Machining – Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control

Power Of Industry 4.0 Unlocked At METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024

Christellee — Fri, 17 May 2024 03:49:16 +0000

Power Of Industry 4.0 showcased at METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024 in Malaysia propels the country’s manufacturing sector towards a sustainable and prosperous future.

Industry 4.0 showcased at Southeast Asia’s biggest event for the metalworking, machine tools, and automation industries opened with a prestigious ceremony graced by YBhg. Datuk Hanafi Sakri, Deputy Secretary General (Industry) of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). YBhg. Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr Hj Mohd Nasir Bin Mohd Ashraf, Organising Chairman, Informa Markets Malaysia, YBhg. Dato Dr Tan Chin Huat, Chairman of METALTECH & AUTOMEX, and Gerard Leeuwenburgh, Country General Manager of Informa Markets Malaysia, were also present. The ceremony highlighted the significance of METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024 as a platform for growth and innovation in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector.

Datuk Hanafi delivered a keynote address about Malaysia’s manufacturing sector.

“We are witnessing impressive growth, with investments surging to RM152 billion, a remarkable 80.3% increase compared to the previous year,” he declared. He continued by emphasising the importance of METALTECH & AUTOMEX, saying, “These exhibitions play a crucial role in propelling Malaysia towards becoming a regional leader in smart manufacturing, advanced technologies, and high-tech industries.”

METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024 boasts an unparalleled showcase, featuring over 1,500 brands and companies from 40 countries. With 18,000 trade buyers and visitors anticipated from 49 countries, the event is poised to be a dynamic hub for forging new partnerships and exploring the future of manufacturing.

Themed “Industry 4.0 Innovations: Powering Malaysia’s Manufacturing Future,” the event places a strong emphasis on the transformative potential of Industry 4.0. Visitors can delve into dedicated pavilions from industry leaders in Germany, South Korea, mainland China, Singapore, and Taiwan region, all showcasing groundbreaking solutions in automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing.

“This year’s METALTECH & AUTOMEX goes beyond just speed,” said Mr. Gerard Leeuwenburgh, Country General Manager of Informa Markets in Malaysia. “The theme highlights how Industry 4.0 advancements can optimise processes, drive efficiency, reduce costs, and promote sustainability. Businesses can discover eco-friendly technologies that minimise environmental impact, achieving a future where efficiency and sustainability go hand-in-hand.”

The manufacturing landscape is undergoing a revolution. AI, robotics, and the IoT are fundamentally reshaping how products are designed, produced, and delivered. METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024 empowers businesses to stay ahead of the curve by providing a platform to explore these trends, connect with solutions providers, and gain valuable insights from industry experts.

“METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024 isn’t just an exhibition; it’s a game-changer for Malaysian manufacturers. By showcasing the latest Industry 4.0 advancements – from automation to AI-powered solutions – the event serves as a vital launchpad for progress. These innovations hold the key to greater efficiency, enhanced sustainability, and a stronger position in the global marketplace,” emphasised Dato Dr Tan Chin Huat, Chairman of METALTECH & AUTOMEX.

In addition to the exhibition, METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024 featured a comprehensive program of industry-leading seminars, offering valuable insights and knowledge-sharing opportunities for manufacturers and professionals navigating the evolving industrial landscape.

Following the opening ceremony, Guest of Honour, YBhg. Datuk Hanafi Sakri, along with Chairman Dato Dr Tan Chin Huat and Country General Manager Gerard Leeuwenburgh, embarked on a tour of the exhibition floor. This high-profile visit presents a golden opportunity for exhibitors. It allows them to directly showcase their cutting-edge technologies and solutions to key decision-makers, potentially leading to valuable partnerships and business deals.

METALTECH & AUTOMEX 2024 is a global stage for industry giants to showcase their latest cutting-edge technologies for the first time. From pioneering advancements in automation and robotics to revolutionary solutions in digital manufacturing, this event offers a glimpse into the future of the industry.

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Machining Wheel Hub For Workholding Device Design

Christellee — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 01:06:28 +0000

Hemanth M, P R Dheeraj, Hamritha S, Rajesh B and Vamshi Krishna S R from Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India present a research on designing and manufacturing workholding device for Wheel Hub for automotive.

Introduction

Wheel hub powers better steering, which has become a must-have for automotive. The industry witnessed a continuous research and innovation since the late 19^th century in automotive. It is one of the most dynamic fields, accounting for at least one in ten jobs in industrialised countries.

The industry integrates advanced technologies in vehicles to reduce emissions and ensure customers’ safety. However, in a world where material fabrication and metal heat treatment are outsourced, engineers need to be sure materials are properly processed before use.

The Wheel Hub serves as the glue between the wheel and axle. Wheels are attached with studs to the hub assembly. The hub assembly fits on the axle, connecting the wheel assembly to the rest of the car; bridging the wheel and the entire vehicle.

If one part fails; it creates a ripple effect. A hub is not a single piece of hardware. Instead, it needs a handful of other parts to do its job.

It is mounted with bearings; cylindrical pieces packed with grease that reduces friction during wheel spin. The Wheel Hub bearing is used to increase fuel efficiency, providing smooth and safe ride for passengers with Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS).

This research is related to the design of the workholding device for manufacturing the Wheel Hub section that is too long. The design uses the collet mechanism, improvements include adding a pneumatic cylinder for up and down mechanism, for top clamping of the output loader on the top plate that helps hold the component firmly for operations.

The operator ensures proper alignment of the forged component placed and reduces the rate of scrap from misalignment after manufacturing. This workholding provides good working area for the operator in component manufacturing.

Methodology

The idea was to develop a workholding device for manufacturing Wheel Hub part, which can be manufactured to the exact dimensions of the drawing using the GD&T tools.

A standard operating procedure was adopted till the final manufacturing stage. All operations were carried out on CNC and VMC machine, in case of any burs, auto-deburring was carried out at specific speed.

This workholding device is manufactured for a specific machine. The design of this fixture is drafted by keeping all machining considerations, movements and factors. The final working of this workholding was evaluated and specific planning for mass production of four components in a single run was also studied.

Read more here at page 32

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The post Machining Wheel Hub For Workholding Device Design appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.

Nvidia Finds Itself Amongst Defendants Accused Of Copyright Infringements

Christellee — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 02:31:51 +0000

Nvidia has found itself joining the group of enterprises taken to court, like OpenAI, Microsoft, Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt, making lawsuits over copyright infringements more common.

The world raved about AI last year, even Jensen Huang from Nvidia famously praised the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He went as far as to say anyone can be a programmer with AI softwares. This was during the period where ChatGPT got into trouble in various shapes and forms— from data security breach to fabricated content by a high ranking editor.

Now, the chip titan finds itself joining the group of defendants accused of copyright infringements via OpenAI. Three authors reportedly took Nvidia to court over using their copyrighted material without permission to train its NeMo AI platform.

Brian Keene, Abdi Nazemian and Stewart O’Nan said their works were part of a dataset of about 196,640 books that helped train NeMo to simulate ordinary written language, before being taken down in October “due to reported copyright infringement.“ In a proposed class action filed in San Francisco federal court, the authors said the takedown reflects Nvidia’s having “admitted” it trained NeMo on the dataset, and thereby infringed their copyrights.

They are seeking unspecified damages for people in the United States whose copyrighted works helped train NeMo’s so-called large language models in the last three years. Among the works covered by the lawsuit are Keene’s 2008 novel “Ghost Walk,” Nazemian’s 2019 novel “Like a Love Story,” and O’Nan’s 2007 novella “Last Night at the Lobster.”

The lawsuit drags Nvidia into a growing body of litigation by writers, as well as the New York Times, over generative AI, which creates new content based on inputs such as text, images and sounds. Nvidia touts NeMo as a fast and affordable way to adopt generative AI.

Other companies sued over the technology have included OpenAI, which created the AI platform ChatGPT, and its partner Microsoft. AI’s rise has made Nvidia a favourite of investors. The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker’s stock price has risen almost 600% since the end of 2022, giving Nvidia a market value of nearly US$2.2 trillion.

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Sustainability Machining With ISCAR’s Cutting Tools

Christellee — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 04:33:26 +0000

The term “sustainability” has become increasingly popular in recent years — frequently seen in headlines, featured in forms of news media, scientific research, and practical seminars. Is this word merely a trending or the question of the hour?

The emphasis on sustainability stems from global growing awareness intended for critical environmental issues and climate change, largely caused by human activity. The focus on sustainability reflects our deep commitment to the principles of securing a better future for the planet and generations to come.

Consequently, sustainability has gained prominence in various fields, ranging from everyday life and business to transportation, urban planning, and manufacturing. Manufacturing should unquestionably be sustainable.

Today, there is widespread recognition and agreement regarding the correctness of this statement. Manufacturing processes consume natural resources, energy, create waste, and pollute the environment. We can mitigate the negative environmental impact only by adopting sustainable production technologies.

Cutting Tools — Key To Sustainability

Machining remains a primary method for producing parts of machines and mechanisms. Therefore, the question of how to make machining sustainable is more relevant than ever.

A cutting tool contacts the machined workpiece directly and shapes it to its required form, removing the rest of the unnecessary material in the form of metal chips. Can a cutting tool be a key factor for improving sustainability? The answer to the above question is undoubtedly a resounding, yes!

Read more here

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Effect on Material Removal Rate and Surface Finish In ECM Process When Machining Stainless Steel-316 with Cu Electrode

Christellee — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 09:04:12 +0000

Dr Iqbal Ahmed Khan, Megha Rani, Assistant Professor In School Of Mechanical Engineering, Lingaya’s Vidyapeeth, Faridabad,and Rupak Kumar Deb, B R Bundel from Lingaya’s Vidyapeeth examines ECM’s impact when machining stainless steel.

Electro-chemical Machining (ECM) is for tricky materials such as alloy steel, Ti alloys, super alloys including stainless steel. Studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of ECM process parameters such as electrolyte concentration, current and voltage, surface finish, material removal rate (MRR), tool and workpiece gap current and voltage for its optimisation with different materials.

ECM is non-contact and gives exact replica of the tool, a cavity in the job material. A high current is passed through the anode and the cathode through an electrolyte and a cavity (as the shape of the tool) is obtained in the workpiece. EDM is better for smaller batch sizes whereas ECM is suitable for large scale production.

Researchers Neto J., et. al.’s found feed rate affects the material removal rate. In ECM, NaNO₃ showed good results on surface roughness (Ra) and overcut. Material removal rate increased with heightened tool feed rate due to decrease in machining time. Sodium chloride (NaCl) had better machining results on MRR than Sodium Nitrate as NaCl solution is a non-passivated electrolyte and has constant current efficiency.

Milan Kumar Dasa, et.al.’s ANOVA results revealed the electrolyte concentration has maximum influence on metal removal rate and Ra characteristics. P. Rodriguez et. al. current intensity increase affects the material removal rate and as it increases, surface finish decreases in the ECM process.

There should be a balance in between material removal rate and the surface finish. Kai Egashira et.al. suggested a semi-cylindrical tool electrode, long pulse width, high pulse frequency, high low-level voltage, and high electrolyte concentration were preferable for high-speed drilling without widening the lateral gap between tool electrode and hole.

Ming-Chang Jeng et al. found material removal rate and current efficiency increases with carbon content. Moreover, quenched microstructure and tempered microstructure have a greater removal rate and current efficiency than those of annealed microstructures, work-piece machined at a pressure of 3-4 kg/cm² has highest removal rate and current efficiency. Roughness of machined surface of the annealed microstructure is greater than quenched and tempered steels.

Read more here https://shorturl.at/mpL03

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Baidu Takes On OpenAI With Its ERNIE 4.0 Large Language Model

Christellee — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 01:30:53 +0000

China has officially jumped into the AI Chatbot bandwagon. Baidu Inc, the search engine giant launched ERNIE 4.0, Baidu’s next-generation and most powerful foundation model offering drastically enhanced core AI capabilities.

Baidu also showcased some of its most popular applications, solutions, and products re-built around the company’s state-of-the-art generative AI.

“ERNIE 4.0 has achieved a full upgrade with drastically improved performance in understanding, generation, reasoning, and memory,” Robin Li, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Baidu, said at the event. “These four core capabilities form the foundation of AI-native applications and have now unleashed unlimited opportunities for new innovations.”

In his keynote, Li showcased the new ERNIE Bot powered by ERNIE 4.0 through extensive demonstrations of its four core AI capabilities. ERNIE Bot is able to “Understand” and provide answers to complex and even disorganised human requests, as well as interpreting hidden messages.

ERNIE can also “Generate” a range of content, including text, images, and videos, in just a few minutes, based on one simple text prompt and image input. Li further demonstrated ERNIE Bot’s ability to “Reason” by having it solve complex geometry problems. Lastly, ERNIE Bot’s ability to “Memorize” and integrate incremental inputs was demonstrated by writing a short story and regularly adding new information as ERNIE was in process of writing the story.

Dr. Haifeng Wang, Chief Technology Officer of Baidu, said ERNIE 4.0 started beta version testing in September based on a limited amount of user input, and has since seen its overall performance improved by almost 30%. ERNIE 4.0 is now accessible to invited users on ERNIE Bot, and the API will be available upon application to enterprise clients via Qianfan foundation model platform.

The emergent intelligence brought by foundation models and large language models (LLMs) unlocks unprecedented avenues for innovative applications. Baidu adopted an AI-native approach to re-build its family of apps, solutions, and products, including Baidu Search, Baidu GBI, Infoflow, Baidu Wenku, Baidu Drive and Baidu Maps. This revamp has sparked creativity, leading to delightful and diverse user interactions.

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Giuliani IEMCA Stresses The Importance Of Bar Feeders

Christellee — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 00:58:23 +0000

Bar feeders are sometimes overlooked in metalworking, but they play a crucial role in enhancing efficiency and productivity in machining processes. Edward Tsai from Giuliani IEMCA Machinery explains the tool’s crucial role.

Bar feeders are devices used to automate the process of feeding raw material, typically metal bars, into a lathe or other machining equipment. Despite their importance, they are surprisingly obscured as compared to other machine tools.

Edward Tsai, who oversees Giuliani IEMCA Machinery’s business operations outside of Taiwan noted, “Bar feeders are essential tools in metalworking, specifically in CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining processes. Their main purpose is to automate and streamline the process of feeding raw material, usually in the form of metal bars or rods, into a CNC lathe or other similar machine tools.

Moreover, Giuliani IEMCA Machinery Company remains optimistic about the market’s recovery after economic recess. IEMCA aims to constantly increase customers’ productivity by designing high-performance bar feeders, able to support any type of lathe or turning machine in the best possible way.”

Nowadays the market shows some signs of improvement during H2 2023 even though customers still remain hesitant due to the worry of economic recess. For businesses, it was a tough balance to strike when clients suffered declining revenue, and it made no financial sense to invest immediately.

When businesses picked up, it was a dilemma for clients as no business would want to dent their margins after a revenue drought.

Read more here https://shorturl.at/zEGK0

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ISCAR Explains The Complex Decision In Metalworking Tool Selection

Christellee — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 02:21:19 +0000

ISCAR addresses the challenges of selecting the right cutting tool for a specific application, incorporating additive manufacturing into the mix.

When deciding on the appropriate cutting tool for a particular application, it is difficult to determine whether a standard tool or a special tool is preferable. The ideal tool selection is contingent on various factors, such as the nature of the business situation, the manufacturing program, the production type, and sometimes personal preferences.

Versatility Vs Precision

Standard cutting tools, produced by a specific tool manufacturer, offer high versatility and are appropriate for machining a diverse range of parts that come in different shapes. Furthermore, the tool exhibits excellent performance capabilities when cutting various engineering materials.

To ensure seamless production processes, it is crucial to have the cutting tools delivered in a timely manner. This is why standard tools are the foundation of tool stock management on metalworking production floors.

A special cutting tool is designed for specific operations on a particular part, made of a specific material, and used on a machine that requires a specific work holding fixture. This custom-engineered tooling solution aims to provide the best possible performance and outcome.

However, there is a downside to this solution as it limits the tool’s versatility, making it less adaptable to different applications. As a result, special tools are primarily used for high-volume mass production, especially in the automotive industry.

Read more here https://shorturl.at/gjlnX

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P Horn Pushes Boundaries At EMO Hannover 2023

Christellee — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:53:34 +0000

P Horn has a legacy of excellence and innovation in the manufacturing industry, consistently pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, as demonstrated in EMO Hannover 2023.

The world-renowned cutting tools players unveiled its latest at the show, maintaining its commitment to quality and standards in one of the world’s leading metalworking shows.

New High-Performance Grade For Thread Whirling

SG3P is the name of the newly developed Horn high-performance grade offering the user new possibilities in terms of performance and tool life when whirling medical screws. The new carbide grade also enables shorter cycle times for thread production thanks to higher cutting values, including when processing materials that are difficult to machine.

In addition, the combination of an ultra-fine grain carbide powder and the high temperature resistant coating results in high process reliability and better component quality. The carbide grade is available for all standard Horn thread whirling systems. Furthermore, in-house coating enables fast delivery times.

The production of bone screws must necessarily be carried out using a metalcutting process, as the material for this type of screw must not be compressed, as is the case with thread rolling, for example. Titanium in particular, which is mainly used in the human body because of its good biocompatibility, tends to burn if the material is compressed too much.

As a machining process, thread whirling has been established for many years. Conventional thread whirling is a process that is mainly used on Swiss-type lathes to manufacture bone screws, but also on a larger scale for the production of threaded spindles.

In the process, the rapidly-rotating whirling head is positioned eccentrically to the workpiece axis in front of the guide bush of the sliding-headstock lathe and the slowly rotating workpiece is guided into the whirling head with an axial feed movement.

High Performance In Stainless Steels

Horn has developed a new, solid carbide milling cutter range especially for machining stainless steels. The tools are for milling stainless materials in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries as well as the precision engineering and watchmaking industries.

Due to their geometry and good chip breaking, the milling tools are suitable for machining numerous other materials. With the precise combination of the substrate, the macro and micro geometry as well as the IG3 coating, the milling system exhibits high performance and long tool life. The coating in particular offers high temperature resistance for machining steels alloyed with chromium, nickel and molybdenum.

Horn offers the solid carbide milling tools from stock in two types. The DSHPR variant is suitable as both a finishing and a roughing tool. The geometry is also adapted for trochoidal machining and plunging. The DSR type, with its very sharp cutting edge geometry and short design, is suitable for very small parts and unstable clamping conditions, such as in the medical and watchmaking industries. In the DSHPR line, all tools are available with four teeth and in diameters from 2 mm (0.079″) to 20 mm (0.787″). Horn offers the DSR variant with three teeth in diameters from 1 mm (0.039″) to 10 mm (0.394″).

Superfinishing Of Bores

Horn presented an innovative extension for the Supermini system in the field of ultra-fine machining. The precision tool manufacturer added a variant with a precision-ground rake face to the Supermini system especially for ultra-fine machining of bores.

Due to precision grinding of the cutting edge, it is free from notches when magnified approximately 200 times. The tool system can be used from an inside diameter of 0.3 mm (0.012″).

The sharp insert geometry enables process reliability even with very small infeed and cutting feed rates. The specially developed coating is suitable for stainless steels, non-ferrous metals and other metallic materials.

The insert of the Supermini Type 105 system requires only one tool holder for well over 1,000 insert variants. This applies equally to left-hand and right-hand versions. The carbide inserts are available in coated and uncoated versions in different grades for every application including hard machining up to 66 HRC. The patented droplet shape of the cross-section has a vibration-damping effect and delivers excellent repeatability when changing the insert.

Internal coolant supply to the insert increases tool life, enhances cutting performance and improves chip removal. Horn offers the tools with elements for face clamping. This allows, for example, the insert to be changed easily without having to remove the holder from the machine.

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EMCO HYPERTURN 100 Powermill For Reliable, Complete Process Machining

Christellee — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 04:09:28 +0000

EMCO HYPERTURN 100 Powermill turn-mill centre achieved the task of complete machining plain bearing bushes for the wind energy industry — with it being a perfect match for high accuracy and productivity.

Source: EMCO

Sustainability In Energy Production

Wind power has become more socially relevant in recent years, and it contributes significantly to energy transition. However, wind farms need to become even more efficient in order to conserve resources.

This is precisely where Miba Gleitlager Austria GmbH comes in with its hydrodynamic bearings for wind turbines. Miba uses a large number of HYPERTURN 100 Powermill turn-mill centres by EMCO to machine the required plain bearing bushes.

Miba Gleitlager Austria GmbH, based in Laakirchen (Upper Austria), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of engine bearings for large engines, compressors, and turbines. With the hydrodynamic bearings produced by Miba, significant performance enhancements can be gained compared to conventional rolling bearings. This technology has already established itself in many applications.

Miba Bearings For Wind Energy

Wind power is a beacon of hope and source of clean energy. For more than five years, therefore, Laakirchen has also been working on bearing solutions for the gearbox in wind turbines.

“Thanks to our comprehensive knowledge in the application of technology and materials, we can also offer customised and cost-effective bearing solutions for wind turbines beyond the limits of other bearing technologies,“ says Ing.

Wolfgang Stadlmayr, Project Manager at Miba Gleitlager Austria GmbH, explaining the development step. But wind turbines are also affected by the market economy and must therefore operate as efficiently as possible.

This also increases the technological demands on wind turbines. And that is precisely what plays into Miba‘s hands: “Upcoming turbines will be designed for twice the production output. However, there’s no longer any need to increase installation space. Traditionally, used rolling bearings can hardly cope with these requirements, if at all,“ says Stadlmayr, explaining why more and more gear manufacturers worldwide rely on the specialist knowledge of the Upper Austrians; the plain bearings from Laakirchen are convincing with their very compact design, increased power density, higher load capacity, noise-reduced operation as well as simple assembly, lower maintenance requirements and increased service life.

High vertical range of manufacture ensures quality “Due to the increasingly growing demand for energy, existing wind farms are being expanded and new ones built – particularly in China, but also worldwide. In order to be able to satisfy this high demand, we have massively increased our production capacities for wind bearing production,” continues the project manager, who is primarily responsible for machine selection and process development in the field of renewable energies.

Key components of the Miba Wind product portfolio are plain bearing bushes and thrust rings. The bushings are made from a composite material. “Our engine bearings are used in applications with diameters ranging from 125 to 500mm and require great expertise in the manufacturing process.”

EMCO As A Long-Standing Partner

Several HYPERTURN 100 Powermill turning-milling centres from EMCO are in operation in Laakirchen to produce plain bearing bushes reliably and economically, as well as one in the production plant in China.

“More are already on order so that we can cover the enormous demand on site, especially in Asia,” Stadlmayr reveals. The Upper Austrians have a longstanding partnership with EMCO, as they invested in the first HYPERTURN series from EMCO 20 years ago. “In total, Miba Laakirchen has already ordered 14 turning-milling centres from EMCO, many of them partially or fully automated. And almost all of them are still in use,“ says Rupert Lehenauer, the responsible area sales manager at EMCO GmbH.

Miba deliberately does not award any turnkey projects but leaves the know-how in-house. “In this way, we always remain independent and can implement every project exactly according to our ideas,” explains Stadlmayr.

Flexibility Required

This was also the case with the production design of the plain bearing bushes for the wind industry: “Basically, the project involved a certain risk for us, because we didn’t know for sure whether we would be able to manufacture the bushes with the necessary tolerances and surface qualities in a process-safe manner,” the project manager continues.

That’s why Miba was looking for a partner who, in addition to the technical requirements, was as flexible as possible. Naturally, several potential machine manufacturers were contacted – in the end, EMCO turned out to be the optimal partner for Miba once again: “On the one hand, we knew about the quality and reliability of the HYPERTURN series from many years of experience, and on the other hand, EMCO agreed to implement the concept we had planned one-to-one and thus also to share the risk to a certain extent,” says Stadlmayr, explaining the decision in favour of the machine tool manufacturer from Hallein.

Miba designed the clamping device concept, which consists of standard and special clamping devices, internally. For the bushings to be machined as accurately as possible, the internal clamping is essential, among other things, so that the component is not deformed.

“We had to take the specially designed clamping situation into account when planning of our HYPERTURN 100 Powermill and install it accordingly,” continues Lehenauer, who has been supporting Miba for more than 20 years, and who has also served as an interface to development and application technology in this special project.

Sophisticated Complete Machining

For machining, the unmachined part is inserted into the HYPERTURN by the machine operator. Both the outer and inner diameters are machined completely automatically on the main and counter spindles with the milling spindle and a lower tool turret.

After complete machining, the finished components are measured externally on a coordinate measuring machine. “In this way, we can keep the specified tolerances in the micrometre range for the required diameters. For the wall thickness, we make a compromise between the necessary process reliability and the lowest possible weight,” Stadlmayr goes into detail.

Incidentally, before the project started, the entire process was simulated internally on a HYPERTURN 690 as realistically as possible before the project in order to obtain a certain degree of safety. Acceptance then took place at EMCO in Italy, where around 30 components were manufactured and checked. “The first machining operations in Italy were satisfactory right from the start – all checks were positive, the process worked, and the specificities were given,” recalls Stadlmayr.

Optimum Machine Concept

Today, the manufacturing process runs around the clock – as already mentioned – on several identical HYPERTURN 100 Powermills.

“The modular design with powerful main and counter spindle at a maximum spindle distance of 3,300mm, a B-axis with direct drive for complex 5-axis simultaneous machining as well as an additional lower turret system offers the possibility of complete machining of complex components – like here at Miba – with a turning diameter of up to 500 mm,” Lehenauer points out the possibilities of the turn-mill centre from EMCO.

The machine bed is of monobloc construction. This stable and compact construction as a travelling column principle is filled with polymer concrete, absorbs vibrations that can occur during machining correspondingly well and thus supports precision work on the workpiece.

“All guideways are implemented with large-dimension, preloaded linear guides with glass scales. Rollers instead of balls further increase stability and damping while being more robust,” Lehenauer elaborates on other design features. Wolfgang Stadlmayr can only confirm this: “The HYPERTURN 100 Powermill provides us with the optimal prerequisite for the highest precision in the complete machining of our plain bearings.”

Productivity Significantly Increased

By further developing the manufacturing process for wind bearings to include complete machining, Miba was able to significantly increase productivity. The tooling technology was designed by Miba together with a long-standing partner, and the processes were successively optimised and fully developed.

“Currently, our machining time is already below what we’d expect. This all the more shows that the HYPERTURN is very powerful, but also stable and highly accurate,” concludes Wolfgang Stadlmayr, full of praise.

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