MEN April09

Official Media Partner: MTA MALAYSIA 2009 M.I.C.A. (P) No. 119/12/2008

April 2009

www.equipment-news.com

Light Side Laser Tracking Technology:

Tru Tech Systems:

Smooth 24

Operator

PLM:

A Tailored Solution 30 China:

Giant Awakens The

44

SolidWorks 72 World

2009

Man & Machine:

THE 5TH AXIS OF TECHNOLOGY

Official Magazine: METALTECH 2009

Building Customer

ProFITABILITy Turning Intelligently

CVD Coating

ISCAR JAPAN 1-5-3 Shinsenri-Higashimachi Toyonaka-shi, Osaka 560-0082 Tel + 81 6 835 5471 Fax + 81 6 835 5472 iscar@iscar.co.jp

ISCAR TAIWAN 395, Da Duen South Rd. Taichung 408 Tel +886 (0)4 247 31573 Fax +886 (0)4 247 31530 iscar.taiwan@msa.hinet.net

PVD Coating

ISCAR THAILAND 57, 59, 61, 63 Soi Samanchan-Babos Sukhumvit Rd. Phra Khanong, Khlong Toey Bangkok 10110 Tel + 66 (2) 7136633 Fax + 66 (2) 7136632 iscar@iscarthailand.com

ISCAR VIETNAM (Representative Office) Room D 2.8, Etown Building, 364 Cong Hoa, Tan Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City, Tel + 84 8 8123 519/20 Fax + 84 8 8123 521 iscarvn@hcm.fpt.vn

CV MULTI TEKNIK JL. Balikpapan Raya No. 28 Jakarta Pusat 10140 Indonesia Tel + 62 21 6307303 Fax + 62 21 6348062 multi@centrin.net.id

SINO TOOLING SYSTEM Blk 502, Jurong West Ave 1 #03-813 Singapore 640502 Tel + 65 6566 7668 Fax + 65 6567 7336 sinotool@singnet.com.sg

MESCO Reliance Corner Brixton St. Pasig City Metro-Manila Philippines Tel + 63 2631 1775 Fax + 63 2635 0276 mesco@mesco.com.ph

ENQUIRY NO 047

Presenting this year’s CoroMill® collection.

With the success of the CoroMill® 490, we’ve expanded the CoroMill® line with the CoroMill® 316, an end mill with exchangeable heads for a wide range of applications, and the CoroMill® 345, a high-performance face milling cutter featuring 8-edged inserts.

Now there’s a CoroMill® to suit everyone, all with a flair for lowering component costs while increasing your productivity and profit.

So what can the CoroMill® line do for your production?

You’d be surprised. Get in touch with us and we’ll tell you more.

Think smart | Work smart | Earn smart.

www.coromant.sandvik.com

ENQUIRY NO 030

Contents April 2009

ASIA PACIFIC METALWORKING EQUIPMENT NEWS (M.E.N.) is published 8 issues per year by Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd, 1100 Lower Delta Road, EPL Building #04-02 Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379 2888 Fax: (65) 6379 2806.

Thailand Office: Thai Trade & Industry Media Co Ltd. 16/F Italthai Tower, 2034/73 New Petchburi Road, Bangkapi, Huaykwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel: 66(0) 2716 1722 Fax: 66 (0) 2716 1723

18 FIRST CUT

It’s Groovy

To machine wide grooves or pockets, suitably sized rounded indexable inserts have become the natural solution. Contributed by Jeremy Lim, marketing communications, Sandvik SEA

24

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: M.E.N. is available to readers on a per annum subscription basis depending on location: Singapore: S$60.00, Malaysia: S$60.00, Asia Pacific/America/Europe/Others: S$100.00. Refer to the subscription card in each issue for further details. For change of address, please notify our Circulation Manager.

For more subscription information Fax: (65) 6379 2806 Singapore E-mail: irenetow@epl.com.sg

IMPORTANT NOTICE THE CIRCULATION OF THIS MAGAZINE IS AUDITED BY BPA WORLDWIDE.

Smooth Operator High Speed Steel: The Full Story New configurations, options, and controls bring versatility to

Basic knowledge on machining HSS will gooperations. a long way when machining centreless abrasive

By Brian Gehrke,extreme metal.

By Adeline Riou, general secretary, the HSS Forum engineering manager, Tru Tech Systems

THE ADVERTISERS' ASSOCIATION RECOMMEND THAT ADVERTISERS SHOULD PLACE THEIR ADVERTISEMENTS ONLY IN AUDITED PUBLICATIONS

JOINT ADVERTISING DISCOUNT WMEM, 30,000 copies circulated quarterly in China combines with M.E.N, 10,000 copies circulated bi-monthly in ASEAN in joint advertising. Ask for more details now.

28 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE Laser Tracking Technology: Light Side

This subtle but powerful technology has found its way into metrology, bringing along its vast potential. By Joson Ng

INDUSTRY

Endorsements

30 SOFTWARE & MEASUREMENT

SPETA

Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association (SPETA) Federation of Asian Die & Mould Associations (FADMA) Federation of Malaysian Foundry & Engineering Industry Associations

A Tailored Solution

A PLM supplier should also be a business partner commited to your success. By Bill Boswell, senior director, teamcenter product marketing, Siemens PLM software

34

The Shorter, The Better

Shorter lead times and small prototype lot sizes no longer pose quick turnaround problems for this printed circuit board manufacturer. By Peter Dickin, marketing manager, Delcam 2

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Indian Machine Tool Manufacturing Association (IMTMA)

China Machine Tool & Tool Builders' Association (CMTBA)

Machine Tool Club (MTC)

Quality Control with FARO 3D Portable Measurement Solutions

Visit us at

MTA Malaysia 2009 6 – 10 May 2009 Hall 1 Booth 1F2-06

>> Find out more at http://www.faro.com/apmen Total Portable Measurement FARO Technologies develops and globally distributes 3D measurement systems, including 3D laser measurement systems. The FaroArm, the FARO Laser Tracker, the FARO Photon Laser Scanner or the FARO Gage models have become indispensable in almost all fields of industrial application, due to their astonishing accuracy, user friendliness and portability.

The FARO Gage is especially suited for small parts measurement and used for quality assurance in car manufacturing.

FARO portable measurement devices like the FaroArm aid in robot calibration and first installation of heavy machinery.

The FARO Laser Tracker can accurately measure large equipment FARO Photon Laser Scanner can deliver 3D documentation of buildings in progress or help visualize crime scenes for forensic investigation.

ENQUIRY NO 054

Automotive

Aerospace

Ship Building

Machining

Oil and Gas

Die & Mold

Metal Working

Asia Pacific Headquarters FARO Singapore Pte Ltd, 3 Changi South Street 2 #01-01, Xilin Districentre Building B, Singapore 486548 Tel: +65 6511 1350 | Fax: +65 6543 0111 | Email: salesap@faro.com| www.faro.com/sea

www.faro.com/sea

FARO Offices FARO Thailand Tel :662 744 1275 Fax:662 744 3178 | FARO Vietnam Tel:+84 3 84 8108 Fax:+84 3 845 8018 | FARO Malaysia Tel:+603.8064 4224 Fax:+603 8064 4334

Official Media Partner: MTA MALAYSIA 2009

Regulars

36 FAB & FORM VMC: Vertical Reality

48 FEATURES

38

Staying Ahead Of The Pack

From design and manufacturing, all the way down to the tool used, no effort can be spared in order to stay in front. By Jason Allen, GM, Iscar Australia.

www.equipment-news.com

Tru Tech Systems:

24

Operator

PLM:

A Tailored Solution 30 China:

M.I.C.A. (P) No. 119/12/2008 • PPS 840/10/2009(028102) • ISSN 0129 5519

With the influx of new technologies like five-axis machining amongst others, vertical machining has taken on a whole new dimension. By Derek Rodriguez

April 2009

Light Side Laser Tracking Technology:

Smooth VOL. 23 NO. 3 APRIL 2008

• 8 Business News • 16 Business Statistics • 74 Product Finder • 78 Exhibition Programmes • 80A Product Enquiry Card

ASIA PACIFIC METALWORKING EQUIPMENT NEWS

Contents

M.I.C.A. (P) No. 119/12/2008

Giant Awakens The

44

SolidWorks 72 World

2009

Man & Machine:

THE 5TH AXIS OF TECHNOLOGY

Official Magazine: METALTECH 2009 Cover&Flap April09-3.indd 2

The Weight Is Over

Shedding excess weight takes on added importance during this difficult period. By K S Sankaran, chief operating officer for business development, Makino Asia.

40 INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Gunning For The Top

Combining human factor like teamwork with high tech machines have enabled the ING Renault F1 team to compete for the World Championship. By Jane Watson, marketing manager, DMG UK

44 COUNTRY FOCUS China: The Giant Awakens

50

Spirit & Endeavour

Times may be bad but with a combination of innovation and determination, Taiwanese machine tools manufacturers are well equipped to pass this acid test with flying colours. By Joson Ng

60

With some economies in the stage of re-adjustment, China’s economy has stood reasonably firm, becoming a beacon of hope in this downturn. By Joson Ng

GF Agie Charmilles: Winds Of Change

A focus on the growth potentials in the region brings a revitalised GF AgieCharmilles to the fore. By Eileen Chan

64

EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS

MTA Malaysia • Metaltech Schleifring Grinding Symposium • MTA Vietnam • SBB Steel Focus China 2009 Asiamold • SolidWorks World 2009

• Refer to Advertising Index...

Pg 80

for Advertisers' Enquiry numbers

3/26/09 6:17 PM

Are you moving in the right direction to stay competitive?

www.delcam.com marketing@delcam.com

CHINA +86 010 6298 5591 INDIA +91 20 2729 3333 6 INDONESIA +62 21 6452 647 KOREA +82 2 210 877 00 MALAYSIA +60 327 110 145 6 PHILIPPINES +63 271 137 51 SINGAPORE +65 901 241 87 TAIWAN R.O.C. +886 282 001 299 THAILAND +66 289 911 825 VIETNAM +84 211 834 842

ENQUIRY NO 137

editor’s note

Published by:

Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd (a fully owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd)

Reg No: 199908196C

managing director Kenneth Tan managing editor Eileen Chan

The End Of The Beginning?

eileenchan@epl.com.sg

assistant editor Joson Ng

josonng@epl.com.sg

advertising sales manager Derick Chia

derickchia@epl.com.sg

editorial assistant Sharifah Zainon sharifah@epl.com.sg senior art director / studio manager Lawrence Lee lawrencelee@epl.com.sg graphic designer Tristan De Los Trinos tristantrinos@epl.com.sg contributing graphic designer Jef Pimentel

T he st at i st ic s f rom t he re ce nt l y concluded Taipei International Machine Tools Show (Timtos) seem to suggest t here is hop e a f ter a ll. Wit h t he cancellation of MTA 2009 in Singapore, there were some doubts on the turn out for the Taiwanese exhibition.

It is perhaps heart warming for organisers and for people involved in the metalworking business when the post-show press release revealed some positive results. The number of exhibitors and local visitors are up.

With countries all over the globe restructuring their economies and launching their very own stimulus packages, there is a concerted effort worldwide to fight this downturn. Where results of these efforts remain to be seen, there are some countries in better shape compared to the others.

I n t h i s i s su e o f A s i a P ac i f i c Metalworking Equipment News, we are focussing on one of the shining lights amongst this economic storm. China, our

choice in the country focus segment, although not spared from the downturn, is in many machine makers’ mind as their ‘saviour’ as they re-channel their efforts and resources.

This issue also features articles on lean manufacturing, which gives valuable insights to managing operating cost. We are also bringing you, our readers some success stories, which hopefully can help inspire more success stories.

As the saying goes, ‘fortune favours the brave.’ It is important to be brave when it is the darkest. Facing possible defeat, Winston Churchill said the following to inspire the whole nation: “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Hopefully his words can inspire the new generation of people fighting in another kind of war.

circulation executive Irene Tow

irenetow@epl.com.sg

contributors Derek Rodriguez K S Sankaran Jane Watson Peter Dickin Bill Boswell Jeremy Lim Jason Allen Brian Gehrke board of consultants Wäinö A Kaarto AB Sandvik Coromant Dr Moshe Goldberg ISCAR All rights reserved. No portion of this publication covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced in any form or means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, taping, etc – without the written consent of the publisher.

Opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher and editor.

Printed in Singapore by Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd MICA (P) No. 119/12/2008 PPS 840/10/2009 (028102) ISSN 0129/5519

Eastern HOLDINGS Ltd Executive Board

chairman Stephen Tay group executive director Kenneth Tan financial controller Robbin Lim

etm

Eastern

Trade Media Pte Ltd an Eastern Holdings Ltd company

Joson Ng Assistant Editor

6

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Head Office & Mailing Address: 1100 Lower Delta Road, EPL Building #04-02, Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379-2888 Fax: (65) 6379-2806 Thailand Office: Thai Trade and Industry Media Co., Ltd 16/F Italthai Tower, 2034/73 New Petchburi Road, Bangkapi, Huaykwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel: 66(0) 2716 1722 Fax: 66 (0) 2716 1723

ENGINEER WHAT YOU ENVISION.

We’re driven to find out what our customers want and committed to make it happen. We concentrate on the applications and what they need to do. We help engineer the engineering.

To us, perfection is practical. It’s the most productive and efficient way to achieve results, and the only way to turn vision into reality.

www.walter-tools.com

ENQUIRY NO 045

www.equipment-news.com

Businessnews Gildemeister Sees Positive Income In Q1

Frankkfurt, Germany: Gildemeister, the world’s biggest maker of cutting machine tools, says its financial year 2008 was the best year for the company in its 138-year history.

“We achieved our goals. Sales revenues rose by 22 percent to €1,904.0 million (US$ 2,456 million). Order intake of €1,882.0 million was above the previous year’s level. The group’s annual profit rose by 62 percent to €81.1 million (from €50.1 million),” the company said in a press release.

Sales revenues of €1,904.0 million (+22 percent) surpassed the previous year’s record figure (€1,562.1

million), an increase of €341.9 million. In the fourth quarter sales revenues amounted to €540.8 million and were thus 11 percent above the previous year’s figure (€487.2 million).

In the reporting year the Machine Tools segment achieved an increase of €109.6 million (+10 percent), while the Services segment contributed €232.4 million (+49 percent) to the increase in sales revenues. Its domestic sales revenues rose by 14 percent to €829.9 million; foreign sales revenues increased by 29 percent to €1,074.1 million. The export share amounted to 56 percent (previous year: 53 percent).

The German Engineering Federation ( VDMA) is forecasting a worldwide decline (by seven percent) in the machine tool business and the German Machine Tool Builders Association (VDW) is also expecting a noticeable drop.

According to a separate report by Reuters, Gildemeister expects demand from Asia to pick up and first-quarter new orders would be ‘decent’ but still well below the record year-ago level of around €600 million (US$775.3 million).

More than half of Gildemeister’s customers are in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors and some 45 percent of its orders come from Germany.

China’s Stimulus Package Will Increase Demand For Tools B e i j i n g, C h i n a : T he re ce nt l y announced RMB 4 trillion (US$586 billion) stimulus package by China should see more overseas equipment makers participating in the country’s demand for machine tools.

At a news briefing on the upcoming 11th China International Machine Tool Show (April, Beijing), Wa ng L iming, V P of the China Machine Tool and Tool Builders’ Association said industries like automobiles and shipbuilding along with the developments in aerospace and aviation, clean energy, oil and gas exploration and transmission, agricultural machinery, engineering machinery, and high-speed railway sectors are expected to generate the demand for more high-grade machine tools.

“Along with the implementation of the stimulus package, the launch of the country’s key science and 8

metalworking equipment news April 2009

technology projects and domestic market expansion, the demand for high-end machine tools will certainly continue to increase,” said Mr Wang.

According to the association, total floor space at the forthcoming exhibition will touch 100,000 sq m, an increase of nearly 39 percent over prev ious yea r. More tha n 50 percent of the space would be occupied by 550 overseas machine tool companies.

China is the world’s la rgest machine tool consumer and importer over the last seven years and in 2008, the country’s share of machine tool consumption accounted for about one quarter of the world’s total.

Statistics from the association show that the country imported US$12.29 billion worth of machine tools last year. Domestic output value of the industry reached RMB 347.23 billion.

businessnews

www.equipment-news.com

Manufacturing Production Will Likely Grow By 3% In 2010 Manufacturing industrial production, measured on a quarter-to-quarter basis, declined at a 16 percent annual rate in fourth quarter 2008 after falling at a nine percent annual rate in the third quarter.

Non-high-tech manufacturing production declined at a steep 15 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Non-high-tech manufacturing production is expected to decline eight percent this year and rebound a modest two percent in 2010. High-tech industrial production fell at a 29 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2008.

MAPI predicts it will decline 10 percent in 2009 and post six percent growth in 2010.

Steel production declined 41 percent, material handling equipment dropped by 25 percent, and industrial machinery and domestic electronic computer equipment production each decreased by 23 percent.

The recession in the manufacturing sector is expected to last throughout this year, with MAPI forecasting only one of 24 industries to show gains—aerospace products and parts is predicted to grow by seven percent in 2009.

A turnaround is anticipated to begin in 2010, with 19 of 24 industries expected to expand, led by housing starts at a healthy 84 percent increase.

HEXAGON METROLOGY ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD 6 Clementi Loop, Singapore 129814, Tel: +65 6463 6242 Fax: +65 6463 8030

Email: contact@hexagon-metrology.com.sg

ENQUIRY NO 057

Virginia, USA: A harsh 2009 may give way to a moderate rebound in 2010, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI US Industrial Outlook: Accelerating Decline, a quarterly report that analyses 27 major industries. On an annual basis, MAPI forecasts manufacturing production to fall nine percent in 2009 and grow three percent in 2010. “ For t u n a te l y, we se e a n eventual end to the current recession, perhaps by late 2009,” said Daniel J Meckstroth, PhD, Chief Economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. “A second round of federal fiscal stimulus, this time of major proportions; growing pent-up demand as spending is postponed; lower commodity prices, particularly oil; lower mortgage and borrowing rates resulting from Federal Reserve monetary stimulus; and declining imports will all contribute to a rebound in industrial production activity in late 2009,” said Daniel J Meckstroth, PhD, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.

April 2009 metalworking equipment news

9

businessnews

www.equipment-news.com

Hexagon Strengthens Its Presence In India Noida, India: Hexagon inaugurated an assembly and manufacturing facility in Noida, India, which will start the delivery of locally assembled coordinate measuring machines to Indian customers.

The facility will gradually cover the full range of metrology products including articulated arms.

“The new assembly and manufacturing facility in Noida is Hexagon’s latest step in increasing presence, support and supply of local products to our customers on the Indian subcontinent. Through our 19 locations and with more than 130 employees, we are committed to continue providing ever improving high quality products and services in the region”, says Ola Rollén, CEO and President of Hexagon AB. In addition to loca lly produced measurement systems, the company supplies other Hexagon coordinate measuring machine brands including Leitz, DEA, Brown & Sharpe and the PC-DMIS software.

GF Auto Transfers Canadian Production To China Schaffhausen, Switzerland: GF Automotive, a business unit of Georg Fischer, will shift the bulk of its pressure casting operations from its site in Montreal, Canada to its light-metal foundry in Suzhou, China.

GF Automotive will effectively cease operation in the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) region by July 2009. GF Automotive products for the NAFTA area will in the future be manufactured in China. According to a Georg Fischer statement: “The decision has been motivated by the sharp deterioration of economic conditions in North America in recent months and is in line with the review of all GF Automotive sites announced by Georg Fischer in November 2008.”

A small portion of the operations for which customers request local production will in future be carried out with local partners. The foundry in Canada produces pressure-cast light-metal components for the automotive industry and other industrial segments and generated sales of about CHF 10 million (US$8.5 million) in 2008. The automotive industry accounts for about three quarters of the total.

10

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Romer portable measuring arms and Leica Geosystems measuring systems, complete the Hexagon product offering to Indian customers.

Sandvik Acquires Austrian Tungsten Producer St Martin, Austria: Sandvik has reached an agreement to acquire Wolfram Bergbau- und Hütten-GmbH Nfg KG (WBH), an Austrian producer and supplier of tungsten products. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2009, after approval by relevant anti-trust authorities.

WBH operates a refining plant for producing tungsten carbide, including a chemical plant for recycling tungsten material, in St Martin, Austria, where the headquarter is located. WBH also operates a mine and ore dressing plant in Mittersill, Austria. WBH is active within the tungsten industry since 1975 and offers tungsten carbide and tungsten metal powders.

Sandvik is part of WBH’s global customer base since many years. WBH’s qualified R&D-resources have created an outstanding product quality and offering of unique tungsten carbide grades. Tungsten carbide is the primary raw material of cemented carbide, and therefore the acquisition of WBH is of long-term strategic importance for Sandvik.

WBH will be a separate product area in the business area Sandvik Tooling. WBH will continue to operate independently and develop its business and customer relationships.

businessnews

www.equipment-news.com

Kawasaki Receives Rexpeller Order For Drillships Tokyo, Japan: Kawasaki Heavy Industries have received an order for 18 Rexpeller units for three drillships to be used in an oilfield development project being conducted

by Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), Brazil’s state owned oil company.

This is the first Rexpeller order for drillships to be used in exploratory drilling of new oil and gas wells. The order was placed by Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea, which will build the drillships for this project. The units will be delivered to Samsung in 2010 and 2011.

The Rexpeller is a fully azimuth-steerable thruster that can generate thrust in any horizontal direction and be utilised as a propulsor, rudder and side thruster.

Its manoeuvrability has made it a suitable propulsion solution for tugboats and supply boats. Kawasaki has supplied more than 500 Rexpeller units since 1983 when the product was first released. All 18 units are the KST320LF/AU (4,500 kW) model. The Rexpeller units on each drillship will operate concurrently to ensure the optimal positioning of the ship, which needs to maintain the exact same location during drilling operations.

APPOINTMENTS

Aluminum Assn Gets New Chairman

Thomas Brackmann

Fernando Simoes Henriques

The A luminum Association has a newly-appointed executive committee chairman – Thomas Brackmann. Mr Brackmann serves on The Aluminum Association’s Board of Directors and the Board of Secat, an aluminium research and development centre associated with the University of Kentucky.

In addition, Fernando Simoes Henriques has been elected as a Board of Directors member. Mr Henriques is president of Hydro’s Extrusion Americas unit where he is responsible for the company’s general extrusion operations in North and South America.

grinding Wheels grinding Wheels grinding Wheels from Winterthur: from Winterthur: from Winterthur: passionatel precise passionatel yyprecise passionatel y precise Thailand Thailand Thailand Winterthur Technology Co., WinterthurWinterthur Technology Co.,Ltd. Ltd. Technology Ltd. 4, Bangna 947/37, 8th Floor Thosapol Land,Co., Building 947/37, 8th Floor8th Thosapol Land, Building 4, Bangna 947/37, Floor Thosapol Land, Building 4, Bangna 10260 Bangkok, Thailand 10260 Bangkok, Thailand Thailand 10260 Bangkok, Phone: +66 27 441 5779 Phone: +66 27 441 5779 Phone: +66 27 441 5779 nattana@winterthurtechnology.co.th nattana@winterthurtechnology.co.th nattana@winterthurtechnology.co.th

Korea Korea Winterthur Technology Ltd. Korea Winterthur Technology Ltd. 304-704 Bucheon Technopark Winterthur Technology Ltd. 3 304-704 Bucheon Technopark 3 365 Samjeong-Dong 304-704 Bucheon Technopark 3 365 Samjeong-Dong Ohjeong-Gu 365 Samjeong-Dong Ohjeong-Gu Kyungki-Do / South Korea Ohjeong-Gu Kyungki-Do / South Korea Phone: +82 32 310 1000 Kyungki-Do / South Korea Phone: +82 32 310 1000 lee@winterthurtechnology.com Phone: +82 32 310 1000 lee@winterthurtechnology.com lee@winterthurtechnology.com China China Co. Ltd. WENDT Precision China WENDT Precision No. 8 Loujiang Road North Co. Ltd. WENDT Precision Co. Ltd. No. 8 Loujiang Road North 215400 Taicang No. 8 Loujiang North 215400 Taicang Phone: +86 512Road 8161 6801 Phone: +86 512 215400 Taicang sales@wendtgroup.com.cn 8161 6801 sales@wendtgroup.com.cn Phone: +86 512 8161 6801 sales@wendtgroup.com.cn

www.winterthurtechnology.com www.winterthurtechnology.com www.winterthurtechnology.com

WTG_EQnewsAsia_März09.indd 1 WTG_EQnewsAsia_März09.indd 1

WTG_EQnewsAsia_März09.indd 1

6.3.2009 16:21:22 Uhr 6.3.2009 16:21:22 Uhr

ENQUIRY NO 238

Malaysia Malaysia Technologie GmbH MalaysiaWinterthur Rappold Rappold Winterthur Technologie GmbH Rappold Winterthur Technologie GmbH No. 22, 1st Floor, Jalan Putra Mahkota 7/6A No.Floor, 22, 1st Floor, Jalan Putra Mahkota No. 22, 1st Jalan Putra Mahkota 7/6A 7/6A Putra Heights 47650 Subang Jaya Putra Heights 47650 Subang Jaya Putra Heights 47650 Malaysia Subang Jaya Selangor Darul Ehsan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Phone: +60 35 191 0534 Phone: +60 0534 35 191 0534 Phone: +60 35 191 lily@winterthurtechnology.com.my lily@winterthurtechnology.com.my lily@winterthurtechnology.com.my

6.3.2009 16:21:22 Uhr

April 2009 metalworking equipment news

11

businessnews

www.equipment-news.com

AUTOMOTIVE

GM Grows Presence In China

Shanghai, China: General Motors Corp (GM) is expanding its presence in the commercial vehicle market in China by setting up a second venture.

According to Shanghai Daily, the American car giant said it would cooperate with China’s FAW Group Corp to form a commercial vehicle venture in the country. This venture marks GM’s second commercial vehicle venture in China after its minivan and passenger car venture with SAIC, China’s the biggest car maker.

FAW owns a light commercial vehicle plant in southwest China and is able to turn out 150,000 vehicles annually. GM is counting on emerging markets such as China and Russia to help offset a sales slump in the US. The venture will enable GM to gain a wider product portfolio in the commercial vehicle market.

Mercedes-Benz Inaugurates Plant in Pune

Pune, India: Mercedes-Benz India has inaugurated its new manufacturing plant in Chakan, Pune. The facility, built within a 13-month time frame, sits on 100 acres of land and offers independent assembly facilities for both passenger and commercial vehicles.

While the plant is designed to manufacture the current local-production portfolio of the Mercedes-Benz C-, E-, and S-Class, it is also flexible enough to accommodate additional production of other models from the MercedesBenz model range on the same assembly line.

Dr Wilfried Aulbur, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said: “Over the years we have grown – from the 600 units back in 1999, we sold 3,600 units in 2008, with growth doubling consistently in the last three years.”

12

metalworking equipment news April 2009

China Surpasses US In Car Sales USA: Annualised US car sales slipped below 10 million unit mark in January 2009 – and were less than China’s for the first time in history, says a report in The Financial Times.

GM estimated the overall annualised selling rate for cars at 9.8 million in the US in January, compared with 10.3 million in December, and less than China’s estimated selling rate of 10.7 million in January 2009.

The slide in ca r sa le s hit a ll major manufacturers, especially Detroit’s GM, Chrysler and Ford. Autodata, a market research firm, put total estimated annual industry car sales at 9.6 million, their lowest level since 1982.

GM and Ford both attributed much of the slide in demand to sharply lower purchases by car rental companies. The report added that Toyota’s January sales dipped 32 percent while Honda sold 28 percent fewer vehicles.

Auto ma kers in China have repor ted a substantial sales increase in January this year following a government decision to halve the car purchase tax, says a report by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

On January 14, the government announced its plan to lower the purchase tax on cars with engines under 1.6 ltrs from 10 percent to 5 percent from January 20 to December 31 in a bid to spur the domestic auto industry. Major domestic brands, including Chery, Geely and BYD, which have models under 1.6 ltrs recorded high sales in January.

Tata Motors Bags Order For Low-Floor Buses New Delhi, India: Tata Motors has won an order from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to supply 1,625 ultra low-floor buses, and their maintenance for 12 years. The contract is valued at Rs.2200 crores, (US$452.21 million) comprising about Rs.900 crores for the 1,625 buses, and about Rs.1300 crores for the 12-year maintenance contract for these buses.

This is the second occasion that the DTC has entrusted the company with an order, aimed at revamping the city’s transportation system. The first such order won by the DTC was in 2007 for 650 buses.

ENQUIRY NO 022

businessnews

www.equipment-news.com

AEROSPACE

Int’l Aero Engines

Airbus Production Plans In China API Opens Aerospace Processing Facility

Tianjin, China: European planemaker Airbus SAS is likely to stick to its production plan in its Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Tianjin, said Laurence Barron, Airbus China president, the China Daily reported.

According to the planemaker’s original plan, the Tianjin FAL, the first Airbus final assembly line outside Europe, will deliver the first aircraft this June and 10 more by the end of 2009. Moreover, the company expects its monthly production capacity to reach four in 2011.

Airbus had earlier announced it would reduce monthly production of aircrafts of its A320 family to 34 from 36 starting from October this year. It said it would also not follow a plan to ramp up production of two other models.

Airbus, however, may adjust its production pace for Tianjin if things get worse, according to Barron.

Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line officially began operation in Tianjin in late September last year.

Currently, four Airbus A320 aircraft are being assembled on the FAL in Tianjin.

In addition to developments in Tianjin, Airbus has signed a contract with a group of Chinese industrial partners to establish a joint venture manufacturing centre in Harbin to manufacture composite material parts and components for the Airbus A350 XWB programme and Airbus A320 family aircraft.

The Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Mfg Centre Co Ltd (the Manufacturing Centre) will be set up in 2009.

Manufacturing operations are expected to start in September 2009 and a new plant should be ready for operations by the end of 2010.

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Bangalore, India: Aerospace Processing India (API) has open a processing facility in Belgaum (Karnataka, India), to cater to the needs of the aerospace manufacturing industry and to provide metal finishing treatment services for both the Indian export and domestic markets.

According to a Business Wire report, Magellan Aerospace and QuEST Global established API as an independent operating company to provide approved aerospace treatments that are not readily available in India. The fully integrated, scalable facility has been operational from January 2009.

In the initial phase, the facility would be focused on processes for aluminium, titanium and stainless steel components for aero-structure and aero-engine components.

The plant will have a fully automated anodising line, fully automated etching line, semi-automatic titanium etching line, primer and painting line, fluorescent particle inspection line, and magnetic particle inspection line.

The A PI facility also has a dedicated reverse osmosis plant, zero discharge effluent treatment plant and a chemical laboratory to meet statutory testing requirements in-house.

API has received support and encouragement from Airbus and Boeing in establishing operations to meet aerospace specifications. “API provides a much needed, standalone third party metal finishing treatment, services in India,” said Dr Srinivasan Dwarakanath, Airbus Director International Corp.

Cochin To Build Aerospace Industries Park Kochi, India: The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) will build a 100-hectare industry park. State industries minister Elamaram Kareem said: “There are opportunities for entrepreneurs to set up airport and aircraft related units for manufacture and repair of aerospace components at Kochi Airport. For this purpose an Industry park has been envisaged and is under active consideration of the Government.”

He said that there is scope for more industries getting into aerospace components and equipment manufacturing and also providing services.

Speaking about the industry park at a national workshop, he added that the park will be involved in the repairing and overhauling of large aircraft, engines, as well as aircraft equipment and systems, both for military and civil applications.

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FOUNDRY

Alcoa Forms Partnership With China’s Henan Province

Vietnam New Steel Project In Dung Quat

New York, USA: Alcoa has formed an agreement with the People’s Government of Henan Province in China to jointly establish projects for the fabricated and primary aluminium industry.

According to the company’s press release, Alcoa will work with Henan to identify value-adding projects for alumina, primary aluminium and aluminium fabrication facilities in the province. The Henan government will, in turn, provide the support for resource allocation, energy supply, development plans and policies needed to make Henan a competitive base for aluminium production.

As part of the agreement, Alcoa and Henan will cooperate on the sustainable development of the aluminium industry, deploying energy-saving and emissions reducing technologies, bauxite residue disposal, and aluminium recycling.

Henan, located in central China, is the country’s largest producer of non-ferrous metals. The area has abundant mineral resources and its bauxite reserves, which total 960 million metric tonnes, are the second largest across the country. It is home to 14 primary aluminium smelters, with a total capacity of 1.3 million mtpy, and seven alumina refineries with production capacity totalling over 2 million mtpy.

Hanoi, Vietnam: Construction started for a VND450 billion (US$26 million) steel mill at the Dung Quat Industrial Park in central Quang Ngai Province. The project, scheduled to produce 10,000 tonnes of steel and 1 million sq m of iron sheets per year under its Phase I projections.

Sited on 20ha of land in the industrial park, Phase I of the project is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2009 while Phase II is expected to be completed in a year’s time.

The project investor, Dai Dung Corporation, says the main products of the mill will be steel frame and components, and gas and liquid pipelines that will support the development of heavy industry in the Dung Quat Economic Zone in particular and the central region in general.

The mill is expected to be put into use by 2010 and employ more than 1,200 workers. To encourage the growth of the industry, the Vietnamese Government has reduced the value-added tax (VAT) for steel production from 10 to 5 percent from February 1. According to Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Viet Nam Steel Association, this may help the country’s steel industry to recover slightly. The price of steel hovers around VND11.13-11.76 million (US$636 – US$672) in early February this year.

The association estimates the steel industry will sell nine million tonnes in 2009, an increase of 2 - 5 percent over last year. Steel producers had an overstock of 500,000 tonnes of steel by the end of last year. The steel price, excluding VAT for trading of steel products, dropped from VND20 million to VND10 million per tonne, but purchases were still low in the second half of 2008.

Chinalco Buys US$19.5b Shares In Rio Tinto Hong Kong: A luminum Corp of China (also known as Chinalco), has agreed to invest US$19.5 billion in the London-based Rio Tinto Group.

Chinalco will own 18 percent of Rio should it convert the debt says a report in Bloomberg.

Rio Tinto had earlier rejected BHP Billiton’s US$66 billion hostile bid in 2008. China is securing supplies to sustain economic growth after metal prices plunged 56 percent from a July high, ending a six- year commodity boom and slashing mine values.

The funds w ill a llow R io to continue with its growth projects, including expansion of the Yarwun

refinery, the Kestrel coking coal mine and the Clermont thermal coal mine in Australia.

However, Rio Tinto’s shareholders have expressed concern about the proposed deal with Chinalco. Legal & General, the second largest investor after Chinalco itself, said it had outlined its concerns and will back a

rights issue if the terms are right and would encourage a new bid, perhaps from BHP Billiton.

Rio’s deal to raise $US7.2 billion through a convertible bond issued to Chinalco, while also selling assets to the Chinese state-owned metals group to raise a further $US12.3 billion, has angered many investors.

April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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FOUNDRY

JSW Commissions India’s Largest Blast Furnace Vijayanagar, India: JSW Steel has become the la rge st pr iv ate ste el maker in the country, surpassing Tata Steel, with the commissioning of a three million tonne per annum (MTPA) blast furnace at its Vijaynagar facility on February 18, 2 0 0 9. T he new bla st furnace is the largest in the country by capacity.

JSW will be able to produce 7.8 MTPA steel, one million tonne more than Tata Steel, after the new capacity addition. The facility is JSW Steel’s third blast furnace at Vijayanagar Steels and operates with high top pressure (2.5 bar) and high hot blast temperature (1250 deg C) to ensure maximum coal injection and energy saving.

The furnace has the biggest blowers (40 MW) from Man-Turbo of Switzerland and comes with environmental protection systems like Cyclone & Venturi scrubber for gas cleaning, cast house and stock house de dusting systems, slag granulation system etc. Waste energy is recovered through 11 MW top gas recovery turbines.

The plant will supply long product like wire rods and rebars processed from billets. The slab casters are able to produce wider and thicker slabs (2200 mm wide x 300 mm thick).

Currently, JSW has 4.8 MTPA capacity, which includes 1-MTPA of Salem unit. SAIL is India’s largest public sector steel maker with a capacity of close to 15 MTPA. Tata Steel was at the top among private players with an installed capacity of 6.8 MTPA. JSW steel is also finalising the setting up of a 5 MTPA hot strip mill to be commissioned in the second half of fiscal 2009-10. The final phase of expansion taking the total capacity to 10 MTPA at Vijayanagar Works will be commissioned in fiscal 2010/11.

Business statistics

Metalforming Demand Expected To Stay Low Ohio, USA: Metalforming companies in the US can expect tough times to continue, according to the February 2009 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report.

Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 147 metalforming companies in the US and Canada. Only nine percent of Precision Metalforming Association members are optimistic.

Metalformers anticipate a slight decline in general economic activity for the months leading to May 09. Only nine percent of participants predict an improvement in business (down from 14 percent in January), 48 percent expect that activity will remain unchanged (up from 41 percent last month) and 43 percent reported that activity will decline (compared to 45 percent in January).

Metalforming companies also anticipate that incoming orders will decrease during the next three months. Only 16 percent of companies forecast an increase in orders (down from 19 percent in January), 34 percent expect no change (compared to 32 percent the previous month) and 50 percent predict a decrease in orders (up from 49 percent in January).

Current average daily shipping levels remained steady in February. 79 percent of participants report that shipping levels are below levels of three months ago (the same percentage reported in January), 14 percent report no change (compared to 17 percent in January) and seven 16

metalworking equipment news April 2009

percent report that shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (up from four percent last month).

“As producers of components and assemblies for a wide range of commercial, industrial and consumer goods, metalforming companies are dependent on their customers to drive orders and shipments,” said William E Gaskin, PMA president in a news release. “Virtually every sector of our manufacturing base, with the possible exception of defence industries, is experiencing substantial cutbacks in production, impacting the outlook for the metalforming industry into the spring.”

ENQUIRY NO 058

FIRST

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deliver as efficiently as possible a nd – to rema in competitive – need to stay on top of machining developments. With profiling of wider grooves representing a large part of cutting time, the latest tooling technology dedicated to this area is especially interesting.

Round Solution

It’s Groovy

To machine wide grooves or pockets, suitably sized rounded indexable inserts have become the natural solution.

Contributed by Jeremy Lim, marketing communications, Sandvik SEA

R

ings, discs, shafts and casings are gas-turbine components that a re t y pica lly subjected to profile turning in grooves (often with relatively complex shapes in tightly confined spaces). Turned and grooved considerably, these components are made in materials that do not lend themselves easily to metal cutting.

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High cutting forces, machining te mp e rat u re s a nd notc h - we a r tendency ma ke conditions demanding for the cutting edge and for machining operations to be performed efficiently. These require purpose-developed cutting tools and methods.

Suppliers of these parts are increasingly under cost and time p re s su re to m a nu fa c t u re a n d

Most of the grooves and shapes on the gas-turbine engine components are for strength reasons provided with radii and blending profiles. To machine wide grooves or pockets, suitably sized rounded indexable inserts have become the natural solution. A round cutting edge has additional advantages such as the strongest cutting edge; thin chips which allow for higher feed rates and the ability to generate a suitable surface finish.

Round inserts have therefore experienced the highest growth in this machining area, which is a reflection of the success of recent insert geometry and grade developments.

Nearly all inserts have a nose radius and in this respect the round inserts can be said to have its entire cutting edge in the form of a radius.

They are used as wholly round inserts, with screw-clamping through a centre hole in a turning tool, or as a grooving insert with a rounded edge in a blade-type tool, alternatively engineered-inserts, ground from hockey- stick shaped bla nk s to maximise tool-reach.

In all of the tool-types, the capable round cutting edge is achieved in sizes suitable to shape radii through advantageous tool-paths.

Extreme Machining With ga s - turbine component machining performed in demanding materials such as heat resistant super alloys or titanium alloys, careful selection of tools, cutting data and tool-paths is inevitable.

For example, in these applications, selecting the right shape of cutting edge (insert) can make a difference of a factor eight to tool-life, for the same

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insert grade and geometry.

Machinability here is rated as poor, which is the trade - off for these component materials having such goo d st reng t h a nd he atresistant properties. Cutting forces and cutting-zone temperatures are higher than other materials.

Pressure and wear on the cutting edge is more intense and localised.

Furthermore, tools selected for heat resistant alloys should be different to those for titanium because the materials machine quite differently.

W he n prof il i n g g ro ove s on these components there is today plenty of scope for optimisation, which will save machining time as well as ensuring the security of the machining process and the consistency of component quality, thereby reducing scrap. Having selected the most up-to-date and suitable round tooling for t he rough or finish operations at hand, optimising cutting data is next. This, in order to control heat development, tool-life and chip formation.

The combination of chip thickness, depth of cut and feed rate is particularly important to get right when it comes to using round inserts.

The entering angle of the cutting edge plays a vital role in machining heat resistant alloys, as it is fundamental to defining chip thickness.

This is partly to counter the formation of notch wea r when machining heat resistant super alloys and in the machining of titanium to control the evacuation of longer chips. Feed rates then need to be selected to give a thick enough chip without negatively affecting the cutting edge.

Considerable Influence Cutting speed is a limitation in these materials with very different recommendations for insert grades in cemented carbide and ceramics.

For ceramics a careful balance is needed between sufficient heat to be generated for the material to plastically deform into a chip but not excessive so as to be detrimental

to the tool material. For cemented carbide, where the cutting speed is limited, a higher feed rate is usually advantageous from a productivity point of view with a slight reduction in tool-life.

The round insert has an entering angle continuously variable from 0 to 90 degrees, depending upon how much of the edge is in cut. A round insert has the strongest edge through insert shape and provides a natural cutting edge clearance.

For cera mic inser ts in heat resistant super alloys, and cemented carbide inserts in these alloys as well as titanium alloys, the maximum d e p t h o f c u t fo r s a t i sfa c to r y performance with round inserts is 25 percent of the insert diameter (iC), providing a maximum entering angle of 60 degrees. Any larger leads to vibration tendencies and unpredictable performance due to excessive edge engagement.

The best performa nce is 15 percent or below, with an entering angle of 45 degrees or less. The thinner chip at a smaller entering angle will contribute towards a higher feed potential and help to minimise notch wear tendency.

According to recommendations for these inserts, the difference in

possible positive feed-modification, due to depth- of- cut to insertdiameter-ratio between 0.05 x iC, (with an entering angle at 26 degrees) and 0.15 x iC (at 45 degrees), is a factor 2.3 to 1.4, taking into account suitable maximum and minimum chip thicknesses.

The above has a considerable influence on the metal removal rate, cutting time, programming possibilities, surface finish as well as security of grooving and profiling operations using round inserts.

Opportunities For Optimisation W hen turning g rooves, chip evacuation is always a critical factor.

For titanium, it is often favourable to have a longer chip, formed into a coil or a round spring, with the width smaller than the insert (groove) width. Because of the material being highly sheared, forming the chip narrower is more demanding, requiring a balance between the most suitable insert geometry and feed rate. Tool-life is also a factor for establishing the optimum feed within the range of the geometry.

The component ty pes in question have a lot of wide groove machining with opportunities for

Sandvik

Online Tutorial On Cemented Carbide Although it has been more than 80 years since the first cemented carbide material was marketed, the pace of development in the field remains rapid.

Sandvik issues 20 to 30 Cemented Carbiderelated patents and releases five to 10 new grades with improved performance every year.

Its Hard Materials division has just launched an online tutorial on all-about-cemented-carbide.

The free learning tool covers topics that include the different types of cemented carbide, its composition, how it’s made, the processes involved and where it can be used.

For more information, log on to: www. allaboutcementedcarbide.com.

Enquiry No. 3001

April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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optimisation through applying the most suitable tools and tool paths.

All grooves involve walls and this, if no measures are taken, can lead to a disadvantageous increase of cutting edge engagement when tools come up against them.

When machining into a corner, an edge can suddenly experience a jump in the angle of edge engagement from less than 45 degrees to 100 degrees - the depth of cut can increase from 15 percent to 60 percent of the round insert diameter. This shock and added load effect can give rise to excessive tool wear and even insert breakage, as well as leaving fewer edges available for indexing on the round insert.

In’s & Out’s There are various ways of optimising turning into and along groove corners with round inserts. Reduced feed rate on approaching the corner is the main one, which lowers the pressure on the edge. Combining the use of a suitable insert diameter for the size of the corner radius is another.

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Minimising edge engagement by not machining the wall-face and radius of the corner simultaneously is another step. The aim should be for the tool to roll in and out of the corner cut with an insert size of suitable relation to the corner radius, with the best programmed tool-path radius, at a suitable feed. The larger the difference between the corner radius and insert diameter, the less the feed needs to be reduced and the better the productivity.

As regards the tool-path, the programmed radius of the tool should not be larger than the insert diameter depending upon the nature of the operation. Generally, wide groove machining should be seen as dividing the task into profiling cuts. This, to maintain suitable arcs of edge engagement at optimised levels of feed rate, with strategic security reductions and to maintain productive depths of cut.

Trochoidal turning, with constant interpolation involving relatively light engagement of the tool, is an advantageous method which can

Reducing feedrate and proper tool selection are good ways to optimise processes

improve the cutting action and be an advantageous alternative to ramping, plunge turning and various forms of repeat grooving.

Adva nces in round inser t machining have taken place by way of insert grades, geometries as well as programming methods.

D e d i c a te d i n s e r t g r a d e s a n d geometries are essential for turning heat resistant super alloys and newer cemented carbide grades have made considerable inroads, complementing ceramics.

SO5F is an advanced cemented carbide grade. Its thin CVD-coating on a ha rd f i ne - g ra i ne d i n se r t substrate gives it a high resistance to detrimental effects of higher machining temperatures and thus high wear resistance. Consequently, it gives new capacity for turning with higher cutting data in both roughing and finishing operations.

Grade GC1105 is a PVD-coated cemented carbide grade. It provides high hot-hardness which prevents sha rper cutting edges from plastic deformation over a broad operational range.

On the ceramic-grade side, the Sialon grade CC6060 provides a very complete solution for tools that perform profiling and pocketing operations. The grade is very notchwear resistant in more stable, premachined conditions.

On the geometry side, round inserts and round-edge grooving inserts such as SM and RO have been developed to optimise turning, profiling and pocketing operations in heat resistant super alloys.

SM is a round-insert geometry with broad range. Its light-cutting edge geometry combined with grade S05F permits high cutting data.

Geometry RO is a CoroCut grooveprofiling insert having double round edges. It has a sharp edge, developed to provide good chip control at lower depths of cut and feed rates in heat resistant super alloys and other sticky materials. MEN Enquiry No. 3002

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

THEY’RE HERE ! . . .

NEW SOLUTIONS FOR STEEL TURNING !!

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S ough g Layer strength t r e tra sup atin New new “Co ity and ex il a with nt reliab e ll exce

“Super FF Coat” is Sumitomo Electric’s new generation CVD coating technology that incorporate ultra-FLAT coating layers with a high density ultra-FINE grained coating structure.

ENQUIRY NO 053

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L A T E -M T F O S G IMPROVIN AY’S D O T N I G N I N I MACH IMES

T G N I G N E L L A H C

By ISCA R

Fig.1 Soft aluminum and copper alloys can be deceptive to machine. The bad news is that they create chips much more quickly and built-up edge more readily. Because they’re so ductile, you may be moving material out of the way instead of making chips. The good news is that you can machine much faster, use one-third the power as steel machining, and need not worry about heat or abrasive wear. In addition, when you do, you gain a real competitive advantage in a very tough market. (fig.1) The other good news is that many of the latest and best tool design ideas for steels have been extended to aluminum, copper and brass. The tooling addresses the problems of ductility, long-chipping characteristics and tendency to weld to the cutting edge that can interfere.

Thus, today you can get tangential milling cutters, intricate moldmaking tools, replaceable-tip and solid carbide mills and drills that are fully optimized for softmetal work. The latest examples are internal coolant delivery, in-spindle indexing and tip change capability.

Their matching inserts feature the necessary sharp ground edges, polished rake faces and high rakes.

Many of them now come with helical edges, which enter the cut as gently as scissors cut paper.

For the aerospace industry, when machining fuselage parts, ISCAR’s GOLDALU tools have an improved pocket design and are TiN coated. This coating provides high surface hardness, which improves wear resistance and durability, prevents aluminum from adhering to the cutter and gives the tool an impressive appearance. (fig.2)

For the automotive industry, when machining aluminum wheels, the CUT-GRIP holder with improved insert clamping and internal coolant is used, providing high productivity.

Moving You Ahead, Not Holding You Back In other words, today you can optimize your soft-metal machining, not compromise. If you’re running those parts in the high speed machining (HSM) mode, the tooling needn’t hold you back. The more likely limitation will be G forces on the machine frame due to the high feeds and rapid traverses – but certainly not the tooling.

This wasn’t always the case. Back when high speed steel (HSS) was the best available tool material for soft metals, surface speed was limited mainly by heat, which in turn hobbled feed rates. Nothing ruins a HSS cutting edge quicker than overheating. When carbides, with their much greater hardness and heat tolerance, became the mainstay tool material, most tool development targeted steel and cast iron. Soft-metal machining took a back seat.

New Milling and Drilling Solutions Contrast that era of compromise with the options available today. ISCAR’s BALLPLUS HCR-QP insert (fig.3) and the MULTI-MASTER multifunction milling system (fig.4a & b), so popular for steel diemaking, now includes high-rake ground and polished tips optimized for aluminum and brass. Now you can switch tips and processes, right on the spindle on an aluminum mold –

Fig.3

Fig.4a Fig.4b

in seconds and without losing datum references – just as you could for years on steel. Indeed, by switching tips, you can mill either steel or aluminum at optimal rates without unchucking the tool shank. Likewise, ISCAR’s HELIALU milling inserts and solid carbide SOLIDMILL and SOLIDSHRED roughing endmills are

Fig.2

Fig.5

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

Fig.6

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now available optimized for aluminum – sharp edges, high rakes, polished rake faces. To facilitate highervolume chip evacuation, the solid carbide tools also feature wider parabolic flutes with a 3% higher helix angle. (fig.5) The same is true for solid carbide SUMOCHAM, with uncoated carbide inserts. (fig.6) In addition to the sharp edge and extra-spacious flutes, the ICN drill head for soft metals offers internal coolant delivery for either conventional flood or Minimal Quantity Lubrication (MQL) practice. For deeper holes, the insert selection for ISCAR gundrills now includes PCD with the same ground-and-polished aluminum geometry.

ISCAR offers adjustable-pocket face mills and endmills, designed mainly to carry ADKW 1505 PCD or PCBN tipped inserts for use on aluminum or any other non-metallic materials.

As these applications require High Speed Machining, they are dynamically balanced for high RPM (G2.5 grade). All the new tools are equipped with internal coolant holes, which help in chip evacuation and reduce built-up edge, providing better tool life.

Tangential milling may be a newcomer to softmetal milling, but is a well proven process for heavy flat roughing of steel. The main benefit is longer tool life and better surface finish at high removal rates under unfavorable conditions. Often the surface is good enough to eliminate a finishing operation.

The technique is thus named because the inserts are oriented tangentially rather than radially, which presents the strongest cross section with the main force vector. TANGMILL cutters and inserts tailored for aluminum are available with 90° angles for shoulder milling. (fig.7) The butterfly-shaped inserts have multiple edges, providing extra economy.

Fig.7

Fig.8

Fig.9 No-Compromise Turning Turning tools for soft metals require the same sharp edges, polished flanks and rakes, plus very aggressive chipformers to break up continuous chips. Such inserts have recently been added to the ISCAR ISOTURN (fig.8) and CUT-GRIP turning tools. Field reports indicate that the CUT-GRIP has proven especially effective on shallow passes, where the material might move rather than cleave off.

A large and very successful application for CUTGRIP tools has been turning aluminum wheels. (fig.9) Most of the work is done with ground and polished 35° V-shaped inserts. A double prismatic clamping system presents the tool at a high rake angle while providing the rigidity for heavy cuts and a smooth top surface for more reliable chip flow.

Tooling Details to Demand What to look for in tooling for soft metals? Look for the sharp edge, polished flank, high positive rake, aggressive chipformers and plenty of room for chip evacuation. The sharp edge ensures that you are actually cutting metal, not pushing it out of the way only to spring back once the tool passes. The high positive rake (above 7°) also induces a cleaving rather than scraping action and also helps deflect the chip away from the cutting zone. Reason for the polished flank (or rake face) is to prevent any built-up edge (BUE), a common tendency with these softer, lower-melting metals. The aggressive chipbreakers and spacious gullets and flutes are necessary because chip loads are quite high relative to steel. Also, the chips produced in turning operations tend to be continuous.

Never forget that an optimized operation on an aluminum or copper alloy will go very fast, but present additional chip control issues. Speeds will normally be 500-1000 m/min (1000-4000 SFPM). Feed rates of 5 m/min (200 IPM) are not uncommon. Running slower can be a mistake, in fact, creating more of a rubbing than cleaving action. Chip loads may be 0.25-0.8 mm (0.010-0.030 IPT), which means a lot of chips to handle.

However, you needn’t compromise in tooling selection for soft metal work anymore. The selection is wide, so it is very likely that you can find a tool optimized for your particular metal and application. It is important to be sure that both the insert and cutter body are optimized for the work. Putting a set of aluminumgrade inserts in a steel grade cutter body could slow you down because of the chip management problems.

Impact of Alloys Also, know which alloying elements are in the metal.

Rarely will you encounter pure aluminum or copper.

Zinc and sulfur additives and silicon up to 7%, will improve machinability and benefit chip formation.

By contrast, higher silicon, as found principally in aluminum casting grades, creates a special case. The microstructure can actually produce tiny grains of “sand” in the microstructure, which dull the cutting edge in no time (like sandblasting). For this reason, the insert material of choice for cast aluminum is PCD. Machine settings should be reduced, as if you were machining cast iron or steel. In fact, if you have an aluminum casting to machine -- especially an engine or on-engine part -- assume it’s a silicon grade.

Six Tips for Better Results Once you have selected the proper tool, here are some other tips for more efficient soft-metal machining.

• Keep it sharp. Edges will last longer than in steel machining, but the materials are less tolerant of even slightly dull tools. The sharp edge ensures that you are cutting the metal, not temporarily pushing it out of the way.

• Run as fast as the machine will allow. Proper tooling will never be the limiting factor when machining soft metals. Soft metal machining generates only 1/3 the cutting force per unit volume of metal removal, as does steel. G forces on the machine, workholding or chip disposal problems will kick in before any tooling problems.

• Make plenty of room for chips. Example: a 2-flute cutter may actually let you feed faster than a 3-flute cutter simply because of the additional clearances for chip evacuation.

• Keep it cool. Always use coolant. You won’t need it to protect the tool. Rather, the coolant lubricates the cutting face, helps break up and flush chips away and prevent built-up edge. Moreover, coolant keeps the workpiece from overheating and distorting as a result. Soft metals have a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than steel. Drilling operations in particular generate a lot of heat because of the friction and heat transfer from the hot chips flowing up through the flutes.

• Index sooner rather than later. A worn edge good enough for steel is too worn for aluminum. You need a sharper edge and smoother surface to sustain accuracy and surface finish quality. Be sure you’re actually cutting. Things can go bad quickly – builtup edge, poor finish, loss of dimensional accuracy - unless the cutting edge is very sharp.

• HSM throughout. If you are running on a HSM machine, be sure to use HSM-rated tools so you can safely take advantage of higher speeds and feeds.

New Options, New Opportunities Despite Hard Times All in all, you have a lot more tooling options available today for soft-metal machining. Updating your practices on aluminum, brass and copper parts can be more profitable and more competitive, not only in today’s tough environment, but tomorrow, when business expands again. In fact, slow times may be the best time for serious retooling because you have some slack shop time in which to experiment. Take a tip from the smart fisherman: when the fish aren’t biting, mend your nets.

And as you upgrade your soft machining practices, ask ISCAR for help. You’ll get better answers sooner.

ENQUIRY NO 056 April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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Grinding

r o t a r e Op New configurations, options, and controls bring versatility to centerless abrasive machining operations. By Brian Gehrke, Engineering Manager, Tru Tech Systems

G

iven the amount of coverage lavished on machining and turning operations, one might surmise that grinding is a relatively static technology and, in function, closer to the past than the future.Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is that advances in grinder design and control technology have changed the ways in which abrasive machining has been regarded, and inventive shops and manufacturers are achieving savings in time, money and operations by utilising grinding in non-traditional ways.

Much of this progress derives from a more holistic approach to the technology that focuses beyond the hardware and incorporates management needs as well.

The ‘New’ Machine Changes in the parts type and batch lot sizes currently run on centerless grinders, coupled with a move towards automated operation, have 24

metalworking equipment news April 2009

impacted the basic machine platform.

Among the features demanded by customers are short changeover time, ease in programming, and user friendliness in terms of instruction and operation.

As with any grinder, the modern ce nte rl e s s u n it , d e si g n e d fo r applications ranging from 6” to 9” with a maximum 3” diameter, requires rigid heavy weight construction to maximise vibration dampening. The heart of the machine is a precision grinding unit mated to the base, capable of delivering accuracies of ±0.00010” and repeatability of ±0.000050”. Input increments are 0.000010”. Motor size ranges from 2 to 3hp, depending on the application, and the wheel size is 8”.

To ensure in-process accuracy, parts rest on a precision ground hard rubber roller. Options include auto dressing or live dressing, automatic post dressing adjustment, touch sensors, and fast wheel change capability. Swarf control measures include precision

filtration to 1 micron and coolant chill capability for temperature control.

Practical Solutions Because grinding is frequently a finishing process, it is critical that the unit be properly programmed and operated correctly. Our experience with customers indicated that operator error was responsible for a large percentage of scrap parts. In today’s world of complex, high-value applications and costly materials, this quickly becomes an expensive problem.

Due to the high technological content in the modern centerless grinder, it is critical that operators are properly trained in correct progra mming operation a nd maintenance. We found the most practical solution in the development of a control featuring an interactive voice tutorial.

Utilising simple but precise instructions in a sequential format, the operator is guided through a series of operations that literally

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provide in-process training. The programme is available in multiple la ng uages, a nd the Web - ba sed platform permits easy expansion.

Programming is likewise aided by user-friendly software that permits the entry of basic values rather than G codes. Once the values are entered, simulated part views can be seen in highly readable graphics.

Other assists include Triangle Help and Radius Help features.

Using Triangle Help, the operator has to enter only two values of any basic 3-4-5 triangle, and the control will calculate the remainder. Radius help is likewise simplified. Once the height and depth of the part are entered, the angle required to blend radii is automatically calculated.

Approaching Automation While certain types of grinding operations have long been automated by mechanical means, the dissimilarity between grinder controls and other machine tool controls and software platforms has hindered the development of fully networked automated systems.

To remedy this problem, key machine tool builders worked with the A MT and a select group of leading machine control builders and peripheral manufacturers in the development of MTConnect (Machine To ol Con ne c t), a n i nte rac t ive platform that permits reporting, G code recognition, and other features between differing machine controls and software platforms.

Introduced at IMTS 20 08, MTConnect will prov ide the common linkage long sought by shops and manufacturers who have previously had to standardise on a single control platform in order to implement automated operations.

More than just machine controls, MTConnect can also accommodate MRP software and other refinements that expedite networking and permit remote reporting.

New Materials & New Frontiers The advent of new materials —

including new alloys, ceramics, composites, and next-generation plastics — has also assisted in elevating the importance of grinding in contemporary manufacturing. In some cases, abrasive machining is the only practicable way of working the materials. This is true for some ceramics and glass compositions.

Likewise, the grinding process has enabled certain materials to be worked in a manner that changes their characteristics. For instance, in one application, a high tensile plastic that was naturally brittle became flexible when ground to 0.0010.”

Manufacturers are also discovering that non-traditional uses of grinding can perform multiple operations in a single step. In one application, a toolmaker utilises grinding to cut carbide blanks.

By using t he cor rect abra sive composition and optimising feed and speed, the blanks are both cut and finish-ground in the same operation.

As precision has become more important to smaller round parts, especially in such areas like medical instrumentation and appliances, avionics and scientific research instruments, it has become obvious t hat g r inding delivers g re ater roundness and concentricity, even on

parts as thin as the wire utilised for intravenous camera inspection which requires a tolerance of ±1 micron.

Greater Flexibility Although new configurations, such as vertical grinding have recently become available, for the most part, the basic grinder has probably changed less than any other machine tool.

It can, however, be augmented with a wide range of fixturing options that can deliver unprecedented flexibility, as well as total or full automation. Some of these include rotary indexing for surface grinding, thru-feed stop sensing, support rods, chuck-in-front, tilting sine plates, and probing.

Versatility is enhanced by more robust control capabilities. Although most applications require only two axes of motion, certain PC-based controls can handle up to eight. If necessary, a second control can be added to accommodate other automated functions.

Incorporating a Scara robot and specially designed grippers in a load/unload system makes untended second-shift operation a re a lit y. T his ca n be f u r t her augmented by the Ebbco filtration system that maintains coolant at

Using grinding for blank cutting are some of the non-traditional applications of the process April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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a constant temperature to prevent part expansion.

Because maintenance and service are necessary keys to untended or minimally tended systems, controls can be made to offer both on-site diagnostic capability, as well as telephonic or Internet connection to our factory for remote resolution of questions or problems. An automatic lubrication system can maintain a constant flow of lubricant and shuts the unit down should the lubricant fall below a certain level.

The Future Concepts currently in research will advance grinding further into the future. Control features now under development will provide further simplification of the entire process.

By entering basic values regarding configuration, as well as information on material, the control will return instructions regarding the type of wheel to be used, correct speeds and feeds, and perhaps estimated production time.

Automation will be advanced by acoustic probing, self-loading wheel technology, and automatic wheel dressing. We foresee that plunge and peel grinding will become more popular, as will specialty profiles and gear generation.

Currently, we see an increasing number of machining centre and turning centre manufacturers utilising so - called ‘on-machine grinding’ through the use of live tooling options. Admittedly, the results are less satisfactory in terms of holding tolerances that can be found on a dedicated machine; but the process is indicative of a greater awareness and acceptance of grinding’s potential.

A s we move into the future, m o r e m a nu fa c t u r e r s u t i l i si n g non-traditional materials in the production of complex parts will be seeking new production methods.

Abra sive machining just might be in the forefront of that new technology. MEN Enquiry No. 3003 26

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Back To Basics

Grinding Out Results

Grinding is the usual choice when a fine surface finish on a work piece is desired. The grinding process usually involves running a work piece past a grinding wheel, removing material and bringing the part down to dimension.

Used in tandem with a grinding machine, grinding wheels come with different abrasives, structure, bond, grade, and grain sizes.

Common abrasive materials used are cubic boron nitride, manufactured The thought process behind grinding wheel diamonds, aluminium oxide and selection is a complex one. ceramic aluminium oxide.

Selection criteria of abrasive usually depend on the hardness of the material to be ground. With the density, grade and grain size of the wheel also a factor, there are a lot of considerations behind grinding wheel selection.

The grade of the wheel refers to the bonding of the abrasives. A major consideration, it affects almost all parameters of grinding, such as wheel speed, coolant flow, feed rates, and grinding depth.

Grain size on the other hand, determines the physical abrasive size in the wheel.

A larger grain will cut freely, allowing fast cutting but poor surface finish. Ultra-fine grain sizes are for precision working, where a fine surface finish is required.

Common Grinding Wheels

Saucer Wheel

Straight Wheel

Possess a special grinding profile

Used on the edge only

Used to grind twist drills

Most common type of wheel

Common in non-machining areas

Wide range of dimensions

Diamond Wheel

Cylinder Wheel

Bonded with industrial diamonds

Used in horizontal or vertical machines

Used for grinding hard materials

Deployed to produce flat surfaces

Tapered Wheel Tapers outward towards the centre of the wheel Suitable for higher lateral loads.

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From a customer’s perspective, WinMax signifi cantly reduces setuptotime With intuitive software and real visual part WinMax is a generation above anyyour control With multiple patents, WinMax has more thanrepresentation, 25 new technology features that will take shop the software currently being offered.

From a customer’s perspective, WinMax signifi cantly reduces setup time and provides consistent and improved surface fi nish quality. next level of productivity. and provides consistent and improved finish With multiple patents, WinMax has moresurface than 25 newquality. technology features that will take your shop to the Withofmultiple patents, WinMaxExperience has more thanthe 25 new technology features that will take your shop to the next level productivity. power of WinMax. next level of productivity.

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Technology

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update

Laser Tracking Technology:

L

aser tracker is arguably the rising star in the field of metrology as they allow a shorter setup time while also reducing the margin of error.

Incorporating this technology into mo de r n me t rolog y e qu ipme nt yields advantages aplenty. Taveesak Srisuntisuk, sales director of Hexagon Metrology feels that although each technology has its own advantages, laser-tracking technology has the edge when physical parts becomes too big.

“When the parts are too large or cumbersome or unproductive to move to a fixed location to be inspected or measured, it becomes necessary to have the measurement device located in-situ,” he says.

He also adds that in metalworking industries, where this technology is more prevalent, users want to have measurements done in midprocess to increase productivity a nd in reducing scrap, ma k ing measurements in-situ critical.

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Echoing this point is Dav id Sommers, technical product manager of Faro: “The increased flexibility of trackers allows them to be used for many different applications based on size and location of the tools or parts being inspected. This allows for the initial cost of the system to be reclaimed in a short period of time.”

Light Path The influx of complicated and difficult to measure parts in the metalworking industry has brought about the need for this technology and the early signs are indicating that they are here to stay and grow.

“Trackers have already made a significant impact in this industry.

They are used extensively through the industry for constructing and verifying jigs and tooling,” says Mr Sommers.

“Parts that were once too large to measure with conventional CMM can now be measured with great accuracy on or off the machine

depending on the needs of the manufacturing process,” he adds.

Mr Taveesak also agrees that the technology has a future in the industry.

“The first laser trackers were primarily used in the aerospace industry in measuring and inspection of large volume parts and for process alignment purposes. Today, this same solution has been strongly adopted into ma ny automotive applications, large volume die and mould shops for measurement, in sp e c t ion a nd in duplicat ion or fabrication applications for productivity reasons,” he says.

Growth Potential Even though the capability of the method is proven, efforts to achieve technological advancements in the field of laser tracking are underway.

Like in many other fields, R&D plays a big part. According to Mr Sommers, the industry as a whole is working to decrease the size of tracking devices

Patryk Buchcik, CA, USA

LightSide

This subtle but powerful technology has found its way into metrology, bringing along its vast potential. By Joson Ng

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while increasing their range and accuracy. At the same time there are initiatives to develop products that are much easier to use than those available today.

M r Ta v e e s a k r e v e a l s t h a t the portable division from Leica Geosystems has invested heavily in R& D. That brought about the T- Ca m/ T- Probe [the 6 - Deg ree s Of Freedom( DOF ) commercially available portable hand-held laser probing system] solution in 2004, the T-Scan solution in 2005 and the T-Mac in 2007.

He went on to say the fifth generation laser tracker model; AT was launched in 2008 with a distance measuring technology; called the AIFM. It is the synthesis of an IFM (interferometer) and an ADM (absolute distance meter). This AIFM delivers faster and more accurate measurements (and allows a longer measuring range of 80 m and more — representing a volume of more than 160 m).

CMM Vs Laser Tracking “Laser trackers are portable and can be taken almost anywhere and mounted in locations that are not

Mr Taveesak feels that laser tracking technology has a future in the industry.

readily accessible,” says Mr Sommers.

He continues: “The size to cost ratio of a tracker is significantly less and can be as much as one quarter the price of conventional CMM of similar measurement volume.”

Mr Taveesak says that traditional CMMs converts physical movement of a probed distance along an X-YZ placed encoded scale to obtain measurements. Laser tracking on the other hand, converts physical distance moved using changes in the

Faro Offers...

feedback of the laser beams.

As for 3D trackers, they are based on a polar measuring principle working on an optical base. Therefore the volume and transportability is in a complete different world. The 6-DOF system is a combination of polar measuring technology with photogrammetry/image processing, to enable measurements of points that are even out of direct line of sight. MEN Enquiry No. 3101

Hexagon (Leica) Offers...

Faro’s patented Absolute Distance Measurement (ADM) technology is an ADM system that offers high speed, high accuracy measurements that allow the user to pick the beam up on the fly and scan highdensity point clouds.

Hexagon’s laser tracking technology focuses on ergonomic and practical real-world 6-DOF tracking capabilities. The technology is being used in fully automated applications (as T Scan on robot or special touch trigger probe on T MAC).

SelfComp, an automated compensation routine that uses on board targets to ensure the tracker is operating at the highest level of accuracy regardless of the environment and how it is mounted.

In benchmarking tests carried out by some of Hexagon’s customers in certain complex environment, they have found the company’s solution to be as much as four times more productive than a tracker-arm combination.

Featuring the Smartwarm function, which runs automatically when the tracker is switched on, and heats it to a stable temperature in half the time of other models. This reduces downtime and allows for measurements to begin. Faro’s trackers balance size and performance and focus on speed of data collection and reporting. With fast setup times, it also allows measurements performed at the part location.

It utilises a patented T-Cam that tracks a lightweight hand-held probing device transforming the laser tracker into a true 6-DOF ‘walkaround’ CMM. This allows users the freedom to move around untethered and without physical barriers of volumetric constraints. Users are then able to perform expeditious and productive measurements within their working environment.

April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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measurement

ASolution Tailored

A PLM supplier should also be a business partner committed to your success. By Bill Boswell, senior director, teamcenter product marketing, Siemens PLM software

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A

nyone i n t he p osit ion of purchasing business solutions realises that the cost of the investment goes well beyond the price of the software licenses. Total cost of ownership also includes expenses related to installation, maintenance, upg rade s a nd tra ining. A nd in our business, product lifecycle m a n a g e me nt ( PL M ) s o f t w a re , another key consideration is the cost of customising or configuring the application to your company’s business environment.

This is an issue up-front when the software is first implemented, and it comes into play each time the software is updated because most companies want the customisations to continue from release to release.

I believe your PLM vendor, who ideally functions as a business par tner, ha s the responsibility of keeping these issues in mind, and that ultimately, it is our job to help you lower the total cost of PLM ownership.

By adopting this philosophy, PLM vendors can add functionality designed to lower the customers’ overall ownership costs to every release of an integrated digital lifecycle management solution.

Furthermore, it gives us a good idea of what total cost of ownership means and we know it does not end when your PLM vendor delivers the software.

Configuration Not Customisation When evaluating PLM systems, companies need to consider suppliers who have paid attention to helping customers tailor the PLM solution to their business processes and goals because that typically has been where a large share of the ownership cost accrues. It is a characteristic of this type of application, that it must be seamlessly integrated into the way a company does business to have the greatest pay-off.

One criterion that companies should consider is whether or not

Industry-specific versions of the software should be developed in conjunction with leading companies.

their PLM supplier offers versions of their software that are pre-tailored to the specific needs of the customer’s industry. For example, an industryspecific version of PLM software for automot ive a nd aerospace organisations should be developed in conjunction with leading companies f ro m t h e s e i n du s t r y s e c to r s .

Users of these types of tailored solutions experience faster PLM implementations because certain aspects of the system that were previously necessary to customise such as parts lists, industry-specific for ms a nd proce sse s, etc. a re preconfigured for the customer’s particular industry.

Northrop Grumman, for example, uses an industry-tailored solution for aerospace and defence that offers them, and other industry leaders, a solution that manages and tracks data deliverables that appear in contract data requirement lists and subcontract data requirements lists and contains out-of-the-box programme orientation for admin/ data, change management, industry attributes and parts lists.

Another concept that addresses the customisation issue even more aggressively is called Business Modeler Integrated Development

E nv iron me nt ( BM I D E ). R at her t h a n r e qu i r i n g co mp a n i e s to write custom software for their PLM implementations, the BMIDE prov ide s t he abilit y to mo del business processes and data models – in essence what a company wants its PLM implementation to look like – using rules and diagrams.

The BMIDE then generates the code to make this happen behind the scenes. So what is required at the installation is configuration rather than customisation. We believe this is a critical distinction that will save companies time and money across the life of their PLM implementation.

Traditional Or ServiceOriented?

On a larger scale, companies need to ensure that the architectural foundation of the PL M system they select is based on technology that will save money in the long run. Instead of the client-server architecture of the past, modern PLM solutions are now built on a more nimble architecture known as a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

According to the market research company, CIMdata, SOA-based PLM ‘reduces the cost and complexity of deploying and maintaining a May-June 2009 metalworking equipment news

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distributed PLM environment.’ The differences between the two are summarised in Figure 1.

Traditional C/S Architecture

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Again, as CIMdata states: “Over the long term (and PLM solutions will be in place for years), the use Service Oriented Architecture

Object-oriented

Services based

Method or function driven

Message oriented

Tightly coupled

Loosely coupled

Application silos

Interoperating solutions

Application — specific interfaces and protocols for client and server interaction

Figure 1: Traditional client/server versus SOA

As a purchaser of IT software, you may a lready k now that providers of business solutions are adopting SOA because it is costeffective. It reduces the time it takes the software developer to integrate new capabilities into the product.

But SOA should also be important to PLM suppliers because it fits with the philosophy of lowering the total cost of PLM ownership for customers.

Common interface definitions and protocols (Reprinted with permission of CIMdata)

of the SOA can significantly reduce a customer’s exposure to costly upgrades and deployment expenses and will preserve their tailored implementations.”

One of t he most impor ta nt benefits of the SOA in terms of a PLM implementation is that it makes it easier to integrate the PLM system with other applications.

Our customers also use the system to manage a variety of different

Siemens PLM

New Global Initiative

The new global initiative and online resource center (www.siemens.com/ plm/answers/mle) launched by Siemens PLM is designed to show medium to large enterprises how implementing a PLM strategy can help to address today’s global business challenges.

T h e i n i t i a t i ve s h ow s h ow to p performing customers have addressed global business challenges to implement concurrent processes that reduce timeto-market by up to 30 percent, enable as much as 90 percent data reuse across global facilities and increase quality with up to 95 percent less rework.

Of fered in the online resource center are videos and white papers that provide analyst perspectives on today’s global business challenges, as well as video and written case studies on how companies in different industries have addressed their challenges.

Also available on Siemens PLM Software’s new on-line resources center are details on related PLM capabilities to support product development and manufacturing roles.

Enquiry No. 3201

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types of product information. The point of the SOA is to facilitate these kinds of connections. What this ultimately means to your business is greater flexibility in the PLM system, which makes it easier to respond to changing market conditions.

Operation & Cost Another important consideration to lowering the cost of PLM ownership stems from the effort your PLM vendor makes to understand the realities of your businesses. For example, many companies have PLM deployments that span the globe, with employees working somewhere every hour of the day.

There is no good time for them to shut down all their servers to install a new version of their PLM software. Look for a PLM system that addresses this issue through support for hot patches, which means it is possible to update the software without taking the system down.

This helps customers avoid costly downtime and maintain productivity.

Finally, do not overlook training costs. Many companies implement PLM across a variety of languages and cultures and they all need an easy to learn and use interface that is common yet familiar across the globe. Old user interfaces are being replaced with a Microsoft Outlook look and feel that makes PLM use more intuitive for everyone. In fact, look for Microsoft Office to serve as a front end to some PLM functionality to further reduce PLM training costs.

In short, there are several ways to lower the total cost of ownership for PLM but it is important to ensure your PLM supplier is on your side in this effort. The purchase price of PLM software is only part of what companies will spend on this vital technology. Make sure your supplier is constantly working to combine their knowledge of PLM with an understanding of global business to make your PLM investment as valuable as possible. MEN Enquiry No. 3202

ENQUIRY NO 042

The New Haas Mini Mill 2 Includes a Special Feature You May Not Notice Right Away...

a Lot of Machine for the Price.

Machines shown with optional equipment.

Haas Automation, USA | www.HaasCNC.com | CNC Technology Made in America Thailand A DIVISION OF MACHINE TECH CO LTD Bangkok, +662 7267-1915 Chonburi, +66 3811-2700

Philippines A DIVISION OF GAYLAN TECHNOLOGIES Manila, +632 915-8725

Singapore DKSH TECHNOLOGY Harbour Front, +65 6471-9263

Malaysia

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The Shorter,

The Better Shorter lead times and small prototype lot sizes no longer pose quick turnaround problems for a printed circuit board manufacturer. By Peter Dickin, marketing manager, Delcam

W

ith the dema nd for quick turna round and small lot sizes, QA Te c h n o l o g y, a manufacturer of test probes for printed circuit boards has decided to break the tradition of outsourcing the manufacturing of its components and add a CNC Swiss capacity within its list of capability – in order to fill customer requirements that outside vendors simply could not meet, either economically or reliably.

A s a re sult, the compa ny purchased a Tornos Deco 7a, a machine u se d by some of t he company’s current vendors, and Delcam’s PartMaker SwissCAM. The software provides the link between QA’s engineering department, which designs its product using both 2D

The PartMaker can generate toolpaths to produce accurate parts.

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

drafting and 3D solid modelling, and the manufacturing department that is tasked with producing the parts.

Quick Turnaround The software allows the company to turn around small lot sizes on its turning centre. According to Dave Coe, VP at the New England-based company: “The shorter the better as far as our customers are concerned.”

When he says short, he is referring to short lead times and small prototype lot sizes of the array of components a n d co n ne c to r s h i s co mp a ny engineers and manufactures.

“The benefit of having PartMaker is the ability to take the solid model, or even the DXF file, immediately import it and be able to view it, edit it as necessary, and generate accurate toolpaths. The processes are not subject to human error, as they often are when you are using manual programming methods,” says Mr Coe. Thanks to a close collaboration between the machine and software develop ers, a data - file for mat generated by PartMaker can be directly imported into Tornos’ TBDeco software. This ensures accurate

transfer of the SwissCAM toolpaths.

“If it looks good in the simulation, it should look good when it comes off the machine,” says Phil Pierce, CNC programmer at QA.

It’s About Speed This reliability also gives extra flexibility. For shorter-running jobs, the user might not even make any adjustments to data imported from the software. For longer-running jobs, where ever y fraction of a second counts, the programmer can use the optimisation capabilities of the TB-Deco software to achieve the fastest possible cycle time.

“For me, it’s all about speed,” commented Mr Pierce. “It’s easy for me to take a job, generate a programme with the software, send it right over to the machine, optimise the programme in TB-Deco and get parts running within a day. If I had to write the whole programme through TB-Deco, it would take a lot more time. With the system we have in place, it’s a very quick turnaround to have high-quality parts coming off the machine.” MEN Enquiry No. 3203

ENQUIRY NO 055

Fab&

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Form

Vertical Reality VMC:

With the influx of new technologies like five-axis machining amongst others, vertical machining has taken on a whole new dimension.

By Derek Rodriguez

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

V

ertical Machining Centres ( VMC) can be likened to old warhorses in a cavalry who have seen their fair share of action. They may have been around the blocks but they are still an integral part of a machine shop.

As such, improvements have been made to these machines in recent years to give them a modern twist and more importantly, added functionality.

Cover Of An Old Hit There a re ma ny new concepts introduced to VMC and some runs in contrast to the conventional p r o c e s s e s . Fo r i n s t a n c e , t h e VTC315DS from EMAG uses two independently travelling compound slides mounted to the inner wall fe a t u r i n g X - a n d Z - a xe s w it h integrated grinding spindles.

In the centre is the workpiece, which is held from below by a fixed

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tailstock centre and from above by a moveable work head centre, allowing simultaneous grinding from left and right. This design not only ensures access; it makes use of the naturally developing forces.

During grinding process, the main force input is usually generated by the axial forces, which are often three to four times that of the tangential forces. On the VTC315DS the axial forces are neutralised by the fact that the grinding wheels are facing each other. The contra-rotational movement of the grinding wheels also cancel out the grip torque created by the tangential forces.

This is particularly effective with work pieces that are moved only by the traction created by the centre in the work head. In terms of resetting, it means that no clamping equipment or separate drivers are required. All that needs to be done is to adjust the span and to restart the programme.

Speed Sells Productivity reigns in the current economic climate. It is therefore not surprising that machines with an emphasis on pace are being developed. The DNM series by Doosan Infracore are equipped with spindle technology.

The high-speed 40 taper spindles provide users with high torque capabilit y (18. 5kW 12 ,0 0 0rpm) that delivers 106N -m. Power is t ra n sm it te d v ia a he av y - du t y cogged drive belt that ensures thermal stability and minimum vibration. Also in the press release

by Mills CNC, spindle and machining performa nce of the machine is ensured by the dual contact system b et we e n t he spi ndle face a nd toolholder flange.

As well as being equipped with high-speed and high-productivity spindle s, t he DN M ser ie s a lso feature linear guide ways and highspeed servo motors that enable fast axis movement (36m/min on X- and Y-a xes; and 30m/min on Z-axis), which in turn reduces noncutting times.

Speed is also evident in the machines’ 30 -tool position ATC (40 -position option), which now has a 1.3 second tool change time.

The machines are equipped with the Fanuc i-series control and are supplied with a number of Doosan software programmes for fast job set-up, real time monitoring and intervention, and process reliability.

Flexibility Induced Staying true to the notion of rearming the machines with new technologies, Matsuura Machinery has remodeled the five-axis VMC, the MAM72-63V. The five-A xis VMC enables a flexible menu setup and extended periods of unmanned operation, achieving process integration and accurate machining by one-chucking five-axis machining.

I n te r m s o f f u n c t i o n s , t h e Z-axis stroke has been extended to 660 mm and the A-axis stroke to between –120 deg to +120 deg, which has enabled machining of more complicated workpieces.

In other respects, by using a servo motor drive system with the drum type tool magazine, toolindexing time has been reduced by 6 0 p e rce nt a nd noi se a nd vibration from the ATC changer has been minimised. In addition, providing a thermal displacement compensation system for the spindle and feed axes as standard and using various options like the expandable ATC, APC, etc enable long-period unmanned operation.

Cosy Comfort As parts get smaller and increase in complexity, there is a market for compact machines. This is the same for VMC. Makino’s V22 vertical machining centre indicates the machine manufacturers are moving in this direction. The machine is designed for precision parts manufacturing, such as medical equipment and small, intricate moulds for plastic injectionmoulding operations.

V22 is also complemented by Makino’s core cooling and under-

Speed is key in the time where productivity is crucial.

Providing a thermal displacement compensation system for the spindle and feed axes enables long-period unmanned operation.

race lubrication system that has proven essential for optimal highp e r fo r m a n ce a p p l i c a t i o n s . I n continuous machining jobs using an ATC, tiny level differences can occur at the seams of machined surfaces due to tool changes.

Polishing t he se fe ature s to correct such small levels is very time consuming. The hybrid automatic to ol le n g t h me a su r i n g de v ice available on the VMC positions the tool tip more accurately to achieve superior finished surfaces with minimal level differences.

This device offers a solution w i t h o u t i n te r f e r i n g w i t h t h e workzone. The tool tip position is measured with a low- contact pressure probe, while the spindle nose position is measured with a non-contact sensor.

From introducing new concepts and increasing speed, to adding flexibility and compactness, VMC has undergone a face-lift to take on the challenges of the future, making it essentially a modern machine. MEN Enquiry No. 3301 April 2009 metalworking equipment news

37

fab&form

T

he Tasman Racing Team in Australia has been teaming up with Harrop Engineering, who makes racecar parts. “Ever y single component of a racecar is a work in process, subject to redefinition any day in the season,” says Ron Harrop of Harrop Engineering, Victoria, Australia.

Just as the racing outfit leans on Harrop for new design ideas, Harrop operat ions ma na ger Ken Nu nn relies on Iscar tooling for machining solutions to translate new ideas into metal. Mr Nunn runs a 16/5 operation in Harrop’s 65-man manufacturing shop and foundry.

“Our products evolve almost weekly and speed of response is critical, so we consult with Iscar early and often – even while a product redesign is still on the sketchpad,” says Mr Nunn.

Custom Made Crankshaft The engineering company has been making V8 crankshafts, for Tasman and others. Because every such crankshaft is custom made, the company machines them from solid billets of 4340 steel rather than from near-net-shape forgings. More than 50 percent of original billet weight is reduced to chips in the process.

Now, with retooling ideas from Iscar, Harrop rough-mills those cranks in half the time as before, and with less wear and tear on the machine and cutting tools.

It used to take the company 20 hours to complete the rough milling, using a mill-turn process with a rotating sidemill in place of a standard static turning tool.

Fo l l o w i n g a p r o g r a m m e d profiling path, the cutter is fed continuously along the longitudinal (X) axis as the workpiece rotated slowly between centres.

The root cause of the slow going was the risk of vibrations due to the long reaches inherent in milling a crankshaft from a solid cylinder, and the lateral cutting 38

metalworking equipment news April 2009

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forces on the side mill mounted on an extension. Even at the precautionary re du ce d m ac h i n i n g rate s, t he operation required a steady rest to prevent workpiece deflection.

Speeding Up To provide a more rigid machining platform for the crank roughing, the company decided to procure a Mazak Intergrex 5-axis machining centre, planning to transfer the existing sidemilling package to the new machine.

In an early consultation, however, Iscar suggested plunge milling along the Y axis instead. “Plunge milling directs the main cutting force vector axially, not laterally, so you can cut faster and deeper with less deflection than you can with side milling,” explains Greg Reid, Iscar project and training manager for Australia.

So Mr Nunn’s team reprogrammed the job for ‘step-and-plunge’ milling and the Iscar team brought in their PLX and PLC plunge milling cutters

Of The Pack From design and manufacturing, all the way down to the tool used, no effort can be spared in order to stay in front. By Jason Allen, GM, Iscar Australia.

fab&form

www.equipment-news.com

combined with Flex fit modular adapters and shanks. Together the pair experimented with various inserts, stepover distances and feed rates to optimise the combination of output and edge life. Now the crankshafts are completely roughed in 10 hours.

Two-Step Plunge Milling Two different plunge milling cutters were used for the new roughing process. In the first operation, a large cutter sculpts the rough shape and the counterweights, all by plunge milling with the part stationary. Cutter and workpiece are repositioned stepwise after each plunge cut. In the second operation, a smaller PLC cutter roughs out the ‘pin’ sections as the part rotates slowly and the toolpath programmed to follow the pin’s orbit.

“The new machine gave Harrop more power and rigidity – and also more processing options,” says Mr Reid. “Plunge milling simply took fuller advantage of the new machine’s capabilities. No sense letting old tooling ideas hold back a new machine.”

The company uses the MazakIscar plunge milling package on all their custom V8 crankshafts.

Mr Harrop may modify the basic design to meet particular customer objectives. Then it is simply a matter of adjusting aspects of the CNC programme accordingly.

Making Boring Exciting Harrop optimise production of their ‘Stealth’ superchargers using the same tooling partnership. These are medium-volume products geared for the global high performance auto aftermarket, not just for a few elite racecars. Launched in early 2004, about 4,000 units are made in a year.

M r H a r rop’s d e si g n o f t he Ste a lt h supercha rger ca lls for ultraprecise holes 250mm deep inside the cast aluminium housing.

Concentric within a larger bore, the holes measure 27mm diameter,

(Top) Experts put their heads together on fast-breaking design change on racecar part. (Bottom) Boring tools helped avert bottleneck in production of superchargers.

accurate within 0.008mm. “A lot of the supercharger’s performance depends on the accuracy of those interior holes,” he says.

A three-step boring process was used. The first two steps used Iscar BHR roughing heads and coated carbide inserts, leaving approximately 0.15mm on the radius. The final is done with an Iscar BHF adjustable finishing head and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) insert.

“Deep boring operations can be a real bottleneck because of the long unsupported tool lengths, unless the tooling is chosen carefully,” says Mr Reid. “Roughing with a finishing cutter can slow you down; trying to finish a close-tolerance hole with a roughing cutter can run up your scrap rate. They are really two separate operations.”

With this tooling package and

Iscar’s recommendations on feeds and speeds, the rough boring is completed in 30 minutes, with hole accuracy good enough to post a zero scrap/rework rate on a very expensive part. “We have a robust process for a particularly tough bore on an expensive part here,” says Mr Nunn.

Examples of the close TasmanHarrop-Iscar collaboration appear in dozens of parts running throughout the shop. It does not hurt that the three companies sit within a stone’s throw of each other. In the racecar parts business, the main benefit of shorter machining cycles is not cost savings. It is giving the driver and pit crew the faster, more agile car before the other guy does. And that means rethinking everything almost daily. MEN Enquiry No. 3302 April 2009 metalworking equipment news

39

industry

www.equipment-news.com

spotlight

T

he first part of the 2008 season may not have been p a r t i c u l a rl y s a t i s f y i n g overall, but ING Renault F1 have focussed its efforts to deliver a remarkable fight back in the second half, which included two victories in Singapore and Japan. These results confirm the team’s hunger for success and have been an incredible source of motivation during our preparations for 2009.

Without a doubt, the tea m’s improvement in performa nce over the course of the season was greater than that of any other team – a result that must be attributed to t he g rou ndwork at t he t wo facilities belonging to the team: in Enstone, Great Britain, and ViryChâtillon, France. There, the French handle engine construction and development, while the specialists in Enstone are responsible, among other things, for the chassis, suspension,

40

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Gunning

Top For The

Combining human factor like teamwork with high tech machines have enabled the ING Renault F1 team to compete for the World Championship. By Jane Watson, marketing manager, DMG UK

industryspotlight

www.equipment-news.com

Optimised data are fed to the production department where they fine-tune the individual parts.

drivetrain and construction of the F1 racing cars.

In E nstone a lone, some 50 0 team members work on the F1 cars.

Highlights at the site include an ultra-modern wind tunnel, a test bench that can simulate the spring and damper motions of a car on any racing circuit in the world, and processing machines for the production of more than 15,000 auto parts every year.

order to keep up with the demand during crucial periods, the facility operates triple-shift production on six days of the week. The site has also been making investments again recently. Two more units, for example, have been installed alongside the two existing linear model vertical

machining centres. Of these four machines, two are equipped with a fourth processing axis.

On the other hand, all four have the same 12,000 rpm motor spindle, the 30x tool magazine that can be populated in parallel to machining time, the spiral chip conveyor and

DMG has already been Renault’s machine tool partner for turning and milling technology for many years now. No fewer than 19 turning and milling machines produced by the company are now installed at the site.

Three of the se 19 machine s are used to make components for wind tunnel testing. “There is huge potential in the aerodynamics,” explains plant manager, Jeff Fullerton.

In this respect, each racing circuit has its own characteristics, which is why it is always necessary to develop and implement new aerodynamics packages – depending on the contact pressure required.

Ever y thing here depends on a rapid response, so this area is separated from ‘normal’ production.

As soon as the fine-tuning of the individual part is complete, the opt im ise d data a re fe d to t he production department, where the workload significantly increases. In

SOMAT-THAILAND

OKAYA SINGAPORE PTE LTD.

SIAM OKAYA MACHINE & TOOL CO.,LTD. 20 Science Park Road, #02-16/17, Teletech Park Singapore Science Park II, Singapore 117674 947 Moo 12 Thosapol Land 3 Bldg. 5Fl. Unit A, Bangna-Trad Rd., Km.3. Kwang Banguna, TEL:(65)6323-0311 FAX:(65)6323-2110 Khet Bangna, Bangkok 10260, Thailand TEL:(66)2399-3623 FAX:(66)2744-0677

ENQUIRY NO 238

Staying In The Race

April 2009 metalworking equipment news

41

industryspotlight

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Versatility and reliability in machining is crucial to an F1 team.

the bed-flushing mechanism. Apart from this, the heart of the machines is the linear drive in the x-axis, which ensures both the fabrication dynamics and the short idle times by means of an acceleration of up to 0.5 g and feed rates of up to 70 m/min.

This results in a chip-to-chip time of just five seconds. And although these machines have no fifth axis, they are capable of producing 3D geometrie s a nd more complex contour work.

The Fifth Axis Of Technology Renault also learned to appreciate the advantages of ‘true’ five-axis machining, and they expanded their capacity by investing in a DMU 80 P duoBLOCK. The machine concept

comprises two cast-iron blocks in conjunction with three guideways in the x-axis and the three-point support system.

“By their very nature, motor sp or t s comp onent s a re u nder co n t i n u o u s d e v e l o p m e n t a n d becoming ever more complex,” says Mr Fullerton. “Based on this premise, we knew that we would benefit from a five-axis machine.

This is particularly true given that the machine concept prov ide s high supplemental rigidity, which ultimately guarantees us greater process and component quality.”

There is no mistaking this effect, for example, in a valve manifold for the transmission hydraulic system.

Without five-axis technology, the

DMG

Fresh Boost For Vertical Centres The vertical machining centres DMC 635/835/1035 V, designed

by DMG is well suited for entrylevel and advanced users as well as from single piece to serial production purposes.

Features include a 10,000-motor spindle with up to 83 Nm torque for chipping, a 20-pocket tool magazine.

It comes with a double gripper and offers tool change times of 1.6 seconds, as well as traverse speeds up to 30 m/min for reduced downtimes.

Alternative to the standard spindle, a pool of options provide motor spindles with 14,000 rpm and now even 18,000 rpm is available to choose from.

Enquiry No. 3401

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

fabrication of this highly complex aluminium alloy component used to require eight setups: now it is completely machined in five axes with just two set-ups.

It is no wonder then that Mr Fullerton expects to make greater use of five-axis technology in the future. This conclusion is not based solely on the results of the five-axis machine: already this past year, Renault have discovered that the DMU 50 eVo linear, which combines five-axis technology with a linear drive and features a workspace and table concept, also enables the user to produce negative angles of up to -18°. In addition, it offers accelerations of up to 1 g and rapid traverse speeds and feed rates of up to 80 m/min as a result of the linear drive in the x-axis.

Moreover, compared with the high-pressure daily business of machining F1 components, the lathes operate relatively stress-free.

This is quite literally due to the CTX universal lathes that are used and to the GMX turning-milling centres.

But this also applies to the ‘serious’ daily business, because the somewhat longer lead times in the lathe area generally make it possible to schedule and organise capacities and lot sizes better. This doesn’t mean that there are never any urgent jobs, however, as Mr Fullerton reports with a special word of praise: “We’re completely satisfied with our lathes. The CTX is suited to motor sports – it’s reliable in production, and also fast, versatile and – in case of an emergency – permits rapid set-up. When we have to produce an urgently needed part, we can begin processing within 30 minutes.”

From a manufacturing technology point of view, Renault has excellent prospects for a successful start in the coming season, and might well make it to the top of the winner’s podium – and not just for a few of the races, but in the final standings as well. MEN Enquiry No. 3402

PAT.

Cutter diameter : Ø50,63,80

Superb squareness & surface finish

Machined with FULLCUT MILL model FMH22-FCM63116-40 Cutting Speed V (m/min.)

Feed Rate f (mm/tooth) Axial DOC Ad (mm) Radial DOC Rd (mm)

150 0.1 5 0.1

Cutting Speed V (m/min.)

Feed Rate f (mm/tooth) Axial DOC Ad (mm) Radial DOC Rd (mm)

250 0.2 0.1 50

10m Other manufacturer

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PAT.

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Material: S55C (C55)

Material: Pre-hardened steel

ST32-FCM33112-180 Model 120 Cutting Speed V (m/min.)

0.1 Feed Rate f (mm/tooth) 10mm x 10 steps Axial DOC Ad (mm) Max. 33mm Radial DOC Rd (mm) Excellent performance even under heavy cutting conditions with 110mm projection and 10mm axial depth of cut.

ENQUIRY NO 049

www.big-daishowa.com

Country

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Focus

The Giant

Awakens With some economies in the stage of readjustment, China’s economy has stood reasonably firm, becoming a beacon of hope in this downturn. By Joson Ng

S

te ady developments in the Chinese economy had resulted in strong demands for machine tools. Since 2002, the country has maintained its status as the world’s largest machine tool consumer and importer for six years in a row.

In 2007, sales revenue of all China’s machine tool manufacturing industry reached RMB 274.77 billion (US$40.41 billion), of which sales revenue of metalworking machine tools reached RMB 81.74 billion.

T he count r y’s consumption of metalworking machine tools reached US$16.17 billion, importing reached U S $7.07 bi l l ion a nd e x p or t i n g US$1.65 billion.

The countr y’s machine tool industry continued its growth trends in the first eight months of 2008.

During that period, enterprises of the industry completed RMB 221.91 billion in total output value, registering a year-on-year increase of 32.5 percent.

Propping Up Demand Riding on the waves of a powerful economy backed by a huge domestic market, key sectors and projects have generated demands for highend CNC machine tools and precision measuring instruments.

The av iation a nd aerospace 44

metalworking equipment news April 2009

industry has been developing fast and making technological progress.

Pa ssenger jets like A R J21 a nd Xinzhou 600 have both been put into production.

In addition, follow ing the successful launch of Shenzhou-7 in September 2008, the country’s national space administration is planning future mission starting with the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft project, which will see the participation of German scientists in early 2011 according to press release from DLR (German Aerospace Center).

All these will create demands for key manufacturing equipments including high-speed, precision,

high- efficiency a nd five -a x is machining centres.

Arguably the most important client of the machine tool industry is the automotive industry. In 2008, over 35 percent of the country’s machine tool market is attributed to the automotive industry making it highly influential — a strong automotive industry will benefit the machine tool industry.

According to press release by FAW, they sold 1,200,000 vehicles in the first nine months of 2008, (966,686 passenger cars, 142,388 medium and heavy trucks, 52,969 light trucks and 33,443 mini vehicles) an increase of 13.9 percent over 2007.

Major Purchaser: Machine Tool Consumption (US Dollars in millions) 2008 (est.)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

China Germany Japan United States Italy South Korea Taiwan Brazil India France

19,365.0 9,950.1 8,030.5 6,755.8 5,809.1 4,150.0 2,800.0 2,547.2 1,870.4 1,773.5

Source: Gardner Publication Inc Apparent Consumption = Domestic Production, Plus Imports, Less Exports

2007 (rev.)

16,171.0 7,454.6 7,637.0 5,863.6 5,150.5 4,150.0 3,563.0 1,822.6 1,808.9 1,573.6

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Singapore. Malaysia. Thailand. Indonesia. Philippines. Vietnam. Hong Kong. Taiwan. South China. India. Australia. New Zealand.

ENQUIRY NO 043

CountryFocus

The strong showing from one of the major automobile manufacturers in China will no doubt boost the machine tool industry.

From January to July in 2008, automobile production and sales were both nearly six million units, of which, there are 80 models making their debut. The investment and development planning of domestic automotive industry indicate that production scale will be further expa nded. The new wave of development in the auto-industry requires a great number of machining tools and machines.

The Chinese Pie With a population of 1.3 billion, the country represents a fifth of the world’s population. To the business minded, this is a huge market with enormous potential that cannot be ignored. It is therefore not surprising that companies from countries a ll over the world a re ma k ing investments in China.

D u r i n g t h e r e c e n t Ta i p e i International Machine Tool Show (Timtos), Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News caught up with some of the Taiwanese machine manufacturers to gather their views on the Chinese machine tool market and the business sentiment in general.

“The Chinese market used to contribute five percent to our annual sales, but it has since risen to 30 percent,” says Dr Hank Pu, president of Yida precision machinery. “There are many big projects in China at the moment and we are hoping to benefit from those projects by securing more orders, building on the success of our horizontal machining centres which are the best selling machine for us in the Chinese market at the moment,” he adds.

Echoing the same sentiments is Mark Seng, Asia operations manager, Hurco SEA. “We are hoping to gain a bigger piece of the market share during this downtime, as such, we are setting up three direct trading offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

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The production of commercial jets like ARJ21 has contributed to the demand of machine tools in China.

This is indicative of the importance of the Chinese market to us,” he says.

In order to take full advantage of lower labour cost, some companies are setting up factories in the middle kingdom. Take for instance, ChiFa Machiner y Ma nufacturer of Taiwan. They are adding to their original facility in Shanghai with a processing factory in Tianjin, which is estimated to be ready come July 2009, according to Mocha Chen, sales manager, Chi-Fa. He adds: “The Chinese market is high up in our list, it is about 11 to 15 percent of our annual sales. Depending on which part of the market you are targeting, the level of competition varies. If for instance, you are building machines with average capabilities, the competition will be intense compared to high tech machines.”

In Business The nature and idiosyncrasies of the Chinese business environment can bamboozle even some of the seasoned pros. With the country opening its doors to foreign investors, there is plenty of chance for business, to make mistakes and to learn.

A fast changing environment in more ways than one, this is sometimes the main challenge encountered in doing business in China.

“There is a say ing in China that suggests that changes to the landscape are so quick that you can see a 500km highway sprouting out from nowhere within a year,” says William Wang, chief executive,

sales and marketing department, Eve r isi n g Mac h i ne . T he qu ic k changing nature of the country does not consign itself to the landscape.

It applies to the people and business sentiment as well.

“The people learn fast and react to changes fast as well. In addition, the policies have a certain fluid nature attached to it which can be good or not so good at times,” he concludes.

A big part of business is networking; China is no exception in this aspect. Mr Seng says: “Networking is of immense importance in China where it is very competitive in terms of pricing.”

In light of the global slowdown, the Chinese government is trying their best to boost the economy; their economic stimulus package focuses on the construction of infrastructures like railways and roads. On the other hand, they are also encouraging automotive industry which will have a healthy spillover effect to the metalworking industry.

With some economies in a frantic stage of re-adjustment, the country’s economy has stood reasonably strong, becoming a beacon of hope in this storm for some of the machine manufacturers. “There is still energy in China compared to other areas where the market is very quiet at the moment,” says Mr Chen. Comparable to the Great Wall, the Chinese machine tool industry is standing firm, withstanding the constant battlement of the elements. MEN Enquiry No. 3501

Series 500 & 573

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Battery voltage low, dirt alarm

ENQUIRY NO 050

Alarms

Offset Caliper

Mitutoyo Asia Pacific Pte Ltd Company Reg No. 892/1978-N

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Voiceofthe industry

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The

WeightIs Over Shedding excess weight takes on added importance during this difficult period. By K S Sankaran, chief operating officer for business development, Makino Asia.

I

n the current economic scenario, the word ‘recession’ has been the most discussed topic among the business community. There has been a lot of references made to market downturns way back to the great recession in the 1920s, the oil crisis in 1973, the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the SARS epidemic in 2004 and so on.

I n t he p a st t he dow nt u r n s were highly localised to certain geographical areas. What we are experiencing today is far more global in nature and this requires a more prudent approach to how we address the current scenario.

This is an orchestrated and synchronised recession. We can adopt either the wa it a nd see attitude, wait hopefully for a couple of years for the situation to improve or to recognise the limited business space and how we can explore the opportunities and create new business avenues.

Lean Manufacturing We can look at what is internal to the organisation and what can be done external to the organisation. It is human weakness to pamper oneself as we ride on the success. Along with the wealth we also inherit assets, policies and practices. The irrational policies and views camouflage the judgement required to see what is right and wrong in accumulating assets and manpower.

The current economic condition does not allow inefficiency. If we 48

metalworking equipment news April 2009

want to be fit, we have to be nimble.

What we binge, we have to purge.

In advocating such a philosophy we have to identify key processes and how the current costs are distributed across these processes in order to work out the revenue model.

I n a t y pic a l ma nu fac t u r i n g organisation the manpower costs is about five to eight percent and even smaller in larger companies. Just to look at savings from trimming ma npower, we do not addre ss more than 90 percent of our costs of operation.

There are areas that require c lo se r at te nt io n , for e x a mple tooling, whether it is proportionate to the current business volume, t he op e r a t i n g ho u r s , co o l a nt ma na ge me nt, a i r- cond it ion i n g management, power management and transport management.

Organisations have to be nimble to become a ‘lean’ manufacturing unit. The term ‘lean’ does not confine itself only to manufacturing. How ‘lean’ are we in many of the support functions like purchasing, logistics, marketing, sales, finance, service and manufacturing?

Just like when we fully utilise a S$0.50 pencil by sharpening up to the very end, should we throw away blunt drills, end mills and reamers?

It would be logical to look at how these tools can be reused with marginal re-sharpening costs.

Cash Rich Ever since the advent of office

voiceoftheindustry

www.equipment-news.com

automation, ERP system or other mo du le s, we cont inue to have segregated functions. How multi tasking are we? Purchasing function that is pa r tia lly negotiation, p a r t ia l ly jud ge me nt b a se d on numbers, dollars and inventory can take on new functions.

Instead of looking at finance traditionally as function of wage administration, accounts receivables and payables, how can we use their skill with reference to cost of money, costs of space, costs of inventory and costs of collection?

How seamlessly can they tie up with sales and purchasing so that the intangibles get quantified and taken as priority.

One instance, companies that are cash rich can help to pay their vendors much earlier who might have been ca sh strapped w ith special discounts. It is a win-win situation for both parties. The costs of material is lowered for the former, the costs of borrowing are minimised for the latter.

Trimming Right Areas During the crunch we cut down on overtime costs, but the options we explore to lower costs must be holistic in nature. We used to have a three shift and two shift operations in our factory.

While it is very easy to scale dow n the number of people operating in second and third shifts to be consistent with the volume of production, a further investigation

A more holistic approach is needed to lower operating costs.

showed us that the costs of air conditioning of the facility and other support costs was several fold higher than the overtime costs. Hence it would be prudent to operate in one shift even with overtime.

W h i l e we i n v e s t i ga te d t h e consumption of lubricants and oils in our company, which over a period of time has grown in volume but is not consistent with the technology.

For example, about 40 percent processes run dry and the balance 60 percent run with coolant. A simple check over a period of time has shown that 20 to 25 percent of the coolant is carried away with the machines chip. Identifying this lacuna in the coolant management and dealing with it efficiently has led to recovery in costs to the extent of 30 percent.

In capital goods industry the packaging costs is a significant part of the total costs. Recycling of packing material is equally important in lowering the costs of goods.

Container shipments, with the goods

scientifically packed to full capacity can assist to lower costs up to six to eight percent.

Moving On I n t he 19 8 0 ’s, compute r s a nd networked printers became the industry norm, as paperless offices were intended. When the faster and cheaper printers consumed more paper, email became the default mode of communication. Instead of locking ourselves to a PC, we need to spend more time with our customers and help create value for our organisations.

Today we are in a collective crisis and the only hope is innovation.

Human kind has weathered many natural disasters. We may not have a situation of bottoming out like any other localised meltdown. The economy will reset at a certain level and we need to start from scratch from there. It is a wakeup call for all to venture into unexplored areas. MEN Enquiry No. 3601 April 2009 metalworking equipment news

49

features

Spirit& Endeavour

Times may be bad but with a combination of innovation and determination, Taiwanese machine tool manufacturers are well equipped to pass this acid test with flying colours. By Joson Ng

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

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T

aipei International Machine Tool Show 2009 (Timtos 2009) was held from March 2 – 7, 2009 in halls 1, 2 and 3 of the Taipei world trade centre and at the Nangang exhibition hall. Some 42,941 visitors from all over the world attended the event made up of a total of 4,871 booths and a gross exhibition space of 82,700 sq m.

A sia Paci f ic Meta lwork i n g E qu ipme nt News managed to catch up with Jeff Hou, deputy executive director, exhibition department, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra) for an interview to share his valuable insights on the exhibition and his vision for the Taiwanese machine & machine tools manufacturers.

“Initially we were quite worried about the turn out for Timtos in light of the global economic downturn and the cancellation of MTA 2009. So we kept on inviting buyers,” said a very relaxed Mr Hou.

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TIMTOS2009

The 14th Taipei International Machine Tool Show (Timtos 2009) came to an end on March 7. The event received nearly 39,000 domestic visitors, up 37 percent compared to 2008. In addition, the show also received a total of 4,232 overseas participants, up 1.2 percent from last year. The largest contingents of overseas participants were from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the US respectively; buyers from emerging markets accounted for around 30 percent of the total.

To encourage manufacturers to focus on ongoing innovation and the development of new products, an award for excellence in research and innovation was included in this year’s event. A total of 14 products received awards. The next Timtos, which will be held in March 2011, is expected to take the exhibition to a higher level of perfection, stimulating the creation of business opportunities.

Jeff Hou

“Despite our best efforts, the number of foreign buyers suffered a drop of 7.6 percent on the opening day but the figure rebounded on the second day, posting a 1.1 percent increase. As for local buyers, the numbers were up for both days by 52 and 48 percent respectively compared to the previous show. These figures have certainly warmed our hearts as our efforts have paid off,” he added with a wide smile.

Sweating For Success Hard work is very much the key to organise an event like Timtos. From the organising committee right to the service staff, their commitment to the cause can be seen on a daily basis.

“I believe an event like this plays an important role in promoting and opening up opportunities for Taiwanese machine and machine tool makers. Our machines are 80 percent, if not as good as the machines manufactured

by European producers. We however hold an advantage

over them with competitive pricing. So in a way, Timtos provides a platform for international buyers to come have a look at high quality machines at affordable price.

This may be why the turn out is good so far despite the economic tsunami,” he commented.

In an ever changing and competitive world, each event has to define its own identity and this is no different for Timtos. Mr Hou felt that Timtos has a more international feel to it. “We cater for both local and international buyers and exhibitors compared to other events in the region which tend to be less diverse. For instance, other events, I personally feel, concentrate more on their domestic market.”

Apart from organising events and exhibitions, Taitra have also spared no effort in helping the Taiwanese manufacturers tide over these difficult times. Mr Hou said: “We put in a lot more effort compared to the last Timtos in 2007. In addition to buyers who came in the past, we also scoured databases and used Taitra’s network of 53 overseas branch offices to look for new international buyers. To sweeten the deal for potential buyers, Taitra offered incentives to entice them to attend.”

Taitra will not be resting on their laurels after Timtos, they frequently organise activities for the Taiwanese manufacturers to promote them to the world. They are currently inviting manufacturers to sign up for other international shows in Japan, China and Europe.

With Taitra offering strong support, the Taiwanese machine and machine tool manufacturers should be able to face the uncertainties with more confidence.

Enquiry No. 3701 April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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Chi-Fa (Twinhorn) Machinery Manufacturer:

Everising Machine:

Total Solution

Focus On Core Business

Tapping their expertise in machining, Chi-Fa is able to provide another dimension to customer service.

The concept of constant learning and skills upgrading is widely practised in Chi-Fa. “We constantly upgrade our skill. As there are many machine manufacturers in Taiwan, it would be very difficult to survive if you are standing still,” said the bespectacled soft-spoken Mr Mocha Chen Mocha Chen, sales manager.

“In addition, innovation is key—we jointly produce some machines with Japanese manufacturers, gaining valuable insights to improve ourselves. On the other hand, we made some of our machines as compact as possible, making them suitable for land scarce countries like Singapore, Taiwan and Japan,” he added.

Given the current economic climate, it is wise to provide value added services. With this in mind, the company embarked on the concept of total solution.

Mr Chen explained: “We used our know-how as a former metal parts producer to design and make fixtures and moulds to complement our machines for our customers. With custom made fixtures, process efficiency increases and hopefully we can help our customers lower their costs. We believe it is a waste to only be able to manufacture a portion of a part and have to send it somewhere else to finish the job. That is why we came up with the concept of total solution,” he concluded.

Equipped with a never-ending thirst for knowledge, Everising is not afraid to apply what they have learned.

In light of the financial crisis, Everising intends to stay focused and do what it does best— produce band saw machines.

“We would like to focus on our core business,” said William Wang William Wang, chief executive, sales and marketing department, Everising Machine.

“As such, we will concentrate on R&D because we are facing stiff competitions from China and Eastern European countries who obviously have a cost advantage over us. In addition, we have to improve our services to our customers. That is always our goal here,” he explained.

In order to improve their technical and R&D ability, they have co-operated with European and Japanese manufacturers over the years.

Boasting an impressive network of agents in over 40 countries worldwide, Mr Wang expects more than closing sales from them. “We conduct training for our overseas agents so they can better service our overseas customers.

We do not stop there though; we also recommend suitable tools for our customer. This is what we like to call complete service,” he said.

Despite the on-going global financial downturn, Mr Wang remains positive. “No doubt 2009 will be a very tough year, but the market in China is not that bad compared to Europe and the US. As a result, we hope to pick up some sales from China,” he mused.

Enquiry No. 3702

Enquiry No. 3703

Everox Industrial:

Strong Base

Look w ithin before look ing outwards as a strong foundation is crucial in difficult times.

Facing the worldwide downturn, Steven Yeh, MD, Everox Industrial has taken the pragmatic approach.

“We have no control as this is a worldwide problem, what we can do however is to lower our cost and in doing so, strengthen ourselves for the storm ahead. There is not much to do but to wait for the situation to get better,” he said philosophically.

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

W hile doing so, he ha s not forgotten about his customers.

Everox is looking to concentrate on the technical side of things. They will consult technical experts to design and build good quality machines for their customers. In doing so, he hopes to gain their trust.

“Technical development is key, there is not much point getting caught up in price battles,” he concluded.

Steven Yeh

Enquiry No. 3704

High-Precision Roundtest Measuring Machine

Features

Types of Analysis Type of Tolerance

Characteristic /Symbol

Measurement Method

Roundness

Form Flatness

l l l l l

l l

Affordable price.

User friendly operation.

High Accuracy.

Large LCD Panel.

Replacement of basic measuring tools.

Compact design means small installation space.

Built-in high grade thermal printer which prints out measurement results and recorded profiles on demand.

Four easy steps to measurement

Concentricity

1

Location

2

3

4

Coaxiality

Circular runout

Bring the detector into contact with the workpiece.

Press the [CONDITION (setup recall)] button, as needed.

Press the [START] button.

ENQUIRY NO 051

Clamp the workpiece to the jig.

Runout

Mitutoyo Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Company Reg No. 892/1978-N

24 Kallang Avenue, Mitutoyo Building, Singapore 339415 Tel : (65)6294 2211 Fax : (65)6299 6666 E-mail : mapsg@mitutoyo.com.sg http://www.mitutoyo.com.sg Mitutoyo (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

Mitutoyo (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

PT. Mitutoyo Indonesia

Tel: (66)2-521 6130 Fax: (66)2-521 6136 MTC - Cholburi Branch Tel: (66)3-834 5783 Fax: (66)3-834 5788 MTC - Amata Nakorn Branch Tel: (66)3-846 8976 Fax: (66)3-846 8978

Ho Chi Minh City Rep. Office

Tel: (60)3-7845 9318 Fax: (60)3-7845 9346 M(M)S.B. - Penang Branch Tel: (60)4-641 1998 Fax: (60)4-641 2998 M(M)S.B. - Johor Branch Tel: (60)7-352 1626 Fax: (60)7-352 1628

Tel: (62)21-898 0841 Fax: (62)21-898 0842

Tel: (84)8-3517 4561 Fax: (84)8-3517 4582

Philippine Representative Office

Hanoi Representative Office

Tel: (63)2-842 9305 Fax: (63)2-842 9307

Tel: (84)4-3768 8963 Fax: (84)4-3768 8960

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Hartford:

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Managing For Success

Good management within an organisation is key to success.

According to Daniel Lu, senior marketing manager, export market, Hartford, competition is intensifying year by year. In order to stay ahead, Hartford has innovated in two areas— in management and in technology.

Daniel Lu For the technical side of things, they intend to gather feedback from customers and make improvements to their machines. In order to do so, they must have a strong sales and marketing department, which plays a very important role between themselves and their customers. In addition, they also provide training for their customers.

“We train our agents for the benefit of our overseas clients. This local support is crucial as typically, machine life goes up to 20 years and so 20 years of maintenance is required. We send our technicians to our agents to update them and refresh their skills annually, so they can in turn provide better service to our customers,” he said.

Enquiry No. 3705

Hurco Taiwan: Waiting

Building a meaningful relationship with customers in lean times are a number of things Hurco Taiwan are looking to do now to hopefully get themselves in pole position when the good times are back.

Contrary to other machine makers, Hurco is still developing new machines and planning to launch a few models this year. Carl Hsiung, sales manager, Hurco Taiwan explained: “We have received a few enquires

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Next Stop, Versatility

Jinn Fa-Huang

A holistic approach is in order for this machine maker as they try to conquer a piece of the market.

Innovation is often an important part to success especially in the machinery manufacturing business.

Jinn Fa has taken an interesting approach in producing versatile machines to cater for a large part of the market.

In addition, increasing productivity for its customer is of utmost importance for Jinn Fa. Jinn Fa-Huang, president, Jinn Fa Machine Industrial said: “Time is money. We focus on producing machines of high efficiency. If we can reduce the machining time from 60 to 40 seconds, we have increased productivity by a third.”

Enquiry No. 3706

For The Right Time

Carl Hsiung(L), Mark Seng(R)

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Jinn Fa Machine Industrial:

during the show so far and we will try our best to turn them into business for the company.”

Apart from building new machines, Hurco Taiwan is also helping their existing customers rediscover their machine.

“We are visiting our customers to conduct refresher courses for them. We feel only when they are 100 percent sure on how to use our machines, then they can fully benefit from them,” said Mark Seng, Asia operations manager, Hurco SEA. Another step the company has taken to build relations with customers is the establishment of showrooms in Taiwan. “Regular training sessions are held in these showrooms to help our customers explore the capabilities of our machines to its entirety,” he mentioned.

Both conceded that 2009 will be a year for consolidation and they hope to be the first on their customers’ mind when they are looking to invest again when the good times come.

Enquiry No. 3707

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Pinnacle Machine Tool:

Renishaw (Taiwan):

Flexibility Required

Investing In Innovation

The ability to change with times and react to changes is key for success.

There is an on-going process for self-improvement in Pinnacle. The company is always looking to bring in new technology from beyond their shores and fuse it with ideas gathered from customers’ feedback in their R&D laboratory. “As we are smaller, we are more sensitive to market changes and can react faster and accordingly,” said Allen Hsieh, GM, Pinnacle Machine Tool.

Not satisfied with just producing quality products, they are looking to embark on a marketing drive. The company is targeting the European market and the medical industry. They are looking to advertise and participate in overseas exhibitions.

Reacting to the current situation, the company is taking steps to help their customers. “We are offering period extension for payments and providing better service to our customers. They can call us anytime,” he concluded.

In line with the company’s slogan, Renishaw continues to innovate a nd ex ude s confidence, which can be felt by its customers.

“Apply innovation, that’s what we a re a ll about,” declared Steve Bell, MD, Renishaw (Taiwan) as he proud ly p oi nte d at t he company logo.

No stranger to innovation, Steve Bell the company spends 30 to 40 percent of their turnover on R&D according to Mr Bell, making it the biggest area of expenditure. In addition to technological innovation, the company has also launched a campaign with a twist in Taiwan.

As Mr Bell explained, “We are launching a campaign to help our customers—by showing them how to use the probe correctly and how we can help them improve through put, ultimately saving money. Set up time is reduced; accuracy is improved along with quality.”

Here comes the twist—“we install the product, provide them with training and three months later, we return to see if there are any improvements. If there are none, we will take our equipment back and give them a full refund. One of the reason for doing this is we want to show them that we have great confidence in our product. We did this in the UK and no one returned the product,” he said.

Enquiry No. 3708

Enquiry No. 3709

Allen Hsieh

Tailift Group:

Generating Lift

Technological advancement, price and services are undoubtedly the important elements in making a sale but product image is also important to Tailift.

Ting Hao Lin, executive secretary, Tailift said: “We try to build an image for ourselves by styling our machines in a certain way. I remembered during Euroblech, some of the visitors did not believe we are a Taiwanese manufacturer as our designs are different.” He was however quick to add that packaging is built on the foundation of good service and technology.

Understanding what the customers want is also important in this business. “We are flexible and we understand what our customers want. We make adjustments quickly and tr y to be as meticulous as possible in providing customer support, as we believe in quality rather than quantity. Customers can easily pick up on this and this puts them at ease straight away as they feel that they have the backing of the manufacturer,” he said.

Tailift are now talking to some of their customers directly to try to establish direct contact and foster

Ting Hao Lin

better working relationships. This is helpful in their quest to build up their reputation in the world market.

Enquiry No. 3710

April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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Trumpf Taiwan Industries: Power

Mike Lo

A blend of technological pursuit and comprehensive customer service has made Trumpf Taiwan a reliable partner.

Innovation is the vanguard i n t he bu si ne ss of Tr u mpf Taiwan. This is evident as the company sets aside seven to eight percent of its a nnua l turnover to R& D according to Mike Lo, manager, product management and marketing, Trumpf Taiwan Industries. “In line with our slogan in Euroblech,

Yida Precision Machinery:

Up

we have included new technology and even new colou r to ou r machines.”

The compa ny is a lso on a que st to train their customers i n Ta iwa n. “ I n t he past, our customers are on three shifts a n d wo rk i n g 2 4 / 7, around the clock. It was difficult to get hold of them. Now for better or worse, with the downturn, they have a bit more time, giving us the ideal opportunity to train them. We have invited programmers from all over Taiwan to familiarise them with the software updates,” he mentioned This year, Trumpf Taiwan is also organising punching, laser cutting and bending application seminars for their customers.

In addition, they have opened a training and application centre in Taoyuan. Finally, they have a

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Enquiry No. 3711

Integration = Innovation

Combining a few machines into one, using robots to aid machining are in vogue in Yida precision machinery now.

A strong believer of collecting data from end users, Dr Hank Pu, president, Yida precision machinery is using them to good effect.

“From the feedback we gathered, we decided to make more multi functional machines. Customers can then make parts in one machine without having to transfer them to other machines,” he said.

“As labour cost is high especially in countries like the US, we are looking to incorporate robotic system into our machines. We hope to use one robot to manage four to five machines,” he added.

As the market is quiet at the moment, Yida would like to pay more attention to the existing customers.

“We would like to let them know that we are here to help.

Throughout the world, we have service centres and we also have six service engineers who call on our customers regularly,” he commented.

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bi-monthly open house and so far, responses have been good.

Appreciating the situation most customers are in now, the company has come up with ways to help their customers cushion the blow. They are providing financial support for their customers by helping them get loans from local banks.

Commenting on the strength of Taiwanese machine ma nufacturers, Mr Lo said: “F lex ibilit y is our g re ate st strength. Taiwanese makers can respond to market demands faster. Part of the reason is the availability of many satellitemachining shops. Many jobs can be outsourced as opposed to doing it yourself. As long as you have an idea and a plan, you can get the machining shops to make the parts for you. I have not seen this in other places. I believe this is special to Taiwan,” he concluded.

Dr Hank Pu

For Dr Pu, he feels that the greatest trait of Taiwanese machine maker is their open mind. They have no qualms about joining forces with other companies to come up with new design. It is exactly this trait that is driving Yida towards greater innovation. MEN Enquiry No. 3712

ENQUIRY NO 041

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Product Highlights

58

Chi-Fa: Bridge Type Machining Centre

Victor Taichung: Multi-Tasking Machine

Taiwanese machine manufacturer Chi-Fa has developed a bridge type five-face machining centre. The 5FG series is suitable for large work pieces and it is also possible to machine five faces in one setup.

The five-face milling head allows horizontal milling and is able to rotate 360 deg. Stability and cutting ability is provided by the box type enhanced rib design on bridge structure equipped with wide linear way support.

Roller type blocks design on the Y-axis linear guide way, three blocks design in horizontal guide way and two blocks design in vertical guide way provides extra rigid and low fraction support structure to ensure stable accuracy and extended machine precision life cycle.

With 12-axis control on a turning lathe, the Vturn-X200 by Victor Taichung of Taiwan is controlled by a Fanuc controller. This twinspindle lathe includes a rotary tool-spindle (B-axis), which swivels from +115 to –110 deg. The live tools rotate at a maximum speed of 12000rpm for an angle milling along the workpieces.

Twin spindles are both equipped with a built-in motor, 8� chuck and C-axis for turning and milling operations. The conventional upper turret is upgraded with a rotary tool-spindle (B-axis), which can be used as a conventional turret (with tool in spindle clamped by coupling) or as a milling head.

With ATC design and 40-tool magazine, this tool spindle moves not only along the X-axis (travel 600mm) but also Y-axis (travel +/-80mm).

Enquiry No. 3713

Enquiry No. 3715

Pinnacle: Five Axes Vertical Machining Centre

YCM: Horizontal Machining Centre

The AX320 by Pinnacle is manufactured from meehanite cast iron, tempered for stress relief. Spindle head vibration during moving is minimised by the spindle head elevation, which employs a pneumatic type balance system.

Five-axis synchronised machining saves machining time, reduces repetitive workpiece setup and error, while increasing machining accuracy.

A constant temperature and long service life is made possible by a spindle oil cooler. It also provides machining efficiency and accuracy.

Coolant through ball screws on X, Y-axis minimises thermal deformation and backlash, while ensuring smooth motion during rapid traverse.

With a patented spindle cooling with micro oil-air lubrication, the H630B by Taiwanese manufacturer YCM is able to minimise thermal deformation and improve precision. The built-in motorised spindle is capable of producing 42 kgf-m of torque, improving precision and rigidity.

Other features include a double wall structure to provide structural integrity and a sleeve cooling system to ensure cutting rigidity and accuracy over a long period of time.

Equipped with a chip disposal unit, the machine allows fast chip disposal to minimise heat transfer from the chips.

Enquiry No. 3714

Enquiry No. 3716

metalworking equipment news April 2009

ENQUIRY NO 006

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Wi GF AgieCharmilles:

Armando Pereira

Head of Market Region South Asia GF AgieCharmilles

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

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T

here’s change in the air ever y where. From the newly elected US President O b a m a’s c a m p a i g n o f change, through the ever-changing scenario of today’s economic climate.

Certainly, change is in the air for GF AgieCharmilles, the worldwide provider of machine tools too. Its newly appointed Head of Market Region South Asia, Armando Pereira, says: “My goal is to change, at our speed or faster than our market.”

Mr Pereira brings with him a promise of a faster way of doing things.

“My way of managing will be different – to be more customer centric, to understand faster the expectations of our customers,” he adds.

The 48-year-old Spaniard is a Swiss citizen living in Geneva for the past four decades. Based in Singapore as of January 1 this year, his promise of change will affect the south A sian region defined as the territories of South China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India.

means that when we work with our customers in the first and second level of subcontracting, we can be a real partner to them and are able to anticipate their needs and provide them the necessary resource,” he says.

Besides being already a well recognised specialist in the tool and mould-making industry and, to manufacturers of precision and highvalue parts in this region, the company is also known experts in technologies relating to electro erosion, high-speed and high-performance milling as well as automation.

“W hat ma ke s us different from our competitors? We help our customers grow – to provide solutions and, by offering a higher level of intelligence.” He adds: “We are not only focussed on machines; we are focussed on technology and solutions – new innovative products a re in the pipeline to improve traditional production methods – this will be exciting times for GF AgieCharmilles. We see ourselves taking more market share.”

Climate Of Change

Zoomed In

Change, he admits is a product of the current economic crisis, but just as significantly important, GF AgieCharmilles will be putting more intelligence in the market. “This will allow us to anticipate what the big brands are willing to do. This

The rapid expansion of its position in China and other growth markets of Asia and Eastern Europe called for added manpower. When the opportunity called for a larger Asian presence, he was the prime candidate for the job.

nds

OF CHANGE

A focus on the growth potentials in the region brings a revitalised GF AgieCharmilles to the fore. By Eileen Chan

“The territory became too big to manage and we want to focus in this region because of its growth potentials.” Mr Pereira looks after the full activity for the Group including milling, EDM and other services.

The company also offers a range of services supporting manufacturers of mould and tool making products and companies producing precision parts from future-proof materials during the entire life of their machines.

He adds: “GF AgieCharmilles historically has a clear dominant role and has more high tech customers in this area. As our customers are more innovative in the market, today we are probably suffering less than the competition.”

The company aims to reinforce its leadership in South China as the market remains one of the most potential in all Asia while expansion plans are on the drawing board for India – even as it focuses its marketing activities in Singapore and Malaysia. “We are driven by technology and innovation, our focus will be maintained in this area. It is a natural move for us to reinforce our position in the market,” he adds.

GF AgieCharmilles as a group believes in investing in its core technology. “We spend more than 10 percent of our resources in development – in Switzerland and in other countries in Europe,” says Mr Pereira.

Source Of Strength He adds that GF AgieCharmilles can be considered a local supplier anywhere around the world as its customers get the full support – as if they were situated next door to its headquarters in Switzerland. “Our staff are dedicated engineers with more than seven to eight years with the company. They have a lot of experience and have yearly intensive training from our HQ. Wherever our customers operate in the world, they benefit from the presence of our staff, from our reliability and the values of our Swiss origin.”

GF A gieCharmilles is also April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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“My way of managing will be different – to be more customer centric, to understand faster the expectations of our customers” – Armando Pereira

reinforcing its position in high quality moulds for different industries eg: mobile phone and in electronic field – as the requirements are higher due to complexity of parts. “We are able to provide more accurate machines, machines with higher rigidity, machines that offer higher quality of surface finish,” he says.

No longer content to be a machine tool supplier to the world, he says: “We are a dedicated partner to our customers.” GF AgieCharmilles will continue to develop its offerings to the market by enlarging the range of products and services and, “to continue to develop specific needs for the market as worldwide consumption patterns differ,” says Mr Pereira. “We will be putting more emphasis on environmental protection as the problems (in terms of sustainability) will become a major issue in terms of the way we produce things and how they impact our environment.”

According to him, this yea r the company will also focus on its marketing efforts to reinforce its position in various fields. “We are already in aerospace and will continue to position in aerospace through EDM, 5 axis milling – to reinforce our position in these areas.”

He adds: “We are in a dominating 62

metalworking equipment news April 2009

position in both Europe and US – especially in general engineering.”

What makes GF AgieCharmilles stand out? Mr Pereira says: “Today, GF AgieCharmilles is suffering less than others because of our worldwide network, the offer we make to our customers – our knowledge: from service, consumables, our large array of products and performance of our products – is why GF AgieCharmilles is able to move ahead today. Those companies focussing on innovation are focused on developing further.

These companies are moving on, and we are moving on with them.” MEN

On Armando Pereira…

application engineer. He was subsequently transferred to Charmilles UK office to set up its technical centre. Then, on to Japan from 1988 for two years where he was made in charge of its technical department centre of expertises for application.

Mr Pereira went back to Switzerland f r o m 19 9 0 – 19 9 6 f o r C h a r m i l l e s Technologies Geneva as its marketing manager for high-end (EDM) products.

From 1997 – 2001 he was posted to Asia as company manager. Here he set up the company’s Hong Kong/Guangdong arm and subsequently, opened a branch office in Shenzhen.

He was back in the Swiss headquarters from 2002 to 2008 and was in charge of marketing and communications for GF AgieCharmilles EDM on a worldwide basis.

Armando Pereira started working with Charmilles Technologies back in 1985 as an

Enquiry No. 3717

GF AgieCharmilles And Hexagon In Partnership GF AgieCharmilles and Hexagon Metrology, a supplier of industrial precision measuring technology, have agreed to install Hexagon 3D measuring machines in the main application centres of GF AgieCharmilles, complementing the company’s high-precision milling and erosion machines.

GF AgieCharmilles´ application centres will be equipped with 3D measuring machines of Hexagon Metrology SA, starting at World Application Center in Germany. The exact specification of the measuring machines will be determined by the local requirements of each application centre and personnel will then be individually trained by Hexagon.

The partnership agreement also specifies that customers and personnel of GF AgieCharmilles can visit Hexagon’s local customer centres to attend measuring and presetting demonstrations conducted by Hexagon engineers.

The cooperation between GF AgieCharmilles and Hexagon will be extended further at communications and promotional level. Both companies are convinced that their complementing technologies will ideally focus their customers´ interest on high precision.

Enquiry No. 3718

ENQUIRY NO 266

EVENTs&

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exhibitions Preview:

MTA Malaysia 2009

R

eturning for its 6th edition, MTA Malaysia, the machine tools, precision engineering and metalworking technology event is to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre from May 6 – 10, 2009. Opening hours are from 1030 to 1830 hrs daily.

The event provides a chance for visitors to meet up with members of Malaysia’s metalworking, machinery and manufacturing elite.

An estimated 24,000 trade visitors from all various related industries will be visiting the 5-day event. Last year’s show saw a turn out of 23,942 trade visitors from 69 countries.

Facilitating its role as the one stop hub that provides multiple solutions for the manufacturing industry, MTA Malaysia 2009 incorporates Metrology Malaysia, Subcon Malaysia and ToolTec Malaysia making it the platform that allows industry players to gain access to the latest technology, equipment and services in the market.

An event of international importance, the last show in 2008 saw: 1,500 companies from 33 countries and 7 national groups. Countries like Austria, China, Germany, India, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan made up the national groups. Exhibitors closed over RM 720 million (US$196 million) in sales over a brief 5-day period.

The event is backed by various relevant government and trade associations namely, the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), the Federation of Malaysian Foundry and Engineering Industries Association (FOMFEIA), the Malaysia Mould & Die Association (MMADA), the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association (SPETA), the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI), Taiwan Machine Tool Builders’ Association (TMBA), the German Machine Tool Builders Association (VDW) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE)

Int’l Pavilions This year’s event remains a platform for the German companies to show their products to the ASEAN market.

The German companies have modern machine tools and manufacturing systems for metalworking processes in the field of metal cutting and metal forming, cutting tools, clamping and measuring devices. Other nations like Singapore and Taiwan are also having pavilions at the event.

Putra World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 6 – 10, 2009 Enquiry No. 3801 64

metalworking equipment news April 2009

The Singapore Pavilion will be spearheaded by SPETA.

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EVENTs&exhibitions

Faro: Clear Image Laser Scanner

The Photon Laser Scanner by Faro offers noncontact measurement, which produces performance and image clarity.

They are able to capture 3D images of large objects – up to a distance of 76m. The scanner provides 3 x more details, higher accuracy and higher sensitivity compared to LS 880. It is suitable in a wide range of industries.

Enquiry No. 3802

Ewag: Universal Grinding Machine

The Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) and the Taiwan Machine Tool Builders’ Association (TMBA) will be organising groups at MTA Malaysia 2009.

Ewag has developed a grinding machine suitable for grinding and regrinding of h ig h pre cision to ols a nd sp e cia l workpieces including those of a miniature t y p e i n t u n g s te n ca rbide, ste el, or other materials.

T h e W S -11’s k i n e m a t i c s a l l ow t he g r i n d i n g a n d measuring of cylindrical and tapered tools with either straight or spiral flutes to take place in one clamping. Depending on the material to be ground, the machine can be equipped with diamond, CBN, carborundum, or special wheels.

Enquiry No. 3803

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Preview:

Metaltech

2009

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dvancing towards the second half of the 9th Malaysian plan, the manufacturing sector in the country is expected to continue to remain a key growth sector. In 2007, the manufacturing sector accounted for 30.2 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Malaysian economy continues to strengthen, registering a GDP growth of 6.3 percent in 2007, as compared to 5.9 percent in 2006. The economic growth in 2008 is envisaged to expand between five to six percent.

The Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3) has also shown steady growth in the industry, attributed by the machinery and equipment exports over the last seven years. The exports showed an increased from RM 7.4 billion (US$2.0 billion) in 2000 to RM 21.9 billion in 2007.

Yxlon: 2D & 3D Microfocus Inspection

Delcam: Engineering Geometry Solutions

D e si g ne d to m e e t wide ranging needs of the electronics, automotive, military, aerospace, telecom and medical device markets, the Y Cougar microfocus platform

by Yxlon provides the X-ray solution for 2D and 3D inspection in the market.

The machine gives a ra nge of qua lit y X-ray solutions that adapt themselves to changing customer needs.

Advanced technological solutions enable ergonomic and reliable operations.

Y Cougar systems provide solutions for realtime microfocus X-ray inspections ranging from manual single device to fully automated high volume applications.

FeatureCAM, developed by Delcam, is a suite of CAD/ CAM software, which combines technology with ease of use. It automates machining and minimises programming times for parts on mills, lathes and wire EDM. It is possible to streamline programming by drawing or importing parts, identify part components as features (holes, pockets or surface milling) and share network databases for tools and feeds.

The software also automatically selects tools, calculates feeds, speeds, (including stepovers and depth of cut) determines roughing and finishing operations and generates toolpaths and NC code.

Enquiry No. 3805

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In 2007, the approved investments of RM1.8 billion and exports of 21.9 billion exceeded the annual target of RM1.7 billion and 21.3 billion per annum respectively.

The higher growth can be attributed to the expansion of the private sector as well as the government’s pragmatic policies and strategies to diversify and promote new sources of growth. The announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi on the liberalisation of steel ceiling prices has projected a positive notion for the nation’s manufacturing industry, with the objective to promote market efficiency and transparency.

With the positive outlook, the machinery and equipment industry in Malaysia is poised to continue flourishing.

Against the backdrop of improving situation in the country, Metaltech Malaysia (MTM 2009) will be back for

metalworking equipment news April 2009

Enquiry No. 3806

EVENTs&exhibitions

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its 15th year in providing the metalworking and machine tool industry with business opportunities to achieve sales target, forge business contacts, promote brands and gain market share.

Generating more than RM720 million worth of sales from all 1,500 exhibitors from 33 countries combined, the event in 2008 was a success in terms of number of visitors where over 24,000 people from 69 countries attended.

Some 25,000 trade visitors are expected to fill the 35,000 sq m (gross) exhibition area. While there, they can expect to see 10 national pavilions and 1,500 exhibiting companies.

As one of the important event of its genre in South East Asia, it provides a relevant platform for potential sales prospects. To be held in the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from May 6 – 10, 2009, exhibition hours are from 1030 to 1830 hrs daily.

Incorporated in the event is the Welding Technology Exhibition 2009 (Weldtek2009). Automation Technology Exhibition & Conference (Automex) and MTA Malaysia 2009 (MTA2009) will also be held in the same location during that period.

Weldtek 2009 is the 9th Malaysian international exhibition on welding equipments & technology, welding services and welding competition.

The Malaysia international exhibition & conference on process automation, factory automation, industrial

OGP: CNC Multisensor

SmartScope CNC 500 by OGP offers the CNC features and performance in a large travel bridge-design system. Parts move on a precision DC motor-driven Y-axis stage while the optics assembly travels in the X-axis across a stable bridge cross member. This design assures smooth part translation and robust measurement performance.

An extended Y-axis travel of 600 mm is optional.

In addition, there is an isolated granite platform and rugged bridge construction providing the necessary stability for accurate performance. Enhanced autofocus, edge detection algorithms and optional touch probe provide precise measurements in all three axes.

Enquiry No. 3807

automation, instrumentation & Control, bus & wireless technology, hydraulics & pneumatics and robotics will be offered in Automex.

MTA 2009 is the 6th Malaysia international precision engineering, machine tools and metalworking exhibition.

MTM 2009 focuses on metalworking, machine tool, CAD/ CAM, metrology, mould & die, surface & heat treatment, sub-contracting, foundry, industrial automation, robotics, precision enginnering and welding technology.

The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) endorse the events.

It is supported by Selangor and Federal Territory Machinery Merchants Association (SAFMA), National I n s t it u te o f C o mp re s s e d A i r M a l ay si a B e rh a d ( N ICA M ), Federation of Ma laysia n Foundr y a nd Eng ineering Industrie s A ssociation ( FOM F E I A), Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation (SMa), Malaysia’s Hardware, Machinery and Building Materials Dealers’ A ssociation ( MHMBA) and Taiwan Mold and Die Industry Association (TMDIA).

Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 6 – 10, 2009 Enquiry No. 3804

Carmex: Inserts & Tool Holders

The Mill-Thread line of inserts and tool holders

by Carmex offers five different inserts sizes from 12mm up to 40mm length to cover applications from small to big diameters.

To support the inserts, a wide range of tool holders is included in the line. In addition, they all include a built-in coolant bore.

A single insert and toolholder can produce a given thread on many diameters (external and internal). The prismatic shape of the insert’s tail ensures exact and reliable clamping in the toolholder.

Enquiry No. 3808

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JET: Metal Lathe With 3-Axis Digital Readout

Siemens: Integrated Solutions

The GH-1440W-3 is a metal lathe that is able to make multi threads without gear change thanks to its gearbox. Developers JET also added a touch control operation, moving away from traditional controls.

Capable of reaching speeds between 40 18 0 0r pm, t he lat he ha s addit iona l fe ature s including an adjustable tailstock for taper cuts, an induction hardened bed and a four way tool past with indexing function, making it an attractive prospect for larger workshop.

The NX 6, now including synchronous technology, gives organisations greater powers to overcome the obstacles to innovation.

Siemens has combined strength and flexibility with this product. In addition to the integration of all aspects of CAD, CAM and CAE, it is a system that works with any CAD data, making it a product capable of solving tough problems.

Featuring a unified process to ensure everyone is on the same page, the software also has a simple design, making it possible to be used by anyone.

Enquiry No. 3811

Enquiry No. 3809

Han Jie: CNC Bender

Guhring: Solid Carbide Drill

HC-650R2-4SM by Han Jie features a hi-speed PCI interface. In addition, the supply of input optical coupling signal insulates the interface board.

3D piping models can be immediately displayed with the preview function and the YBC data design input interface. The correct 3D piping models can be shown immediately when the data is input.

When inputting operational parameters and YBC data, they are subjected to self-correction and mistake-prevention to avoid inputting the wrong data and bringing damage to the machine.

Guhring has d e v e lop e d t he R T 100T, the spiral flute deep hole drill. The drill offers a good costperformance ratio. In addition, they permit higher feedrates and subsequently achieve a considerable reduction in machining time.

The spiral flute possesses a geometry that is optimised to the specific demand for optimal chip evacuation from the deep hole.

To provide the cutting edge with an optimum coolant supply, the tools possess a coolant duct profile. Finally, the TiALN tip coating protects the cutting edges against wear.

Enquiry No. 3810

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

Enquiry No. 3812

ENQUIRY NO 059

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Preview:

Asiamold

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espite a challenging global economy, the mould and die industry in China continues to output moulds at a steady pace, reaching sales of US$5 billion in the first two quarters of 2008, an increase of nearly 10 percent as compared to the same period in 2007. Currently there are over 30,000 mould and die manufacturers in China.

Against this background, the third edition of Asiamold – Guangzhou International Trade Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development, will be held at a new venue, the Poly World Trade Centre in Guangzhou, China.

This sister event to Euromold, is billed as the leading international trade fair for mould and die industry heavyweights in South East China, will take place on an estimated 20,000 sq m of exhibition space in mid-September 2009. Fifteen international and local associations, including new supporters, the Singapore Precision Engineering & Tools Association and Shanghai Association of Die & Mould, is expected to make their presence felt at the event.

A lre ady, I nter nat iona l E nter pr ise Singapore announced that Singapore companies interested in participating at Asiamold could be eligible for the International Marketing Assistance Programme (IMAP) and receive up to 50 percent of funding for the 2009 event.

Mould and die manufacturers and suppliers must take part in the Singapore Pavilion organised by the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association, in order to receive the grant.

In addition, members from the Hong Kong Mould & Die Council can enjoy a Small to Medium Enterprise marketing fund from the Hong Kong government.

In China itself, a demand in the manufacturing of speciality moulds for automation, micro equipment and medical equipment has increased substantially. In 2007, total exports of China’s medical equipment reached nearly US$13 billion, a growth of 20 percent as compared with 2006. With a clear indication of growth in the future of these moulds, the event itself will debut a Micro Manufacturing & Medical Moulds showcase.

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metalworking equipment news April 2009

Asiamold is organised by Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt, in cooperation with DEMAT GmbH and Hong Kong Mould & Die Council.

Poly World Trade Centre Expo Guangzhou, China September 16 – 18, 2009 Enquiry No. 3813

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SBB Steel Focus China2009

TheSchleifring GrindingSymposium

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he Schleifring Grinding Symposium will be held at the Trade Fair Center Thun Expo from May 6 – 8, 2009. Some 1,000 visitors are expected to throng the 3,600 sq m venue. During the event, 17 technical presentations and more than 20 machines will be shown.

Studer will have five technology presentations and also showcase nine grinding machines. In addition, there are 20 lectures by renowned speakers from science and industry speaking about subjects relevant for the future of grinding. The technical presentations and professional talks will be offered to an international audience in German, English, French and Italian.

Trade Fair Center Thun Expo Thun, Switzerland May 6 – 8, 2009 Enquiry No. 3815

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hina’s steel industry is among the world’s major industries and is registering the fastest growth rate not only in terms of production but consumption as well.

The country’s economy grew at just nine percent in 2008, its slowest rate for seven years and a further sign that the global economic crisis is hurting the Chinese economy.

The Chinese steel industry has also been hit hard by the global crisis, which has depressed export demand and domestic demand.

Yet Chinese mills remain cautiously optimistic for 2009. A recent Steel Business Briefing Survey of 24 of China’s top steel mills reports that 50 percent anticipate a drop in 2009 steel demand and 75 percent expect benefits to flow from Beijing’s economic stimulus package. 36 percent say they will cope with the downturn by adjusting their product mix. The survey found an industry ready for both the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.

Leaders from Baosteel Group, Morgan Stanley, Hammonds LLP, Beijing Metal Consulting and Pingxiang Iron & Steel will join other speakers and 200 expected delegates at SBB’s one-day Steel Focus China 2009 conference at the Crowne Plaza in Shanghai, China, on April 21.

Shanghai, China April 21, 2009 Enquiry No. 3814

MTAVietnam2009

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he 6th edition of MTA Vietnam 2009 returns to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on July 8 – 11, 2009.

Organised by Singapore Exhibition Services (SES) and co-organised by VCCI Exhibition Service, the event serves as a testament to Vietnam’s potential in manufacturing and industrialisation.

International suppliers and vendors are expected to gather at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center to tap local business opportunities. Displays run the gamut, from: cutting tools to machining centres, dies and moulds, milling machines, lathes, presses, as well as precision measurement devices and gauges.

MTA Vietnam will incorporate Metrology Vietnam 2009 (Vietnam International Precision Measurement & Testing Exhibition), ToolTecVietnam2009 (Vietnam International Exhibition of Tools and Tooling Technology), SubConVietnam2009 (Vietnam Contract Manufacturing and Subcontracting Exhibition), and Automation Vietnam 2009 (Vietnam International Industrial Automation Exhibition.)

Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam July 8 – 11, 2009 Enquiry No. 3816

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SolidWorks World 2009

Word To The Wise

This year’s event presented an opportunity for designers and engineers to network, learn, and find inspiration with colleagues from around the globe.

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lthough SolidWorks World 2009 has concluded, the wo r d s o f S i r R i c h a r d Bra nson cont inue to resonate: “Everybody’s got a dream and it’s good to dream the impossible.

With the world’s best engineers working on your dream, you just might transform the impossible into the possible.”

Sir R ichard Bra nson, Virgin Group founder and philanthropist, was a special guest speaker here at SolidWorks World 2009. More than 4,000 SolidWorks customers, partners, resellers, and employees attended.

Customer Showcase The conference included a sneak prev iew of SolidWorks 2010 3D CA D software, working directly with the designs of Terrafugia and Magenn Power. These SolidWorks customers revealed their flying car and next-generation wind turbine, respectively, on the main stage.

A lso, in one of t he genera l sessions, New Balance and Sony Ericsson representatives took to the stage with DS SolidWorks cofounder and group executive Jon Hirschtick to describe

their challenges and successes in designing household-name products.

Mr Hirschtick, detailing his vision for the future of computer-aided design, said: “Most of our work is still in front of us.” He predicted that touchscreen interfaces, Internetbased applications, video game graphics, and 3D printing will have a major impact on 3D CAD.

Product Launch T he compa ny a lso took t he opportunity to unveil a sustainability sof t wa re pack a ge code - na med ‘Sage.’ Available with the release of SolidWorks 2010 this fall, the product will help designers and engineers calculate the environmental impact of products they are developing to design for sustainability.

S o l id Wo rk s Wo rl d 2 010, scheduled for January 31 – February 3, 2010, will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, in Anaheim, California.

Enquiry No. 3817

One of the highly anticipated segments of the event was the appearance of Sir Richard Branson. Gracing the stage of the first General Session, he had a few pearls of wisdom to share:

On design: “The absolute key, I believe, is not just going ahead and designing a product, but getting out there and talking to the consumer at length before you even start to consider designing it. So if you’re going to try to design a new airline seat, spend ages experiencing other people’s airlines and then you set about designing the seat that people actually want.”

On the economy: “It’s certainly the toughest economy that I’ve known in my lifetime and what we’re trying to do is with the companies that can afford it, we’re trying to set an example by expanding out of it rather than contracting. I think companies like us that have got resources need to continue to expand, continue to innovate, continue to employ new people.”

On the IT industry: “It is less threatened than most other industries in the world, it shows that the industry is fundamentally sound and fundamentally thriving.”

Enquiry No. 3818

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Top

Enhancement Ideas Every year, SolidWorks users vote on the top 10 enhancements that they would like to see in a future version of the programme. According to SolidWorks, over 85 percent of the requests on each years’ top 10 list are implemented.

Revealed at SolidWorks World 2009 by user group leaders from North America was this year’s list:

10 09

Excel behaviour in tables Abort any running command by pressing ‘Esc’

08 07 06 05 04

Add lock point for model rebuilds Dual monitor support On-the-fly equation creating and editing Faster rebuilds on complex models Ability to rename configurations while referenced

03 02 01

SolidWorks backward compatibility Clear memory when a file is closed Increase programme stability

SolidWorks

Unveils Software To Gauge Any Design’s Environmental Impact

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assault Systèmes SolidWorks (DS S o l i d Wo r k s) h a s introduced software t hat deta ils, in re a l t ime, t he environmental impact of parts, assemblies, and the design decisions that go into them. DS SolidWorks demonstrated an early version of the software at SolidWorks World 2009. “ We’re prov iding de sig ners a nd engineers w ith va luable i n fo r m a t i o n fo r m a k i n g g o o d decisions that significantly reduce the environmental impact of the products they create,” said Rick Chin, director of product and marketing innovation for DS SolidWorks.

The software, code-named ‘Sage’, will be available in two product forms with this fall’s release of SolidWorks 2010: an ‘Xpress’ version included with every license of SolidWorks and a ‘Professional’ version.

Both the Xpress and Professional products will display a dashboard at the bottom of the SolidWorks user interface that provides information a b o u t a d e si g n’s p ro sp e c t i v e carbon footprint, air impact, water impact, and energy consumed in manufacturing. The Professional version will roll up the impact of an entire designed product across its environmental life cycle and also include information on energy consumption throughout a product’s usage phase.

‘Sage’ provides a comprehensive view of a design’s environmental impact. Its analysis, for example, accounts for where the product will be manufactured and used.

This determines environmental factors such as: where and how raw material is mined; transportation impacts; energy production (eg:

coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, etc); and power consumption.

The software will let designers and engineers create a ‘baseline’ design from which to compa re every new design with an eye on reducing environmental impact.

As the designer selects a different m a te r i a l , p r o c e s s , o r d e s i g n approach, the impact reflected on the dashboard changes.

Enquiry No. 3819

Engineering Stimulus Package Announced at SolidWorks World 20 09, the Engineering Stimulus Package will be introduced to help engineers that are out of work. The programme aims to provide these engineers with free training, the goal being to get them to achieve CSWP certification. Starting with North America, it will be rolled out in different stages around the world, eventually reaching out globally.

Enquiry No. 3820

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product finder

Iscar: Deep Hole Drills

Sutton Tools: Heat Resistant Drill

The DXJ drill combines the curved cutting lips and point thinning to provide a point geometry, which aids the positioning of the drilled hole. Sutton Tools also incorporated X-type web thinning to give the DXJ a strong core, making it suitable for tough material. In addition, the drill prevents swarf wrapping around it and it also produces shorter chips.

Other feature includes a 40° flute helix and flute form that allows non-step drilling of 3 to 4xd hole depths.

Made from cobalt grade of high speed steel and coated with TiAlN, the drill has a high resistance for heat.

With Iscar’s solid carbide deep hole drills, it is possible to drill to 22 times diameter and reach bottom 10 percent faster than with other solid carbide drills – and six times faster than with HSS drills.

This capability can debottleneck many high-volume operations in automotive powertrain manufacture, including crankshaft oil holes. Other target applications include deep holes in camshafts, connecting rods, cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, hydraulic blocks and die and mould work.

The drill tip itself has a 140° positive-point, fourmargin design to preserve the edge, reduce thrust forces and aid centring and tracking. Internal coolant holes accommodate all types of cutting fluids and operating conditions, including MQL.

Carl Zeiss: DuraMax Scanning Measuring Machine

Mitsubishi Materials has developed a two flute strong geometry type end mill, MS2MD for the MSTAR end mill series.

The product is an additional range of the MSTAR end mills. It offers a strong cutting edge geometry leading to higher fracture resistance resulting in higher machining efficiency, and higher quality machining of moulds.

It is available in 30 types and 1841 sizes in total.

With its compact DuraMax 3D coordinate measuring machine (CMM), Carl Zeiss brings scanning to the smallest workshop.

The scanning measuring machine f e a t u r e s a Va s t X X T sensor that can be used in a workshop or inline process control. Suited for use as the quick inbetween inspection of small workpieces and for testing of volume parts directly in production, the Dura Ma x replace s t radit iona l me a su r ing equipment. Its low total price offers customers affordable access to Zeiss scanning.

The key features are its suitability for a rough production environment, the high permissible temperature variations, the minimal space requirements and the attractive price.

Enquiry No. 3902

Enquiry No. 3904

Enquiry No. 3901

MMC: Fracture Resistant End Mill

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Enquiry No. 3903

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Mitutoyo: Roundness Tester

Makino: Production Ready VMC S33

The Mitutoyo RA-10 roundness tester is a compact roundness measuring machine suited for manufacturers requiring inspection of small, cylindrical workpieces in the lab or for high volume inspection on the production floor.

The R A-10 features a large touch-panel control LCD display and offers many points that simplify the inspection task, like one-stroke recall, and a zero-setting function that allows the detector’s level to be set to zero with a single key press. Other features include an X-axis stopper and Z-axis scale unit. Measurement data and recorded profiles can be printed out from the built-in thermal printer.

Makino’s S33 vertical machining centre blends highperformance machining capabilities and pricing to help manufacturers drive down the cost of their operations.

The S33 utilises a 40 taper, 13,000-rpm spindle with the stiffness and rigidity required for hard cutting applications and the speed necessary to provide high surface quality for demanding die and mould applications.

Its heavy cast construction and axis configuration ensures machine rigidity – producing positioning accuracy over the full range of travel (within 0.003 mm and repeatability of 0.002 mm).

In addition, the S33 is equipped with a 20 -tool magazine and automatic tool changer (ATC).

Enquiry No. 3905

Enquiry No. 3907

The Ai310 by ShapeGrabber is an automated inspection system for sma ll to medium, complex-shaped parts where speed, complete coverage and ease-of-use are important.

Its compact size allows the machine to fit easily on a workbench or standard inspection table.

Main features include reduced inspection time, total integration where acquiring, aligning and inspecting of parts are possible by a click of a mouse. The scanner is also compatible with a wide variety of materials and colours.

Works in all normal lighting conditions, the product is easy to use as it requires no software alignment.

Enquiry No. 3906

ENQUIRY NO 190

ShapeGrabber: Automated 3D Scanner

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Mazak: Heavy Duty Nexus II Series

Yamazaki Mazak has introduced a larger vertical machining centre with a 50 taper spindle. Its vertical machining centre Nexus 700D-II offers performance and accuracy suited to customers producing the complex surfaces typically found in the mould and die industry.

For carrying out heavy metal removal and fine finishing operations, the VMC has an 8000 rev/min, 30kW (40HP) integral spindle/motor delivering a torque of 302Nm. A spindle head cooling system and ballscrew core cooling is standard on all axes. Productivity is further enhanced by the large (1740mm by 700mm) machine table on which single or multiple components can be loaded up to a maximum weight of 2000kg.

This large table capacity, in conjunction with axis strokes of 1530mm (X), 700mm (Y) and 650mm (Z) and traverse rates up to 30m/min, provides a platform for high-efficiency machining.

Enquiry No. 3908

Trumpf: TruBend 7036 Focussed On Human Efforts The developers of the latest bending machine, the TruBend Series 7000 focuses primarily on the human factor.

W it h it s u se r- f r ie nd ly operating elements, the Trumpf developed machine offers a monitor for the TASC 6000 control system that can be adjusted electronically and set to the appropriate angle. Its LED lighting provides correct lighting conditions precisely at the bend, without heat radiation. A laser diode also projects the bend line onto the surface of the sheet metal, simplifying the guiding of the workpiece into the back gauge.

The TruBend Series 7000 is a high-end solution for the production of small bent parts. It is made for parts with areas no larger than a DIN A3 sheet. This type of sheet metal part is particularly common in the production of automation and electrical equipment.

Enquiry No. 3910

Delcam: NC-Checker For Machine Tool Verification

Trumpf: Scratch-Free Parts With TruMatic 7000

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Trumpf’s Trumatic 7000 CNC flat bed laser cutting and profiling machine incorporates a flying optics and additional axes in X and Y on the cutting head to allow quicker positioning.

A beam guidance system on the Trumatic 7000 enables the machine to use the same cutting head to process sheet metal in a variety of thicknesses. An automatic nozzle changer reduces downtime and increases flexibility.

An active die that works from the bottom like a second punching head also contributes to scratch-free processing.

The active die is built into the work table and its height is adjustable. When the sheet is positioned or moved on the machine, it can be lowered under programme control.

The active die also allows higher and larger forming and upward/downward forming in a single step.

Delcam’s NC-Checker is a software programme that provides a quick and easy way to confirm the accuracy of the machine with standard probing equipment.

It can be used before machining starts to confirm that the equipment has been set up correctly and then applied during the production run to detect any movements out of tolerance that might have been caused by, for example, wear or temperature changes.

The user must first use NC-Checker to calibrate the probe and the machine tool setup against a known artefact, normally a sphere or a set of three spheres.

The software then generates a series of probing and performance tests for regular use to ensure that the machine is operating as it should. All the results can be archived to provide a traceable history of the performance of each machine.

Enquiry No. 3909

Enquiry No. 3911

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Renishaw: Upgraded Active Editor Pro

Mate Precision Tooling: Slitting Tool System

Renishaw’s Productivity+ Active Editor Pro, an interactive CAD-based editor for programming probing tasks on machine tools, has been upgraded with the release of its Active Editor Pro version 1.4. The new version of the PCbased probing software increases the number of users who can benefit from its programming style.

Besides adding support for CAD models from a large variety of CAD formats, and extending the range of postprocessors, the software also offers new ‘constructed features’ function (for prismatic parts with multiple circles and planes), along with support for more languages.

The new CAD formats include Parasolid, STEP and IGES as standard items, with the option to add support for Pro/Engineer, Catia (v4 and 5), UG/NX .prt files, ACIS, SolidWorks and Inventor files.

Fully OEM compatible, Mate LongLife is the market’s only punch press tool slitting system utilising M4PM tool steel.

The tool steel provides added performance with wear resistance and increased toughness, resulting in quality punched parts and longer tool life, says the company’s press release.

M4PM is a proprietary metallurgical steel composition that utilises a particle metallurgical manufacturing process and triple temper heat treatment.

Designed to replace conventional punches and dies, Mate LongLife is available as punch inserts and punch holders, die inserts and insert holders.

Enquiry No. 3912

Enquiry No. 3914

Siemens: PLM Software For Faster FEA Laser Research Optics: CO2 Laser Optics

Femap version 10 software is a PC-based CAE modelling solution and the finite element analysis (FEA) component of the Velocity Series portfolio. The software by Siemens helps users create FEA models from CAD data quickly through new meshing features.

Providing pre- and post-processing benefits to CAE analysts, the software creates accurate models more efficiently as it automates current meshing technology while adding new meshing with live model and element checking functionality.

Femap is integrated with NX Nastran and both support 64-bit Windows. This enables more access to random access memory (RAM) for pre-processing and solving much larger multi-million node models.

A line of CO2 la ser optics that a re direct re place me nt for h i g h p owe re d la se r i n t he industry is available from Laser Research Optics of Providence, USA. The optics for multikilowatt laser systems is optimised for 10.6µm and they come in the form of lenses and molybdenum and silicon mirrors.

The optics for multikilowatt laser systems is offered from 3.81cm to 6.35cm in diameter. The focal lengths are from 8.89cm to 30.48cm, A/R coated, and exhibit <0.2 percent total absorption. The silicon mirrors and reflectors provide >99.5 to 99.7 percent average reflectance at 10.6µm and at 45° AOI. They are available from stock for delivery within 24 hours.

Enquiry No. 3913

Enquiry No. 3915 April 2009 metalworking equipment news

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Exhibition Programmes

2009

APRIL 06-11 CIMT 2009

China International Exhibition Centre Beijing, China China Machine Tool & Tool Builders' Association cmtbag@cmtba.org.cn www.cimtshow.com

08-10 Nepcon Korea 2009 COEX Korea Exhibition Centre Seoul, S Korea Reed Exhibitions Japan shhan@kfairs.com www.nepconkorea.com

08-11 Intermold 2009

Tokyo Big Sight Tokyo, Japan Japan Die & Mold Industry Association iminfo@itp.gr.jp www.itp.gr.jp

20-24 Hannover Messe

Deutsche Messe Hannover Hannover, Germany Deutsche Messe AG Hannover info@messe.de www.hannovermesse.de

21-24 Nepcon China/Electronics Manufacturing Services 2009 Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center Shanghai, China Reed Exhibitions Services shino.shi@reedexpo.co.cn www.nepconchina.com

MAY 6-10 MTA Malaysia 2009 Metaltech 2009 Putra World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysian Exhibition Services enquiry@mesallworld.com www.mesallworld.com

12-15 AUSTECH 2009

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre Melbourne, Australia AMTIL kwarren@amtil.com.au www.amtil.com.au

13 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 17 Intermach 2009

BITEC Bangkok, Thailand CMP Media (Thailand) intermach@cmpthailand.com www.thai-exhibition.com/intermach/

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21-33 Intermold Vietnam 2009 Hanoi International Center for Exhibition Hanoi, Vietnam Reed Tradex Company rtdx@reedtradex.co.th www.intermoldvietnam.com

JUNE 2-5 Die & Mould China 2009

Shanghai New International Expo Shanghai, China Shanghai International Exhibition Service Co Ltd info@siec-ccpit.com www.siec-ccpit.com

3-6 Machine Tool & Manufacturing Indonesia 2008

Surabaya Convention Hall Surabaya, Indonesia PT Pamerindo Buana Abadi info@pamerindo.com www.pamerindo.com

10-12 Oil & Gas Asia

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia enquiry@mesallworld.com www.mesallworld.com

25-28 Intermold Thailand

Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre Bangkok, Thailand rtdx@reedtradex.co.th www.intermoldthailand.com

ENQUIRY NO 060

advertising index

Advertiser

Page No.

Manufacturers and advertisers that are featured in this issue will send you free information about their products and services. Fill up the Product Enquiry Form on-line at www.equipment-news.com.

Enquiry No.

BIG DAISHOWA SEIKI CO LTD

43

049

DEES HYDRAULIC INDUSTRIAL CO LTD

75

190

DELCAM PLC (INTERNATIONAL DIVISION)

05

137

FARO SINGAPORE PTE LTD

03

054

HAAS AUTOMATION INC

33

042

HEXAGON METROLOGY ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD

09

057

HURCO (S.E.ASIA) PTE LTD

27

044

IDEMITSU LUBE (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD

17

058

ISCAR LTD

IFC/22 047/056

KENNAMETAL INC

BC

052

MALAYSIAN EXHIBITION SERVICES SDN BHD

59

006

mitsubishi heavy industries (thailand) co ltd

57

041

MITUTOYO ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD

47/53

050/051

MMC METAL SINGAPORE PTE LTD

13

022

MORI SEIKI (S) PTE LTD

IBC

204

OKAYA SINGAPORE PTE LTD

41

238

OPTICAL GAGING (S) PTE LTD

45

043

SANDVIK SOUTH EAST ASIA PTE LTD (COROMANT DIVISION) SINGAPORE EXHIBITION SERVICES PTE LTD

01

030

69/79

059/060

SUMITOMO ELECTRIC HARDMETAL aSIA PACIFIC PTE LTD

21

053

TRADE-LINK EXHIBITION SERVICES SDN BHD

63

266

Trumpf Pte Ltd

35

055

FC/07

046/045

11

048

WALTER AG SINGAPORE PTE LTD WINTERTHUR TECHNOLOGY GROUP

80

metalworking equipment news April 2009

ASIA PACIFIC METALWORKING

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YOUR METAL PROCESS USED ? (Please be specific) ❑ 300 ❑ 303 ❑ 306 ❑ 309 ❑ 315 ❑ 318

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❑ 321 ❑ 324 ❑ 301 ❑ 304 ❑ 307 ❑ 310

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Forging Rolling Die Casting Welding Turning Coil Forming

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❑ No ❑ No ❑ No

YOUR METAL PROCESS USED ? (Please be specific) ❑ 300 ❑ 303 ❑ 306 ❑ 309 ❑ 315 ❑ 318

CNC Machining Milling Gear Cutting Grinding Stamping Shearing

❑ 321 ❑ 324 ❑ 301 ❑ 304 ❑ 307 ❑ 310

EDM/ECM Inspection/Measuring/Testing Design with CAD/CAM Drilling/Boring Tapping/Threading Lapping/Honing

❑ 313 Forging ❑ 316 Rolling ❑ 319 Die Casting ❑ 322 Welding ❑ 302 Turning ❑ 305 Coil Forming

❑ 308 ❑ 311 ❑ 314 ❑ 317 ❑ 320 ❑ 323

Broaching Plastic Moulding Pressworking Automated Assembly Beading Electroplating

❑ 350 Others (Please specify)

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Basic Metal/Foundaries/Mills Electrical & Electronics production Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturing Aircraft maintenance/components mfg.

Dies & Moulds mfg.

Motor Vehicles Parts

❑ 123 ❑ 160 ❑ 180 ❑ 200 ❑ 224 ❑ 078

Shipbuilding Design & Consultancy Services Govt bodies, Trade Assns, Exhibitions Cos. Agent/Distributor/Trader of Machine Tools & Accessories Mechanical, Fabrication and all other metal engineering works Others (Please specify)_____________________________________

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❑ 026 Design Engineering ❑ 029 Purchasing/Sourcing

As of May 2008, checked by Mori Seiki. Y-axis travel for Horizontal multi-axis machines.

ENQUIRY NO 204

BY KENNAMETAL

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www.kennametal.com • •

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Turning l Threading l Grooving l Cut-Off l Holemaking l Indexable Milling l Solid-Carbide End Milling l Tooling Systems l Services ©2009 Kennametal Inc. l All rights reserved. l A-09-02006

ENQUIRY NO 052