INTERNATIONAL NEWS

BI-MU 2018 fast approaching

The 31st edition of BI-MU, Italy’s most important trade show for machine tools, automation and digital manufacturing technologies is set to take place on 9-13 October in Milan.

This year will see a heavy focus on the world of connectivity, presenting special areas on the IoT, big data, cyber security, cloud computing and augmented reality.
As a natural stage to show the influences between the world of manufacturing systems and digital technologies, through an in-depth overview of the main market trends and productive models generated over the first years of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’, BI-MU 31 will present a renewed technological product range covering all solutions related to the factory of the future. There will be lots of new areas created to transform the trade show into a balanced mix of technological displays, thematic areas, infotainment zones and convention areas.
For further information www.bimu.it

Antil sells 70%

To serve growing demand from manufacturers for automation in sheet metalworking, Swiss laser cutting machine and press brake manufacturer Bystronic is acquiring a 70% share of Antil SpA of Milan.

The majority shareholding will enable Bystronic to expand its existing range of automation technologies to include machine loading and unloading, robot-assisted bending, material storage, and allied services. Antil was established in 1989 and currently employs 110 staff, who will be retained under the new agreement. In 2017, Antil achieved a turnover of around €18m.
For further information www.bystronic.com

Latest innovations from Correa

Nicolás Correa recently participated in the latest edition of the BIEMH exhibition in Spain, showing its Correa Fox model with UAD milling head and a Norma model with rotary table.

During the event, Nicolás Correa took part in the 13th National Awards for Innovation in Digital and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, entering the category of ‘Machine Tool, components, accessories and tools innovation’ with its UDX milling head.
The UDX is a mechanical transmission milling head with rotation every 0.02° thanks to the double Hirth coupling system (patented worldwide). UDX heads are able to perform 10,000 rpm, and were featured at the show on the Fox 50 model.
Consisting of two 45° bodies, the UDX is designed and built to withstand heavy-duty cutting conditions, as well as semi-finishing and finishing work with precision and speed, says the company. The Fox 50 also includes a 60-station automatic tool changer and a Heidenhain TNC 640 control. Furthermore, Correa says that its total symmetrical design improves the geometry of the machine, which remains more stable when faced with temperature changes.
The Correa Norma is a flexible machine suitable for roughing and finishing operations. The model exhibited at BIEMH was a Norma 25 with integrated rotary table. Also presented was the Correa Delfos 4.0 system, which allows monitoring based on the cloud, automatically recording and analysing machine data to improve efficiency and the production process.
According to AFM Advanced Manufacturing Technology, the machine tool sector has recently achieved a record annual turnover in Spain, at €1690m.
For further information www.nicolascorrea.com

Investment spurs new business

A Starrag Bumotec s181 machining centre is enabling a producer of ‘traditional’ turned parts to not only finish-machine a multi-operation component with interconnecting holes to a burr-free state and with high levels of roundness and surface finish, but allowing the company to welcome new business where effective and efficient single set-up, multi-operation workpieces are required.

Starrag Bumotec bei Fa. Heinrich, Berlin, 31.1.2018

The Fanuc-controlled s181 turn-mill centre – which effectively has nine CNC axes in total – was installed to produce a distributor for a respiratory protective device; the component that connects an oxygen bottle to a respirator mask (as used by the fire service).
Produced from a special aluminium alloy (AlSi05) forged blank, the workpiece presents a number of machining demands before it is anodised – in particular the production of a hole (H7) that is drilled to a tolerance of 14 µm and must
not have burrs on the interconnecting channels. The Bumotec inserts the blank automatically then processes all six sides of the workpiece.
One critical aspect of producing the component is the fact that the initial blank is forged to a high tolerance, so a specially-designed clamping system – one that will hold the part rigidly but without damage or deflection – has been developed and adapted to the machine.
With an HSK40 (30,000 rpm) spindle, the Bumotec s181 can, however, produce very small components (up to 32 mm) to 1.5 µm, and it is this quality that the new user is adamant “will position the company internationally for the production of high-precision components”.
For further information www.starrag.com

Unattended sawing and sorting

To increase production throughput, steel stockholder Schmolz + Bickenbach Stahlcenter (called Schmobi for short) in St Gallen, Switzerland has acquired a KASTOtec FC 4 automatic bandsawing centre.

The system has replaced two obsolete saws that could no longer cope with the continuously increasing demand for cut parts.
Thomas Plüss, communications officer at Schmobi says: “Our orders include large batches of more than 10,000 as well as single items. The demand on our saws is enormous. They are used continually throughout the day and some even run during the night time. We therefore need machines that process workpieces of different diameters quickly, cleanly and economically, and, above all, work reliably and without any errors.”
Schmobi uses three Kasto bandsaws for processing steel, cast iron and aluminium bars. The latest is the automatic, high-performance KASTOtec FC 4, which cuts a range of material cross sections including round, square and flat, as well as tubes and profiles.
KASTOtec FC 4 bandsaws use carbide blades, and the machine at Schmobi was supplied to Kasto Performance Cutting (KPC) specification in order to suppress vibration. The blades have a long service life and allow precision sawing to within ± 0.1 mm per 100 mm of cut length, at band speeds up to 180 m/min.
Kurt Thoma, sawmill group leader at Schmobi, says: “With the KASTOtec FC 4 we can saw different materials and diameters very economically. The minimum remnant length in automatic mode is about 35 mm, allowing us to use material efficiently and cost effectively.”
The KASTOtec FC 4 is loaded via a multi-bar magazine that is replenished from the store via an overhead crane and magnetic handling system.
For further information www.kasto.com