Prima Additive, a company of the Prima Industrie group dedicated to metal additive manufacturing technologies, showcased at the Siemens booth one of its solutions, the Prima Additive IANUS Cell, at the Automatica trade show in Munich, the reference event in Europe for intelligent automation and robotics.
Siemens, a leading company in automation and digitalization with specific skills in the field of robotics and additive manufacturing, is a crucial partner for Prima Additive thanks to its solutions that enable the infinite potential of the IANUS multi-process robotic cell. The integration between the technologies of Siemens and those of Prima Additive is expressed in the development of the IANUS Cell and, in particular, through the integration of the robotic arm and the CNC, through the Sinumerik Run MyRobot / Direct Control functionality.
Through this functionality, the user of the machine will be able to operate the robotic cell using a single control console and, above all, he will be able to carry out the movement and programming of the robot using typical instructions of a machine tool, thus exempting him from knowing an additional programming language specific for robots. In addition, thanks to the integration with Siemens systems, on which this platform is based, the IANUS Cell easily integrates with other machines already present in the company, taking advantage of digital solutions based on the MindSphere open ecosystem.
At the Siemens booth at Automatica, the IANUS Cell was equipped with laser welding, one of the four processes that can be configured on it. This machine, which boasts a working volume of 1.600 x 1.200 x 700 mm, is characterized by the possibility of being configured for different laser processes. In addition to laser welding (proximity or remote), it is also possible to configure the machine for Direct Energy Deposition based on the use of powder or on the use of metal wire as starting material, but also other laser processes such as laser hardening. The fact that this robotic cell from Prima Additive is configured to perform a process outside the additive manufacturing spectrum testifies the desire of the Italian company to position itself on the wider market of advanced laser solutions, thanks to the expertise accumulated over the years.
The name of this solution comes from the Latin god Ianus, an iconic divinity with two faces. Just as the god Ianus has two faces, the Prima Additive IANUS robotic cell can also be configured to perform two different processes in the same machine. Thanks to the possibility of installing two dedicated warehouses, it is possible to switch from one application to another simply by changing the head installed on the robotic arm inside the machine itself. The head change, therefore, becomes comparable to a tool change, increasing the overall flexibility of the system.
In addition, the flexibility of the system is further enhanced by the possibility of installing different laser sources, with different wavelengths, within the same machine. Thus, it is possible, for example, to equip the system with an infrared laser and a blue laser to be able to use them within the same process in order to work any type of metal alloy more effectively, thus enabling advanced multi-material applications.
In order to exploit the full potential of this solution, it is possible to use Create MyVirtual Machine, software made available by Siemens, able to generate a real digital twin of the system. This has proved to be extremely useful for facilitating the engineering work in the various stages of development and optimization of the machine, also allowing a considerable reduction in time to market.