Seco edge 2 2013 en gb hr

A MAGAZINE FROM SECO SECO #2.2013

SGT5-8000H next to a 180 cm tall person Siemens Gas Turbine SGT5-8000H Weight ~390 tonnes Diameter 4,9m Length 13,1m Power Output 375MW Gross Efficiency 40%

SPIN DOCTORS IMPROVED MACHINING FITNESS IN TURBINE M MANUFACTURING ANUFACTURING PAGE 14

25 800° 1.25 90 17,8k

percent

Celsius

million

percent

kWh

Growth in 2012 for Indian specialist Tushaco Pumps after it improved manufacturing quality.

The operating temperature for General Electric Aviation’s titanium aluminides.

Danish kronor saved per year at Danish parts supplier Yuksel Turn Tech.

Time savings at Siemens as a result of using HighFeed2.

The power produced

by Seco’s solar panels in the UK.

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PAGE 19

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HOW IT WORKS T U R B O H E L IC A L™

Ø32 to 80mm

Cutting depth 0,8–2,0 x D

LET’S GET HELICAL THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE TURBO

range is a group of helical cutters suitable for aerospace shouldering applications. The cutters have been designed with an emphasis on titanium, but they can be used in all types of material.

TEXT: Åke R Malm PHOTO: Seco

Seco’s Turbo range of tools for square shoulder and helical milling is extremely versatile and flexible. It includes cutters in stock in diameters from 10 to 250 millimetres and a wide selection of inserts in four sizes. These options allow for milling in both small and large machines, with unlimited combinations of materials and applications.

With their present geometries and grades, the range’s XO inserts can machine all kinds of materials.

An existing application can always be optimised by a suitable combination; this goes for both rigid and weak machining conditions.

Seco Capto is now available for cutters with insert sizes XO..10, XO..12 and XO..18.

IN THIS ISSUE

Fitted with XO inserts for unlimited machining possibilities.

Andreas Gross, team leader at the Siemens gas turbine manufacturing plant in Berlin, reveals how cooperation with Seco has increased productivity.

Read the story on pages 14-17

Philip Madkins, Safety and Environmental Manager at Seco Tools UK, explains how solar panels have helped the company lower both costs and emissions.

Read the story on page 19

EDGE is a customer magazine from Seco Tools published in 25 languages worldwide. Seco Tools AB Marketing Department, 737 82 Fagersta, Sweden. Phone +46 223-400 00 Fax +46 223-718 60 Internet www.secotools.com Publisher Hans Hellgren E-mail hans.hellgren@secotools.com

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Managing editor Jennifer Hilliard E-mail jennifer.hilliard@ secotools.com Editorial production and layout Appelberg Publishing Group Project manager Anders Nordner Editor Linas Alsenas Art directors Cecilia Farkas, Johan Nohr Print Elanders Coverphoto Siemens

Editorial material in this publication is the copyright of the publisher, Seco Tools AB. Articles may be reproduced free of charge providing reference is made to Edge and the Managing Editor is notified. The trademarks and brand names used in this publication are protected by law.

C O N T E N T S E D I T O R I A L #2.2013

09 Jess Fausing at Danish turned-parts maker Yuksel Turn Tech utilises an expanded range of Seco’s tools to meet customers’ requirements.

AN ACTIVE SUPPORTER AT SECO WE’RE PROUD OF how closely we

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PUMP ACTION

Innovation is allowing Indian pump manufacture Tushaco to significantly grow its business.

13

INSIGHT: PATRICK DE VOS

14

INDUSTRY: POWER GENERATION

18

ON THE JOB: CREATIVE TOUCH

20

SECRETS OF A EUROSKILLS WINNER

22

PORTRAIT: PARK MAN-GYO

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TECHNICAL: PRODUCT CENTRE SOLID TOOLS

Seco’s Corporate Technical Education Manager takes on cutting geometries in his regular column.

New milling cutters are helping gas turbine manufacturer Siemens make major time-savings in Germany.

Antonio Mangas often needs to think laterally in his role as a technician at custom tool company, BOST.

Mathieu Melas talks about being part of the team that won the 2012 CNC Machining and CAD category.

Seco’s technical support manager in South Korea says good diagnoses are key in fixing customers’ problems.

PCST develops, makes and services the 10,000 different solid tools found in Seco’s standard range.

work with our customers. There are several reasons why their success is so important to us. Not only is it a positive reflection on the quality of our products and support, but profitable customers are more likely to survive economic fluctuations and to adapt to ever-changing market conditions.

To help customers become more profitable, we offer them Seco’s Productivity and Cost Analysis (PCA) service. It’s something in which we have invested a lot over the years and in January 2013 the system was enhanced with additional reporting features and component-engineered tooling studies. The service has assisted a range of customers in becoming more productive.

For example, we helped a Danish company save 6.66 euros per unit machined on a line it produces 25,000 units of per year.

Don’t forget to read the article in this issue on Seco’s Product Centre Solid Tools, which began operation last year. The centre aims to improve the service we provide customers by cutting the time it takes for products to reach you. It also aspires to provide the best possible customer support.

Hans Hellgren senior vice president, sales and marketing edge@secotools.com

Seco’s global presence

In this issue

Don’t forget, you can read Edge on your iPad! secotools.com/edgeipad

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APPLICATION B O RI N G

PU M P PREC I TEXT: R.F.Mamoowala PHOTO: Naresh Venkat

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TUSHACO AT A GLANCE

Tushaco Pumps Pvt. Ltd., is located in Daman, India, 180 km from Mumbai. A unit of Colfax, it manufactures over 25 different varieties of specialised positive displacement pumps.

A market leader in India, it provides pumping solutions to clients in power generation, oil and gas, defence, cement, chemical and other engineering industries. It partners with customers from as early as the planning stage to deliver optimum pumping solutions.

WI TH SI ON

E Eyeing export possibilities, an Indian pump manua ffacturer upgrades its m manufacturing process ffor greater accuracy.

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APPLICATION BO R I N G

“A SCREW PUMP HAS TO ACT LIKE A SYRING E which can inject liquid continuously, smoothly and without any jerks,” says Akshay Champaneria, Senior Director, Design, Manufacturing Engineering & Projects at Tushaco Pumps in Daman, India. “Continuous and Akshay Champaneria is smooth pumping is critical to the Senior Director of Design, core operations in industries like Manufacturing Engineering & Projects at Tushaco power generation, oil and gas and Pumps. marine engineering.”

In 2008, Tushaco, a specialised screw pump manufacturer, saw growing export possibilities. The company was aware that traditional tools could not provide the required accuracy standards set for liner manufacturing – the liner is the heart of the screw pump – and manual operations would affect the quality and impact business. It was time for technological advancement, for having the right tools and processes in place to manufacture the liner.

Champaneria approached Seco Tools India for assistance. “The demand from our end was to achieve accuracy and consistency, and to eliminate operator dependency,” he says. “This could be ensured by using the right boring bars to produce our pumps.”

Vidyadhar Kulkarni, Regional Application Expert, Automotive, Seco Tools, lists the obstacles the Seco team faced in achieving the required quality specifications: “We needed to provide long tools with a length-to-diameter ratio above 7. Second, all holes have to be machined in half bore condition, causing very high interruption. Third, we needed to control the ‘h7’ tolerance for centre distance between the Seco’s Jignesh Prajapati takes axes of all three bores, along with the individual a closer look at the end result after three steps of machining. qualities such as cylindricity, concentricity, parallelism and surface roughness.”

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Seco steps in In screw pump applications, the diameter-length ratio has to be exceptionally long, the centre distance must be precise and the surface finish must be excellent.

To upgrade Tushaco from using traditional boring bars, Seco provided a total machining solution with a defined process – from roughing and semifinishing to final finishing. This solution was implemented for the entire range of Tushaco pump liners.

The machining of the component liner was complex, and the Seco team spent time on Tushaco’s production floor to study and understand the technical requirements.

The end result was a solution for the complete process, from roughing to finishing of bores. “This included plunge milling solutions for rough and semi-finish of bores and the Seco patented dampening tool – Steadyline – for finishing,” says Seco’s Jignesh Prajapati, Assistant Manager, Sales.

But Tushaco’s concern was reinvestment in capital tooling. “In a low-cost country like India, we do a cost-benefit analysis to keep our final product cost competitive,” says Champaneria. “This cost could be offset with benefits such

“ THE DEMAND FROM OUR END WAS TO ACHIE VE ACCURACY AND CONSISTENCY, AND TO ELIMINATE OPERATOR DEPENDENCY” as longer tool life span, multiple applications with the same tools and, most important, zero rejection.”

Seco received the tooling order from Tushaco and established the process to achieve the specified quality expectations.

The end result is marked improvement in the quality of applications and solutions Tushaco gives its customers. Tushaco grew by 25 percent in 2012.

“We got a breakthrough recently when the parent company certified us for twin screw exports, directly to our customers in Europe,” says Champaneria, who also expects other markets such as China, Malaysia and Thailand to become possibilities in the near future.

A finer liner Tushaco manufactures the T3S 52 pump, a hydro-dynamically balanced pump with a liner made of LM 13 grade aluminium. This component houses the screws into it and acts like a journal bearing for the idler screws.

OPERATION: BORING

TOOL: STE E L STEADYLI N E Component Bore diameter: 35x300 mm long Seco Steel Steadyline diameter: 50x320 long Vc: 120-140 m/min fz: 0.06 to 0.08 mm/rev

OPERATION: BORING

TOOL: CAR B I D E STEADYLI N E Component Bore diameter: 36x323 mm long Holding Shank diameter: 32x380 long Vc: 120 m/min fz: 0.06 to 0.08 mm/rev

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ILLUSTRATION: Istockphoto & Johan Nohr

TRENDS IN JET ENGINE MANUFACTURING HOWARD WEAVER, Rotating Parts and Structures Lean Lab Leader, and KEVIN MEYER, Lead Engineer/ Technologist in Cutting Tools, at General Electric Aviation share their thoughts on general material trends in the jet engine market.

1. Fuel economy Global airlines must develop a strategy for long-term profitability, and fuel costs may constitute up to half of their operating costs. Much of the industry’s focus is on thermodynamic or materials technology that reduces engine weight or improves fuel efficiency. Software-based products can also achieve fuel savings, helping airlines lower operating costs by suggesting the most efficient speed and flight course, burning fewer gallons of fuel.

4. Ease of repair Grounded planes hurt airlines in terms of profitability and operations, so ease of repair is a major consideration.

GE uses the customer’s desired repair delivery date as its standard; in 2012, we were 97 percent on time. To solve spare parts availability, we anticipate which customers will have shop visits in the next year, and what parts we should order to be ready. Of course, we also want to minimise inventory costs, so the demand forecast must be accurate.

We have a whole business channel focused on component repair, which is lower in cost than using new material.

We get 'serviceable material’ from retiring engines, refurbishing the parts. For an engine on its last shop visit before it retires, having lower-cost options can mean serious savings.

2. Weight savings Another way to reduce weight is by developing strong and durable materials that are lighter. The best examples are ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), which have one third the density of the metal alloys they have been replacing in engines.

In addition to fuel burn benefits, CMCs offer an increased temperature margin that can handle thrust increases.

3. Titanium aluminides As an intermetallic compound, titanium aluminide (gamma titanium alloy) features strong interatomic ties that make it resemble ceramics. Its relative brittleness can be countered by the addition of elements such as niobium and chromium. Able to withstand heat up to 800 degrees Celsius, it has half the density of more typical nickel alloys.

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5. Additive manufacturing Today "additive manufacturing” (also known as “3D printing”) has a limited build envelope, a limited number of alloys and a limited amount of speed and efficiency to build parts. However, GE expects to see more alloys produced more efficiently by additive manufacturing. With this technology, GE can engage in designs that are impossible to create using traditional machining methods.

Additive manufacturing reduces the number of parts by replacing assemblies with single parts, and it will lead to new designs that save weight and increase fuel efficiency. By reducing the number of manufacturing steps, additive manufacturing will also lower the cost of parts.

M ATERI A L STAINLESS STEEL

TURN ING POINT Danish brass parts manufacturer Yuksel Turn Tech expands its offering to include stainless steel components.

TEXT: Lars Österlind PHOTO: Svante Örnberg

See more images from the Yuksel Turn Tech workshop in the iPad version of Edge. secotools.com/edgeipad

MATER I A L STAINLESS STEEL

Seco’s PCA system allows for a detailed analysis of cost savings.

SUBCONTRACTOR YUKSEL TURN TECH provides turned components, such as cable and hose connectors, to many industries, mostly communications, automotive and HVAC. The company’s 4,500-square-metre factory halls are located in an industrial area in the village of Kvistgård, Denmark. They contain highly automated machinery, six robots – one is the largest in Denmark – and 27 CNC machines that produce millions and millions of small parts each year out of about 2,000 tonnes of brass.

For more than 10 years Yuksel has provided one of its largest customers, Danfoss Semco, with three types of brass water sprinkler nozzles and a stainless steel nozzle that was sourced externally. Danfoss Semco, originally formed to focus on the marine and offshore industries, now sees great potential onshore for fire-fighting equipment. But certain environments, such as slaughterhouses, are too tough on brass nozzles due to the amount of ammonia in the air.

D E-LUG E NOZ Z LE CNC MACHINE: Okuma MacTurn 250-W TOOL PACKAGE: It contains 13 different tools including drills, Jetstream Tooling®, threading, milling and multi-directional turning. Up to 52 different tools can be used in the machine.

PRODUCT: De-Luge water sprinkler nozzle in stainless steel 316 for firefighting systems with 80–100 bar pressure VOLUME: Up to 40,000 nozzles per year AREAS OF USE: Machine rooms on cruising ships, underground stations, restaurant kitchens, slaughterhouses.

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Yuksel Turn Tech’s Production Manager Kenth Wrist-Jensen always goes for the best quality and prioritises productivity.

In 2012 Yuksel won a three-year contract with Danfoss Semco to produce two nozzles in brass and one in stainless steel, but on the condition that they invest in new equipment. They needed to produce the stainless steel model themselves in order to match growing demand.

Yuksel’s Production Manager Kenth WristJensen asked around for the best equipment and tools. “We always go for the best quality whether it concerns brass, steel, tools or machinery,” he says. “If a tool costs 90 euros and gives us a production capacity of two million parts a year, it is so much better than buying a tool for 70 euros but ending up with a yearly production of 1.2 million parts.”

Seco’s name came up as a recommendation when it comes to tools for processing stainless steel components. “We made a complete MRTCET (Machine Related Tooling, Component Engineered Tooling) project with time calculation and tool package,” says Michael Mellerup, technical consultant at Seco Tools Denmark.

The analysis showed great potential in purchasing a machine with tools to make the stainless steel nozzles in-house. In December 2012, the Okuma MacTurn 250-W arrived and a few weeks later the CNC machine was up and running.

Jess Fausing, CNC machine operator at Yuksel Turn Tech, works with the best tools available.

MATER I A L STAINLESS STEEL

Yuksel Turn Tech Founded in 1969

by Turkish engineer Yüksel Caglar. Owned

by Morten Bengtsson since 2001.

Yuksel Turn Tech employs 30 people with a turnover of 40 million Danish kronor.

It is a sub-supplier specialised in production and assembly of metal components in large and small series.

The company supplies the automotive, telecommunications, electronics, HVAC and fire-fighting industries with automatic turned parts, primarily brass, but also stainless steel.

Yuksel makes 18 million parts for the telecommunication industry every year.

“Our experience lies in long production series where we can produce a new part every third second,” Wrist-Jensen says. “This is a different ball game. In this machine we make one part in three minutes.”

Seco helps Yuksel to optimise production by constantly making analyses with the new, enhanced version of the Productivity and Cost Analysis (PCA) system. After the first few weeks, the calculations showed that cost-savings would amount to 1.25 million Danish kronor per year.

Wrist-Jensen says the system helps to answer a number of questions: “Where are the bottle necks? How many parts can we do in 24 hours?

How can we improve quality even further?”

One example is the use of cutting oil. “We have cut costs per part by 50 percent by using 100 percent cutting oil instead of the traditional oil-water emulsions,” says Wrist-Jensen. Another example is an improvement in how the brass and steel tubes are moved from the warehouse to the shop floor. “We use a hydraulic crane equipped with soft slings instead of lifting them with a forklift, which might cause scratches on the metal,” Wrist-Jensen says.

Before the crisis in 2008, Yuksel had 60 percent of its business in the automotive industry.

That changed overnight; in search of new business opportunities, the company has made investments over the last three years in changing its production capacities. Wrist-Jensen says, “In the future we will make smaller series and many more stainless steel components.”

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DKK

1 250 000

Amount Yuksel Turn Tech saves by taking advantage of Seco’s Productivity and Cost Analysis tool.

approx. EUR 170,000

INSI GH T CUT T ING G E O ME TRY

Angle of attack Patrick de Vos, Corporate Technical Education Manager at Seco Tools Group, explains how different cutting geometries influence the machining process.

WHAT DO WE MEAN when we

talk about a good cutting geometry? A cutting geometry is a range of cutting-tool geometrical properties that influence tool life, chip formation and evacuation, stability and safety. Essentially, a good cutting geometry is an arrangement under which chips are correctly formed without much effort.

The properties of a cutting edge are determined, firstly, by the carbide grade used and secondly by the edge’s geometry. Both need to be correctly selected in relation to the type of operation at hand.

A practical way of evaluating a cutting geometry is to examine chip formation during cutting.

Ideally, chips should both be neither too long, nor too short, and be spiral-shaped.

T-land geometry

Chip breaking geometry Cutting edge geometry

A good cutting process involves efficiently forming and evacuating chips. This is determined by the basic geometry of the cutting tool – how the cutting edge is positioned in the tool holder or milling cutter. A positive geometry (when combined with a flat rake face) reduces cutting forces and heat generation. Unfortunately, the chips are longer and the mechanical strength of the cutting edge is lowered. A negative geometry provides good edge strength and creates shorter chips, but increases cutting forces and heat.

However, the true cutting geometry is found on the edge itself. This cutting geometry consists of three parts: the cutting edge geometry (edge treatment or edge preparation); the T-land geometry; and the chip breaking geometry (rake face geometry).

There are three basic types of cutting edge geometries: sharp, rounded and chamfered. A sharp cutting edge gives low cutting forces, reduces built-up edge tendency, gives longer tool life but is less stable.

The T-land geometry is the transition zone between cutting edge geometry and chip breaking

geometry. Positive T-land geometries give lower cutting temperatures, less wear, increased cutting speed capacity, smaller maximum pressure zones and lower cutting forces. But, there is higher tension-stress concentration and an increased risk of chipping of the cutting edge.

The cutting edge geometry and T-land geometry combine to determine the tool life of the cutting edge. To take full advantage of cutting edge and T-land geometries, the feed rate needs to be greater than the size of these geometries.

The true chip formation process is determined by the chip breaking geometry.

A hard-breaking geometry takes the chips the moment they are formed, deforms them and breaks them, resulting in short, broken chips. The disadvantage is a fragile cutting edge due to the concentration of forces. With a soft-breaking geometry chips are longer before they break. This geometry gives on the other hand a stronger cutting edge. Medium geometries lie somewhere in between.

Patrick de Vos, patrick.de.vos@secotools.com

LEARN MORE in Seco’s STEP education programmes — www.secotools.se/step

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INDU ST RY POWER GENERATION

Siemens’ SGT5-8000H is the world’s most powerful gas turbine.

A CUT I See more images from the Siemens workshop in the Edge iPad app. secotools.com/ edgeipad

N TIME In Germany, G new milli milling cutters help make substantial Siemens m savings as it builds time savi gas turbines for power turb plants worldwide.

TEXT: Nigel JJ. Luhman PHOTOS: Siemens and Markus Altmann

INDU ST RY POWER GENERATION

Siemens in short The Siemens gas turbine plant in Berlin, Germany, supplies highly efficient, environmentally friendly turbines for power plants. The newest addition to the product range, the SGT5-8000H, is setting the global standard in terms of environmental protection: While the turbine has a record-breaking power output of 375 megawatts, when in combined cycle with a steam turbine, its process efficiency can be increased to over 60 percent. Compared to the most common turbines in use today, this equates to savings of about 43,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions each year.

Despite their enormous size and weight, gas turbines need to be assembled with extreme precision, using highly advanced techniques. For example, the rotor itself is a multi-component element that can easily weigh 100 metric tons. In operation, it rotates at 50 revolutions per second – with the tips of the blades only a few millimetres away from the casing.

When it comes to assembly, fractions of a millimetre decide whether the turbine will run optimally when it is later installed in the power plant.

A single gas turbine includes approximately 2,400 blades, and each blade is subjected to extreme stress during operation. The temperatures inside the turbine during combustion, for instance, are in some cases as high as 1,500°C. The blades can bear these challenging conditions thanks to an innovative production technique that makes perfect air-cooling possible.

Andreas Gross joined Siemens in 1978 and is currently team leader for the production of smaller components, including the CNC milling of bearing brackets. Seco Tools has been supplying the company for decades, and Seco’s technical manager Steffen Köckeritz and salesman Bernd Scheunemann work closely with Gross and his colleagues, providing support whenever it’s needed. “If we have a milling problem, I need only to call Mr Scheunemann,” explains Gross. “If he’s not already at the plant anyway, he quickly pops by. They’ve always managed to find a solution.”

The implementation of the new milling cutters is the latest example of a development resulting directly from the cooperation between the two companies. Scheunemann, who’s been advising Siemens

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The Siemens gas turbine plant in Berlin has 3,500 employees representing 46 nationalities. The first gas turbine for a power plant was delivered in 1972, and since then more than 800 have been built for customers in more than 60 countries. These are destined for the 50- and 60-Hz market and generate between 113 and 375 MW. Alongside manufacturing, the site carries out test-runs of turbines and turbine components in-house, and also provides 24/7 service for installed machines.

for the past 20 years, saw the potential for optimising the bracket milling process by using Seco’s HighFeed2 cutters. Instead of cutting with greater depth, these cutters combine shallow depth of cut with high feed per tooth, leading to a higher metal removal rate than normal. Moreover, the cutting forces are directed at the machine spindle in the axial direction, reducing vibrations and thus extending tool life.

This method achieves the high degree of precision demanded by Siemens.

Since its introduction at the Siemens plant in early 2012, the HighFeed2 has led to time savings of up to 90 percent. This allows Siemens to produce more

Left: Bernd Scheunemann, Seco Tools.

Right: Andreas Gross, Siemens

“Naturally, I was expecting to see a saving, but I really didn’t expect it to be as considerable as this.”

Andreas Gross, Siemens

High-feed milling When it comes to assembly, fractions of a millimetre can make all the difference in the operational success of gas turbines.

components per CNC machine for a better return on investment.

“Naturally, I was expecting to see a saving,” says Gross. “But I really didn’t expect it to be as considerable as this.”

For the milling of gas turbine pockets, the new high feed technique has reduced machining times from 90 minutes to less than 10. Since there may be as many as eight of these pockets for each turbine, this represents substantial savings in terms of overall production times. Gross is confident that the collaboration between Siemens and Seco will lead to further optimisation in future, as well.

High-feed milling achieves up to three times faster machining than conventional methods.

Instead of cutting more deeply, the process combines a maximum cutting depth of 2 millimetres with a much greater feed rate, allowing for a higher metal removal rate than normal – up to 1,000 cubic centimetres per minute. The method takes advantage of small setting angles, producing minimal radial and maximal axial cutting forces, which in turn reduces the risk of vibrations and stabilises machining. And although it’s a roughing method, the small depths of cut generate a shape close to the final desired form, eliminating the need for semi-finishing.

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ON THE JO B

PHOTO: Diego Vivanco

CUSTOMISED for CUSTOMERS In Asteasu, Spain, programming technician Antonio Mangas needs to be creative in order to provide tailor-fit machined tools for clients worldwide.

MY LIFE HAS BEEN LINKED TO

Antonio Mangas Trigo Age: 53 Occupation: Applications and Programming Technician Employer: BOST Machine Tool Company Location: Basque industrial town of Asteasu, Spain Family: Married with two sons Hobbies: Antonio practices silvestrismo, an ancient Mediterranean tradition which involves the capture and breeding of songbirds.

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Adaptive supply chain Seco offers a wide array of milling technologies for roughing, semi-finishing and finishing operations. Over the last two years, Seco has been providing BOST with custom-made disc milling cutters for their high-end CNC vertical multitask lathes.

machine tools since the 1980s, when I did a university course on numerical control. I have been at BOST for almost 24 years.

At BOST we design and build customised machine tools, offering turnkey solutions adapted to client needs. Our developments include lathes, special roughing machines, crankshafts, hydrostatic boring machines and rotary tables for diverse industries all over the world.

I work on finding the specific programming and tooling that our clients need in order to obtain the best machining results for their parts in cost-effective turnaround times. We also offer consulting and CNC software advice to these companies.

It is a highly creative job; there is always something new every day. We equip our machines with Seco tools. Once we design a machine and the concept of how it will operate, we contact Seco and they develop tools that are adapted to our ideas.

BOST has carried out many applications with significant support from Seco; for instance, we have used their Steadyline anti-vibration tool holders and acquired specialised Jabro milling cutters for high precision machining processes, crankshaft milling solutions, and mill turn lathes.

Some solutions offered by Seco have even been adopted internally by BOST. If my end-client requires a tool, Seco does its utmost to provide it quickly – if necessary even adapting its catalogue and modifying what is on offer for us in the process.”

SU STA INA B I LITY

P RO SP E CTS A new Seco facility in the United Kingdom features an efficient solar array that saves money and CO2 emissions.

TEXT: Daniel Dasey ILLUSTRATION: Prince Hat/Agent Molly & Co

WHEN THE UK SUBSIDIARY of

Seco moved to a more modern building in 2012, it made sure the new premises had solid green credentials.

Waterless urinals, centralised cooling systems and a state-ofthe-art air conditioning system were all installed in the new facility in Alcester in Warwickshire, England.

But the most ambitious feature was a large solar array on the roof of the building, with the potential to reduce the production of greenhouse gases and lower power bills.

Philip Madkins, Seco UK’s Safety and Environmental Manager, says the company first investigated electricity-generating solar panels some years ago, but was not impressed by their efficiency.

“We looked into solar eight years ago at the old site, and the panels weren’t that efficient,’’ he says. “But today’s panels are far superior. You only need one panel

today to do the job of 10 or 15 panels 10 years ago.”

After undertaking research on different options, the company commissioned UK firm Sanctus Energy to carry out the installation of the chosen system, which features 200 Sanyo solar panels, with a maximum energy output of 50 kilowatts. Despite the oftencloudy conditions in Alcester, the system produces power every day.

“Even when it’s dull we’re producing 12 to 20 kilowatt hours (kWh) a day,” Madkins says. “On a sunny day that might go up to 80.”

He says the system, which began operation in July 2012, had produced 17, 800 kWh of power by the end of the year. It is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 21 tonnes a year, bringing significant costs savings for Seco.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Madkins says.

He says the installation was funded with the assistance of

Seco’s Green Fund, at a cost of 117,000 British pounds. The UK subsidiary receives a green energy incentive payment from the UK government for every kilowatt of power the new system generates. The company’s power bill has also dropped, and at quiet times, such as weekends, the output of the solar array exceeds Seco UK’s electricity requirements. The company is then able to earn money by exporting power to the grid.

Madkins says the system should pay for itself in eight to 12 years, depending on how efficient the solar panels prove to be. At the end of 25 years, the company should be better off to the tune of 381,000 pounds.

“It’s looking really promising,” he says. “We’ve had no problems with the panels or the inverters.

It’s all just working away.”

Madkins suggests other companies, even those in cloudy areas, look into solar panels. edge [2·2013]

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CNCIDOL

TEXT: Anna McQueen

PHOTO: Dieter Telemans

EUROSKILLS IS A BI-ANNUAL EVENT that aims to

Edge sits down with Mathieu Melas, a member of the Belgian team that won the CNC Machining and CAD category of the 2012 Euroskills competition.

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highlight the importance of professional excellence and high-quality vocational education and training, Europe-wide. The 2012 edition, held at the SpaFrancorchamps Belgian Grand Prix site in October, brought together over 400 competitors from 24 countries to battle it out in six categories (Creative Arts & Fashion, Transportation & Logistics, Manufacturing & Engineering Technology, Information & Communication Technology, Social, Personal & Hospitality Services, and Construction & Building).

... help raise the profile of the milling industry.”

Alain Stas

Personal coach.

Michael Robas (left) works as a teacher at TECHNOFUTUR Industrie skills center and supported Mathieu Melas succesfully in the Euroskills 2012 edition.

EUROSKILLS 2014

The winning team in the CNC/CAD competition was Belgians Mathieu Melas for CNC and Guillaume Biset for CAD. At the time, Melas was taking a course at the TECHNOFUTUR Industrie skills centre in Gosselies. “I was unemployed and needed to improve my skills in order to get a job,” he explains. “Then a few weeks later, a friend there told me he was entering the Euroskills competition and encouraged me to take part,” he explains.

Twelve students from TECHNOFUTUR Industrie threw their hats into the ring, taking on a series of

WHEN October 1–4, 2014 WHERE Lille Grand Palais, Lille, France WHY Highlight the importance of professional excellence and high-quality vocational education and training MORE euroskills.org

tests to qualify: a written test, a training course on Mastercam CAD/CAM software, and a practical test in which they had to mill a part – with tools provided

by Seco – from a plan. This whittled down the selection to just one student: Melas.

THE MOST DIFFICULT aspect of the competition, says Melas, was timing: “We had set amounts of time for programming the Mastercam and for machining.

Even though we finished the programming early, we couldn’t start on the machine until that time was up.”

But Melas was pretty confident of his capabilities, and he won bronze in the individual competition for CNC Machining. “But coming first in the team challenge was really unexpected,” Melas says.

Afterwards, Melas found he was in demand and was headhunted by a Belgian milling company. He has since been offered a better-paid job as a milling machine operator in Luxembourg.

Alain Stas, Director at TECHNOFUTUR Industrie, says, “The Euroskills competition is a fantastic opportunity for people like Mathieu to gain experience, improve their skills, and hopefully get a job as a result. Our ultimate aim is to see our students find work, and Euroskills can act as a springboard into the industry.”

Stas was also approached by Euroskills to be Workshop Supervisor for the Milling competitions, setting up partnerships with tool suppliers Seco and Mitutoyo, machine manufacturers Buhlmann and Huron and CAM software from Meca-consult and Mastercam. “These partnerships were very positive for TECHNOFUTUR Industrie, enabling us to develop a much closer working relationship with key suppliers in the industry,” he says.

Euroskills drew 50,000 visitors during the threeday 2012 edition in Belgium. “It’s a great way of stimulating young people to get involved in the industry,” says Stas. “The numbers of new entrants are declining, and Euroskills can only help raise the profile of the milling industry and inspire young people to think about getting involved. I’m very proud of our students and how well they’ve done.”

“Competitions like Euroskills are great, but for me, the best part was the preparation, when I got to meet the other candidates and the whole team,” says Melas. “In fact, I’m entering Worldskills later on this year in Germany – winning Euroskills has really given me a taste for competition!” edge [2·2013]

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PORTR A I T PARK MAN-GYO TEXT: Jane Wong PHOTO: Qilai Shen

Accurate analysis Park Man-gyo, Seco’s manager for technical support in South Korea, says successful cures to customers’ problems depend on proper diagnoses.

“I BELIEVE THE IDEAL relation-

ship between a customer and a supplier is that both parties should respect each other,” says Seco’s Park Man-gyo. “This leads to a win-win situation for both sides.”

Park is responsible for Seco’s technical support in the country, which means he must solve a wide range of issues. “When I am faced with challenges, I thoroughly analyse the problem and figure out the cause of it,” he says.

“Then I try to fix it or improve it by discussing it with colleagues.

Afterwards, the findings are shared with everyone to prevent the problem from re-occurring.”

Park mentions, as an example, that a doctor cannot provide a proper treatment to a patient unless the patient explains his or her physical problem correctly in detail. “Thus the supplier can offer the best product and solutions only when the customer presents its situation and problem clearly.”

BUT SOLVING CUSTOMERS’

problems is not always easy. Park has a long experience in the metalworking industry, having spent

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South Korea is one of the top players in the electronics, automobile, telecommunication and shipbuilding industries.

14 years at Seco and 14 years before that as a tool designer and milling product manager at Korea Tungsten, a manufacturer of cutting tools that was later renamed TaeguTec. Park has found transparency and empathy to be the best approaches to dealing with challenging situations: “I do my best to figure out the customer’s misunderstanding.

If we are the party who makes a mistake, I offer an apology. If any difficult situation is initiated by

a customer’s misunderstanding, I then take time and explain the matter by providing a support document. I try to put myself in the customer’s position to understand them better.”

Park says challenges should be approached both positively yet cautiously, with a strong reliance on responsibility. He never leaves work half-done, saying that he cannot concentrate on anything else until the first thing is finished. He likes to delegate, and when analysing situations he is open-minded, flexible and willing to try out new ideas.

Nowadays, technology is moving fast, and Park sees changes ahead in terms of his job and the industry. “In my opinion, innovative software for the next generation processing industry is needed,” he says. “The current machinery processing industry must transfer its basis from hardware to software. This will enable us to download the application of cutting conditions for tools or any other application from the Web in real-time, allowing us to catch up with rapidly changing technical knowledge.”

I try to put myself in the customer’s position to understand them better.”

PARK MAN-GYO

Age: 52 Position: Manager for technical support, CET & CT and production at Seco Tools in South Korea Education: Majored in Mechanical Engineering at Kyungpook National University, South Korea Career background: Tool designer and milling product manager at Korea Tungsten, 1984 –1998; joined Seco

Tools Korea as Technical Manager in 1999 Family: Wife Lee Young-ju, an elementary school teacher; daughter Park So-yeon, who is studying Western art while working as a secretary at Hyundai; son Park Cho-ho, a lieutenant in the Korean army Outside interests: Climbing hills and mountains, swimming.

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SOLID KNOW-HOW Customer

MANUFACTURING

R&D

Sales P C ST

ACCEL E RATING R&D Product Centre Solid Tools develops, manufactures and services the 10,000 different solid tools found in Seco’s standard range as it helps customers keep up with technological advances.

S

TEXT: Åke R Malm ILLUSTRATION: Johan Nohr

olid tools mill, drill and thread in a wide variety of applications, with components ranging from dental implants and airplane turbine blades to connecting rods in cars. Technological advances demand constant refinement, which is why Seco instituted Product Centre Solid Tools (PCST).

“PCST accelerates our developments in production, R&D and marketing in order to support the customer better in the future,” says Marketing Manager Johan Lahiri.

About 10,000 different solid tools comprise Seco’s standard range, so the combinations between tools and applications are virtually infinite. New trends in machining keep changing the landscape, so most individual machining companies struggle to keep track of new developments on all fronts. This is where PCST can play a role.

“Our objective is not just to sell more tools; it’s to help our customers become as successful as possible through a solution suited to their needs,” says Lahiri. “This is a win-win situation in which application know-how is key.”

The considerations for selecting solid tools are many. For example, increasing unmanned

24 edge [2·2013]

production demands high tool reliability and predictable tool life. “If you set up a machine to run unmanned overnight and a tool breaks after just an hour, then productivity suffers. It is fundamental that the tools we provide have precisely the performance and quality we say they do,” says Lahiri, noting that PCST helps to assure this.

The vehicle and aerospace industries fight a constant battle against weight to make their products as fuel-efficient as possible. “There is an increasing use of difficult-to-machine materials, such as superalloys, ceramics and composites, which are light-weight and strong,” says Lahiri. “We are constantly developing new tools with coatings and cutting geometries that can handle these.”

At the same time, the shapes of machined components are getting more complex, with tighter tolerances. Solid tools can be made to precisely match these requirements.

The need to protect the environment is also influencing machining all the way down to the machining strategy, where coolant is now being replaced with dry machining. Flexibility is another consideration, when one type of tool may be used in several applications and materials; this is especially important for general machining companies that are sub-contracted to handle small production series on short notice.

Last but not least, having correct and updated information is critical. In the manufacturing sector this means easy access to dynamic cutting data, and machining professionals can find this support on the Web. “We have an application called ‘solid quote’, in which users can enter their own parameters to find out which tool they should use, what the price of the tool is and when it will be delivered,” says Lahiri.

Product Centre Solid Tools (PCST) was started by Seco in 2012. Its purpose is to streamline internal processes to shorten lead times and maximise delivery precision, but also to enhance the product quality and offering, and give the best possible customer support.

Headquartered in Lottum, the Netherlands, the PCST organisation has 320 employees.

Research, product development and manufacturing are concentrated in different locations, depending on the application.

The Lottum facility has special responsibility for milling, together with Seco’s unit in Reynoldsville, USA. Drilling is based in Norrköping and threading in Fagersta, both located in Sweden. Reconditioning of used tools is also an important function, and sales support is executed through both a central and local organisation of application specialists.

Johan Lahiri, Marketing Manager — Product Centre Solid Tools

I N B RIE F

Read more about Seco’s product offering edgeupdate.com

TEXT Åke R Malm

COOL GROOVES Each insert has four edges with MC chipbreakers and is fixed rigidly with a single screw.

X4 IS A NEWLY DEVELOPED TOOL with indexable inserts for grooving and parting-off and is also well-adapted for turning, profiling and facing. Each insert has four edges with MC chipbreakers and is rigidly fixed with a single screw that stays on the tool for a secure insert change. The X4 product range comprises neutral and angled inserts with widths from 0.5 to 3 millimetres with a cutting depth up to 6.5 millimetres.

The toolholders are equipped with Jetstream Tooling® Duo for efficient management of cooling liquid under low or high pressure.

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25

IN B R I E F

Also in the toolbox

TP1030 A modern, environmentally friendly cermet grade platform gives you excellent surface finishing capabilities in steel and stainless steels.

M6 CHIPBREAKER The M6 Chipbreaker wiper design allows for high feed rates giving you productivity, part quality and secure chip control.

HP COLLET CHUCK The high precision collet chuck range EPB 5672, now available in size ER HP 11 for small part machining segments, combines high run-out precision, high transmittable torque and HSM suitability.

SHRINKFIT HOLDER, SAFE-LOCK™ Combining a tool pull-out protection system with Shrinkfit clamping, the EPB 5600 Safe-Lock™ Shrinkfit holder enables higher cutting data and prevents the tool from sliding out.

TH1000 & TH1500 TH1000 and TH1500 have the unique ability to combine extreme wear resistance and edge toughness.

CS100 CS100 is a Sialon-type ceramic offering optimised wear resistance and toughness in machining of nickel-based, heat-resistant super alloys (HSRA).

26 edge [2·2013]

No iron, no problem THE JABRO-SOLID2 range of solid end mills has been extended with the JS400 series for non-ferrous materials.

Building on the success of the JS500 series for steels, stainless steels and cast irons, JS400 is designed for machining of aluminium and plastics.

JS412 and JS413 are easy to use and suitable for users with low-speed or low-torque spindle machines, typically found in smaller workshops.

JS452 and JS453 are tools in the high end made for efficient machining by first and second tier component suppliers. To meet their demand for maximum reliability and performance, chip evacuation must be perfect at all times. An important feature on the JS450 series is the specially shaped flute spacing that optimises exit of the chips, away from the critical cutting zone area.

The new JS400 series will be replacing Jabro-VHM types J40, J99 and J93, offering up to thirty percent higher metal removal rate and tool life.

ols er to amf h e c t new n flu The neve te optiu e r a u feat o cre ality. u ing t spac urface q s mum

JABROTM SOLID2 CHAMFER TOOLS TWO NEW CHAMFER TOOLS have been included in the Jabro-Solid2 JS500 series. JS506 and JS509 are available with 90- or 60-degree tip angle. A high-quality carbide grade has been combined with the proven SIRON-A coating to ensure long tool life. The tools also feature uneven flute spacing, preventing chatter and vibration to create optimum surface quality of the workpiece. JS506 and JS509 are suitable for all materials found in the general machining segment and are a valuable add-on to the Seco Jabro product portfolio.

SECO’S JETSTREAM TOOLING® range achieves better productivity and chip control with precisely directed and focused coolant jets, from outlets just behind the cutting zone.

Now, a new generation in this tool range for turning applications features the company’s P-holder lever design, replacing the earlier eccentric pin-locking. The P-holder uses a lever solution to offer more rigid locking of the insert and improved repeatability in the insert indexation. Better rigidity allows increased depths of cut, higher feed rates and improved part quality.

In addition to the standard coolant inducer for finishing and medium-roughing, there is a new option for roughing. The P-holder is also designed with Jetstream Tooling® Duo cooling, where an additional coolant jet flushes the clearance surface. This additional coolant jet can increase tool life by another 10 percent and also improve the finish of the component.

All holders in the new generation of Jetstream Tooling® are made for negative inserts and are available in shank and Seco-Capto versions.

RIGID TURNING

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27

A snowmobile equipped with a MCXpress turbo kit reached 189 km/h after 660 feet (201.17 metres).

4.91 seconds It took an MCXpress-turboequipped snowmobile 4.91 seconds to travel 500 feet (152.4 metres)–on grass.

Time and quality MCXpress uses Turbo10, SecoJabro J40 and Seco Feedmax to machine aluminium parts. The company chooses tools from Seco for shorter machining times and higher quality end-products.

E OB I L OWM ider N S R s U n D YO f f ? Co ANTE eally take o o k it from W R E r b EV any le to a t ur torcyc r gear with s. The comp or mo s u e o r r y o p f CX ping k its equip pany M arket turbo in m a o r c r sh m l te Swedi tures after and al s e l c c y fa rc manu biles, moto o m icles. h w e o v n s task y t i l i t and u

270 With a turbo kit from MCXpress, the power in a Yamaha Nytro FX snowmobile increased from the standard version’s 130 hp to 270 hp.

SUGGESTIONS? Do you use Seco tools to make a compelling product? Contact us at edge@secotools.com.

02897518 ST20136413

PHOTO: VISUALCOMMUNICATIONS/GETTY IMAGES

189 km/h