Machining

As part of the Industry 4.0 area at EMO 2017, HEIDENHAIN is presenting its Connected Machining system of production in which all work steps are networked - from the design to the deliverable component – via the company’s TNC control. It can access all order related information in a company network, enabling efficient exchange of data. Partner companies in the areas of CAD/CAM, machine tools, tool measurement and tool management will collaborate in the demonstration.

The whole world is talking about 3D printing, additive manufacturing and generative multi-layer construction technologies. Nevertheless, this is a long way from meaning that the classical machine tool is going to be pensioned off. The EMO Hannover 2017 will be showcasing an international banquet of production technology – with alternative processes as the highly auspicious icing on the cake.

In the second quarter of 2017, order bookings in the German machine tool industry fell by seven percent compared to the preceding year’s equivalent period. Domestic orders were down by 27%, while export orders rose by four percent. In the first half of 2017, total order bookings shrank by one percent, with domestic orders decreasing by 15%. Order bookings from abroad were up by six percent. Forming technology is performing better than metal cutting machinery.

American machine builder JSI provide paper slitting machines which are very well-connected. By using technology from HMS Industrial Networks, and system design by Millennium Controls, JSI can remotely access and control the machine via the internet and also enable wired and wireless communication between different parts of the machine. All this allows JSI to offer an even more competitive and connected machine.

Regulating the environment in which the machine operates is the most frequent approach to reducing thermal errors. This mitigates the need to design a thermally insensitive machine, which is a difficult and costly endeavour. Although successful at minimising thermal effects, environmental regulation can also be expensive when maintaining precise building temperature control, and always adds to production quality risks due to the inherently unreliable stability of most air-conditioning systems.

The latest addition to the family of 5-axis machining centres from Makino is the a500Z. Based on Makino’s a1 series, the new 5-axis horizontal machining centre is well suited for complex-parts production, die and mould, automotive, industrial components, aerospace, job-shop.

Despite the currently weakened vigour of its economy, Malaysia remains an attractive export market for German machine tool manufacturers. Admittedly, the forecasts for machine tool consumption in 2017 are only very cautiously optimistic, but as from 2018 annual growth rates of around three percent are again being predicted.

Seoul-based Hyundai Steel Company has placed an order with SMS group for the supply of a straightening machine for the medium section mill at its Incheon site. The new horizontal roller straightener of type HRM 1400/1250/1100-9M will replace the existing straightener installed in 1995. With this new horizontal straightener from SMS group, Hyundai Steel will be able in future to roll larger sheet piles and beams up to a web height of 450mm.   

A six-strand continuous caster has been provided by SMS Concast, a company of the SMS group, to a new steel plant in Iran. A consortium consisting of Chadormalu Mining & Industrial Co. (CMIC) and Parsland Mines & Industries Development Company (PAMIDCO), both of which hold 100% shares respectively in CPG Engineering & Commercial Services, erected a new steel making plant with a 170 tonne electric arc furnace and a six-strand continuous caster in Ardakan, province of Yazd in central Iran.

It is clear that CNC machining centres, such as Perforex from Rittal Automation Systems are completely ahead of the alternative, manual approach when it comes to productivity and efficiency in processing panels. In fact, machining centres speed up processing by as much as 66% compared to the traditional hand-tooled method.