AIMS Showcases Smart Automation for Whole Factory Connectivity at IMTS 2022

AIMS is a suite of interconnected building blocks which can be configured to satisfy requirements.

AIMS -ANCA Integrated Manufacturing System
AIMS -ANCA Integrated Manufacturing System
Nolan Beilstein

ANCA, a manufacturer of CNC grinding machines, motion controls and sheet metal solutions, displayed its integrated manufacturing system at IMTS 2022.

AIMS, an Industry 4.0 factory wide integration, is ANCA’s solution for considering the factory as a single machine.

AIMS -ANCA Integrated Manufacturing System 2022AIMS -ANCA Integrated Manufacturing System 2022

Rather than separating workflow into many different elements of design, blank preparation, grinding, laser marking, washing, packing and shipment, AIMS streamlines the entire tool manufacturing process and complementary technologies.

Its IMTS demo showcased the main modules of the AIMS system:

  • AutoSet job preparation station
  • AutoLine for pallet and tool transfer
  • AutoFetch – a robot responsible for material transfer between processes – pallet and individual tools between job preparation, grinding and tool measurement on ZOLLER measuring machine

Integrated manufacturing with robot transferIntegrated manufacturing with robot transferANCA

AIMS responds to common challenges in the tool manufacturing sector of labor cost and availability as well as safety and production efficiencies.

AIMS maximizes grinders’ productivity and in general improves Overall Equipment Effectiveness. Integration with ERP systems to streamline workflows is also one of the important AIMS features.

The principles of the AIMS system are flexibility and modularity. This means each system can be tailored to an individual customer’s needs using the right building blocks or modules. It can scale from a purely software-based monitoring solution to a fully automated manufacturing cell.

AimsNolan Beilstein

AIMS is a suite or ecosystem of interconnected building blocks which can be configured to satisfy an individual customer’s requirements.

Manufacturers can build their AIMS system gradually using standalone AIMS Ready components, which can be easily upgraded to fully automatic when required.

Customers can tackle their most pressing issues first and stagger implementation over a period of time. 

“AIMS can be configured in many ways," AIMS Product Manager Jan Irzyk said. "The IMTS cell demonstrates an unattended manufacturing workflow of two varieties of endmills on one ANCA MX7 machine. An important part of this workflow is closed loop measurement and compensation process using ZOLLER Genius as a measurement station. Depending on an individual customer’s requirements, our system can automatically transfer a tool from the ground batch, clean it, measure required geometries and transfer the results to the respective grinder where grinding parameter compensation is taking place to achieve required dimensional tolerance of the batch.”

anca.com


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