Coming Together
A new machine “skin” and a common CNC interface evidence DMG Mori Seiki’s continuing efforts to integrate what were once two separate entities.
In addition to providing integrated and digitized management, documentation and visualization of order, process and machine data, CELOS is compatible with PPS and ERP systems and can be linked to CAD / CAM applications. (Photo courtesy of DMG Mori Seiki.)
DMG MORI is growing. That was one big takeaway from the company’s February open house in Pfronten, Germany, where international press, including yours truly, were treated to details about a slew of recent investments in production plants and tech centers around the world. Beyond that, however, the event also offered evidence of a more unified and integrated operation than the one that emerged when machine tool builders Decko Maho Gildemeister and Mori Seiki took their first steps toward strategic cooperation back in 2009.
For example, machines carrying the DMG MORI brand in the future won’t look like either a traditional DMG machine or a Mori Seiki machine, but rather, a combination of both. Available in both black and white versions, this new “skin” has already been incorporated on 18 of the company’s newer machine offerings, including the 8 models premiered at the open house. Notable features include large viewing windows for better monitoring, safety glass windows that can be removed only from the outside to ease service, and a finely textured coating within the workzone for scratch resistance.
Of course, the benefits of continued synergy go beyond just aesthetics and convenience. To name one example, machines incorporating the new design have workzones that are said to provide both easier operator access and improved chip evacuation. Perhaps more notably, they also feature a common CNC interface: CELOS. Designed to operate intuitively, like a smartphone or tablet, this graphical, icon-based interface offers various apps that help monitor and manage the production process.
For example, “Status Monitor” offers up-to-date monitoring of key performance indicators and the machines’ progress, while “Job Manager” and “Job Assistant” help the operator with planning, preparing and optimizing new jobs. In all, 12 different apps are available. More information about CELOS is available at the company’s web site. Meanwhile, here are a few trends I noticed among the eight machines premiered at the open house.
The new “skin” is available in both black and white versions. (Photos courtesy of DMG MORI.)
