The UNITED GRINDING Group leverages umati to seamlessly connect various machines, including older models, within their production environment. The group’s customer base is as varied as the industries they serve, ranging from small businesses to large corporations, and covering sectors such as automotive, aerospace, tool and die, and precision mechanics. In producing complex and intricate parts, the group uses not only its own grinding, eroding, and measuring machines, but also equipment from third-party manufacturers like milling machines and lathes.
Collecting data from this diverse array of machines to optimize production can be challenging, but umati (universal machine technology interface), the global standard for machine tool connectivity, simplifies this task.
This capability was demonstrated at STUDER, the group’s specialist in cylindrical grinding machines. Along with STUDER’s machines, tools from DMG Mori and WALDRICH COBURG were connected via umati, and the data was integrated into UNITED GRINDING Digital Solutions™’ Production Monitor. This showed that umati effectively supports networking both new and older machines without any issues.
Christian Josi, Head of Digital Engineering at UNITED GRINDING Group, highlighted how umati made it easy to connect older machines. “While it’s well established that new machines can seamlessly exchange data and send it to our Production Monitor with umati, integrating machines over 15 years old was a first for us,” Josi said. The WALDRICH COBURG machine, which has been in use at STUDER for over a decade, was chosen for the project. Josi saw it as a perfect learning opportunity for apprentices, and Marc Baumgartner, who oversees automation technician trainees at STUDER, quickly supported the idea. Fourth-year apprentice Christian Breitenbaumer took on the challenge, analyzing the machine’s structure and wiring, and identifying a suitable, cost-effective IoT device for umati-compatible communication. Once the device was connected and configured, integrating it into the Production Monitor was straightforward. Now, key performance data from the WALDRICH COBURG, along with other machines at STUDER, is available in real time on dashboards, PCs, and even smartphones via the Digital Solutions mobile app.
The UNITED GRINDING Group plays an active role as a member of the umati core group, contributing to the development of a global communication standard for machine tools. As one of the world’s top manufacturers, UNITED GRINDING produces a range of equipment including grinding, eroding, laser, and measuring machines, along with tools for additive manufacturing.
With around 2,300 employees across more than 20 manufacturing, service, and sales locations, the group is structured to deliver customer-focused and efficient solutions. Its well-known brands—MÄGERLE, BLOHM, JUNG, STUDER, SCHAUDT, MIKROSA, WALTER, EWAG, and IRPD—combined with competence centers in America and Asia, provide extensive expertise, a wide product range, and comprehensive services for producing high-precision components.
