Plastic energy chains in a machine tool for a student project

As part of the Young Engineer Support from igus, a modern machine tool was created

Once again, a great project has been launched at the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (iwb) at the Technical University of Munich with 5 students from the Machine Tools thematic group. Jan Rasch, Cedric Rohr, Thomas Odenthal, Markus Hölle and Christian Junghans were able to implement their project, the development and construction of a machine tool, thanks to the sponsorship of several companies, including YES, the igus Young Engineers Support. At present you have made a 1:1 scale model out of wood. Your next step will be to transfer all the components from the model to a steel structure. The model can be moved and controlled by means of a touch screen, and the software created in-house is constantly being further developed and optimised.

Project description

The goals of the student project "Highly Innovative Machine Tool" are the development and design as well as the construction of a machine tool. It is exhibited as a demonstrator at trade shows and events. The machine will be used to showcase research projects of the Machine Tool Group and its partners to the public.
 
The concept of the machine tool includes special features that reflect current research topics in the field of production technology. For example, friction welding with automated tool change is also to be implemented with the milling spindle. All machining is done dry. Furthermore, due to the use of linear drives from different manufacturers, the aim is to implement the control system with an open bus system. The ability to change is another central requirement.
 
The five-member team consisting of students of mechanical engineering and electrical engineering has set itself the goal of systematically designing the implementation of this novel machine concept. Parts of the development process included the methods of FEM and multi-body simulations, as well as verification through trials. The project is now going into the second round. While the structural part has received the final touches, the machine is now to be brought to life by implementing the control and regulation technology. A laboratory setup with the drive and control elements as well as the assembly unit will be exhibited at the "Munich Colloquium".