INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Partnership is perfect medicine for Permedica

Business has been growing so quickly for Italian medical implant manufacturer Permedica that it can barely keep up with demand. However, a new strategy for its CNC department, in partnership with Seco Tools, has started to make a notable increase to its productivity.

“One of our machines could not operate at night due to the programming and the kinds of tools we were using,” explains Permedica sales manager Federico Perego. “The material was overheating, which was stopping the machine and meant that it couldn’t be programmed to operate automatically during the night.”

He continues: “Seco were always very direct in relation to the issue and in proposing a better solution. They didn’t make a promise they couldn’t keep, and they didn’t just try to sell us tools. Instead, they helped us to solve what was an important issue.”

One of the Seco Tools Italy team working with Permedica, manufacturing transformation manager Matteo Foglietta, says: “We were able to address swarf issues that were a big problem for the night shift. So Permedica has gained not only more productivity in terms of a shorter cycle time, but also an increase in machine capacity during the unmanned nightshift. This is also thanks to the global competence from our innovation hub that we can bring to the customer side through local and technical expertise here in Italy.”

Perego estimates that this initial success has helped to increase Permedica’s productivity by more than 40%. Now further initiatives, including the installation of tool vending machines to help with warehouse management, are underway.

“So far, we’re very satisfied,” says Perego. “There are still headaches to solve, but I hope we can continue with this great start and achieve important things together because there is a lot of complexity in our business, and we need many resources to support this. Permedica is reacting to the help being provided by Seco by placing more orders for tools, so it’s a win-win relationship.”
For further information www.secotools.com

XTR bridges gap between bi-metal and carbide

Bi-metal and carbide are two commonly used types of bandsaw blades for cutting a wide range of materials. Most know bi-metal blades for their versatility and cost-effectiveness, which makes them a popular choice. On the other hand, carbide bandsaw blades are highly durable and best suited for cutting materials that are extremely hard or abrasive.Transitioning from bi-metal to carbide can be a significant leap for many end users due to the required investments in machinery and in the saw itself.

The Starrett XTR is an innovative bi-metal saw that offers an intermediate option between traditional bi-metal and carbide technology. This solution is specifically for cutting high-alloy steels and other difficult-to-cut materials in larger dimensions.

Designed to give improved performance, Starrett made the technology possible through a combination of state-of-the-art software and specialist expertise. XTR technology is now part of the company’s main products, Intenss PRO M42 and Primalloy M51, which cut solid materials in both series production and bundles. This new addition allows Starrett products to provide high-quality results while improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness compared with carbide solutions.

Starrett applies a special treatment to its XTR blades, guaranteeing high fatigue resistance in addition to their exclusive tooth profile design. These innovations significantly increase the life of the product, providing more speed and quality in their work, and delivering greater cost benefits for extreme process cutting.

By utilising XTR blades, Starrett says users alsoenjoy reduced vibration and quieter cutting processes. The unique tooth profile and setting also enhance durability, extending product lifespan and allowing for more cutting operations. This leads to a decrease in cost per operation over time.
For further information www.starrett.co.uk

Addison Saws reports from TIMTOS 2023

The Taiwan International Machine Tool Show, better known as TIMTOS, has been a go-to event for major players in the global machine tool industry for over 30 years.The recently concluded 30th edition of TIMTOS continued this legacy, attracting over a thousand exhibitors and 45,000 visitors from all around the world.

Addison Saws sent its recently appointed managing director Chris Wilson and the company’s sales team to the much-anticipated event. The whole team was eager to visit some of the company’sprincipals, learn aboutthe latest innovations and look for new suppliers.

Addison had a trio ofmajor suppliers exhibiting at the show, including Everising Saws, which is one of Addison’s longest-serving principals. Indeed, the company celebrated 40 years of trading during TIMTOS,an achievement the Addison team was keen to show its support for, having enjoyed a fruitful business relationship for nearly four decades. Among the stand-out products were two brand-new sawing machines, the VH-5060 vertical block and plate saw, and the CSP-0806 slab circular saw.
In line with the 2023 show’s theme, Everising filled its stand with high-tech sawing solutions, putting the E350 high-speed, high-performance CNC bandsaw in the spotlight along with the ultra-high speed P75-ILA carbide billet sawing system. Of course, no exhibition would be complete without Everising’s sought-after horizontal bandsaws, which were also on show.
Talking about expandingits range of metal cutting saws with additional suppliers, Wilson says: “We’ve been working hard to ensure that we select the right suppliers, growing our product range to meet the needs of customers and the manufacturing industry at large. After extensive research and some great meetings at TIMTOS we’re happy to say we found several new suppliers, so watch this space!”
For further information www.addisonsaws.co.uk

Vollmer doubles gains with new Loroch Twin

Following the success of two new circular saw blade grinding machines launched by Vollmer last year, the saw blade sharpening expert is now presenting the new Loroch Twin 860. This space-saving concept features a compact 2000 x 1250 x 1980mm footprint that introduces two different grinding processes in a single machine tool. The end user therefore gains from a machine that can process both TCT saw blades for the wood, sawmill and metal-cutting industries, as well as HSS saw blades primarily used in metal cutting.

With the introduction of a fifth axis, it is possible to process a vast selection of TCT blades in addition to common metal-cutting circular saw blades. As with all Loroch machines, the new Twin 860 grinds with the saw blade rotating. In each case, the grinding process consists of a precise, controlled movement of the grinding head and rotation of the saw blade with both axes controlled simultaneously in complete synchronicity.

Users can sharpen and re-cut HSS circular saw blades from 60 to 860mm on the Twin 860, while automated chamfering is possible from diameters of 75mm and above. With HSS saws, the rake and clearance angles are freely selectable and the grinding process also permits the processing of solid-carbide saw blades, friction saws, and TK or TA saw blades.

For the sharpening of TCT saw blades from 145 to 700mm diameter, the Twin 860 has a secondary grinding process whereby the tooth that requires grinding will remain in a stationary position with the process performed exclusively by the grinding head. The ultra-precise centre drive, which intuitively identifies any pitch differences in the saw blade and automatically processes any irregular pitch patterns in the saw blades, undertakesthe feeding of each tooth.
For further information www.vollmer-group.com/en-uk

Kasto technology cuts lead timesat stockholder

Bieber + Marburg, a steel and non-ferrous metals stockholder in Germany, is using a new sawing centre from Kasto for close-tolerance cutting to length of its various bar, tube, profile and other products. As a result, the company is seeing reduced lead times from order to delivery and can respond more flexibly to customer requests.

At Bieber + Marburg, the demand for sawing in particular is increasing enormously, so the company needed to examine how best to expand this side of its business and determine what technology to target. The conclusion was to purchase a new sawing centre from Kasto.

During a demonstration, the impressive speed of an automatic production circular saw from the KASTOvariospeed range impressed the stockholder’s management and it quickly became apparent that it would be the optimum solution to the shortfall in cutting capacity.
Adjacent to the circular saw, a KASTOsort robot is responsible for cut piece container management. The robot recognises the containers, which already contain the relevant delivery label, and loads the required parts into them automatically, even unattended over the weekend.

The new KASTOcenter varioplus 4 warehouse is 50 m long by 7 m wide and 9m high. It contains about 1500 shelves with space for material up to 7 m long and 330 mm in diameter. A gantry crane stores and retrieves stock at up to 60 m/min.

Marcel Finkernagel, director of administration and organisation at Bieber + Marburg, says: “The KASTOcenter varioplus 4 has enabled us to reduce set-up time from 15 to 20 minutes on the bandsaws, to less than two minutes on the circular saw. Operation is then automatic, with consistent quality of cut on material up to the saw’s maximum capacity of 330 mm diameter.”
For further information www.kasto.com