Esprit 2010 at EuroMold 2009

The latest version of computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) software created by CAM industry leader DP Technology will be on display Dec. 2-5 in Frankfurt, Germany, where Esprit® will be featured at EuroMold 2009.

One more opportunity to discover a powerful tool
This 16th edition of EuroMold, slated to take place at the Frankfurt Exhibition Center, is a world fair for moldmaking and tooling, as well as design and application development. Knowledgeable and approachable representatives exhibiting Esprit at the show will be happy to help with any questions, and to discuss the new features in the software. Designed with ease of use in mind, Esprit emphasizes the use of milling and, or, turning in any combination and on any type of machine tool, which means that most improvements to the software are to the benefit of all programmers.

Designed with ease of use in mind, Esprit emphasizes the use of milling or turning in any combination and on any type of machine tool.

New version
This year, Esprit 2010 has added many enhancements to improve the user experience for all milling, turning and wire EDM cycles. New SolidMill and SolidWire cycles have been added and all machining cycles in Esprit have been upgraded to a new interface.

Esprit enhancements
The look of Esprit 2010 has changed dramatically with a new interface for all machining technology. Plus, simulation is more efficient with a new stock automation engine that calculates the stock model in the background, allowing the user to start a realistic simulation at any point in the process.

SolidMill Enhancements
Major changes have been made to milling with the integration of Esprit Mold 3-axis milling cycles, new and improved Mold 5-Axis cycles, feature-based machining for all FreeForm cycles, the ability to define a third rotary axis for milling machines, new knitted surfaces for parametric machining, and advanced pocket feature recognition. Associativity with CAD models has also been extended to include the new pocket features in addition to FreeForm and EDM features.

SolidWire Enhancements
Technology advances have been made to wire EDM with a new cycle for 4-Axis pocketing and new technology for EDMs equipped with a rotary axis.

World wide group
DP Technology maintains its worldwide headquarters in Camarillo, California, and product development teams in the USA, Berlin, Germany, and Florence, Italy. Sales and support operations are located in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. For additional information about DP Technology and Esprit, call +33 (0)4 67 64 99 40, send an e-mail to esprit.europe@dptechnology.com, or visit the company Web site at www.dptechnology.com.



The answer is… everything is possible!

At the EMO show in Milano, I’ve met the owners of Vertx, a next to Stockholm (Sweden) based company, as well as Ehn&Land and Tornos representatives. The company signed at the show for a new DECO 7a machine to face its increasing demands in high precision small parts and parts specialized for fiber optics.

Young and dynamic
In 1997, MM Akerman and Eriksson decided to create their own company and performed a spin off from a business already active in the same field. That was clear at the start that the mission of the new company would be to help their customers design and then produce their connectors and other high precision small parts. « The idea was to offer them our capacities in engineering before producing the parts. Therefore we needed efficient production means » says M. Akerman. In a little bit more than 10 years, Vertx has become a well known producer of these type of products.

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Market evolution
The company designs unique parts for its customers and this is the key, Mr Eriksson says : « When a customer comes with any idea, our first answer is “no problem” and then we look for solutions that fit their needs. Obviously the parts have to be in the range of diameters we can machine, apart that, everything is possible and so far we’ve always been able to meet our customers’ requirements ». This way to see business position Vertx in the high-end solutions. Mr Akerman precise : « We are not active in the mass production of standard fiber optics connectors, we only produce custom designed ».

[…]

Switzerland or Sweden?
If some people from abroad are already mixing Sweden and Switzerland, Vertx won’t help them to clarify. This company works mainly with Swiss providers. Mr Akerman says : « our machines are from Tornos, Schaublin and Amsonic and the bar loaders from LNS or Tornos. Most of the tools are also bought in Switzerland and the material to be machined comes from L Klein (Bienne, Switzerland). It ensures that we have the level of quality we rely on ». This is part of the basis of the good reputations of Vertx, but the know-how of the company is the main reason why customers are coming and returning. M. Eriksson says: « we handle the whole process, we discuss with our customers, do the drawings, the programming and the machining. We do large series, but also some prototypes. The fact that it’s often sister parts allows us to be very reactive ».

Why working with Vertx
We had a great time doing the interview, then I can say that one of the reason is the owners are very open and sympathetic, but there is more (obviously). What their customers say is that Vertx has:

• superior know how in developing and machining in high quality
• wide knowledge in fiber optics and high precision small parts
• offers a complete solution from advice/drawing to cleaning
• with a flat organization meaning
• short response time both in term of study and production

[...]

To be continued… You will be able to discover the complete story in a further issue. Meanwhile, you can contact Vertx here:

Vertx Finmekanik AB
Seminariegatan 30 D
SE-752 28 Uppsala
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)18-51 52 40
Fax: +46 (0)18-51 52 50
info@vertx.se

Proportional Screw-in Cartridges with Slip-on Coil

The Swiss manufacturer Wandfluh AG develops and produces high-grade oil hydraulic control and closed-circuit control devices as well as digital amplifier – and control electronic circuits for world-wide utilisation. Wandfluh presents its new  proportional screw-in valves with slip-on coil.

The exchangeable coil significantly simplifies the logistics, because the solenoid coil can also be retrofitted. The various alternatives make the proportional screw-in cartridges a very flexible system. Different plug – voltage alternatives are available ex stock and are complemented with respect to individual adaptations – with the customary Wandfluh flexibility. In addition, the performance of the valves has been increased by the improved solenoid coil. Therefore also ambient temperatures of up to 70°C can be accepted without any performance loss. With the improvement of the corrosion protection of the solenoid coil, depending on the version, the valves achieve a salt-spray resistance of over 500h.

Available are valves with the standard cavities M22 and M33 in accordance with ISO 7789. Pressure relief valves are available as direct operated and pilot-operated versions up to volume flows of over 230 l/min and pressures of up to 350 bar. Apart from the optimised proportional throttle for volume flows of up to 63 l/min, the All-In-One valve QSPPM33 (tight seating volume flow controller) with mechanically preset Imin is in the Wandfluh product range. By the preset Imin the series spread of the valves is reduced to a minimum, in order to guarantee a simplification of the valve commissioning.
Typical applications for the qualitatively high-grade proportional screw-in cartridges are:

• Sensitive adjustment of pressure, resp., volume flow
• Speed control of hydro-motors
• Cylinder control – and positioning
• Individual adjustment of clamping – and tensioning force

Further information about the new compact proportional screw-in cartridges can be found under www.wandfluh.com.

Wandfluh AG
Helkenstrasse 13
Postfach
CH-3714 Frutigen
Switzerland
Phone +41 33 672 72 72
Fax +41 33 672 72 12
sales@wandfluh.com

Issue 367 in printing

Next issue of Eurotec is about to be sent (and all the articles will be available for download vers soon). As usual we’ve tried to provide useful information to help our readers know how they can win.

As you will see in the editorial, I ask some questions about EMO and exhibitions… what is certain is that the exhibition ground of Fieramilano is perfect to house such an event.

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The content is as follow:

• Editorial: As usual I ask some questions and try to put the light on some hot topics…  this time the usefulness of EMO…
• Point of view: I’ve had a very good meeting with Ms and Mr Schall regarding exhibitions… the answers are somewhere already addressing the questions of the editorial.
• Machining: Much more than a machining centre by Emissa and a new product line from Sarix..
• Peripherals: A lot of novelties in this issue, LNS to boost production, the new Pneumadraulic® clamping, mini video, hydraulic accumulators and filters.
• Tooling: Regarding that aspect, we are happy to show the new Zeta collet clamping system!
• Cleaning: Replacement of dangerous products
• Lubrication in medical field, first hand know-how needed
• Solutions: Pure value added through logistics… there are a lot to win on that aspect.
• Companies: The micro and nano region has a powerful tool to be promoted.. as well as every company from the area located between the Alps and the Jura mountains…
• Exhibition: Midest, Paris, Control 2010, Optatec 2010, Grindtech 2010, GO, Basel

You will see that despite the crisis and the bad news we can hear everywhere, the machine-tool world (and its peripherals and complementary products) is full of innovation and willingness to win.

You probably also saw that on the blog, there are news nearly every day!

See you soon in Eurotec
Cheers
Pierre-Yves

New Twin-Turret TTC-Series from Spinner

During EMO 2009 in Milan Spinner presented its newly developed TTC-Series, a twin-turret CNC-turning-center in a modular design, which can be equipped up to two spindles as main and sub-spindle, live tools and Y-axis in upper turret. With a bar capacity of 42 or 52mm and a max chuck size of 200mm it can be used for bar machining as well as chucker. Two SPINNER-designed speedy turrets with 2×12 tools can work simultaneously on main- and sub-spindle without interference.

As usual for Spinner-lathes this new model is also built as monobloc casting body with hardened and ground guide-ways and built-in water-cooled spindles.

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Advantages

• Monobloc rigid casting design of machine body
• Hardened and ground guide ways for better vibration absorption
• Therefore superior cutting performance
• Longer live-time of cutting tools
• Better surface quality
• High speed servo turrets with 12 stations (indexing time 0,15 s)
• Built-in spindles
• Rotating tools on all stations (option)
• Highly productive chucking and bar machining
• Parallel turning by two independent turrets
• Latest CNC control units and drives
• Real Y axis
• Compact design, reduced floor space requirement
• Very good price/performance ratio

Spinner
Machine Tool Factory GmbH
Rudolf-Diesel-Ring 24
D-82054 Sauerlach
Tel: 08104/803-60
Fax: 08104/803-19
www.spinner.eu.com
sales@spinner.eu.com 

11th European strategic report on orthopaedic market

Avicenne is a unique orthopaedic market research company, providing for over 15 years unrivalled advantages to its clients in the orthopedic industry. Being well placed in every level of the industry (OEM, Clinics and hospitals, Contract manufacturers and outsourcing, Raw material supplies as well as Authorities and Regulators), the company is able to identify early trends and new technologies affecting the orthopaedic market.

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Report just released
The newly printed report can be available on PDF, CD-Rom or hard copy and can be ordered on several levels. The main report includes every field of activity (Hip, Knee and Shoulder) and European countries. You can also chose 1 product (Hip for instance) on whole Europe or on the contrary one single country (France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain or Rest of Europe) for every products.

Content:

• Hip, Knee and Shoulder detailed segmentations:
• Type: total, partial, revision, modular/monobloc
• Fixation: Cemented, cementkless, Hybrid
• Bearing: Metal/polyethylene (PE), ceramic/PE, ceramic/ceramic or metal/metal

• Volume, value and average prices by products, by country and competitors
• 5 years forecasts
• Competitor’s market shares
• New developments

You can download more information as well as the order form here.

Other reports are available, do not hesitate to contact Avicenne to know more.
AVICENNE Développement
Tour LITWIN
10, rue Jean-Jaurès
La Défense 11
92807 Puteaux Cedex
France
Phone + 33 1 47 78 46 00
Fax + 33 1 47 78 46 01
www.avicenne.com

By the way, Avicenne is organising the famous Implants event in Lyon on May 27 and 28, 2010. You can find more information here.

Innovation: the Zeta collet clamping system!

The New Zeta collet clamping system offers the market a much better advantage to solve most collet clamping problems. Collets are used in a lot of different variations such as; static and rotating tools, multi-spindle heads, Swiss-turn lathes, angle-heads in different sectors like automotive ,aircraft, various metal, medical, wood and plastic manufacturers.

In each of these fields no one offers, until today, an absolutely safe collet clamping system with the addition of the possibility to lock the collets with extremely high torque moments, also in very complicated applications with limited space around and between the spindles in multi-spindle machines. The New Zeta Collet Clamping Systems offers a lot of advantages. Everyone in the machine industry is aware of different collet systems like ER – DIN6499, OZ – DIN6388,and various others.

All these systems have problems with the proper application of torque by using spanner wrenches in most cases. Exactly for this purpose Zollmann GmbH developed a solution with the New Zeta collet nut system. The New Zeta system provides a lot of unique and unexpected possibilities that never have been offered before by other popular collet clamping systems. The New Zeta system is completely exchangeable with all spindles in single situations, aggregates, multi-spindle heads, and Swiss turn lathes which use ER-DIN6499 or OZ-DIN6388 collet systems.

Slipping out is no longer possible
The unique operating tools that this new system offers, gives the machinist a choice of what tools best suits their preference. Zollmann offers standardized tool connectors in 1/2, 3/8, and 1/4 inch sizes and various hexagons. The enormous torque power of this system has been optimized by a new unique security profile that eliminates slipping out while clamping the tools. Zollmann suggests to its customers to improve working quality and ease of operation by upgrading and updating their old worn collet nuts. The proper use of torque wrenches together with the correct specified torque moments is a must in the future and should be applied to all successful working machinery facilities in the world. The multiple possibilities of the new clamping system, gives the customer a lot of variations for all kinds of spindle situations. Additionally the Zeta system can also be used with popular sealing disc systems currently used for internally cooled cutting tools. The Zeta system is patent pending.

Zollmann GmbH
Uhlandstraße 3
D-72820 Sonnenbühl – Undingen
Postfach (P.O.Box) 1313
Tél. +49 (0)7126-9292-0
Fax +49 (0)7126-1220
ISDN-Fax +49 (0)7126-9292-22
info@zollmanngmbh.de

Mazak Europe’s new Group Managing Director

Mr Marcus Burton, currently Managing Director of Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd, will be the new Group Managing Director Europe from 1st January 2010. He succeeds Dr David Jack who has been responsible for Mazak’s European business since 2004 and who has reached retirement age.

Mr Tomohisa Yamazaki, President of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation, comments that continuity has a high priority within Mazak. “Mr Burton has sound knowledge and understanding of the machine tool business and the Mazak organisation and he will build on the firm foundations of our European operations.”

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Mr Burton joined Yamazaki Mazak in 2005, as Business Development Director for Europe, having previously held various senior positions with Brown and Sharpe, the US owned metrology company. He has a master’s degree in machine tool technology and an MBA from the University of Birmingham, England.

www.mazak.eu

Pure value added…

In our modern world where we take it so much for granted that we can be in Switzerland eating a kiwi grown in New Zealand, taking photographs using a camera made in Japan or enjoying a red wine produced in South Africa, it is easy to forget that these seemingly everyday actions are rendered possible by a seamless system of logistics which is anything but banal. People speak of production units on extended manufacturing runs in Germany being prevented from working because a sub-contractor in France has encountered a technical problem … but nevertheless, very little consideration is usually given to transport, whether it be of a machine or of manufactured components or of consumer products … even though this is a source of added value.

Interview with a specialist
To try to clarify this important stage through which a product needs to pass between its manufacturing process and the point where it is used or consumed, Eurotec met up with Mr. Rémy Saner, CEO of Bluesped Logistics Sàrl in Boncourt.

Eurotec: You say that, at the end of the day, your company can deliver more to its customers with intelligent transport solutions … but are you not perhaps wishing to deliver a notion of service which your are not necessarily being asked for?

Rémy Saner: I believe that it is illusory to wish to talk about a product without the value-added component of service. The fact of delivering that produce just in time is in itself a service which is greatly appreciated. It is evident that, as it evolves, this service component must become as broad in scope as possible until its status is confirmed as a sales argument in its own right.

Eurotec: Could you give us an example of this creativity in action?

Rémy Saner: On behalf of a major regional manufacturer (Switzerland), we often have to ship goods to Australia. Due to the considerable length of time these goods are in transit, the customer in Australia was complaining about missing out on market share. It was therefore imperative for our customer that we somehow make up time on the ship transit time … without having to pay the very substantial surcharge of air freight…

Eurotec : That surely must have been an insoluble demand…

Rémy Saner: Absolutely not! At that time, air freight charges to Asia were very reasonable indeed … We therefore organized air freight as far as the hub in Singapore and, from there, the rest of the journey was made by ship in just two weeks … in that way, we made up time, saved money and rescued the additional market share which the end customer was so concerned about losing…

This is an extract of the full story to be discovered in next issue of Eurotec.

For more information
Bluesped
Rémy Saner
Chemin des Pommerats 5
CH-2926 Boncourt
contact@bluesped.ch

Pneumadraulic® clamping: a revolution!

Encountered at EMO, Daniel Dünner, Director of Walter Dünner SA Moutier (Switzerland) showed us a new system designed to replace a complete hydraulic group. This innovation is launched jointly with a new hydraulic actuating cylinder and an automatic clamping system for jaws. These novelties present true benefits both in terms of precision and of environmental respect.

How does it work?
The pressure multiplier is a simple device that uses pneumatic to generate hydraulic power. This small device replaces a “large” hydraulic group and compared to this last, request a very reduced floor space. Air pressure is applied on a closed circuit of oil and once the level of pressure needed is reached, the valve is closed and oil remains under pressure. This avoids having a large amount of oil still maintained under pressure and drastically reduces the risk of heating.

The multiplier benefits
Not having to feed a circuit of oil “permanently running”, the quantity of oil is very small as well as energy consumption. These benefits are added to an investment very different than the price of a complete hydraulic group. In the case of the mere replacing of a pump on a standard hydraulic group (for example), to consider a multiplier is already relevant. For a price slightly higher than a pump we can use a system with significant benefits.
Even if it is not common, in the case of an accident, the quantity of oil that can spread is very limited (a few liters) compared to the case of the same even occurring to a group who can reach 20 or more liters.

And what is the actuating cylinder
The actuating cylinder is complementary to the multiplier. Working in closed circuit, there is no loss of oil. In the case of sensitive production like in the medical field, this is a great advantage. The heat produced by a classical solution induces consequences on accuracy of the means of production. This problem simply doesn’t exist with the “multiplier-actuating cylinder” combination.

Clamping automation
Many machines have a clamping that uses jaws, the presented solution is likely to automate and ensure the strength of the clamping. Contrarily to pneumatic clamping systems always facing  clamping loss due to centrifugal force, the closed-circuit hydraulic system uses the incompressibility of oil to ensure a constant tightening. Dünner offers two solutions, either the installation on a lathe already equipped with hydraulic, or the completely new set up on manual clamping systems.

To see ahead…
Specializing in “small and precise”, Dünner expands its traditional product range with these devices rather dedicated to larger diameters. M. Dünner tells us: “With our LongStar collets, we already have a certain experience for larger diameters systems. The Pneumadraulic® solution presented today is an ideal complement to our portofolio”. He adds: “Users are looking for ways to maintain the quality of their productions while minimizing space and energy used for clamping. This can be seen in the use of the three positions guide bush in small diameters. In the large diameters, there was no real alternative until today. We have filled this gap”!

A few characteristics

• Maximum pressure: 45 bars
• Max speed: 9′500 min-1 (diam. 37 mm) to 4′000 min-1 (diam. 127 mm)
• Max clamping force: 30 KN (diam. 37 mm) at 141 KN (diam. 127 mm)

Do you need more information? You can download the brochure here.

Walter Dünner SA
Swiss tooling
Route de Soleure 25
2740 Moutier
Switzerland
Tel. + 41 32 493 11 52
Fax + 41 32 493 46 79
sales@Dunner.ch
www.Dunner.ch