INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Leading service centre opts for MEP saws

A major national service centre with 24 branches across New Zealand turned to Scott Machinery, the local distributor of Italy-based MEP saws, to replace two of its ageing bandsaw machines. The supplier provides a comprehensive range of structural steel, iron, plate products and steel profiles in order to meet the requirements of demanding new building designs.

Following a series of negotiations and visits to understand the customer’s needs – namely a high level of safety, precision and technology while executing cuts on mainly structural and stainless steel products – a recommendation was put forward for a Shark 350 NC HS 5.0 and Thor 860 bandsaw.

The Shark 350 NC HS 5.0 belongs to the range of MEP automatic bandsaws. Being dual-column and electrohydraulic, and executing 0° cuts on structural, stainless and alloy steels, solids and profiles, this sawing machine is suitable for both large size production batches, even on multiple work shifts and cuts in series in continuous cycle on a wide range of metals.

This structurally heavy-duty, silent and safe sawing machine was designed to also execute bundle cuts up to 350 x 350 mm, thus being versatile and able to solve the wide range of cutting needs relating to modern workshops. In this case, the customer decided to purchase three sawing machines and equip them with a spray mist system, blade deviation control device, hydraulic overhead bundlings and Kit IOT – Industry 4.0.

The Thor line is made up of dual-column semi-automatic band sawing machines designed for heavy-duty works and characterised by large cutting capacities. In this case, the customer chose the Thor 860 model, which executes 0° cuts of structural steels with size up to 860 x 860 mm.
For further information www.mepsaws.it

Turnkey machining at ETG Ireland open house

On 27-29 September, the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) Ireland will be hosting an open house event at its Newbridge facility in County Kildare. Themed ‘Discover Turnkey Excellence’, the event will feature turnkey machining cells, work holding and tooling technology – all operating in complete synergy as part of live demonstrations. The machining presentations will take place every day on a selection of machine tools from ETG principals that will include Mitsubishi and Quaser, with support from trusted partners such as Verisurf, Scantech, Zoller and Heidenhain.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Perfect surface finishes for prosthetic parts

Ottobock in Duderstadt, Germany, a €1bn turnover manufacturer of orthopaedic systems, recently commissioned two new mass finishing systems from Rösler. The equipment is now in place at a factory in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, which opened in 2021.

For planning and building its tenth and largest manufacturing facility, this global health-tech company paid special attention to efficient and sustainable operations. As a result, the company specified a specially developed Keramo-Finish process, an energy-efficient dryer and a centrifuge for cleaning and recycling the process water.

The Keramo-Finish operation replaces an acid-based process for creating a high-gloss polish. This includes the utilisation of a porcelain polishing media in combination with a special paste and a brightening compound. The new, acid-free process allows the complete recycling of process water, which not only results in a significant decrease in water and compound consumption, but also a sizable cost reduction.

The polishing operation takes place in a new R780 EC vibratory bowl. Here, the special shape of the processing bowl creates a homogeneous flow of the media/workpiece mix, ensuring that workpieces are quickly polished and separated in an efficient and gentle manner.

Ottobock achieves the same operational benefits with its second new vibratory bowl, an R420 EC model. Together with specially selected media and compounds, Ottobock is using this machine for a broad spectrum of applications ranging from deburring and edge radiusing, to surface smoothing.
For the eco-friendly cleaning and recycling of process water, the two mass finishing machines connect to a semi-automatic Rösler Z800 centrifugal cleaning system, while for drying the finished workpieces Ottobock chose the latest version of the RT550 Euro-DH rotary dryer, also supplied by Rösler.
For further information www.rosler.com

Doncasters invests further in aerospace future

With post-Covid orders from commercial airlines higher than predicted, Doncasters is doubling the capacity of its US operations in Connecticut, and more than doubling production in shell lines at its UK site in Droitwich. This closely follows the announcement of Doncasters’ acquisition of Uni-Pol, which increased its annual revenue to over $500m. The two new robot shell lines at Doncasters Precision Castings – Deritend will be delivered by early 2023, more than doubling outputs and efficiencies. Doncasters is working with VA Technology to deliver the upgrades in the UK and US.
For further information www.doncasters.com

LVD mourns passing of founding father

Sheet metal processing machinery specialist LVD reports that one of its founders, Baron
Robert Dewulf, passed away earlier this month at the age of 93. As one of the company’s driving forces, the ‘D’ in LVD, Dewulf made a significant contribution to the success of the business that he helped to establish in 1954 alongside Jacques Lefebvre and Marc Vanneste. The three managers complemented each other well, with Dewulf acting as the bridge builder to both government and industry. Even though he had been retired for many years, until the last moment he remained genuinely interested in the company’s fortunes.
For further information www.lvdgroup.com