Ligna 2013: Biesse Bets on bSolid for CNC Virtual Part Test Runs
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Biesse bSolid design software uses a CNC machine's software drivers and tolling information to create a virtual test run, for trouble shooting before wood hits the bed as a live project.
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Biesse Rover B G Edge series of edgebanding centers makes it possible to complete processing of a shaped and edgebanded panel with a single machine.
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Biesse Rover A 5 has interpolating 5 axes electrospindle and a drilling head with independent spindles. It can machine parts up to 9” thick.It accepts panels up to 79 inches at the widest, with a live work area of 65 inches.
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Biesse Rover A 5 has interpolating 5 axes electrospindle and a drilling head with independent spindles. It can machine parts up to 9” thick.It accepts panels up to 79 inches at the widest, with a live work area of 65 inches.
Click on the image to open
Biesse Rover A 5 has interpolating 5 axes electrospindle and a drilling head with independent spindles. It can machine parts up to 9” thick.It accepts panels up to 79 inches at the widest, with a live work area of 65 inches.
Click on the image to open
A demo of Biesse Rover B G Edge. The multitasking edgebander series had this trio talking intently, just 60 minutes before Ligna 2013 closed.

HANNOVER, GERMANY - Woodworking machinery maker Biesse repositioned itself this Ligna 2013 by the release of bSolid software.

Biesse is making a big bet on its new bSolid software, which does project part design plans, then draws on a shop's own machine driver software to do a virtual test run. The software reveals conflicts and clashes in production, such as a misplaced pod on a CNC that might obstruct the bulky back end of an aggregate cutting tool head.  

By avoiding errors through a virtual test run of a project, Biesse says the application makes practical  single-run custom items on CNC machinery, without the waste of time and materials in practice runs.

bSolid was developed by Biesse over several years, springing from a project done at the request of a customer, says Filippo Bostrenghi, a product and project manager for bSolid. "We realized that we  if we give customers access to the tool alignment software in the machine, bSolid would  be possible," he says. "Fifty tools are typically used by a customer."

A partner company in Germany worked with Biesse in code development, but "The software is solely and entirely developed by Biesse," Bostrenghi says. The application lives "in the CNC machine, or in your design office computers."

Project plans are done intuitively on bSolid, right on a laptop, and are more like a hand drawing. A countertop with a curve at one edge and a whole for plumbing plus other cut outs took a couple minutes to draw. It then appeared in seconds on a virutal Biesse Rover. The program cut out the panel in 1 minute 42 seconds on the Rover. The virtual cutting run can also be done at accelerated speed.

"A lot of the value in this is to give confidence to the customer," Bostrenghi says. "We can modify the tool set in use to make it really easy for the customer to run." The application is available in all the machining cneters Biesse offers for wood, as well as stone and glass. Its formal launch date is June 20.

Bostrenghi showed how a conflict is identified - he moved a pod into the path of a cutting head. When the virtual Rover bumped into it during the run, a warning of a conflict appeared on the screen.

This prerun can avoid such conflicts on tool paths, prevent trivial programming errors such as depth, lead-in or working sequence, and modify part and project designs for practical production considerations before executing it on the machine.

Biesse's Ligna 2013 booth had a really large central dust collection system, and a number of new machines, including:

• Rover A 5 axis with interpolating 5 axes electrospindle and a drilling head with independent spindles.   (9”) thick. Biesse's Rover A 5 has interpolating 5 axes electrospindle and a drilling head with independent spindles. It can machine parts up to 9” thick. It accepts panels up to 79 inches at the widest, with a live work area of 65 inches. 

• Biesse’s Rover B G Edge edgebanding centers complete processing of a shaped and edgebanded panel in single machine. Various model sizes are suited to smaller woodshops, artisans, mid-sized and large departments.

• Rover K G is a new entry level machine with a rigid gantry structure. Designed for panel processing, it fits mid-sized companies with special parts department.

Biesse's exhibit has the look of a factory, with a huge central dust collection system and a production center dedicated to sizing and nesting using a WNTR 650, Rover A G FT using automatic Winstore 3D K1 positioning on 3 axis.

Also on display is the Uniline CNC machining center with automatic loading and unloading. It can be integrated into modular multiple cell production for a form of batch processing. While a standard platform Uniline runs without operator intervention, it can be configured to run continuous cycles while only requiring 20% of the operator’s overall work time.

Biesse also debuted Stream MDS, an edgebanding system for batch 1 production; and Opera 7 high volume Viet wide belt sander for high production finishing lines (standard configuration includes, cross, roller, spinbrush, superfinishing and cross unit).

You can read even more about Biesse woodworking machinery and systems in its Ligna 2013 press release.

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