INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Star set to expand factory in China

Sliding-head lathe specialist Star Micronics has announced details of its decision to construct a new factory building at its machine tools manufacturing subsidiary, Star Micronics Manufacturing Dalian Co Ltd (‘Dalian Plant’), in China. Established as an overseas manufacturing base in Dalian City, China in 1989, Dalian Plant engages in the manufacture of products for sale in East Asia (mainly China), Europe and the United States.

Currently, the Star Micronics group is experiencing a period of continuous strong growth in its machine tools segment operations, both in Japan and overseas. Orders in China are maintaining a particularly high level, substantially above the levels recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year. In fact, consolidated machine tools segment sales are projected to hit a record high for the current fiscal year. As a result, there is an urgent need to bolster the group’s manufacturing structure in order to meet this robust demand.
In expanding its existing manufacturing capacity in China, Star Micronics plans to construct a new three-story building. The first floor will be used as a machine tools option installation and testing area for products that are earmarked mainly for the China market. The second and third floors will house a storage area for components, as well as an area for the assembly of NC operation panels.
In expanding existing facilities with the construction of a new factory building, steps will be taken to consolidate plant operations, which to date have been spread over two locations. Further to improving productivity, this initiative will help bolster the group’s product shipment capabilities and continue to increase sales in China.
For further information www.star-m.jp

Record sales

Press manufacturer Schuler AG says it raised sales and earnings to record levels in 2017.

The company posted consolidated sales of €1.23bn (prior year € 1.17bn) with particularly strong growth in North America and China. Compared with the previous year (€123m), the operating result (EBITDA) rose to €141m. As a ratio of sales, this corresponds to a margin of 11.5% (10.4% in 2016). There were important contributions to the successful annual financial statements from the two strategic investments in Yadon and AWEBA (included in the full-year consolidated figures for the first time).
For further information www.schulergroup.com

Achieving success in the tap market

Thai manufacturer SK Precision, which is building on its capabilities to be the country’s first domestic supplier of taps, has invested in a TapX Linear grinding machine from Anca. Tibordee Srikul, president of the 50-employee company, says: “We saw an opportunity in the tap-grinding segment, as until now, companies could only source taps from overseas, which meant longer lead times and higher costs.

“I didn’t want to be restricted to producing only one type of tap and, after extensive market research, we decided to invest in the TapX because of its flexibility,” he adds. “Our investment in capabilities, both in technology and experience, means we can now produce special and standard taps locally. But this is only the beginning, in the future I want to produce spiral taps, point taps,
hand taps and forming taps.”
For further information www.anca.com

Torque, speed and angle measurement

HBM Test and Measurement (HBM) has introduced its T21WN torque transducer. Based on strain-gauge technology, the T21WN uses contactless energy and measurement signal transmission to take measurements. The torque transducer enables the static and dynamic measurement of torque, rotational speed and angle of rotation to be performed on non-rotating as well as rotating components. HBM says that laboratory, test shop and testing applications will benefit, as well as performing production and process monitoring, and quality assurance.
Apart from the torque output signal of ±10 V at nominal (rated) torque, the transducer also provides a standard frequency output signal of 10 kHz ±5 kHz.

The T21WN torque transducer is available with nominal (rated) torques ranging between 0.1 and 200 Nm, while the maximum permissible rotational speed of the torque measuring system is up to 20,000 rpm, depending on the measurement range. An integrated rotational speed/angle of rotation measuring system with 360 pulses per revolution completes the transducer and can be used up to the specified maximum nominal (rated) rotational speed without restrictions.
HBM’s new torque transducer is supplied with a direct voltage of 24 V that is common in test benches. The T21WN is suitable for use in substantially more dynamic applications than the preceding model, the T20WN, thanks to its measurement bandwidth of 1 kHz. In addition, users benefit from a significantly broader range of functions than with
the preceding model – at the same price.
For further information www.hbm.com

Programming tool unveiled

Industrial robot specialist, TM Robotics, is introducing the new TSAssist software, a programming tool from Toshiba Machine. The software offers assistance to all phases of automation, including planning, design and improvement, and arrives at a time when more businesses are turning to high-performance 3D simulation for manufacturing.

TSAssist is a step up from the company’s standard TSPC programming software, bringing more features and capabilities in the midst of Industry 4.0. As more businesses are investing in automation, there are increasing options for third-party control and monitoring software. However, working across multiple software platforms can bring issues in calibration.
“Everything is in one place with TSAssist,” explains Nigel Smith, founder and CEO of TM Robotics. “Interference checking, cycle-time measurement and 3D CAD manipulation are integrated together in calibration, bringing a high level of accuracy. In 3D editor mode, you can input positioning data just by dragging the mouse, with no need for complex position calculations. This saves businesses huge amounts of time that can be better spent on training and product improvement.”
TSAssist is a hub of 3D simulation; from simple outline simulation to intricate multi-angle simulation, the options are endless, says the company. The user can save the 3D simulation to a video file, before archiving it into a folder. Similarly, TSAssist offers easy calibration between the robot and a vision system to enable automated bulk picking. The software is compatible with any of TM Robotic’s SCARA, Cartesian and six-axis robots.
For further information www.tmrobotics.co.uk