For many production planners, IoT in manufacturing is still a visionary principle: machines form a fully integrated system that production planners monitor, control and evaluate from a central location. However, this approach is no longer a vision of the future, as demonstrated by an impressive production solution at MAT Machining Europe GmbH, headquartered in Immenhausen. The automotive supplier manufactures differential gear housings on Emag production lines where full automation includes extensive data monitoring and evaluation of machine data. MAT’s aim is to increase line output and process reliability significantly.

The production process for the differential gear housing is impressive: the company has a total of five production lines, each with seven Emag vertical turning lathes, linked via TrackMotion from Emag. A so-called TransLift unit travels “through” the machines on a rail system and transports the component from one pick-up station to the next. Various preliminary processes are carried out on the housings: turning of the first side, including machining of fits and bores; turning of the second side and the outer contour; and – in the final set-up – internal machining of the spherical shape and fitting bores. Finally, washing, measuring and marking follow. In total, MAT produces almost 2 million differential gear housings every year at its Immenhausen location alone.

“Digitisation is naturally an important topic here,” says Axel Dräger, head of engineering at MAT Machining Europe. “At the same time, we knew that Emag has made great efforts around IoT in recent years and is quite interested in testing new IoT solutions with users and getting qualified feedback. So for both companies, the whole thing is a win-win situation.”

For further information
www.emag.com

Terry Benfield, owner of TPB Precision Engineering in Abingdon, has more than 25 years’ experience working in subcontract machining for a broad range of customers in sectors such as medical, scientific and motorsport. Once an applications engineer at Hurco, he chose two of the company’s machines, a TM8i lathe and a VM20i three-axis machining centre, when he started his own company in 2018.

Thanks to a recent redesign, the TM8Mi turning centre now encompasses functions that are widely appreciated on the company’s proprietary WinMax conversational CNC software driving Hurco’s machining centres. Concurrent programming, error checking and estimated run time now feature, while processing speeds are faster and the graphics enhanced.

“The programming of milling operations on the lathe is the same as rotary programming for the mill,” says Benfield. “Due to space being limited within our workshop, we use a bar puller rather than a bar-feed. It’s perfect for us because a lot of our batches are quite small, often in the order of 50-off or less.”

For a business such as TPB, continuous, consistent accuracy of machining to within microns is essential. The TM8Mi processes tough materials such as D2 tool steel without difficulty or vibration, and Benfield describes the surface finish achieved as “always excellent”.
He adds that owning the new TM8Mi is like having two machines. The ability to carry out off-centre drilling and milling operations on a shaft mean that complete components can often be finished in one hit, allowing him to offer more competitive prices.

For further information
www.hurco.co.uk

EMAG has developed a compact manufacturing solution based on its VL8 vertical turning lathes that expedites the machining of large brake drums for a leading manufacturer in the commercial vehicle segment.

The vertical structure of EMAG pick-up machines is among the factors that helped to compress the entire machining process into just three operations. EMAG provides all components of the solution, including the machines, robotic handling, peripherals, clamping devices and tools. The customer therefore receives a co-ordinated system, designed for maximum productivity. EMAG also takes care of service and maintenance.

In terms of the process, raw parts arrive on pallets, from where the robotic rail automation system takes over all component handling tasks. In Op 10, which takes place on two machines due to the cycle time, all turning work on the first side of the brake drum is performed, both inside and outside. The part is turned over between Op 10 and Op 20, allowing the bolt ring on the brake drum to be machined, including drilling the holes for the bolts. This is possible via a turret on which driven tools can be used. Op 30 follows with the final balancing work, which is also performed on a system developed by EMAG.

The flexible system is capable of adding another station, such as a measuring station, before the finished part is stacked on its pallet. Also, the VL8 machines from EMAG can be optionally equipped with measuring probes that can carry out pre- and post-process measurements.
EMAG’s VL8 offers a chuck diameter of 500 mm, while the pick-up spindle picks up workpieces with diameters as large as 400 mm.

For further information
www.emag.com

To upgrade its plant and instigate 24-hour production later this year, High Wycombe-based subcontract machining firm EV Engineering has bought four Japanese-built Okuma turn-mill centres from sole UK agent NCMT. Founded in 2001 by David White, the subcontractor specialises in producing complex prismatic components in exotic materials for the oil, gas and energy sector, which accounts for around three-quarters of the firm’s turnover.

It was at EMO 2005 – where Okuma launched its first Multus turn-mill machine with a B-axis spindle – that EV Engineering became interested in the Okuma range of machinery. The five-axis Multus features collision avoidance in real-time, both in-cycle and in-manual mode, preventing collisions and minimising unscheduled downtime. It was the latest version of this Multus machine, with a sub-spindle and steady rest, which arrived on the shop floor in 2018.

“It’s an extremely rigid, slant-bed lathe on which we carry out a lot of machining, including deep-hole drilling in titanium and Inconel,” says White. “We don’t consider it feasible to leave it producing high-value parts unattended, so we don’t intend to add automation on this machine. The same currently goes for the Okuma Genos L3000 that we bought the same year, as it’s a two-axis lathe with live tooling dedicated to producing smaller parts in lower volumes.”

He adds: “It is our intention, however, to retrofit a robot to the Multus U3000-2SW multi-tasking B-axis lathe with automatic tool changer, lower turret and sub-spindle that we installed in December 2019, to give us the benefit of lights-out running.”

An Okuma Space Turn LB3000-MY lathe with live Y-axis turret is currently on order and will be fitted with a Belgian-manufactured RoboJob Turn-Assist.

For further information
www.ncmt.co.uk

Global sales of e-bikes are set to reach about 40 million units by 2023, and Tornos Swiss-type sliding headstock lathes, services and software are already helping e-bike component suppliers keep pace with that growing demand.

Today, there are 200 million e-bikes registered in China, according to the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with 30 million more e-bikes being added each year.

Moreover, china has more than 700 e-bike manufacturers, accounting for 80% of global turnover.
One of the market’s most popular e-bike drive units relies on a crankshaft featuring a splined chromium steel (16MnCrS5) axle, and these parts are commonly machined on Tornos EvoDeco machines.
Available in four diameter ranges (10, 16, 20 and 32 mm), the EvoDeco series offers high levels of flexibility. Tornos says that no other machine can engage as many tools at the same time. The machines are equipped with the latest-generation technology and boast a powered spindle with asynchronous motor. Users profit from acceleration rates and stopping times that are four times faster than alternate machines on the market, reports Tornos.

As electrification drives innovation in mobility, the EvoDeco helps manufacturers keep pace with the evolving e-mobility landscape. For example, EvoDeco models feature four completely independent tool systems, 10 linear axes and two C axes, while continuous thermo-stabilisation ensures precision. Accessibility and simple programming are further hallmarks of the EvoDeco range.

Thanks to its experience in sectors such as electronics and automotive, Tornos says it has the know-how and solutions to produce the connectors needed for e-bike batteries, sensors and displays, as well as connectors for e-bike charging stations.

For further information
www.tornos.com