The Twin-Control European research project, an alliance of 11 European partners that aims to design a new concept for machine tool and machining process simulation, began in October 2015. It is scheduled to last for 36 months, has a total budget of €5.6 million and is partially funded by the European Union.
Twin-Control unifies the different aspects of the machining process, combining advanced simulation models and including vital aspects in today’s industry, such as maintenance and energy efficiency. In addition, it will allow for the integration of the actual machine state in the models, increasing productivity through model-based control and even assisting with predictive maintenance actions.
In short, machine tool users will be able to use the technology resulting from the Twin-Control project to better control and optimize their processes, thus improving productivity. The results will be validated by two key industries in Europe, the automotive and aerospace sectors, and additional demonstrations will be conducted in three leading pilot lines.
The consortium is made up by the following members: IK4-TEKNIKER (coordinator, Spain), the University of Sheffield (UK), Samtech (Belgium), Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany), Predict (France), Artis (Germany), ModuleWorks (Germany), Gepro Systems (Spain), Mecanizaciones Aeronáuticas (Spain), Comau France (France) and Renault (France).
Supplier of CADCAM components for toolpath creation and CNC simulation ModuleWorks will contribute its knowledge and expertise in process simulation and integration. The partners will get access to the ModuleWorks process data as an interface to the material removal simulation to advance the simulation detail and accuracy with their process expertise. ModuleWorks will also support the integration of the Twin-Control developments into commercial CNC controls. The results of this project will be integrated into the ModuleWorks product portfolio and therefore made available to a wide range of possible industrial applications; ModuleWorks will coordinate this transfer among the project consortium members.
