NUM AG has opened a branch in Bangalore in November 2019. With this expansion in Asia, the international company with headquarters in Teufen, Switzerland, further reinforces its position as a technology leader in the field of CNC controls. With the expansion to India, NUM increases its local presence there as well as its customer-oriented sales and service offering.

“The location in Bangalore will enable us to respond much more quickly to customer enquiries and further expand our brand in the region. We have been well represented in China and Taiwan for many years and would now like to further strengthen our position in Asia,” says Rajesh Nath, Managing Director of NUM India. This latest expansion secures jobs worldwide, as well as creating new employment opportunities in India.

Rajesh Nath and NUM CEO Peter von Rüti set up the branch in the south of Bangalore. The offices are located in a modern office complex in the business area of Jayaprakash Narayan Nagara district. “By opening a branch in India, we are exploiting our growth potential. At the same time, the Indian team is expanding our expertise in sales, service and after-sales support,” adds von Rüti. NUM believes that Bangalore, as a high-tech location, will strongly influence the CNC market in the future and thus significantly promote the development potential for CNC controls.

With the new office in Bangalore, NUM is now represented internationally at twelve locations.

• Provides virtual model of physical machine mechatronics
• Significantly reduces machine development time and cost by allowing design analysis, testing and performance enhancement to take place before construction

CNC specialist NUM has launched digital twin technology that enables machine tool manufacturers to reduce their time to market dramatically, by using powerful Industry 4.0 simulation techniques.CNC specialist NUM has launched digital twin technology that enables machine tool manufacturers to reduce their time to market dramatically, by using powerful Industry 4.0 simulation techniques.

Originally known as pairing technology, and first used by NASA in the early days of space exploration, digital twin technology is now rapidly gaining industry acceptance as one of the most cost-effective means of accelerating the development of products, processes and services.

For automation products such as machine tools, a digital twin is a virtual model that uses simulation, real-time data acquisition/analysis and machine learning techniques to allow full evaluation of a machine’s dynamic performance before constructing a physical prototype. The same technology can also be employed for customer presentations, virtual commissioning and operator training purposes – and all well before the actual machine itself has even been built.

NUM offers two versions of digital twin technology, to best suit customers’ needs. Both versions are designed for use with NUM’s powerful, open-architecture Flexium+ CNC platform. One version uses a naked Flexium+ controller and resident virtualisation software running on the system’s industrial PC to simulate the twinned machine automation. The other version uses the actual Flexium+ controller that will eventually be incorporated in the machine, linked via EtherCAT to a standalone PC running specialist high speed hardware simulation software to represent the mechatronics of the twinned machine.

The virtual controller version includes a software development kit for creating the software model of the machine. The model is a standalone PLC program that uses predefined components to simulate individual machine elements, such as sensors, spindles, pneumatic cylinders, etc. It is loaded into the integrated PLC of the Flexium+ controller. The Flexium NCK in the controller executes the NC programs and simulates the changing position values of the machine’s axes. To help users visualise the process, NUM’s package includes the CODESYS Depictor software tool produced by CODESYS GmbH, which is used to produce 3D visualisations from the IEC 61131-3 code created by the simulation.

The other version of NUM’s digital twin technology package accommodates real-time data acquisition and analysis. It is based on the ISG-Virtuous hardware simulation software produced by Industrielle Steuerungstechnik GmbH (ISG). The Flexium+ controller that is intended to be used in the physical machine is connected via an EtherCAT network to a standard PC, and interacts with the simulation software in real-time. The PC acts as the twinned virtual machine – with all simulated, virtual components behaving like real components in terms of their interfaces, parameters and operating modes – to accurately replicate the structure and dynamic performance of the real machine. The movements of the machine are displayed realistically on the PC, using the supplied 3D simulation software.

NUM’s new digital twin technology provides machine tool manufacturers with a very powerful and cost-effective means of reducing their developments costs and accelerating their time to market. The virtual controller version is especially useful for the early development stage of a project, before the CNC system has been finalised, while the real-time hardware simulation version has the advantage that all sequencing (PLC) and motion control (CNC) programs that are created during development can simply be transferred to the real machine as soon as it becomes available.

CNC specialist NUM is helping Grupo Plasma Automation – one of Latin America’s top fabrication equipment manufacturers – to develop an innovative high speed laser cutting machine that uses real-time adaptive height control to accelerate throughput.

Grupo Plasma Automation comprises eight companies that specialise in the design and manufacture of fabrication automation. The group produces a broad range of plasma, laser and water jet cutting machines. Founded in 1991, GPA has grown steadily over the years and has built up a large and prestigious customer base; it has more than 700 cutting systems installed at companies in Mexico alone, and nowadays serves both the domestic and international markets.

GPA’s latest CNC laser cutting machine is designed to provide sheet metal fabricators with an ultra-flexible precision cutting solution. Branded SPEED CUT, the machine is capable of cutting a wide variety of metals with different densities, including galvanised iron, aluminium, brass, stainless and carbon steel. It has a work area of 1.5 x 3 metres and a maximum cutting speed of 120 metres per minute, with 40 microns positioning accuracy. The system delivers extremely smooth operation even at high speeds.

To help maximise performance and reliability, GPA’s new cutting machine is based entirely on industry-leading laser and control technology. The laser source is a 2 kW IPG Photonics’ solid state ytterbium fibre system, with a wavelength of 1.07 micrometres, while the cutting head is a Precitec LightCutter 2.0 unit. This particular cutting head is renowned for its dynamic performance – it features automated motor-driven adjustment of the axial focus position, can handle acceleration rates as high as 3 g, and covers a large focus position range of 23 mm.

All cutting head positioning functions on the machine are controlled by a NUM Flexium+ 8 CNC system. According to Omar Sandoval, Owner and CEO of GPA, “We chose to partner with NUM mainly because of its open architecture CNC platform and NUM’s willingness to actively participate in joint development projects such as this.”

All four machine axes are driven by NUM high torque BPX servomotors controlled by NUMDrive X digital servo drives; the Y1 and Y2 gantry axes are equipped with powerful 9.8 Nm motors, while the X and Z axes have smaller 2.7 Nm and 1.4 Nm motors, respectively. NUM’s Flexium Tool commissioning software allows the Y1/Y2 axes to be tuned while the synchronisation is active, which provides a very powerful means of maximising performance and precision.

The Z axis controls the vertical height of the laser cutting head above the sheet of metal that is being cut. By capitalising on the unique ‘Dynamic Operator’ (DO) function in NUM’s Flexium software – which enables event-driven machine cycles to be integrated into the real-time CNC kernel – the user of the speed cut machine benefits from an automated dynamic height control system that accommodates extremely fast cutting speeds. The system interprets data from the machine’s cutting head height sensor and uses it to very quickly adjust proportional-integral-derivative (PID) loop parameters in the Z axis servo. The height sensor is also employed to facilitate an automatic sheet detection routine: this determines the workpiece’s dimensions, zero, and angular offset, further simplifying the machine’s operation.

Steven Schilling, Managing Director of NUM Corporation in Naperville, Illinois, points out, “We are delighted to be collaborating with GPA in the development of this new machine. In addition to the real-time adaptive height control and sheet detection systems, the customised version of NUMcut software that we are providing features a user library of material cutting conditions. It is preloaded by GPA with the optimal laser power levels, cutting speeds, etc., as a function of material type and thickness. The provision of this library will further add to the machine’s productivity and cutting accuracy.”

NUM has launched a powerful new software framework tool that enables users of CNC machine tools to generate and test ISO part programs offline. The tool looks set to win across-the-board approval in busy machine shops, where an uninterrupted workflow can provide a key productivity advantage.

NUM’s new Flexium Office framework software runs under Windows 7/8 or 10 on any standard PC. It allows any of NUM’s technology HMIs (Human-Machine Interfaces) to be used for specific projects – without requiring access to the target CNC machine tool. The corresponding ISO part program can be created offline, and can also then be tested offline using NUM’s Flexium 3D simulation software, before being transferred to the target machine.

NUM’s application-specific technology HMIs form part of the company’s Flexium CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) software suite. The HMIs cover every type of CNC machining operation, including hobbing, shaping, milling, threaded wheel grinding and cylindrical grinding.

After selecting the most appropriate technology HMI for the task, the user simply carries out basic data definition tasks for the project in hand, using the highly intuitive tools and workflow commands provided by Flexium Office. Multiple projects can be started and saved at any time – allowing collaborative team development if desired – and the framework software provides support for 14 languages. As soon as the user is satisfied with the process and workflow of a project it can be used to generate the corresponding CNC part program – entirely automatically.

The CNC program can either be transferred directly to a nominated machine in the production plant, usually via a TCP/IP network, or input to NUM’s Flexium 3D simulation software for thorough evaluation before being issued for production purposes. The key advantage of simulation is that it enables users to optimise any ISO-code part program offline, further helping to maximise productivity by leaving the CNC machine tool free for manufacturing purposes.

NUM’s simulation software is extremely powerful. It provides full visualisation of the tool centre point path and workpiece material removal, backed by automatic checking for collisions between machine components, the tool and the workpiece. The software creates a dynamic colour image, showing the workpiece as a 3D volume than can be rotated and viewed from any perspective.

Flexium Office framework software runs on any standard PC and has no special graphics handling requirements. It needs approximately 30 MB of free space on the PC’s hard disk or SSD, and a minimum of 4 GB of RAM due to the Flexium 3D simulation software. For maximum performance, an i3 or i5 dual core processor configuration is recommended.

NUM has launched an innovative accelerometer-based active vibration control system for CNC machine tools. Primarily designed to improve machining by virtually eliminating tool head vibration, the system further helps increase productivity by maximising material removal rate (MRR) and can also provide valuable real-time feedback for predictive maintenance purposes.

NUM’s active vibration control system is a very cost-effective solution that provides unprecedented dynamic damping capabilities. Most competitive accelerometers on the market are only capable of low frequency sampling rates and require additional signal conditioning electronics before they can be connected – usually via Fieldbus – to the CNC or PLC system. Typically, acceleration data can only be retrieved once every 20 milliseconds, which is inadequate for vibration damping purposes on machine tools. The accelerometer in NUM’s new system is sampled every 100 microseconds, which means that it can be used for closed loop control at bandwidths approaching several hundreds of Hertz.

The small flange-mounting accelerometer transducer can easily be attached to the machine’s tool head and has a sensitivity of 0.02 g (1.96 m/sec/sec), with a measurement range of plus/minus 2 g (plus/minus 19.6 m/sec/sec). The transducer connects directly to the digital servo drive, obviating the need for any additional signal conditioning circuitry.

The active vibration control system utilises the drive embedded macros (DEM-X) option that is available on NUM’s MDLUX high performance digital servo drives. This option enables real-time macros to be embedded within the drive in order to manipulate its regulation algorithms. The output signal from the accelerometer transducer can thus be used to directly influence the behaviour of the speed servo control loop. All MDLUX servo drive modules use advanced DSP control techniques to maximise the CNC kernel-to-drive servo bus speed, and feature high loop bandwidths and special acceleration algorithms for uncompromised speed and positioning accuracy.

One of the most interesting applications of NUM’s new active vibration control system concerns Tool Centre Point (TCP) vibration due to the various vibration modes of a machine tool’s mechanical structure. Until now, even if the machine is equipped with a high resolution encoder (integrated in the servo motor) it has been impossible to damp the TCP vibration, simply because it is not measured. Although complex system modelling and state-space control could possibly provide some effective results, the complexity is very high and the compensation robustness is quite weak. For example, in the case of a small parameter change, such as inertia, the effect of the compensation would be lost entirely.

However, by using NUM’s new active vibration control system to measure and dynamically alter the TCP acceleration in each of the main X, Y and Z axis directions, it is now possible to damp the vibration very accurately. Using this approach, tool head vibration can effectively be eliminated, significantly reducing tool wear and maximising the MRR of the machining process.

All acceleration data is processed within the drive in the digital domain, which means that it can be cyclically transmitted to the Flexium+ NCK and stored in the NCK buffer. The data can then be uploaded to the Windows operating system for further evaluation, or for use with NUM’s process monitoring software. It is especially useful for preventive maintenance applications, where it can provide early indication of potential machine problems before they become expensive repair tasks. Typically these include detecting spindle vibration caused by bearing problems, detecting the onset of performance deterioration such as increased friction or backlash, and detecting excessive tool wear or breakage.

NUM (NUM Taiwan Ltd) and Taiwan’s Feng Chia University have jointly developed an intelligent CNC gear hobbing machine with an advanced electronic gearbox that completely eliminates the time overheads of changing mechanical gears on traditional machine tools.

Development of the machine began in 2014, under the initiative of Professor Ruihong Xu, who works for the Bachelor’s Program in Precision System Design at the College of Engineering in Feng Chia University. Professor Xu is responsible for a number of industry-university collaborative research and development projects at the university.

Following detailed discussions between NUM and Professor Xu about the potential machine control possibilities of its latest Flexium+ CNC system – which offers an advanced precision electronic gearbox – the company donated a series of CNC controllers to the university in 2014. With the assistance of other providers, the intelligent CNC gear hobbing machine, which utilises five-axis electronic gear synchronisation techniques, is now complete. It is currently being exhibited in the first floor laboratory of Feng Chia University’s College of Engineering.

The open architecture of NUM’s Flexium+ CNC makes it an ideal platform for research and development projects such as this. The human-machine interface (HMI), together with loop programs for gear machining, have been specially created by Professor Xu, who was previously in charge of HMI development at HOTA Industrial Mfg. Co., Ltd. He continues to foster tight collaboration between the university, HOTA, Hiwin Technologies Corp. and NUM.

The new intelligent gear hobbing machine is based on a significant upgrade to a traditional NC gear hobbing machine that featured a mechanism provided by Chang Feng Gear Machinery Co. Ltd. Developed under the Industry 4.0 planning and design concept, it offers powerful expansion capabilities through use of a CNC-PC communication framework. Facilities for monitoring parameters such as spindle speed, temperature and motor current have been added. Transmission of network data, calculation of cloud data, analysis and prediction can be performed via suitably equipped tool wear monitoring systems. This facilitates online compensation and product measurement, to provide optimal cutting parameters and precision.

Founded in 2008, NUM Taiwan Ltd. is a subsidiary of NUM, and is based in Taichung, where many machine factories are located. NUM Taiwan Ltd. is responsible for businesses throughout south-east Asia, Korea and Japan, including CNC project development, after-sales service, education, and training. The company offers a variety of special machining software for gear applications, including an electronic gearbox function (five-axis synchronisation transmission) and an automatic tooth alignment function, which are essential for CNC gear hobbing applications. NUM Taiwan also actively supports Professor Xu in the development of teaching aids for PLC programming, parameter acquisition and machine commissioning.

According to Professor Xu, “NUM has complete applications related to CNC and gear machines, backed by abundant engineering knowledge and resources. During this development, NUM was willing to help us solve problems, and to provide relevant training to help us integrate our human-machine interface with the Flexium+ controller. The company also spent considerable time on on-site commissioning, in order to let students become fully conversant with the system. NUM’s CNC systems provide exceptional expandability. We can easily access the information relevant to the machine and share the information via the network. Furthermore, the electronic gearbox system included in the Flexium+ CNC system is superior to the traditional tooth matching gearboxes. It can achieve high precision and output without spending time on changing gears, and without the back clearance problems that occur in gears with traditional tooth matching.”