INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TIMTOS 2023 draws to close

TIMTOS 2023 concluded earlier this month, attracting over 45,000 visitors, including nearly 6000 international visitors from more than 100 countries. The online exhibition will continue to run until 6April and has already reached 7000 visitors from nearly 15 countries.This year’s TIMTOS was hailed as a tremendous success by major exhibitors such as FFG, Goodway, Takisawa, Heidenhain, HIWIN and Keyarrow. “Far beyond our expectations”; “we’ve taken enough orders at TIMTOS to keep the whole year busy”; and “TIMTOS 2023 is even more dynamic than pre-pandemic times”, they said.
For further information www.timtos.com.tw

ABB expandsrobotfactory

ABB is strengthening its commitment to one of its largest customer markets – the US – with construction starting on the expansion of its existing North American robotics headquarters and manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The project is expected to be complete in November 2023 and represents an investment of $20m, leading to the creation of 72 highly skilled new jobs.Close to 90% of robots delivered to customers in the US, Canada, Mexico and South America will soon be made at Auburn Hills. The plant utilises flexible, modular production cells that are digitally connected and networked.
For further information www.abb.com/robotics

Trumpf to expand smart factory

Trumpf Group will add 55,800 sq ft to its production building for the manufacture of laser cutting, bending and welding machinery at Farmington, Connecticut. The project is part of ongoing recovery efforts related to damage sustained after an aircraft crashed into the production building in September of 2021. Trumpf will invest an estimated $40m into the project, which will include a smart factory that demonstrates advanced automated and connected precision sheet metal production. Completion is expected in May 2024.

“North America remains our most important business market outside of our domestic market in Germany,” says Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, CEO of the Trumpf Group. “This project is an important step toward the next generation of manufacturing for Trumpf and our customers across the United States.”
For further information www.trumpf.com

Blum touch probes prove their long service life

Employing measuring systems in the working area of a CNC machining centre is still an unfamiliar idea for some quality experts. With its probes in use at German company Scherzinger Pumpen, Blum-Novotest is demonstrating that automated measurement not only works effectively in this harsh environment and in two-shift operation, but does so reliably and accurately over many years.

“Our core competencies in manufacturing are in milling, turning and grinding, as well as logistics and assembly,” reports Mario Maier, head of process planning at Scherzinger Pumps. “We machine metal as well as plastic and, in so doing, achieve a high level of quality and reliably tight manufacturing tolerances. Blum touch probes and laser light barriers, which we use in many machining centres, help us to accomplish that. The probes have an astonishingly long service life.”

At Scherzinger, the Blum TC50 infrared probes primarily find use for measuring bores and for workpiece zero-point detection. The company machines housings for brine pumps, for example, from two sides by rotating the clamped components in the machine tool. As a point of note, the drive is located on one side, while the two gear wheels of the actual pump are located on the other side. Scherzingermachines the through-hole of the drive axis from the drive side in the first set-up. After finishing one side – there are five housings per set-up – the housings swivel by 180°to allow machining of the pump side.

To ensure that the two machining operations align precisely with each other, the probe (mounted in the machine spindle) measures the position of the through-hole on all five housings after swivelling. The measured positions are then taken into account during the second machining operation so that, for example, the threaded holes for the cover can be precisely aligned, drilled and cut.
For further information www.blum-novotest.com

E-mobility gearboxes are no grind with ETG

Gearboxes used in electric vehicles are not only designed for high speeds and high torques, they are also very compact. This fact is not only true for the automotive sector, but also innovative applications such as e-bikes. These small but high power and electrically driven gearboxes inspire design engineers to come up with more creative solutions. With gear manufacturing technology manufactured by Kapp Niles, the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) says it offers UK manufacturers an innovative solution for producing electric vehicle and e-bike gearboxes.

Through ETG, Kapp Niles offers two machine types for meeting customer requirements. Both series are equipped with high-efficiency drives for the tools (25,000 rpm) and the workpieces (5000rpm). The KNG350 flex HS has a conventional design featuring a single workpiece drive. This machine is available in two versions, one for small lot sizes with manual loading. For higher volumes, an automated version is available with an integrated ring loader. It is possible to process workpieces up to 350 mm in diameter using this machine.The machine offers short set-up times thanks to the use of intelligent components and innovative ergonomics.

For large-scale production, it is worth taking a closer look at the productivity times of machines pre-set by design. The KX TWIN series with two workpiece drives and a loading and unloading process performed in parallel to actual grinding offers further potential for the reduction of non-productive times. The in-line centrifugation of components directly in the machine enables compliance with the ‘clean factory’ approach across all known automation concepts.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com