BMW has officially opened its new Additive Manufacturing Campus in Munich.

The new centre brings together the production of prototype and series parts under one roof, along with research into new 3D-printing technologies and associate training for the global rollout of tool-less production. At an investment of €15m, the facility will allow the BMW Group to develop its position as a technology leader in AM. Last year, the BMW Group produced approximately 300,000 parts using this innovative technique. The Additive Manufacturing Campus currently employs up to 80 associates and operates about 50 industrial systems.
For further information www.bmwgroup.com

The launch of the Metav Web Sessions has been an all-round success.

Last month, over 80 Metav 2020 reloaded exhibitors gave 30-minute presentations, some in English, to their customers. The presentations covered major product topics from machine hardware and software, through to components and services. Each of the almost 1600 visitors from over 60 countries attended an average of just over three sessions. A total of around 5000 sessions were booked. There are now plans afoot for further such events in the run-up to ‘Metav 2020 reloaded’ in March.
For further information www.metav.com

‘Your Future Automation’ is the motto for Pepperl+Fuchs’ first online summit, which will take place on 20-24 July.

This free, fully digital event offers customers and other interested parties a way to get in touch with industrial sensor and electrical explosion protection experts, and learn about the latest solutions and trends in the fields of factory and process automation. On each day of the summit, participants will be able to access keynote presentations, live shows and panel discussions on a different automation technology topic.
For further information www.pepperl-fuchs.com/summit

MACH Machine Tools, part of the Vigilance Group, has supplied Aluminium Extrusion Tooling (AET) Co Ltd – a relatively new start-up company based in Gloucestershire – with a new MACH 710MM+ vertical machining centre. The machine was installed at the company’s production facility in Staunton in July 2019.

Since its arrival, the machine has been used to produce high-precision customised hollow, semi-hollow and solid extrusion dies for the company’s growing UK and international customer base, which serves the building/construction, transportation, automotive, consumer goods, electrical and energy sectors.
AET manufactures a range of different diameter dies from 105 to 550 mm diameter. The MACH 710MM+ is being used to machine the smaller to medium-sized diameter dies, with the average size being 260 mm diameter.
Lead times for delivery depend on the complexity of the die, and the customer. The typical lead time for less complex dies is seven days, with three weeks being the average for more complex dies.
Explains Lee Knight, director at AET: “We are in a competitive global industry. As a relatively new company making its way in the world it was important that we invest in advanced and proven machine-tool technologies to ensure that we’re able to meet customer quality requirements and delivery schedules, and to be within their cost parameters.
“The MACH 710MM+ is a technically excellent machine,” he adds. “It’s fast, accurate and reliable – all key performance attributes. We are particularly impressed with the machine’s smooth and responsive acceleration and deceleration, and its ergonomic design that provides great operator access to the machining area.”
In addition to its performance, another positive was that the machine was available immediately from stock and could be acquired on a three-year MACH hire lease contract.
For further information www.machmt.co.uk

Now available in the UK from NCMT is the Makino U6 HEAT Extreme wire EDM, which uses the largest diameter wire – 0.4 mm – of any machine on the market, says the company.

The wire is coated and distinct from the 0.25 mm uncoated brass wire that is commonly used in industry. This extra wire thickness, together with the use of a second booster generator in the machine, allows two-to-three times higher feed rates and heavier duty machining, coupled with a slower un-spool speed, so there is no increase in wire consumption rate. At MACH 2020 (now postponed to January), NCMT was set to highlight the roughing of a turbine blade’s fir-tree root form, assisted by dual pumps delivering high flushing pressure and volume.
Comprising part of Makino’s U-series wire EDM machine platform, the U6 HEAT Extreme uses a newly developed Bedra copper core wire with a double layer coating featuring controlled zinc donation. The wire has been optimised for use with Makino’s generator and is exclusive to the machine. Areas of application include aerospace and medical component machining, separating additively manufactured parts, machining tall moulds and dies, and tackling tough nickel alloys.
Makino’s U6 HEAT Extreme also features the company’s HyperDrive Extreme wire control, which employs servomotor tensioning to facilitate both jet and jet-less automatic threading modes, and expands the range and stability of wire tension to overcome the difficult job of reliably threading high tensile and stiff 16-micron wire.
A cutting conditions library has been developed to provide an optimum combination of speed, accuracy, surface finish and wire consumption for both sealed and poor flush applications. Settings for two-pass machining have also been created to provide optimal productivity.
To reduce maintenance costs, the machine features long-life energisers that extend the service life of this consumable. Moreover, to improve ease of-use and productivity, the U6 HEAT Extreme comes with the intuitive Hyper-i twin-screen control that includes functions to support the needs of operators at all skill levels.
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk