Tag Archives: Machinery

Hydraulic Rod Locks Assist On Movable Pool Bottom Project

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Heimatec Relocates, Offers New Literature

Tooling supplier expands headquarters, offers specific machine tool brand product lines, detailed in new full-specification catalogs

Heimatec, Inc., the North American operation for a world leader in live tools, angle heads and multi-spindle drill heads, today announces it has relocated to substantially larger headquarters near Chicago.

According to company president Preben Hansen, “We made this move to increase our inventory and our staff to better serve the growing ranks of our customers, both end users and distributors alike.”  The new location is in Prospect Heights, Illinois, previously home to Heimatec.

It represents a 50% increase in the office and warehouse capacity for this growing supplier to the North American machine tool market.  Hansen anticipates hiring new staff for the facility soon.

In related news, Heimatec has introduced complete lines of tooling, each designed for specific brands of machine tools, including the major builders of turning machines used in the North American market, such as Haas, Okuma, Mazak, Spinner, Miyano, Nakamura and others. This full-specification literature by machine brand is immediately available from the company in print and online pdf versions. Interested parties should contact the company.  Heimatec also offers its new corporate capability brochure, in which all lines are presented.

For further information on this news release, please contact:

Preben Hansen, President
HEIMATEC INC.
16 E. Piper Lane Suite 129
Prospect Heights, IL 60070
Phone:  847-749-0633
Fax:  847-749-2445
Email: info@heimatecinc.com
Website: www.heimatecinc.com

Connect with Heimatec Inc:  

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Heimatec is an international tooling manufacturer, based in Renchen, Germany. Its experienced staff is dedicated to providing customers the most innovative tooling technology possible. In 2010, the company opened Heimatec Inc. in Prospect Heights, IL, near Chicago, to serve its growing North American customer base with sales and service, plus an extensive inventory of products. Heimatec serves the auto, aero, medical, off-highway, rail, energy, woodworking, composites and other industries, as well as an ever-increasing number of machine tool OEM’s worldwide.

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EMAG Uses The Same CNC and Remote Monitoring On Various Machine Tools Sold to Major Agriculture Equipment Builder

Siemens Sinumerik 840D is the control of choice on turning, grinding and turn/grind models, resulting in substantial savings for its customer and EMAG

EMAG L.L.C. is the U.S. subsidiary of a major German machine tool builder who specializes in machine tools for the production of automotive, off-highway, agricultural and oil field components.  The company’s equipment ranges from basic prismatic part turning centers to large workpiece, five-axis machining centers, gear hobbing machines and alternative cutting equipment such as lasers and electro-chemical machining centers.  This wide variety of machine tools requires an assortment of control technologies to power and manage the motion.  For one recent customer requirement, where a major agricultural equipment builder in Iowa needed grinding, turning and turn-grind machines, EMAG looked to its longtime partner Siemens for a standardized CNC solution.

CEO Peter Loetzner put it simply, “We needed to devise a control solution that would satisfy all the needs of the various machines we were supplying to this demanding customer, based on a common platform, to enable easier design, integration, start-up, commissioning on-site and training for our customer’s operations and maintenance personnel.”  After reviewing the entire line of CNC offerings from various suppliers, the decision was made to use the Siemens Sinumerik 840D CNC for all of the grinding, turning and turn-grind machines to be supplied.  Collaboration was a key element in the decision-making process, as Loetzner explains.

“The control we selected offered great flexibility in application, which was very important to us and our customer.  They were seeking a scenario that would allow considerable cross-training of their operators, who might run a turning center one day, then a grinding or turn-grind center the next.”  Loetzner further noted the control chosen offered his machine designers and the customer’s production management team an enhanced remote monitoring feature, so changes could be made on the fly with very little downtime.  As a result, over 20 machines of various sizes and styles can be monitored over a wireless network, enabling process engineers to see what the operator sees on each machine.

Furthermore, owing to the global capabilities of Siemens, Loetzner commented on the control’s ability to function

in U.S., German and even Asian factories with seamless data integration.  Regardless of the machine tool’s location, EMAG and its customer are able to monitor the performance of any particular machine and even report comparative production data from one continent to another.  Because it sells into every industrialized nation, EMAG “…works with its customers on every aspect of a job, from the order process to tooling usage, materials handling strategies to predictive maintenance.  The cultural differences are substantial sometimes and the control must be programmed to adapt to such variations.  We have been most satisfied with the help Siemens has provided to us, worldwide, in this area.”

Those differences, he continued, must nonetheless be based on a common technology to streamline the integration of the CNC on the machines under construction.

Loetzner cited specifics from the project referenced in this story.  “We were looking at a fairly diverse group of machines being supplied to the customer.  Frankly, many of their operators were more comfortable with a CNC that is very popular in the American job shop community.  However, we were able to demonstrate the immediate advantages of the Siemens control to them and they accepted our recommendations.”  This value proposition, he said, hinged on the greater capability of the Sinumerik 840D to run different machine types, which translated into considerable savings on the training and commissioning side of the equation.  Coupled with the remote monitoring and programming aspects of the Siemens control solution, the customer was convinced.

More than 75 percent of the EMAG machines at this particular customer are equipped with robotic devices, enabling a lights-out manufacturing scenario, another instance where the Siemens remote monitoring via Ethernet feature benefits both the machine tool builder and its customer alike.  Loetzner explains, “Remote monitoring of the machine tools can be done directly through the Sinumerik CNC in a one-to-one exchange between our customer and us.  Alternatively, we can communicate with Siemens and our customer in a three-way exchange of machine data and cycle information, all protected through a firewall for security and customer peace-of-mind.  That’s important with all our major OEMs, of course.”   Loetzner cited one customer in the agricultural machine building market, who’s used the remote monitoring capability of the Sinumerik CNC on a wide variety of EMAG machines for over three years currently, with all data communicated through a single information network, accessible by both EMAG and the control supplier.  Significant reductions in downtime, service calls and troubleshooting identification time have been achieved, translating into documented savings for everyone.

As a further advantage to the machine tool builder, the space reduction of more than 20 percent in the control, compared to competitive brands, meant a smaller footprint for the machine, further improving the workspace productivity of the EMAG machines for their customer.  Especially in brownfield applications, where a limited space is being utilized to maximize production for an OEM, this physical space-savings combines with other advantages of the Siemens control, according to Peter Loetzner.  These include reduced wiring and lower power consumption with the attendant lower operating temperatures, due to reduced ambient heat.

At this particular customer, the EMAG machines are used to produce gears, gear blanks, shafts and splines for

powertrain applications.  Gear hobbing and synchronous support grinding are among the advanced machining technologies performed here.  Heavy, hardened steels are the most often worked substrates.

The specific control used on these machines is the Siemens Sinumerik 840D solution line, a distributed, scalable and open control for up to 31 axes of motion, incorporating the CNC, HMI, PLC, closed loop control and communications functions into a single NC unit.  Sinumerik Safety Integrated further provides a comprehensive, yet efficiently packaged suite of personnel and machine protection functions, fully compliant with internationally-accepted standards.

Commenting on the competing brands of CNC often found in job shops worldwide, Loetzner noted that the Siemens communication architecture easily accepts input from such devices, owing to its ability to capture, standardize and transmit all data in a seamless manner through its legacy tracking.  “This service is another example of a forward-thinking supplier, such as Siemens, responding to brownfield conditions in the marketplace,” he noted.

EMAG machines are used by the majority of American companies for the production of such products in the Agriculture, Earthmoving, Motorcycle and Automotive and subsequent leading TIER1 suppliers.  The machine builder has had a presence in the American market for over 20 years and, according to Peter Loetzner, “…we’ve received great support from Siemens, both in Germany and in the United States, for on-site service, application engineering, parts distribution, remote monitoring implementation and communications between our customers and us.”

For more information on this story, please contact:

EMAG L.L.C.
Peter Loetzner
CEO
38800 Grand River Avenue
Farmington Hills, MI 48335
Phone:  248-477-7440
Fax:  248-477-7784
Web:  www.emag.com
Email:  info@emag.com

OR

SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC.
DRIVE TECHNOLOGIES
MOTION CONTROL
MACHINE TOOL BUSINESS
390 Kent Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847-640-1595
Fax: 847-437-0784
Web:  www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
Email:  SiemensMTBUMarCom.sea@siemens.com
Attention:  John Meyer, Manager, Marketing Communication

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter:  www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.

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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.

The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.

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Siemens Introduces New Simotion D Motion Controllers That Enhance User Productivity

ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2011 — Siemens Industry, Inc. announced today the extension of the upper performance range of its popular Simotion D motion controllers.  The new generation of Simotion D445-2 multi-axis controllers has new features such as onboard Profinet interfaces, high-speed I/O, and with three times the performance, a single controller can support up to 128 axes of motion.

Simotion D motion control systems are the ideal solution for production machines covering all levels of performance — from simple single-axis positioning tasks to complex synchronous applications — with extremely short cycle times on a large numbers of axes.  Thanks to its scalability, Simotion D offers users a high degree of flexibility for the ever-changing demands on machine automation.  The Simotion D drive-based multi-axis control system not only offers PLC, motion control and advanced technology functions, but also an integrated drive control based upon Siemens Sinamics S120 drives.

Today, with the new Simotion D445-2 DP/PN and D455-2 DP/PN versions, the performance range has been extended even higher.  Compared to the previous generation, the maximum quantity has been doubled to 128 axes and the memory capacity significantly expanded.  This has increased the PLC and motion control performance by a factor of three.  With Simotion D445-2 DP/PN and D455-2 DP/PN, the previously optional Profinet I/O interface has now been integrated on the modules as standard. This frees up the option slot for other expansion cards.  The onboard interface is equipped with an integrated three-port switch and facilitates different network topologies such as line, star or tree structures, without the need for additional external switches.  The interface not only supports real-time (RT), but also isochronous real-time (IRT) data exchange and can be operated as a controller and / or device of another controller.

In addition to the Profinet interface, Simotion D445-2 DP/PN and D455-2 DP/PN also have two Profibus and two Ethernet interfaces, as well as 28 digital I/Os, of which 16 can be used for technology tasks such as output cams and measuring inputs with micro-second resolution.

For more information about motion control solutions and services from Siemens, point your web browser to www.usa.siemens.com/motioncontrol.  Join the community by following us on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/siemens.dt.us and talking to us on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/siemens_dt_us.

The new Simotion D motion controllers for production machines cover all levels of performance, from simple positioning tasks to demanding applications with extremely short cycle times or large numbers of axes, up to 128. 

Please forward all inquiries to: Siemens Industry, Inc. Motion Control Business 390 Kent Avenue Elk Grove Village, IL  60007 Attn:  Marketing Communications

For specific product information and inquiries, call (800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications
or send an e-mail to:  SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com

Siemens Industry

Siemens Industry, Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Siemens’ global Industry Sector business—the world’s leading supplier of production, transportation and building technology solutions. The company’s integrated hardware and software technologies enable comprehensive industry-specific solutions for industrial and infrastructure providers to increase their productivity, sustainability and profitability. The Industry Sector includes six divisions: Building Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility, Drive Technologies and Osram Sylvania. With nearly 204,000 Siemens Industry Sector employees worldwide, the Industry Sector posted a worldwide profit of $4.7 billion on revenues of $47.3 billion in fiscal 2010.  www.usa.siemens.com/industry

Drive Technologies

A division of Siemens Industry, Inc., the Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of electrical and mechanical products, applications and solutions that cover the entire drive train. Drive Technologies is the global leader in energy-efficient motors and drives, as well as products and services for production machinery and machine tools. Technologies include standard products, industry-specific control and drive solutions, as well as mechatronics support and online services for web-based fault management and preventive maintenance. Drive Technologies provides its customers with energy-efficiency, productivity and reliability in industries as diverse as clean and renewable energy, transportation, oil and gas, utilities, metals and mining, machinery manufacturing and machine tools. With nearly 36,000 employees worldwide, the Drive Technologies Division posted worldwide revenues of $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2010. www.usa.siemens.com/drives

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Forest City Gear Keeping “Control” Of Its Gearmaking

Using CNC technology on advanced machine tools helps company sell its products worldwide

Roscoe, Illinois is home to many more gear companies than your average town of 10,000 people, but the reason is obvious.  During the peak of the machine tool boom in nearby Rockford, it was critical to have these important components made locally.  Over the years, that market has changed and so have the gear companies here, each taking its expertise in other directions to offset the decline in local machine tool building.

Forest City Gear Inc. took a different track to remain competitive globally.  As Fred Young, CEO of the company, which was founded in 1955 explains, “We decided long ago to do two things.  First, to make the very best fine and medium coarse pitch gears in the world, and to do so by using the best machines, people and quality assessment practices possible.  Second and just as important, we became committed to reinvesting our company’s profits in newer and better machinery, based on the global standards and the ongoing technical advancements made by machine tool builders around the world.”

This precision gear and spline maker performs nearly every aspect of production in-house, including blanking, turning, hobbing, shaping, milling, gear grinding with form wheels and generating grinding, thread grinding, broaching, honing, straightening, laser marking, magnetic particle inspection, metal-etching, CMM, hardness testing and final surface inspection.  Forest City Gear continues to subcontract heat treating and plating.  The blanking department, though relatively new, has been expanded several times to keep pace with increasing production.  The company boasts nearly every leading brand of gearmaking machine tool on the world market, because, as Young puts it, “We really do put our money where our mouth is, to use that old expression.  In a typical year, we invest between 25 and 40 percent of our gross sales back into better gear machines and metrology.”

Among the most advanced gearmaking machines in this shop are four Gleason shapers, two Samputensili grinders (form and generating style) plus a Hoefler gear grinder.  All these machines have something in common.

At the heart of any machine tool, of course, is the CNC that drives it, controls the motion, detects and integrates all the cutting parameters, feeding back that information to the computer logic of the control to ensure the part being made is as close as possible to the programmed specifications.  Meanwhile, the ergonomic or operator-to-machine interaction must always be considered, because a control that’s too difficult to learn and use will result in substantial and costly delays in production.  While Forest City Gear has the classic mix of longtime and newer employees, who all bring a variety of computer knowledge and machining skills to the job, this company has consistently sought the most advanced equipment on the market, as part of its “Excellence Without Exception” motto and its practical desire to stay ahead of the competition in the global gear market.

The control on these machines at Forest City Gear is the Sinumerik 840D from Siemens with specialized gear software.  As Young explains, “The extensive gear software developments available are quite remarkable.  Most have been a cooperative venture between a machine builder, the CNC builder and folks like us.  The result has been software that’s specific to hobbing, shaping, gear grinding and thread grinding.”  He also notes features of the Siemens CNC that have yielded positive impacts on the production at Forest City Gear, including “…sophisticated executive software for all machine movements and the fast program reading that allow us to cut and grind much faster, with more options such as reverse direction, segment cutting and combined operations, when compared to other controls we see.”

Typically, the CNC is used for all axis, rotary and spindle movements and the machine operators particularly appreciate the multiple standard cycles for cutting with degressive feeds, increasing speeds plus special cycles for gear tooth removal and reversing directions to improve finish or reduce cutter wear.

Forest City Gear cuts a wide variety of standard and exotic materials in the production of its gears and splines.  These include titanium, Inconel, 4340, 300M, Vascomax 250 and 300, Nitralloy 135M, 9310, 4150, 4140, 8620, aluminum bronze, 13-8, 15-5, 17-4, 316 and 440 stainless, Hastelloy, Ferrium and numerous thermoplastics.  The shop can carbide rehob to 60-62 RC and gear grind at all hardnesses.

Kevin Chatfield, a longtime Forest City Gear employee with 20 years’ CNC machine experience, works with the Samputensili grinders and says, “I’ve used all the brands of controls we have here… and for many jobs, no other control can do what the Siemens 840D can do.  One example would be the internal, external and form-grinding I do on the Samputensili machine.  If the other controls could perform these operations at all, which is doubtful, it would be a very slow process.”

Mark Cunningham, a 12-year veteran of CNC, runs the Gleason machines and notes the controls are very user-friendly. “The screens are easy-to-program and modify, then you get a clear picture of what’s happening at every step in the cycle.  The precision is so good, we sometimes need to ‘lie” to the program to get what we want from the machine.”

Brian Turnbull, a newcomer to Forest City Gear, but a longtime machinist, had worked with a competing brand to Siemens CNC and was initially hesitant.  “Then, as soon as I saw the easy layout, plus how quickly it could be set-up and go into action, with no trouble navigating at all, I was convinced Siemens was simply a better control.”

Young notes one last point about the CNCs on these machines.  “These machine tools produce our most complex parts, including helical splines and internal gears most other shops simply cannot or will not make.  The cycle and program read times on the Siemens controls are critical to our production work, plus these are the most expensive machines in the shop, so their run-time cost is the highest.”  He adds, “Most of our jobs, though not all, here are short runs on very expensive materials.  If the machine takes too long to complete the first part or has repeat rejects, we lose money — it’s that simple.  I’m proud to say that neither our operators nor our production supervisors allow that to happen.  And the controls on the machines are a big reason why we stay so successful in achieving that accuracy and consistently good part production at Forest City Gear.”

The company has remained among the leaders in the market for high-precision gears, owing to this strategy of buying the best machines, hiring the best gearmakers available and verifying the output of this 100-person shop by using the power of the industry’s leading quality lab, which occupies a cleanroom-level environment in the middle of the factory.  As Young explains, “We do checking of our gears and splines at various test stations located throughout the shop, but the final proof resides in our quality lab.  Our equipment is so sophisticated, even our competitors often bring us their work to have it checked.  It’s one of the things that’s led to our current customer base of about 400 companies, about twenty percent of whom are other gear companies or gear producers themselves.”

For more information on this story, please contact:

FOREST CITY GEAR CO., INC.
Fred Young
CEO
11715 Main Street Roscoe, IL 61073
Toll-Free:  866-623-2168
Phone:  815-623-2168
Fax:  815-623-6620
Web:  www.forestcitygear.com
Email:  sales@forestcitygear.com

OR

SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC.
DRIVE TECHNOLOGIES
MOTION CONTROL
MACHINE TOOL BUSINESS
390 Kent Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847-640-1595
Fax: 847-437-0784
Web:  www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
Email:  SiemensMTBUMarCom.sea@siemens.com
Attention:  John Meyer, Manager, Marketing Communication

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter:  www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.

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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.

The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.

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Three-Week Lead Time On All Siemens 1FK7 Servomotors

ATLANTA — Siemens Industry, Inc. announced today a value-added service for its popular line of 1FK7 servomotors.  Using a configurable options menu to build exactly the motor required, customers can now place an order for any Siemens 1FK7 servomotor and have it drop-shipped in three weeks.  Thanks to the diverse range of options available, this new service applies to over 100,000 possible configurations.  All compact (CT) and high-dynamic (HD) servomotors in the 1FK7 family are included.

With a total of 6150 option pairings and 18 color choices, servomotors in the 1FK7 family can be configured to 110,700 possible designs.  Options include stall torque and RPM rating, encoder style and bit resolution, holding brake functionality, shaft style, IP rating, AC line supply voltage and electronic nameplate recognition via Drive-Cliq^®. 1FK7 geared motor options are not included in this program presently.

Siemens is now making this service available to customers in the U.S. market. With the motion controller Simotion^® and the drive system Sinamics^® S stocked in the United States, Siemens is also able to supply complete motion control systems in three weeks’ lead time.

According to Arun Jain, general manager, Siemens Motion Control Business, “We have made the commitment to significantly shorten servomotor delivery times.  The 1FK7 family has a wide user base for motion control applications, so we have selected this very important line for our major customer service initiative.  We have devised and implemented an entirely new protocol for motor manufacturing and production at our factories.”

For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/motioncontrol.

For specific product information and inquiries, call (800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications or send an e-mail to: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com.

 

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Hennig Opens New Facility for Power Generator Enclosure Systems

Hennig, Inc., Machesney Park, Ill., announces the opening of an additional facility on its 11-acre campus here, to accommodate the expanding power gen business of Hennig Enclosure Systems.  This new facility is now open and houses all design, engineering, sales, marketing and manufacturing capabilities for this division of Hennig, a world leader in machine protection.  Utilizing additional land area outside the new facility, Hennig will also be able to test all enclosure and fuel tank systems under full operating conditions for its customers.  Load bank testing, resistance testing, airflow performance and sound level checks can all be performed in an actual outdoor environment.

In announcing this new facility, Robin Moore, Vice President of Engineering and Operations for the company, commented, “Our power gen business is ramping up substantially and we required expanded capabilities, additional staff and more capacity.”  He also noted the larger work bays and four overhead cranes (two tandem 7.5 ton and two tandem 20 ton with max. 80,000-lb. lift) will complement the tank welding process, electrical assembly, enclosure assembly and a new in-house finishing department for wet paint and powder coating at this Hennig facility.  The new location is conveniently located off Interstate I-90 at the recently completed Route 173 interchange for easy on/off logistics, a decided advantage in transporting the huge structures produced here.

At this new location, Hennig Enclosure Systems will produce turnkey enclosures and fuel tanks for OEM power generator customers, as well as architects, design/build firms, contractors and consulting/engineering companies who constitute its current customer base.  Customers interact with the company by utilizing the network of Hennig field sales engineers and service centers, as well as the recently developed online configurator software at the company’s website.

Greg Champion, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, further noted, “Our customers will quickly benefit from the improvement in work flow and logistics provided by this new facility.  Being immediately adjacent to the Hennig Global Headquarters will have many upsides for our customers and us alike.”  Champion further noted Hennig now has 150 employees onsite at this combined facility, for a total of 450 worldwide.

Local Rockford, IL contractor Cord Construction completed this new facility in less than six months from the date the previous facility was acquired by Hennig in November, 2010.

Hennig Enclosure Systems will further offer a limited amount of indoor generator storage for customers at the new facility to provide additional benefit.

In addition to its work in the power generator market, Hennig, Inc. designs and produces custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools.  Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants.  Manufacturing facilities are located in the U.S., Germany, France, Brazil, India, Japan, China and South Korea. Repair centers are located in Machesney Park, IL; Chandler, OK; Livonia, MI; Blue Ash, OH; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico.

To learn more about Hennig Enclosure Systems, visit www.hennig-enclosure-systems.com or contact:

Tim Waterman
Hennig Inc.
9900 N. Alpine Rd.
Machesney Park, IL 61115
(815) 316-5277
info@hennig.ame.com
www.hennigworldwide.com

Connect with Hennig online:       

 

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Hennig, Inc. designs and produces custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools. Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants.  Manufacturing facilities located in the USA, Germany, France, Brazil, India, Japan, Czech Republic, England and South Korea. Repair centers are located in Machesney Park, IL; Chandler, OK; Livonia, MI; Blue Ash, OH; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico.

 

 

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Manufacturing Summit Visits Dudek & Bock

CHICAGO-On March 22, 2011, a group from the Manufacturing Summit led by Bob Vavra from Plant Engineering magazine, visited Dudek & Bock, a longtime world leader in springs, wireforms and light metal stampings for the automotive, appliance, housewares and other major high-volume, close tolerance markets.  The purpose of the visit was to see how a seemingly traditional metalforming company, operating in the city of Chicago, sustains its leadership role in the world market, after 65 years in business.  The attendees included representatives from various manufacturing and industrial service companies, all seeking to learn ways to improve their own operations.

The tour began with a presentation by Matt Puz, the Dudek & Bock vp for sales & marketing, supported by Mike Dudek and Raquel Chole, who head up the sales operations for the company, which operates plants in Chicago and Saltillo, Mexico.

The presentation recapped the history of the company, from its humble beginnings in 1946, when Mike Dudek’s grandfather Joe and his partner Stan Bock started the business with two four-slide machines for springforming and a commitment to vertically integrated manufacturing, product quality and efficient operation of the factory that was and is the envy of the industry.  Dudek & Bock today maintains over 500 machines for use at both plants, retrofitting and rebuilding them in their Chicago factory, plus the company produces over 90% of its own tooling to minimize reliance on outside sources and the attendant cost/delivery issues.  Currently, the company produces over 1500 products to order.

Puz also detailed the precision with which the operations of both plants are monitored, both in terms of employee productivity and machine utilization.  Karen Pacana, one of the company’s account managers, addressed the scheduling of raw material purchases and shipping strategies, while Ken Kveton, part of the business development team for the company, spoke on the constant oversight exercised at Dudek & Bock to insure lower PPM and to streamline business integration between the two plants.  Dudek & Bock recently purchased another supplier to the automotive industry and melded the operation into its Chicago plant.  That company concentrated on the automotive seating industry, where Dudek & Bock was already established.  As Mike Dudek observed, “We saw an opportunity to expand our product reach in the seating business, not only with the in-house capabilities we already had but also through this compatible company, who was making torsion springs and related products.  The acquisition went smoothly and we are quite pleased with the results to date.”

Collectively, the automotive and appliance business represent 80% of the gross revenue at Dudek & Bock, as Matt Puz noted in his presentation.  Selling to these high-volume, critical dimension industries is very challenging, as Puz further observed.  “For several years recently, we invested over $1,000,000 annually in new CNC equipment to better serve our customers, through increased automation and capacity utilization at both our plants.”  Karen Pacana added,  “While some products are produced in the Mexico plant for local automotive business, most of it happens here in Chicago, affording us optimum control of the manufacturing and logistics.  This reduces carrying costs and allows us to build a safety overrun into our jobs, which frequently gets used for aftermarket repair operations.”

Complementing the core competencies of spring, wireform and light metal stamping production at Dudek & Bock, the company also maximizes its value to customers by providing a number of secondary operations on products, including all the following:  welding, riveting, inline tapping and extrusion plus drilling, swedging, grinding, tapping, deburring, stress relief, shot peening, degreasing, some coating and oven curing, plus specialized packaging to suit customer requirements.

Raquel Chole noted that the employees from the Mexico plant, nearly all young and all well educated, are frequently brought to Chicago for machine cross-training and instruction on the protocols used by the company for production evaluation.  “This policy gives the employees a great sense of belonging to our organization and company culture, plus they come away from the experience here with multiple skill sets that can be utilized at the Saltillo facility.”

Eipe Varghese, the vice president for quality at Dudek & Bock, proudly discussed how the company has achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO/TS 16949 certification.  “Our full audit procedures and constant attention to continuous improvement protocols at both plants have made a big difference in the overall efficiency of the company.  This reduces cost, improves delivery achievements and keeps us a valued supplier to our demanding major markets.”

Puz concluded the presentation with a detailed discussion on the “cost of quality” at Dudek & Bock.  “We utilize world-class metrics to keep us a world-class company,” he said with no small amount of pride.  “Quality has become part of our culture here and we review everything related to our machines, labor, overtime, earned hour ratio and more.”  The result has been an outstanding 25% higher efficiency for man hours worked, over the last eight years, Puz noted.

Dudek & Bock is committed to a “design for manufacturability” strategy and utilizes an Advanced Production Quality Planning (APQP) process to make optimum use of the machinery and secondary operations in-house to produce products to specification and in the most efficient manner possible, Puz concluded.

Following the presentation, the group was led on a full tour of the Chicago plant, where Mike Dudek explained the Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VA/VE) concept that drives a key component of the company’s continuous improvement policy.  “We frequently take a product that’s been made a certain way and, by using our production equipment and secondary operation skills, we are able to remove weight and improve the manufacturability of the product, without compromising the performance or quality in any way.”  He further noted that, as a supplier to automotive, safety factors in the end product are constantly monitored.  “We sample all our products throughout the run, including on every new spool of wire or coil of metal.  This is a further back-up to what our quality department does on all incoming shipments.”

Monitoring the total production and all incoming jobs is done at biweekly staff meetings, observed Raquel Chole.  Here, company managers review the performance issues of all machinery at both plants, plus perform an assessment on the incoming workflow.  Energy use, IT issues, capacity utilization, “stretch opportunities” within an existing customer or market and manufactured product potential are all evaluated in an ongoing manner, through this process.

Eipe Varghese conducted the tour of his quality department, detailing how PPAP and segment checks are performed on all jobs at Dudek & Bock, sometimes in compliance with customer mandate, but more often to the stringent internal protocols established long ago by the company itself.  “We perform load testing, full data capture and record keeping on all the work cells in the plant.” He noted the Mexico facility has a mirror image quality lab.  “Gaging is often built in-house but we use external calibration services, as well, to be sure we’re on track at all times.”

In touring the machine maintenance department, Mike Dudek mused, “This is our old-fashioned art department, our black magic, if you will.”  The department is staffed with many longtime Dudek & Bock employees, who have not only run every piece of machinery in the building, but are able to repair and retrofit it, as well.  On a typical piece of heavy wireforming machinery, Dudek noted, “…you might be looking at $300,000 to buy it new, while our guys can make one of our old machines run as good as new for maybe 20% of that amount.  Big difference.”

All in the group agreed this forward-thinking company was a fitting end to the Manufacturing Summit.

For video of this event, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=64D854D474995127

Agency contact:  Tim Daro Bernard & Company 847-934-4500

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Siemens Presents New Innovations That Enhance Machine Tool Productivity

            CHICAGO, April 5, 2011 — At this year’s AERODEF show in Anaheim, California, Siemens will demonstrate new solutions and services for machine tool end-users and manufacturers.  Under the theme, “Productivity in motion,” the presentation will focus on turnkey solutions for the aerospace manufacturing industry.

For machine tool end-users and OEMs, Siemens will exhibit new value-added services ranging from condition monitoring and manufacturing IT to innovative solutions for CNC training and machine tool retrofit, as well as the newest innovations in CNC (computer numerical control), motor and drive technology.

SOLUTIONS FOR MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE

Condition Monitoring and Manufacturing IT are two value-added services that are continuing their introduction to the U.S. machine tool market.

Condition Monitoring is an internet-based service from Siemens that supports maintenance processes while simultaneously forming a platform for cross-company service and support between OEMs and machine operators.  Services can be configured over secure Internet connections from anywhere in the world via a standard PC, an internet connection and a web browser.

Manufacturing IT solutions from Siemens provide software tools for fast, easy integration of machines in a production network, while ensuring that production planning, scheduling and execution
is always problem-free and based on the very latest data.

An entire line of powerful software modules for production machines ensures optimum integration of the machines in the IT-environment and supports a wide range of different functionalities including:

• Production data management (MDA / PMT / PDA)
• Numerical control program management (DNC)
• Tool management (TDI)
• Maintenance management (TPM)
• Service management (RCS)
• Computer interfacing (RPC)

SOLUTIONS FOR AEROSPACE

For the aerospace market, the new Sinumerik 840D solution line is the latest in CNC technology that increases performance and user productivity.  The Sinumerik 840D sl is a universal and flexible CNC system featuring the innovative Sinamics S120 drives that can be used for up to 31 axes.  It is a distributed, scalable, open and inter-connecting system offering a wide range of specialized functions for milling, drilling, turning, grinding and handling technologies.

The Sinumerik 840D offers users innovative features that increase productivity on the manufacturing floor, especially the challenging segments of high-speed and five-axis aerospace machining.

SOLUTIONS FOR THE JOB SHOP

For the job shop, the new Sinumerik 828D numerical control will be presented.  Perfect for
mid-range machine tools, the Sinumerik 828D is designed to address the needs of complex milling and turning machines in the job shop segment.  It combines CNC, PLC, operator panel and axis control for six CNC measurement circuits in a single, robust operator panel.

The Sinumerik 828D is capable of full graphical, high-level language command and supports ISO programming that is customary in the United States.  Programming time can be further reduced for small-batch production with the use of the ShopMill and ShopTurn graphical workstep programming system, while high-level language programming can be used in conjunction with programGuide to significantly reduce programming times for large-scale serial production.

With the introduction of the Sinumerik 828D, modern PC and mobile phone technology is now available to the mid-range machine tool.  Extensive online help animations and a new type of input prompting system with moving picture sequences provide the basis for exceptional user convenience. USB, Compact Flash (CF) card and Ethernet ports enable high-speed data transfers onto storage media or integration of the control system into corporate networks.  Through the use of its Easy Message functionality, the Sinumerik 828D offers production status monitoring by text messaging (SMS). Depending on the recipient’s profile setting, the machine will transmit information about workpiece machining status, report on the tool condition currently in use and send machine maintenance bulletins to a mobile phone, anytime and anywhere.  These combined functions are designed to help keep machine downtime to a minimum.

SOLUTIONS FOR CNC TRAINING

Newly introduced to the American machine tool industry, and based upon the new Sinumerik Operate user interface, SinuTrain is the ideal solution for control-identical CNC training.

With SinuTrain, actual NC programs are developed and simulated, to speed the program generation protocol.  In this way, machine tool operators not only learn the control language commands, but they also visualize part programs on a PC screen that are identical to the machine tool’s screen.  As a further benefit, programs generated through SinuTrain can then be used on actual machines.

SinuTrain is available for different needs and budgets including a trial version, a study version, a single-user license and an educational license.  It is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Simplified Chinese, and requires Windows^® XP (32-bit). Support for Windows 7 (32- / 64-bit) coming in 2011.

For more information about CNC solutions and services from Siemens, point your web browser to www.usa.siemens.com/cnc. 

For specific product information and inquiries:

SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC.
DRIVE TECHNOLOGIES
MOTION CONTROL
MACHINE TOOL BUSINESS
390 Kent Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: 847-640-1595
Fax: 847-437-0784
Web:  www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
Email:  SiemensMTBUMarCom.sea@siemens.com
Attention:  John Meyer, Manager, Marketing Communication

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter:  www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.

—

Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.

The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.

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Magna Electro Casting Purchases Maus Grinding Center

Major Indian caster anticipates dramatic improvement in surface quality and production rates from new Italian grinding/fettling center 

 

Schaumburg, Illinois (USA)-Magna Electro Castings Limited (Tamilnadu, India), a major producer of small to medium ductile and gray iron castings, has announced its purchase of a new grinding/fettling center from Maus SpA (Padua, Italy), according to company sources.  The machine is a Maus SAM 600G, a compact yet powerful automatic grinding center, with four-tool capacity and product load/unload time less than four seconds.

Mr. N. Krishna Samaraj, managing director for Magna, stated it was the company’s expectation that this machining system, scheduled for start-up after July, 2011, will result in significant improvements in the surface quality and production rates at the company.  Magna is a vertically integrated foundry, as it performs various machining, surface treatment and heat treating operations, in addition to its full foundry capabilities for various products sold to the valve, refrigeration, rail, hydraulics, automotive, wind turbine and other industries worldwide. 

Magna runs a fully automated sand prep and mold line, as well, using equipment from its longtime supplier, Hunter Automated Machinery, who represents Maus in various world market areas. Magna currently runs a Hunter HMP20E Automatic Molding Machine (1994) and an HLH 20 Type II mold handling system (2007).

Magna is ISO 9001:2000 and ISO/TS 16949 certified for its Quality Management System.

The sale of this Maus grinding/fettling machine was finalized between Mr. N. Krishna Samaraj for Magna and Mr. Ashwin Katke of Carraro, the parent company of Maus, with offices in India.

For further information on this announcement, interested parties may contact:

MAGNA ELECTRO CASTINGS LIMITED 43, Balasundaram Road Coimbatore – 641 -018 Tamilnadu, India Phone:  +91 4322 2240109 Email:  magnacast@vsnl.com Web:  www.magnacast.com Attention:  Mr. N. Krishna Samaraj, Managing Director

Or

MAUS SpA Via Caltana, 28 35011 Campodarsego Padova, Italy Phone: +39 0499299311 Sandra Selwan, Marketing Manager Sandra_Selwan@maus.it www.maus.it

Or

HUNTER AUTOMATED MACHINERY CORPORATION 2222 Hammond Drive Schaumburg, Illinois 60196-1094 USA Phone:  +1 847 397 5136 Email:  kpurdy@hunterauto.com Web: www.hunterauto.com Attention:  Kevin Purdy, Vice President

Editor Note:  Please direct all publication-generated inquiries to Kevin Purdy at Hunter.  Thanks!

Agency contact for Hunter: Tim Daro Bernard & Company Palatine, Illinois (Chicago) USA +1 847 934 4500 tdaro@bernardandcompany.com

www.bernardandcompany.com

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