamics and high-performance of the HSTM machines. The perfect interaction of the robust Hamuel machine construction and the high-quality Siemens drive and control engineering provide the basis for this satisfaction.

The capability of the turning-milling center also depends greatly on the 54-kW motor spindle made by Weiss Spindeltechnologie GmbH (a Siemens subsidiary). Equipped with a HSK A63 tool holder, it is able to provide the high torque required for roughing plus speeds as high as 16,000 rpm for finishing. This means an optimum cutting speed is always guaranteed. As a practical detail, the Hamuel engineers also emphasize the integrated Hirth gearing that makes it possible to clamp the spindle and relieve load on the bearings during the turning process. The machine sizes in the HSTM Series are oriented to the length of the workpieces to be produced in standard ranges from ≤ 500 mm (HSTM 300) to 1750 mm (HSTM 1500). On special request, Hamuel also builds larger machines. A project for machining blades as large as 2500 mm in length is currently running in the field. CEO Markus Stanik explains, “Thanks to our modular machine construction, we are able to satisfy special requests and build turning-milling centers in these dimensions.”

New developments already in the introductory phase are also evolving at Hamuel. For example, in the near future, a special gas will be able to be used to cool the tool in the HSTM machines. A machine base made of mineral casting is also now offered. One of the first machines of this type has already been presented at EMO. “This material not only exhibits excellent properties with regard to vibration suppression but we have also been able to reduce somewhat our dependency on steel suppliers,” noted Markus Stanik. For the machine user, this makes itself apparent directly in improved surface quality and a significantly longer tool service life. CNC gantry milling machines of the HSM (high-speed milling) series In addition to the component production and the construction of the HSTM series, the company’s HMS Series machines are another mainstay for Hamuel. These simultaneous five-axis machining centers are designed for high-speed cutting (HSC). They feature not only the modern Siemens drive and CNC control engineering, but also the optimized milling-head systems and the high-performance high-speed spindles, providing this capability. HSM machines allow high-performance roughing and ultra-precise finishing. With regard to the size of the HSM machines, the manufacturer adapts the designs specifically based on the customer requirements. As a component producer, Hamuel also has its own machines in constant use at its factory.

For more information about Siemens CNC solutions for the machine tool industry, visit our website: www.usa.siemens.com/cnc.

For more information on the this story, contact:

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About Hamuel Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Meeder, Germany

Hamuel was founded in 1927 and is now part of the Hamuel Reichenbacher company group. More than 2000 CNC machines from this enterprise group are currently in use globally for the machining of a wide range of materials. The focus of Hamuel Maschinenbau comprises three areas: the production of machine-tool components, CNC gantry milling machines (HSM) and five-axis CNC turning-milling centers (HSTM).

Siemens and Biglia Offer Full Flexibility in New “Quattro” Series of Turning Centers

By Bernard and Company Tags: 1FK 7 G2 series, 1PH8, Ad agencies, Biglia, Drive Technologies, Motion Control, permanent-magnet synchronous motors, Siemens, Siemens Industry, Siemens Machine Tool Systems, Sinamics S120, Sinumerik, SINUMERIK 840D sl, Sinumerik Operate, Tim Daro No Comments

Highlights include two-sided machining and servo drive technology

Recently, Northern Italian machine tool manufacturer Biglia introduced its multi-functional turning centers of the ‘Quattro’ series with the Sinumerik 840D sl CNC. The mechanical concept, together with the scalable control, provides users with the most diverse standard turning and milling operations. The result is increased flexibility and higher speeds for end users. That quality machine tools are built in Northern Italy is nothing new. And this fact is confirmed again by the “Quattro” series from the machine tool manufacturer Biglia. These machines are multifunctional turning centers that are valued throughout Europe for their high reliability and performance power. The machines are available in different versions from 11 to 15 CNC axes. They are also intended for different turning diameters (45, 52, 65, 71 and 80 mm).

Biglia has equipped its turning centers of the ‘Quattro’ series with the Sinumerik 840D sl CNC control. The individual machines have 11 to 15 NC axes.

The two opposing spindles form a special feature of the “Quattro” series. This allows the workpiece to be machined from two sides, which reduces the machining time. The second spindle can also be moved linearly in two directions (lengthwise and crosswise). This provides some leeway in the case of additional milling operations, but it can also be used for automatic workpiece unloading. Two turrets, mounted on the y-axis, ensure proper positioning of the necessary tools.

The turning centers from Biglia have two spindles and two independent tool turrets for simultaneous machining.

This innovative machining technology allows the creation of not only rotary but also prismatic workpieces – including polygons. Dealing with everything in one setup not only reduces cycle times, it also enhances accuracy. The machines are developed on the basis of a modular concept that ensures flexible application options – from the universal CNC lathe, to complete machining of complex workpieces with powered tools (c- and y-axis).

Getting it right, from the start

By offering the Siemens Sinumerik 840D sl CNC control, Biglia now wants to expand its previous options and its own market by combining its technologies with that of the Siemens control. “In this project, which is of personal significance to all of us who worked on it and of strategic significance for Biglia, we wanted to do everything perfect right from the start and to get the most out of it,” says Giovanni Delmondo, Business Development Manager for machine tools with Siemens Italy. The result is an all-round successful machine series with a highly modern control that already includes the innovative system expansions of recent months – including increased energy efficiency options offered by the control and drive systems from Siemens.

To illustrate this, Giovanni Delmondo points out that “the fans on the spindles are shut down automatically when they are not required, or certain services such as hydraulics, lubricant supply, or compressed air are deactivated during machine standstill times. This is handled via special screen forms on the control and is extremely simple, using the Run MyScreens function.”

Also notable is the standard energy efficiency solution from Siemens in the Sinamics S120 drives onboard this machine series. This includes automatic power factor correction or regenerative feedback of the energy generated in braking operations, a substantial factor in energy savings.

Performance and scalability

The Sinumerik 840D sl control is based upon the Sinamics S120 drives platform.

The centerpiece of the automation concept of these Biglia turning centers is the Sinumerik 840D sl control. This is a universal and flexible CNC system, implemented in the Sinamics S120 design (see Fig. 3). It is suitable for up to 31 NC axes. Whether you are turning, drilling, milling, grinding, laser-machining, nibbling or punching, the Sinumerik 840D sl is suitable for use in the most diverse machining technologies. The CNC control also has PLC (programmable logic controller) functionalities, so that a special PLC can be eliminated, if applicable.

This high-end control from Siemens is ideally suited to medium and complex tasks and production and can be adapted to the task, thanks to scalable hardware. The CNC is also characterized by openness, so the operator interface and also the software present few limits to specific job adaptability. This applies all the way to supplementing the NC core of the control; however, a special license is required for this adaptation.

On the Biglia turning centers, the control was equipped with the Sinumerik Operate user interface, making operation simple and intuitive. Three different methods of parts programming are possible: Classic ISO code programming, programming with the help of the integrated ProgramGuide with graphical support of the selected cycles, and the new two-channel ShopTurn with graphical 3D simulation. The user is led step-by-step through the cycles, whether for simple metal removal, drilling, thread cutting, pocket milling, groove milling or engraving. Complex programming cycles for complex contours are also possible. The “ProgramSync” function for automatic synchronization of the machining programs via two channels ensures a significant increase in machine productivity. The control is equipped with a 15″ monitor and integral keyboard.

Siemens CNC in metalcutting applications.

The Quattro series from Biglia also uses the highly effective personnel and machine protection system provided by the Sinumerik control concept with the Sinumerik Safety Integrated package.

Biglia is also breaking new ground with servo drives. Thus, the new servo motor generation 1PH8 from Siemens is used for the main spindle motors in this series. The linear axes are further equipped with the new 1FK 7 G2 series of permanent-magnet synchronous motors. These motor types from Siemens enable onsite replacement of the encoders without having to dismantle the complete motor. This combination of machine and CNC control in the Quattro turning centers from Biglia provides users with greater flexibility.

For more information about Siemens CNC solutions for the machine tool industry, visit our website: www.usa.siemens.com/cnc.

For more information on the this story, contact:

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Bretting Develops New Controls Platform for Napkin, Interfold Towel and Tissue Machine Lines

By Bernard and Company Tags: C.G. Bretting Manufacturing, Siemens General Motion Control, Siemens Industry, Simatic PLC, Simotics, SIMOTION, Sinamics No Comments

Planning and partnerships lead to success on export machine series

C.G. Bretting Manufacturing Company Inc. has been in business for over 120 years, serving the OEM paper converting industry and providing contract manufacturing services for more than 60 years. Bretting is located in Ashland, Wisconsin on the southern shores of Lake Superior. The fourth generation of the Bretting family leads the business today, while the fifth generation is currently on deck.

Bretting paper converting machine, utilizing all Siemens controls, including motors, drives, PLC and motion controller plus related software. Bretting builds machines for various paper converting operations such as napkins, interfolded paper towels, bathroom roll and boxed facial tissues.

OEM paper converting equipment converts rolls of paper into folded and rolled paper products such as napkins, interfolded napkins, singlefold facial tissue, multifold paper toweling, kitchen towel rolls and bathroom tissue rolls. Bretting is an industry leader in global sales and service of OEM paper converting equipment. Machines are designed, manufactured, assembled and tested at the Ashland factory, prior to shipping to the customer’s site for set-up and commissioning.

Simotion motion controllers, Sinamics drives, Simatic PLCs and various Simotics motors were used in the building of the first all-Siemens controlled platform machine at Bretting.

Bretting recently delivered its first paper converting machine controlled entirely by Siemens hardware and software. The project was a major undertaking for Bretting, Siemens and Standard Electric (local Siemens distributor) and was deemed a great success, according to Dave Vedder, director of engineering, C.G. Bretting. “Planning and partnerships with our vendors were keys to our success on this first 41-axis Siemens-controlled machine. We planned for success and achieved it. The project started more than 24 months prior to delivery of the machine to the customer.”

Vedder continued to explain the process.

“The project started with listening to our customers, who had been requesting Siemens automation on our equipment for some time. Meeting customer needs is a Bretting strength. We realized it was time to act. The Bretting Leadership Team commissioned an effort to provide an acceptable solution. That solution comprised Sinamics drives, Simatic PLC and Simotion motion controllers.”

The purchasing department then met with the local distributor, Standard Electric. Meetings were organized with Standard Electric, Siemens and Bretting within several weeks. Planning for the first Siemens machine was initiated. It was determined the products and software available would satisfy the full range of Bretting machine functionality and other requirements. Initial planning included:

The establishment of partnerships, along with clarification of pricing, delivery, support and inventory levels
Small dedicated R&D lab for training, programming and testing
Training for field service, hardware engineers and software programmers
First Machine Support for engineering, programming, build, startup and full commissioning in the field

A formal customer inquiry for a new machine followed about six months later. The inquiry included a requirement for a full Siemens automation solution on the customer’s new paper converting machine. Bretting, Siemens and Standard Electric were now well prepared and ready to respond, Vedder explained. Proposals for the machine with full Siemens automation solutions were shared with the customer. A new set of planning protocols was started, one that focused specifically on the first Bretting paper converting machine to be equipped entirely with the new vendor’s products and software onboard.

First machine planning included-

Siemens hardware and software engineering coaching
Bill of Material reviews
Schedules for parts ordering and delivery
Machine build support
Machine startup support
Machine installation in the field support
Warranty and field issue support process

The customer ordered the machine approximately six months after the initial inquiry. The plans for the first machine were approved and authorized for production. Some checks and adjustments were required during the machine engineering and build process. “The combined talents of Siemens, Standard Electric and Bretting addressed and resolved any issues as they occurred,” Dave Vedder explained. “The customer approved the machine during the Final Machine Checkout process. The time from Order to Checkout was similar to other machines we’ve produced during recent years.”

The machine was then disassembled and shipped to the customer’s site in Europe. The reassembly, startup and final commissioning proceeded without issue. The machine is currently running successfully in the field, with no significant service issues reported, according to Vedder.

Planning and partnership were key to the success of this first export paper converting machine with Siemens automation onboard, all made possible by the combined efforts of the machine builder, the controls supplier and the local value-adding electrical distributor.

Bretting is an ISO9001:2008 Certified manufacturer with sales representatives worldwide.

For further information on this story, please contact:

C.G. BRETTING MANUFACTURING INC.
3401 Lake Park Road
Ashland, WI 54806
Phone: 715-682-5231
Web: www.bretting.com
Attention: David Vedder, Director of Engineering

SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC.
Drive Technologies — Motion Control
390 Kent Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847-640-1595 Fax: 847-437-0784
Web: www.usa.siemens.com/motioncontrol
Email: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com
Attention: John Meyer, Manager, Marketing Communications

Siemens Names Two to New Posts

By Bernard and Company Tags: Ad agencies, Chris Pollack, Drive Technologies, MasterCam, Motion Control, Siemens, Siemens Industry, Siemens Machine Tool Systems, SolidWorks, Tim Daro No Comments

Matt Lorig

Machine Tool Business appoints new business development manager for Asian builder relations plus dealer support manager for Eastern U.S.

May 15, 2012 — The Siemens Machine Tool Business, part of the Drive Technologies — Motion Control group within Siemens Industry, Inc. has appointed Matt Lorig as business development manager for the company’s Asian builder base. As such, Lorig will engage in direct sales of the company’s CNC, motor and drive packages to Asian builders and importers in North America, plus maintain existing business in a response mode to better serve this growing customer segment for Siemens. Matt brings over 20 years in industrial automation to this new position, much of it in the machine tool industry with a major Japanese supplier. He has expertise in CNC, robotics, servo technology and general motion control.

Chris Pollack

In related news, Christopher Pollack assumes the duties of dealer support manager for the Eastern United States. His primary responsibility will be field support for the growing dealer network in the region that sells machine tools with Siemens CNC technology onboard. This will include technical CNC training, software support and hands-on utilization demonstrations for dealer customers, both onsite and at dealer events. Chris brings extensive knowledge of CNC technology to this position, plus a working knowledge of MasterCam and SolidWorks. He is a certified Class A machinist and was most recently an applications engineer at Fryer Machine Systems.

For more information on the this story, contact:

Siemens Industry, Inc. Drive Technologies — Motion Control (Machine Tools)
390 Kent Avenue Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847-640-1595
Fax: 847-437-0784
Web: www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
Email: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com
Attention: John Meyer, Manager, Marketing Communications

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Gisma Steckverbinder GmbH: Well-Connected

By Bernard and Company Tags: Ad agencies, Drive Technologies, Gisma, Gisma Steckverbinder GmbH, Motion Control, Siemens, Siemens Industry, Siemens Machine Tool Systems, Sinumerik, SINUMERIK 840D sl, Sinumerik Safety Integrated, Spinner, TC77 universal turning machine, Tim Daro No Comments

A variety of complex underwater electrical connector casings are made by Gisma, using Siemens Sinumerik CNC-controlled Spinner lathe technology.

Gisma specializes in the production of underwater connectors typically used in offshore energy generation. Siemens Sinumerik-controlled Spinner CNC machine tools contribute significantly to the success of the company.

Special connectors are required to safely and reliably connect electrical and fiber-optic cables deep underwater. With maintenance more difficult, all of the parts must meet the most rigorous technical requirements in terms of reliability and service life. Products from Neumünster, Germany-based Gisma Steckverbinder GmbH are designed to be fail-safe and to withstand maximum pressure loads, while still operating on the basic “push and pull” principle. In addition to shipyards, the offshore oil and gas industry, and the military, Gisma is now receiving an increasing number of orders from offshore energy companies. Gisma works closely with its customers on all of its developments – most recently on a single-pole, wet-mateable power connector for use in offshore underwater turbines, which was designed to handle operating voltages of 12 kV at 400 A and is guaranteed to be fail-safe for 25 years.

Manufacturing repeatability to the nearest micron

To meet the high standards required in underwater technology, manufacturing accuracy to the nearest micron is required, especially for fiber-optic connectors. In addition, the materials must all be corrosion-resistant. The highest levels of functional safety  are also required to enable the machining of seawater-resistant bronze and stainless steels, along with more sophisticated materials such as duplex and super-duplex steels, titanium and high-performance plastics. The demands placed on the cutting machines and controllers used in the production of these parts are correspondingly high. For many years, Gisma has relied on Spinner milling and turning centers equipped with Siemens Sinumerik CNCs. “The machines rarely fail, mostly because of the high-quality drive and control technology,” says production manager Michael Königsmann. He is particularly impressed by the TC77 universal turning machine from the 800 series, which will be used, among other purposes, to turn the casings for a new high- performance connector measuring up to 3000 mm long. The TC 77 is built on a rigid Meehanite cast iron base with large tempered steel guide rails, allowing a high cutting capacity, along with good damping and rigidity characteristics. It is equipped with a water-cooled motor spindle, which allows precision turning to within a few hundredths of a millimeter, shortly after switching on. The machine also has a counter spindle and features 12 tool stations with driven tools. “This lets us manufacture some workpieces in a single run, whereas previously it would have taken several,” explains the production manager. In accordance with VDI/DGQ 3441, the machine achieves repeat accuracy of 2 µm in the  x- and z-axes.

Consistent CNC strategy since 2000

The sophisticated Sinumerik 840D sl CNC plays an equally important role in reducing manufacturing time. Since the year 2000, Gisma has used only Siemens controllers in its production facility. “By standardizing the controller, we have created an environment where we can deploy our employees flexibly all over the shop floor and operator error  has become a thing of the past,” explains Tobias Frerck, Gisma’s managing director. “We have always had great results with Sinumerik controllers and knew we could rely on our competent regional service partners on those rare occasions when something went wrong.” For newly developed products, production manager Königsmann and his staff usually create the CNC programs on external PCs in DIN ISO and then send them over the network to the most suitable machine. If there is a need to manufacture new connectors based upon an existing family of parts, the required CNC programs can usually be adjusted directly on the machine itself. And, just  as during initial setup, the Sinumerik 840D sl’s fully integrated and user-friendly ShopTurn software comes into its own here. The animated graphical user interface is completely intuitive, meaning that it can be easily picked up even by temporary staff. The Sinumerik Safety Integrated software package provides additional safety when working in setup mode, allowing operators to monitor the production process with the machine door open. Safety mode allows speeds of up to 2 m/min, and the software ensures that the drives stop quickly after a maximum of 1 to 2 mm, should any problems arise. If anything is unclear when an operator is entering data, he or she can push a single button on the operator console to bring up a help menu. Switching to a text-based DIN interface is just as straightforward, for example, when an experienced programmer feels that he or she can more quickly and easily describe a complex contour using a DIN statement. As always, the main focus remains on achieving the highest possible standards in terms of both the manufacturing and the finished product.

For more information on this article, please contact:

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The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.

RedViking and Siemens Save Energy, Time and Money for the United States Military

By Bernard and Company Tags: Human Machine Interface, Press Release, RedViking, Siemens General Motion Control, Siemens Industry, Sinamics, total harmonic distortion, Transportable Test Fixtures, VFDs No Comments

Test stand builder collaborates with Siemens Industry, Inc. on variable speed drives and motors to affect green, lean solutions for testing Apache, Blackhawk helicopter powertrains at Department of Defense customer; over 20 test stands reduced to five.

RedViking test stand for evaluating performance on transmissions from multiple helicopter OEMs

RedViking, located in Plymouth, Michigan, made its mark in automotive power transmission test stands, beginning in 1981 as Superior Controls. Today, the company is providing multi-disciplinary engineering and equipment construction services to major corporations such as Caterpillar, GE, Boeing, General Motors and others. Spun off in 2010, RedViking designs and builds a variety of powertrain test equipment, metrology and production solutions for government and commercial OEMs alike.

For a recent Department of Defense (DoD) customer, RedViking was presented with a challenge that involved an existing bank of over 20 individual test stands, used for dynamic testing of performance factors on helicopter transmissions, primarily in the Apache and Blackhawk classes. The existing test stands ranged from 20–50 years in age and had been built with single-purpose functionality. This scenario resulted in constantly increasing maintenance requirements for the customer, plus excessive power consumption and plant floor space capacity overload. The test stands suffered from a lack of readily available spare parts, required unique training to operate each stand, and did not produce the desired level of data for analysis.

When a unit test was required, the test article would be built up and dressed within the envelope of the test stand, fully connected, then tested, disconnected and removed from the work cell. This procedure resulted in extremely long downtime impact on the customer’s equipment utilization, with various corresponding logistic challenges. Coupled with the age of the equipment and the excess power used by the older equipment, this situation presented the RedViking engineers with a series of hurdles to overcome.

New testing system requirements included better compilation of test data, automatic closed loop operation of the machinery, true speed and torque measurement with a local Test Executive as the main operator interface to the test machine and finally, a standardized control platform to allow easier operator cross-training on the equipment.

The customer targeted a goal of three to four tests per working shift versus the current one test per shift being achieved with their multiple machines. RedViking performed its onsite assessment and subsequent situation analysis, and then devised a solution that utilized common components and an entirely new material handling strategy. A series of five flexible test stand designs was determined to be sufficient for the replacement of all existing machines.

To accomplish greater efficiency in the utilization of these test stands, a series of workpiece carriages was designed, allowing the Units Under Test (UUT) to be mounted and staged outside the envelope of the test stand and then brought into the work cell for faster connection, test, disconnect and exit. RedViking terms these devices Transportable Test Fixtures (TTFs), which automate shaft connections, clamping and positioning, as well as providing 360° access to the UUT. This design provides significantly greater efficiency as well as a safe and ergonomic operator environment. As RedViking explained, hours of test setup time are reduced to minutes.

RedViking Controls and Software Manager Jason Stefanski at the main transmission flexible test module.

RedViking Controls and Software Manager, Jason Stefanski, and his team devised an entirely new, modular software system and common Human Machine Interface (HMI) platform for all five test stands, with a common user interface and plug-in architecture, comprising common function blocks, I/O coding and CAT 4 safety functions. This design approach allows the software to be easily configured to accommodate the various transmission models being tested.

Once the test article in the TTF is automatically positioned and attached, RFID tags on the TTF identify both the article and its test profile configuration and communicate them to the Test Executive.

All test profiles are generated and stored offline, with modifications made by the customer’s engineering staff outside of the test cells. Test profiles are then linked to the UUT type and model data for further system integrity.

The main software feature of the test machines is the ability to execute a fully automated, repeatable, and traceable test. To provide this functionality, RedViking has developed a Test Sequence Set (TSS) Editor, allowing all parameters to be set by the customer, downloaded to a Test Executive from a localized laptop, thus eliminating the need to modify validated machine code.
The TSS editor provides the customer with adaptability to easily modify future or existing test profiles.

After a thorough review of the potential suppliers for the power components and controls on these new test stands, Siemens Industry’s Drive Technologies Division was chosen to provide the motors and AC flux vector drives packages with regenerative braking for increased energy efficiency. RedViking worked closely with Siemens to devise an AC system, utilizing the regenerative technology found in Sinamics drives with 480V and 690V standards. Jason Stefanski recounted a number of field trips to Siemens customers to investigate the performance and application specifics of regen drives used with 3000 hp motors.

SINAMICS “Drive Alley” houses the main drives for the RedViking test stand

The use of Siemens regenerative braking technology allows a system to recover power, minus the parasitic losses. Conventional dynamic load testing requires loading to occur via an eddy current or fluid brake system, which requires additional energy, maintenance and up front capital investment. In more innovative industrial environments, according to Siemens, Sinamics regenerative drive technology can enable energy savings of 40 percent or more.

With a common DC bus architecture, this allows for only one AC to DC conversion in the motoring direction and the regenerative braking power goes straight to another inverter, which is motoring via the common DC bus link. This method eliminates two conversion points where energy would be lost which increases the overall efficiency. In addition, the common bus solution paired with the active front end (AFE) has the ability for power factor correction, which will further increase the overall savings of a common bus system. All AFE drives allow for unity power factor and low total harmonic distortion (THD) that meets IEEE 519 harmonic standards. This means these drive systems can improve the present power factor displacement in a customer’s facility.

RedViking estimates that a test on the Main Transmission Flexible Test System, while running at full capacity, will cost approximately $400 less per hour to operate than current comparable systems. With improvements over the conventional non-regen testing process, the RedViking Main Transmission Test System could generate approximately $500,000 in annual power savings.

For this project, Siemens Industry, Inc. supplied its high-performance asynchronous Simotics 1PL6 and 1RN4 motors, the largest being 3000 hp, to power the various mechanisms on the RedViking test stands. When in operation, these motors simulate the power generated by the helicopter’s jet engines, in addition to simulating the loading of the main rotor and tail output blades. This allows RedViking to test the helicopter transmission components to the full speed and torque requirements as specified by the military with very precise closed loop control.

On the Tail and Intermediate Gearbox Flexible Test Module, it was determined that the use of two more Siemens Simotics motors was less expensive and more efficient than the previous test stand’s gearbox design. This solution involves multiple motor connections to an output variable frequency drive (VFD) with auxiliary connections, thereby eliminating the need for additional VFDs.

Stefanski noted that one of the reasons that Siemens was selected for this project is their global support structure combined with a U.S. base of manufacturing. RedViking prides itself on designing and building systems in the U.S. and seeks out vendors who build their products in the U.S. as well.

Joshua Gibbs, RedViking Manufacturing Coordinator, commented, “We knew we were building these test stands to validate the performance of military helicopters that see wartime action. We take it very personally at RedViking to ensure these systems protect man and machine alike, as well as provide the ultimate in test validation.” RedViking further noted the substantial energy savings and operational efficiencies realized by the RedViking customer gave their entire team considerable pride of accomplishment on this project. RedViking currently performs both DO and DX contracts for the military and its subcontractors.

For more information:

RedViking
46247 Five Mile Road
Plymouth, MI 48170
Phone: 1-734-927-1460
Web: www.redviking.com

Retrofitting for Success

By Bernard and Company Tags: Ad agencies, Cincinnati U5 Gantry, Major Tool & Machine, MTM, Siemens, Siemens 840D, Siemens CNC platform, Siemens Industry, Siemens Machine Tool Systems, Siemens Tool Management, Sinumerik 840D, SINUMERIK 840D sl, Sinumerik CNC, Sinumerik Operate, Tim Daro No Comments

With the right CNC platform, this large, state-of-the-art job shop has discovered “anything is possible”…

CNC upgrade enhances performance and precision

Major Tool & Machine (MTM) is a large job shop, producing precision milled and turned hardware throughout the company’s 500,000 square foot Indiana facility. Performance is essential, because MTM contracts with aerospace, energy, nuclear and defense companies on many mission-critical, one-off projects. Owner and CEO Steve Weyreter will tell you openly, MTM is more competitive by way of a significant CNC technology change, starting with an aggressive retrofit strategy.

Major Tool & Machine, Inc. retrofitted two of their machining centers in 2010 changing to a CNC technology platform that was completely new to the company. Ten more such large-scale retrofits have followed, bringing increased enthusiasm, momentum and productivity.

Günther Zimmermann, CNC Controls Engineer at MTM, says the company’s retrofit program and the decision to change to the Siemens SINUMERIK CNC platform have brought a new enthusiasm and momentum to the company. Over the last two years the change has also brought significant time and cost reductions, especially in the areas of programming, maintenance engineering, and machine operations.

“The initial goal in early 2010 was to retrofit two Cincinnati U5 Gantry machines,” Zimmermann recounts. “We evaluated two CNC technology platforms and after considerable analysis our CEO Steve Weyreter announced that Siemens would best support the company’s future.”

The decision to reduce costs by moving to a single CNC platform was the least difficult decision for the company to make, Zimmermann explains. The larger challenge for MTM was the integration of a new CNC technology platform that was new to the company.

Bill Henderson, MTM’s manager of large machining and maintenance, agrees that the decision to change to a Siemens CNC platform integrated with advanced part and tool probing was critical, because the shop manages constant changeovers from one complex job to the next, making setup times a critical time/cost constraint for the company. Another big advantage is the increased flexibility by only having to train machinists and maintenance personnel on one type of control.

Henderson went on to say “the decision to change to a new control has signaled higher expectations for the company, along with new challenges for those who program, operate and maintain the company’s big machines.

Naturally, there’s a resistance to change,” Henderson says. “People are comfortable with what they normally run, but after our discussions with the people on the plant floor, they understood the overall objective. Our retrofit program is not finished, yet it’s already showing tremendous benefits.”

Heads-up interchangeability

An advantage MTM gained by its retrofit strategy has been the ability to interchange heads and rotary tables from machine to machine. Easy-to-use head storage and tool management programming provided by the Siemens CNC platform support the new interchange capability.

Retrofitter Doug Huber says having Siemens as a new CNC technology partner has made a difference for Major Tool & Machine, but it’s also been an evolutionary uplift for his own retrofitting company, Indiana Automation.

“Indiana Automation has increasingly retrofit using Siemens controls in recent years, Huber explains. “On a retrofit, we always try to exceed what the original machine could do, and that’s just kind of inherent when you put on a Siemens 840D. Major Tool’s first retrofits were the Cincinnati U5 machines, a bridge model and two gantry models. These are five-axis machines and five-axis is the 840D’s forte. The processing power of the control is so much better, that it just whips through the blocks faster. So right off, cycle time is a major performance enhancement.”

Huber says something else happened this time. As his firm finished retrofitting the first three giant machines with Siemens five-axis controls, drives and motors, the reaction within the company was not just that the machines were now predictably more efficient, but that they performed as very different machines. A new advantage is the ability to interchange machining heads from machine-to-machine, and all driven by the Siemens CNC platform.

“On many of the U5 machines, the axes come off with the heads,” Huber explains, “and we rebuilt these machines to accept any one of three different heads. That’s one of Major Tool’s key strategies. They insist on having flexible machine capabilities, so that they can run all kinds of different parts. They have straight heads for serious metal cutting, contour heads for five-axis work and finesse work. They have 90-degree heads for more flexibility than a straight head, but it’s also not as fragile as the contour head. And they wanted to interchange all of these heads to automatically go pick up a head out of the shuttle and, on the fly, reconfigure the axes and the zero positions. To do this, the compensation tables all had to be updated. Everything needed to be done with the macro program so that each head came on ready to run.”

The interchangeable head strategy was a challenge, Huber says, because the machines were not originally capable of sharing heads. But with support from Siemens, the strategy has worked, including the ability to interchange rotary tables as well as heads. “Each head or rotary table has a configuration file that has all the settings and compensations and travels with it from machine to machine. So now when you mount that head the control just runs the configuration file that goes with it and its all set up for you. We also incorporated Siemens Tool Management for each machine’s 60-pocket tool chain. We used the feature on these machines to manage all the different tooling MTM uses, both in the automatic tool changer as well as the ones manually loaded.”

Huber says, “MTM’s ability to smoothly transition to more advanced CNC is largely due to the HMI’s ease of use. The Operate interface is a huge help to us and to Major Tool. The HMI helps make better parts. And it didn’t take very long for the operators to fall in love with it.”

Leveraging the machinist’s skills

Central to MTM’s retrofit program has been the Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl control, which features the SINUMERIK Operate interface. The highly intuitive interface enables both programmers and operators to easily capitalize on the broad capabilities of the control.

“I had never used a Siemens control before,” admits MTM machinist Mike Burthay. “I have extensive knowledge of G-code and CNC controls and I would say the Siemens 840D sl with the Operate interface is the easiest one I’ve ever run. It’s user friendly, that’s exactly the words for it.”

Burthay reports several ways in which the Siemens SINUMERIK Operate interface has made his life easier. “There’s not as much G-code,” he says. “The control does it all for you as long as you put in the parameters as to size, length, width. Then once you’re in Job Mode, there’s a screen where you can tool change or jog the machine around to certain positions, or turn the spindle on, turn the coolant on, anything that traditionally required G-code. So now you can push a cycle stop button to pause the machine, enter a change such as turning coolant on, then restart the program.

Programming as easy as 1-2-3: Using the SINUMERIK Operate interface, a machinist can turn on coolant flow by 1) pressing Cycle Stop to stop the machine, 2) Coolant On, and 3) Restart.

“Another function I love is Block Search, which allows me to start or restart right in the middle of a program. Say you’re finishing a pocket and you have to run the tool two or three times to get a tight tolerance, I can enter in a line number and hit Block Search, the control picks up every line before that, restarts the spindle and everything for you.”

Burthay says the Siemens control also enables him to program parts right on the machine whenever necessary, using a simple yet robust program called ShopMill. “I can go into ShopMill, type in some parameters and it will kick out that G-code program for me automatically. Say I want to drill a hole two inches deep. I open ShopMill, pick my tool, tell it the depth and these steps are all interactive on the screen. It even shows me 3D motion images of the tool path, confirms the drill going down as expected into the part. So I hit go and it puts a drill cycle into the program for me.”

Programmed for collaborative growth

Lead Programmer, Tim Hayden, has from the beginning conducted all processor setups for the newly retrofitted machines. Hayden says integrating the Siemens CNC platform has been an empowering experience he had not expected, given the fact that he had never before set up a post processor to run a Siemens control, nor had he ever before operated a Siemens control.

“Now, when I look at the Siemens control, I think man, it would have been so much better to have had it all along,” Hayden says, “because the other control I’ve been using is just a lot more cryptic. The Siemens control with the SINUMERIK Operate interface is more powerful for writing macros and the language seems modern, whereas the other control seems like it is still based on an old FORTRAN type language.”

Work offsets for compound angles can be scaled and rotated using the Frames function of the Siemens SINUMERIK Operate interface. Many advanced machining operations can be managed simply, without the use of time-intensive manual G-code programming.

Hayden points to the Frames coordinate and offset programming function of the Siemens interface as an example of improved programming convenience.

“We do a lot of work on compound angles,” Hayden explains, “and with the Siemens Frames function, you can scale and rotate your coordinate system on the control, just plug it in with your work offsets. Whereas, on the other control you will see a G54 request, you’ve got to enter G-code. You can’t just plug it into your work offsets like you can with the Siemens control.”

Hayden says the SINUMERIK Operate interface brings greater programming flexibility. The HMI enables him to enter G-code using a comparatively more advanced manual data entry (MDI) function; however the HMI has all but eliminated the need for G-code entry by way of its intuitive design and evolved capabilities.

Another example of such HMI evolution is in the area of data management.

“When we post a program, we no longer have to use a G-code based MDI,” Hayden explains. “We no longer need to type in T= and enter a nine digit number and then enter M6 to make a tool change. With the Operate HMI, you pick your tool off a screen and hit cycle start. It’s just as easy to program going to a position. Instead of doing things the old way by typing G0X0Y0Z0 into the MDI, you open the Operate interface, click position, then click how you want to wrap it and then you just type the numbers into those fields. So it’s a lot more user friendly.”

Hayden says the Siemens CNC platform has supported greater collaboration at MTM between him and the machinists, and this is helping the company find ways to increase performance and efficiency. He agrees with his coworkers’ assessments that shorter setup times and greater operator freedom are making a significant difference.

“One of our production bottlenecks has been programming,” Hayden says. “The machinists that run our machines are professionals, they’re not button pushers, and with the SINUMERIK Operate interface, we can now rely on them to control and program certain parts right on their machines, while we programmers work on the more complex projects.”

“Siemens was the best fit for all of us,” Hayden concludes. “Siemens CNC is set up as an open control, and with that kind of flexibility, it seems anything is possible.”

See Siemens CNC at Major Tool & Machine in action HERE!

For more information, contact:

SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC.
MOTION CONTROL
MACHINE TOOL BUSINESS
John Meyer
Manager, Marketing Communications
Siemens Industry, Inc.
(800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications
www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com

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Siemens at PackExpo 2012

By Bernard and Company Tags: Ad agencies, Drive Technologies, embedded ethernet ip connectivity, profibus, Profinet, Siemens, Siemens General Motion Control, Siemens Industry, Sinamics S drives, Sinamics S120 No Comments

Engineering TV is now featuring Siemens from PackExpo 2012!

Click here to check it out.

Lee Teschler of Machine Design talks to Bill Henderson, Business Development Manager at Siemens about industrial ethernet connectivity solutions and networks used in several manufacturing environments.

Hosted by: Lee Teschler Videography by: Terry Knight Edited by: Terry Knight

For specific product information and inquiries, call (800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications or send an e-mail to: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com.

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Siemens Announces New South Carolina Geared Motor Plant

By Bernard and Company Tags: Ad agencies, Drives Technologies Division, Industrial PR, Mechanical Drives Business Unit, Siemens General Motion Control, Siemens Industry, Siemens TIA, Simogear, Tim Daro No Comments

ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2012 — Siemens Industry, Inc. today announced its plans to open an assembly and manufacturing plant as part of the company’s Drives Technologies Division, Mechanical Drives Business Unit. The 45,600 square-foot facility will be located in the city of Mauldin in Greenville County. Siemens anticipates opening the facility later this year.

“The new South Carolina geared motor facility will place the company and its products manufactured in South Carolina closer to machine builders and manufacturers in the Southeastern United States,” according to Doug Keith, President of Siemens Drive Technologies Division in the U.S.. “The announcement of this plant adds to Siemens ability to be a single-source provider of integrated drive train solutions for industry. Our portfolio of gears, motors, drives and automation is helping to lead a global transformation of the industrial and manufacturing sector, by increasing productivity and energy efficiency to the highest possible levels.”

The facility will assemble Siemens new Simogear family of geared motors, featuring helical, parallel shaft, and helical bevel gear units primarily used in modern conveyor systems often found in warehousing, logistics and distribution, airport baggage handling, automotive manufacturing and food and beverage processing.

Keith added that the site combined all of the necessary elements Siemens was seeking in a location, including proximity to transportation infrastructure, including interstates and ports, a highly skilled workforce with reputable educational institutions nearby, a green-minded community and a dedicated group of business partners.

“It’s a great day in South Carolina when a world-class company like Siemens chooses to locate new operations in our state. We celebrate the company’s decision to invest in South Carolina and create new jobs. Announcements like this show we are doing the right things to attract businesses from around the globe to our state,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.

Throughout the site selection process, Siemens officials worked closely with several entities that were instrumental in the decision to locate in Mauldin, including the State of South Carolina, Greenville County, the City of Mauldin and Laurens Electric Cooperative.

“It’s exciting to see a company like Siemens bring a new manufacturing operation to the Palmetto State. Every one of these jobs will have impact locally. Announcements like this are made possible by a strong team effort from state and local officials,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.

Local Siemens officials are currently working with readySC and Greenville Technical College on workforce development and training needs. Siemens plans to begin hiring in October and individuals interested in learning more may visit the Siemens career web site at www.usa.siemens.com/careers.

Siemens Mechanical Drives Business Unit manufactures mechanical and electrical drive equipment typically used in mechanical designs, including processing, transport and conveying systems, power generation and many off-shore applications. This portfolio particularly concentrates on gear technology, ranging from geared motors to industrial gear units and couplings as well as large gears for power stations and wind turbines. This portfolio of products and solutions are the mechanical foundation to Siemens’ Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) platform.

For more information visit: http://www.usa.siemens.com/answers/en/#683050?stc=usidt100004&sp_source=usidt100004.

Tag Archives: Siemens Industry

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