New high-speed spindle from DMG Mori

The range of SpeedMaster high-performance spindles, manufactured in-house by DMG Mori for its machining centres, now includes a model capable of continuous operation at up to 30,000 rpm. The new spindle is for high-speed milling applications and may be factory-fitted or retrofitted to the company’s horizontal and vertical machining centres, such as the NHX 4000/5000 3rd Generation and NVX 5000 2nd Generation, as well as the MonoBlock series.

Previously, the spindles were only available in 15,000 rpm and 20,000 rpm versions. The new SpeedMaster30,000 rpm model is for reducing cycle times and, due to its rigid construction, achieving high surface quality during mould and die work. It is also well suited to machining complex workpieces with small-diameter tools, such as in the electronics industry.

In a comparative test, the company drilled 4000 holes of 1 mm diameter in a semiconductor machinery component in a cycle time 36%quicker than the 20,000 rpm spindle took to complete the job. Tool wear was also significantly less. Additionally, quicker machining times reduce overall power consumption and hence CO2 emissions.

While achieving fine surface finishes is one of the spindle’s attributes, so also is roughing at lower speeds, with 22 kW of power available between 7000 and 15,000 rpm. All Master spindles are covered by a warranty of 36 months.
For further information www.dmgmori.com

Everyone invited to Chiron Group open house

Advanced manufacturing – now: that is the motto of Chiron Group’s latest open house, which will take place on 10-12 May. The three-day exhibition in Tuttlingen, Germany, will focus on pioneering manufacturing processes that match user specifications, products and industries, including automotive, medical technology, aerospace andtoolmaking.

The guiding principle is the special combination of four attributes that characterise the future-oriented actions of the Chiron Group and influence how the company develops and offers tailored solutions to meet individual requirements: competent, smart, innovative, sustainable. These attributes are represented on the one hand by the six brands -Chiron, Stama, CMS, Factory5, Greidenweis and HSTEC – which are showing their specific or combined expertise at the open house.

Regarding machine highlights: mill-turn expertise taken a step further in the DZ 22 S mill-turn system 8 for the double-spindle machining of large volumes,or the complete machining of six sides with high autonomy using the MT 715 two+. Visitors can experience the full range of manufacturing solutions, from micro-machining with the Micro5 with a reduced environmental footprint, to maximum productivity per unit area when machining high-volume components for automotive oraerospace with the 22, 25 and 28 Series.

“In addition to showcasing exemplary pioneering machining processes for all industries, our main focus is on the lively dialogue with our guests,” emphasises Matthias Rapp, global head of marketing.

Each visitor will be personally attended and given an exclusive tour of the exhibition with targeted advice. And of course the event not only offers an excellent platform for experiencing this year’s motto ‘advanced manufacturing – now’, it is also an opportunity for inspiring exchanges, for example with catering and live music at the end of the second day of the exhibition.
For further information https://chiron-group.com/open-house

Heller enables friction stir welding on all machines

Known as a ‘green’ joining technology for non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, friction stir welding (FSW) has established itself in a number of industries. In future, manufacturing companies using Heller machines will no longer need any additional hardware for this technology. Instead, they will be able to perform this process in a single set-up on their four-axis or five-axis machining centres.

FSW is a good choice when it comes to producing high-quality, cavity-free and tight welded joints with excellent fatigue properties. Accordingly, this process is often applied in the manufacture of reservoirs, tanks and containers, as well as in shipbuilding and aerospace engineering. In addition, FSW is increasingly establishing itself in the electrical industry and in automotive engineering with the growth of e-mobility, for the welding of battery housings.

Due to the comparatively low heat input, a very fine-grained structure results without cracks or pores in the material, while distortion in the component is minimal. The welded seam therefore meets the highest standards in terms of tightness and crash behaviour.

FSW also offers a number of key advantages with regard to the environment and health.Compared with conventional welding methods, there are no dangerous light flashes or hazardous fumes, for example.

The welding process becomes a particularly interesting technology with the successful integration into Heller machine tools. It allows users to eliminate an additional work step and only requires inexpensive tools, activation of the Heller technology cycle and the ‘adaptive control function’ in the Sinumerik 840D sl control.The machine operator can easily program the welding path at the CNC control panel using G code, while the transfer of CADCAM data is also possible without any problems.
For further information www.heller.biz

New digital service supports all Fastems systems

MyFastems is a complementary service for all existing and new Fastems customers, providing more advanced digital services especially for those using Manufacturing Management Software (MMS) version 6+. Fastems´ first software-as-a-service provides digital tools to support all Fastems customers in increasing their availability and productivity, making sure their systems are up and running 24/7.

The digital service is built as a progressive web application for easy access via web-browser on the PC, tablet or smartphone.It can also be combined with other services such as 8760 support, preventive maintenance and software maintenance agreements for optimised solutions throughout the whole lifecycle. MyFastems is available for all current Fastems automation systems and will be pre-installed for new systems in the future.

Notably, MyFastems brings transparency to any Fastems systems service history and spare parts usage, and includes comprehensive system overview for connected systems, as well as alarm-based recovery instructions and support request tickets. The system overview provides updated statuses of all connected Fastems systems, making it easy for users to stay on top of production activities and solve any issues in a timely manner. Whatever situation occurs, Fastems support is only one click away: MyFastems provides convenient access to creating support and service request tickets. Having all necessary information, Fastems’ technical support can understand the situation on site better and faster, to reduce the critical downtime of the systems.

For connected systems, MyFastems provides more advanced digital services. These include access to alarm history, key performance indicators such as utilisation rate, tools for advanced troubleshooting, and analyses via ‘Incidents’ view, which groups system-wide alarms based on the actual root cause and provides specific recovery instructions.
For further information www.fastems.com

Process monitoring for press-hardening lines

When metal manufacturer AP&T needed an automated solution to monitor the heat distribution during the shaping and pressing of vehicle parts, it turned to Termisk Systemteknik. The answer was a non-contact temperature monitoring solution using thermal imaging cameras from Teledyne FLIR.

AP&T needed a solution to measure and monitor sheet materials before and after pressing. It is necessary to guarantee even heat distribution from the furnace before pressing the sheets, an exact placement of the sheets, and to ensure that there are no hot spots after the sheets cool in the press tool. Failing to meet any of these three conditions means the safety-relevant components will not reach their required mechanical properties.

Termisk designed an Infrared Press Hardening Analysis (IPHA) vision system that can measure the three main factors affecting sheet pressing quality: temperature before and after pressing, and sheet placement in the press. Using Teledyne FLIR thermal imaging cameras mounted to the sides of press machines, the IPHA system 1/3 measures the temperature of metal sheets using the Teledyne FLIR A70 smart sensor camera or Teledyne FLIR A615 camera, depending on the required image quality.

The set-up ensures accurate measurement of the temperature for the whole surface area of the 3D-shaped sheet. Once pieces are inside the press, the press-line controller system signals to IPHA to take an image and analyse it. With the positioning and temperature determined as OK, the system sends a signal back to the press line to proceed. Similarly, it then measures the sheet temperature and inspects heat distribution after pressing and cooling. The high-resolution thermal images make it quick and easy to identify hot spots and measure the areas where the material has not reached the correct temperatures.
For further information www.flir.co.uk