Automation summit

‘Your Future Automation’ is the motto for Pepperl+Fuchs’ first online summit, which will take place on 20-24 July.

This free, fully digital event offers customers and other interested parties a way to get in touch with industrial sensor and electrical explosion protection experts, and learn about the latest solutions and trends in the fields of factory and process automation. On each day of the summit, participants will be able to access keynote presentations, live shows and panel discussions on a different automation technology topic.
For further information www.pepperl-fuchs.com/summit

AM paves way for digital transformation

Over the past year, industrial giant Schneider Electric has embarked on large-scale Industry 4.0 implementation across its worldwide operations. Named the ‘Smart Factory’ project, the company is strategically deploying cutting-edge technologies and the benefits of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to drive process optimisation. Designed to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs for its customers, the initiative has been rolled out to every factory across the globe, with each plant challenged to embrace innovation and drive digital transformation.

One of the company’s shining lights has been the Puente la Reina plant in Navarra, Spain, which has strategically adopted Stratasys FDM additive manufacturing throughout its production process. The plant is reporting significant efficiencies across its tooling operations in particular, which has led to the management team receiving high-level recognition within Schneider Electric. In fact, the Puente la Reina plant was recently named winner of the internal European-wide ‘Smart Factory’ Schneider Electric competition – recognising the acceleration of the plant’s Industry 4.0 transformation for the vast quantities of 3D printed manufacturing tools produced, the outstanding time and cost savings achieved, and newly optimised supply chain efficiencies.
“In the past year, using Stratasys FDM additive manufacturing we’ve achieved a saving of about €20,000 in the production of assembly-line tooling alone, which has easily paid off our original investment in the F170 3D printer,” says Manuel Otamendi, industrialisation and maintenance manager – global supply chain at Schneider Electric’s Puente la Reina plant. “With this technology we’re able to produce new high-performance production tools in just one day, whereas it would have taken at least one week to outsource the same tools previously. This reduces our dependency on suppliers and gives us much more control over tool production, which has increased the overall flexibility of our manufacturing process and accelerated our time-to-market for many products.”

Purchased through Stratasys’ local partner, Pixel Sistemas, Schneider Electric’s industrial-grade Stratasys F170 3D printer is deployed for a range of tooling applications, including assembly-line tools, jigs, fixtures, robot grippers and other end-of-arm tools – all of which were previously outsourced to third parties and produced using expensive injection moulding or CNC processes. The F170 has become a staple workhorse on the Puente la Reina factory floor, cranking out over a hundred new production tool designs a year.
One such example is the production of grippers for robotic arms on the assembly line. Leveraging its F170 3D printer, Schneider Electric has come up with new application ideas for the grippers to not only improve the performance of the robots, but secure major cost savings.
“It’s not uncommon for aluminium parts of the mould to break when they collide, and when they do, they are very expensive to replace,” explains Otamendi. “To circumvent this issue, we’re now able to replace costly aluminium grippers for robotic arms with 3D-printed alternatives. Not only does the 3D-printed tool offer the same mechanical performances as the traditional tool but, importantly, it ensures protection of more expensive aluminium parts when the moulds collide. Should the 3D-printing tool break, we can quickly 3D print a low-cost replacement within hours.
“To put the cost saving into perspective – outsourcing a machined gripper would previously cost €200 per tool,” he continues. “Now, we can 3D print one on-demand for around €100. The ability to also reduce the complexity of our supply chain is very important to us right now, so having this on-demand production capability in-house is essential.”
Having enjoyed significant cost savings and a more streamlined production workflow since integrating Stratasys FDM additive manufacturing, this has had a positive knock-on effect on the plant’s overall manufacturing efficiencies and reduced time-to-market in key areas.
“Additive manufacturing has transformed the way we work and changed our entire mind-set in terms of the way we think about doing things in the future,” explains Otamendi. “While we will continue to use our F170 to further optimise the tooling process, we’re actively exploring how to leverage other high-performance FDM materials in the Stratasys F123 3D printer series to address final end-use part applications on the production line. The increased application use of this technology will play an important role for us in achieving our digital transformation objectives.”
As a multi-material printer, the F170 is a fully-featured prototyping tool, with the capacity to load two material reels simultaneously. The machine is part of the F123 series, and includes advanced features like Fast Draft mode for truly rapid prototyping, and soluble support to prevent design compromise and hands-on removal.

Yann Rageul, director manufacturing solutions EMEA at Stratasys, says: “As we work our way through the global pandemic, we’ve seen clear indications that additive manufacturing can play a key role in enhancing the traditional supply chain and conventional production lines. With business leaders seeking to re-optimise their operations, we expect to see an increase in companies adopting the technology at a strategic level, such as Schneider Electric, who continue to successfully drive digital transformation across the business.
“Not only does additive manufacturing enable Schneider Electric to increase flexibility within production and reduce dependency on suppliers, it also opens up the ability to make significant operational efficiencies across product development,” he adds. “While this may be a common objective for most businesses, the impact of COVID-19 has amplified its importance even further.”
For further information www.stratasys.com

ETG’s Vulcan brand arrives

An entirely new brand of cost-effective yet high-quality machine tools has been launched by the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

The Vulcan brand has been entirely designed and developed by ETG to target the ‘volume’ sales market, while complementing the company’s existing high-end machine-tool brands, which include Chiron, Quaser, Nakamura, Hardinge and Bavius.
ETG’s group managing director Martin Doyle says: “We’ve worked tirelessly and diligently to create a range of machines that are designed from the ground up by ETG. The pricing structure for the brand, which will be supported by ETG’s service and support structure, will certainly disrupt the UK’s machine-tool market.”
Manufactured in Taiwan, the Vulcan range is the result of a long-standing relationship with a high-quality machine-tool builder.
ETG’s Steve Brown says: “To enter the market segment where customers purchase machines at a particular price point, we wanted to ensure that we have a high-specification machine construction that will give ETG a unique selling point. With a team of engineers permanently based in Taiwan to work in synergy with the machine-tool builder, we can meet our core competence of ETG-assured quality and performance at a price point that will appeal to every machine shop.”
The Vulcan brand incorporates a series of seven turning centres with capacity for the very smallest parts to components beyond 1 m diameter and 5 m in length, all available with UK-manufactured barfeeds. Vulcan machining centres come in nine heavy-duty box-way VMCs that range from a table length of 800 mm to 2.6 m, with many more models in the linear guide series. The Vulcan brand also incorporates double-column box-way and linear machines with X-axis capacity up to 6 m and beyond 10 m respectively.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

From die hard to die easy

MACH Machine Tools, part of the Vigilance Group, has supplied Aluminium Extrusion Tooling (AET) Co Ltd – a relatively new start-up company based in Gloucestershire – with a new MACH 710MM+ vertical machining centre. The machine was installed at the company’s production facility in Staunton in July 2019.

Since its arrival, the machine has been used to produce high-precision customised hollow, semi-hollow and solid extrusion dies for the company’s growing UK and international customer base, which serves the building/construction, transportation, automotive, consumer goods, electrical and energy sectors.
AET manufactures a range of different diameter dies from 105 to 550 mm diameter. The MACH 710MM+ is being used to machine the smaller to medium-sized diameter dies, with the average size being 260 mm diameter.
Lead times for delivery depend on the complexity of the die, and the customer. The typical lead time for less complex dies is seven days, with three weeks being the average for more complex dies.
Explains Lee Knight, director at AET: “We are in a competitive global industry. As a relatively new company making its way in the world it was important that we invest in advanced and proven machine-tool technologies to ensure that we’re able to meet customer quality requirements and delivery schedules, and to be within their cost parameters.
“The MACH 710MM+ is a technically excellent machine,” he adds. “It’s fast, accurate and reliable – all key performance attributes. We are particularly impressed with the machine’s smooth and responsive acceleration and deceleration, and its ergonomic design that provides great operator access to the machining area.”
In addition to its performance, another positive was that the machine was available immediately from stock and could be acquired on a three-year MACH hire lease contract.
For further information www.machmt.co.uk

Free courses for those furloughed

Furloughed apprentices and employees are being given the opportunity to learn new skills thanks to a new package of support from the Training and Manufacturing Group (TMG).

The not-for-profit organisation is working with its technical partners to deliver a suite of technology courses to members that will help bridge the skills gap, increase R&D and support the post COVID-19 recovery.
Industry experts Bauromat, Guhring, ETG, Hexagon MI and Ceratizit WNT, alongside business specialists BDO, FBC Manby Bowdler and In-Comm Training, have agreed to host the interactive sessions completely free of charge and will cover crucial topics ranging from automation, robot/CNC programming and cutting tools, to arc/resistance welding, PLC programming and pneumatics. The courses will initially be delivered through short webinars or one-to-one sessions at partner sites, adhering to social distancing rules.
For further information www.in-comm-tmg.co.uk