Technology
On this page we will briefly introduce a number of technologies that we developed while tuning our workflow on our own machines. Note that there not any differentiation made between standard features, optional features and upcoming features. For further information please contact our customer support.
Semiconductor Intellectual Property
Apart from the custom chip that runs the housekeeping in our machine controllers, Independend has developed a number of IP blocks during development of our RISC-V SoC architecture: This includes USB Host Controllers, SDRAM and DDR3 memory controllers, Static RAM, Ethernet MAC and PHY, SDIO, SPI, HDMI Transciever, custom embedded GPU and others. Most of our efforts is focussed on the sustainable securing of our supply chain in lieu of recent events. Applicable process nodes include Skywater Technologies, TSMC and STM.
Oven control
Oven controller with dual zone temperature control and active cooling option that can be adapted to almost any commercial and custom lab or batch oven with dual zone heating for a wide range of applications such as heat treating, reflow soldering et cetera. With flexible connectivity via ethernet and SD cards data entry and automation is easier than ever.
Rapid turnaround
From a solid model to a part within the hour – without even leaving the machine controller.
Poke probe
When touch probing is not available, poke probe allows the tool or a metal rod in the tool holder to be used for touchoff in all three axis by slowly approaching the workpiece and fitting the non-linearity of the motor current. This allows for very precise measurements with a variance of <1µ and eliminates time-consuming repitition of Z-touchoff when manually changing tools. This is primarily used on our smallest machines.
Tool sync
Did you ever ask yourself why it is necessary that you keep track of your tool library in your CAM-Software, in your machine controller and in Excel seperately? Well, it isn’t. With tool sync, you just have one library to manage, because our CAM-Software syncs with the machine and vice-versa. You can even access your tool library via any webbrowser inside your intranet over the network. You can edit, modify, import / export as CSV and much more from any desk. But it does not stop there:
Tool manager
Because of the specialized software stack, it is possible to order new tooling on the machine itself, if your tool supplier exposes an appropriate API, the machine can even be configured to automatically order new tools when stockpile runs low. When there is an exposed API, it can also integrate with your ERP software and let it do the heavy lifting.
A work controller - not just a machine controller
Our custom machine controllers are purposely constructed for their task but are still fully fledged computers. This means that while your machine is running, you can run CAD or CAM on it, review your technical drawings in a PDF viewer, browse the web, recieve important messages from your collegues et cetera – our specialized hard real-time operating system and custom controller chip makes anything possible. Except missing a beat.