Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has developed new global training technology that makes use of the power of digital twins to teach machinists and metrology specialists how to use valuable shopfloor equipment. It helps trainees gain practical experience without risking damage to expensive business-critical equipment, wasting materials, or tying up valuable production resources by combining manufacturing simulation and operator software tools with hardware that realistically replicates machines.
Hexagon created the HxGN Machine Trainer to assist businesses and educational institutions in attracting and training the next generation of machine workers, which is critical given the industry’s skills and labor shortage. For instance, in the United States, there are 800,000 open positions, with 55% of those positions unfilled, which is close to all-time highs. In Europe, nearly three in ten manufacturing companies will face production difficulties in the second quarter of 2022 due to a lack of workers. The fact that training people to use CNC machines and similar tools is expensive, slow, and potentially dangerous adds to the skills shortage. Manufacturers can onboard and upskill their staff faster and more cost-effectively than ever before by training machine operators using an accurate and interactive physical simulator.
By making it simpler to prepare inexperienced staff for the demands of the factory, Hexagon’s new hardware simulator closes the manufacturing skills gap. Because a digital twin can be created for the specific brand, type, and configuration of the machine that will be used, it is adaptable. The HxGN Machine Trainer is designed to be as realistic as possible, with hardware that replicates the look and feel of a real machine and a 43-inch screen that displays accurate simulations of a wide range of machines and cutting tools. Once trained, workers can easily move from the simulator to real machines. The experience is completed by a light tower, a real CNC hand wheel, and a CMM joystick that allow trainees to respond to issues and control machine movements exactly like they would on the shop floor. In addition, the agile training system provides a selection of digital twins for coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) to provide hands-on training.
On a single training console, each trainer unit can be outfitted with up to three CNC controllers, including those from Siemens, Heidenhain, and Fanuc. The latest version of Hexagon’s NCSIMUL CNC simulation software is used to simulate mill-turn, 5-axis, and 3-axis machine tools in the machine trainer; and the I++ Simulator software, which is used to simulate all aspects of metrology.
According to Alexander Freund, director of product management at Hexagon, “Crashing a virtual machine tool or CMM is safer for staff and equipment and provides a realistic experience to trainees while ensuring that valuable resources remain up and running.” According to Freund, “Crashing a machine tool because of incorrect setup is a nightmare for both the new machinist and management concerned that a piece of machinery worth millions could be permanently damaged.”
Any of the three controllers can be used by staff training to become machine-tool operators, machinists, and eventually CNC programmers to learn its associated conversational programming language. Instruction sheets with job descriptions and typical manufacturing workflows are included with the exercises for students. The CNC program to be loaded onto the trainer unit and the virtual cutting tools to be assigned to jobs are both listed in these instructions. Students learn how to set machine-tool origins, tool parameters, and cutting tool compensation in addition to troubleshooting and switching between manual and automatic run modes as needed.
HxGN Machine Trainer is now available worldwide, supporting up to three CNC controllers on a single unit and supporting 3-5 axis CNC machine tools, mill-turn machining, and CMM training. A collection of machine digital twins for Hermle, DMG, and Fanuc machines is included. The Hexagon TIGO SF and other CMMs are supported by the I++ Simulator when paired with QUINDOS or PC DMIS metrology software. Any other machine’s digital twin can be requested by customers.
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