INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Robotics symposium

Schunk’s ‘Expert Days on Service Robotics’, now reaching its 10th anniversary, will this year take place from 28 February to 1 March under the theme ‘Smart Future with Cobots and Co-acts’.

Staged at Schunk’s headquarters in Lauffen/Neckar, Germany, the topic spectrum will range from cobot usage in logistics and distribution, through complex control and monitoring technology for robotic systems, to value creation with the help of data-supported methods such as machine learning, visual perception or speech recognition.
For further information www.expertdays.schunk.com

100th hot-stamping line sold

In 1993, Schuler delivered the first three hot-stamping lines to automobile manufacturer Ford in the USA. What was a new method at the time has since established itself on the market as a global forming technology for automotive lightweight construction – and the trend continues unabated: Schuler has now sold what is the 100th hot-stamping line to a Chinese automotive supplier.

“Compared with forming aluminium, CFRP and dual-phase steels, this technology is an inexpensive alternative for lightweight automobile construction,” says Daniel Huber, the head of Division Hydraulic at Schuler. Oemer Akyazici, CEO of Schuler China, adds: “Chinese automobile manufacturers and automotive suppliers, such as Shanghai Superior Die Technology and Baowei are increasingly turning to hot stamping.”
For further information www.schulergroup.com

Trumpf buys ultrashort pulsed laser specialist

Trumpf reports that it has acquired the laser manufacturer Amphos, which was founded in 2010 as a spin-out from RWTH Aachen and the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT.

Amphos develops and produces ultrashort pulsed lasers with high output power for manufacturing and research applications. The key to Amphos lasers is InnoSlab technology, which was co-developed by the company’s founders while still a part of ILT. InnoSlab will allow Trumpf to open up an entirely new range of parameters for its ultrashort pulsed lasers.
Amphos develops ultrashort pulsed lasers that feature output power between 200 and 400 W. The company also offers high-power lasers for research applications that have an output as high as 1.5 kW. Headquartered at the Herzogenrath technology centre in Aachen, Amphos and Trumpf agreed to not disclose the purchase price.
For further information www.trumpf.com

Neher has its finger on the VPulse

Ostrach-based family business Neher, which develops special tools for the international manufacturing industry, recently opted to invest in a VPulse 500 wire-erosion machine from Vollmer. Developed by the Biberach-based sharpening specialist, the Vollmer machine allows Neher to manufacture its PCD-tipped tools with a high surface finish.

“We manufacture customised diamond tools for our customers, which generally have complex geometries, particularly when it comes to combination tools such as milling cutters and reamers”, states Gerd Neher, managing director of the Neher Group. “For this we rely on erosion technology from Vollmer and recently decided to purchase the fully automated VPulse 500.”
Neher uses wire erosion for processing its PCD cutting edges. The process is suitable for tools such as contour cutters or stepped reamers that have complex geometries. With the Vollmer VPulse 500 wire-erosion machine, even the tiniest inner radii can be machined precisely. Typically, special tools require machining times that range from 30 minutes for simple reamers up to 20 hours for complex combination tools.
“Thanks to the fully automated VPulse 500 we can work in single-shift operation and still manufacture around the clock, and over the weekend”, states Anton Juric, application engineer at Neher. “For this, we use the external tool memory of the wire-erosion machine where we can store a total of 16 different tools.”
Neher is currently planning on purchasing another VPulse 500 to boost its targeted level of growth. In 2017, Neher concluded a joint venture with the American company Star SU from Michigan. With locations in the USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, the plan is to now use the new VPulse 500 on site in the USA.
For further information www.vollmer-group.com

Higher precision and less waste

Anca has made available its LaserPlus system on the company’s EDGe machine. The EDGe is used to erode PCD cutting tools, which in turn are used in the aerospace and automotive industries.

“The LaserPlus technology on our EDGe machine will help customers achieve much better accuracy and reduce waste,” says Anca product manager Duncan Thomson. “It ensures all tools in a batch stay within target tolerances, regardless of external influences such as wheel [electrode] wear or machine growth due to thermal variation. The result is improved tool consistency, quality and reduced scrap tools.”
Anca’s EDGe machine includes its proprietary eSpark generator for optimal PCD erosion results. This means that on the one-wheel spindle, two wheel packs support both erosion and grinding operations. The addition of the LaserPlus further enhances the machine’s capabilities for customers.
First introduced on its tool-grinding machines, the LaserPlus system allows newly ground tools to be automatically measured on the machine using a non-contact Blum laser system. Then if required, compensation is automatically applied to subsequent tools in the batch.
“For customers manufacturing PCD cutting tools, the laser technology provides real value due to the unique challenges involved with the process of electro-discharge grinding [EDG],” says Thomson. “Without touching the PCD cutting edge, LaserPlus is able to measure a cutting-tool feature before the final erosion pass. By doing this operation, the technology can identify any variation, which may, for example, be the result of thermal drift or wear on the electrode, from the nominal size and account for this in the final finishing pass. The result is that the finished tool geometry is guaranteed to be on size.”
For further information www.anca.com