PM Blog
By: Barbara Schulz 6/5/2019
United Grinding Symposium 2019
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The fourth Grinding Symposium held by the United Grinding Group in Thun, Switzerland drew more than 1500 visitors over four days in May 2019.
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United Grinding presented the new Mägerle MFP 30, a compact 5-axis grinding center for machining aircraft engine blades. The powerful spindle drive enables different grinding processes to be combined, such as e.g. creep feed grinding with corundum or grinding with CBN.
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The Ewag Laser Line Ultra high-end laser machine can produce drills, and milling cutters from 0.5 mm to 3 mm in diameter.
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Studer’s integrated electro-discharge dressing technology WireDress inhibits 12 3D-printed parts.
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The in-house designed 3D-printed coolant nozzle called SmartJet is designed to optimally distribute the right amount of coolant in the correct flow rate and pressure to the right spot during the grinding process.
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United Grinding is already using many 3D-printed parts in their own machines.
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Gardner Business Media’s Eddie Kania is having a look at the additively-made hydraulic block for the universal cylindrical grinding machine Studer favorit , which is more efficient in materials handling, storage and assembly, because the overall number of parts was reduced from five to one.
Additive Manufacturing at United Grinding.
Additive Manufacturing at United Grinding.
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Where friends meet: Gardner Business Media’s European Representatives Eddie Kania, Barbara Schulz with Studer Sales Director Martin Hofmann.
Three days packed with 13 technology presentations, 16 technical colloquiums and 1500 visitors on 4,000 square meters of exhibitions space; the fourth Grinding Symposium held by the United Grinding Group in Thun, Switzerland, was a great opportunity for customers, experts and company representatives to discuss a diverse range of topics including the advantages of digital solutions for production machine operators, how user interfaces should be designed to enable ideal machine operation, and what role additive manufacturing can play in machine building.
At the Future-Lab, United Grinding showcased current and future applications including additive manufacturing and laser micro-threading. The company is already using many 3D-printed parts in its own machines including the universal cylindrical grinding machine Studer Favorit as well as the WireDress system, which inhibits 12 3D-printed parts. On the Favorit, Studer leverages additive manufacturing technology to build parts such as the hydraulic block, which is more efficient in materials handling, storage and assembly, because the overall number of parts was reduced from five to one. Moreover, flow paths can be made with cross-sections that are square instead of round, reducing turbulent flow by 20 percent with the same channel width.
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Customers attended the Discover More with Mazak Northeast open house May 14 and 15. On May 16, students from local schools and technical colleges attended the event’s Student Day.
The company was demonstrating several machines by producing various parts, including this ice press, which was made on a VC500-5X five-axis machine. The ice press produces spherical ice cubes like the one on the right from blocks of ice.
This two-piece Delrin femur and bone strap were machined on an Integrex multitasking lathe with full five-axis milling capability. The femur’s length and fragility made workholding a challenge when machining the part.
The QTU series from Mazak is designed to be an entry-level lathe with live tooling. The machines use the company’s Mazatrol SmoothC controls.
Mazak was also showing its Mazatrol machine controls. The SmoothG control has a touch screen that can display 3D part models.
Mazak’s Discover More with Mazak Northeast open house, held at the company’s technology center in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, aimed to combine technology, networking and education for its customers. The event, which customers attended May 14-15 and was open to students on May 16, included demonstrations of the company’s machine tools such as the QTU and Quick Turn series of turning centers, VC-500 5X five-axis machines, and Integrex multitasking machines, and displays of parts made using each machine. Attendees were also able to meet with representatives from local schools for “skilled labor networking” to help fill their employment needs.
Read MoreBy: Chris Felix 6/3/2019
Lean Strategies Drive Automotive Efficiency
Autoliv identifies most important issues to resolve using visualized data from Cloud Dispatch.
Real-time notification, accessible throughout the organization, is used to dispatch technicians to resolve equipment issues.
Technicians can access relevant machine information on mobile devices or workstations on the shop floor during a fix.
Cell phones and tablets provide easy access to a complete history of the equipment and the related production line.
A worldwide leader in automotive safety, this supplier, headquartered in Sweden, insists on seeking the best partners, technology solutions and operations enhancements to support its efforts toward lean efficiency. As such, in 2010, the company introduced to a couple of its U.S. plants a lean execution system (LES) designed to help manufacturers create a culture of sustainable continuous improvement while simultaneously boosting production, maintenance and QA metrics. The system’s effectiveness led to quick rollout across its remaining North American operations and eventual worldwide implementation.
Autoliv is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. It has more than 80 plants spanning 27 different countries, including eight in the U.S. The company develops, manufactures and markets airbags, seatbelts and steering wheels, selling to all leading car manufacturers in the world.
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U.S. House Rep. Lou Correa awards R.A. Industries at a reception with its employees on the production floor in Santa Ana, Calif.
Assembly Supervisor Angelica Zuniga shows U.S. Rep. Correa a component for the oil and gas industry. Company chairman and founder, Robert Follman, explains the part application.
Acting District Director at the office of U.S. Rep. Lou Correa, Claudio Gallegos, and U.S. House Rep. Lou Correa greet mill operators, Phung Le and Mai Tai, during the tour reception.
R.A. Industries Robert Follman is honored by U.S. Rep. Lou Correa with the U.S. flag once flown over the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (46th District) toured the 70,000 square-foot campus of Santa Ana (Orange County), California-based manufacturer, R.A. Industries, a manufacturer of complex precision components and assemblies to the oil and gas, aviation, defense and space industries, on May 3. The congressman serves as the chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime.
On the company’s production floor, Rep. Correa honored company founder and chairman, Robert Follman. “I want to commend Robert Follman for his dedication to our local Orange County economy and for providing a workplace for skilled employees who contribute so vitally to our nation's aviation, defense and space industries supply chain. Our national interest starts at home. We need more training for future machinists and skilled workers to achieve the American Dream,” he says.
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Presentations at Innovation Days elaborated on the company's support of the digital factory with open connectivity. In the overall picture of the “Path of Digitization,” DMG MORI offers its customers the opportunity either to implement comprehensive, customized end-to-end solutions with the CELOS Ecosystem’s digital products and software systems, or to gradually go from strength to strength and transform their companies into digital factories. The ultimate goal is high transparency, effective processes, maximum availability and the best possible production reliability.
The Innovation Days event displayed many forms of automation, which DMG MORI describes as a crucial component of the digital factory. One of the machines highlighted at the event as a U.S. premiere--the ALX 2000—was shown with the compact GX 7 gantry loader, which can handle workpieces as long as 150 mm and can be combined with various other automatic peripheral equipment such as parts cleaning, measuring and marking.
The other U.S. premiere, the DMP 70 features a footprint of barely more than 46 square feet and is designed for applications in medical technology and job shops, as well as the aerospace sector and other demanding industries. Travel paths of 27 x 16 x 15 inches and the optional integrated swivel/rotary table enable 5-axis simultaneous machining of a range of components. The machine was shown at Innovation Days with the workpiece handling WH 3 Cell, which can be connected from the right, left, or front of the machine.
Multiple additive solutions were on display during Innovation Days. The Lasertec 4300 3D Hybrid, designed for large parts, offers additive manufacturing, turning and milling in a single machine. The Lasertec 65 3D powder nozzle machine is a dedicated additive solution for prototypes, small-series, repair and coating. The Lasertec 65 3D Hybrid combines additive with full 5-axis milling.
Dr. Mori addressed the press with discussions surrounding workforce development, the company’s advances in additive manufacturing technology, and how the company is addressing the rapidly changing automotive market.
From May 13-16, DMG MORI held its Chicago Innovation Days 2019 event in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, demonstrating the company’s latest trends and innovations in machine tool manufacturing. The event highlighted integrated digitization for planning, preparation, production, monitoring and service; automation solutions for competitive manufacturing; and additive manufacturing with four process chains in the powder bed and with the powder nozzle. The company also introduced two machines to the U.S. market.
The trend towards industrial digitization is fundamentally altering the framework of metal cutting production technology. DMG MORI has offered digitization solutions on its machines since 2013 with the CELOS app-based control and user interface. At the same time, the company has been expanding the range of solutions it offers to create an open ecosystem for the digital factory. DMG MORI is increasing its portfolio of CELOS services with intelligent software solutions and connective hardware. Additionally, the company has established the CELOS Club, which offers customers solutions on their path to Industry 4.0 and IIoT.
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