Optical information: New camera system optimizes machining processes
If a crash occurs within the machine tool, not only the workpiece but also important system components such as the motor spindle or sensitive spindle bearings are damaged. There are numerous approaches to improving processes and making them safer. However, the sources of error must first be identified. Rotoclear has a solution for this.
"System downtimes due to crashes between tools, workpieces and other machine tool components can quickly cost several thousand euros," says Rotoclear Managing Director Florian Friedrich. "But such a crash does not always cause immediate damage: so-called soft collisions lead to long-term inaccuracies during machining and thus reduce the quality of the finished workpieces." Tool wear also increases, which in turn leads to more frequent maintenance intervals and higher maintenance costs. Many companies have already specialized in reducing these sources of error and optimizing the processes within CNC machines, for example by equipping the system with complex sensor technology and equipping the spindle with special protection systems.
"However, these approaches are complex, expensive and ignore a bigger problem," explains Friedrich. "Because the inside of many machine tools such as machining centers is a kind of black box." Flying metal chips not only obstruct the view of the tool and workpiece. They also become dangerous projectiles that can cause considerable damage inside the machine. Splashing coolants and lubricants also cloud conventional machine windows and prevent a clear view of the processes inside the machine. Many companies therefore equip the cabins of their CNC machines with special rotating viewing windows. This functional principle, which originally comes from the shipping industry, enables a view from the outside of the processes taking place inside. However, the quality of the optical error analysis depends largely on the competence and experience of the machine operator and can only be carried out in real time.
Camera system can be mounted on the moving headstock for the first time
To remedy this and generate new potential for process optimization, Rotoclear has developed a special camera system that can withstand the harsh conditions inside CNC machines while delivering sharp images up to a resolution of 4K. "The biggest challenge here is the constant splashing around of cooling lubricant and oil, which destroys conventional recording devices and even supposedly robust action cameras within a few days to hours," explains Friedrich. The actual special feature is therefore not so much the robust design, which offers little surface area for attack and hardly any room for the formation of chip nests, but above all the rapidly rotating viewing window made of shatterproof glass, which is located in front of the lens. The manufacturer is thus making use of an established concept: The centrifugal force created by the rotation throws drops as well as solid foreign bodies outwards, so that the lens remains permanently free and clean.
With up to two camera heads per control unit, several viewing angles can be recorded simultaneously in picture-in-picture mode: in Top View from the ceiling, in Side View from the wall and even from the perspective of the tool, the so-called Tool View. This is because the Rotoclear C2 camera head can be mounted directly on the headstock in the immediate vicinity of the tool. For this purpose, its design has been specially adapted to the accelerations that occur there, which generate gyroscopic forces in conjunction with the rotating disk. It also has an integrated position sensor that compensates for the movements on the tool head. "This gives machine operators - and anyone else who is interested - the opportunity to observe machining processes in large booths or deep cavities in the workpiece at close range," adds Friedrich.
High-resolution image data enables detailed fault analysis
The digital image data from the tool cabin is transmitted to the control unit with a resolution of up to 4K at 30 fps. From there, it can be streamed live via HDMI, TCP/IP or RSTP and stored in a clearly arranged media gallery. Access is possible from any location via the Internet protocol, so that even employees working from home can take a critical look at the machine interior and contribute directly to optimizing the machining processes if required. "If you want to improve the processes within your own CNC systems, you should first make sure that you have the necessary visual information as a basis for error analysis," summarizes Friedrich. "The Rotoclear C2 provides this valuable data reliably, in high resolution and even from completely new perspectives thanks to its mounting on the tool spindle."
Source: www.rotoclear.com
