Provided is a system and method for minimizing non-productive idle times within an automation process executed by an automation facility, the system including a model memory which stores a probabilistic model of a distribution of object exchange times of objects used or consumed in the automation process; and an optimizer adapted to calculate optimal assignments of objects to magazine positions of an object storage magazine depending on the probabilistic model and depending on a sequence of productive non-idle times of objects used or consumed in process steps of the automation process.

A numerical controller performs control for changing a tool mounted on a spindle to another tool stored in a tool magazine based on a machining program. The numerical controller analyzes a command by a block of the machining program, predicts a time required for machining by the analyzed command, and selects a tool changeable before a tool change command, during tool selection, based on the predicted time.

Provided is a system and method for minimizing non-productive idle times within an automation process executed by an automation facility, the system including a model memory which stores a probabilistic model of a distribution of object exchange times of objects used or consumed in the automation process; and an optimizer adapted to calculate optimal assignments of objects to magazine positions of an object storage magazine depending on the probabilistic model and depending on a sequence of productive non-idle times of objects used or consumed in process steps of the automation process.

A numerical controller performs control for changing a tool mounted on a spindle to another tool stored in a tool magazine based on a machining program. The numerical controller analyzes a command by a block of the machining program, predicts a time required for machining by the analyzed command, and selects a tool changeable before a tool change command, during tool selection, based on the predicted time.

A method is proposed for controlling tool change operations on a machine tool, wherein a machining procedure on a workpiece includes a sequence of machining operations having in each case a particular tool and in each case a particular duration, and for a tool change, tools of a tool spindle are provided by a second storage device in communication with a first storage device, and wherein there is associated with the machining procedure a sequence of tool provision operations in which a tool provision operation has in each case a particular duration, wherein the method includes a determination stage wherein the durations of the machining operations and the tool provision operations are determined, and a control stage wherein the tool provision operations are temporally grouped in relation to the machining operations such that the tool provision operations bring about a minimized idle time in the machining procedure.