FATEK Automation Corporation

Angle steel, as a fundamental profile used in fields such as construction, machinery, power transmission towers, and storage shelving, universally requires several key processing steps—cutting, drilling, and chamfering—before its application. Currently, a significant portion of angle steel processing still relies on a traditional, fragmented mode of operation. This involves using separate machines for cutting (like cut-off saws), drilling (bench drills), and manual tools, with workers handling each process step and every workpiece clamping and positioning.
This traditional model faces severe challenges. Its production efficiency is extremely low. The transfer of workpieces between multiple machines and the repeated clamping and positioning consume substantial time, creating a bottleneck in the production flow. Simultaneously, product quality heavily depends on the operator's skill and diligence, leading to frequent issues like poor drilling position accuracy, subpar cut surface perpendicularity, and inconsistent chamfering. These problems directly compromise the structural strength and quality of subsequent welding or bolted connections. Furthermore, this labor-intensive operation requires a large number of skilled workers, not only facing difficulties in recruitment but also seeing its high labor costs continuously erode profit margins.
More critically, the traditional model struggles to adapt to the modern manufacturing industry's urgent demand for flexible production. When faced with small-batch, multi-specification angle steel processing tasks, the cumbersome adjustments and lengthy setup times of traditional equipment severely constrain an enterprise's ability to respond quickly.
Against this backdrop, the market strongly calls for an automated, integrated multi-function solution. The Angle Steel Drilling, Chamfering, and Cutting Machine project is born precisely to meet this demand. Its core objective is to develop a specialized machine capable of integrating automatic feeding, precise length cutting, high-precision multi-hole drilling, and automatic chamfering into a single unit. By consolidating multiple processes to be completed at one workstation in a single setup and employing a CNC system for precise control, it aims to fundamentally resolve the issues of efficiency, quality, and labor dependency inherent in the traditional model, thereby driving the transformation and upgrade of the angle steel processing industry towards automation, intelligence, and flexibility.

This solution constructs a highly integrated and intelligent motion control platform, with its core being a dual-FATEK PLC coordinated control architecture. The system employs one SC3 as the master station, which precisely synchronizes and drives 16 SC3 series bus servos via a high-speed Ethernet bus to complete core processes such as the automatic feeding, precise positioning, and high-speed cutting of the angle steel. Simultaneously, another SC3 acts as the slave station, also communicating via Ethernet, dedicated to controlling an additional 4 SC3 bus servos for executing precision machining tasks such as the accurate positioning and feeding of the drilling unit, as well as chamfering. The two PLCs exchange real-time data through an efficient Ethernet protocol, ensuring perfect synchronization and coordination of the entire system's 20 servo axes.
To achieve convenient human-machine interaction and refined production management, the system adopts a P5B series touch screen as the upper computer. This touch screen serves as a centralized control terminal, providing operators with a comprehensive interface for equipment monitoring and parameter setting. All key process parameters, such as feeding length, drilling position, cutting speed, and drilling depth, can be intuitively set, modified, and stored digitally through this touch screen. Operators can quickly call up or create machining programs based on the processing requirements of different specifications of angle steel, significantly enhancing the equipment's flexibility and response speed in handling multi-variety, small-batch production tasks. This design ensures the stable and efficient operation of the complete angle steel drilling, chamfering, and cutting system, achieving fully automated, assembly-line operations from feeding, positioning, cutting, drilling to chamfering.

► Outstanding System Integration and Maintainability
Utilizing high-performance EtherCAT bus technology, it achieves synchronous control of 20-axis servo drives. The system wiring is streamlined, significantly reducing cabling complexity and potential failure points.
Equipped with real-time status monitoring and diagnostic functions, it can immediately display servo alarms and various operational anomalies, markedly enhancing system maintainability and ensuring production continuity.

► Efficient Data Management and Production Flexibility
Through the USB interface of the HMI, it supports the batch import and export of CSV format machining programs, enabling rapid deployment and switching of programs for processing angle steel of various specifications. This greatly improves the efficiency of production preparation.

► Intelligent Programming and Operational Convenience
The system incorporates intelligent algorithms. Operators only need to input base hole position parameters, and the system can automatically calculate and batch-generate complex coordinate data. This significantly lowers the programming threshold and reduces debugging time.

► Comprehensive System Safety and Reliability
The system features a complete set of anomaly monitoring and alarm prompt functions, providing clear alarm information and handling guidance for various faults. This effectively prevents equipment damage and ensures operational safety and stable system operation.