With the further developed VPSS 3i ARBEND software and the new AMADA Order Manager, AMADA has added some innovative system components to its portfolio of software solutions. These integrate sheet metal processing even more closely into the customer’s IT architecture, while also providing greater simplicity, flexibility and reliability.
The new AMADA VPSS 3i ARBEND bending software has been designed for the AMADA HG-ARs and EG-AR bending cells and makes the programming of their bending and robot operations even simpler and more productive than before. The solution, which will be available as of the middle of next year, is fully integrated in the AMADA VPSS 3i concept and, for the first time, now also undertakes the fully automatic computation of the bending sequence and selects the tools required to perform it. “The degree of automation has now reached such a level of sophistication that any user can obtain a production-ready bending program using the software,” explains Lukas Pollok, Software Application Engineer at AMADA GmbH. “Programming is extremely productive and permits considerable time savings in practice because the robot’s motion sequences are shortened and are therefore also optimized.” Messages regarding conflicts in the calculated bending program are also minimized. This is because, for example, if the setup length exceeds the length of the press beam then the automatic tool changer (ATC) now creates suitable tool setups and groupings by itself so that the bending operation can be completed without conflicts.
New end-to-end control
Application Engineer
responsible for software,
AMADA GmbH
Another newly developed software highlight takes the form of AMADA Order Manager (AOM).
This now acts as the link between the customer’s ERP system and the AMADA VPSS 3i software and permits integrated, automatic, real-time data transfer coupled with system feedback. To this end, AOM supports three standard interfaces, namely in the form of a shared database, Web API and data exchange using CSV and XML formats. AOM, which will be available as of 2021, will be provided as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) via the Cloud. In practice, this new end-to-end control – from the issuing of the production order through to manufacturing at the machine and feedback to the ERP system – makes manufacturing even more flexible as well as easier to monitor and plan, in particular when used in combination with the AMADA My V-factory, with which all customers can monitor every aspect of the entire production environment in real time from their desktop or at a smart terminal device. To permit this, My V-factory depicts all the current machine states as well as the running and completed programs. In addition, My V-factory also provides precise information about runtimes and setup times. This makes it possible to take action to counter bottlenecks and downtimes even before they arise.
Images: AMADA GmbH
