DEMAT project sets out the path towards dematerialized manufacturing systems

Launched in July 2010, the EU-funded DEMAT project defines its main objective as to dematerialise the machine tools and manufacturing systems that are designed and produced in Europe.

Today, European machine builders, the vast majority of them SMEs, sell high performance and productive, but heavy and long-delivery-time machines. The heavy material structure of the machine, coupled with heavy duties assigned to it, is often a source of high energy consumption.

Sounds like Sci-Fi to me
Dematerialised machine tools developed within the DEMAT project will consist of ultra-light, adaptive and 100% reusable and recyclable skeletal structures. Whilst the material content of machines is drastically reduced, the replacement of this material content with knowledge-based tools and technologies will enable manufacturers to fulfill requirements for machining precision and productivity.

Low material – high knowledge
DEMAT project focuses especially on machine tool level, but also aims to connect these machines with low material and high knowledge content to a collaborative working environment supported by intelligent decision-making tools at system level. This will allow suppliers of machine tools to transform themselves into providers of manufacturing solutions of minimum material content. The project Coordinator, Ph.D. Juanjo Zulaika Muniain, from Tecnalia, states: “At the machine level, this means transforming the structural elements of machines into a combination of extremely light-weighted and modular skeletal structures. At the manufacturing systems level, we are developing tools to make it possible to reconfigure and optimise the plant layout, and to enable making effective decisions in this respect.”

Is it real and for soon?
The DEMAT project offers “a new way to design, build, use and sell machine tools”.
Do not miss the mini conference on Dematerialized Manufacturing systems

• Friday, March 2nd, 2012  -  From 15:00 to 15:45
• METAV, CECIMO booth at Hall 16, F42

The future has started…
Stay tuned
Pierre-Yves Kohler

 

Save 35% on the cost of the part

Mikron offers transfer machines with remarkable capabilities. In the example below, a German company producing components of turbochargers for the automotive industry with 2 machining centers (4-spindle) and 2 turning centers faced a strong demand and had to increase its productivity to remain competitive with its Asian competitors. It also had to be flexible enough to manage the production of 5 different parts in variable batches.

The choice of the Mikron transfer machines not only allowed the company to optimize its workflow but also the floor space’s requirement.

Innovative production
“Its machining centres allowed our customer to achieve a good position in the market, but the pressure of competition has continued on executives” explains Boris Sciaroni, (Mikron marketing). “Therefore our customer first added a transfer machine, i.e. a Mikron Multistep XT-200 to the production line and, after a few months of production, when he understood the potential savings still to be realised, he purchased a second Multistep XT-200 machine, abandoning completely the old production facility. Doing so he obtained a 35% reduction of the cost of the part due to:

• a reduction of staff (moved to other activities)
• an economy of floor space
• better logistics and
• unexpectedly by reducing the costs of re-equipment of the machine that allowed him to significantly reduce the minimum volumes of order “.

Today this client of Mikron relies on 8 Multistep XT-200.

Mikron SA Agno
Mr. Axel Warth, Head of Marketing and Business Development or,
Mr. Boris Sciaroni, Dipl. Ing. HTL / Marketing Manager
Phone +41 91 610 61 11
www.mikron.com
axel.warth@mikron.com

Want to have a look on the Mikron maching solutions? Check its You Tube channel out!

Explore your business opportunities: South Africa seminar in Zurich

New ideas for new opportunities are a constant aim of the Medtech Switzerland’s Fact Finding Missions and evening seminars. Medtech Switzerland next seminar will focus on an unusual and fast-growing market: South Africa.

In 2012 South Africa was added to the BRIC classification of emerging markets resulting in `BRICS´ with the new membership. Our insight into the health technology market in South Africa will offer information on new trends, opportunities, and pitfalls. Organized by Medtech Switzerland and the Osec/Swiss Business Hub, this seminar will launch the next Fact Finding Mission project to South Africa.

Thursday March 22, 17.00
Osec, Stampfenbachstrasse 85, 8006 Zurich

• Discover key components of the South African medtech market
• Investigate the possibilities in this emerging market
• Network with Swiss manufacturers and suppliers who have launched South African businesses

Programme
Moderation: Max Bertschmann, Director Swiss Business Hub South Africa

• 16.30 Registration opens
• 17.00 Welcome Dr. Patrick Dümmler, Managing Director, Medtech Switzerland
• 17.05 South Africa your gate way to sub-Sahara Max Bertschmann, Director Swiss Business Hub South Africa, Pretoria
• 17.15 Insights into the South African market Mark Brand, Market Access Consultant & CEO, Brandtech Healthcare Technology Consulting CC, Johannesburg
• 18.00 Experience of a Swiss Medtech company in South Africa Example 1 tba
• 18.15 Experience of a Swiss Medtech company in South Africa Example 2 tba
• 18.30 Panel discussion Moderated by Max Bertschmann
• 18.50 Summary / Outlook: Medtech Fact-finding mission to South Africa, Patrick Dümmler and Max Bertschmann
• 19.00 Networking reception, snacks and beverages
• 19.30 End of the seminar

For further information on these sessions, please see the attached PDF.

Medtech Switzerland - Wankdorffeldstrasse 102 – Postfach 261 – 3000 Bern 22
Tel.: +41 31 335 62 41 – Fax: +41 31 335 62 63
www.medtech-switzerland.com – contact@medtech-switzerland.com

Energy-saving FCR brake motor

Since 16 June 2011, European Commission regulation 640/2009 imposes the use of class IE2 high-efficiency motors. Brake motors are not currently affected by the application of these new directives. Nonetheless, Leroy-Somer has chosen voluntarily to adopt an energy-saving approach and is already offering a new generation of high-efficiency brake motors.

The marketing campaign of the company is quite original and raises questions on sustainability, it is perfectly adapted to nowadays’ concerns.

This new generation combine the FCR series of electromechanical brakes with high efficiency drive mechanisms integrating the most innovative drive technologies for both fixed and variable speed.

Modular concept
FCR is a tried-and-tested series of failsafe safety brakes and emergency stop brakes, offering a variety of options in optimised frame dimensions. Its modular concept makes it perfectly suited to any application. The ultimate multi-purpose safety device, its low inertia means it can withstand repeated braking operations: up to 6000 per hour. It can even be fitted with a booster system which reduces the brake reaction time. Carrying the CE mark for machine safety and conforming to IEC standards for Europe, it is also C-CSA-US approved for North America and has a Nemacompliant mechanical finish.

Asynchronous…
Asynchronous versions of the FCR can be mounted on the new IE2 highefficiency motors in the LS2 range, from frame size 80 to 160 mm, with aluminium or cast iron frame, for power ratings from 0.75 to 11 kW. Designed to deliver significant energy savings, LS2 FCR brake motors offer a wide variety of adaptations, thanks to numerous mechanical options (non-standard flange, special shaft, customised terminal box, etc) and electrical options (special connections and voltages, thermal protection, etc). To take energy saving to the next level, FCR can operate at variable speed.

…and synchronous…
With unrivalled efficiency levels, Dyneo® permanent magnet synchronous motors are one of the best-performing variable speed solutions currently available on the market. Using state-of-the-art technology, the FCR Dyneo® brake motor (with an IP55 motor in the LSRPM series, from 4.8 to 36 kW) performs exceptionally well in terms of energy, and is particularly suited to all applications involving heavy-duty use (S1 duty), such as bulk conveying in the mineral and cereal industries.

…at your disposal
Finally, the FCR brake motor is registered in Leroy-Somer’s “Guaranteed Availability” programme, with delivery times to the customer within 3 to 15 working days depending on the version.

In Switzerland
Leroy-Somer SA
Mr Vincenzo Viccaro
Schaftenholzweg 16
2557 Studen Bienne
Tel : +41 32 374 29 90
vincenzo.viccaro@emerson.com
www.leroy-somer.com

You can find your local contact here: http://www.leroy-somer.com/en/contact/world.php

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Service and overhaul for ENC and Deco…

..and much more! In fall 2010 we presented R. Frein CNC Service as being specialized in the supply of spare parts for ENC and Deco machines. Today, with the opening of his workshop dedicated to completely overhaul machines, the service provider offers a still broader range to its customers and potential customers. Meeting with the director Mr. Frein.

After 6 years of presence in the market as a quality provider for service, spare parts and rehabilitation of CNC machines, the company takes an important step since it now offers full overhaul (after a fire, for example) in its new premises. Mr. Frein says: “The complete overhaul in our new workshop can be done for a customer or insurance, but we also offer the possibility to buy old machines for restoration to the original state and resale”. The range of services becomes larger. Who are the customers? How? Why?

A dozen machines in overhaul
With an area of 300 m2 of workshop, the company may fully overhaul a dozen machines in parallel. During my visit, five machines having suffered a fire were pending and two machines belonging to R. Frein CNC Service were being overhauled. “We have also almost 200 m2 for offices and stocks” says the Director. And stock is what differentiates the company. We can talk about spindles for ENC machines, ball screws for Deco or bearings; for example, the stock is available and allows a rapid response in the market. The overhaul of spindle and tool holders as well as standard exchanges are always provided in the repair shop (that has also been moved to Delémont).

R. Frein CNC Service activities

• Service
• Spare parts
• Overhaul on site
• Complete overhaul in the company’s workshop (new 2012)
• Purchase, overhaul, sale (new 2012)

for ENC and Deco machines (other machines on demand)

To be discover at the Siams 2012
For the first time in its history the company will be present at the Siams. Mr. Frein explains: “We offer a wide range of solutions and many customers do not know all of our services. A visit on our booth will be an opportunity for visitors to see all of our skills and their benefits at a glance”.

R. Frein CNC Service Sàrl
Les Places 38
CH-2855 Glovelier
Tél. +41 79 753 55 06
Fax. +41 32 426 91 86
info@frein-cnc-service.ch
www.frein-cnc-service.ch

We will publish a full story in our next issue.

Advanced rapid manufacturing solution

EasyCLAD® Magic LF6000 is a new laser additive manufacturing solution designed by Irepa Laser, mainly for the construction of parts for aerospace and aircraft industry. With this technique based on the CLAD® process (French acronym for ‘Construction Laser Additive Directe’ – direct additive manufacturing by laser) developed by Irepa Laser it is possible to directly manufacture functional parts without resorting to casting molds, dies, polluting and energy consuming processes.

CLAD® process consists in depositing successive layers of laser melted powders to create metallic parts, dense and homogeneous, with perfectly controlled dimensions. Manufacturing possibilities are very large from the entire construction of functional parts to the repair of complex parts with manufacturing speeds between 8 and 50 mm3/s.

How does it work?
Metallic powders are injected into the CLAD nozzle to form a uniform jet. The powders melt and fuse as they move across the laser beam, resulting in a uniform and dense deposit whose technical properties are akin to parts produced by processes of forging and founding. The deposited material is protected locally against oxidation by a neutral gas. Contrarily to sintering, the machine only works on the part like a 5-axis machining center.

A new machine for large parts
With its two CLAD® nozzles, this 3D manufacturing machine features high dynamic performances with 5 continuous axes. The whole is integrated in a gas enclosure with controlled atmosphere for the protection of alloys and metals reactive to O2 and H2O (<40 ppm O2 & <50 ppm H2O). The 8 m3 volume of the enclosure enables the construction of large size parts (Ø 600 mm x L. 1000 mm) with a max. weight of 300 kg.

Simple and user-friendly
Coupled with PowerCLAD® software, manufacturing trajectories and ISO programmes are entirely generated from source files (ProE, Catia, SolidWorks …) or standard files (STEP, IGES …) in manufacturing or reconstruction mode.

More information?
You can discover EasyCLAD at

• Industrie Paris (March 26 to 30) and
• Medtec France (April 4 to 5) in Lyon.

contact@easyclad.com
www.easyclad.com

Sustainability in the heart of manufacturing

The European Machine Tool industry, represented by CECIMO, launches a European initiative on sustainability: the Blue Competence Machine Tools initiative. The machine tool industry is the first mechanical engineering sector to embark on a broad-based campaign on sustainability at European level.

Machine tool builders which participate in the Blue Competence Machine Tools initiative commit themselves to optimize the use of energy and other resources to enable faster, better and higher quality manufacturing in end-user industries. It is also a marketing tool for companies embracing its principles.

Sustainability as motto
Martin Kapp, President of CECIMO, states: “This landmark initiative underlines the willingness of European machine tool builders to make a leap forward towards a better and greener manufacturing perspective. Production technology and equipment supplied by the machine tool industry is the key enabler of resource efficient processes in all other manufacturing industries. Now, our manufacturers are taking on a firm commitment to align, in a holistic approach, their products, processes and business models with sustainability principles.”  

Greener with blue competence
Manufacturers which start operating under the principles of the Blue Competence Machine Tools initiative agree to meet pre-determined ecological, economic and social values and principles, while implementing sustainable production solutions in their production plants, products and business services with the aim of achieving greener manufacturing. The initiative keeps in line with EU policy developments and priorities.

What does it change for users?
CECIMO expects the initiative to profoundly influence business and manufacturing practices in the sector; to stimulate technical innovation; and to raise awareness about the role of manufacturing in driving sustainability.
For users of machine tools from companies working with Blue competence in mind, that means working with machines that are always precise and productive but that also need less energy and are then better “environmental friendly”. In a recent analyse, a machine tool manufacturer presented that with a few measures its new machines consummates 39% less energy… and that’s only the start!

2 machines out of 5 produce “for free”
In the example here above, the producer achieved great results that is indeed environmental friendly but also economically very interesting for users. Engineers worked on:

• Energetic optimization through the programming software
• Synchronous motors and recuperation of the braking energy
• Intelligent pumps
• Size reduction of moving parts

More and more companies will use that kind of argument as marketing tools and indeed as usual the first to communicate largely on that will reach a good place into customer’s mind in term of sustainability.

I’ll come back on that topic soon, stay tuned!

Pierre-Yves Kohler

 

Issue 380 just released!

Eurotec issue 380 has just been released and I’m sure you will find a lot of valuable information in it. You can read it online here or download it here.

Lets’ see its content

• Viewpoint: Lausannetec – how are things on the Swiss exhibitions market?
• Pemamo – indeed mastering the micron is easy
• Newemag – more possibilities to the top
• Cyklos – a quantum leap in surface treatment
• Conceptools and Innotools – to provide even more specialization
• Wibemo – Rethinking centring – so many years to reach –at last- a good solution
• Motorex – more innovation thanks to the “cutting oil” design factor
• Amada – global provider of high precision
• Proto labs -  it’s so easy to have quick and good prototypes
• NGL Cleaning Technology – cleaning medical prostheses and ancillary products
• System 3R and Robotec – automatise Chinese production of molds

And a few presentations on exhibitions

• Schall Messen: Optatec 2012 and Control 2012
• Simodec 2012
• Medtec Europe 2012
• Industrie Paris 2012
• Hannover Messe 2012

I wish you a good reading! For those who wait for the paper issue, it will be sent these days. (If you don’t receive it you can subscribe here).

Cheers,

Pierre-Yves Kohler

S41 universal cylindrical grinding machine: successful in its very first year

At the beginning of 2011 Fritz Studer AG presented its new S41 universal cylindrical grinding machine to the market. The company can report a sound success. By the end of 2011 45 cylindrical grinding machines had already been built, 33 of which are proving themselves in customers’ demanding production environments.

More stable, despite a greater centre height and distance between centers, quicker, more precise and more efficient in the long term. These are the buzz-words used by the industry to describe the decisive advantages of the new S41 universal cylindrical grinding machine one year after its introduction. The S41 also has a wide array of other attractive characteristics. For example, the optionally available center heights of 225 or 275 millimeters and centre distance options of 1000 or 1600 millimeters increase the machining options significantly.

One of the secrets? Granitan!
Stability is a crucial factor for high precision and high productivity in a cylindrical grinding machine. Thanks to the increased stability, workpieces with weights up to 250 kg can be machined on the S41. One feature that makes a significant contribution to the stability is the extremely solid, rigid and thermally stable mineral casting machine bed made of Granitan®, with integrated guideway system. The guideways are much further apart than on the previous machine and, together with the workpiece axis, form a considerably larger and thus more stable distribution force.

Improve productivity
The higher stability also enables higher travel speeds. Direct drives move the longitudinal and cross slides at speeds of up to 20 meters per minute with an axis resolution of ten nanometers. The B-axis, the vertical swivel axis of the turret wheelhead, also uses a direct drive. The turret wheelhead thus swivels around three times faster than on previous machines, and positions with a positioning range of less than one angular second. This reduces auxiliary times and increases the effective grinding time and consequently productivity, particularly when the machining operation requires the engagement of various grinding wheels. The turret wheelhead enables over 30 configurations of external grinding wheels and internal grinding spindles. This is valued particularly by customers with broad workpiece ranges with differing grinding tasks.

Special applications for special requirements
Up-to-date a third of all S41s were delivered in a universal standard version. However, the S41 also offers many different options for special customer requirements. For instance, it offers all prerequisites for integration into extensive system projects. Moreover it can be equipped with additional applications, such as an ascillating grinding axis on the wheelhead, which enables grinding of high-precision internal and external tapers or conical control cams. A further application is the Y-axis on the wheelhead. This vertical grinding spindle enables grinding of keyways, for example, or control edges for power-assisted steering. A motorized workhead is optionally available for live spindle grinding of high-precision, heavy workpieces.

To know more about this true success story:
Fritz Studer AG
Thunstr. 15
CH-3612 Steffisburg
Tel. +41 33 439 11 11
Fax +41 33 439 11 12
info@studer.com
www.studer.com

Update on Cyklos machine…

Yesterday at a press conference the Cyklos start-up presented its revolutionary surface treatment process with the new Cyklos A300 machine. We discussed about the first results on the market! The machine seems outstanding; nevertheless it needs quite a huge floor space. The first machine is then clearly dedicated to large companies… but new models will be released later.

Compared to the previous design presented on Eurotec’s, the machine is now finalised and presents a simpler design.

Nowadays, surface treatments are everywhere and affect all industries: from decorating bottles of cosmetics to coating automotive, medical, electronic and micromechanical parts. Up until now, surface treatments have been processed in specialised units, in specially-equipped premises fitted with installations for treating gases and waste water. Surface treatment therefore required a heavy infrastructure; for that reason, many companies prefer to outsource this operation, but this generates significant logistical costs and means they are dependent on a service provider.

A new way to work
Cyklos aims to revolutionise the market by offering an autonomous, in-house solution which not only relieves companies of the inherent logistical costs but also significantly improves the quality of treatments, with no need for a special infrastructure. Cyklos equipment will enable production workshops to verticalise an essential step in their value chain, improving quality and reducing costs.
Cyklos solutions can be integrated in any workshop and do not require waste treatment installations. Waste is contained, controlled and filtered; the treatment control process is completed automated. In contrast with conventional processes, Cyklos technology treats parts by rotation; the treatment quality is greatly superior.

To be seen at Simodec
The Cyklos project was challenging for the engineers in charge, which in itself is good news: there was never any compromise with this ambitious project. “The Simodec show is an opportunity for us to prove that our concept really works; thanks to the presence of production machines on the stand, we can perform ‘live’ treatment on parts produced by the turning machines. This way, visitors can see for themselves that integrating a Cyklos machine in a bar turning workshop really is possible without any prior knowledge of surface treatment,” stated Brice Renggli, Head of Marketing.

Simple and effective
Bucket loading can be automated using a robot cell. Visitors to the show can also see just how easy it is to get started with the machine. In fact, it requires very little basic knowledge and can achieve unprecedented quality levels: “Initial orders have already been delivered and customer feedback is very positive. The product is very easy to master,” reports Emmanuel Sagnes, Product Manager at Cyklos.

Cyklos SA
Emmanuel Turlot
Rue Galilée 15
CH-1400 YVERDON
Mobile: +41 (0) 79 443 78 76
turlot.e@tornos.com