WO2011000367A1

WO2011000367A1 - Method and device for the simplified error processing in a machine tool

Info

Publication number: WO2011000367A1
Application number: PCT/DE2010/050035
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ingo Sawilla
Original assignee: Trumpf Werkzeugmaschinen Gmbh + Co. Kg
Priority date: 2009-06-29
Filing date: 2010-06-16
Publication date: 2011-01-06
Also published as: CN102804090A; CN102804090B; DE102009027267A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for processing errors that occur in a machine tool (1) and the error messages of which are stored in an error memory (2). According to the method, the errors stored in the error memory (29) or operating situations selected by the user are automatically stored together with their associated processing history and the stored error messages are read out from the error memory (29) by an error processing system (25) for the purpose of error processing. Error messages or operating situations selected by the user are stored in the error memory (29) of the tool machine (1) together with their associated processing history.

Description

Method and device for simplified error processing on a machine tool

The invention relates to a method, a computer program product, a machine tool and an error processing system for simplified error processing of errors that have occurred on a machine tool, the error messages of which are stored in an error memory.

The increasing complexity of machine tools and their control methods, due to the increased number of machine and machining parameters, make the complete reporting of errors to the machine developer difficult or even impossible. Error messages of a machine operator can e.g. are related to internal machine parameters that are inaccessible to the machine operator, or consist of a suggestion for improvement regarding a specific operating or process situation whose reporting using conventional forms of communication based on plain text formulations requires long descriptions and is prone to misunderstandings ,

From the state of the art so-called "screen capture programs" with editing options for screenshots (screenshots) are known, such as the software "OpenProposal" from the Research Center for Computer Science, Karlsruhe (http://www.openproposal.de/), in the Softwarareneu - or further development can be used. When an operator starts OpenProposal, a screenshot of the current graphical user interface is automatically generated. The user first selects which category his request falls into (new functionality, error message, improvement, other) and can then mark and edit the screenshot with the aid of graphical tools, whereby he can choose between four standard proposals (add. gene, move, delete, comment). In a last step, the user can add general information in text form to his proposal and then save it in standardized form in the database of a collaboration platform (JIRA, Mantis, GForge, Codebeammer, etc.) with the "Submit" function The changes can be sent to the software customer as an update.

The prior art also includes programs that collect information from the RAM of a computer after the crash of a task, with which a fault diagnosis is possible. An example is the Dr. Watson tool, which is used in several Windows operating systems from Microsoft and stores the collected data in a log file and a binary file, the so-called crash dump, on the hard disk. Some Windows operating systems also implement error reporting, which collects information from the computer's RAM after a crash and sends it to Microsoft upon confirmation by the user. If the crash is due to a known cause, the user will be given the link to a web page where further information about the problem is available.

The object of the invention is to improve the above-mentioned method to the extent that occurring error messages quickly and completely recorded, processed and, if possible, can also be corrected, which is usually not the crash of programs in the error messages, but mostly either error messages issued by components of the MMC or the machine tool, the interpretation of which is sometimes very complex, or the submission of suggestions for improvement on specific operating situations on the machine. In this case, a written or oral description of the error messages or operating situations is often very complicated and therefore inappropriate. The object is achieved in the method according to the invention, that in the error memory, the error messages, or by the operator as not optimal or faulty selected operating situations, automatically stored together with their associated processing history and that for error processing the error messages stored together with their associated processing history of an error processing system are read out of the error memory. The processing history can be designed so that any selection of different machine and processing parameters, such as sensor and control data, before and during the generation of the error message or executed control commands are stored in temporal proximity to the error message.

According to claim 3, the method is advantageously carried out with the aid of a screenshot (screen capture) of the machine tool in order to store the associated screenshot of the machine tool in the error memory in the event of an error message or a selected operating situation. Thus, the operator can visually - and thus without long description of operating or error situation - highlight change requests or ambiguities, which are detected by the error processing system.

It is also advantageous if the method according to claim 4 can be carried out so that the operator can integrate videos and images, both from external cameras, as well as cameras on the machine tool, in the error message or selected operating situation, for example not display properly functioning components or procedures.

Advantageously, according to claim 5, the error processing system sends a feedback directly to the machine tool, so that the operator does not have to leave his workplace on the machine tool to obtain a solution proposal. Advantageously, the detected error messages or selected operating situations are compared with known error messages or operating situations stored in a knowledge base of the error processing system according to claim 6, whereby a fast - since automated - answering the error message with known error messages or operating situations is possible. With an unknown error message, it may be possible to perform at least an automated categorization of the error, whereby a quick assignment to a suitable service employee can be made.

Advantageously, according to claim 8 error messages or operating situations that are unknown to one of the machine tool locally associated internal knowledge base of the error processing system, compared with a more comprehensive, external knowledge base of the error processing system. Thus, for example, it is possible to install a local limited error processing system for solving the most common problems on the machine tool and to relay unknown error messages via the Internet to a more extensive manufacturer external error processing system or to compare and process it with its knowledge base.

The knowledge base can advantageously be extended according to claim 10 by manually processed error messages or operating situations, so that they can be automatically answered in a time-saving manner in the future.

The invention also relates to a computer program product comprising code means adapted to perform all steps of the inventive method described above when the program is run on a data processing system.

In another aspect, the invention also relates to a machine tool suitable for carrying out the above-described method according to the invention and to an error processing system according to the claims. Chen 12 and 19. Advantageous developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

Further advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description and the drawings. Likewise, the features mentioned above and the features listed further can be used individually or in combination in any combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as exhaustive enumeration, but rather have exemplary character for the description of the invention.

Show it;

1 shows an overview of a machine tool according to the prior art;

2 shows a device according to the invention with a machine tool and an error processing system for carrying out the method according to the invention for rapid error detection and processing; and

3 shows a flow chart of the method according to the invention for rapid error detection and processing.

Fig. 1 shows a known machine tool 1, which is controlled by means of a numerical control device 2. To automate the machine 1, an automation device 3 is provided, whose control is likewise effected via the control device 2.

The control device 2 comprises on the hardware side an MMC (machine communication) control unit 4 with a control computer 5 designed as an industrial PC and an operating device 6 with a screen 7 as a display unit and a keyboard 8 as an input unit. Furthermore, the control device 2 comprises a machine control panel 9 for the manual operation of the machine 1 and the automation device 3 and an NCU module IO (Numerical Control U). nit) with integrated NC control unit 11 and PLC (Programmed Logic Control) control unit 12.

The control device 2 comprises on the software side an operating software 13 for controlling the machine 1, an operating software 14 for controlling the automation device 3, a program manager 15 for managing NC programs and software modules 16 for order management, tool management and pallet management. In addition, other applications, such as a design system, a programming system, or a combined design and programming system, may be installed on the control computer 5.

In contrast, FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the implementation according to the invention of an error processing system 25 for fast, complete and standardized detection of error messages and their processing. For this purpose, an additional software module 17 is installed on the control computer 5, which has, inter alia, the functions of a screen capture program to read the content displayed on the screen 7 and edit by an operator, but also offers opportunities to an error message or a selection refer to error messages, associate images, videos or other files with them and then forward them over a communications link 27. This connection 27 can be an MMC-internal communication connection, but can also be designed as an Ethernet or Internet connection. Unlike a state-of-the-art screen capture program or software, the software module 17 has the ability to communicate with the other software modules 13-16 and other tasks on the control computer 5 and with the NCU assembly 10, as well as other problems - as a program crash - in the MMC 4 or on the machine 1 to be able to identify. For this purpose, the software module 17 has an error memory 29 of the machine tool 1, in which the above-read data - namely error messages, or operator-selected operating situations, together with their associated processing history - are stored. The software module 17 can complete the sent data of the error message or the improvement suggestion over the communication link 27.

The standardized message sent by the software module 17 via the communication link 27 is first routed in the error processing system 25 to an expert system 18 which has a software 19 which decides with the aid of an internal knowledge base 20 assigned locally to the machine tool 1 whether it is at the Message is a known combination of problems. The expert system can be designed both locally, as part of the MMC 4, as well as externally, as part of a control center or a service portal. If the expert system does not detect a known problem, the message is forwarded over the communication link 28, typically an Ethernet or Internet connection. It is possible to forward the error message to a second expert system 18 'with software 19' and external knowledge base 20 'and from there optionally to the database 22 or directly into the database 22 of a collaboration platform 21. Developers or service technicians can pick up and process the error messages from there using the service computer 23, 24. Possible solutions to the problem can be incorporated into the knowledge base 20, 20 'and also returned to the MMC 4 and thus to the operator of the machine 1.

FIG. 3 shows a method according to the invention for rapid error detection and processing using the device according to the invention of FIG. 2.

In step S1, the operator formulates, with the aid of the software module 17, the notification of an error or an improvement suggestion for an operating situation which he regards as not optimal or faulty. In step S2, the operator initiates the sending of his error message. Thereafter, in step S3, the operator's message is communicated to the expert system 18 along with the data from error memory 29 associated with the operator specified errors. In the following step S4, the data of the reported errors are compared with the already known error messages from the knowledge base 20 compared. The evaluation software 19 decides in a step S5 whether the error is already known (J) or not (N). If it is an already known error (J in step S5), the expert system 18 answers the error message in a step S6 by sending the stored in the knowledge base 20 answer to the software module 17 of the MMC 4. If the evaluation software 19 decides that it If the request is an unknown error (N in step S5), the error message is transmitted in step S7 via the communication link 28 into the database 22 of the collaboration platform 21. From this, the tasks can be distributed or collected by developers / service technicians in a step S8 and edited. A solution of the problem is then returned to the software module 17 of the MMC 4 in a step S9 and finally entered into the knowledge base 20 of the expert system 18 in a step SIO.

Claims

claims

1. A method for processing errors occurring on a machine tool (1), whose error messages are stored in a fault memory (29),

characterized,

that in the error memory (29) the error messages, or operator-selected operating situations are automatically stored together with their associated processing history and that for error processing the error messages stored along with their associated processing history of an error processing system (25) from the error memory (29) are read ,

2. Method for processing operating situations that are not optimal or faulty from the operator's point of view,

characterized,

that operator-selected operating situations are automatically stored together with their associated processing history in an error memory (29) and that the stored operating situations together with their associated processing history are read out of the error memory (29) by an error processing system (25) for error processing.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the event of an error message or a selected operating situation and an associated screenshot of the machine tool (1) in the error memory (29) is stored.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that videos or images the error messages or the selected operating situations in the error memory (29) are assigned.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that depending on the respective error message or operating situation and the associated processing history a corresponding feedback from the error processing system (25) to the machine tool (1) is sent.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detected error messages or operating situations with known, in a knowledge base (20) of the error processing system (25) stored error messages or operating situations are compared.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a knowledge base (20, 20 ') of the error processing system (25) known error messages or operating situations are automatically answered by the error processing system (25).

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that error messages or operating situations, the one of the machine tool (1) locally associated internal knowledge base (20) of the error processing system (25) are unknown, with a more comprehensive, external knowledge base (20 ') of the Error processing system (25) are compared.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a knowledge base (20, 20 ') of the error processing system (25) unknown error messages or operating situations manually edited and answered.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the answers manually edited error messages or operating situations of at least one knowledge base (20, 20 ') are added.

A computer program product having code means adapted to perform all steps of the method of any one of the preceding claims when the program is run on a data processing system.

12. Machine tool (1) for carrying out the method according to one of claims 1 to 10, with a fault memory (29) in which occurred error messages or operator-selected operating situations are stored,

characterized,

that in the error memory (29) both error messages or operator-selected operating situations and their associated processing history are stored.

13. Machine tool according to claim 12, characterized in that a screen capture program (17) is implemented and that in the error memory (29) is also a belonging to an error message or an operating situation screenshot of the machine tool (1) is stored.

14. Machine tool according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that a software module (17) is implemented, through which in the error memory (29) images or videos with the filed error messages or operator selected operating situations

can be linked.

15. error processing system (25) for performing the method according to one of claims 1 to 10, with a communication link (27) to a machine tool (1) according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the error processing system (25) for processing the Error messages or operating situations, together with their associated processing history from the error memory (29) is formed.

16. error processing system according to claim 15, characterized by at least one expert system (18, 18 '), which has at least one knowledge base (20, 20') are stored in the known error messages or operating situations each with associated processing history and the associated solutions.

17. Error processing system according to claim 16, characterized in that the expert system (18, 18 ') is designed to automatically generate answers to known error messages or operating situations.

18. error processing system according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the knowledge base (20, 20 ') by the answers of manually processed error messages or operating situations that previously by the expert system (18, 18') could not be successfully answered, expandable.

19. Error processing system according to one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that error messages or operating situations of the expert system (18, 18 ') on a collaboration platform (21) for error management can be transferred.