Romi recently participated in the second edition of Expomafe, one of the biggest exhibitions for the metalworking sector in Latin America.

The event took place at the São Paulo Exhibition & Convention Centre. Romi’s stand took up of 750 sq m of space, where the company displayed 11 machines. This selection included the latest Romi Line D – New Generation, an advanced version of existing machining centres featuring a larger working area. The machines stand out for their thermal and geometrical stability, and high force-absorption capacity.
For further information www.romi.com

Last month, German tooling manufacturer Paul Horn GmbH opened its doors in Tübingen to customers and business partners for the seventh time, using the event to help celebrate its 50th year of trading.

In addition to sharing in the celebrations, Horn offered the 4700 visitors eight in-depth lectures with corresponding practical demonstrations.
They included: From powder to finished component; Trends and perspectives in the precision tool industry; Machining of sintered carbide; Gear cutting; Milling at the highest level; and Successful grooving and parting off.
For further information www.phorn.co.uk

Holistic process planning, connected solutions and production analyses; digitalisation is prompting a staggering change in the manufacturing industry.

The topic of a ‘lunch and learn’ event held by Okuma and Sandvik Coromant was ‘Digital Factory’, which took place on 9 July at the Okuma Technical Centre South in Langenau, Germany. The programme included expert presentations and live demonstrations of industry 4.0 technologies on the latest CNC machine tools.
For further information www.okuma.eu

Lantek has entered into a collaborative agreement with the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM).

The agreement reached by both organisations focuses on developing new models of applied mathematics and algorithms that will enable metal-forming industries to reach high levels of efficiency in their calculations.
BCAM was conceived by the Basque Government, the University of the Basque Country and Ikerbasque in 2008, and is supported by the Provincial Government of Bizkaia and Innobasque. The organisation currently has a staff of over 90 researchers, who work in areas from data science to mathematical modelling.
Throughout industry it is becoming increasingly necessary to resolve situations where the calculation of machining and the optimisation of material consumption is highly complex. As a starting point, the collaboration framework aims to explore new avenues for approaching parts nesting.
The goal of Lantek is to constantly improve its nesting methods, and this collaboration will result in the development of an advanced algorithm that achieves the optimisation of 2D nesting from different potential approaches. Researchers from the computational mathematics group at BCAM have extensive experience in geometric modelling and optimisation, and are pouring their knowledge into the Lantek collaboration with the following objectives: to design an efficient algorithm for the optimisation of 2D parts nesting; to design discreet pairing measures; to improve the current method, which uses the representation of areas (pixels), through the representation of boundaries; and to develop software that both increases the speed of calculations and optimises material management.
This agreement with BCAM opens up the possibility of approaching the improvement of sheet-metal parts nesting from new and innovative directions, which may bring about significant advances, contributing to the efficiency of the industry.
For further information www.lanteksms.com

Trumpf says it has set a milestone on the road to autonomous machining: Active Speed Control.

With this newly developed feature, the system looks straight through the nozzle right at the cutting zone, monitoring it in real-time and autonomously controlling the feed rate of solid-state laser machines. Active Speed Control ensures a more reliable process for both flame and fusion cutting, reducing scrap and saving on rework, while also responding immediately to any changes in the material being processed.
The system allows users to achieve tangible gains in productivity with their machines, lowering part manufacturing costs. Active Speed Control monitors numerous different process parameters. One example is the position of the laser beam in relation to the centre of the nozzle during the entire cutting process. The system informs the operator of any deviations, helping to avoid scrap. Additional functions for automated laser cutting can easily be added to the system in the future thanks to the software update feature.
Examining the kerf reveals all sorts of information about part quality and process stability. The easier it is for the molten material to escape from the kerf, the smoother the cutting process. Active Speed Control keeps a careful eye on this flow of molten material in mild and stainless steel plates that are greater than or equal to 4 mm thick.
The sensor system looks through the nozzle to observe the radiation that is emitted as the material melts. This ‘process radiation’ allows the system to determine whether the molten material is emerging as planned, to identify the fastest possible feed rate and to make any necessary adjustments – a process it repeats many hundreds of times a second.
For further information www.trumpf.com