INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Mapal expands in Poland

Mapal Narzędzia Precyzyjne (Mapal precision tools) in Poland has a new head office, havingacquired 5000 sq m premises in Komorniki, not far from the previous site in Poznań. The new site has modern office spaces, conference rooms and social areas, its own logistics and storage areas,and a well-equipped showroom for customers. Mapal has invested around €2m in the facility.The company employs 72 people in Poland, including 31 engineers.

Dr Jochen Kress, president of the Mapal Group, says: “Our business in Poland has developed brilliantly over the past 25 years. Demand for our products has steadily increased and it makes us proud that we’re taking on a leading role as a tool supplier and service provider in Poland, especially in the area of tool management. Of course, we also owe this to our competent team on site, which takes excellent care of our customers and ensures the smooth running of the manufacturing processes.”
For further information www.mapal.com

Actuating tool with four inserts for stator bores

Actuating tools are the means of choice for creating turning geometries on machining centres. When it comes to machining stator bores on electric motors, tools with indexable inserts and fine boring tools were state-of-the-art until now. Mapal has developed a complex four-blade actuating tool to round off its solution portfolio for stator drilling.

With its solution, Mapal has come up with a highly productive machining process for the series production of stator housings used in electric motors. The solution offers productivity and precision as well as short cycle times with a process of three steps: pre-machining, semi-finishing and fine machining at machining diameters of more than 220 mm and with an HSK100 connection. A sophisticated actuating tool is part of the solution.

“With an actuating tool, the internal machining of the bore can be handled by a machining centre, which means turning is no longer necessary,” says Oliver Müller, customer service specialist at Mapal’s centre of competence for actuating tools. The entire machining process is thus executable with a single set-up. The only thing needed to use the actuating tool is a spindle with a drawbar – a so-called Uaxis in the machining centre.

“When it came to machining parts for electric cars, we were at our customers’ side with our tools from the very beginning,” says Müller.“Today, we help them to increase flexibility while machining the parts reliably and with short cycle times.” The actuating tool achieves more flexibility by ensuring both fast machining of varying contour trains in the bore and micron-level precision.
For further information www.mapal.com

Strong sales at injection moulding machine specialist

Despite a difficult trading environment, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Group, a specialist in all-electric injection moulding solutions, generated a sales turnover of €762m last year, aided by “substantial growth” in countries such as theCzech Republic, Hungary and Italy. This figure was only 6% lower than the historic accomplishments reported in 2021, when the group achieved its highest turnover to-date. CEO Gerd Liebig cites the dramatic impact of material availability and costs as the rationale for the sideways development, reporting that this inevitably had a negative effect on the company’s overall sales and profitability.
For further information www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu

GrindingHub launchesdigital platform

Trade fair organizer VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), in co-operation with the IndustryArena business network, is now offers the grinding technology industry a top-tier platform under the 360°SPECIAL brand, even in the years when no trade fair is held. On 23 May 2023, companies will have the opportunity to pitch their new products and technologies to an international online audience and make contact with potential customers. The event will be presided over by an expert moderator and include scientific presentations on current topics.
For further information www.grindinghub-digital.de

Like a brand new machine after 21 years

“Quality never goes out of style,” they say. Well for Water Jet Sweden cutting machines quality never goes out of performance either! The recent refurbishment of a 21-year-old waterjet cutting machine to almost-new condition by the in-house team recently demonstrated this perfectly, making it ready for many more years of quality cutting.

In 2001, Water Jet Sweden sold the machine to a Norwegian waterjet contract cutter. After 21 years of cutting, the customer decided to upgrade its workshop by investing in a new machine. Like many other well-maintained machines from Water Jet Sweden, the performance was still good, and a general ‘facelift’ could be worth the investment. The customer service team at Water Jet Sweden seized the opportunity and bought the old machine.

“We’ve supported the customer since the machine was delivered in 2001, and have good knowledge of both operating hours and service history,” says Ronny Martinsson, customer service manager at Water Jet Sweden.

Looking at the refurbished machine, it is difficult to imagine that it has been in production for 21 years. Although it looked a little more run-down than when purchased, after a thorough clean, the potential was clearly visible. Every renovation project is different: this time the frame was repainted, new table grids installed, hoses replaced and, most importantly, the electrical system replaced with a new Fanuc CNC system. The system change included everything from cables, motors and electrical cabinets to a modern PanelOne operator panel.

The refurbished machine is now ready for delivery to a new customer in Germany, a forging company that will use the machine as a workstation in its workshop. It cost about 60% of what an equivalent new machine would cost.
For further information www.waterjetsweden.co.uk