Auch der digitale Zwilling zeigt Zähne

Tool breakage rarely happens out of the blue. Before a tooth of a gear hob snaps, the mishap is often heralded in advance by a combination of characteristic values. For trend analyses, the Machining Analytics Solutions (MAS) module from c-Com evaluates the data in real time and warns the user that something is going wrong in the production process. Based on this information, machining can be stopped in time, the expensive milling cutter can be saved from damage, and the workpiece can be preserved.

The adaptive programme builds on two other c-Com modules, Digital Tool Management (DTM) and Life Cycle Management (LCM). In MAS, c-Com has incorporated the positive findings from the first two modules and enriched them with AI. The starting point is the digital twin of the tool. 

Ideally, c-Com is integrated, so that the data are gathered in the background. “We’re able to set up the data structure to suit the specific customer,” explains Business Development Manager Matti Maier. “There are core parameters for each tool, but beyond that, customers have a wide range of individual data and parameters that we can incorporate very flexibly without changing existing structures.”

There are some 70 different parameters for a large hobbing tool. Typing them manually into a table or a controller is time-consuming and fraught with errors. In addition, the ERP systems of the companies usually only contain the stocks of tools, but no information about their respective status. This makes it difficult to plan production capacity. Since delivery times of up to 20 weeks are not uncommon for gear-cutting tools, unnecessarily large contingency stocks are often created, tying up capital.