New investment follows repair success

Within six months, Schuler Service repaired two machines damaged in a fire at the plant of Mühlhoff Umformtechnik in Uedem, Germany. Now, part production on a new 2000-tonne press from the Schuler TSD series can also start on time at the automotive supplier. In the record-breaking time of just 12 months, Schuler delivered the line, assembled it at the customer’s site, and provided quick commissioning to keep downtime to a minimum.

As the drive components with long delivery times were already in transit, Schuler was able to shorten the time to commissioning by a quarter of a year – and this despite the fact that experts on site had to contend with challenges such as the foundation, which was designed for the previous and significantly smaller 800-tonne line.

“With our decades of experience in press construction and the necessary flexibility, we always succeed in overcoming these challenges,” says Schuler managing director Frank Klingemann.

“We had been discussing such an investment for some time,” adds Christian Pennekamp, production and project manager at Mühlhoff. “When we could no longer manufacture from one day to the next, this future-oriented step was implemented.”

The firm’s courage has paid off: orders have already been received for the largest system to date and the run on the system “continues to be great”, reports Matthias Stockmans, head of sales and development.

Mühlhoff managing directors Markus Wermers and Pascal Hagemann also attach high importance to the latest technologies. The line features some solutions from Schuler’s ‘Digital Suite’ for process monitoring and predictive maintenance.

For further information
www.schulergroup.com

Diamond tools for hard materials

Horn is releasing an expanded range of CVD (chemical vapour deposition) diamond-tipped tooling for the cost-effective drilling and countersinking of sintered carbides and ceramics of hardness up to 3000 Hv. According the company, the tools enable short throughput times, high surface quality, low costs and more flexibility within the production process, as well as long tool life.

The DDHM tool system allows rigorous machining processes to take place on conventional milling and turning centres, eliminating the need to invest in expensive new machinery or resort to costly, time-consuming grinding and eroding processes. Due to their ability to machine carbide punches and dies efficiently, the cutters are particularly suitable for use in the tool- and die-making sector. However, they also offer production advantages in the medical, aerospace and automotive industries.

The CVD-D-tipped drills are suitable for producing holes in solid material to a maximum depth of 10xD. Each tool is of two-edged design and is available in diameters ranging from 2 to 10 mm. All versions feature internal channels for cooling with air. For chamfering and countersinking, Horn offers CVD-D end mills with diameters of 3 and 6 mm, and with flank angles of 15, 30 and 45°. The 3 mm version has five teeth, while the 6 mm variant has six.

For further information
www.phorn.co.uk

Citizen hires five

To satisfy the needs of its widening customer base, Citizen Machinery UK has taken on five new employees. The company’s managing director Edward James says: “It is essential we keep our headcount commensurate with the increasing level of business to ensure our long-term success. This is especially important for our UK operation, as we are also the distribution hub for Citizen machines going into France, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Africa. The most recent recruit is Aaron Lewis, who joined from a work-holding equipment supplier, where he was a design/project engineer.

For further information
www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Faster drilling of aerospace parts

Kennametal has introduced the FBX drill for the flat-bottom drilling of structural aerospace parts. The patented FBX drill delivers high stability and up to 200% higher metal removal rates when machining high-temperature alloys and stainless steel, reports the company.

Quickly removing large amounts of material remains a challenge for aerospace structural components.

Traditionally, the first process step is to enter the material by using ramping techniques. This is a time-consuming process and low metal removal rates are the norm.
Says Georg Roth, product manager at Kennametal: “Our FBX drill dramatically speeds up the machining process by combining the advantages of a flat-bottom drill and a Z-axis plunge mill. The flat bottom design eliminates radial forces while four effective cutting edges provide increased feeds and speeds, leading to up to 200% higher metal removal rates than traditional ramping techniques and freeing up capacity for aerospace manufacturers.”

Once the drill has shaped the basic structure of the component, roughing and finishing with indexable and solid end mills are the next process steps.

Four effective cutting edges provide stability in challenging applications like chain-hole drilling, while large chip flutes ensure hassle-free chip evacuation. Supported by a series of exchangeable coolant nozzles to help eliminate heat build-up, the drill point is characterised by a centre insert with two effective cutting edges and chip splitters for maximum feed capabilities.
The drill bodies are available in diameters 60, 75 and 90 mm, and come in a long and short version (150 and 95 mm).

Design modularity means the drill connects to Kennametal’s bolt taper flange (BTF) mount adapters – available in various spindle connection types.

For further information
www.kennametal.com

3D printing goes large

Printing Portal has overseen the largest installation of HP 3D Jet Fusion printers in the UK, helping it break out of prototyping and into the mass market. The machines, which include HP Jet Fusion 4210 and 5210 models, are housed at the company’s facility in Dartford. James Hawkins, founder of Printing Portal says: “The quality of parts from the HP system; the thought that has gone into post-processing – the system which reclaims the powder gives a refresh rate 80% higher than some competitors; and the excellent HP support, all made up our minds
for us.”

For further information www.hp.com