Digital transformation is a journey. Come aboard. It may be the luck of the Irish that Brian McMinn joined Siemens on St. Patrick’s Day 10 years ago, but his love for motion control is what started his journey in the manufacturing industry 28 years ago.“I got into manufacturing really as a co-op, going to technical school while also going to work for a distributor and learning about what motion control systems are,” says McMinn, machine tool business segment manager at Siemens. “I became an application engineer going out into the field and starting up motion systems, drives, motors, and tuning. I really had a love for the motion control aspect and seeing things move and seeing a product of your work.”The opportunity to work for a large company became a reality on his first day when the company held a large manufacturing event at Ford Field in Detroit. The experience sparked his passion for sharing technology and the solutions it brings in the form of CNC controls, motors, and drives at Siemens. In McMinn’s view, factory and job shops have a digital mission to fulfill.“Digitalization for the job shop means collecting data from machines and understanding what to do with that data to have an accurate machine with higher productivity and reduced cycle times out of the machine,” he says.Especially for the younger generation, McMinn wants to convey that manufacturing is cleaner and smarter because of digitalization.“We're connecting edge devices to machines and collecting data while using machine learning and artificial intelligence to make machines smarter,” says McMinn. “We'll have automation systems with robots that are loading and unloading machines. We'll have mixed technology with additive and subtractive machines all in one, a hybrid machine.”“Cleaner and smarter” practically defines digital twin technology, as it will allow shops to run virtual representations of machines on the shopfloor that elevate virtually everything. Digitalization and digital twins have helped Siemens help companies rapidly reduce the time it takes to go to market with a new product. By designing a machine in a 3D world with a digital twin of the CNC control, they can simulate all the kinematics, and test for collisions of the machine.“We can dry run in a virtual world before they even start building the machine,” says McMinn. “The Digital Twin capabilities of Siemens SINUMERIK controller isn't specifically designed just for traditional milling, turning, and grinding. It can also control additive, robotics, clay-modeling machines and more. It's a very open CNC control for a wide range of different industries and markets.” Siemens developed the SINUMERIK control platform for the future and is now developing controls for the future’s future, such as using edge computing, gathering data with artificial intelligence, and training AI to do more. With all of this data, looking at mixed technologies between turning and milling and additive, subtractive, and hybrid machines, McMinn believes the power of the CNC in 10 years is going to be tenfold of what it is today. “The world according to Brian McMinn is all about digital transformation,” he says. “The journey is different for everyone, but it's an important journey to get on. I challenge everyone to get started.”Visit the world of digital transformation by connecting with Siemens in booth #133249 at IMTS 2024.
What is the world according to Brian McMinn? “Digital transformation” is the future. Brian envisions digital transformation as a journey, and he urges everyone to dive into the digital realm. He emphasizes the importance of engaging the younger generation and fostering an understanding that manufacturing is digitally oriented.