Waldmössingen, 06.06.2024. Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH (SW) has signed a cooperation agreement with JANUS Engineering AG. Since the end of 2023, the two companies have been working together on technologies for the digital transformation of NC manufacturing. The first result of the cooperation is a jointly developed post-processor for Siemens NX, which offers SW customers and SW’s own application engineering department maximum performance and reliability in machine applications.
The agreement follows several years of intensive cooperation. SW and JANUS Engineering, the experts in CAD / CAM / PLM solutions, have been working together since 2019 to develop solutions for integrating Siemens NX into SW’s workflows. Holger Kappus, Head of Technology Development at SW, explains: “In our collaboration with JANUS Engineering, it quickly became clear that we could leverage synergies in the partnership that would give both sides a technological edge – and, most importantly, benefit our customers.” The NX software application is widely used in product development and manufacturing, providing users with computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) solutions. This includes modeling 3D objects, performing structural analysis, and programming CNC machines, including simulating NC code using digital twins. The creation of a digital twin makes it possible to virtually simulate and optimize complex manufacturing processes. With the cooperation agreement, the two companies are now formalizing their collaboration. The latest project is an NXOpen API for automated comparison of tool models with a machine-specific interfering body.
SW machine tailored post processor
Developed in collaboration with Siemens, the post-processor integrates seamlessly into Siemens NX, converting the toolpath generated in NX into NC code in the appropriate machine language, which is used to control the CNC machine. This NC code can then be simulated in NX to ensure collision-free machining. “First of all, these are the standard functions of every JANUS machine kit, consisting of postprocessor and simulation,” explains Kay-Marco Krauss, Head of Operations at JANUS Engineering. “For the cooperation with SW, we delivered a basic processor with exactly these functions – and then adapted it based on SW’s expertise. The result is a digital twin tailored to SW’s machines and machine landscape: Unlike standard post processors, it is designed for multi-spindle capability and uses SW’s application cycles in addition to basic functions such as 5-axis simultaneous machining.
Because the software was developed using the exact machine data, the output NC code is also accurate and executable. Customers using the digital twin can be assured that the collision safety guaranteed in simulation is also guaranteed in reality.
Maximum performance
“We look for seconds in every project for our customers,” says Holger Kappus. “Our goal is to save time when programming the machines. With the post-processor we developed together with JANUS Engineering, we help our customers to get the most out of their NC machines and to achieve the highest machining quality at the same time”. In addition, customers no longer need to perform the development work that would otherwise be required to adapt a customized postprocessor to the typical requirements of large-scale production. “We have repeatedly received requests from customers to use our expertise as a machine manufacturer and our machine data to create machine kits,” says Holger Kappus. “We now offer them an uncompromising post-processor in OEM quality, which we use productively ourselves, which contains all our know-how and which we are constantly developing.
JANUS Engineering and SW are currently working together to further optimize the post-processor and provide it with the latest functionalities and programming interfaces. The two companies continue to work closely together: “The postprocessor developed with JANUS Engineering originally started as an internal requirement. It was only during development that we realized how much potential it had for our customers,” says Holger Kappus. “I am sure that similar developments in the future will lead to a joint project and ultimately to a joint product.
