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www.equipment-news.comM.I.C.A. (P) No. 053/06/2011

January-February 2012

SINO TOOLING SYSTEMBlk 502, Jurong West Ave 1 #03-813 Singapore 640502Tel + 65 6566 7668 Fax + 65 6567 7336 [email protected]

ISCAR THAILAND57, 59, 61, 63 Soi Samanchan-BabosSukhumvit Rd. Phra Khanong, Khlong Toey Bangkok 10110Tel + 66 (2) 7136633Fax + 66 (2) [email protected]

CV MULTI TEKNIKRuko GSA Block B No.08 BN-BP, Podomoro CityJl. Letjen S.Parman Kav.28 Jakarta Barat 11470 - IndonesiaTel +62 21 29206242/44/45Fax +62 21 29206243 [email protected]

ISCAR JAPAN 1-5-3 Shinsenri-HigashimachiToyonaka-shi, Osaka 560-0082Tel + 81 6 835 5471Fax + 81 6 835 [email protected]

MESCO Reliance CornerBrixton St. Pasig CityMetro-Manila Philippines Tel + 63 2631 1775Fax + 63 2635 [email protected]

ISCAR TAIWAN395, Da Duen South Rd. Taichung 408Tel +886 (0)4 247 31573Fax +886 (0)4 247 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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ISCAR THAILAND57, 59, 61, 63 Soi Samanchan-BabosSukhumvit Rd. Phra Khanong, Khlong Toey Bangkok 10110Tel + 66 (2) 7136633Fax + 66 (2) [email protected]

CV MULTI TEKNIKRuko GSA Block B No.08 BN-BP, Podomoro CityJl. Letjen S.Parman Kav.28 Jakarta Barat 11470 - IndonesiaTel +62 21 29206242/44/45Fax +62 21 29206243 [email protected]

ISCAR JAPAN 1-5-3 Shinsenri-HigashimachiToyonaka-shi, Osaka 560-0082Tel + 81 6 835 5471Fax + 81 6 835 [email protected]

MESCO Reliance CornerBrixton St. Pasig CityMetro-Manila Philippines Tel + 63 2631 1775Fax + 63 2635 [email protected]

ISCAR TAIWAN395, Da Duen South Rd. Taichung 408Tel +886 (0)4 247 31573Fax +886 (0)4 247 [email protected]

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ContentsJanuary-February 2012

2 metalworking equipment news Jan-Feb 2012

24Case Study: Bucking The Trend In Safety Valves ManufacturingTaking up the challenge of fierce competition with prudent investments opens the door to further process optimisation. By Xia Xipin, for DMG China

46Case Study: The ‘Soft’ Approach For ‘Hard’ IssueAn Aero-engine component maker reduces hard gauge costs with a software-driven gauge. Contributed by Malcolm Price, Renishaw UK

45Carl Zeiss At EMOAsia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News asked Darko Mihajlovic, sales manager (Asia) Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik the one question at is on every visitor’s mind. By Joson Ng

32Technology Update: Gun DrillingLike any other metalworking processes, technological advancements in gun drilling tackle the issue of process timing, tool life and above all, performance. By Ze’ev Fisher, Iscar

36Gun Drilling: Keeping It Straight & NarrowThe misalignment of gun-drilled holes is a common problem, although solutions may not be too far away. By Shahnawaz Abdul Hamid

40Drilling To The ExtremeDeep holes with small diameters can be a particular challenge. Contributed by Jaslin Huang, Walter AG Singapore

soFtware & Metrology42Bent On AccuracyWhen traditional production methods such as manual gauges no longer present an economical solution, an optical measuring system was tested to determine its suitability for inspection of manufactured tubes in the aerospace industry. By Jutta Thiel, Aicon 3D Systems

teCh talk26Gunning For Better Results In Deep Hole DrillingWhen drilling to extreme depth to diameter ratio, there is a process capable of maintaining accuracy and surface finish. By Anthony Fettig, Unisig

Cutting edge22Developments In Machine Tool…Hwacheon Looks At Flexibility & QualityKlaus Ludwig, VP, Hwacheon Machine Tool Korea explained to Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News in an exclusive at the concluded EMO that flexibility is the philosophy behind the innovations and quality is the ultimate marketing tool. By Joson Ng

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66Innovative Approaches In Machining Composites The development of new innovative approaches in machining composites, aimed at achieving high production speed, cost reduction and other benefits, are key to meeting future processing demands. By Frédérique Mutel, JEC Group

Parting shot73Renewing An Empire Fast efficient vertical transport has given a grand old building a modern touch.

74Reinventing The Wheel Design software programs were used to put a modern spin on a traditional exercise bike, creating a piece of luxury fitness equipment.

Contents

64Event Review: Trumpf Tech Day 2011Trumpf marked its 20 years in Singapore with the opening of their first marking laser assembly site in Asia. By Joson Ng

50Case Studies: Striving For ProductivityTwo companies in Indonesia use their investments in technology as a basis for their growth. By Matthew Fowles, LVD

65Winning With KnowledgeJoern Grindel, sales director, Seco is confident of facing any competition or challenges in the future. This self-assurance stems from the range of productions and technologies that are available and the knowledge of what the customers want. By Joson Ng

events & exhibition 68• Event Review: JEC Asia 2011• Event Review: Manufacturing

Indonesia• Event Preview: MTA Hanoi

metalworking equipment news Jan-Feb 2012

80pgregulars08 Business News75 Product Finder79 Exhibition Programmes80a Product Enquiry Card

Refer to Advertising Index

For Advertiser's Enquiry Numbers

4

ASIA PACIFIC METALWORKING EQUIPMENT NEWS (M.E.N.) is published 8 issues per year by Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd1100 Lower Delta Road, EPL Building #02-05 Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379 2888 Fax: (65) 6379 2806.

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January-February 2012

industryFoCus54Opportunities For Metalworking Companies In HealthcareA unique synergy between healthcare and metalworking is forming, a testament to a growing phenomenon brought about by changes happening in the world today. By Peter Dickin, Delcam

exeCutive Zone58Managing A Metal JobshopAugustine Quek sat down with Eddie Koh, MD of Eratech to find out the ins and outs of running a precision metal machining company.

Features60Market Outlook 2012The Big Question: Will The Arrows Point Up Or Down?

sheet Metalworking48Be More Competitive In Sheet Metalworking By Using SoftwareThe right software pays off, because they make a company more productive and profitable. By Martin Engel, Bystronic

ENQUIRY NO 089


editor’snote

www.equipment-news.com

Published by:

EastErn tradE MEdia PtE Ltd (a fully owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd)

Reg No: 199908196C

Head Office & Mailing address:1100 Lower Delta Road,EPL Building #02-05, Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379-2888 Fax: (65) 6379-2806

etm EasternTrade Media Pte Ltd

an Eastern Holdings Ltd company

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editor Joson Ng [email protected]

business development manager Randy Teo [email protected]

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assistant sales manager Sally Chuen [email protected]

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circulation executive Irene Tow [email protected]

contributors Xia Xipin Anthony Fettig Ze’ev Fisher Shahnawaz Abdul Hamid Jaslin Huang Jutta Thiel Malcolm Price Martin Engel Matthew Fowles Peter Dickin Augustine Quek Frédérique Mutel

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. 053/06/2011PPS 840/09/2012 (022818)ISSN 0129/5519

On behalf of the team at Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News, I would like to wish all readers a very happy new year. Looking back, the year 2011 was generally a good one for most in the metalworking industry and for some, it looks set to continue into 2012. For example, Trumpf experienced a record-breaking year, where they witnessed the largest revenue growth ever. In short, the mood is upbeat, the sales numbers are up and most metalworking trade shows were well attended.

Things however got a little rocky on the financial front as the year wore on. All of the sudden, accompanying the positivity was a tinge of uncertainty, which refused to go away, resulting in a 2012 that is delicately poised. Whether the arrows point up or down is anybody’s guess.

Dusting away the New Year’s confetti and getting down to serious business will see many confronted with tough decisions on their hands. Expansion and investment plans during a period of uncertainty can be

likened to accelerating while driving through a thick fog. Dangerous as it may seem, it could see the brave few souls way ahead of their competitors when the fog clears. Having said that, many will understandably opt to sit on the fence and adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude. On this end, we hope to play the role of a provider of information for you to decide when to get off the fence and join the race.

In the first issue of the year, we have the annual market outlook, the feature that measures the pulse of the industry and hopefully offers some ideas what lies ahead. We are also bringing you something new in the form of Executive Zone where we will feature country reports, plant v isits and management philosophies throughout the year. In this issue, we will bring you a story on the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of managing a metal job shop, what the challenges are and of course, how these shops stay relevant and profitable.

Joson NgEditor

chairman Stephen Tay

group executive director Kenneth Tan

financial controller Robbin Lim

EastErn HOLDInGs LtDExEcutIvE BOarD

ENQUIRY NO 026

BMW Group Reports Best October Sales Ever

Munich, Germany: With 139,276 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles delivered worldwide (+8.3 percent ), the BMW Group achieved its best-ever October sales result. A total of 1,371,863 vehicles have been delivered to customers since the start of the year — an increase of 15.2 percent compared with the first 10 months of the previous year.

The BMW brand sold 115,136 vehicles worldwide in October and grew at a rate of 6.8 percent year-on-year. Well over 1.1 million vehicles have been delivered to customers (1,137,065 units, +13.6 percent) since January 2011.

The group increased retail volumes in its three largest single markets of Germany, the US and China, among others, in the month under review. In Germany the company reported a 4.9 percent increase in vehicle registrations. The company reported a 2.0 percent increase in registrations to 20,977 vehicles and Mini experienced growth of 27.2 percent with 3,387 vehicles registered. A total of 244,418 BMW Group vehicles have been registered year-to-date and the company continues to lead the German premium market.

The US reported robust growth, where the company sold 27,288 vehicles, which was 17.5 percent more than the 23,222 deliveries in October 2010. A total of 246,602 (+14.6 percent) BMW and Mini vehicles were delivered to customers in the United States in the year to the end of October.

The group sales in China remained high in the month under review — 18,346 (+33.5 percent) vehicles were delivered. From January to October a total of 195,868 vehicles were delivered, an increase of 44.5 percent compared with the same period last year. Strong growth was also recorded in the dynamic markets of Russia (+55.5 percent), India (+18.2 percent) and Turkey (+18.2 percent).

Tokyo, Japan: Nissan Motor has announced a major expansion program that will see Nismo, the company’s performance a rm, apply ing tuning a nd performance expertise learned on the racetrack to Nissan road cars.

An expansion program will see the Nismo name become synonymous with performance and premium sports variants of mainstream Nissan models.

“Nismo adds even more excitement and innovation to Nissan products. We now plan to inject that style and excitement into other models in the Nissan range,” says Shoichi Miyatani, president of Nismo.

“The time is now right to let ordinary drivers experience what our racing drivers enjoy every time they head out onto the track,” said Carlos Ghosn, Nissan president and CEO.

As well as producing complete performance versions of Nissan models, the company plans to expand its range of performance parts and accessories while another element of the expansion program will see Nismo relocate to a purpose designed global headquarters in Tsurumi, Yokohama at the start of 2013.

Nismo To Apply Its Performance Expertise To Nissan Product Range

Makino Asia Develops Large Vertical Machining CentreSingapore: A large vertical machining centre catered to serve a wide range of applications such as large die and mould, aerospace and precision parts machining has been developed by Makino Asia.

According to the manufacturer,

it can carry 2,500 kg of load and a Y stroke of 800 mm. One pertinent feature of the machine is its splash guard, which is designed to open on two sides, resulting in easy loading/unloading of large workpieces without compromising the safety of the operator.

This machine has the similar structure characteristics that are seen in all Makino vertical machining centres. It is combined with the Geometrical Intelligence (GI4) controller and spindle technology, making it an efficient and productive machine.



Businessnews

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ENQUIRY NO 006

Management At Horst Witte Geraetebau Barskamp KG Extended

Mirko Merlo The New President Of Walter

Jürgen Barth and Jens Düffert have both been granted full power of attorney. Jürgen Barth is already general director for sales world-wide as well as all aspects relevant to marketing and is president of the American company Witte LP.

Jens Düffert is director for stock management besides taking over the management function of all commercial aspects in Germany as well as for the subsidiary in Singapore.

Both have been active as managing directors for Witte Far East in Singapore since March 2011. Horst Witte remains as MD and Andreas Witte the technical director and partner of Witte KG.

Mirko Merlo has been appointed the president of Walter. The 47-year old Italian was already a member of the board at Walter as executive VP and has been with the company for 27 years. Mr Merlo will succeed Andreas Evertz who became the president of Sandvik Machining Solutions, which is one of five divisions of the Swedish company.

APPOINTMENTS

Jürgen Barth

Jens Düffert

Mirko Merlo

Solid Edge ST4 Launched In Singapore

Singapore: Engineering Computer Services (ECS), in partnership with Siemens PLM, launched the Solid Edge ST4 in Singapore on October 18, 2011.

The software aims to reduce the amount of time spent by machine designers and engineers in designing their products. According to Tim Yip, VP of the engineering solutions group at ECS, the changes in ST4 are the result of the manufacturer having seen to more than 1,000 customer requests.

One of the significant changes made is the software’s collaboration with PDF, allowing direct visualisation across multiple platforms. This would help companies better communicate design concepts with suppliers and customers.

The launch seminar, held at Golden Village cinema at Vivo City, Singapore, saw design professionals from the metalworking industry coming together to witness the enhancements to the software program. One of them, Leonard Lim, the founder of Omnisense Systems, was pleased to find the parts libraries in the software easy to use and navigate, as well as being comprehensive, allowing quick 3D drawings and renderings.

New Logo For Hypertherm China

Shanghai, China: Hypertherm China refreshes its logo with a new name, ‘HaiBao’. When the company first entered the Chinese market over eight years ago, the entity was registered as ‘HaiBieDe’ (old logo),

a literal translation from English to Chinese of ‘Hypertherm’. However, customers had since then already referred to Hypertherm as ‘HaiBao’, and up until now, some industry contacts still recognise this name.

The adoption of the new name is a reflection of the company’s commitment to the domestic market, and is among several other measures that have been implemented in recent years in order to meet the needs of end-users in China.

The company has officially registered the new logo in China and now owns the authorised trademark. The name ‘HaiBao’ will be reflected on all product and marketing collaterals across Greater China.



Businessnews

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Manufacturing Technology Orders Up 91.9 Percent In 2011McLean, USA: September US manufacturing technology orders totaled $606.56 million according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and AMT — The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

This total, as reported by companies participating in the

USMTO program, was up 22.9 percent from August and up 51.9 percent when compared with the total of $399.32 million reported for September 2010. With a year-to-date total of $4,074.00 million, 2011 is up 91.9 percent compared with 2010.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of

actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.

“September numbers were the second highest monthly dollar total in the last 15 years,” said Peter Borden, AMTDA President. “American manufacturers are still rushing to beat the end-of-year bonus depreciation deadline.”

SKF Wins Order For Passenger Coach In China

Sweden: SKF will deliver S$3.8 million (US$2.9 million) worth of bearings to the China Railway Materials Commercial Corp for installation in 160 km/h passenger coaches for use throughout China.

“Our customers are facing increasing pressure in railway in general and they need their passenger coaches to work more efficiently, safely and productively, while reducing costs,” says Rutger Barrdahl, director for SKF Railway Business Unit, Industrial Division.

The company is a state-owned enterprise under the supervision of state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. It sources and supplies railway diesel oil, steel rails, materials for manufacturing/renovating locomotives and cars, as well as spare-parts for maintenance.


11Jan-Feb 2012 metalworking equipment news

Businessnews

MIT: Faster Computing With All-Optical Silicon ChipsCambridge, USA: There has been enormous progress in recent years towards the development of photonic chips — devices that use light beams instead of electrons to carry out their computational tasks. Now, researchers at MIT have filled in a crucial piece of the puzzle that could enable the creation of photonic chips on the standard silicon material that forms the basis for most of today’s electronics.

The new component is a “diode for light,” says Caroline Ross, the Toyota professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. It is analogous to an electronic diode, a device that allows an electric current to flow in one direction but blocks it from going the other way; in this case, it creates a one-way street for light, rather than electricity.

This is essential, she explains, because without such a device stray reflections could destabilise the lasers used to produce the optical signals and reduce the efficiency of the transmission. Currently, a discrete device called an isolator is used to perform this function, but the new system would allow this function to be part of the same

CB-Ceratizit Opens A Centre Of Competence In Tianjin

Mamer, Luxembourg: CB-Ceratizit has opened a test and training centre in Asia. The one-year-old joint venture expects to achieve 30 percent annual growth in the Asian market and gain operational excellence in service, quality and innovation.

The launch of the joint venture in October 2010 has enabled the Ceratizit group to expand its presence in the rapidly growing Asian market. The success of this strategy has been proven during the past year.

The joint venture brings together the former production and sales activities of CB Carbide and Ceratizit in China, Taiwan, South Korea, South-East Asia and Australia.

It markets today wear parts and rods, as well as wear and cutting tool solutions. “The significant sales and manufacturing increase in Asia can be critically attributed to the joint venture, with the trend continuing positively going forward.” explains board member and CEO of Ceratizit Jacques Lanners.

In order to further strengthen its regional expansion and sales activities and leverage its technological know how, the joint venture is opening a tooling academy by the end of 2011 in Tianjin, China. “The Tooling Academy will not only create exceptional value for all our customers, but will also reinforce the training of our employees,” says Leo Wu, board member and head of cutting tools of the joint venture company.

chip that carries out other signal-processing tasks.To develop the device, the researchers had to find a

material that is both transparent and magnetic — two characteristics that rarely occur together. They ended up using a form of a material called garnet, which is normally difficult to grow on the silicon wafers used for microchips. Garnet is desirable because it inherently transmits light differently in one direction than in another: It has a different index of refraction — the bending of light as it enters the material — depending on the direction of the beam.

This technology could greatly boost the speed of data-transmission systems, for two reasons: First, light travels much faster than electrons. Second, while wires can only carry a single electronic data stream, optical computing enables multiple beams of light, carrying separate streams of data, to pass through a single optical fibre or circuit without interference. “This may be the next generation in terms of speed for communications systems,” she says.

Kemppi Received An International Design Award

Finland: Kemppi has won the esteemed iF Product Design Award 2012 in the industrial product design category with its Kempact RA product family.

The competition, organised in Germany, is one of the oldest and best-known design competitions in the world. It brings together a jury of international design experts to test and evaluate the products entered.



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PwC Outlines Four Potential Eurozone Outcomes For 2012

London, UK: Monetary expansion through a liquidity injection from the European Central Bank, orderly defaults for the most indebted countries, Greek exit and a new currency bloc have been outlined as four potential outcomes of the Eurozone crisis in 2012, in a PwC report. The report analyses each of these scenarios and outlines the outcomes of each in terms of the potential Eurozone inflation and GDP impact from 2012 until 2016.

Four Potential ScenariosScenario 1 — Monetary expansion: The European Central Bank is given the go ahead to inject significant liquidity to vulnerable economies. Recession is avoided, interest rates are kept low in the short term, but inflation rises well above its two percent target, while the euro depreciates.

Scenario 2 — Orderly defaults: A program of voluntary defaults is agreed for the most indebted countries, which triggers a contractionary debt spiral and a prolonged recession, lasting between two and three years, and which results in a cumulative loss in GDP of around five percent in Eurozone.

Scenario 3 — Greek exit: Greece is compelled to leave the Eurozone, and then suffers a sharp deterioration in its economy, a rapid depreciation of its new currency and an inflation spike. The Eurozone seeks to protect its currency through tough fiscal discipline and other investor confidence increasing measures, but still suffers a recession that lasts up to two years.

Scenario 4 — New currency bloc: A Franco-German acknowledgement that the existing Eurozone is unsustainable paves the way for a new, smaller and more tightly regulated currency bloc. The ‘new-euro’ would be expected to appreciate dramatically and for the new bloc to benefit from a boom in domestic demand. Economies that are excluded suffer a sharp currency depreciation and severe economic contraction.

Yael Selfin, head of macro-consulting and a director in PwC’s economics team, commented: “We expect these scenarios could have an impact well beyond the Eurozone. Countries like the UK and US are likely to see falls in exports and banking sector problems but possibly also increased levels of capital inflows, as investors look to place a larger proportion of their portfolios in ‘safe haven’ markets. Other countries, like China, will have to deal with a decline in a significant proportion of their export markets.”

“Orderly defaults by the most indebted countries, a Greek exit, or strong monetary expansion in Eurozone are likely to highlight the UK’s position as a safe haven for capital. Capital flows out of the Eurozone and into the UK would cause sterling to appreciate against the euro. Borrowing costs may well be lower as investors purchase UK gilts in preference to risky Eurozone bonds.”

“However the UK’s principal trading partner is the Eurozone, which is the destination for around 50 percent of its exports. A relatively strong sterling and a recession in the Eurozone would weigh down on the UK’s growth prospects.”

Mr Selfin concluded: “Expect surprises next year. We are currently experiencing unprecedented levels of uncertainty in the Eurozone. The potential political and economic outcomes emerging from the Eurozone crisis in 2012 are disparate, although all share a similar theme. A harsh adjustment to a new fiscal reality will be unavoidable, regardless of the path politicians decide to follow.”

Christa Richert, Berlin, Germany

Suzuki To Construct An Automobile Plant In VietnamVietnam: Vietnam Suzuki Corp, the automobile and motorcycle manufacturing and sales subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corp in Vietnam, has decided to construct a automobile plant in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam.

The company had been producing motorcycles and automobiles in Binh Da in Dong

Nai Province since 1996, but the production of motorcycles had moved to the plant in neighbouring Long Binh Techo Park in 2006.

In order to meet the Vietnamese automobile market in the near future, the company has decided to move the production of automobiles into a new plant, which will be constructed in the site near to

the motorcycle plant in Long Binh Techo Park.

The investment for building the plant is approximately 1 billion yen (US$12.8 million), and it is scheduled to start its production in 2013. The annual production ability for the first year is 5,000 units, and is planned to be expanded thereafter.



Businessnews

Singapore (S.E.A. HQ & Vietnam)Idemitsu Lube (Singapore) Pte Ltd37 Pandan Road , Singapore 609280Tel : (65) 6268 5888Fax : (65) 6265 5610Website : www.idemitsu-ils.com.sgEmail : [email protected]

IndonesiaPT Idemitsu Lube IndonesiaJL. Permata Raya Lot BB - 4A, Kawasan Industri KIICKarawang 41361, West Java, IndonesiaTel : (6221) 8911 4611, (6221) 8911 5045 Fax : (6221) 8911 4769

PT Atlas Petrochem IndoJL. Krekot Jaya Molek A II No. 22Jakarta Pusat 10710, IndonesiaTel : (6221) 352 3533Fax : (6221) 384 7831

MalaysiaIdemitsu Lube (Malaysia) Sdn BhdNo. 3 & 5 Jalan PJU 3/47Sunway Damansara Technology Park47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MalaysiaTel : (603) 7803 9259 Fax: (603) 7803 9369

PhilippinesUnioil Petroleum Philippines, Inc2445 Pedro Gil StreetSta. Ana, Manila, Philippines 1009Tel : (632) 564 2984, (632) 564 1991 Fax : (632) 563 4293

ThailandApollo (Thailand) Co Ltd700/623 Moo 4 AmatanakornIndustrial Estate BankaoPanthong Chonburi 20160, ThailandTel : (663) 8456900Fax : (663) 8210099

ENQUIRY NO 197

A*STAR Ups Collaborative R&D In Green Technologies

Singapore: The Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), is taking on the challenge of green manufacturing by spurring R&D collaborations on remanufacturing technologies with NTU and NUS as well as launching initiatives to grow eco-friendly industries.

Investing In 10 Projects In Remanufacturing TechnologiesSIMTech is engaging NUS and NTU on 10 new projects to jointly develop competitive remanufacturing technologies for Singapore’s manufacturing companies. This is the first such instance of significant investment in remanufacturing projects by the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of A*STAR. The projects were awarded by SERC in September 2011.

The projects address critical technologies for remanufacturing of combustion engines and automation equipment in the analysis of defective components, salvaging used components to functional requirements and enabling technologies that will ensure efficient remanufacturing operations — from planning and scheduling, component inventory forecasting to in-process job tracking.

Three Joint Labs For Remanufacturing TechnologiesSIMTech is also collaborating with NTU to establish

three joint research labs to develop remanufacturing-related technologies in refurbishing and reliability assessment. Refurbishing technologies include cleaning, cladding, welding, and surface treatment to recover the functionality of the parts to be remanufactured. Reliability assessment technologies evaluate the remanufacturability of the remanufactured parts and to assure their warranty.

In addition to delivering cutting edge technologies, the joint-labs will also serve as platforms to nurture R&D manpower for the remanufacturing industry, transforming into centres of excellence in the respective technical areas to benefit more industry sectors. The initial focus of the joint-labs will be in reliability, precision machining, and 3D additive manufacturing.

Remanufacturing & Green Packaging Initiatives For Eco-Friendly IndustriesThe remanufacturing initiative for industry, supported by SPRING Singapore, aims to enhance remanufacturers’ competitiveness, develop remanufacturing related capabilities in local companies and grow remanufacturers in Singapore. The initiative targeting at remanufacturers, precision engineering service providers, and companies interested in venturing into remanufacturing collaborates closely with Caterpillar Reman Singapore to help match and develop relevant capabilities to support its local operation. Ten companies from industry are members of this initiative. The potential value of outsourcing to local companies is estimated to be worth over US$100 million per year.

Dr Lim Ser Yong, executive director of SIMTech said: “In a time where environmental challenges have taken centre stage, companies are seeking the know-how and the tools to incorporate sustainable manufacturing into existing business operations to reduce cost and environmental impact. With the launch of the Remanufacturing and Green Packaging Initiatives, companies have an added avenue to create value-added products with manufacturing processes that are also more environmentally friendly.”

Creaform China & Rapidform In 3D Scanning Solutions Agreement Seoul , South Korea: Inus Technology is in a sales agreement with Creaform China, subsidiary of Canadian Creaform to offer Creaform’s portable 3D laser scanners with Rapidform’s reverse engineering and inspection software.

“Creaform China signed up Rapidform as a strategic sales partner in China,” said Mike Ma, GM of Creaform China. “We have decided to focus on selling Rapidform software with our industrial 3D scanners for win-win cooperation in reverse engineering and inspection.”

Calvin Hur, CEO of Inus Technology, added: “By electing to bundle Rapidform software with Creaform 3D scanners in the Chinese market, we are able to present customers with a solution for professional-level reverse engineering and inspection.”



Businessnews

Groundbreaking Ceremony For Production Hall At Hexagon Metrology

Wetzlar, Germany: Hexagon Metrology set to double its production floor area with the start of construction of a production hall in Wetzlar. After more than two years of planning, the company has commenced construction.

The number of machines made at Wetzlar has doubled over the last two years. To keep up with the increasing demand, the company decided to expand its existing production area by 1,500 sq m. The production hall also has 600 sq m of offices on each of two floors.

“High-precision metrology can only be produced in a protected environment and requires a permanently constant temperature,” says Holger Fritze, MD of Hexagon Metrology GmbH. For this reason, the third floor contains the air-conditioning plant. This keeps the temperature in the hall at a constant 20 ± 0.1 deg C.

Leitz coordinate measuring machines will be among products manufactured by Hexagon Metrology in the hall. These measuring machines can be up to 10 m high and are specially designed for large parts such as gears. The production hall will be opened in a public ceremony following its completion, which is scheduled for the second half of 2012.

DKSH Is The New Distributor For Okamoto Singapore’s Range Of Surface Grinders In SingaporeSingapore: DKSH’s Business Unit Technology has been appointed as one of the authorised distributors for Okamoto’s line of Surface Grinders in Singapore. DKSH Technology, known for its long term commitment in the precision grinding machinery industry has a team of trained and skilled product, application and service specialists to provide professional advice on machine selection, application needs and after sales and service support. EN

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businessnews

Toyota Begins Production Of ‘Prius’ In China Toyota City, Japan: Toyota Motor Corp (TMC) have announced that Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor, a joint vehicle-production company established with China FAW Group Corp in China’s Sichuan Province, began production of the third-generation ‘Prius’ gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle at its Changchun Plant. Sales of the vehicle will begin in early 2012.

P re side nt A k io Toyo da stated TMC’s intent to create a development group for the production of Chinese-made hybrid vehicles and to realise the localised production of hybrid system components by around 2015.

Honda Develops ‘Earth Dreams Technology’Tokyo, Japan: Honda Motor has announced the outline for a technology for automobiles called ‘Earth Dreams Technology’. The technology is a next generation set of technological advancements, which enhance both driving performance and fuel efficiency at a high level, using as its base advanced environmental technologies. It is a series of measures in which efficiency of internal combustion components including engine, and transmission, as well as electric-powered motor technology, is further improved.

Through its implementation first in the mini-vehicle and gradually onto other vehicle models, the company aims to achieve top-of-industry fuel efficiency for every category within three years, while simultaneously setting a timeline of 2020 to reduce by 30 percent CO2 emissions for all products sold worldwide, relative to emission figures for 2000.

ST Aerospace Certified

Singapore: ST Aerospace has been certified as a Part 147 Maintenance Training Organisation (MTO) by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to provide aircraft type training for narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. The training courses will be conducted at the company's technical training centre in Paya Lebar, Singapore.

The two certifications further strengthen the company's position as an integrated service provider that offers a wide spectrum of customised solutions, extending from engineering design and aircraft maintenance to fleet management and training.

“As one of the world’s leading aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul service providers, ST Aerospace has a well-established background in the training and management of maintenance manpower to support our operations. The CAAS and EASA Part 147 approvals are a natural step forward for us to tap on this experience and competency. Together with our pilot training services, our technical training offering will enable us to deliver a total training solution to our customers,” said Chang Cheow Teck, president, ST Aerospace.

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Bombardier Extends Inlet Cowl Repair Capability To HKBeijing, China: Bombardier Customer Services announced that it has extended its repair capability on the inlet cowl for the Trent 700 engine to Hong Kong. Through a strategic service agreement with Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO), the company is now offering repair capability on the Trent 700 inlet cowl in Hong Kong, in addition to its Belfast and Dallas MRO facilities.

“We are delighted to extend our repair capability on the Trent

700 inlet cowl to Hong Kong,” said Stephen Addis, GM, Nacelle Product Development a nd Customer Services, Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast. “By transferring our in-house expertise to HAECO’s facilities, we can now offer local repair solutions at competitive prices to our growing Asian customer base. This expansion is the latest step in the development of our MRO business, which now has a presence in three key regions: the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.”

AuTOMOTIvE / AErOSPAcEwww.equipment-news.com


Businessnews

ENQUIRY NO 020

UCIMU: Positive 2011 Balance But Slow Growth In 2012Italy: The year 2011 ended positively for the Italian machine tools, robots and automation manufacturers’ industry. It recorded a double figure increase in all main economic indicators. The recovery, which began in 2010, is therefore consolidated but the positive trend risks fading in 2012 due to the still very unstable international framework.

Slower Pace For German Machine Tool Orders

Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Following the turbocharged upturn of the past few months, the German machine tool industry is once again sailing into calmer waters. In the third quarter of 2011, order bookings rose by 29 percent. Domestic orders rose by 33 percent, export bookings by 27 percent. Overall, demand was up by 74 percent during the first nine months of 2011. Domestic customers’ demand was up by 71 percent on a like-for-like basis, while the corresponding figure for customers abroad was 76 percent.

“The increase in order bookings for the ongoing year continues to be excellent,” confirms Dr Wilfried Schäfer, executive director at the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association). Nonetheless,

he adds, the growth dynamic is slowly decelerating on a quarterly comparison. Following months of two- to three-figure growth rates, he continues, a normalisation trend had been foreseeable. Since the beginning of the year’s second half, the figures have been reflecting the baseline effect of a significantly stronger reference period over the course of 2010.

The good order situation has once again upped the level of capacity utilisation. The most recent figure of 95.5 percent, for October of this year, means companies are operating at almost full capacity. A comparison with the preceding year, when capacity utilisation was averaging 75.4 percent, vividly illustrates the challenge the sector is

facing. The sector’s total workforce came to 66,865 employees in September of this year, 4.4 percent up on the preceding year’s figure.

The official production result for Germany’s machine tool industry, according to the provisional figures, rose by 36 percent in the first nine months of the current year. “Over the year as a whole, we look like doing better than hitherto expected,” explains Dr Schäfer. The VDW, he continues, is now predicting production output to grow by one-third for 2011.

However, in v iew of the continuing uncertainties on the financial markets, and not least the euro’s debt crisis, companies’ expectations for the months ahead are gloomier across the board. “These exogenous factors are superimposed on the normal cyclical demand trend,” reports Dr Schäfer. But, he continues, the effects on turnover developments in the various companies will depend very closely on the structure of their product portfolio and their customer base.

For vendors of customised machines, in particular, and those operating in project business with long lead times, the high order backlog of most recently almost 10 months, together with the continuing need for capital investment in the automotive industry and among its system suppliers, plus strong demand from energy utilities and aircraft manufacturers, all combine to produce a stabilising effect.

As shown in the preliminary data drawn up by the Studies Department of UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre, in 2011, the Italian production in the sector grew to €5,019 million (US$6.51 million), with an increase of 19.6 percent compared to 2010.

The result was achieved due to the very strong performance of exports that grew by 29.3 percent

to €3,367 million. According to the Studies Department, processing on ISTAT (Central statistics institute) data, in the first eight months of the year, the following countries were the outlet markets of Italian exports: China, Germany, US, Brazil, France, India, Russia, Turkey, Poland and Spain.

According to the most recent



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survey, sales grew in Germany (+62.9 percent) to 228 million, United States (+99.4 percent) to 170 million, Brazil (+84.1 percent) to 115 million, France (+23.2 percent) to 105 million, India (+19.7 percent) Russia (+15 percent), Turkey (+85.1 percent), Poland (+55.3 percent), Spain (+14 percent). Sales experienced a countertrend (-0.4 percent) in China which, with €240 million, remains the first outlet market of ‘made in Italy’ in this sector.

The trend observed in the domestic market is different. C o n s u m p t i o n , a l t h o u g h increasing by 11.9 percent, stood at €2,761 million, showing the weakness of Italian domestic demand. The modest increase i n t h e d o m e s t i c d e m a n d reflects the shy recovery of manufacturers’ deliveries in the

domestic market, which, grown by 3.8 percent, did not exceed 1,652 million.

More marked increase in imports (+26.7 percent) whose absolute value is still just over 1,100 mill ion. However, the analysis of the period 2008-2011 reveals that the import ratio on consumption grew by less than one percentage point, from 39.9 to 40.2 percent. On the contrary, the export ratio on production gains 10 percentage points, f rom 57 percent in 2008 to 67.1 percent in 2011. Although the two indicators are not directly connected, they underline the capability of the manufacturers in both guarding the domestic market a nd s t ron g ly i nte n si f y i n g activity abroad.

Although the 2012 estimates

are positive, there is a ‘slowed growth’ in the sector. The level of production, above all, is expected to grow by 3.4 percent to reach €5,190 million. Compared to the positive trend of the foreign market, as shown by the export data that will grow by 4.8 percent to €3,530 million, the domestic market is expected to slow down.

Consumption is expected to increase to €2,820 million, 2.1 percent more than in 2011. Stable the domestic deliveries that will reach €1,660 million (+0.5 percent). In order to offset the wea k ness of domest ic demand, Italian manufacturers will intensify efforts towards exports, further increasing the share of production for the foreign market, which will reach 68 percent.



Businessstatistics



With a production v o l u m e o f o v e r 200,000 parts a year, Qingzhou Jinrong

Machinery supplies the market with valve technology, gear pumps and machine components.

What s tar ted out as a manufacturer for small parts has grown since. This steady development made the GM Zhou Jijia realises that the company would have to launch its own product on the market if it were to continue growing. As such, the company started with safety valves in the year 2004.

Fast forward five years, the company went against common practices during the economic crisis in 2009. While other companies suffered, the company looked into the future and went on

Enquiry No. 1001Turn to page 80a or log on to www.equipment-news.com to enquire

to purchase two CNC machines. “That was a necessary step to improve machining accuracy and manufacturing efficiency even more,” recalls Mr Zhou.

Product Quality As Part Of Branding As safety valves are a key component in hydraulics, customer demands are therefore high where product quality is concerned, so the company uses only CNC machines and high-precision grinding machines in the production.

Meeting the requirements of the customers are the goal of production. In the early years of the company’s history, working with normal NC machines had been sufficient, but requirements rose steadi ly resul t ing in bottlenecks in the production. So

the DMC 635 V Ecoline and the CTX 310 Ecoline V3 soon proved to be a profitable investment.

The characteristics of the latter had already been put through their paces in numerous tests. The turning machine produces valves with reliability and achieves good concentricity. Added to this is the machine concept: the VDI 30 turret has room for 12 tools. Six powered tools and a C-axis with digital control round off the equipment.

With 5 to 8 μm tolerance and 2 μm true running accuracy, good results are achieved. Feed rates of 24 m/min in the X-axis and 30 m/min in the Z-axis reduce machining times while the linear guides ensure continuous precision. An improvement in quality and an efficiency rate that is three times higher than before are the results.

The ResultsThe business continues to grow with the rising order volume putting even more pressure on production. It has become necessary to boost productivity even more with the existing machines. Reliability, low fault rates, good service and high efficiency are the key requirements of a machine.

The high degree of precision which the machines operate saves the user time in subsequent processing, such as grinding. In addition, the counter pieces on the machine are manufactured with a higher quality as well. Surface finish and accuracy of fit are optimised. The high precision of the machine also prevents tools from wearing out quickly — another benefit for the company.

The customer base has also grown since Jinrong re-orientated its corporate strategy and has been manufacturing higher quality products on its machines, so longer delivery times are not unusual now. MEN

Taking up the challenge of fierce competition with prudent investments opens the door to further process optimisation. By Xia Xipin, for DMG China

TheIn Safety Valves Manufacturing

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At EMO Hannover held at the end of last year, South Korean machine tool manufacturer Hwacheon

brought a total of 10 machines to the show. Among the selection of machines, there were three new turning and five new machining centres according to Mr Ludwig.

“We are introducing the turning machines to complete our horizontal and vertical turning lines, including options for a secondary spindle as well as y-axis to cater mainly for the medium to large sized parts,” he said. The biggest of all was the High-Tech 850L MC, which serves the new energy generating industries as well as heavy and mining industry.

The features in the machines were carefully designed with one consideration in mind. According to Mr Ludwig, that consideration

is flexibility combined with quality. This philosophy has been translated into results. Painting an example, he said: “We launched the High-tech 850L MC in South Korea in 2010 and it has since become a big success in the mining industry of Australia. It is also popular in the oil and gas sectors in Texas (USA) and in Asia.”

Choose QualityMr Ludwig emphasised that quality is the number one consideration for Hwacheon. As such, he feels it is important to make sure the customers understand the technologies available, what they generate out of this investment and how they go about using it for the betterment of their company. The reason behind this is simple.

He concluded: “If we can make sure the customers understands his investment in a Hwacheon

Mr Ludwig and Sue Neo, director, International Business Unit, Hwacheon Machine Tool at EMO.

Hwacheon Looks At

FlexibilityQuality&

Developments In Machine Tool…

Hwacheon @ EMO“EMO Hannover has always been a place

where business deals are made. The

customers who come here are focused

and well-informed. As such, we have very

specific and detailed discussions going

on here,” said Mr Ludwig.

“We have received good enquiries,

mainly from Europe. We have some

from Asia as well, particularly from

countries in the Middle East and

India,” he added.

machine will result in better and more cost effective produced parts, it would automatically lead to satisfied customers. To achieve that is one of our main targets. We are not really looking for quantity, we are looking at quality.” MEN

Klaus Ludwig, VP, Hwacheon Machine Tool Korea explained to Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News in an exclusive at the concluded EMO that flexibility is the philosophy behind the innovations and quality is the ultimate marketing tool. By Joson Ng

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ENQUIRY NO 015

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Gu n d r i l l i n g i s a precision deep hole drilling process that uses a long, straight

tool to produce extremely deep holes in a variety of materia ls . This tool has a unique head geometry, and a groove along the length of the tool, differentiating it from a conventional twist drill.

A gun drill cuts with coolant that is introduced through a hole in the tool, and exhausts chips through the groove. Additionally, guide pads on the tool head work to burnish the hole while drilling, resulting in an extremely round hole with a precision diameter. This internal coolant/external

exhaust feature distinguishes gun drilling from other deep hole drilling methods.

Gun dr i l l ing deve loped out of a need to dri l l gun barrels. Before this process was developed, barrels were created with a strip of metal that was wrapped and welded around a mandrel, creating a weapon that was less straight, and less strong, than modern guns. Eventually, the drilling process was applied in order to create the part out of a solid piece of metal. However, the original twist drills that were used required multiple passes, and resulted in less round, less straight holes.

Gun drilling is a method

that eliminates both of these issues .As the gun dr i l l ing p r o c e s s i m p r o v e d , a n d equipment was developed for these tools , i t proved benef ic ia l for a var iety of industries beyond guns and armaments. The small, deep, precise holes made possible by gun drilling are also used f o r e n e rg y a p p l i c a t i o n s , a u t o m o t i v e , a e r o s p a c e , m o u l d , a n d o t h e r s . A s global technology continues t o d e v e l o p , a d d i t i o n a l appl icat ions are added to this list.

Pertinent FeaturesModern gun drill tools are manufactured out of solid carbide,

In Deep Hole Drilling

GunningBetterResults

When drilling to extreme depth to diameter ratio, there is a process capable of maintaining accuracy and surface finish. By Anthony Fettig, CEO, Unisig

For

techtalk

ENQUIRY NO 021



brazed and indexable, and do not require an additional drill tube. The non-cutting end of the tool has a driver, which is produced in standard sizes for use in gun drilling machines.

Coolant is often applied through a single round hole, but drills will also have multiple coolant holes or kidney shaped holes to allow increased coolant flow. The v-shaped groove is designed to allow coolant to flush out chips cleanly and efficiently; this feature also generated the alternative name, single-fluted drill.

Gun dri l ls have specif ic geometries, which have been determined to have the best cutting power, accuracy, and efficiency with chip creation and discharge. Variances in tool profiles include peripheral and nose grind geometry, coolant hole shape, head length, and guide pad shape and placement. To o l s a r e c h o s e n b a s e d on workpiece material and tolerance requirements. Many standard gun drill geometries have been tested to determine i d e a l s p e c i f i c a t i o n s , a n d custom tools are commonly available as well.

The process is ideal when the required hole is less than 50 to 75 mm in diameter, and when the depth to diameter (D:d) ratio is 20:1 or greater. It is capable of maintaining

Did You Know?Gun drilling is suitable when…

The required hole is less than 50 to 75 mm in diameter and the

depth to diameter ratio is 20:1 or greater.

It is capable of…

• Maintaining accuracy to

extreme ratios of up to 400:1.

• The process can be performed

in 3 manners:

- Rotating tool, stationary workpiece

- Rotating workpiece, stationary tool

- Counter-rotating tool and workpiece

accuracy to extreme ratios of up to 400:1. The process can be performed in three manners: ro t a t i n g t o o l , s t a t i o n a r y workpiece; rotating workpiece, stationary tool; or counter-rotating tool and workpiece. The latter is preferred for closer tolerances, and can achieve straightness up to 0.08 mm/m, and a surface finish of 0.2 µ-m Ra. Holes larger than this may be drilled with alternative deep hole dri l l ing methods, and secondary machining processes can fur ther contr ibute to roundness, straightness and surface finish.

Why Use It?Compared to other dril l ing methods, gun drilling offers several advantages, as well as cost and time-saving attributes. As mentioned, a gun drill is able

to create a deep and accurate hole in a single pass. The use of guide pads as a burnishing tool also contributes to surface finish and often eliminates secondary finishing operations.

The process is a lso the preferred method when precise roundness or straightness tolerances are required, or the workpiece metal is of a harder nature, as this method is capable of accuracy that twist dr i l l s cannot reach. Additionally, gun dri l l t ips may be re-ground as they wear which can greatly increase tool life.

T h e p r o c e s s o f g u n drilling for these deep holes with extreme D:d ratios can benefit shops that drill either occasional deep holes, or utilise it in a production process. The increased efficiency and reduced error rates can add long-term value to a factory, and increase their capabilities with an additional specialised metal cutting process.

DeploymentGun drilling can be added in two ways: by retrofitting an existing machine for deep hole gun drilling, or with a deep hole drilling machine. Retrofitting for gun drilling is only effective up to a 10:1 drilling ratio, and generally in more common

Adding deep hole drilling or gun drilling to your shop can add additional value and increase precision drilling capabilities.

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ENQUIRY NO 024



materials. Deeper holes or tougher materials may have their accuracy compromised with this method.

A deep hole drilling machine with gun drilling capabilities is better suited for more extreme holes and harder materials. Machines are engineered to reduce drift and enhance the straightness of the drill, reduce potential vibrations throughout the length of the tool, ensure clean and accurate entry and exit holes, and incorporate a coolant system for efficient drilling and chip exhaust.

Additionally, gun drilling machines provided benefits of process integration and monitoring, allowing operators to efficiently drill holes with high efficiency and close control over the drilling process.

A drill bushing makes contact with the workpiece, centring

the entrance point and sealing the surface. Directly behind the bushing is a chip box, which contains the externally exhausted chips and coolant as they are deposited into a bin. At the drill exit point, a breakthrough seal exists to maintain accuracy and contain coolant as the drill finishes its hole. A superior machine will ensure that all of these elements function together to drill the most accurate hole with the least amount of effort. It will also be engineered with hole sizes, workpiece materials, and drill choices considered.

Going Deeper & BiggerGun drilling is the appropriate method for the parameters discussed. However, it is one method in a larger category of deep hole drilling. Other methods are employed for

holes larger than 75 mm in diameter, and to the same extreme ratios as gun drilling.

Unlike gun drilling, other deep hole drill ing methods introduce coolant externally, as it flows around the drill head; chips and coolant are then exhausted internally, through the tool connecting drill tube. BTA dr i l l ing is a common method, and a more efficient choice for larger holes.

O t h e r b o r e f i n i s h i n g m e t h o d s s u c h a s s k i v i n g and roller burnishing, bottle boring, and pull boring, can be performed in this same manner. Adding deep hole drilling or gun drilling to your shop can add additional value and increase precision drilling capabilities. MEN


All these elements must function well together in order to drill the most accurate hole

The drill cuts with coolant that is introduced through a hole in the tool and exhaust chips through the groove

techtalk

Tungaloy Singapore Pte. Ltd.50 Kallang Avenue, #06-03Singapore 339505Tel: (65) 6391 1833 • Fax: (65) 6299 4557www.tungaloy.co.jp/tspl/

Tungaloy Malaysia Sdn Bhd (876763-H)50 K-2, Kelana Mall, Jalan SS6/14Kelana Jaya 47301 Petaling Jaya, MalaysiaTel: +603-7805 3222 • Fax: + 603-7804 8563www.tungaloy.co.jp

ENQUIRY NO 206



De e p h o l e d r i l l i n g i s p o p u l a r i n t h e automotive, die and mould and aerospace

industries. Standard applications are normally undertaken by a solid carbide drill with a length to diameter ratio of 20 X D. However for high productivity, repeatability and accuracy, gundrill technology is most recommended for deep hole drilling applications.

Going DeeperThe gun drill technology is taken

one step further when a gun drill (Chamgun) for deep hole drilling enables the replacement of drilling heads while the driver is still connected to the machine. The ‘No Setup Time’ concept enables quick head changes without the need to remove the drill from the spindle while indexing.

• Testing The technology was put

to the test recently in the European automotive industry.

The Chamgun was tested. According to the maker, compared to the other gun drills in the industry, the test subject was 25 percent more cost effective.

Other pertinent results are found in areas like Vc, V f, s u r f a c e q u a l i t y a n d concentr ic i ty where the technology scored 91 m/min, 120 mm/min, 1.54 Rz and 0.2 mm respectively, higher than the other gun drill that was tested.

Like any other metalworking processes, technological advancements in gun drilling tackle the issues of process timing, tool life and above all, performance. By Ze’ev Fisher, product manager (Deep Hole Making), Iscar

Gun DrillingTechnology Update:

techtalk


60 metalworking equipment news March 2011

Three weeks of design… all done in a day?

© 2010 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. All rights reserved. Siemens and the Siemens logo are registered trademarks of Siemens AG. All other logos, trademarks or service marks used herein are the property of their respective owners. ENQUIRY NO 109

It’s simple with SOLID EDGE.

Slashing design time is just one of the benefits users of Solid Edge with synchronous technology are already realizing. This ground-breaking solution accelerates design time AND speeds engineering change orders. All while helping your designers better reuse more imported 2D and 3D models. The result? Dramatic leaps in productivity and reductions in time-to-market. Take a closer look at the future of 3D design and see what’s new in Solid Edge ST3 by visiting www.siemens.com/plm/st3 today.

Answers for Industry.





The Iscar booth at the concluded EMO is not about individual cutting tools, it is about improving productivity with specific solutions for individual industries, according to Mr Harpaz.

“For us, we are focusing on how to improve productivity in our solutions. It is also our main focus in our booth at EMO. We are looking at how can we improve productivity in specific industries, like the automotive and aerospace industries. Productivity also influences, profit and loss. We have a better way for our customers to make money,” he said.

Profitability for the customers is very much on the agenda of the cutting tool manufacturer and a critical part of it is also on the implementation of certain solutions, ie: it is important to produce good products and teach people how they can make the most out of those technologies. Said Mr Harpaz: “It is important to let users know how to make use of the tool. With the

On Productivity…Jacob Harpaz

The president and CEO of IMC gave his thoughts on Iscar’s metal removal solutions. By Joson Ng

advancements in machine tools today, they must know how to use both (machine and cutting tools) and understand the relationship between the two.” MEN

Iscar @ EMOParticipating in an exhibition such as EMO is a good way to present the company’s profile and establish a platform for visitors to study the trends of the metalworking market.

Mr Harpaz said: “Exhibitions is where we entertain our customers and let them know what we can offer. It is not a place to make a deal because no one will come to present their project at an exhibition to you. If I want to sell something, I will go visit the customer. Or likewise, if a potential customer finds an application that is suitable, he will ask us to pay him a visit. EMO is more like a big party, like the ‘world cup’ of metalworking.”

• Test Parameters Machine tool: TBT M500-6-1200 Coolant: 60 bar oil - internal Workpiece: 38MnSiVS5 diesel

engine common rail Hole dimension: Ø 10 H13

(through hole) Required surface quality: Max.

Rz 10 Concentricity: Max. 0.9 mm Drilling depth: 340 mm

Making Sure It Is Straight & ConcentricIn deep hole drilling, the ability to drill straight within a certain degree of concentricity is a prized asset and it is not surprising that tool makers have developed their gun drills to deliver those much needed capability. In addition, in the interest of saving time, some drills are designed to incur minimum set up time.

For instance, a single drill body can carry many different types of drill head profiles, designed for use on various materials. In the case of Chamgun, standard drilling heads fall within a range of 0.2 to 0.3 mm and the drill range is 9.8 to 16.19 mm. In addition, each drill pocket can carry a variety of drilling head diameters and head geometries.

The drill features a pocket, which can sustain at least 15 head replacements. The connection between the pocket and tube is by a welding process for high torque resistance. Each drill pocket can carry a variety of drilling head diameters and head geometries and chipbreakers designed for use on various materials.

Finally, the indexable drilling heads can be reground a minimum of 10 times. However, head length should not be shortened to less than L-D. The end result is straightness and concentricity inside the hole with high hole precision centre alignment.

techtalk

Machines shown with options. Information may change without notice.

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TM / TMM SeriesGeneral Purpose

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Z SeriesZone Mills

DCX SeriesDual Column

Mills

TMX SeriesHigh Performance

Lathes

Very BIG and beautifully engineered

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ENQUIRY NO 168

HURCO (S.E.ASIA) Pte Ltd1 Ubi View #01-17, Focus One, Singapore 408555

Tel: +65 67426177 • Fax: +65 67457664Email: [email protected] • Website: www.hurco.com.sg

HURCO South Korea Machine Tool Co LtdD-115 Megapolis, 2164-2 Jeongwang-dong,

Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, KoreaTel: +82-31-488-8182 • Fax: +82-31-488-8183



The misalignment of gun-drilled holes is a common problem, although solutions may not be too far away. By Shahnawaz Abdul Hamid

In the metalworking industry, the making of holes in solid metal workpieces is achieved through drilling,

given its cost-effectiveness and efficiency. A drill is a ubiquitous feature of any workshop, a cutting tool with one or more cutt ing edges. I ts rotat ion relative to the workpiece causes its edges to cut a cylindrical hole in the workpiece.

Gun Drilling:

Given their lengths, drills are susceptible to bending and deflections, notwithstanding their f lexural rigidity. This can lead to inaccurate holes, which would compromise the stability in the final product. As such, deep-hole drill ing is a demanding operation, as compared to short-hole drilling. The presence of heat and chips further complicates the process.

Gun DrillingTo assist in the production o f these deep ho les , gun drills are typically selected. Gun drilling is a process that produces deep, straight holes with tight tolerances in a variety of materials. A gun drill differs from conventional twist drills by its unique head geometry consisting of a single effective cutting edge. Precision guide bushing and guide pads allow the drill to pilot itself, maintaining the straightness of the hole.

In the oil and gas sector, deep, gun-drilled holes are created on extremely hard and corrosion resistant, nickel- and chrome-based alloys to serve as safety, control, wire-line and flow-line holes, allowing effective command and communication between down-hole tools and surface control crew.

The heat and chips often found in most drilling operations are minimised in gun drilling due to the introduction of a high-pressure coolant through a small hole within the drill bit. A sharpened groove in the bit enhances chip removal by breaking the chips into shor t segments for easier evacuation. This often allows for faster drilling as compared to conventional drilling.

Challenges FacedDespite the many benefits offered by gun drilling, the process is not without its own set of challenges. Perhaps most common among the problems of gun drilling, and one which was highlighted at a recent seminar organised by the Precision Engineering Centre of Innovation (PE-COI), is that of controlling deep hole straightness.

The seminar, aptly titled “Challenges and Case Studies on Measurement o f Deep Hole Straightness” was held at the Singapore Inst i tute of Manufacturing Technology

Andy Barrass, UK

Straight & NarrowKeeping It

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Jan-Feb 2012 metalworking equipment news


37

(SIMTech) on November 3, 2011. It saw local SMEs coming forward to learn about the latest measurement technologies from research institutes, gun drilling companies and acoustic instruments manufacturers.

According to the several industry experts featured at the seminar, this ‘hole misalignment’ problem is primarily caused by the many variables inherent in the process including those arising from bushing, whipping, drifting, poor fitting and the material being drilled itself.

Dr Lim Beng Siong, deputy director of PE-COI, attributes part of this variability to the resharpening of the gun drill’s cutting edge, which is often performed on a machine many times cheaper compared to the machine that manufactured the drill itself. “One might be guilty of drilling the first 50 mm with a gun drill that was manufactured using a $750,000 machine from Walter or EWAG, then sharpening the drill using a $16,000 machine to drill the next 350 mm,” he explained.

This issue of resharpening the drill becomes more pertinent when the gun drill is employed to create holes through tough materials such as Inconel 718, Incoly and K-Monel.

These materials are typically used in the oil and gas sector, because their non-magnetic nature allows them to be used with highly sensitive instrumentation tasked with imaging of gamma rays, X-rays and magnetic resonance. Nevertheless, their hardness causes rapid tool wear, resulting in the need for resharpening, which as mentioned earlier can then result in misalignment.

Measurement Of Hole StraightnessTo prevent such misalignments from exceeding given tolerances, a solution offered by Dr Stephen Brian Wong, a consultant at SIMTech, was

for ultrasound to measure the radial and circumferential movement of the hole as it is drilled. Such real-time monitoring would avoid drastic deviations from the design of the hole in terms of parallelism and concentricity.

Such measurement tools, which usually consist a probe that sends ultrasonic pulses through the material surrounding the hole,

would also be able to determine wall thickness. This opens up avenues in corrosion management and maintenance of the drilled hole.

However, Dr Wong cautioned that measuring hard materials such as Inconel 718 could result in the velocity of the ultrasound being affected, making the entire operation more complex. He thinks such materials may

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Deep Hole Drilling Systems > Gun Drilling Machines

Gun Drill on a UNISIG Deep Hole Drilling MachineUNISIG deep hole drilling machines are capable of gun drilling hole diameters as small as 2mm, to extreme depth-to-diameter ratios of 400:1. The gun drilling process is advantageous in several industries, including automotive, defense, aerospace, and mold.

UNISIG machines are highly engineered and tested for accuracy and reliability. Gun drilling systems can be configured from an array of options, allowing you to create an ideal machine for your application. Machines are manufactured in the USA, and supported by local technical experts, as well as a team of capable engineers.

Learn more: please read our technical article on gun drilling in this issue of APMEN.

Please visit www.unisig.com to download reference guides and find exclusive reps in your region

www.unisig.com | PH +1-262-252-3802 | FX +1-262-252-4075 | [email protected]

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require a higher energy and lower frequency ultrasonic pulse, as well as calibration with respect to the specimen being measured, as opposed to simply keying in the pulse velocity.

Apart from using ultrasound, the measurement and imaging of holes and tubes can also be achieved through the use of acoustics. According to Yuval Levin, director at Acoustic Eye, a company that handles Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), the use of acoustics allows quicker imaging without the use of invasive probes. “The concern of most engineers working on offshore facilities is to quickly determine the defects in their heat exchanger,” Mr Levin feels.

The technology he shared, Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry (APR), involves injecting an acoustic pulse into a tube. Upon encountering a discontinuity in the tube’s cross-section, either because of holes or bumps, the pulse reflects. Through recording and studying the reflection, the defects in the tube can be determined.

Industry-Wide CollaborationIn an effort to overcome the various challenges associated with gun drilling, the Gun Drilling Collaborative Industry Project (GDI) was set up by PE-COI last year (see box story). The

GDI aims to foster closer relationship between its members and to create greater understanding of high aspect gun drilling of Inconel 718 for the oil and gas sector.

Led by American construction conglomerate Halliburton, the key objective of the GDI is to create a collaborative opportunity for inter-

and intra-related companies to gain additional awareness of potential business partners, technicalities and critical resources associated with gun drilling. Dr Lim was quick to point out the benefits of such collaboration. “This is a chance for academics and industry professionals to network and share ideas, and hopefully solve the problems in the gun drill industry,” he remarked.

Although the GDI is still in its infancy stage, ground sentiments appear to indicate that its deliverables will interest the metalworking industry, specifically those within the oil and gas sector. With the quest for energy taking petrochemical companies to far-flung locations with harsh weather conditions, the need for effective command and communication, and by default accurate hole positioning, is now more crucial than ever.

Singapore’s Gun Drilling Collaborative Industry Project (GDI)The Precision Engineering Centre Of Innovation, through sponsorship from government

agency SPRING, research institute A*Star and the Economic Development Board (EDB),

launched the Gun Drilling Collaborative Industry Project (GDI) in December 2010.

Twenty-two companies with overlapping interests and common technological

needs form the initiative, which is led by a team of four international sourcing, quality

and supplier development experts from Halliburton, USA. These experts conduct

workshops, seminars and roundtable discussions, elaborating on both the short and

long-term perspectives of the various challenges associated with gun drilling.

Through these discussions, a number of pilot projects are defined and executed,

using the combined resources and expertise of the initiative’s members. The results from

these projects provide the stimulus to drive further collaborative R&D and to develop

critical capabilities to meet industrial demands.

In addition, each company on the initiative demonstrates their machine tool, gun drills

and oil-field components to one another in meetings and dialogues, helping to uncover

more opportunities for collaboration and addressing business gaps.

One of the initiative’s recent events was a development mission hosted by mould-

base manufacturer Yudo Wanco. The mission, held on November 4, 2011, gave delegates

an opportunity to observe gun drilling of a 1,600 mm deep hole with a diameter of 8

mm on Inconel 718, and insight into the challenges associated with rapid tool wear,

maintenance of hole straightness and the damping system employed. MEN


Some of the speakers at a recent seminar organised by the PE-COISIM

Tech

, Sin

gap

ore

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Over the course of this year, we have rolled out new initiatives and products to bring you to the forefront of metalworking.

Gives You More


For more information, please contact:

[email protected] tel: (65) 6379 2888 • fax: (65) 6379 2805

Print Media

Online Media

New Magazine



Walter Tools At EMO

About a year ago, the d e v e l o p e r s a t t h e Tübingen-based tool specialists Walter made

a breakthrough. With the XD technology, they increased the then maximum drilling depth of 30xD to 70xD.

The manufacture of the extra long solid carbide drills is based on manufacturing processes recently developed by Walter. They supply standard versions of tools up to 30xD, going beyond which currently involves special designs specific to the particular application.

The standard range includes two variants: 1) Versions with the graduations 16xD, 20xD, 25xD and 30xD based on the Titex Alpha 4 XD geometry and 2) As X·treme DH (‘Deep High tensile’) in 20xD and 30xD lengths, optimised for high tensile materials >900 N/mm² and interrupted cuts. Applications for the DH variant can be found, for example, in mould and die making or in crankshaft machining where pilot drilling is mandatory.

In addition to the standard pilot drill, there is also a conical version. A conically shaped pilot hole produces a completely step-free transition into the main hole. This is required in some applications, particularly in vehicle manufacturing. Both drills have even cutting edges with a 180 deg point angle in order to ensure reliable spot drilling on angled and curved surfaces.

Deep holes with small diameters can be a particular challenge. Contributed by Jaslin Huang, Walter AG Singapore

DrillingTo The Extreme

Two Strategies Lead To SuccessWorking with long, protruding tools requires a careful approach. Walter has the following recommendations for the drilling depth range of 35 - 70xD in particular: The user should always drill an additional pilot hole to a depth of 12xD, so that maximum performance can be achieved when drilling the hole to full depth.

To do this, the tool must first be inserted into the pilot hole. This is an important step, because the cutting edges of such an excessively long solid carbide tool sag due to their own weight, and therefore do not align with the pilot hole exactly. The first step is to turn the two cutting edges to a horizontal orientation. This prevents any of the cutting edges from hitting the hole lower edge during feed in.

With drilled holes that are chamfered, the chamfering is required before deep-hole drilling. The drill will find the hole by itself

in this case. After initial hole entry, rapid feeding is applied to about 11.5xD before stopping. The coolant is then switched on. All in all, one operation is all it takes with nominal cutting data, without pecking, to reach the desired drilling depth. The coolant pressure should be at least 10-20 bar, however 40 bar is recommended. When withdrawing, reduce the speed to about 100 RPM.

For holes without chamfer, a somewhat different procedure is recommended. The feed in is done using a left rotation at n= 100 RPM. After reaching a feed in depth of about 2xD into the pilot hole, switch to a right rotation (n= 100 RPM). The rest of the procedure is identical to the case given above.

In comparison with the gun drill, the XD drill produces about 4 to 10-times the performance. This means feed rates for twist drills are always into three digits, sometimes four digits. Gun drills remain most often in the two-digit range. In a comparison of both tooling systems, hydraulic parts made of 16NCr steel with 700 N/mm² tensile strength with D= 12 mm were drilled to a depth of 35xD. The feed rate of the gun drill was 77 mm/min (fz= 0.038), the XD drill was 457 mm/min (fz= 0.25).

With cast iron the ratios are similar. A steering gear made of GGG50 required holes with D= 6.2 mm at a depth of 46xD. The feed rate of the gun drill was 179 mm/min (fz= 0.05 mm/rev), that of the XD drill was 809 mm/min (fz= 0.19 mm/rev).


At the press conference at the

EMO, Andreas Evertz, president

& CEO, talked about big potential

in China and, in particular, in

Shanghai where the company

is establishing a regional HQ.

According to Mr Evertz, the

purpose of the HQ is to serve the customers directly, provide better support and open

up new market potential.

Andreas Evertz (L)

techtalk



41

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M U L T I S W I S S 6 X 1 4

M a c h i n i n g c e n t e r M u l t i s p i n d l eS i n g l e s p i n d l e T H I N K P A R T S T H I N K T O R N O S

TORNOS TECHNOLO GIES A SIA LTDUnit 4, G/F, Transport C ity Building1-7 Shing Wan Road, Tai WaiShatin, N.T., HONG K ONGTel. +852 2691 2633Fax +852 2691 [email protected]

TORNOS S.A. THAILANDREPRESENTATIVE OFFICETel. +66 2746 8840-1Fax +66 2746 [email protected]

TORNOS TECHNOLO GIES A SIA LTDMALAYSIA REPRESENTATIVE OFFICETel. +6 (04) 642 6562-3Fax +6 (04) 642 [email protected]

11-083 AD MultiSwiss Asie.indd 7 07.09.11 13:07

WELCOME TO THE SWISSTYPE REVOLUTION !

• CNC Controlled

• Easy set-up and change over

• 14 linear axes, 7 C axes

• Up to 18 tools (3 tools per position)

• Exceptional rigidity thanks to a sturdy

casting and slide arrangement

• Unsurpassed shock absorbsion

with hydrostatic bearings

• Excellent thermal regulation

• Integrated peripheral units

• Reduced floor space

Apps From Walter

Tools With Proof Of ID

Emphasising the point of serving customers, he said: “We look into the real needs

of our customers.” This can be seen in the Walter Tool ID and Walter iPhone apps, which

bring convenience and knowledge to users.

He also added that the company has invested a lot in R&D and, as a result,

customers can expect coloured inserts as well as other innovations in the future.

New Products At EMO

Tiger·tec Silver technology can now also demonstrate its strengths when turning. At the

EMO, for the first time, a generation of indexable inserts for steel chip removal during ISO

turning was on display along with the Tiger·Tec Silver ISO P generation. The manufacturer

said that these could help to increase output by up to 75 percent.

Walter has now combined this CVD coating technology with a universal geometry

family for steel chip removal. The generation of indexable inserts for steel turning

comprises the three grades WPP10S (ISO P10), WPP20S (ISO P20) and WPP30S (ISO

P30). Its wear resistance and durability make it suitable for a range of machining tasks.

The four ISO geometries FP5, MP3, MP5 and RP5 all feature large, universal chip

breakage areas, which increase the inserts’ performance.

The company also demonstrated the Protodyn HSC at the EMO, a solid carbide

thread former for use with all malleable materials. This tool provides forming speeds

that are twice as fast as an HSS thread former. This increased performance is largely

due to a carbide substrate with good wear resistance and additional TiCN coating. MEN

Walter has offered its customers the free

service Walter Tool·ID. It can be used to

plan tool management in a substantially

more efficient way. In contrast to other

identification systems, a code is burned

directly onto the tools, which means there

are no expensive chips, which also entail a

handling effort. In addition, the user is given

valuable information relating to the tools,

such as cutting data recommendations,

geometric data, 2D and 3D images.

At EMO 2011, Walter launched two iPhone

apps into the market. With the ‘Walter Tool

Guide’ app, users can select the perfect tool

for the required machining task and they can

then also order the tool immediately from the

online Walter Toolshop. With ‘Walter Feeds

& Speeds’, users can determine the starting

values for the feed rate and the cutting speed

of tools.


techtalk



Tube manufacturing in the aerospace industry is more complex than it appears at first glance. Highly

developed systems constructed of bent tubes are invisible from the outside like veins running through every modern aircraft — from the tip of the wing right to the landing gear. There are tube systems for example for fuel, hydraulic liquids, air and oxygen.

All tube systems are subject to strict quality regulations, as any imprecision could have disastrous consequences. Unbent tubes can only be obtained by explicitly qualified suppliers, who issue single parts with individual certifications. Accordingly, during further processing strict tolerance specifications have to be observed. At PFW Aerospace, tube bending process has to fulfill

without exception, production includes costly materials such as stainless steel or Inconel, which is a non-corroding nickel-based alloy, and rejections have to be kept to a minimum.

In the aerospace industry, where product diversity and the manufacturing of a large number of prototypes are required, a measuring system, which can be employed universally is the ideal choice. Production methods such as manual gauges, which have to be adjusted to fit each change of a tube and in addition, have to be

the highest demands in regard to perfect geometry.

Producing In Small BatchesIn order to remain profitable however, the company, with its headquarters in Speyer, Germany, and over 1,500 employees worldwide, has to be in a position to manufacture tubes in the smallest production batches with a minimal number of rejections. Martin Seibt, project engineer at PFW, explains: “It is our aim to be able to manufacture profitably even for a production batch of just one unit as our customers often commission us to produce just one part. Take building a satellite as an example. A tube needed here is very unique and consequently a ‘one-off’.”

Even serial parts for aeroplanes can be ordered in quantities of less than 10 pieces. Nearly

When traditional production methods such as manual gauges no longer present an economical solution, an optical measuring system was tested to determine its suitability for inspection of manufactured tubes in the aerospace industry. By Jutta Thiel, head of marketing & PR, Aicon 3D Systems

DIFFICULTY: High repeatability and reproducibility requirements for measurement systems for tube manufacturing in the aerospace industry is outpacing current technology.

SOLUTION: Carry out an extensive measurement system analysis in order to identify suitable systems.

CONCLUSION: The chosen system yielded five times better repeatability and its values have less variance than those of the tactile system.

AccuracyBent On

software&Metrology

ENQUIRY NO 027



stored for several years, no longer present an economic solution. To achieve more efficiency, the company analysed the potential of an optical measuring system and compared this with the tactile system, which had been used to date for inspecting manufactured tubes.

Optical MeasurementFor the analysis, the company chose a fully-optical measuring system, which is specialised in bent tubes. The system is capable of replacing cost-intensive mechanical gauges. The analysis of the measuring systems was done using two procedures.

• First ProcedureIn the first test, which is the measurement capability test, the bias and the variance of the measuring system without any operator influence are evaluated according to a calibration master. An average, a standard deviation


and a bias can be calculated from the measuring test sequence.

Carrying out a suitability test of a measuring system, which represents the requirements of tube bending in the aerospace industry, the company used the DKD-calibrated tube as a reference standard. This was measured 50 times, the tube was taken out of the measuring cell and replaced there for each following measuring.

With these results Mr Seibt evaluated whether the measured values matched the established reference values of the calibrated tube and how the measurement results related to each other, ie: how much the measuring results deviated.

Results Of First ProcedureTubeInspect, the measuring system used, is suitable for the aerospace industry as a measuring system, as 99.7 percent of all the measured bending

points differed less than 0.36 mm (target value: 0.50 mm) from the actual value. The repeatability was better. The random error was ±0.09mm (3 Sigma), which is less than the variance detected for the measuring method, which was formerly used.

• Second ProcedureThe second procedure is the Gauge R& R- Study (Gauge Repeatability & Reproducibility). This measuring procedure determines the repeatability and reproducibility of the measuring process in production conditions taking into account the influence of the operator. Depending on the results, the decision is made whether the measuring process is suitable for the measuring task.

During the analysis both TubeInspect and the tactile system were used to measure four completely different tubes from four different machine setters with three different fixturing systems. In total 48 measurements per system were documented.

Results Of Second ProcedureMr Seibt feels the measurement system performed well with regard to repeatability. It was five times better than the tactile measuring system. The reason was due to the setup of the tactile measurement that is based on a fixturing system that manipulates the tube’s geometry, constituting to an enormous error source.

The measurement system however works with an optical positioning assistant and every tube is measured in two positions. Due to this, the system achieves improved repeatability. PFW presented these measurement results to Airbus and received the official approval to deploy the mea sur ing system in production. MEN

Airbus has approved the deployment of TubeInspect in tube manufacturing

software&Metrology



45

T h e m a i n technolog y is not about i m p r o v i n g a c c u r a c y . It is about i m p r o v i n g productivity. W e h a v e incorporated

more than one function per machine. For example, the CMMs on show are built in tandem with sensors and software programs.

Software programs are the drivers these days because the measurement techniques and hardware are still the same. Having said that, we still rely on good solid mechanics though there are more software compensations in the measuring process. The programs are also easier to operate and there is no longer a need to enter a code. In fact, the programming can


be done on a CAM model by just clicking on the part.

These software programs are available on our systems, from the entry level ones all the way to the high-end models. As such, small and mid-size companies who are buying their first CMM get the same technologies that are available on the bigger machines.

The new machine on show at EMO is the MMZ T. It is a machine measuring centre for precise, economical measuring of large parts directly in the production environment. For example, the part on show is a gear for a windmill. Armed with a VAST XTR technology, the active probe head can rotate the sensor in four axes. In addition, it allows a continuous scanning mode that can ‘fly’ over a gap which is in-between features and still record scan data without stopping. As such, there is no need to stop the machine and that results in time savings.

Another point to note is the flexible stylus that rotates about the x and y planes. This is useful when scanning gears because they exhibit different angles when probed from different positions. Without the rotating function, more probes are needed and setup time increases substantially. In some instances, up to eight probes are required. With this rotating stylus, only one is required. With the increase in productivity brought about by this flexibility, the machine is suitable for windmill parts because the requirements for those parts tend to be more stringent.

For our new customers, we have our entry product, which is the Duramax. It is successful in Europe and the US. With a temperature range of 18 to 30 deg C, it is suitable for use on the shop floor. When deployed there, it can act as a replacement for gauges. MEN

AtCarl Zeiss

EMOAsia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News asked Darko Mihajlovic, sales manager (Asia) Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik the one question that is on every visitor’s mind. By Joson Ng

What is/are the latest technolo-gies/products on show at EMO and

what is the philosophy behind the innovations?

Q:

Darko Mihajlovic

software&metrology



An aero-engine component maker reduces hard gauge costs with a software-driven gauge. Contributed by Malcolm Price, Group Marketing Services, Renishaw UK

Case Study:

‘Soft’ApproachThe

Issue‘Hard’For

Meyer Tool is a US-based producer of hot-section jet engine components for aerospace OEMs.

While the company specialises in new parts, other Meyer facilities do repair and overhaul for the OEMs. Principal workpiece materials are super alloys, nickel and cobalt-chromium based.

With well over 100 hard gauges costing up to US$20,000 each throughout its facilities, the company recognises the potential cost advantages of a flexible, software-driven gauging system.

Bringing Down The CostA software-driven comparative gauge, Renishaw’s Equator system, is starting to soften up the cost for numerous hard gauges at the aero-engine component maker. The company designs, builds, and maintains dozens of these tools every year for in-process measurement.

The gauge has eliminated at least four hard gauges in a new work cell. “That’s just the beginning of

gauge and offered a pre-launch trial, Mr Easton and SPC manager Bridget Nolan immediately recognised the potential.

Comparative Gauging, Mastering & RepeatabilityThough its appearance is unusual, the gauging system uses the comparison method of mastering and measuring familiar to anyone who uses dedicated gauging systems. A master component with features of known dimensions is used to ‘zero’ the system, with all subsequent measurements compared to this part. The key to the system is a repeatable and radically different metrology mechanism based on a parallel kinematic structure.

This mechanism is lightweight, allowing rapid motion, yet very stiff and repeatable. The system uses Renishaw touch and scanning probes, styli and stylus change racks, and MODUS Equator programming software. Cost-wise, three to five hard gauges in a Meyer Tool work cell can all be replaced

the impact the company anticipates for its inventory of custom hard gauges, which can cost up to US$20,000 each to design, build and maintain,” according to Beau Easton, quality manager at the company, “down the line, design changes can add another US$3,000 to US$10,000 to re-configure and qualify an existing gauge.”

For in-process dimensional measurement, the company principally relies on work-cell-based point-to-point contact gauges, using pneumatic digital probes. Hard gauges in the machining cell give very fast feedback but are expensive. Design/build of the part nest can cost US$6,000, plus probes at US$500 each, verification studies, and maintenance, Mr Easton explains.

“If we are producing a make-complete nozzle, there could be 6 to 10 fixtures, each with 6 to 20 probes, and if a feature or tolerance on the part changes, it adds time for the gauge to be altered and verified,” he says.

When shown the comparative

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by one Equator — and it can be used for multiple parts, switching between them in seconds, as well as reprogrammed for many other parts over its life.

Adaptability On Shop FloorThe system is currently assigned to a lean machining cell in Meyer Tool’s shop. Demonstrating its adaptability, it integrates with the compa ny’s Or ion SPC system, maintaining a familiar l o o k fo r m a c h i n i s t s a n d shortening the learning curve. Orion communicates with the MODUS software, presenting the operator with results in the form of dimensional data and SPC charts that allow the operator to determine CNC.

“Keep in mind the machinist sees variable data and can compare the current part with recent measurements, so it’s not just a pass/fail determination,” Ms Nolan explains. The parts must meet tolerances of ±0.001 to ±0.003 inches. Inspection time varies with the part but typically takes two to six minutes, well within the TAKT time of the cell so the system easily keeps pace with machining operations.

“We already gauge five part numbers for two different engine programs, so we have multiple fixturing tiles for the Equator setup and qualified,” Ms Nolan says. “We try to combine as many different operations on one tile as possible to limit our qualifications, and we’re


currently working on one tile that will combine three. We are doing GD&T true positions, notches, hole diameters, profiles, runout, and such with touch probing, though we are implementing contact scanning with the SP25M probe. We have the stylus changing rack and use at least four different styli — frequently star styli — so it’s very convenient not to have to requalify with every change,” she adds.

Traceable To CMM StandardsThe Equator measurements at Meyer Tool are correlated with those from a CMM, using a CMM-calibrated master part. “The master part sets the values the gauging system expects to find inside its measuring envelope while the software automatically applies the compensation values from nominal taken by the CMM. It must check within 10 percent of allowable tolerance from nominal,” Ms Nolan explains.

There is no need to re-master on every part change, the company has decided to re-master on a three-hour schedule to compensate for changes in the plant’s temperature. “The Equator system memorises the master parts and validation scores, so we can switch parts as many times as needed during the three-hour window, and not have to re-master,” Ms Nolan says. MEN

Custom hard gauges can cost up to US$20,000

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software&metrology

In sheet metal processing, there is a common misconception that software programs have only marginal effects

on productivity. Two companies decided to embrace software programs and have since increased their profits.

Case Study 1: Huning MaschinenbauHuning Maschinenbau, based in Melle about 100 km southeast of Hanover, Germany, is part of the Huning Group. All of the four companies of this group are involved in environmental technology and environmental protection.

The company comprises the environmental technology and biogas division as well as the sheet metal processing profit centre.

Reaping Financial BenefitsWith the installation of a program package developed for a l l

cutting and bending processes, the company made savings. Calculations show that the costs for the software license (Bysoft Plant Manager Cutting (PMC) module) and the training of the employees were amortised by the company in less than a single year. Since the expiry of this period, the cost savings have been flowing unfiltered into the profit calculation and ensure a competitive advantage that should not be underestimated.

Over and above the economic figures, for Achim Patz, who manages the company’s sheet metal processing facility as the head of Laser Technology and Sheet Metal Processing, there are additional criteria that are of significant value. He says: “The entire process, from the transfer of data from the ERP, the order processing, and through to the feedback of the production data to the ERP, is 100 percent transparent.”

Two factors explain why it is

of prime importance for him to maintain an overview. Firstly: Orders are received from different areas; they come from the individual companies of the Huning Group as well as from external customers.

Secondly: The order books are well filled, so that the sheet metal processing department is working three shifts. “In situations like this, it is important that the processes be depicted correctly in the system at every point in time,” explains Mr Patz.

The correct reproduction of the actual situation also takes into account that in rare cases, faults can arise in the cutting process. For this reason, the finished report that the machine automatically sends to the software after finishing an order is initially checked by an employee who is closely associated with production.

“Only when he has confirmed that all the parts are correctly cut is the order reported back to the ERP as completely processed and furnished with all the relevant information,” explains Mr Patz. As such, he can always give the customer the correct information about the state of processing.

From his point of view, this is without doubt a further strength of the software: “Subprocesses such as the assignment of CAD data to the orders or the creation of cutting plans are performed independently by the PMC, but can also be done manually.”

It is like having a chauffeur: He can drive you safely to your destination, but if you want to drive yourself you can put him in the passenger seat. The program creates transparency on many levels: “We always know exactly at any point in time which machine is working at what capacity and how many shifts we need to plan,” he says.

Case Study 2: Kärcher Alfred Kärcher, the company that produces yellow high-pressure

The right software pays off, because they make a company more productive and profitable. By Martin Engel, editor-in-chief, Bystronic

BeMoreCompetitive

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In Sheet Metalworking By Using Software



SheetMetalWorking


cleaners and steam cleaners, the sweepers and vacuum sweepers, the floor polishers, the steam ironing systems, and others uses a module to parameterise production-ready 3D models of bent parts and to generate the corresponding bending process data.

The company develops and produces exclusively at its home base in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The central construction and development as well as a part of the production are located at the headquarters in Winnenden near Stuttgart. The Obersontheim plant is one of three further production centres.

In particular, it distinguishes itself by its sheet metal processing facility. Here, virtually all the sheet metal parts and components for all the company’s businesses are produced.

More Bending, Less WeldingSavings are based on the fact that the bending programs are no longer written at the machines, but at a separate workstation with the aid of the Bysoft module Bybendpa r t . A s such, the downtime of the pressbrakes is reduced.

For the company, this meant that no new machines had to be acquired to satisfy the increasing demand for bent parts. And here also, the benefit of the software goes beyond these advantages. For example, 3D models can be created or processed easily using the software. “In this respect, we have a standardised p r o c e d u r e . T h i s m e a n s that the 3D data is generated separately in Winnenden without Bybendpart and is then sent to us in Obersontheim via SAP,” says Friedrich Feyl, manager Factory Engineering of Alfred Kärcher.

There, the STEP data is processed. Moreover, with the aid of a bending sequence simulation, a check is made as to whether a part is bendable at all.

“It’s a real advantage,” says Mr Feyl, and demonstrates two bent parts — one with 26 and one with 41 bends. “I would personally not have thought that something can be bent like this,” he adds, “but with the software, we are able to exhaust the full possibilities of the machine.”

With this process, a correct DXF file is always obtainable, followed by the corresponding bending program a few minutes later, and subsequently the matching parts. This used to take a lot longer.

Mr Feyl does not like to think back on the times when the stretched lengths in the blank drawings were usually faulty. “We had to make countless changes before everything fit,” he says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “The introduction of the software was a quantum leap in this regard,” he says.

A further advantage should not be forgotten: The three-

point bending systems used in conjunction with the software and the motto in the Kärcher sheet metal processing, which is ‘less welding, more bending’.

With the software, models of complete assemblies can be processed. In this way, redundant welding can be identified quickly and the individual assembly is easily redesigned. “Our people have become quite competitive about using bent parts instead of welded assemblies,” explains Mr Feyl.

In conclusion, the r ight software makes sheet metal processing more productive and gives its users significant competitive advantages. This is why every company owner and everyone responsible for production must ask themselves whether they are giving enough thought to the subject of software. MEN

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Improved processes mean a higher parts output and increased profit



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SheetMetalWorking

PT A bacu s Ke nc a na Industries, one of the largest sheet meta l s u b c o n t r a c t o r s i n

Indonesia, produces industrial racks for server and data centre applications and has done so since 1997. Racks are 19” in mild steel ranging in thickness from 0.7 to 12 mm. It manufactures both standard products and custom solutions, and has expanded its line to IT, TELCO, power/electrical products with plans for additional product offerings.

With this need to diversifying its product range, the company had to improve the speed of

processing and generate high quality parts at higher volumes in smaller batch sizes and with less operator intervention.

High Speed For High ProductivityToday, automation is more important than ever to the company’s growth. “We have been forced to offer a customised product solution with many small batches,” says Dr.-Ing T Soetadji, chairman of the company. “Fast product development has become a necessity.”

The company viewed the investment in punch press with

a compact tower as essential. Punching speed, auto indexing of tooling and multi-tool, coupled with high accuracy and reliability were primary considerations.

“The necessity for this type of machinery is to have flexibility but also productivity,” he says.

Dr Soetadji initially searched for a 30-ton punch press but later refined his requirements to a high-speed 20-ton machine.

“After careful study we realised we didn’t need 30 tonnes, so we changed our search to a 20-ton machine with higher punching speed for high productivity in thin sheet processing.”

Abacus benefits from the speed and accuracy of the punch press, which was touted by the maker to be 30 percent more productive than its previous generation, punching up to 530 hits per minute on 25 mm centres.

The mix of turret stations features four standard 88.9 mm auto indexable stations that the company uses to expand turret capacity with indexable multi-tools. Every station accepts shaped punches and dies, adding to the turret’s versatility and minimising the time it takes operators to load or change tooling.

Says Dr Soetadji: “Using the turret punch we have the ability to change the model of the product quite often, since we don’t have any burden with the tooling cost. Time to market can be reduced significantly; a new product can be introduced easily because the equipment gives us a high level of flexibility.”

Two companies in Indonesia use their investments in technology as a basis for their growth. By Matthew Fowles, LVD group marketing manager

Case Studies:

Striving ForProductivity

CASE STUDY1

Fact File: Abacus

Machineries: 19 LVD punching, bending and laser cutting machines

Manufacturing Space: 12,000 sq m in West Java, Indonesia.

Workforce: 330 employees



SheetMetalWorking

L-R: Dr Ing T Soetadji and Dipl Ing Benny Laoda

Compact Material StorageAbacus processes an average of 250 tonnes of sheet metal each month, so organised storage and retrieval of material is vital. The compact tower provided the efficiency of

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weight up to 90 kg with a maximum load/unload pallet storage capacity of 2,500 kg.

For Dr Soetadji the biggest advantage of automation is that it reduces operator involvement.

“We try our best to depend less on the operator,” he says. “It’s about reducing the likelihood of human error and increasing accuracy. With our first piece of automation, we realised what a victory it was to our production.”

A multi-bin storage unit for different types of materials has helped further improve productivity. The speed of punching operations, accuracy of punched parts and the process of material handling and storage has reduced the number of steps to produce a finished product.

automation to load and unload material and parts and offered compact storage for material and finished parts.

The tower handles workpieces up to 2,500 x 1,225 mm and sheet




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PT K o m a t s u P a t r i a Attachment (KPA), a joint venture company of Komatsu Indonesia,

designs, manufactures and sells large buckets and blades for Komatsu excavators, loaders and bulldozers used primarily for mining applications. Products are built for local and export markets and are licensed by Komatsu.

Prior to purchasing a high tonnage machine, the company outsourced components. In an effort to expand its production capabilities and its business, Akio Takeda, president of the company considered rolling equipment, but decided that bending or ‘bumping’

provided more flexibility and would produce the t ighter radiuses needed for the buckets.

The excavator buckets the company manufactures are massive — ranging from 6 tonnes up to 35 tonnes in weight. Buckets are produced in batch quantities of 25 maximum, using material grades of 50 to 120 kg/mm2 tensile strength in 9 to 36 mm thickness. To handle such a large bending job, the press brake had to be robust.

Says Mr Takeda: “We have several components that require a bending capacity of 500 tonnes or more. In our local area, it’s very difficult to find a machine of that


size and capability. We wanted a machine with high repeatability that could help us produce the components faster.”

Quality & Reliability A PriorityThe co-manufactured LVD press brake provided the reliability, quality and price that were Mr Takeda’s primary considerations.

Before purchasing the machine, the company performed stringent bending trials. It was not enough for the press brake to handle KPA’s high tonnage requirements; it also had to improve the efficiency of its production.

“Our orientation is focused on the customer,” says Mr Takeda. “Price and speed of delivery are important factors to our customers and so are important factors for us.”

The co-manufactured 1,000-ton press brake has helped KPA increase its production volumes. The company currently produces 150 tonnes of buckets each month and by the close of 2011 anticipates that number will be closer to 300 tonnes.

“We can process bucket skins very quickly and accurately,” reports Mr Takeda. “Tooling changeover is also fast as the punches and v-dies are easy to assemble and disassemble. MEN

CASE STUDY2



SheetMetalWorking

ENQUIRY NO 172



The downturn in 2009 showed many companies that working in only one industry is a very risky

strategy. Unless the company has a unique specialisation, it is better to have customers from a number of sectors so that any shortage of work in one area can be balanced

by winning more projects in another. The medical sector has proved to be very attractive as part of many companies’ diversification strategy.

One reason for this trend is that the sector is seen to be expanding rapidly and to be virtually ‘recession-proof’.

T he a ge ing popu lat ion in industrialised countries and the growing affluence of the emerging economies mean that the healthcare industry is seeing global growth. Neither of these trends is likely to change in the future, so the current expansion can be expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Higher DemandAt the same time, the increased demand is leading to a much closer focus on costs, especially in those countries where healthcare is provided by government funding. As a result, there is a greater willingness to use technology to manufacture medical devices.

Suppliers in the healthcare industry face demands from their patients for faster delivery of better and cheaper products. Their patients want to receive higher quality products and services, and they want to complete their treatment in the shortest-possible time.

At the same time, healthcare companies are under pressure to provide this higher quality at lower cost and to increase their productivity to meet the growing demand. These requirements can only be met through the application of more advanced and more automated technology.

Companies in many areas of metalworking are in a strong position to take advantage of these opportunities. The technology they already use for the manufacture of tooling and components can also be applied in a wide range of healthcare applications from the production of prostheses, through to the manufacture of surgical instruments and all types of medical packaging.

For example, there is little dif ference between making a mould for a housing for an electrical appliance or one for a housing for a piece of medical equipment. In addition, materials like titanium are used in both

A unique synergy between healthcare and metalworking is forming, that is a testament to a growing phenomenon brought about by changes happening in the world today. By Peter Dickin, marketing manager, Delcam

OpportunitiesMetalworking

CompaniesIn Healthcare

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the aerospace and medical industries. Expertise gained in machining aerospace parts can be transferred to making medical devices since both applications require high levels of accuracy and consistency.

From Moulds To MedicalThe medical sector is particularly attractive to companies from the toolmaking sector because many projects involve the production of devices on a one-off basis. Companies that are used to making a single complex mould or press tool for each product design are better placed to undertake medical projects than manufacturers whose expertise is in producing large numbers of simple parts.

They are also more likely to have experience in reverse engineering, perhaps when converting a physical prototype into a CAD model before moving to toolmaking. Reverse engineering is a critical part of many medical projects because the component design will be individual to each patient. Even when the component is based on a standard design, there will often be a need to adapt the standard shape for the particular problem.

O t her deve lopment s in technology have also made one-off production more efficient and more affordable. Five-axis machining has made it possible to produce very complex shapes in a single set-up, so reducing both the time and cost of production. This complexity is, of course, often found in the medical area since human beings are not comprised of simple geometric shapes.

Faster and more automated computer software has also made a big contribution. The calculation times needed to produce toolpaths for even very complex shapes are much faster than they used to be thanks to the development of multi-core computers and of CAD/CAM software to take advantage of this extra power.

Case Study 1 — RPM InternationalNew Zealand company RPM International is one firm that has made the move into medical manufacturing. “For many years, we relied on our traditional toolmaking expertise to attract business and we continue to be very successful in this sector,” commented RPM director, Peter Smith. “However, we recognised that we needed to diversify and medical machining is proving very successful for us. We have recently invested in a CAM software and a machining centre to take advantage of this growth market.”

The company has combined with a group of other companies to design and manufacture custom-made maxillofacial implants for patients suffering with tumours or major bone loss. The overall process, which is managed by Computer Generated Implants, has improved the quality of the results and the speed of recovery.

Most of the recent cases have involved patients who have had tumours removed some time ago. Typically, the reconstructive surgery carried out at the time involved a bone graft using a shaped portion of patient’s fibula. Aesthetic outcomes were often poor and the patient also had to endure a lengthy period in a leg plaster cast while the fibula healed.

In these cases, there was little requirement to design and manufacture implants in a short time frame. However, for so-called ‘hot cases’, the priority is to dramatically shorten the overall lead time. Ideally, the surgeons would like to operate well beyond the margins of the tumour and

insert the custom-made implant in the same procedure.

The process used by the New Zealand group begins when patient data in either a CT or MRI scan is received. This data is converted into STL format at the Axia Design Group, using Scan IP software, and then transferred into PowerShape Pro reverse engineering and design software.

Before manufacture of the implant is commenced, the group will produce physical models of the skull and the implant from the CAD data using a rapid prototyping machine. This enables the operation procedure to be practised in advance and ensures that there are no surprises in the operating theatre. The same additive technology is also used to produce any drilling jigs and/or cutting jigs needed by the surgeon.

The next decision concerns the manufacturing method for the implant. The more straight-forward examples can be machined directly from medical-grade titanium using five-axis machining but the more complex implants require a combination of additive manufacturing and machining.

New Zealand mouldmaker, RPM International, uses its machining skills to produce maxillofacial implants

IndustryFocus




Case Study 2 — Diversification Into DentalFrench engineering company, SEEM décolletage, has diversified into the manufacture of dental restorations. This is the latest stage in the company’s continued progress into more challenging, but more profitable, business.

Historically, the company produced short runs of small- and medium-sized parts for a wide range of industries, including components for agricultural equipment, plumbing fixtures, and building and civil engineering applications. In 2009, the company began to move towards new applications like aerospace, nuclea r a nd medica l .Even though these customers were more demanding, the company’s regular investments in new technology, together with the long experience of the family and their commitment to high quality, allowed it to continue successfully in the new areas.

In July 2009, the company acquired its first high-speed five-axis milling machine to develop its capabil it ies in medica l manufacturing, in particular, to be able to produce dental restorations in titanium and cobalt/chrome. As a consequence, Georges Moschietti (one of the owners of the company) started looking for a CAD/CAM solution that could deliver the necessary performance and accuracy, but still be easy to use.

“We had decided that we would focus on dental applications for the new machine,” he explained. “We needed a software solution which would allow fast and accurate machining, even for the difficult-to-machine materials used in the dental industry.”

Case Study 3 — Transferring Titanium KnowledgeWhen Isiqu Orthopaedics began to design and manufacture custom-made bone and joint implants for patients with tumours and major bone loss, the director, Dr George Vicatos, sought help from his contacts in the aerospace engineering department of nearby Cape Town University.

“Our implants are machined exclusively from a medical grade titanium alloy,” explained Dr Vicatos. “The material offers superb compatibility with the skeletal structure, not only because the body tissue accepts it, but also because of its elasticity and light weight. However, it is an unforgiving material if any aspect of the machining is not perfect. We have studied technology that has been developed for cutting titanium in other industries when setting speeds and feeds, and, as well as having the best software and cutting tools that the market can provide.”

The Isiqu process begins with information from the patient, which comes either in x-ray format, or as an MRI or 3D CT scan. If it is

in the first two formats, the image is scanned and digitised, and the basic dimensions obtained to help in the design decisions. If it is in CT scan format, it is first converted to an STL file format, which then is imported into a reverse engineering software. In this software, the STL file is converted into surfaces to produce a digital model of the skeletal part that will be replaced with the implant.

The final design is passed into PowerMill, which is used by the company’s technicians to program the company’s five-axis milling machine. “The programming and machining times for our implants are crucial. We always produce custom implants and sometimes we have only two days’ notice before the operation,” commented Dr Vicatos.

“The time constraints that we work under mean that the complete process from receiving the patient’s data, to the design, to the programming, to the machining and to the finished implant has to have no surprises that would delay the operation,” commented Dr Vicatos. “Although the process seems to be complicated, with the software, it becomes straightforward and fast.”

Conclusion There may appear to be huge differences between machining metal for engineering parts and for medical applications. These examples show that those differences are not as big as might be imagined.

For companies that are used to working with challenging materials and that need to operate to fine tolerances, the difficulties will be even smaller. The healthcare industry is currently experiencing strong growth and so can be a valuable extra revenue stream for metalworking companies. MEN

SEEM décolletage has diversified into dental machining

IndustryFocus




Augustine Quek (AQ): What are the

challenges that you faced in running

this business?

Eddie Koh (EK): The biggest challenge

we have is recruiting enough local

labour (Singapore). We have a hard

time recruiting locals, as many are not

willing to accept this job. Not even a paid

apprenticeship is attractive to locals. In

contrast, many of the foreigners working

for us here have a diploma and a few

years of hands-on experience when we

hire them.

The change in policy has resulted in

the reduction of locals to foreign labour

ratio from 3:2 to 3:1. Therefore, we are

experiencing a labour supply crunch

where jobs cannot be filled because of

insufficient manpower.

Recently, we also had an increase

in our rental costs. As you know, land

cost in Singapore is already very high,

and this has been made worse by the

privatisation of land ownership.

Due to land cost comparison, such

increases are inevitable. If we compare

our labour and rental with other countries

such as Malaysia for example, the cost

there is less than half of ours. This has

caused some companies to relocate

overseas. If the costs increase to a point

where we cannot manage anymore, we

may have to move too. We are actually

competing with Singaporean businesses

that are located overseas.

The third challenge we face is that

of a slowing global economy. With

the US and European economies in

doldrums, less jobs are available now.

An economic recession will hit us

the hardest because we are in a very

competitive manufacturing business

where even a small change in the costs

of inputs, such as materials or labour,

and prices of our products, can squeeze

our profit margin on both ends.

AQ: How do you overcome

these challenges?

EK: There are three strategies to

overcome the challenges. They are

Augustine Quek sat down with Eddie Koh, MD of Eratech to find out the ins and outs of running a precision metal machining company.

MetalJobshop

Managing A

Eratech, a precision metal machining company, focuses on the design and fabrication of various tools and die, jig and fixtures. It serves various industry segments, including optical and imaging, semiconductor, aerospace and aviation, manufacturing machine

design and automation, medical and life-line support equipment and water treatment and purification.

The company also offers full turn-key projects in machine assembly, automation equipment and automation process. It has since gone through several phases of upgrading over the years. Its revenue of S$530,000 (US$413,000) in 1997 has grown rapidly to over S$5.7 million in 2010.

Q&A With Eddie Koh

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embracing automation, exploring new

markets and investing in R&D.

To overcome our labour shortage,

we are trying to increase the amount of

automation in our processes. Something

that we have successfully done is offline

loading. We can place the parts or

materials to be processed in the precision

fixture while the machine is working.

Once the current batch is finished, we

can immediately load the fixture into

the machine and the next batch can

start almost immediately. This frees

up manpower to work on two or more

machines simultaneously.

We have thought about using robots

but it is not suitable for high mix, low

volume production lines like ours. For

high volume work, like the assembly lines

in Japan, robots can be used to work day

and night. But in Singapore, our jobs are

mainly low volume. So our options for

automation are also limited.

We have recently acquired the rights to

manufacture optical scopes for cameras

that will be installed in luxury cars. These

are parts on which the lens would mount

on. We also manufacture other parts that

house other segments of the camera.

The camera is fixed within the bonnet of

the car. We had spent a lot of time, about

nine months, getting certified to meet the

stringent requirements. As such, we are

the only company in Singapore with the

capability to manufacture these parts.

This also launches us into the automotive

parts industry.

One project we are currently on is

the use of special wiresaws to cut ingots

for the photovoltaic industry. As you

know, photovoltaics are used in making

solar panels and the ingots have very

tight tolerances. The separation has to

be less than 150 micrometers with a TTV

(Thickness Tolerance Variation) within 20

micrometers. As it is very challenging, it

would allow us to enter a new market should

the project proved to be successful.

We are also trying to manufacture

new products, by building our own

machines. We are still in the R&D stage of

building our own cutting machines, with

the IP (Intellectual Property Rights) bought

from a Russian company.

These machines are not only capable

of cutting the tight toleranced parts such

as the ingots; they can also cut gems such

as sapphire. Hopefully by the end of the

year we can test cut the machine in trials.

We are 80 percent confident the machine

can meet the requirements.

Once we have the capability to build

quality machines, we not only have

the capability to build and sell these

machines, we can also provide the

same service these machines provide

to customers who cannot afford them.

We can even sell the basic unit with

a simple PLC (Programmable Logic

Controller), which would cost much

less. In the future, it may be possible

to build high end machines such as

furnaces with such collaboration. It is this

continuous innovation that allows us to

stay competitive. MEN

Fact FileEratech• Established in 1983• Manufacturing facility: 14,000 square feet (1,300 sq m) • 60 employees• Certification: AS9100 & ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004

quality standards • Equipped with five-axis machines ranging from horizontal

and vertical milling machines, to lathe and grinding machines. In 2008, the company invested S$1.2 million in six units of Fanuc robot drilling machines and three units of Mazak CNC lathe machines.

One of the challenges faced is the difficulty in recruiting local talents (Singapore)

ExEcutivEzonE

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Market Outlook 2012The Big Question:

Will The Arrows Point Up Or Down?The economic crisis of 2008-09 brought about a major rethink in companies worldwide transcending industries and countries. The following period between 2010-11 witnessed steep recoveries in various sectors, fueling confidence and reversing many burrowed brows. This year promises to be a year of consolidation but with the Euro Zone credit crisis stubbornly brewing away with no sign of resolution in sight, an air of uncertainty now descends upon us. APMEN asks the metalworking community how things will go in 2012.

Market Outlook 2012FeatureS



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Market Outlook 2012

Please give us your thoughts on the economy and the metalworking industry in 2011. Do you think the credit crunch and financial uncertainties in the US and Europe will affect Asia in the year 2012?Q:

It is still good. That is why people are investing in exhibitions. The outlook for 2012 would be the same as 2011.

In Europe, countries like Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy have taken a hit lately and obviously it is not good for someb o dy but investments remain high for us in all areas.

In a nutshell, the f inancia l woes that some countries are experiencing now are a separate issue to the number of orders we received because not everyone is reading the papers to decide if he wants to purchase an equipment or machine tool. The decision is mainly based on the market demand.

Darko MihajlovicSales Manager (Asia)

Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik

You cannot say no. H o w e v e r , i n m y conversat ions with people in the industry and at EMO, none of them indicated anything about a new downturn. As such, businesses are still a go. The volume is here, the capacity is here and the orders are available in the market.

If there is a downturn coming in 2012, we need to take it and face it as it comes. The industry cannot always speculate, hold back and hesitate because businesses have to go on, even in the worst of times. Lean times will show who is strong in the market and who has good reputation for quality because it is during those times where the customers will seek quality in a more vigorous manner.

Klaus LudwigVP

Hwacheon Machine Tool Korea

Taveesak SrisuntisukMD

Hexagon Metrology (Thailand)

Earlier in the year (2011), Asia was running almost autonomously w ith many feeling that the region is ‘decoupled’ from the rest of the world. Strangely as it seems, financial and economic matters do cross borders a nd will affect sovereign countries in the form of foreign exchange or inflation.

In turn, these will impact businesses and industries in the form of ava i lable credit , costs, and so on. Most important of all, the confidence in decision-making for investments will be affected. It is difficult to gauge the extent of the impact on the metal cutting industry. But we are fortunate, in some sense, that Asia is the largest steel consuming region in the world and a good proportion of the Asian countries have sufficient reserves that can be used, i f necessar y, to help stimulate the economy.

Even with the flood in Bangkok, 2011 was a good year for us. This is partly due to the master plan Thailand has for its automotive industry, which will see some two million cars produced every year, of which, about 700,000 units are for the domestic market. The country is a lso producing the eco car, some of them already released to the market.

This plan may be disturbed from time to time but production will go back to where it was before the flood. In 2012, I foresee a busy year for everyone and I do not think the economies in Europe a nd t he U S wou ld trouble Thailand.

Soo Kam TattDirector (Asia) Hypertherm

FeatureS



There are many projects going on around the world now. The automotive industry was hit in the last financial crisis back in 2008-09 but now, every country that is dealing with the automotive industry is doing well.

Even the US car manufacturers are doing well. For example, Ford has invested a lot of money into India. Over at the aerospace industry, it is also booming. Airbus and Boeing have enough orders coming from China, Russia and the US. Everybody is busy with projects till 2013. This is different from 2008 where there were no projects.

The metalworking industry in 2012 will not fare the same as 2011 because 2011 saw a very good recovery. For 2012, a lot depends on the Chinese market. If they continue to do well, 2012 will be a growing year. If China slows down, there will be stagnation but all in all, I am very optimistic.

The global economy in 2011 was less optimistic than anticipated, with a slower than expected recovery. The aftermath of a series of natural disasters and the most recent financial crisis led the way to uncertainty in the economy. Despite external factors, 2011 seemed to be a year of celebration for the metalworking industry. In a recent survey conducted by Machine Tools Scoreboard, the 35 sampled companies all recorded positive profit trends averaging 90 percent year-on-year growth compared to the most-recent fiscal year. Confronted with the challenges lying ahead, we expect the industry to continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate. Despite the European and US regional concerns, businesses in Asia have continued to consider cost-saving strategies such as accelerating the design validation process by doing prototyping in-house, in light of an economic downturn which may be just around the corner.

Jacob HarpazPresident and CEO

IMC

Daniel ThomsenMarketing & Channel Director

Objet AP

The climate is good in Germany. Production load is high despite the negative headlines you read in newspapers. No one knows what is going to happen but when we talk to our customers, nearly all of them are here (EMO) to look for new machines or explore the possibility of making further investments. Though there is a fair amount of uncertainties, the situation is really perfect so far.

How the metalworking industry will fare next depends on the situation now. So far the order books are full for us with the next six months more or less safe. We see VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) announcing a drop in order intake but this is natural when compared to 2010. Personally, I think we will have a good year in 2012.

Joern GrindelSales Director

Seco

We are expecting growth in Asia in 2012. In 2010, China overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. Experts predict that China’s economy will be bigger than America’s by 2020 or 2025.

A s i a a n d t h e metalworking industry will of course be affected by the turmoil’s affecting Europe and the USA, but the IMF forecasts that emerging economies as a whole will grow by around four percentage points more than the USA or Europe both in 2011 and 2012.

With our extended product line, our sales network and our services, we are confident and we expect a steady growth of our business activities in 2012 in Asia. This is also due to the fact that our technology is geared to increase productivity of metal parts production.

Paul HäringCFO

Tornos SA

Please give us your thoughts on the economy and the metalworking industry in 2011. Do you think the credit crunch and financial uncertainties in the US and Europe will affect Asia in the year 2012?Q:

Market Outlook 2012 Enquiry No. 1601Turn to page 80a or log on to www.equipment-news.com to enquire

FeatureS

MTAV_VII Directory 2012(FA).indd 1 8/16/11 4:00:28 PM

ENQUIRY NO 005





The Trumpf Tech Day took place at the German Centre in Singapore on Dec 13, 2011 where the company

announced the completion of their 3D laser application lab and the establishment of a network of local application support.

With laser arguably the main draw of the day, the company also unveiled a locally produced TruMark 2130, a laser marking equipment that has applications in the medical and automotive

Laser welding is a welding technique used to join multiple pieces of metal through the use of a laser. In

one of the technical seminars during the Tech Day, Nikolaus Wagner, Industry Management of Trumpf also shed light on the technique.

He started the session by explaining the advantages of laser welding. According to Mr Wagner, they provide high-strength joints and smooth surface tight seams. In terms of value for money, the technique requires less material because the typical thickness of the sheet metal is between 1 to 1.5 mm compared to conventional (TIG) welding which

Trumpf marked its 20 years in Singapore with the opening of their first marking laser assembly site in Asia. By Joson Ng

Event Review:

Trumpf Tech Day 2011

Tech Talk:

The rest of the Tech Day was devoted to a series of technical seminars on the usage of industrial laser.

generally needs a thickness of 2 to 3 mm of sheet metal.

Mr Wagner went on to explain that laser welding can also be further classified into heat conduction welding that tends to yield smooth weld seams and deep penetration welding, a high speed, high intensity variant.

In heat conduction welding, energy is coupled into the workpiece solely through heat conduction. For this reason, the weld depth ranges from only a few tenths of a millimetre to 1 mm. Working in a focal length ranging from 5 to 15 mm, a smooth stable process ensues.

Deep penetration welding on the other hand, requires high power densities. In this process, the laser beam not only melts the metal, but also produces vapour. The process typically works from 0 to –3 F (focal length) and produces a dynamic, high intensity beam, according to Mr Wagner. Applications of deep penetration welding include joining processes that can be found in hospital bed and operation table in medical engineering.

German CentreSingaporeDecember 13, 2011

sectors. The participants witnessed the company’s first laser marking in Singapore and the presentation of the locally assembled laser to their first customer, who is based in South Korea.

The ceremony was the end of a long journey, which started a few months ago. Said Urban Battaglia, the production manager in charge of the laser assembly facility in Singapore: “Over the last months the premises in the German Centre have been adapted for the assembly

line to fulfill our requirements. After building up the new equipment and training of our local personnel, we have now successfully managed to assemble marking lasers in series.”

Mr Battaglia also revealed future plans for the assembly facility. “We have now completed the initial step of building up an assembly line of the laser supply units. Next, we are expanding the local procurements by sourcing local components to finally produce the laser supply units as well as the laser optics independently from Switzerland.”

• 350 sq m including office and warehouse

• Separate room for optics field• Setting up and reconstruction work on

the production line in mid 2011• Capacity of maximum 400 marking

laser units per year• Units planned for the first production

year: 100; second year: 200

Production Facilities

Laser Welding In Sheet Metal Fabrication

Features



65

At a grand show such as EMO where many from the metalworking world come and bring their best

face forward, there is some degree of concern in certain exhibitors that the advantage of participating in a big show would be nullified by the intense competition. But for Mr Grindel, competition is what he is used to, not something that he would shun away from.

“It is absolutely true that the level of competition here (at EMO) is high. But competition is not only present here, it is also in our daily work and at our customers’,” he said. “In a show like this, some products may look like ours at first glance but their performance is totally different.”

The important issue in this race according to Mr Grindel is the ability to understand what the customers need and also to understand machine fixtures, the application of right tools as well as overall product knowledge.

Products At EMOWith new product launches twice a year (Once in spring and in autumn) according to Mr Grindel, the company is actually using EMO as a platform to “be there for the customers” and showcase the latest existing line of products.


“We have many new products here to showcase. One of them is the Minimaster Plus, the successor of the Minimaster, where we have a lot of improvements both in tolerances, quality and productivity.” Continuing, he said: “Its exchangeable head with a precise radial runout of less than 15 microns is a definite step forward compared to the Minimaster launched some 25 years ago.”

The philosophy behind the particular product is to decrease the cost per component. Said Mr Grindel: “You only need to change the part of the tool you have worn out.”

T he re a re a l so re ce nt developments in the field of coating. Mr Grindel said the company is launching two new grades to machine cast iron, called the cast iron TK grades. The additions complete the line of Duratomic coating, which is essentially aluiminium oxide coating.

The developments are funded by the company’s R&D endeavours which amount to some five to seven percent of its annual revenue. Mr Grindel however, prefers to see the full picture. Breaking it down, he said: “The amount spent is only in R&D but we have also invested in new production technologies because production needs R&D and vice versa, making it somewhat difficult to establish the true sum of money spent on R&D.” The company also invested in press machines and furnaces in 2011. MEN

With KnowledgeWinning

The ability to understand what the customers need and also to understand machine fixtures, the application of right tools as well as overall product knowledge.

Joern Grindel, sales director, Seco is confident of facing competitions or challenges in the future. This self-assurance stems from the range of products and technologies that are available and the knowledge of what the customers want. By Joson Ng

Beating Out CompetitorsJoern Grindel’s Take...

Features



Lighter, stronger and more environmentally friendly — composite materials have long been utilised in a

wide range of technical industries. Because of the unique physical characteristics of composites, the processing of these highly engineered materia ls often requires the use of dedicated equipment. Unlike other materials such as metal, where the material characteristics tend to be more homogenous, the wide range of fibre-reinforced resin grades that are commercially available also means that many different types of customised equipment and tooling solutions are often required.

From achieving high-speed machining through the use of robotic systems to advanced fibre placement developments for higher performance, composites processing is increasingly geared towards automated capabilities to help manufacturers save cost, optimise their production operations and reduce time to market.

According to the 2011 annual market survey conducted by JEC Composites, the market penetration for automated manufacturing solutions in the Asia Pacific region has grown to 64 percent in 2010,

as compared to 2001 when only 30 percent of Asian manufacturing processes were automated. Automation solutions are also seen as a key enabling technology for Asian firms to differentiate themselves from the competition by adopting more advanced production methods.

Advancing Fibre Placement CapabilitiesThe global demand for fibre-re i n fo rce d t he r m opl a s t ic composites, for use in applications such as aeronautics, automotive and mass transportation, and building and construction, has been growing significantly around the world.

Susta ined innovat ion in continuous long fibre composites over the past few years has helped to vastly improve the tensile and impact properties of composite materials and to broaden its application possibilities. At the same time, the development of more advanced engineering

expertise and new tooling methods will continue to play a major role in refining composites machining.

The compounding of composite materials is dependent on two main processes: the fibre placement (also known as fibre laying) and the resin impregnation (through injection or compression moulding). More specialised machine tools and technically advanced robotics are being adopted in the fibre placement stages to replace manual processes, especially for higher end composite materials used to bring weight reduction and design flexibility to challenging structural part production.

Advanced fibre placement systems are bringing a whole new dimension to how composites manufacturing can be refined through integrating automation solutions into the heating and compacting of pre-impregnated, non-metallic fibres on complex tooling mandrels.

The latest fibre placement systems increasingly utilise

The development of new innovative approaches in machining composites, aimed at achieving high production speed, cost reduction and other benefits, are key to meeting future processing demands. By Frédérique Mutel, president and CEO, JEC Group.

Features

Innovative Approaches In Machining Composites



67


Composites industry players are now considering fully automated Resin Transfer

Moulding (RTM) process and tooling design as an advanced option for the fabrication of

composite materials for specific market applications. With the high degree of engineering

complexity to be taken into consideration, it can often be difficult to develop a tool

standard that can be universally adopted for machining composites.

Indeed, many specialised composites fabrication processes are incompatible with off-

the-shelf machining equipment used for high volume production. As such, fully automated

RTM production line concepts — featuring custom designed process technology and tooling

of increased complexity for short-to-medium production runs — enable efficient moulding

of components with more complex shapes and surface finishes. Fibre orientation can also

be controlled more accurately in RTM processes, providing composites manufacturers with

the capability to process multi-axial composite laminates.

Automated RTM processes ultimately provide composites manufacturers with the

necessary design flexibility to tailor the materials according to applications; shortened

production cycles and better part reproducibility to improve productivity standards;

and more precise control over the volume of fibre reinforcements used to better ensure

product quality.

The proliferating use of fully automated RTM processes is especially of relevance to

burgeoning industrial developments in Asia, where manual manufacturing techniques still

dominate in the mass production of fibre-reinforced components. However, to reap the

benefits of RTM processes, machine operators need to be equipped with a set of new

skills for handling more sophisticated production systems and the technical capability

to design and develop RTM tooling. MEN


minimise downtime and streamline production processes to raise productivity standards.

Automated Future For Machining CompositesIn composites manufacturing, especially for large or complex structural parts, there is a need to accommodate the unique

Composites processing is increasingly geared towards automated capabilities to help manufacturers save cost, optimise their production operations and reduce time to market

physical properties and processing behaviour of each material constituent during the assembly and curing processes as well as fibre placement. The emergence of a wide range of new composites innovation, such as natural fibres and bio-based polymers, also presents a significant challenge for future machining composites developments.

With the enhanced level of precision and eff iciency improvements that can be achieved, the latest automated solutions are opening doors for composite materials technology to further break into the mainstream of industrial production and no longer be restricted to being the exclusive eng ineer ing domain of large aerospace part manufacturers.

Benefiting From Automated RTM Processes

automate d ma nu fac tu r ing equipment to optimise composites manufacturing processes as well as raise productivity standards in a sector that has traditionally been highly concerned with labour costs. Robotic systems are now prevalently used to remove and change the fibre placement head in a shorter time while allowing for a much more accurate control of the head direction and resultant fibre steering orientation.

The complexity of manufacturing large composites structures has long presented a unique set of challenges in the material compounding process. In this regard, the mechanical setup of the fibre placement machines used becomes very critical. A growing trend among composites manufacturers — and this trend is most noticeable among companies that are supplying specialty composite materials used in aerospace projects — is to engineer or custom design the fibre placement head, which can usually be automated to ensure consistency of the fibre feed rates and thickness variation to meet stringent quality requirements.

The use of advanced software and other control applications contributes a whole new level of technical precision, allowing manufacturers to better manage the production of composite resins that matches the desired material requirements. Optimised fibre placement processes also help to

Features

Event Review:

JEC Asia 2011 reached new heights with a larger offer of new composite materials, a wider range of

composites applications and a stronger international presence. Demonstrating the buoyant outlook for the composites industry in Asia, JEC Asia 2011 registered a 10 percent increase in exhibition space and the attendance of 7,000 visitors.

The Asian composites industry is currently valued at US$24.8 billion (S$31.5 billion). The three-day event provided a platform for business deals and announcements that reflected the dynamism of a growing market that is projected to make up 51 percent of the worldwide composites market by 2015.

Composites InnovationsOne of key application areas for composites end use is the construction and infrastructure industry. With new innovations


range from the application of fibre reinforced pipes to improve water delivery systems to new road infrastructure concepts based on the use of high performance composite materials, composite materials bring great advantages because of its light weight and high strength characteristics.

At the show, the Japanese pavilion showcased an innovative use of composite materials to build a makeshift house that can be set up in 60 minutes by four people and used as emergency shelter in the occurrence of tsunami or flooding.

For its fifth edition next year, to be held in Singapore from June 26 - 28, 2012, JEC Asia aims to reinforce its status and build on past success by continuing to showcase emerging composites innovations.

JEC Asia 2011

Facts & Figures345 participating companies, who

accounted for a 10 percent increase

in exhibition space

7,000 visitors and participation from

60 countries

800 delegates attending the JEC

Asia Innovative Composites Summit,

forums and conferences

New pa r t i c ipa t ing count r i es :

Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Russia,

and Turkey



EVENTs&ExhibiTioNs

Event Review:



The next Manufacturing Indonesia and Machine Tool Indonesia will be held December 5 – 8, 2012. The 2011 edition attracted 23,371 trade visitors. Covering a total area of 28,000 sq m, this event occupied all available space at the exhibition centre. All nine exhibition halls were

filled in the biggest event to date in the show’s 23 year history.A total of 2,400 companies from 38 countries exhibited including National

and Regional groups from China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the UK.

Ian Roberts, MD of Pamerindo Indonesia said: “With Indonesia at the forefront of economic growth in the region we are delighted that this exhibition continues to grow from strength to strength. The automotive market is booming in the country and the shows are suitably placed to meet the demands of the world’s automotive companies who are investing in Indonesia. The demand for space continues to be overwhelming and we will need to see how we can accommodate this for 2012.”

Appreciation NightManufacturing

Indonesia

Eastern Trade Media (ETM), the publisher of Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News and

Metalworking Equipment News Indonesia held an appreciation party on the sidelines of the Manufacturing Indonesia show.

Attended by many bigwigs of the metalworking industry, the event also served as an introduction to Metalworking Equipment News Indonesia, the company’s latest title. Kenneth Tan, MD of Eastern Trade Media kicked off the event with a welcome speech, thanking the participants for the role they played in “enhancing the overall performance of the magazine.”

Ian Roberts, the organiser of Manufacturing Indonesia also addressed the crowd. He thanked the ETM team for “presenting a fantastic platform to promote the exhibitions regionally.”


Jan-Feb 2012 metalworking equipment news 69

EVENTs&ExhibiTioNs

The ability to listen is one of the key attributes in organising a successful trade show. By Joson Ng

Continuous Improvements


“I think the situation in Indonesia is

good. A lot of companies are putting

their faith here now. For example, I

understand TAMI sees Indonesia as a

top prospect in the next two to three

years as Europe and the US are having

financial issues,” said Mr Roberts.

“The automotive industr y in

Indonesia is strong. In addition, with

what is happening in Thailand now,

more companies are looking to divert

their investments in this region,” he

added. Though Indonesia is gaining

on Thailand in the automotive sector,

Mr Roberts is uncertain whether

Thailand would be overtaken. One

Indonesia’s Metalworking Industry & Economy Ian Roberts’ Take…

next year and attract a larger German group and maybe an official Italian group as well,” he said.

Strong Indonesian MarketThe demand for space has been a happy ‘problem’ for the organiser and according to Mr Roberts, this trend will continue well into 2012. “The demand for space is due to the strong Indonesian market,

particularly in the automotive industry where a lot more manufacturers are setting up base here. I would envisage a need to construct a tent next year to house the exhibits. Of course having a tent would induce other issues but we do not want to stand still and we must find ways to accommodate all parties,” he said.

Erecting a tent is just one of the many ways the organiser has explored in order to get around the issue of space shortage. Mr Roberts revealed that back in 2010, the show was held alongside plastics, rubber and packaging exhibitions.

The 2011 edition saw a split and gave birth to more focus in the machine tool and metalworking aspect of manufacturing. He felt the layout of the show has improved as a result. Concluding, he said: “Five to six years ago, the show was a slight mismatch because we had machine tools and general manufacturing together. Now we have more focus as we promote the two shows separately.”

reason according to him is marketing.

He said: “Indonesia is not great at

promoting itself. Singapore, Malaysia

and Thailand all do a better job

in promoting themselves. But the

current situation has come to the fore

and has helped Indonesia, resulting

in the country overtaking Thailand

in the number of cars sold. In fact,

Indonesia is the biggest market for

motor vehicles and bikes in Southeast

Asia. I think Thailand will drop off a bit

and Indonesia will continue to prosper

in the automotive sector but whether it

will surpass Thailand, I am not sure.”

Away f rom the au tom ot i ve

industry, Mr Roberts told APMEN that

mining is “huge” in the archipelago.

With the turnout and take-up rate of

shows often an indicator of the health

of an industry, he said: “Our mining

exhibition is growing. It is actually

At the Manufacturing Indonesia show, Ian R o b e r t s , M D , P T Pamerindo Indonesia took

time out to talk with Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News. With a good visitor and exhibitor turnout, Mr Roberts revealed: “It’s all good so far.” Despite that, he is actively seeking to improve the show and he welcomes feedback.

This positive attitude has seen the show grew in size and stature over the years. At the recently concluded Manufacturing Indonesia show, the size for the machine tool segment grew by some 30 percent compared to the 2010 edition, according to Mr Roberts.

In addition, the show has been able to attract more international pavilions (China, Germany, Japan (JETRO), Japan (Kitakyushu), Korea (Busan), Korea (Ulsan), Korea (Daegu and Gyeongbuk), Korea (Kita-GyeongGi), Korea (KOAMI), Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan (TAMI), Taiwan (TMBA), Taiwan (TWTC),Thailand (Royal Thai), Thailand (BOI), Thailand (TDIA), UK and Turkey.

“The Turkey pavilion is participating for the first time at this show. Joining them are seven pavilions from South Korea. Hopefully we can increase the numbers of international pavilions



EVENTs&ExhibiTioNs


The 2011 edi t ion o f Manufacturing Indonesia saw a slight departure from its previous editions. The

plastic manufacturing segment of the show was relocated to another exhibition, leaving the show more manufacturing and metalworking centric. The benefits of this move have since been seen by Ir R Rammon, director of Gerfa,

Gerfa Manunggal Teknindo teamed up with Hurco at the recent Manufacturing Indonesia show to tap into the growing Indonesian metalworking market. By Joson Ng

On The Indonesian Bandwagon

bigger than this show (Manufacturing

Indonesia). Incidental ly, we are

getting enquiries from machine tool

companies indicating their interest

to take part in our mining exhibition.

Elsewhere, the oil and gas sector and

the aerospace industry are growing.

It is due to the size of the country and

the large population.”

The size of the country coupled

with its natural resources and fine

governance has helped propelled the

country to one of the fastest growing

distributor of Hurco products in Indonesia.

He said: “For me, the quality of customers has improved because they are more educated on metalworking and our products. As a result, there is no need for lengthy explanations. It is probably due to the absence of the visitors that are more attuned to plastics.” In addition, Mr Rammon stated his

company has opt for a bigger booth this time around and this move appears to have paid dividends because he had made some US$1.4 million worth of sales with one day remaining at the show.

The good performance at the show can also be attributed to the growing economy in Indonesia, no doubt a huge draw for the principal Hurco. Said Lee Wai Yip, GM of Hurco Southeast Asia: “The strength of the Indonesian economy is very attractive to us. Indonesia has enjoyed stable and sustainable growth over the past few years with FDIs remaining strong, especially throughout 2010 and 2011. This showed investors’ confidence towards the Indonesia government and its economy. With its expanding domestic demand, the country will continue to be one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. The automotive industry, in particular, will play a pivotal role in the economy.

Apart from the strength in its economy, Mr Lee also reserved some praise for the Indonesian users. “The Indonesian machine tool users are open minded and receptive to innovations. For instance, they are open to our advanced control systems. As such, I see a good fit between the Indonesian users with our machine tools and technologies,” he said. MEN

economies in G20. The government,

according to Mr Roberts can take

much of the plaudits.

“I think the Indonesian government

on a whole is doing a lot of things

right. They have kept the country in

the news for the right reasons and

managed to keep things growing

and moving forward. I also think the

private sector has got more involved

in this growth spurt. Their business is

driving the country. In addition, there

is a sizable young population and the

middle class is getting bigger. The

number of cars being bought is an

indication of a growing country. The

next step is to promote themselves to

the world because people in Europe

and other parts of the world still do not

appreciate the opportunities that exist

in Indonesia. This message will filter

through as more people come here. It

will and can only get better,” he said.




EVENTs&ExhibiTioNs

Event Preview:

Building on the success of its previous editions in Ho Chi Minh City, and the outcome of steady growth

in the local manufacturing sector, MTA is ready to open its doors to Hanoi in March 28 – 30, 2012.

Given the Vietnamese capital’s favourable geographic location, economic and political stability and potential for hi-tech development, a number of international manufacturers have been extending their presence in the area. Foreign investment in Hanoi recorded a three-fold increase for the first nine months of 2011, attracting US$999.6 million. These included the Vietnamobile business cooperation contract and GTEL global mobile and telecom joint-stock company.

Japan is one of the five biggest investors in Vietnam, totalling 11 percent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country. To illustrate the point, Kyocera has announced its intention to build a factory near Hanoi to produce cell phone components, while Nikkiso will be expanding the company’s production of aircraft components in its Vietnamese factory in early 2013.

Global telecommunications and Enquiry No. 1707

Turn to page 80a or log on to www.equipment-news.com to enquire

technology companies such as Nokia and Wintek are planning to set up factories in the northern provinces of Vietnam. Samsung reported in March this year that its mobile phone factory in Bac Giang province had achieved an export turnover of US$2 billion since its official operation. These are in addition to multinationals such as Canon, Denso Manufacturing, Honda, Panasonic and Toyota, which have already established manufacturing and assembly facilities in North Vietnam.

More GrowthMore recently, according to a General Statistics Office report, the manufacturing sector in Vietnam experienced growth rates of about 10 percent. Based on the national Index of Industrial Production (IIP), Hanoi grew 12.5 percent between January to October 2011 compared with the same period last year.

“It is timely to stage the next edition of MTA in Hanoi as reports have shown that Vietnam’s manufacturing industry has been growing at a steady pace, and it is encouraging to witness similar progress in Hanoi as well. Demand for the latest manufacturing technologies

MTA Hanoiand solutions from international companies is evident, and the event will give these companies and the local manufacturing sectors a tremendous boost by matching them with the latest products, solutions and technologies in precision engineering, machine tools and metalworking,” said William Lim, project director (Machinery Events), Singapore Exhibition Services (SES).

The companies at the show will showcase international technologies on the exhibition floor which include metal-cutting machine tools, metal-forming machine tools, test and measurement equipment and systems, cutting tools, tooling systems, and industrial tools and components.

There will also be ample opportunities for local industry players to connect face-to-face and network with both international and home-grown reputable exhibitors offering the latest solutions for Hanoi’s booming manufacturing sector.

International Center for Exhibition (ICE)Hanoi, VietnamMarch 28 – 30, 2012



EVENTs&ExhibiTioNs



73

The Empire State Building has developed a replicable model for energy efficiency retrofits in existing, built

environment. One of the projects involves the refurbishment and modernisation of its elevators.

Otis has been contracted to fully refurbish and modernise the building’s 68 elevators. As part of this contract, the company was also awarded a 10-year maintenance contract.

Through its partnership with Empire State Building, the company is further emphasising its commitment to working with its customers and suppliers to show them the way to green. The Way to Green is the company’s global environmental program, which spans every aspect of its operations, from design and manufacturing to products and end-of-life recycling. By selecting improved products that reduce energy consumption, the modernised elevators in the building will demonstrate how older buildings can be as efficient and cutting edge as modern buildings.

Technical TidbitsThe 68 modernised elevators will transport close to 10 million tenants and office and observatory visitors each year. Through the use of Compass Destination Management system, the elevators will transport passengers to their destinations


up to 20 to 40 percent faster than conventional elevators in other modern commercial buildings during peak operating periods. Using ReGen drives, the elevators will improve efficiency and the return of regenerated energy back into the building grid will reduce elevator energy usage by as much as 30 percent.

On completion of the work, the elevators in the Empire State Building will include the following technology:

• AC Gearless Machines

• ReGen Drives that turn excess energy, often wasted as heat, into electricity, which is fed back into the building’s grid.

• Compass destination management system — the system groups passengers who are going to the same or nearby floors into the same elevator car; this reduces the number of stops that the elevator makes during the journey.

• Otis door operators — it has a more efficient motor than conventional door operators and requires no additional lubrication.

• EMS Panorama — this system enables building staff to monitor, control, report on and manage a full range of elevator functions from any computer with an Internet connection.

Four Steps To Get To Your Destination

1. Enter Your Destination Floor

Ins tant ly rece ive a pe rsona l ised

elevator assignment based on your

requested floor.

2. Proceed To Your Assigned Elevator

As you head to your assigned elevator, it is

already on its way to meet you.

3. Enter Assigned Elevator

Confirm your floor destination on the

indicators on the elevator doorjamb.

4. Travel To Your Designated Floor

The system reduces travel time and ensures

a more comfortable ride with fewer people

per car and stops per trip.

Whether for a new building or improving traffic flow in an existing building, the compass destination management system allows in-depth traffic analyses to architectural options.

Smart Lifts


Fast efficient vertical transport has given a grand old building a modern touch.

An EmpireRenewing

PartingShot



Partingshot

In 2009, Lamif lex were involved in the development of an innovative piece of fitness

equipment designed by Italian product designer Luca Schieppati. The Ciclotte is an exercise bike with a modern carbon fibre frame, touch screen display and reduced pedal distance to ensure the correct bio-mechanics throughout the complete leg rotational movement.

The large central wheel forms the cornerstone of the design and is reminiscent of the classic unicycles dating back to the end of the 1800’s. The outline makes the Ciclotte instantly recognisable and admired in terms of design aesthetics.

A Healthy RideThe bike has been designed to accurately reproduce the dynamics and performance of on-road pedalling and is suitable for high intensity aerobic training such as ‘spinning’, which is possible because of the epicycloid crank system. A dual satellite system uses four gears with varying cogs in a functional space of only 58 mm.

At the beginning of 2009,

a first aesthetic prototype was produced to test the market feedback before moving onto a fully functional prototype. To guarantee the exact requirements and size of all functional mechanical components, including the carbon-fibre handlebar and saddle, all components were designed in 3D and simulated as a virtual assembly to highlight any potential issues prior to the assembling procedure where over 60 separate components are finally brought together.

CAD/CAM Makes Things TurnTo coincide with the Ciclotte project, the company also took time to evaluate the software market and invested in an integrated CAD/CAM system. “Previously, we used a parametric CAD system that we found difficult to use and quite restrictive when working with complex organic surface forms. After extensive benchmark testing, we decided to implement VISI from Vero Software,” explains CAD designer, Marco Perani.

“We have used the software for the

design and manufacture of all composite mould

parts that were used to build the bike. With regards to the moulds for the carbon fibre

wheel and the handlebar, all of this was achieved in less than 100 hours of CAD work,” explains Federico Carrara Castelli, R&D director at Lamiflex and Ciclotte project leader.

Once the moulds were completed (and polished), the fabric and epoxy resin are applied, and then inserted into a vacuum

bag and placed inside the autoclave for the curing

process. Once hardened, the parts are then passed through

to the CAM department for finish machining.

“For the finish machining of the composite products,

the ‘trimming’ method is often used, where the side of the tool is driven along the surface edge. For additional control, synchronisation curves can be used to control the tool movement in local areas where the potential direction changes are at their most extreme.

For the machining of planar holes, the tool is tilted perpendicular to the surface, but when product holes are difficult to reach, an extra tilting of the tool is required in order to avoid collision with the tool holder. When the toolpath is complete, the machine operator is able to virtually walk through the complete program using the kinematic simulator and prove the toolpath is collision-free,” explains Mr Carrara.

Concluding, Mr Carrara states: “Introducing the software has streamlined our manufacturing processes, reduced the potential for error and ultimately increased our productivity.” MEN

Design software programs were used to put a modern spin on a traditional exercise bike, creating a piece of luxury fitness equipment.

Reinventing‘The

Wheel’






Haas Automation: High-Performance Turning Centres

Kennametal: Engineered For CFRP

Kennametal has developed a line of Beyond solid-carbide KCN05 routers specifically engineered for successfully machining CFRP.

Four router styles are available. They are a ball-nose router dedicated for pocketing and profiling, a down-cut style with le f t - ha nd f lute s t hat compress fibres as it cuts, a compression-style router with left-hand flutes on the shaft and right-hand flutes at the bottom and a burr-style router with many thin flutes for increased productive cutting.

Each have geometries specifically geared to working in CFRP, but all possess a solid-carbide substrate and HP diamond coating for higher speed capabilities and longer tool life.

Haas Automation’s CNC turning centres offer a range of capacities and capabilities. They include the big bore versions that increase power and bar capacity while retaining the original footprint, and dual-spindle and Y-axis models that boost production and reduce setups for ‘done-in-one’ machining.

The DS 30 Y and ST 20 SSY are rigid, accurate, and thermally stable. All castings were optimised using finite element analysis to produce the rigid designs, while improving chip and coolant flow, and simplifying maintenance and service.

They feature next-generation digital servomotors on all axes for precise motion control, and are available with fully programmable tailstocks for additional workpiece support.

Sandvik Coromant: Economical Milling

S a n d v i k C o r o m a n t h a s developed three styles of inserts for the C o r o M i l l 316 e xc ha n ge able h e a d m i l l i n g s y s t e m . T h e three designs of end mill, each with two cutting edges, are problem solvers w i t h m a x i m u m strength and security and extend the depth of cut for the range to 0.8 x Dc.

The range comprises a ballnose for profile milling, aluminium machining, and finishing equipped with a cutting edge for profile roughing.

The system of exchangeable end mills are connected to tool shank by a threaded coupling which combines high-strength and accuracy. The tool is based on CoroMill Plura geometries and is available in the PVD grade technology.

Mapal: Flexibility In Machining Of Large Bores

Mapal has developed production processes that increase productivity for the pre-machining and fine machining of parts. The company offers the helix milling cutter as a productive alternative to the boring tools.

During this milling process, an additional feed movement is superimposed on a circular movement. Together with the positive, soft cut of the tangential inserts, it is possible to pre-machine large bores in one step.

Cutting widths and cutting depths of 20 mm each are not a problem in grey cast iron. The helix milling cutter therefore achieves a material removal rate up to 40 percent higher than conventional circular milling cutters. An optimised cut distribution also ensures the wear is specifically distributed between the various inserts and as a result, the tool life is maximised.


www.equipment-news.com ProductFinder



SKF: MQL For Eco-Friendly Production

Consistent use of SKF’s L u b r i L e a n M i n i m a l Quantity Lubrication (MQL) instead of cooling lubricant systems on production l ines contr ibutes to simple, efficient, and environmentally friendly factory design.

The systems meet today’s requirements for the precise and prompt delivery of sufficient quantities of lubricant directly to the cutting unit. Advantages compared to regular cooling lubricant systems: up to 30 percent higher productivity with lower service costs.

Using the system, the quantity of lubricant metered is generally below 50 ml/h, depending on the cutting method, the material to be cut and the selected machine settings.

This low quantity of lubricant means that the workpieces and swarf remain practically dry, making the filter and preparation systems for cooling lubricants unnecessary and reducing costs.

Steinbichler Optotechnik: Inspection System

Steinbichler Optotechnik, the provider of optical measuring and sensor technology, is presenting the Comet 5 Eco as a reduced-price complete solution for high-precision 3D digitalisation.

The inspection system is designed to meet the constantly increasing demands of the most diverse areas of industry — particularly product development and quality assurance — and combines productive efficiency with user comfort.

A particular highlight is the measuring speed, not only are data acquisition times for digitalisation tasks six times shorter; with the current Cometplus software, the measuring speed is also four times faster. It is also suited to mobile use and can be positioned on various handling systems due to its robust construction.



Schneeberger: Integrated Measuring System

T h e A M S a b s o l u t b y Schneeberger n o w o f f e r s the machine tool industry their magneto-r e s i s t i v e m e a s u r i n g technology with

an absolute digital interface.The system offers the proven advantages

of this technology, such as reliable precision, a single reading head for all monorail sizes, as well as the availability of single piece rails, with integrated measuring system, up to 6 m in length.

Given this, the system will find many additional applications in special areas of industry and the machine market. AMS absolut also has status and diagnostics features. An LED display on the intermediate electronics unit displays various system status levels (eg: fault-free operation and voltage too low).

Schunk: Laser Welding

With the PSM 400 laser welding machine from Schunk Lasertechnik, demanding materials can be welded crack free and cost effectively. The machines are flexible that both small and large components can be precisely machined. High-performance Nd:YAG lasers with pulse durations of up to 200 ms ensure convincing welding results, even in case of materials which are difficult to weld.

The machine is equipped with the 100 ms overlong laser pulse, which is suitable for castings, annealing high carbon steels, and superalloys. Moreover, an adaptive closed-loop control system ensures that the lamp-pumped solid-state laser is working up to task.


www.equipment-news.comProductFinder

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heimatec® ASIA /PACIFICPhone +65 8112 6550Mail: [email protected]: www.heimatec.com

heimatec® GmbH GERMANYPhone +49 7843 94660Mail: [email protected] Web: www.heimatec.de

You determine the velocity!

To take the time for the right thing,

but fi nally being faster anyhow.

We are prepared.

Wanted: Machine Building PartnerContract ManufacturersQuality Value Toolmakers

[email protected]

We are an Australian medical device company that requires specialized one-off machines to make patented, unusual products. We are seeking to outsource the construction of several machines. We will be providing significant amount of design input. Also, we require manufacturers with ISO 9001 to operate our machines. We will provide all raw materials and training. You will need approximately 500m2 of space, container access and preferably located in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore or Malaysia.

In addition we are seeking a large supplier in asia of:• Bopet sheet, optically perfect, no coating or minimal coating, in range of 170-220 microns

thick, ideally in 1 metre diameter rolls, slit to 300mm. need approx. 300 tonnes per annum.• Polyurethane foam 14kg/m3 slit to 12mm thick in rolls 2m in diameter, 300 mm wide. One

40 foot container per fortnight.• Contract packaging service to make approx. 2 million small items using blister packs. We

would ship the items to be packaged to you from china or Australia, you would store and ship to our nominated destination. Would need to be in a low labour cost country and be able to import and export the product without paying gst, vat,import or export duty at punitive rates.

1600 tons Front Runner with 2 x 1000 tons and 2 x 800 tons

DEES' Taiwan and China Factories are all ISO-9000 Certified

DEES HYDRAULIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.

www.deesgroup.com.tw

TAIWAN HEADQUARTERS / FACTORY: Tel.: +886-2-2601-8661 Fax: +886-2-2601-8936 E-mail: [email protected]

10 to 6,000 Ton Capacity


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Walter: Measuring Machine With Good Price/Performance Ratio

With the Basic 2, Walter adds an optical measuring machine to the Helicheck range of measuring machines. With this addition, the company now offers an entry-level model.

With a backlight camera and 50-or 100-times magnification, this system is suitable for measuring applications in the diameter range up to 320 mm and a maximum length of 420 mm (from theoretical gauge line of the machine spindle taper).

The system is designed for complex profile or form measurements as well as dependable control measurements (eg: diameter and step lengths).

Walter: Longer Tool Life

The TMC thread milling cutter with countersink from the Walter Prototyp offers two different operations in one tool. There are multiple improved features, the most important of which are its wear-resistant and tough ultra-fine-grain carbide, a helix angle of 27 degrees with a shortened thread run-out, an internal coolant supply from as low as thread size M4, a 90-degree countersink angle, and the TiCN coating.

Performing well with respect to tool life in comparisons with similar tools made from coarser-grain carbide and with smaller helix angles, the cutter displays improvements in service life in the order of 50 to 100 percent.

Vero Software: Multi-Axis CAM Solution

Vero Software has released the Machining Strategist V13. It is a multi-axis CAM solution that generates optimum HSM roughing and finishing CNC toolpaths for both the office and shop-floor environment.

The product is a CAD independent solution and can work with data from all major 3D modelling systems. Within the latest release, support for VISI 19 has been included and the CAD interfaces have been aligned to Parasolid v24, SolidEdge ST4 and Catia v5 r21.

Product enhancements include a number of machining algorithms that will benefit both users and OEM partners.

Wenzel: Solution For The Volume Measurement

The desktop CT system exaCT XS from Wenzel Volumetrik is a suitable solution for the volume measurement of small plastic parts and components. Its design ensures a small footprint and low weight whereas the price-performance ratio of the equipment makes CT technology affordable also for small companies.

In addition, the stable and maintenance-free X-ray source in combination with the industrial detector as well as the precise mechanical structure establishes a hardware basis for metrological applications.

Finally, the software package provides full functionality from GD&T measurement, material fault analysis, assembly inspection, tool compensation and reverse engineering.


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January19 – 24IMTEXBIECBangalore, IndiaIndian Machine Tool Manufacturing [email protected]

February 21 – 22SAMPE Asia 2012KL Convention CentreKuala Lumpur, [email protected]

21 – 23Composites 2012Las Vegas, USAACMAwww.acmashow.org

March28 – 30MTA HanoiInternational Center For ExhibitionHanoi, [email protected]

28 – 31Inapa 2012JIExpo KemayoranJakarta, IndonesiaPT GEM [email protected]

april11 – 13Indonesia Oil & WGas Expo 2012JIExpoJakarta, [email protected]

17 – 22SIMTOS 2012KINTEXSeoul, South [email protected]

18 – 21InterMoldIntexOsaka, JapanJapan Die & Mold Industry [email protected]

May3 – 6MT Duo 2012Taipei Nangang Exhibition HallTaipei, TaiwanTAITRA & [email protected]

9 – 12INAMarine 2012JIExpoJakarta, IndonesiaPT GEM [email protected]

15 – 19Metaltech 2012PWTCKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTrade [email protected]

17 – 20Intermach 2012BITECBangkok, ThailandUBM [email protected]

June6 – 9Manufacturing Surabaya 2012Grand City Convention & Exhibition CentreSurabaya, IndonesiaPT Pamerindowww.pamerindo.com

12 – 16CIMES 2012NCIECBeijing, ChinaReed Exhibitions (Shanghai)[email protected] en.cimes.net.cn

21 – 24Manufacturing Expo 2012BITECBangkok, ThailandReed [email protected]

July 3 – 6MTA VietnamSECCHo Chi Minh [email protected]

OctOber4 – 6Metalex VietnamSECCHo Chi Minh City, VietnamReed [email protected]

nOveMber1 – 6JIMTOF 2012Tokyo Big SightTokyo, JapanJMTBAwww.jimtof.org

7 – 10Indo Aerospace 2012JIExpoJakarta, Indonesiawww.indoaerospace.com

www.equipment-news.comJan-Feb 2012 metalworking equipment news 79

ExhibitionProgrammes

2012

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Extreme resistance to bending in heavy-duty applications. Extraordinary strength for high-torque milling.

Designed to excel when machining large components in titanium and other high-strength alloys.

Higher speeds or heavier loads — KM4XTM outperforms your expectations in any application, in any environment.

Easy to retrofit existing machines for increased through put without investing in new equipment.

Kennametal redefines heavy duty with KM4XTM — the next generation of spindle interface.

In addition to its three-surface contact for improved stability and accuracy, KM4XTM provides optimized clamping force distribution and interference fit for higher stiffness. The result? A machine connection that delivers unmatched performance in heavy-duty conditions on even the most difficult-to-machine materials. Now that’s Different Thinking. That’s Kennametal.

To learn more about KM4XTM and the latest machining technologies, contact your authorized Kennametal distributor, call 800.446.7738, or visit www.kennametal.com.

The new definition of heavy duty. That’s KM4XTM

. That’s Different Thinking.

KM4XTM three-surface contact means stability and accuracy:• Heavy-duty rigid configuration with evenly distributed clamping force.• Balanced by design for high-speed spindle capability.• Capable of performing in a wide range of operations.

ENQUIRY NO 009

apmen janfeb 2012

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helical cutting edgesp