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Part complexity increase the ratio of manual tasks on machine tools, i.e. feeding, to maintain high productivity. Mobile robot cells automate these tasks but require cost-intensive retrofittings for additional interfaces. This paper focuses on a new mobile robot cell without any mechanical or electrical connection to the machine tool. Therefore, the solution uses a camera system for wireless machine tool localization and signal transmission.

Combining fiber-reinforced composites with classic construction materials has tremendous potential for lightweight design but requires expensive equipment such as dies for injection molding. Additive manufacturing is cost-efficient for small volumes from fiber-reinforced materials. The MM3D (multi-material 3D printing) project analyses what technologies regarding interfaces, printer technology and identification of process parameters make economic fusion of 3D printing and established production processes possible.

Thermo-elastic errors in machine tools have a significant influence on the machining accuracy. The error at the tool center point can be determined with the structure model based correction, which uses physical based models like finite element models. The output of the structure model is the volumetric thermo-elastic error in the workspace of the machine tool. The correction values of the machine axes are determined based on the volumetric error with the help of a kinematic model. Therefore, three variants are presented in this article and their influence on the correction accuracy is estimated. The evaluation is based on typical thermo-elastic errors in the workspace of machine tools. The influence of the different variants on the correction accuracy is estimated with the Monte Carlo method based on randomly generated errors in the workspace of the machine.

In this paper, we present a measuring approach to assessing the volumetric accuracy of machine tools or kinematics with more than 3 interpolating feed axes. It is based on an inexpensive Double Ballbar and suitable for fast performance-tests in an operational state of the machine. The novelty is the recording of large amounts of data in a very short period while continuously moving along measuring paths with up to 6DoF. In order to facilitate this measuring approach, we developed a Double Ballbar with extended measuring range based on an optical sensor and a series of systematic methods, like kinematic error modeling, optimal design of 6D measuring paths as well as post-processing and evaluation of the captured data. We demonstrate that our approach is universally applicable to different types of kinematic structures such as 5-axis machine tools, industrial robots or even parallel kinematics. By experiments, we will also show that the measured data are essentially more informative than those of standardized circular DBB tests are. Moreover, the measuring procedure is automatable and to be carried out under production conditions in the workshop, what makes it practically applicable in various evaluation and decision scenarios.

The “rolling contact related life calculation” (RCRL) of profiled rail guide systems takes the survival probability of every rolling contact into account, that allows a calculation of up to 4 times higher lifespans for pitch and yaw moments on a single guide. New calculation methods allow a user-friendly calculation of the RCRL, which differ from each other by the level of simplification and the computational effort. In this paper, they are summarized and compared to each other.

Digitization is the defining innovation driver for value creation in the modern global industrial society. At the forefront stand the increase in efficiency for flexibilization and improved resource utilization provided by the self-optimizing automation of processes. Digital technologies must become inherent components of the production system.

Die Digitalisierung ist der bestimmende Innovationstreiber fur die Wertschopfung in der modernen globalen Industriegesellschaft. Im Vordergrund steht der Effizienzgewinn fur eine Flexibilisierung und bessere Ressourcennutzung in der Produktion durch die selbstoptimierende Automatisierung von Ablaufen. Digitale Technologien mussen inharenter Bestandteil des Produktionssystems werden. Ein Cyber-Physisches System reprasentiert die angestrebte Einheit von Realitat und digitalem Abbild und ist die Weiterentwicklung der Mechatronik zu einem symbiotischen Systemansatz auf Basis der informationstechnischen Vernetzung aller Komponenten. Die Informationstechnik und auch nichttechnische Disziplinen haben eine Vielfalt an Methoden, Techniken und Verfahren hervorgebracht, mit denen sensorische, aktorische und kognitive Funktionen so in technische Systeme integriert werden, dass diese Funktionalitaten aufweisen, die bislang nur von biologischen Systemen erfullt wurden. Auf diese Weise erwachst aus der Evolution durch die Industrie-4.0-Technologien tatsachlich ein disruptiver Paradigmenwechsel. Produktion, Ausruster und Produktentwickler treten in eine neue Qualitat eines Innovationsverbundes ein.

One trend in mechanical engineering is the orientation towards large scale technical systems. If conventional machining is used, large work pieces have to be placed inside the machine tool workspace which can lead to extreme disproportions between theoretically appropriate and actually needed system size. Hence, inefficient utilisation of resources occurs in many cases. A practicable approach to solve the problem is to use small mobile units to carry out such machining operations. This concept is pursued concerning two aspects. First, local mobility, which means the positioning of small machining units locally on the work piece area to be machined. Secondly, global mobility, which becomes manifested in the transportability of the machining units between different sites of operation. This paper will focus mainly on the key aspects in characterising such machines, especially position allocation between mobile machine and work piece.