INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sunnen celebrates 100 years

Founder Joe Sunnen’s quest to sell his honing inventions started 100 years ago with cross-country sales calls made from the back of his 1916 Hupmobile. Today, Sunnen technology finds use worldwide for making performance engine parts, energy exploration equipment, aerospace components, gears, fuel injectors, fluid-power components and more. 

St Louis-based Sunnen Products Company says it has become the world’s largest vertically integrated manufacturer of precision honing systems with facilities in 14 countries. “As we celebrate our 100thanniversary, Joe would be proud to see that his spirit of innovation lives on in our drive to develop new products and techniques,” says Tom Dustman, Sunnen’sdirector of sales in North America.

More information www.sunnen.com

Linear drive to innovation with UX450L

Introduced to the UK in the spring, the new Sodick UX450L high-end machining centre from Sodi-Tech UK has already made a major impact on manufacturers since it landed on the UK shores. As a pioneer in linear drive technology, Sodick created the world’s first independently developed linear drives incorporated into mass-produced machine tools. Over 25 years later, Sodick says its next-generation technology is pushing the limits of what is possible with the arrival of the new UX450L.

Conor Plaskitt, technical sales manager at Sodi-Tech UK, says: “We’re well known for EDM but not so much for high-speed machining. However, the two work together well. For a typical copper or graphite electrode manufacturer, the Sodick UX450L is the perfect machine. If you look at processes where spark erosion isn’t always necessary, the UX450L presents the ideal solution for hard milling where manufacturers want ‘mirror-like’ surface finishes and very tight tolerances.”

He continues: “The machine has a 40,000rpm spindle and, as Sodick is a world leader with its linear motor technology, the ability of the machine kinematics and axis movements to start and stop very quickly with pinpoint precision is exceptional.”

From a specification perspective, the Sodick UX450L has X, Y and Z-axis travel of 450 x 350 x 200mm with a 600 x 400mm work table.

“The machine is perfect for complex components that need very high surface finishes, such as mould tooling,” says Plaskitt. “The UX450L can achieve high-quality surface finishes that eliminate the requirement for time-consuming grinding or secondary polishing. Likewise, the machine can replace jig grinding applications – another skill that is gradually disappearing.”

More information www.sodick.eu

SW presents world firsts at AMB 2024

Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen (SW) will present two innovations at the AMB 2024 exhibition in Stuttgart on 10-14 September. For the first time, the company will provide insights into the efficient production of large parts for the aerospace industry and giga-castings with the BA space3-22 on stand 10B51 in hall 10. In addition, this specialist in multi-spindle machining centres will present the world’s first machining centre for multi-spindle power skiving, the BA W06-21.

With the introduction of the multi-spindle BA space3-22, SW says it is setting standards in the efficient production of large and complex components. “The BA space3-22 combines precision with short machining times for demanding components, such as those involved in the giga-casting of large components in the field of e-mobility,” explains André Harter, head of marketing and business development at SW. “We have thus further advanced the paradigm shift towards e-mobility and established ourselves as a pioneer in the machining of complex components such as battery housings.”

The BA space3-22 is for the precise machining of large light metal workpieces and offers maximum flexibility thanks to two independent three-axis units in box-in-box design, optionally with five-axis machining. For large parts, both spindles can work simultaneously on a workpiece and change tools independently. At AMB, SW will demonstrate the versatility of the BA space3-22 with an underbody for an automotive supplier and wing ribs for an aircraft body.

With the BA W06-21, SW is presenting another world first at the booth. “The BA W06-21 with power skiving technology reduces production time by up to 50% compared to conventional processes,” explains Patrick Schneider, product manager at SW. “Thanks to multi-spindle machining in a single set-up, we achieve maximum production output with maximum flexibility.”

More informationwww.sw-machines.com/en

Robot order in double-digit million range

Kuka is supporting its customers in the transition to more sustainable mobility with state-of-the-art technology: the company is supplying 23 FSW (friction stir welding cells) with integrated robots for the production of electric vehicles at an automotive customer. Kuka says it is the largest single order in this area to date.

The FSW cells with various technologies and Kuka KR Fortec robots integrate fully into production lines for electric vehicles, where they perform several production steps. Kuka robots in the cells weld battery trays and join cooling plates to the battery trays in a second operation. This is an important task, as battery trays play a crucial role in electric vehicles. They must be leak-proof and resilient, support the correct temperature of the batteries and help to prevent the battery from endangering vehicle occupants in the event of an accident.

A particular challenge in production is 3D welding, for which robot-based FSW technology is suitable. The application also requires complex clamping technology, where Kuka was also able to contribute its engineering expertise. A tool changer and a cleaning station for the FSW tools are also in place to facilitate fully automatic operation.

In addition to the technical solution, Kuka’s expertise and years of experience in process technology, engineering and co-operation with the sales experts impressed the customer. 

Kuka is now working with research partners to develop the technology further, namely to monitor weld seam quality in-process and subsequently reduce the time and cost of inspection. The company is collaborating with partners at the University of Augsburg on an AI-based process monitoring system.

More information www.kuka.com

Robot-driven production meets military demand

Heckler & Koch USA (HKUSA), a designer and manufacturer of small arms and light weapons for military forces and law enforcement worldwide, has chosen Flexxbotics for robot-driven manufacturing with autonomous process control. Advanced robotic machine tending with Flexxbotics enables Heckler & Koch to increase capacity with precision quality, subsequently keeping up with strong demand and addressing labour challenges.

With Flexxbotics, HKUSA achieves a robot-enabled, multi-machine cellular-based set-up for machining complex-geometry parts. The robot will operate an Okuma five-axis vertical machining centre and an Okuma horizontal machining centre along with an integrated water dunk and blow-off station, a Hexagon CMM, Renishaw inspection probe, and SICK safety scanner – all within an individual work cell. Automating the complete process of machining and inspection results in an 87% capacity increase and 24:1 machine-to-man ratio.

“Our main goals with robotic automation are increasing throughput, maximising machine utilisation and creating flexibility to react quickly in line with production volume demands,” says John Mitchell, VP of operations at HKUSA. “Flexxbotics offers a unique ability to use the robot to co-ordinate multiple machines and have inline inspection results automatically correct the machining operations.”

The Flexxbotics solution connects the robot to each piece of equipment and co-ordinates the work so the robot has full command and control of the work cell. Using closed-loop feedback CMM inspection results, Flexxbotics writes offset-macro-variable changes to the CNC programs, thus ensuring all parts are built to specification for continuous operations using autonomous process control.

In addition, Flexxbotics communicates with the in-machine probes to ensure proper part seating before and after each CNC cycle. Based on the probe’s feedback, the robot either automatically removes and replaces the part or escalates the problem via text and email if there is a work-holding issue.

More information www.flexxbotics.com