UNITED GRINDING Group launches CORE

The industrial production of the future is online. The magic word is “machine connectivity”. To make this networking possible and to be able to use it, several requirements must be met. CORE – Customer Oriented REvolution of UNITED GRINDING guarantees these conditions. “The digital future begins with CORE,” says CEO Stephan Nell. The new hardware and software architecture, developed by the Group’s specialists and presented at EMO 2021 in Milan, opens up new possibilities for networking, control and monitoring of the production process and therefore also for process optimization. Not only that: CORE brings the User Experience into the world of the smartphone generation.

A few years ago, when the public debate on the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, began to take on more and more weight, UNITED GRINDING Group decided to invest as a Group in the digital future: not only in the future of the Group, but above all in the future of customers. . The development of CORE had begun. The goal and heart of this development was to ensure growing connectivity – the exchange of data between people, machines and the production environment – and to create the basis for the use of modern IoT applications. In addition, intuitive operation had to be made possible, which facilitated the work for both toolmakers and machine operators and maintenance personnel. With CORE this vision has become a revolutionary reality.

Intuitive operation.

Reminiscent of a gigantic smartphone: on the 24-inch Full HD multi-touch display you can see the latest generation machine tools equipped with the new CORE technology. . Customers can also configure the user interface according to their personal needs and sort the most important functions and controls according to their preferences, just like the app overview on the smartphone home screen.

Thanks to the new login system, which works via a personalized RFID chip, the personal user profile is loaded automatically. This makes logging in and out of the machine easier, but also much safer. Another benefit: the role profile stored for all users allows you to view only the information relevant to each user. This reduces complexity and therefore also the possibility of errors.

The keyword “complexity reduction” also means that the new CORE panel is completely keyless. At the same time, the rotary Feedrate Override switch allows you to adjust the feed rate of the axes.

Furthermore, the use of the CORE panel by all brands simplifies the use of the machine and facilitates training: anyone who knows how to use a UNITED GRINDING machine will know how to use them all.

CORE is not just an innovative control panel

The extraordinary new control panel is just the external distinguishing feature of all machines equipped with the new CORE technology “There are also great innovative developments behind the machine cladding”, emphasizes Christoph Plüss, CTO of the UNITED GRINDING Group. The CORE OS operating system is installed on a high-performance industrial PC, the CORE IPC, which acts as an IoT gateway and hosts all software applications. CORE OS is also compatible with all CNC commands used by UNITED GRINDING.

In addition to this, it offers numerous connectivity possibilities. It is possible to network not only all UNITED GRINDING Group machines equipped with CORE technology, but also third-party systems, through implemented interfaces such as umati. This allows direct access from the machine to UNITED GRINDING Digital Solutions offers, from Remote Service to Service Monitor to Production Monitor. For example, you can ask for support from the Group’s Customer Care team directly from the CORE panel. The chat functions guarantee quick and easy support and the integrated front camera even allows you to make video calls.

Main focus: User Experience

In the process of developing CORE, which spanned several years, software and process experts from all brands of the UNITED GRINDING Group have combined their expertise to develop an unparalleled software architecture. “The User Experience, or the direct user experience, has always been our main goal”, explains CTO Plüss. Not surprisingly, the acronym CORE stands for Customer Oriented REvolution.

In the area of ​​operating systems and software architectures for machine tools, CORE represents an incredible leap in quality, emphasizes Stephan Nell, president of the company. “So our machines are ready for the digital future.” The CORE technology, presented for the first time at EMO 2021 in Milan, is not yet the final stage of development. “This is a foundation on which we intend to build,” explains Plüss. “Development continues. Thanks to the modular and flexible structure of the software architecture, we will continue to integrate new features and applications. The Group will exploit the potential of software development for the benefit of our customers.” The goal is to regularly offer customers new releases of the CORE software and thus actively contribute to shaping the digital future. In this way the Group remains faithful to its main objective: to contribute to the success of its customers.