BMO INFINITY Platform wins Technishow Innovation Award
The BMO INFINITY Platform has won the prestigious Technishow Innovation Award, in recognition of its pioneering contribution to the industry. Out of 16 participants, the INFINITY Platform was chosen by the jury as the most promising innovation. The jury was particularly impressed by INFINITY’s ability to automate the entire factory, while its modularity increases accessibility and makes it directly applicable to a wide audience. According to the jury, BMO understands the needs of the machining market like no other.
“The BMO INFINITY Platform is an innovation that allows the CNC operator to be a CNC operator again,” said Eveliene Langedijk, president of the jury of the Technishow Innovation Award.
“We are enormously grateful for this honorable mention” as stated Frank Biemans, Founder and CEO of BMO. “This is a reward for the hard work and dedication of the entire BMO team. It encourages us to continue to innovate and lead in the development of the ultimate autonomous machining factory.”
Frank Biemans about the INFINITY Platform
With the INFINITY Platform, BMO provides the modular building blocks with which machinists of today can build towards the autonomous factory of tomorrow. There are as yet no autonomous factories when it comes to machining. And not many companies will ever take this step in one go. The autonomous factory is therefore not a project but a continuous process which you work towards step by step. This makes it even more important that the investments a company makes in automation today can in the future still be deployed as modules in the autonomous factory. This is precisely the essence of the INFINITY Platform.
With INFINITY, BMO is also taking the first step towards function differentiation in machining. By making a distinction between logistical tasks and work for which you truly require machining knowledge, the scarce CNC operators can concentrate on the work that matters most. That is why INFINITY works with carriers (for example trays and crates) that are filled in-house in the sawing department or at the material supplier’s site, and are then loaded in the robot cell in their entirety. This provides the CNC operator with extra space in both his day and his head.
The difference between the current generation of CNC automation and INFINITY is that we no longer have an island approach to automation. In the future, we will automate the entire factory as an integral whole, and tooling, materials and workpieces will be stored much more centrally so that they are able to go to the CNC machines on demand and autonomously. When companies are ready for this, the INFINITY Modules are transported to a central place in the company.
“With the INFINITY Platform, BMO takes the lead in the next generation of CNC Automation. Let’s change the game of machining.”
Frank Biemans, Founder of BMO
BMO Carrier Family
Let’s change the game of Storage
The BMO Carrier Family arose from the need to reduce manual work for the CNC operators. On top of this, it ensures for a seamless integration with your internal logistics or even the entire supply chain. Carriers can also be stored centrally in an INFINITY robot cell in your warehouse. From here carriers are issued to the various robot cells connected to your CNC machines.
Trays
The most important carriers for fully integrating your internal logistics. Your logistics worker fills the trays on demand and then fills the trays in the machining system. Your CNC operator no longer has to fill and empty the robot cell. This provides him with extra space in both his day and his head.
Supply Chain Crates
Integrate only your internal logistics or even your entire supply chain. Your logistics worker fills the crates on demand. Your CNC operator no longer has to fill and empty the robot cell. INFINITY supports crates in accordance with the VDA 3530 standard: e.g. C-KTL to VDA 4500.
Pallets
Essential carriers for clamping tools and workpieces.
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Europallets
Standardised Europallets can carry several supply chain crates or can be loaded directly in the INFINITY Platform with finished product.
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Tetris
Have the BMO software play Tetris with all carriers
In effect a CNC operator plays Tetris the whole day. How high is this workpiece? Where does that fit without losing too much storage space? How many of these carriers fit one on top of the other? Is there then still enough room for the next series? What about if I move this series from here to there?
The disadvantage of Tetris is that it costs people a lot of time and a mistake is easily made. If a CNC operator were to play Tetris against AI software, the operator would lose by a long way. AI software is simply much better at this task. That’s why you should leave the BMO software to play Tetris the whole day with all your carriers. In doing so, the INFINITY Platform takes over an important thinking task of the CNC operator. This provides the operator with extra space in both his day and his head. Your operator can then fully concentrate on what matters most. And there is an additional advantage: The software does not make any stacking errors, so there are no collisions between carriers.
Dynamic Storage
Up to 200% more storage space in the same vertical meter
Every product series and every machine clamp or tool has a different height. And this often leads to a lot of air in particular being stored. All vertical metres that are being inefficiently used. Why should you accept wasted storage space?
Dynamic Storage is as standard integrated in the INFINITY Platform: The height of each carrier is automatically measured during the input. The robot then stacks the carriers tightly on top of one another, with only a few millimetres in between. This means that all your storage height is optimally used.
A second advantage of Dynamic Storage is that the storage areas are not reserved in advance for one type of carrier. Today there is a pallet with vice in the place where tomorrow products will be on a tray. And the day after tomorrow there will be bars in a supply chain crate here. The entire BMO Carrier Family can be used dynamically and interchangeably.
This allows Dynamic Storage to realise 200% more storage space per vertical meter. Thanks to Dynamic Storage, the INFINITY Platform takes up the smallest surface area of your production floor.
Start small today
Keep it simple and have your employees first get used to CNC automation in a relaxed manner. Keep it compact and first gain valuable experience before you completely overhaul your production layout. Keep it small and wait to see if there is still sufficient market demand in the long-term for your spindle hours. Keep the investment low and first earn this back in full.
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Infinite capacity tomorrow
Thanks to the modular structure of the platform, INFINITY grows along with your company. Prepare yourself for a future full of possibilities. Do you want more storage capacity for your machine(s)? This is possible with extra storage modules. Do you want less storage capacity for your machines and more storage capacity in a central warehouse? This is possible with new modules or with a relocation of existing modules. Do you want your INFINITYs for your CNC machines to be automatically stocked on demand from your central warehouse? This is possible with an AMR Docking Module. BMO is constantly developing new modules that are compatible with all previous modules. The INFINITY Platform meets your needs precisely.
Robot module
The core of the INFINITY Platform is the Robot module with modular robot capacities from 50 Kg up to 225 Kg. To the left, right or across from this robot module the INFINITY Platform is expanded with other smart modules depending on your needs now and in the future. The base of the robot module is smartly designed to provide an operation place for trays. The robot places the tray here and then sorts out the products of the relevant tray using a product gripper. The vertical part of the robot module provides on the one hand space for the dynamic storage of up to 40 trays and on the other a perfectly accessible and well-organised switch box with all the important controls and other functionalities.
Keep investments low for today
Invest smartly. With the INFINITY Platform you keep investments in CNC automation low and the risks small. A small initial investment is after all earned back in full much more quickly. The disadvantage of traditional automation systems is that you need to know already now what your company needs in the long-term, and you would also have to buy this as well. And when it comes to flawed investments you will not be the first and certainly not the last company to do so. Why start big when you can also start small? You can expand your INFINITY Platform at any time.
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Keep infinite flexibility for tomorrow
Thanks to the modular structure of the platform, INFINITY grows along with your company. Prepare yourself for a future full of possibilities. Do you want more storage capacity for your machine(s)? This is possible with extra storage modules. Do you want less storage capacity for your machines and more storage capacity in a central warehouse? This is possible with new modules or with a relocation of existing modules. Do you want your INFINITYs for your CNC machines to be automatically stocked on demand from your central warehouse? This is possible with an AMR Docking Module. BMO is constantly developing new modules that are compatible with all previous modules. The INFINITY Platform meets your needs precisely.
INFINITY (turning/multitasking)
This configuration proves that an INFINITY with only two modules can already offer an impressive capacity. A highly efficient use of vertical metres thanks to Dynamic Storage provides storage for 822 products of 16 different small series (high-mix). What’s more, this INFINITY is as standard ready for the supply and discharge of trays via an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot).
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INFINITY (milling)
This combination with Dynamic Storage gets a maximum capacity from an impressive storage height of 5.8 metres. A striking feature is the autonomy of more than 200 hours. The AMR docking is already integrated in the set-up module. Thanks to the on-demand supply and discharge of trays with an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) the autonomy can be increased even further. This configuration provides not only the largest effective storage space, but at the same time also the smallest floor surface area.
