Siemens and Ingersoll Machine Tool Develop Portable 3D Printing and Milling System
Siemens and Ingersoll Machine Tools have partnered on the development of MasterPrint Deployable, a portable, application-specific manufacturing tool designed to integrate additive manufacturing with 5-axis milling.
Masterprint Deployable is housed in two 20-ft. containers. This allows for the tool to be sent to its point of use as a free-standing manufacturing entity, complete with the hardware, software and tools needed to complete a specific function.
Central to this product is Siemens’ Sinumerik One CNC system, a control system that enables real-time visualization, programming and adaptation using digital twin technology. This allows the additive manufacturing process to be programmed and visualized with real time operation virtually , before the machine is built.
With its integrated Simatic S7-1500F PLC, the Simumerik One control offers up to 10 times faster PLC cycle times, according to Siemens. It is also integrated into the Siemens TIA Portal engineering framework, enabling standardization of all engineering tasks for operators of larger format machines like the Masterprint Deployable.
Zach Gray with Siemens noted three key areas of focus with the MasterPrint Deployable:
- Deposition control of the polymer or metal additive material applied at any angle.
- Milling functionality to accommodate variables in the applied material.
- The touch probe unique to Sinumerik One and its multi-technology platform.
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