The specialist machine builder, Forvet, has launched the Combiflex modular line based on Siemens technology.
Combiflex can perform tasks such as grinding, polishing, drilling, notching, countersinking, water jet cutting, corner rounding, engraving, mitering, washing and drying. It combines eleven glass processing steps into 33m2and is based on the Siemens control and drive technology.
Sebastiano Bisotto, Project and Automation Manager at Forvet, said: “Siemens is one of the few suppliers that can cope with the complexity of the hardware and software in our Combiflex line.”
The modular line is loaded and unloaded upstream and downstream by robot loaders and stackers. No operator interventions are required in the fully automated process from flat glass to the finished product.
It facilitates productions, such as shower doors, furniture glass, mirrors and architectural glass. The work cycle of the three axis CNC machining centre is controlled by a Siemens Simotion motion control system.
Up to five workplaces can be machined at the same time. This is so all the machining work for a 10-millimeter shower door can be completed in less than 200 seconds.
A Simotion system also controls the interaction between the modular Sinamics S120 converters and the Simotics S servomotors. Other components from the Siemens portfolio include Sinamics V70 servo drives for standard positioning tasks.
A robust Simatic industrial PC handles order management and process visualisation.
Combiflex recognises the shape and thickness of the incoming glass and adjusts the equipment to the appropriate settings for what is to be made.
It controls the tools and the removal of the glass as well as the machining feed operations, and compensates the tool wear.
Another benefit of the Siemens solution is the scalability and the end-to-end Profinet communication, which allows functionality to be extended in the future without any problems.
Combiflex can completely accommodate different products and market segments, as well as reliably achieve high production volumes, to increase overall efficiency.
Pictured: The Combiflex modular line from Forvet
