The expansion of the product range with knee implants made from titanium at a leading implant manufacturer required the purchase of new surface finishing equipment. With the RMSF 4/800 multi-surf finisher, Rösler developed a solution which, compared to typically utilised drag finishing machines, produces the required results in two separate process stages about four times faster.

Depending on the initial surface roughness readings of the raw components, the grinding operation with plastic processing media – specially developed for medical engineering applications – produces surface roughness readings of less than Ra 0.1 µm in cycle times of about 20 minutes. Moreover,  the critical ‘box’ surface area, frequently requiring a manual  grinding operation, can be fully automatically ground and polished.

This was made possible with the novel surf-finishing system, an intensive mass finishing technology. Surf finishing was developed for treating high-value workpieces with complex shapes requiring the targeted finishing of precisely defined surface areas. Similar to drag finishing, the knee femurs are mounted to a rotary spindle equipped with a servomotor. The actual treatment of the work pieces takes place in a rotating processing bowl filled with grinding, respectively, polishing media.

Individually adjustable tilting and rotary motions guarantee the highly precise and absolutely repeatable surface treatment of the various implant components on precisely defined surface areas. Process parameters, such as cycle time, rotary speed and direction, are stored in the equipment PLC as part of workpiece-specific processing programs. Pneumatic clamping of the work piece fixtures and a loading window, as part of the standard machine version, allow easy automation of the loading operation with an industrial robot.

More information www.rosler.com

The car brake disc of the future is coated as it is the only way to meet the stricter particulate matter limits of the Euro 7 standard. The braking surface is also protected against corrosion and wear. But which machining process can guarantee this quality can be achieved reliably and in large quantities? With its VLC 450 DG machine and the combination of laser cladding and subsequent double-sided face-grinding, EMAG says it has the answer.

Jannik Röttger, head of grinding technology at EMAG, says: “Our laser cladding in particular opens up many possibilities: matrix material and hard material carbide are fed into a laser tool and welded to the preheated surface. In this way, first an adhesive layer and then the overlying wear protection layer are applied – at least in the case of so-called two-layer systems. There are also developers who rely on a one-layer solution, such as for the rear axles in compact vehicles.”

He continues: “Our USP is that, on one hand we can control and influence the turning process and the entire laser welding process on EMAG machines if the customer so wishes. On the other hand, we keep an eye on the subsequent grinding process right from the start. After all, the turning process and central coating parameters should be configured in such a way that the surface produced results in the shortest possible grinding cycle times and low grinding wheel wear with the highest component quality. Isolated solutions for just one of the two processes generate problematic performance figures.”

The VLC 450 DG grinding machine is a special solution for brake discs that has been designed for the respective coating system and desired production process.

More information www.emag.com

Luzzo Bespoke, a creative engineering specialist supplying highly-bespoke products to a range of customers in the automotive, marine, lifestyle and consumer luxury markets, has acquired a new Charmilles LASER P 1000U five-axis digital laser texturing and engraving machine from GF Machining Solutions, now United Machining.

The new machine, installed in early 2025, is proving to be transformative. It has increased and strengthened Luzzo Bespoke’s in-house design and manufacturing capabilities, and helped the company expand the range of 2D and 3D surface textures it can apply to machined products.

The machine, installed at the company’s 1000 m² manufacturing facility in Brackley in January 2025, is the first laser machine Luzzo Bespoke has acquired from GF Machining Solutions in its 28-year history. However, the company is no stranger to GF Machining Solutions’ machine tool technologies, having previously invested in a number of Mikron five-axis machining centres with integrated workpiece pallet changers.

Since 2022, Luzzo Bespoke has received request to produce laser textured patterns and details on complex 3D-shaped metal parts with concave and convex surfaces. To achieve the desired effects on such components it was clear that a five-axis fibre laser was the way forward. This ‘need’ was the catalyst behind Luzzo Bespoke’s LASER P 1000U investment.

“GF Machining Solutions were extremely supportive – they liked what we were doing and could see that we would be an ideal, UK-based, de-facto reference site for their laser technology,” explains Brian Challenger, Luzzo Bespoke’s managing director. “As a result, they offered us a great deal on a new LASER P 1000U and we decided, from a cost, machine specification and availability perspective, to place the order with GF.”

More information www.gfms.com

According to the IFO Business Climate Index, the mood among companies improved slightly in July. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to expectations. This is reflected not only in very cautious investment activity, but also in trade fair participation. The situation has now led the organiser of Parts Finishing 2025 to cancel the event planned for November.

Parts Finishing 2025 was set to launch with an innovative trade fair concept: presenting three topics under one roof over two days.

“Actually, we received a very positive response to this idea from the outset and, until about six weeks ago, had a promising number of registrations,” reports Nicolas Herdin, managing director of fair organiser fairXperts GmbH & Co KG. “In the meantime, however, various companies cancelled their registrations.”

The reasons vary. Cost-cutting measures are cited, as are the uncertain economic situation and difficulties in assessing the company’s business development. This situation has now prompted the trade fair organiser to cancel the event planned for 12-13 November 2025 at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre.

“Despite the financial losses, we believe this is a better alternative than holding an event that would ultimately leave both exhibitors and visitors dissatisfied,” adds Herdin.

The company management will now discuss the further development of Parts Finishing with the exhibitor advisory board and consider a new date for the trade fair.

“We believe it is fairer to both exhibitors and visitors to cancel this year’s trade fair and hold it successfully at a later date when conditions are more favourable,” he says.

More information www.fairexperts.de