METHOD FOR OPERATING A MACHINE TOOL BY ADAPTING A PRECOMPILED MACHINE MODEL

Abstract

In a method for operating a machine tool and a corresponding machine tool system, a generic first data model and engineering data are provided in an external server device. The engineering data contain information relating to a machine tool. After a user query regarding an operation of the machine tool, the first data model is translated and/or modified to become a second data model. This occurs in accordance with the engineering data and technical data of the user query by the external server device. The second data model is transferred from the external server device to the machine tool, and a control unit of the machine tool can operate the machine tool according to the second data model. The machine tool can thus be adapted outside the running time of the machine tool.

Claims

1.-10. (canceled)

11. A method for operating a machine tool, comprising: accessing apps by a control unit of the machine tool via a data bus; transferring the apps from an external server device located outside the machine tool to a machine-specific Internet-of-Things (IoT) extension of the machine tool, wherein the external server device comprises a generic first data model of the machine tool without describing details of the machine tool and additionally receives engineering data that contains information specifically relating to the machine tool and knowledge of the machine tool; generating a user query regarding an operation of the machine tool to the external server device; translating and/or modifying by the external server device, by taking into account in the user query technical data, the generic first data model into a second data model that can be executed on the machine tool in dependence on the engineering data in response to the user query; transmitting the second data model from the external server device to the machine tool; and operating the machine tool in accordance with the second data model.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising translating the first data model from a first programming language into a different second programming language and modifying the first data model into the second data model in the second programming language.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising, with a computing unit of the external server device, installing the second data model on the machine tool for operating the machine tool.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the machine tool receives via the interface a plurality of second data models, and/or wherein the machine tool is operated in accordance by the control unit of the machine tool with the plurality of second data models.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising: expanding a functionality of the machine tool with additional functions from a cloud functioning as the external server device by offering the additional functions in an app store; wherein the app store stores the generic first data model that describes the machine tool without describing details of the machine tool and without knowledge of all technical details of a particular machine tool.

16. A machine tool system, comprising: an external server device comprising a computing unit configured to translate and/or modify a generic first data model into a second data model outside the machine tool, thereby unburdening the machine tool from translating and/or modifying the generic first data model during operation of the machine tool, wherein the external server device additionally receives engineering data that contains information specifically relating to the machine tool and knowledge of the machine tool; and a machine tool comprising a machine-specific Internet-of Things (IoT) extension, a first interface for communicating with the external server device, and a control unit configured to transmit via the first interface to the external server device the generic first data model that describes the machine tool without details of the machine tool to receive via the first interface the second data model which is executable on the machine tool, and to operate the machine tool in accordance with the second data model; and a data bus operatively coupling the control unit to apps, which can be transferred from the external server device to the machine-specific Internet-of Things (IoT) extension.

17. The machine tool system of claim 16, wherein the machine tool has a second interface and/or an input apparatus for transmitting and/or inputting a user query regarding the operation of the machine tool.

18. The machine tool system of claim 17, wherein the machine tool is connected to a monitoring unit and/or the machine tool has the monitoring unit, and wherein a user query regarding the operation of the machine tool can be transferred by the monitoring unit via the second interface.

19. The machine tool system of claim 16, wherein the machine tool is configured to receive a plurality of second data models via the first interface and/or the control unit is configured to operate the machine tool in accordance with the plurality of second data models.

20. The machine tool system of claim 16, wherein the computing unit of the external server device is configured to install the second data model on the machine tool.

21. The machine tool system of claim 16, wherein functionality of the machine tool can be expanded with additional functions from a cloud operating as the external server device by offering the additional functions in an app store, wherein the app store stores the generic first data model that describes the machine tool without describing details of the machine tool and without knowledge of all technical details of a particular machine tool.

22. The machine tool system of claim 16, wherein the computing unit of the external server device is connected to the machine tool via the first interface and is configured to put the machine tool into operation in accordance with the second data model.

23. The machine tool system of claim 16, wherein the external server device is configured as a cloud-based server and is connected at least temporarily to the machine tool via a computer network.

24. The machine tool system of claim 23, wherein the computer network is the Internet.

25. The machine tool system of claim 16, wherein the external server device has an app store which comprises, for operating the machine tool, the second data model precompiled by a machine tool system and/or the second data model translated and/or modified from the generic first data model.

Description

[0029] The present invention is now explained in more detail with reference to the sole drawing attached. The following examples described represent preferred embodiments of the invention. However, these embodiments should not be interpreted as restrictive.

[0030] The sole FIGURE shows a machine tool system 20 having a machine tool 10 and an external server device 18, The machine tool 10 can have an internal control unit 16 and a data bus 12. The control unit 16 of the machine tool 10 can access various apps via the data bus 12. Herein, the respective apps are transferred from the external server device 18 to a machine-specific IoT extension 11 of the machine tool 10. Moreover, the external server device 18 can have an app store 13, In addition, a computing unit 15 is located in the region of the external server device 18.

[0031] The following describes a possible example of how the machine tool system 20 can be used to manufacture a desired workpiece, for example a cabinet door, Obviously, it is also possible to manufacture other more complex workpieces. In this example, the cabinet door is to be a simple wooden plate with a plurality of holes embodied as through-holes. If an individual cabinet door is to be manufactured, this cabinet door can be specified by an individual corresponding user query. In this case, a plan of the cabinet door is transmitted to the external server device 18. This can, for example, take place via a monitoring unit 14. This means a precise plan relating to the cabinet door with the respective coordinates of the through-holes to be produced can be transmitted to the external server device 18 via the monitoring unit 14. Herein, the monitoring unit 14 can be arranged as a touchscreen directly on the machine tool 10. However, the monitoring unit 14 can also be connected to the machine tool 10 (indicated by dashed lines).

[0032] Instead of a prespecified plan relating to the cabinet door, it is possible to use precompiled models for the cabinet door. The app store 13 can, for example, have a range of a plurality of models for cabinet doors. In this case, a user would select just one model for the cabinet door in the app store 13 via the monitoring unit 14. Hence, there are different possibilities for transmitting the user query to the computing unit 15.

[0033] However, the computing unit 15 requires further information in order now to transform the first generic data model into the specific second data model. This information is above all specific engineering data 17. The engineering data 17 in particular contains information for operating the respective machine tool. As a rule, the engineering data 17 is provided by the machine tool manufacturer. In this example, the engineering data 17 can have information on the number and type of drills located on or in the machine tool 10. The engineering data 17 can also contain information on the number of movable axes and their spatial extent. Hence, as a rule, the engineering data 17 specifies the respective machine tool 10. The computing unit 15 of the external server device 18 now combines the engineering data 17 with the user query, which was transmitted by the monitoring unit 14. Herein, the user query can also take place by selecting a second data model in the app store 13. The computing unit 15 uses the information from the user query and the engineering data 17 as the basis for translating and/or modifying the first generic data model to become the second specific data model. This means the computing unit 15 transforms the generally held first data model into a specific second data model with which the machine tool 10 can manufacture the specific user query (desired cabinet wall). Instead of the term transform it is also possible to use other terms such as program, translate and/or modify or adapt. To this end, the specific second data model is modified or adapted by the computing unit 15 such that the machine tool 10 is able to read and process the second data model. This means in particular, that the computing unit 15 of the external server device 18 adapts the second data model in accordance with the data structure of the machine tool 10. The computing unit 15 hence in particular generates a program code that can be executed by the machine tool. The second data model is preferably adapted to the operating system and the programming language of the respective machine tool 10. Hence, the machine tool 10 or the control unit 16 of the machine tool 10 can process the second data model directly.

[0034] In this case, the computing unit 15 now compiles a specific second data model, which is tailored to the machine tool 10 to enable the desired cabinet wall to be manufactured. To this end, the first generic data model for the machine tool 10 is adapted by means of the engineering data 17. In this example, the respective coordinates of the through-holes are additionally stored or held on the wooden plate in the second data model. Hence, in this example, the specific second data model contains specific coordinates for the place in which through-holes are to be made. All further specifications such as, for example, the type of holes, the size of holes, etc, are also held in the second data model. Thus, the specific second data model contains a specific plan for manufacturing the desired cabinet door, which can also be read and processed by the machine tool 10.

[0035] Herein, this second data model is preferably compiled by the computing unit 15 within the external server device 18. After completion, the second data model generated in this way is transmitted to the machine-specific IoT extension 11. This preferably takes place via an Internet connection. The second data model can in particular be integrated in an app. The computing device 15 can in particular configure or install this app on the machine-specific IOT extension 11. This process can however also be performed by the control unit 16 of the machine tool 10. This means that the control unit 16 does not have to hold any resources for translating and/or modifying the first data model to become the second data model.

[0036] Viewed in another way, this invention can greatly relieve the control unit 16 or the machine tool 10 as a whole. Compared to data modeling of data mapping for functional extensions, this can have considerable advantages in respect of the performance of data processing and communication. Herein, the computing unit 15 can in particular take account of the fact that the machine tool 10 can only be actuated via another programming language. This means that the computing unit 15 can translate the first data model into a different second programming language and convert the first data model translated in this way accordingly to become the specific second data model. Hence, machine tools can be operated extremely flexibly without herein having to hold available an unnecessary amount of digital resources such as, for example, main memory, processor capacity, etc. for the respective machine tool. This invention enables the effort of compiling the second data model to be completely outsourced from the machine tool.