Premium AEROTEC selects SOUL OLPS as standard software for offline NC programming and simulation

Premium AEROTEC has chosen the SOUL OLPS solution from Broetje-Automation GmbH in Rastede as the standard software for the offline programming and simulation of its riveting systems. Germany's largest supplier of aerostructures has for some time been pushing ahead with the digitalisation of the entire production chain. The aim is to significantly improve the quality, effectiveness and productivity of production with the help of the latest technologies such as the "digital twin".

Using digitisation to improve quality and increase efficiency

"The introduction of the SOUL Suite is an important step towards the digitalisation of our production. The system is fully 3D-capable and supports our "first-time-right" claim. Thanks to the simulation using the Digital Twin, the entire process becomes completely transparent. Collisions between machine and component are eliminated, and rework during NC programming is a thing of the past," explains Umberto Girard, Head of Manufacturing Engineering & NC Programming at Premium AEROTEC in Augsburg. "By introducing the software, we were not only able to reduce the effort for NC programming, but also to minimise the error rate in production to such an extent that savings of several hundred thousand euros were achieved".

The software solution is now to be gradually implemented as the standard environment for all riveting systems at Premium AEROTEC. Broetje-Automation began developing the SOUL Suite for its own drilling and riveting systems more than ten years ago.

"I would like to thank the entire Premium AEROTEC team that has contributed to this project. The commitment invested by both partners is now paying off," says Dirk Eickhorst, Head of Technology at Broetje-Automation.

Standardised software also for existing equipment

The standardisation of the software enables Premium AEROTEC to exploit several synergy effects. Flexibility is significantly increased, and the necessary training for NC programmers applies across all plants. In the past, each plant manufacturer pursued its own programming systems. This is now being solved uniformly with SOUL OLPS.

Employees can now implement changes to existing NC programs for production much faster and thus make an important contribution to maintaining throughput times. In addition, the quality level of production has also been significantly improved. After the move, the new system already worked faultlessly in its first use, thus drastically reducing the non-quality costs.

"The project is an example of how digitisation supports people," emphasizes Umberto Girard. "The virtual world helps us to understand the real world better and to make it more transparent. It enables us to find solutions faster and thus improve our competitiveness in Germany as a business location".