Siemens and Comau Collaborate to Offer Sinumerik CNC Incorporating Robot Control

Through a cooperative agreement, Siemens and Comau now offer a jointly engineered Sinumerik Run MyRobot DirectControl product. This product enables robot kinematics to be fully integrated into a CNC system. The Sinumerik CNC controls the articulated robot arm directly with the basis of complex algorithms without the need for a separate robot controller, as the operations are entirely controlled on a second channel of the CNC.

The Sinumerik Run MyRobot DirectControl solution allows the CNC both to control the robot arm drive system and to contain safety functions typically performed by the robot controller.

Integrating control of the robot arm into the CNC is said to help improve path and positioning accuracy as well as reliability. It also yields enhanced dynamic response during robot-aided machining tasks. As a result, the companies claim, the robot is able to undertake more challenging machining assignments, while users receive the advantages of compact hardware, simpler engineering and faster commissioning. Additive manufacturing, fiber placement, machining, carbon fiber reinforced polymer and laser machining are among the sectors the company says this product can benefit. 

The major difference between the  DirectControl technology and conventional systems is that it performs all the functions previously assigned to the robot control system, making the separate robot controller unnecessary. In addition, Sinumerik Run MyRobot /DirectControl performs all the same functions as the previous Run MyRobot variants.