Simulation Validates, Optimizes Sheet Metal Fabrication Lines

Designing complete sheet metal fabrication lines brings together machines, motion and control systems into one smooth, custom-built process. For equipment supplier Pivatec, a manufacturer of punching, shearing and bending machines, the ability to simulate and fine-tune line operations enables it to show customers how each line will perform before anything is built. Simulations, developed using the 3D manufacturing-simulation platform from Visual Components, allows its engineers to test control logic virtually, and fine-tune performance once it’s up and running.

Pivatic uses Visual Components in three key areas:

• Accelerating sales with 3D simulations
• Validating control software with virtual commissioning, and
• Optimizing or troubleshooting systems already in production.

Using Visual Components’ simulation tools, Pivatic’s sales and engineering teams now can build fully animated 3D simulations of proposed lines. The simulations help demonstrate how material moves through every stage: coils unwinding, sheets feeding into punching stations, parts transferring to bending cells, and finished pieces stacking neatly at the end. This realistic visualization helps customers grasp the solution immediately.

Once a project moves into the engineering phase, Pivatic then uses Visual Components to validate machine control software through virtual commissioning. Each Pivatic line runs on sophisticated PLC programs that synchronize punching, bending, material handling and safety systems. Previously, this control logic only could be tested after the line was built, which meant software bugs or timing issues often were discovered late in the process.