Siemens SINUMERIK 828D is the New CNC

September 9, 2009

As we were finally able to reveal on the show yesterday, Siemens has admitted that their new SINUMERIK 828D CNC is behind the radical job shop productivity improvements that have dominated our news for the past several months.

See the CNC EyeTeam web site for all the details.

This is an important moment in CNC history. Siemens has reapproached CNC with the specific intent of supporting job shops and increasing job shop productivity. They have taken the complexity out of traditional, g-code heavy CNC and added new levels of functionality geared towards the needs of job shop owners and machine operators.

Thanks to the courageous efforts of Dark Cover and others, RELIC’s efforts to suppress this technology were thwarted. No longer are job shops at the mercy of complex, unnecessary, and often outdated CNC technology; now they can finally crack the g-code.

Come to EMO in Milan to see the new SINUMERIK 828D from Siemens, and you too will agree that seeing is believing.

Seeing is Believing: Shop-wide Performance Advantages

August 31, 2009

 

As I’ve mentioned before, you will be able to see, and believe, for yourselves at EMO in Milan in October. But I am continuing to discuss the benefits of the new CNC that will be announced. I can’t mention much more, but in addition to the machine performance enhancements mentioned in the last post, the CNC enables shop-wide improvements that can radically enhance productivity and increase profits.

• Automatically maintains interpolation accuracy in kinematic transformations, eliminating need for outside calculations
• Enables machine-to-machine communication across a shop-wide network
• Production status alerts can be sent via cell phone text message
• Video-like GUI transcends mere “graphical” programming and makes it exponentially easier to use
• New programming efficiencies make functions and commands easier to learn and quicker to execute

Seeing is Believing: Enhanced Machine Performance

August 26, 2009

The ultimate truth will be revealed at EMO in October when you will be able to see the new CNC and can truly believe in its benefits for machine performance.

Here is what you will be able to see:

• 80 bit Nano Floating Point accuracy, bringing unequaled contouring control and precision
• Simplified on-screen tool management
• Advanced surfacing algorithm significantly reduces machining time
• Simplified commands and functions
• Residual material diction reduces machining time for steep contours

Next post we will discuss the shop-wide performance benefits.

True Job Shop CNC

August 17, 2009

 I can honestly say that seeing truly is believing. Joe and I have had an amazing experience and now we know the truth behind the mystery. I have promised not to say much yet but here is what I can tell you about this new CNC:

• True job shop programming
• Amazing new features that enhance machine performance
• Revolutionary capabilities that improve performance for the entire shop

We are Safe

August 12, 2009

We have been rescued and are safe. Joe and I are healthy and are in the hands of friends. I can’t say more at this point. We are about to solve the mystery of the super CNC.

Text Message…

August 7, 2009

omg they r trying to convert us to relic

joe may crack

help us

Text Message…

August 3, 2009

taken we r ok not hurt relic

Journalist Missing

July 30, 2009 CNC EyeTeam anchor Jane Peterson has disappeared while on an investigative reporting trip to Taiwan. The Network, which covers machine tool control technology and the contract manufacturing sector as a whole, has released a statement addressing the disappearance. Our friend and colleague Jane Peterson has been pursuing global reports of incredible job shop productivity, reportedly linked to a mysterious new CNC control. Her investigation led her to Taipei, Taiwan, where we know she and camera operator Joe Kuhl landed two days ago. Since then we have had no communication with our colleagues, and have ascertained that they have not returned to their hotel or been seen at any location that was part of their planned itinerary. Managing Editor Lou Bradley declined to confirm reports that the duo might have been kidnapped to stop their investigations. “We just want to find them and bring them home,” he explained, refusing to answer further questions for the record. “To say anything else might be detrimental to that goal.”

On the Hunt in Taipei

A quick tweet and blog update from the cell phone to let you know we have landed in Taiwan and are proceeding to the hotel. We have an idea of where to look and we expect that Dark Cover may try and make contact.

We are being very careful. So far, we do not seem to have been followed. 

We may even go out tonight to check out a few leads. We’ll need to get a cab, but I understand that won’t be a problem. The hotel can get us a taxi when we are ready.

It’s exciting to be on the hunt . We are getting closer to solving the mystery, I feel it! We really will crack the g-code very soon.

Productivity Enhancers

It seems like suddenly there has been an explosion of news on the street about incredible job shop productivity boosts. This is happening around the world.

We’ve heard about a job shop in Bangalore, India, that was able to establish a company-wide machine network and share CAD/CAM, and machine simulation information.

We’ve heard about machines being produced in China that promise an 80-bit computational level of accuracy, beyond micro and nano levels.

We’ve heard about machine operators in the UK getting CNC status alerts via text messages on mobile phones.

Something big is happening.

Next Stop: Taiwan?

I know the Dark Cover web site shows HBH locations all over the world. My theory is this: HBH is beta testing a revolutionary new CNC, and RELIC has found out about it and wants to shut them down. To keep their secret, HBH has moved this operation to Taiwan.

RELIC must be frantic. The days of G-code CNC will be numbered if a new CNC comes out.
It’s time to head for Taiwan. We need to find that new beta site and get to the bottom of the story. We have to be careful, though—RELIC CNC agents might be following us as a way to get to HBH. They seem to have spies everywhere.

HBH Vanishing Act

So much to write about.

The most productive job shop in the country has vanished.

Joe went to the mysterious job shop HBH Enterprise again to see if we could get some footage of all the activity, and it was deserted. Nobody was there. The place looked like it had been packed up and cleared out in a hurry. There were no machines, no stock, no supplies, and no people.

Why did they shut down so quickly? I know it wasn't the economy; they were working two shifts. Why did they move all their machines? They must have set the operation up at a new site.

We have one clue: a packing slip that was left behind. It reads "BETA SITE CLOSED. Redirect to Taipei, Taiwan."

Coffee Confidential

Joe, my cameraman, wants to meet. He won't say why, only that he'd discovered something big about HBH. He was afraid to talk on the phone. We are going to meet at our usual place, the coffee shop. What's going on now?

I am becoming paranoid. Sometimes it feels like I am being followed. Sometimes I hear strange clicking noises on my phone. Every old car with a yellow bumper sticker seems sinister.

Connect the Dots?

Somehow these things are connected:

• “Seeing is believing”
• My informant, who calls himself Dark Cover
• RELIC, the entrenched CNC company out to stop all of us from learning the truth
• Incredible boosts in productivity we are hearing about in job shops across the globe
• HBH Enterprise, one of those job shops, located in Asheville, North Carolina
• “Crack the G-code”

What am I missing? How does this all tie together?

Curiouser and Curiouser

This story is getting stranger by the day.

Last night I received a surprise visit from an unexpected source. He did not specifically ask to remain anonymous, but I won’t reveal his identity yet until I can speak with him. Clearly he is tied in with Dark Cover, my mysterious informant.

I can’t write too much about our encounter except to say we didn’t talk much, but he gave me something that throws this case into a new light. If you follow the link, you’ll see what I mean.

Somebody is hiding a big secret and somebody ELSE wants me to find out what it is, and tell the world. My new informant said only that “Seeing is believing.” I’ve heard that expression before…

It also seems that RELIC is tied in with all of this, and wants to stop our investigation. Dark Cover has given us a very specific warning, which is really confusing. Why would RELIC, a huge company, care about our story? Are they hiding something?

And what is it that is causing job shops to increase their productivity to crazy high levels?

So many questions.

Failures to Communicate

I’ve been trying to get back into HBH Enterprise. Security around the job shop is tighter than ever. I’ve also been researching the connection between traditional g-code intensive CNC and productivity losses experienced by job shops. If shop owners only knew the truth about this, they would seriously question machine tool builders as to why they don’t offer more advanced CNC options. Somehow, the industry has lost track of the fact that machine performance and production capacity are directly related to control performance and capacity.

HBH Cracked the G-code

We need to break this story open. I came to this way of thinking when I read some of RELIC’s marketing faxes. They kept talking about g-code intensive CNC being a good thing. When I heard this, all at once I understood what Dark Cover meant about cracking the g-code. Job shops should be light years ahead of g-code intensive CNC by now. Somehow, HBH is a job shop that has cracked the g-code and RELIC will now do anything to stop the word from getting out.

Marketing Malarkey

Had thought we had our editor’s ok to investigate the HBH job shop. But after we told him our suspicions, he ordered us to hold off: for reasons of objective journalism, the CNC EyeTeam needed to give RELIC a chance to explain their g-code intensive CNC. Only now, after waiting weeks, it has become apparent that RELIC has no explanation. They just keep faxing marketing messages to us saying everything is just fine. "All is well." "Good enough is good enough." "The past is the future." Something's going on here and we need to find out what.

Bust-up in Brazil

We ran a story on an interesting event at the FEIMAFE 2009 show in Brazil. A new CNC control on display created quite a stir when an interested operator attempted to take a photo with his cell phone. A security guard intercepted the attempt and quickly ushered the man away. What were they trying to hide? Witnesses stated the control demonstration centered on increased productivity. Supposedly, they described it as “exponentially” better productivity. Is this somehow tied in to the shop in Asheville? We need to look further into this. Check out our story on www.cnceyeteam.com.

Job Shops Held Back by G-Code

Today at the CNC EyeTeam newsroom we updated our editor on the HBH job shop investigation. I told him the two guys chasing us outside of HBH had to be from RELIC. Their car had a bumper sticker that read “Who controls the past, controls the future.” Our editor had trouble believing RELIC was involved. He suggested they are an old reliable corporation that basically owns the job shop machine control industry, though not the most advanced CNC, but that’s ok because job shops have long accepted them. As our editor was saying this, my cameraman revealed that he had saved our recent investigative footage by downloading it to his cell phone. Upon seeing this footage, our editor seemed convinced there is a big story here. Hopefully we are now moving ahead with our investigation.

Closer to truth...and danger

Tonight, Joe and I finally snuck into HBH. I witnessed their unusual productivity inside the shop. Suddenly, we were accosted by a security guard who took us to a room and interrogated us about what we knew about HBH having “cracked the G-code.” Then an HBH boss demanded to know who tipped me off about their faster setups and easier CNC. Of course, I wouldn’t reveal my source. Before they threw us out, they unraveled all the tape in Joe’s camera and I was furious. Just then I got a call on my cell. I recognized the voice immediately as Dark Cover. He mentioned RELIC, the big CNC manufacturer, claiming “it’s a condition job shops have tolerated for too long”. Then he said we’d been “compromised.” Sure enough, we looked up and saw two guys videotaping us from a black car. They began to chase our van, about to catch us when a truck pulled out and blocked their way. On the truck were the words “Seeing is Believing”. I’m determined to find out what it means.

CNC Secret is Well-Protected

Tried to get into the HBH job shop tonight, but never expected the high fences and high security. Their night production was rolling, odd in this economy. Somehow, we need to get into the shop, get to the secret behind their unusual production. Will try again soon, but plan our approach more carefully.

Job Shops Need to Know

Joe (my camerman) and I are on a plane to Asheville. I keep going over that phone call from Dark Cover. If HBH is experiencing productivity that high, there have to be some amazing process improvements going on, both at the machine and shop-wide. And if they have access to CNC that advanced, all job shops have a right to know. These are hard times for most job shops and if they’re going to survive, they need to find ways to reduce costs and get more out of their machines. This is more than a news story. It’s about people keeping their jobs and job shops keeping their doors open.

The Road to the Truth

I don’t know what HBH is trying to hide but in a few days my cameraman and I are flying to Asheville, North Carolina to find out. We’re not leaving until we get to the truth. What is the secret behind their remarkable productivity?

Job Shop with a Secret

I’ve been calling HBH for two days trying to get a comment but all I’m getting is the runaround. Nobody there will talk to me. And my informant, Dark Cover, has been silent.

An Anonymous Tip

Yesterday, I received an anonymous tip about a job shop in Asheville, North Carolina. The caller said this job shop – called HBH Enterprise – is experiencing off-the-charts productivity. The informant said they’re using CNC programming that’s five times faster than conventional job shop CNC because they’ve “cracked the g-code”. Not sure what that means, but if true, it would be a productivity breakthrough. My informant wouldn’t give me his name, so I’m calling him Dark Cover.