SIEMENS
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Siemens PM 21 · 2017
Industry-specific solutions
Ceramics and stone processing machines
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Overview
Construction materials are the basis for creating infrastructure
and are therefore always in demand worldwide. To manufacture
construction materials with a consistently high quality, the use of
fully automatic machines and plants is indispensable. Based on
the latest technology, such as the SIMATIC S7 industrial
controllers, the SIMOTION Motion Control System and the
SINAMICS S120 drives, Siemens provides innovative solutions
for technologies that produce construction material end
products made of ceramics and stone.
The ceramics and stone segments are divided into the following
subsegments:
•
Coarse ceramics (bricks for walls, tiles for roofs)
•
Fine ceramics (tiles, bath/kitchen ceramics, technical
ceramics)
•
Block casting (pre-cast concrete blocks, sand-lime bricks)
•
Natural stone finishing
Solutions for the ceramics and stone segments
For the coarse ceramics and fine ceramics subsegments and for
block casting, the molding is in the foreground. Whereas molded
blocks (pre-cast concrete blocks, sand-lime bricks) are only
dried after the molding process, ceramic materials are dried and
baked in a kiln after the molding. In stone finishing, the focus is
on the natural stone. Various processing steps take place during
this, starting with a stone block taken directly from the quarry to
the finished natural stone end product.
From the individual machine to the complete plant
Siemens equips individual machines and complete plants with
automation and drive technology. In extensive facilities, such as
a brickworks (coarse ceramics), the advantages of the SIMATIC
family of controllers are utilized. For natural stone finishing
centers, the Siemens CNC systems of the SINUMERIK family
provide advantages. Whenever the timing of several axes must
be coordinated with high precision, the advantages of the
SIMOTION Motion Control System come to the fore.
Examples of typical SIMOTION applications are:
•
Brick placing system
•
Concrete block molding machine
•
Sand-lime brick press
•
Grinding and polishing machines for natural stone slabs
Servo pump as energy-saving hydraulic drive
Hydraulic drives are primarily used for the molding processes.
Siemens provides the servo pump as an innovative, energy-
saving solution concept for this. The principle behind this is not
primarily to control the pressure and volumetric flow by means of
valve technology, but directly via the torque and speed of a
servomotor. As a result, energy is only provided by the motor
when it is actually required at the cylinder. Especially for clocked
manufacturing processes, which are commonly applied, for
example, in fine ceramic presses, sand-lime brick presses and
concrete block molding machines, this principle leads to
considerable energy savings.
Control of:
Classic hydraulics
Servo pump
Control of:
pressure accumulator 30 l
Cylinder
Cylinder
Oil pump
Tank 1000 l
Oil pump
G_PM21_EN_00259
Position
Force
Direction
Velocity
Induction
motor:
50 Hz
Servomotor
Variable speed
and direction
Position
Force
Direction
Velocity
© Siemens AG 2017