The concept of the digital twin has long been established in numerous industries and for numerous applications. In the production-related world of tool and mold makers and mechanical engineering, this refers to the virtual planning and programming of the real production world. This makes it possible to simulate the real production situation and the calculated tool paths at the desk; run-in processes are no longer necessary. In the market environment of tool and mould making, which is characterized by increasing competitive pressure, working with digital twins stands for faster and, above all, safer production.

Getting started is easy: the market already offers programs with the corresponding digital counterpart for almost all milling machines. However, if you want to be sure that your software supports you in actually and reliably eliminating the risk of an expensive and potentially dangerous collision, you should not be satisfied with a standard solution. This is because even the smallest differences between non-obvious deviations can have serious consequences. It is therefore advisable to opt for a solution from the outset that is continuously updated by the manufacturer.

Detailed reproduction of the scaffolding situation

A milling process is also a sometimes highly complex process in which numerous parameters such as material selection, data import, set-up and so on are interlinked. In other words: The aim is to map the complete set-up situation down to the last detail. In addition to the actual milling machine, this includes all associated manufacturing equipment. Against this background, Tebis defines the digital twin as the mapping of all actually existing manufacturing equipment and processes in the software. The real manufacturing situation is pre-planned 1:1 in the virtual world - regardless of whether it is the digital twin of a standard milling machine or a complex setup situation.

Tebis equipped the first full version of its software with postprocessors and quickly integrated the virtual machine library. Over time, the digital twins became more detailed against the background of the increasing spread of the "digital twin" concept. In the area of tools, it began with the simple milling cutter, followed by component-based milling and drilling tools and, in a subsequent step, component-based 3D turning tools. In addition to the digital twins for tools, the machine library contains over 1,400 virtual models in 3,700 variants of the standard machine types on the market. The respective geometric and kinematic properties are also stored there. Jaw chucks, steady rests and centers as well as machine tables, attachments and partitions are listed in the separate unit library for additional equipment. Even virtual clamping devices are part of this CAD/CAM system.

In order to carry out the simulations as accurately as possible, Tebis follows a very special approach. The simulator is fully integrated into the CAD/CAM environment. The simulation and collision check are already carried out during NC programming. The procedure of checking the toolpaths for collisions in the CAM environment before the NC output and correcting them if necessary means a noticeable increase in safety and short change loops if collisions are detected. Above all, this procedure also provides a basis for unmanned production or unmanned production at the weekend. For the latter in particular, it is essential that all machines run without interruption.