A world-class industrial consortium composed of EIT InnoEnergy, Engie New Ventures, Plug, FORVIA, GROUPE IDEC and Primetals Technologies, have launched GravitHy – a future market leader in green iron. The sustainable iron company will support growing demand for zero-carbon steel, while contributing to Europe’s ‘Fit for 55’ package ambitions to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries. The founding shareholders of GravitHy plan to build, own and operate its first green iron plant in Fos sur Mer, France, mobilising €2.2bn worth of initial investment and creating over 3000 jobs in the process. Construction will commence in 2024 with production beginning in 2027.
For further information www.gravithy.eu

A major new order by Spain to expand its frontline fleet with 20 new Eurofighter Typhoons underlines the importance of this aircraft’s role as the backbone of European defence. The announcement, which was made at the recent ILA Berlin International Air Show, will see the number of Typhoon aircraft in Europe increase to 545, delivered or on order. BAE Systems leads the overall design, development, manufacture, upgrade and support for Typhoon aircraft in the UK. The company is responsible for manufacturing more than a third of the components for every Spanish aircraft, including the aircraft’s front fuselage and tail, under a contract worth in excess of £500m.
For further information www.baesystems.com

United Grinding and Titans of CNC, a manufacturing group of part-makers, influencers and educators, have collaborated to launch the all-new Grinding Academy. Much like Titan’s existing machining and aerospace academies, the Grinding Academy will offer free online courses that teach and train the next generation of machinists. Titans of CNC has four United Grinding machines on its shop floor in Texas: a Blohm Panomat XT profile grinder; Studer Favorit and Studer S41 cylindrical grinding machines; and a Walter Helitronic Vision 400 L tool grinder. These will be the first machines used to create content for the Grinding Academy.
For further information www.titansforgrinding.com

In mould and die making, individual machining processes are increasingly being combined into automated production cells with integrated handling. The main advantage is a higher degree of machine utilisation, as the systems can operate unattended 24/7. Two prerequisites for the realisation of such autonomous systems are more intensive digitalisation of the processes consistent with Industry 4.0 and an increased level of investment.

One company that has followed this automation route is German power tool manufacturer Festool, which produces complex die-casting mould tools and plastic injection moulds for producing its products at a factory in Neidlingen. The toolmaking department has installed a robotic production cell based on machining centres manufactured by German firm, Roeders. Similar technology is available in the UK and Ireland through Roeders sole agent, Hurco Europe.

To implement the installation, Roeders supplied two of its RXP five-axis machining centres and RMSMain job manager software, which is linked to Festool’s IK Office enterprise resource planning system. In addition, the company also supplied a Fanuc R-2000iC handling robot running on a linear rail. Also located within the cell are a Hexagon CMM, an Exeron die-sink EDM machine and an automatic washing system from Mafac.

Within the cell, a Roeders RXP 601 DSH primarily machines graphite electrodes, while a larger RXP 950 DSH is used mainly for hard machining. Materials include 1.2343 hot work tool steel and sometimes 1.2379 cold work tool steel.

Raw material is rough machined in the hardened condition (54-60 HRc) and subsequently finished while remaining in the same fixture. Compared with the previous procedure of roughing in the soft state, then hardening and finally finishing in a second operation, the new method is significantly faster and less expensive.
For further information www.hurco.co.uk

With the DMU H monoBLOCK series, DMG Mori says it has successfully implemented its customers’ requirements for flexibility, process reliability and automation. Now, the machine tool manufacturer has released the new DMU 85 H monoBLOCK and DMC 85 H monoBLOCK as a consistent expansion of the series. The new size aims in particular at users from the mechanical engineering, mould and die, aerospace, and semiconductor sectors.

Thanks to the optimised chip fall, horizontal five-axis simultaneous machining allows absolutely process-reliable production of complex workpieces. In the case of the DMU/DMC 85 H monoBLOCK, travels of 850 x 1150 x 900 mm serve a wide range of components. The long Z-axis travel makes this size suitable for deep-hole drilling.

The swivel rotary table, which is mounted on both sides, can support a load of up to 1000 kg (800 kg for the version with pallet changer). It can be used for five-axis machining of individual parts, as well as series components on clamping towers. A solid basis for precise machining is provided by the inherently rigid machine bed, the horizontal gantry concept, the thermosymmetrical design and the integrated cooling concept. Linear drives in the X and Z axes, and a direct drive in the C axis, also ensure maximum dynamics, while speedMASTER spindles facilitate high-speed applications.

To increase productivity, the DMU 85 H monoBLOCK and DMC H 85 monoBLOCK can be automated according to customer specifications – both for individual parts and in series production. For the former, for example, the new PH Cell 2000, a retrofittable handling system for up to 21 pallets and workpiece diameters up to 1100 mm diameter, is available.
For further information www.dmgmori.com