INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Five-axis portal mill for prototypes

A portal, five-axis milling machine has been introduced by German machine-tool manufacturer Zimmermann at the lower end of its price range. Available in the UK and Ireland through Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools, the compact FZU is intended primarily for prototype, tool and mould making, as well as machining composite components such as airframes.

Of thermo-symmetrical and stable design, the machine is suitable for manufacturing workpieces from aluminium, plastics and model board. Unlike other machines in the Zimmermann range, the FZU is shipped in one piece so does not need to be assembled at the customer’s premises.
The working volume is available from a choice of X-axis travels of 2000, 4000 or 6000 mm, a 3000 mm Y axis, and either 1250 or 1500 mm movement in Z. Acceleration is 3 m/s2 to the maximum 60 m/min feed rate. Table loads of up to 10 tonnes can be accommodated.
The fourth and fifth CNC axes are provided by the newly developed VH10 spindle head, now the smallest in the manufacturer’s range. Of slender design, it provides minimal interference contours and high clamping force for stable milling.
A HSK-A63 spindle is standard, delivering 34 kW of power and 39 Nm of torque continuously, and offering a maximum speed of 24,000 rpm. The A axis swivels through 220°, while C-axis rotation is 300 or 360° for the smaller and larger Z-axis travels respectively. Resolution in both rotary axes is 0.0001°.
Control is provided by either a Heidenhain TNC 640 or Siemens Sinumerik 840D sl. Other options include spindle probing, tool measuring, and capacity for 40 or 60 tools in the magazine instead of the standard 20 tools.
For further information www.geokingsbury.com

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