Metal-cutting production is changing. Digitalisation has finally arrived in this environment and is responsible for making machining processes more value-adding. The biggest challenge now is to make the complexity and diversity of the topic tangible and manageable. The solution: The networking of digitally provided data and information becomes the COSCOM data and information foundation - the basic requirement for a functioning automation system.

COSCOM, the digitisation specialist in machining production, is pursuing a clear strategy for solving current requirements. A machine tool requires an NC program and the corresponding tools to manufacture a defined component. This core topic should always be at the forefront of digitisation strategies. With reference to this basic understanding, it is clear that a significant attention must be paid to the (data) processes. Individual software tools in the various task areas of the value chain are already sufficiently established. Powerful CAD/CAM and simulation systems deliver optimal NC programs, comprehensive tool management systems organise the provision of operating resources including their application data and finally MES systems record evaluation data from the machine tools. But how does an automation solution for machine tools fit into the picture of this existing IT infrastructure?
COSCOM ECO system as a data and information foundation
The COSCOM answer is: networking of the digitally provided data and information, the creation of logical relationships between the data and the central provision of the resulting process control data. Automation strategies can be built on this digital data and information foundation. COSCOM creates this necessary foundation with its ECO system. This is a centrally organised database platform solution which contains operative COSCOM software modules as well as integration modules for third-party software applications (ERP, CAD/CAM, PDM, ...), machine tool controls, measuring systems, storage systems and automation systems. Communication with automation systems places very high demands on central data provision. This is because it is at this point in the digital factory that the logical relationship between the data provided is called up. This is where digital sets of rules become visible, which are necessary for consistent data process control.
Central data provision instead of "data islands
The COSCOM ECO system makes linked and enriched process master data available to the automation system on demand via standardised IT communication solutions (e.g. web services). It is even possible to use different automation systems within a company. The process master data is fed to the respective target system via mappings. This approach shows that the COSCOM data and information foundation has the required adaptability and sustainability, which are addressed in digitisation strategies towards automation. Decentralised "data islands" in production are not the basis for automation on machine tools and cannot lead to the desired goal. The manual input of collected information from the individual "data islands" into an automation control system should not remain an accepted standard in a digitisation concept.

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