INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN FULL FORCE AT HIGHLY AUTOMATED SANDVIK COROMANT PLANT

The Gimo, Sweden production facility of Sandvik Coromant, a specialist in the design and manufacture of premium metal-cutting tools and machining technology, is tapping into the benefits of VERICUT Force from CGTech. The company is using this physics-based software, which analyses and optimises cutting conditions during component machining, to deliver savings in both cycle time and energy consumption.

Sandvik Coromant’s Gimo production plant manufactures tool bodies (holders) for indexable-insert cutters used in milling, drilling and turning operations. The facility produces a catalogue of around 15,000 standard products, as well as customised tools. However, Gimo is no ordinary plant. In 2019, the World Economic Forum recognised the factory as just one of 16 digital ‘lighthouses’ worldwide for the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). And it is clear to see why.

The Gimo site is up and running 8760 hours per year and features extensive automation. In fact, the whole night shift is unmanned, operated by hundreds of industrial robots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Furthermore, a digital ‘thread’ runs throughout the factory that automates everything from customer order to despatch, with data feedback from production to the company’s systems supporting process analysis and continuous improvement.

“When a customer places an order it triggers an automated design process based on parametrics,” explains Sandvik Coromant production engineer Björn Ljunggren. “The next step is preparation for production, namely the automatic generation of programs for robots, measuring systems and machine tools. Machine programming includes comprehensive verification and simulation using VERICUT.”

VERICUT ensures stable processes, which are essential for unmanned operations. The site has been a VERICUT user for over 10 years, recording no machine crashes in that time. Now, the Gimo factory is introducing VERICUT Force for program optimisation to this part of its automated process.

At Gimo, the whole set-up simply runs by itself in the plant’s specially created automated batch mode environment. There are no design engineers or production engineers sitting in front of CADCAM stations. Instead, the system determines everything automatically, including workpiece material and lead-time requirements.

While machining optimisation using VERICUT Force serves to reduce cycle time, the Gimo site wants to leverage the benefits of this software to help with a bigger ambition: becoming carbon-neutral by 2035.

“Our goal is energy-efficient manufacturing: reducing energy consumption and increasing sustainability,” explains Ljunggren. “That’s why we’re moving beyond simulation and verification to optimisation with VERICUT Force. Reduced production time and energy-efficient manufacturing go hand-in-hand.”

The reduction of program time using VERICUT Force relates to less spindle time, fewer motors running, less coolant pumps in use and so on. As a factory, Gimo monitors its energy consumption very closely. This busy site currently consumes 56-58 MWh of electricity every day. To draw a comparison, UK energy regulator Ofgem estimates that a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales uses 2.7 MWh per year.

To assess VERICUT Force, Sandvik Coromant requested a trial involving the machining of a popular drilling product, CoroDrill DS20. The material for this drill is a premium tough steel with a high hardness value. Machining took place on a new STAMA CNC vertical machining centre featuring a number of sensors that help monitor electricity consumption, not just of the machine, but also the compressed air system, high-pressure coolant pumps and so on.

The trial involved the use of VERICUT Force on roughing operations, predominantly adaptive milling and slot milling in the chip space and flutes of the drill, while running the VERICUT Air Cut Optimization module on remaining compatible operations. Advanced data management software at the Gimo site logged all machine data for comparison purposes.

“When running VERICUT Force optimisation we saw a 15% reduction in energy consumption: that was our bottom-line result for the whole machining process,” states Ljunggren. “Of course, it depends on what components we run, our running hours and the price of a kWh.”

To provide transparency, the calculation was based on machining three drill holders per hour, with the machine running 16 hours a day. Comparing data from before and after VERICUT Force optimisation revealed a 0.59 kWh saving per workpiece: a 15.3% reduction. This equates to a saving of 1.77 kWh per day and more than 10,000 per year. At an electricity price of 28 cents per kWh the financial saving would translate to €3,000 per machine, per year.

This outcome shows that a typical machine shop running 10, 20 or 30 machines can achieve savings of up to €30,000 (10 machines), €60,000 (20 machines) or €90,000 (30 machines) per annum based solely on reductions in energy consumption. Further savings will result from faster cycle times, extended tool life and increased capacity.

With the trial based on just one machine, the potential net effect for Sandvik Coromant’s Gimo facility is huge, both in terms of financial savings and sustainability. The factory is home to around 400 machines.

“Of course, some extra savings come from a reduction in cycle time,” explains Ljunggren. “With Force optimisation our trial showed a total cycle time reduction of 12% for the drill bodies.”

The Gimo facility is now in the process of rolling out the use of VERICUT Force optimisation to other drill product families. Two cells housing six machines already run the software; this will rise to 11 machines by the summer of 2024.

“Force doesn’t take long to learn: you basically select the material, specify some optimisation parameters and just run it. We had great support from CGTech throughout the adoption process, both globally and here in Sweden, which really helped ensure the success of this project.”

For further information www.cgtech.com

Injection mould maker automates machining

Based in Budapest, Euroform provides an injection mould-making service from design to
production. The firm currently uses eight machining centres from DMG Mori for tool
production, including DMU monoBLOCKs, an HSC 75 linear and, most recently, a DMU 100 P
duoBLOCK. The latter features a PH Cell 2000 automation system for pallet handling to allow
unattended production at night and during the weekends.
The five-axis simultaneous machining of workpieces up to 1100 mm in diameter by 1600
mm long and weighing 2200 kg has already taken place on a DMU 100 P duoBLOCK.
Euroform’s experience with the machining centre was consistently good, leading to the
purchase in 2022 of a latest-generation model with a 1000 × 1250 × 1000 mm working
envelope.
When Euroform ordered the new DMU 100 P duoBLOCK, DMG Mori already had a large
pallet handling system in development, based on the smaller PH Cell 300. The bigger
capacity automation system handles pallets measuring up to 1100 mm in diameter, so is
able to deploy Euroform’s 1000 × 800 mm pallets. The PH Cell 2000 has 12 pallet positions
on two levels and can accept workpieces up to 1350 mm tall.
As Euroform almost exclusively manufactures one-offs, pallet handling such as the PH Cell
2000 is the optimal solution. Operators set up jobs offline on several pallets using a zero-

point clamping system while machining is in progress on another mould, so production
downtime is minimal, even at night.
Another focus area that supports business development at Euroform is digitalisation. The
mould maker is an enthusiastic adopter of the digital ‘my DMG MORI’ app when it comes to
online service requests.
For further information www.dmgmori.com

High-speed precision press wins award

Press manufacturer AIDA reports that its high-speed precision press line for producing EV
drive motor cores has won a ‘2023 Ten Greatest New Products Award” from the Nikkan
Kogyo Shimbun (Business and Technology Daily News). The award was established in 1958
for the purpose of encouraging the development of superior new products and spurring
even higher technological advances in Japanese industry.


In order to provide customers with the optimal high-speed precision press line for producing
difficult-to-form EV drive motor cores, AIDA developed a complete array of peripheral
equipment to achieve world-class high-speed forming, including an un-coiler, an S-loop
device, a feeder, a core rotator and a scrap cutter. The system features cutting-edge digital
and AI (artificial intelligence) technologies, enabling AIDA to provide customers with a
comprehensive solution for an entire high-speed precision press line that incorporates DX
(digital transformation) technology.
The judges said that, until now, no press manufacturer had independently developed and
manufactured an entire system for forming EV drive motor cores, as well as peripheral
equipment and software. A total solution of this type previously required ordering from
third parties.
Notably, the facial recognition system prevents erroneous operation by unauthorised
personnel, while AIDA also developed an oil temperature management system to maintain
high-precision forming and a predictive failure detection system. AIDA says it is the first to
achieve automated production in this field. The company expects the system to boost EV
motor core production and help combat the existing shortage of skilled workers.
Moving forward, AIDA says it will continue striving to develop environmentally friendly
technologies and further improving customer service.
For further information www.aida.co.jp/en

DLyte for Rosler

Rosler Oberflächentechnik GmbH and Spanish technology group Gpainnova are expanding their partnership. Rösler has been the exclusive distributor of Gpainnova’s DLyte industrial series for some time, and will now take over the worldwide distribution of Gpainnova’s DLyte Carbide series for the surface finishing of carbide cutting tools, as well as the individual process development and service of the machines. In addition, Gpainnova is working closely with Rösler on the further development of the DLyte Carbide series and the underlying DryLyte process.

For further information www.rosler.com

Simwon adopts AP & T press-hardening technology

Together with its agent Daekyung International, AP&T has spent many years building up a
relationship with Simwon and MS Autotech in South Korea. In a visit to China a few years
ago, Simwon’s managing director got the opportunity to see how AP&T’s press-hardening
production lines perform in action. It was the start of a rewarding collaboration between

the two parties. In spring 2022, the first line from AP&T was installed at Simwon’s facility in
Austin, Texas. The line’s output is thus far exceeding the company’s very high expectations.
Simwon is part of MS Autotech, a globally operating sub-supplier to many of the world’s
major car manufacturers. Simwon America in Austin, Texas produces press-hardened
components for the American market.
“The new line primarily manufactures door rings for one of our larger American customers,”
says Jeon Incheol, senior manager of the overseas sales team at Simwon. “To meet their
needs, the technology has to run faultlessly, and we need to be able to produce at top
speed. The output is 15-20% higher than our other press-hardening lines.”
The success of the Simwon investment is also of great importance to AP&T.  
“We’re naturally pleased to fulfil Simwon’s high requirements on product quality, cycle
times and machine availability,” says Peter Robisch, sales manager at AP&T. “For us, this is a
strategically important deal that has strengthened our position in press hardening on the
North American market.”
The line includes a hydraulic press with a press force of 1200 tons, automation equipment
and a control system. Thanks to the uniform control system, it is possible to synchronise the
line’s hydraulic presses and linear robots.
For further information www.aptgroup.com