Open Core Engineering

Higher productivity through intelligent functions is an increasingly critical factor in the competitive ability of machine tools. Machinery manufacturers are therefore looking for ways to add new and unique functions while protecting their know-how at the same time. Open Core Engineering from Rexroth offers many such functional advancements with the CNC system solution IndraMotion MTX.

With Open Core Engineering, Rexroth enhances classic PLC programming by bridging the gap to IT automation. It increases engineering efficiency thanks to open standards, software tools, and function toolkits. Rexroth now offers machinery manufacturers the option of creating individual software functions independently, thereby allowing them to access the control via defined interfaces in real time. As a result, the Open Core Interface provides a new interface technology to Rexroth controls, allowing OEMs to develop individualized functional capabilities and set themselves apart from the competition. The Open Core Interface also enables seamless integration of smartphones and tablets into machine concepts, giving machine builders the ability to create useful mobile apps for numerous machine functions, such as allowing service technicians to perform wireless, remote machine diagnostics from anywhere.

To make it easy for machinery manufacturers to take advantage of the Open Core Interface, Rexroth has modeled the application know-how in software via predefined function toolkits. Machinery manufacturers need only provide the desired parameterization. For example, with the new IndraMotion MTX vcp function toolkit for volumetric error compensation, Rexroth's CNC automatically compensates for mechanical inaccuracies in the entire machining area. The three-dimensional compensation of deviations in position, straightness, rotation, and perpendicularity is especially useful in the case of large-volume components because errors outside of the margins can be costly. The necessary compensation values are recorded with a laser interferometer and saved in tables that the control system offsets in the process without performance losses. The bigger the machine workspace, the more significant the software function's correction effect. IndraMotion MTX vcp is able to improve volumetric accuracy in applications by over 90 percent.

The growing importance of software functions in machine tools carries with it an increased need to protect the machine builder's proprietary knowledge. With the IndraMotion MTX encrypt function toolkit, machinery manufacturers and users alike now have a way to protect user programs from unauthorized third party access. Users can select and run encrypted programs on the machine; the program code is saved on the control exclusively in an unreadable format. It is also possible to bind the encryption to a specific piece of control hardware, so that encrypted programs can then run only on this one machine. The only requirement is to transfer the encrypted files to the machine. No interventions in parameters or software are necessary, giving machine users with a global production network an efficient way to protect their know-how.

In the field of machine safety, Rexroth offers additional options for increasing economic efficiency and uptime thanks to integrated safety technology. At the drive level, the safety-certified IndraDrive options S3/S4 now offer up to 16 modes using the CIP Safety on sercos communication to the safety PLC over the sercos automation bus Ethernet cable. For the distributed programmable safety PLC, the Safe Logic compact with CIP Safety on sercos can provide the perfect solution. For centralized safety PLC within the CNC, the enhancement of the CNC system solution with a safety module for IndraMotion MTX is also available, using CIP Safety on sercos to the IndraDrives and PROFIsafe on Profibus to the IO. Here the Open Core Engineering environment and the Safety PLC SafeLogic reduce programming time and effort, because process modifications have no feedback effects on the safety control. Machinery manufacturers can now achieve standardized safety from the control unit to the secure drive – all with minimal time and effort.

Finally, Rexroth meets user demands for greater energy efficiency with the IndraMotion MTX cta/ega software assistant, which is integrated into the control unit. It analyzes the duration and energy consumption of each machine movement. This database then lets programmers optimize motion control to increase energy efficiency while maintaining maximum productivity.