MACHINING & MACHINERY
AUTOMATION WITH DRIVE
KEB AUTOMATION
Machines & Controls Ltd chooses KEB drives and controllers
for special purpose stone and slate cutting machines
KEB Automation has supplied a variety of
drives and control equipment to a UKbased
machine builder for use on special
purpose cutting machines for stone tiles
and roof slates. KEB provided a complete
solution from a single source and provided
engineering support all the way through the
machine design and build process.
Based in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, Machines
& Controls Ltd is a small, privately owned
business that designs and manufactures
special purpose machines. Established in
2018, the business specialises in the design
and build of special purpose machines,
including robotics and associated controls.
Alex Wilson, Managing Director at
Machines & Controls Ltd, states: “In 2018,
we received an order for a stone façade
cutting machine. The machine is a 5-axis
CNC sawing machine that cuts stone tiles
and cladding for buildings. Around the
same time, we also received an order from
another customer for two special purpose
cutting machines for roof slates.”
Both types of machine required a range
of drives and control equipment and so
Alex Wilson conducted a thorough supplier
evaluation process. “In the end, I chose KEB
Automation, as they were able to provide
all the drives, controllers, gear motors and
HMIs from a single source and were willing
to provide engineering support through the
machine design and build phases, which
you don’t always get from other suppliers,”
adds Wilson.
THE STONE FACADE CUTTING
MACHINE
For the 5-axis stone facade cutting
machine, KEB supplied four COMBIVERT
S6 drives, four servo motors, two gear
motors and a COMBIVERT F5 inverter.
All the control equipment is housed in a
control cabinet which has an integrated HMI
touchscreen display from KEB.
With dimensions of approximately 3m
square by 2m in height, the machine
comprises two conveyor bands with a
bridge over and two 4kW powered saw
blades in the X-Y axis. As the stone is
moved down the conveyor, the saw blades
can be programmed to add chamfers and
slots in the stone. Each saw blade has two
axes of motion (up and down/in and out).
The machine is fairly low speed (up to
1.5 metres per minute), but is precise and
accurate. Two KEB gear motors drive the
conveyor bands. Four KEB servo motors
(two per head) move the cutting heads. A
KEB COMBIVERT F5 inverter controls the
two geared motors for the conveyors. The
machine is totally enclosed by protective
guarding. All control equipment is housed
in a control cabinet with KEB touchscreen
HMI.
As Wilson explains: “All the control
programs were written by KEB using its
COMBIVIS software. This meant we had
KEB’s support through the design and build
stages of the project, which was really
crucial for us. We delivered the machine
to the customer in February 2019, who is
extremely happy with it. Since installing the
machine, the customer has reported no
issues at all.”
THE TWO SLATE CUTTING
MACHINES
The two identical slate cutting machines,
which have dimensions of around 2m x
1m square, are inclined at 30 degrees and
comprise of a pair of conveyors, each
driven by a KEB servo gear motor. The
conveyors pass over two cutter blades,
which cut (‘hammer’) the slate to size. KEB
COMBIVERT S6 drives control the position
of the upper cutting blades, with two KEB
servo motors driving the cutter heads. All
controls for the two machines are housed
in a single control cabinet with operator
control joysticks
Wilson concludes: “On both machine
projects, I was particularly impressed with
KEB in terms of their technical capabilities
and engineering support. They have been
very helpful and have always responded
promptly when I’ve needed support on
resolving any issues. I look forward to
working with KEB on future machine
projects.”
DRIVES, CONTROLLERS AND GEAR
MOTORS
Compact, flexible and powerful, the
COMBIVERT S6 range of servo drives is
suitable for a wide range of highly dynamic
servo applications, including highly
automated, safety-oriented machines. The
drives provide optimal motor control in real
time, integrated safety functionality and are
designed in a compact, space-saving bookstyle
format for easier mounting in control
cabinets where space can be limited. The
COMBIVERT S6 range is 100% in-house
designed and built by KEB. The drives are
available in two different enclosure sizes
across motor power sizes from 0.75kW up
to 5.5kW or electrical currents from 2.6A to
12.0A, with overload to 250%. The drives
can be customised with a variety of design
options to suit the specific application.
Safety functionality can be selected from
three modules to suit the requirements of
the machine.
In combination with its control systems and
drive controllers, KEB also offers a wide
range of servo motors and geared motors,
including three-phase motors, servo motors,
helical geared motors, shaft mounted
helical geared motors, helical worm geared
motors and helical bevel geared motors.
For further information, please visit www.keb.co.uk
52 PECM Issue 45