Aim Of The Project

Small and medium-sized companies, involved in the construction of special-purpose machine tools, need inexpensive control software, with a large number of technological functions, in order to compete with international competitors. The standard control systems presently on the market fulfil these conditions only to a very limited extend and can therefor not be used.

The aim of this industrial project is therefore to demonstrate how powerful complete control systems can be realised exclusively with inexpensive PC components and control software currently available on the market. The main focuses of this project concern on the one hand investigations related to the flexibility, real-time capability and safety aspects of a PC in industrial surroundings; on the other hand, the special requirements of each specific technology on the control software itself.

Based on the these findings, a PC-based control system will be realised and as part of this project adapted demonstratively for:

Laser-cutting machines,
Textile machines and
Electric Discharge Machines.

The use of inexpensive standard PC-components promises a considerable reduction in the machine tool’s costs and allows the direct use of the latest PC-technology.

Industrial Partners

The following industrial partners are involved in this project:

Scheller Textilmaschinen-Service GmbH, Eislingen
Laser-Kombinations-Systeme GmbH (Lasercomb), Weilheim / Teck
Walter Werkzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH, Fluorn-Winzeln
Technopartner GmbH, Göppingen
Pilz GmbH & Co, Ostfildern
Industrielle Steuerungstechnik GmbH (ISG), Stuttgart

The research and development work as well as the project co-ordination will be carried out by the Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Units at the University of Stuttgart.