Viewpoint - Metalworking News News...Viewpoint Industry News Edgecam Workflow in 2015 R1; W.D....

METALWORKING NEWS v 13. 6 January 2015 1

METALWORKING NEWS

Editor’s Comment

Viewpoint

Industry News

Edgecam Workflow in 2015 R1; W.D. Hearn; Hulamin; Hypertherm adds support; DRC copper mine;AFSA; Gantec increases capabilities; GM suppliers honoured; CSR and Transnet; Pressure Die Casting; SA’s mineral resources; New all-wheel-drive Jaguar; Component makers surprised;16th KZN Industrial Technology Exhibition; A proud legacy;Steel demand; Ford; PRASA; First body-shell ready; SigmaTEK

Shopfront Focus

Vala Moya talks the torque; Bromley Sports keeps leading athletes at the top of their game

Better Production

Eskom benefits from tool management and traceability system;Buying a professional 3D printer

International News

EuroBlech 2014;Frost & Sullivan report predicts;Laser processing market;Alcoa; Ford; JIMTOF

Product Review

New WSX series; Doosan; Gleason; Cutting tool inserts; Amada; Safan; 3D waterjet cutting; Prima Power; Renishaw; Sandvik Coromant; Hexagon Metrology;Sisma laser systems; Trumpf TruTops Boost; SpadeRush; Jyoti CNC vertical machining center; DMG Mori; Widia Victory;Okuma; SyncView; Iscar; Salvagnini; Yaskawa Motoman

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2 METALWORKING NEWS v 13. 6 January 2015

It is time for us to be proactive

Volume 13 Number 6January 2015

Editor

Bruce Crawford

Online Editor

Damon Crawford

Editorial Board

Professor Dimitri Dimitrov, Global Competitiveness Centre in Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Stellenbosch

Dr Willie Du Preez, Senior Researcher, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology of the Central University of Technology

Production Manager

Wendy Crawford

Reproduction

Jericho Graphic Design

Advertising

Bruce Crawford / Wendy CrawfordTel: + 27 11 463 0489Cell: + 27 83 628 7654E-mail: [email protected]: www.metalworkingnews.co.za

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41 Arklow Road, Bryanston, South Africa, 2021 Tel: + 27 11 463 0489E-mail: [email protected]: www.crawfordpublications.co.za

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All rights reserved. No editorial matter published in Metalworking News may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction the editor, authors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

The coming together of Europe, and indeed the world, as a result of the Paris Charlie Hebdo and Jewish supermarket

shootings, has shown that we can unite in the face of an adversity that threatens each and every one of us. The barbaric attack on the magazine offices highlights our right to freedom of speech: “You may not like what I write or say but I must never be stopped from expressing myself” otherwise our Western democracy will be threatened as we know it. There are few red lines left. In an age where almost anyone can have his/her writings published online, blocking

or censoring anyone has become all but impossible. The shooting of artists, satirists, journalists, heck, the shooting of any human being, is an atrocity that stands as its own condemnation.

In the context of freedom of speech there is a local website ‘Roadhogs - Report Bad Drivers!’, (www.roadhogs.co.za), which is a must for you to visit just in case you feature. I looked at it and it is amazing how many transgressors there are. Johannesburg comes up as the ‘Worst city to drive in’, but it is a Cape Town registration that has been reported with the most offences. It could be a very subjective way of incriminating someone, but in general there is good value to websites such as this one and other consumer-type sites. The internet and the tools at our disposal allow Joe Public to express his/her concerns. Social media has allowed this to be so, to the detriment of some.

How many times do we see a blatant disregard to the rules of the road while out on a single trip? It is the norm rather than the exception and I am only talking about one aspect of our daily lives. The transgressors must be accountable for their actions and so be it if they are exposed in a way where they take offence to it. If we are all passive about incidents that we know are breaking the law, as we do not want to become involved, then we can look forward to our society breaking down even more, and we must not complain. The decline in South Africa since democracy is, I believe, a classic example. Nobody must tell me “But what about all the good that has been done?” This counts for nothing if there are so many other aspects that have deteriorated to such an extent that it affects all of us. It has become the norm rather than the exception to break the law in our country, led admirably by our politicians.

I believe this is not a perception, it is a reality. There were too many examples highlighted in 2014 by the mainstream media for us not to think so. Our society is losing its moral values and the future is unthinkable. Therefore let us then begin the year by avoiding being apathetic, and becoming more proactive. But please do not break the law in your endeavours, and think carefully before exposing yourself. Facebook, Twitter and the many others are very unforgiving!

EDITOR’S COMMENT

New material substrates and an increasing number of compact designs in aerospace engines, automotive transmissions, medical devices and elsewhere have had

the dual effect of stimulating more creative approaches to machining, plus a review of the many techniques long classified as nontraditional.

Specifically, the expanding use of nickel-based alloys such as Waspaloy and Inconel, along with new polymer composites, derivative titanium aluminides and cobalt chrome materials call for a new approach. Traditional processes are limited in their ability to machine these new materials.

The geometries of today’s blisks, defusers, compact transmission gear assemblies and the always nonlinear world of medical machining initially drove a trend toward more five-axis machining. However, that scenario carries high capital investment, substantial tooling costs and other burdens for the production department. The appeal and profitability of such work is substantial, but so are the investments needed.

Thus, nontraditional, alternative technologies should certainly be considered for such work, including laser, EDM and the rapidly advancing methods of electrochemical machining or ECM. These non-chipcutting technologies have decided

advantages in the production of very contoured surfaces, where the finish is critical for maintaining end effects such as heat dissipation on the blisks in a compact jet engine or transmission gears in close proximity, free flow in fuel injectors and, of course, the stability, comfort and functionality of a knee joint in the human body.

ECM is essentially electrolysis for a metal surface. The workpiece is the positive anode and the tool is the negative cathode. A current flows between the two and an electrolyte removes metal ions from the surface of the workpiece.

ECM, a technology pioneered early in the 20th century and used as a production technique for a short time in the middle of the last century, fell dormant in most sectors due to toxic waste considerations, owing to the chemical composition of the electrolytes used and the corresponding disposal methods. With the evolution of high-tech filtration systems, however, the environmental impact of the process is no longer of concern.

Accuracies in the application of ECM technology have likewise progressed to a point where the achievement of single-digit micron tolerances is now possible in many cases. Coupled with the low tool wear, high-strength alloy machining possibilities, repeatability and even the “traditional” ECM role of deburring leading and sharp edges, this technology is on the march forward in many markets today. One significant emerging market for this method is the highly compact world of consumer mobile electronics.

Despite the decidedly different machining envelope and mechanics of ECM machines, they are quite suitable for end-of-line applications in a traditional mill or turn machine sequence with auto-loading or robotic part articulation. As an example, a firearms manufacturer could use this technology as a noncontact process to create virtually any rifling profile with top finish and accuracy quality. With no cathode wear, thousands of barrels can be produced with the same tool and the chemical process creates no heat affected zone.

Likewise, in the expansion of near-net piece part production, ECM can perform the final machining operations with precision to bypass an additional grinding process.

Pre-machined cathodes and the abundance of current chemistries available for the electrolyte solutions combine with the quickly trainable skill levels required to run the machines, and also the lights-out capabilities of ECM on long runs such as power gen turbine blade assemblies, all of which produce a most attractive cost-to-benefit scenario.

As more complex geometries and materials that present significant challenges to traditional chipcutting techniques emerge on the market, such alternative machining methods as ECM will merit a closer look by forward-thinking manufacturers and job shops alike. When low tool wear, noncontact machining and high-precision contour surfacing to Rz 0.2/Ra 0.05 converge in a practical production solution, it is an exciting moment for those of us in the machine tool world.

Let’s look at those alternatives.

VIEW POINT

A closer look at alternative machining

This article was written by Peter Loetzner, &(2��(0$*�//&��1RUWK�$PHULFD��DQG�ZDV�ÀUVW�SXEOLVKHG�LQ�

Manufacturing Engineering.



The swift evolution of Edgecam Workflow is highlighted with over 50 new and enhanced aspects of

functionality in the latest release. Waveform turning, multiple machining sequence support, ribbon bar and interface updates, and the inclusion of Wire EDM mean that Edgecam 2015 R1, from Vero Software, continues to be a game changer in ensuring manufacturers can compete in a global economy.

Vero’s Strategic Product Director, Raf Lobato, says having developed Waveform roughing for milling during the last two years, the new version of Edgecam also makes it available for turning strategies, and manufacturers say that will be particularly valuable in driving down costs.

Here are some of the 50 new and enhanced aspects of functionality in the latest release.

Rough Waveform turning: Based on the successful milling waveform technology, Edgecam 2015 R1 introduces a brand new turning cycle, Rough Waveform Turning. The toolpath maintains a constant cutting load, enabling significantly faster cutting data, and prolonging tool life. Similar to other turning commands, the cycle is sensitive to the stock condition, eliminating ‘fresh-air cuts.’

Multiple setup support: The new release introduces further Workflow enhancements by supporting multiple setups in both the turning and milling environments. This means both the component and stock and fixtures can be passed to subsequent new machining sequences. This enhancement promotes the use of one single CAM file to house

multiple machining setups, ensuring the stock remains associative between setups which is a massive improvement.

Themes – ribbon bar customisation: The default ribbon bar can be customised and saved as a ‘Theme.’ Themes can be exported to other Edgecam installations and deployed across networks. Users can personalise their individual theme with

frequently used commands, even adding custom macros.

Edgecam Workflow Solids (EWS): Numerous new commands have been added to the internal solid modelling software. DXF and DWG files can now be imported to accelerate the design process. And both internal and external threads can now be created in EWS. An array of time-saving commands have been introduced,

INDUSTRY NEWS

This month’s cover features Stillam CNC Programming Solutions, the Sub Saharan distributor for EdgeCAM, Alphacam, Cabinet Vision and Radan sheet metal CAD/CAM software.

With the multiple setup support, Waveform for turning, engraving, direct picking of surfaces and wire EDM, there’s something for everyone in Edgecam 2015 R1.

cover story

Edgecam Workflow in 2015 R1

Workflow multiple sequence support for milling

Wire EDM simulator


such as copy/move procedures and the ability to create circular workplanes.

Wire EDM: The Wire EDM product is now available in the Workflow environment, and Edgecam 2015 R1 offers full machine simulation, including stock and cross-section display.

Turning on milling machines: A new machine tool configuration has been introduced, making it possible to turn on a milling machining centre. As well as accurate code output, full machine tool graphics are available for toolpath simulation.

Picking 3D faces: The parallel lace, constant cusp, rest finishing and pencil mill cycles have all been enhanced to allow ‘direct picking,’ meaning that individual faces or surfaces can be selected and without the need for creating boundaries, the entire model will be protected. The reduction in the need to create boundaries is one of the primary drivers in making Edgecam quicker and easier to use.

New engraving cycle: The new machining command ‘Engraving Cycle’, allows complex geometry corners to be shaped, and artwork profiles to be machined. Using direct picking, the cycle works with a variety of entities, and offers four different types of strategies.

Ordering of profiling and roughing: An optimise path function has been added to both the roughing and profiling cycles, giving greater control over the toolpath. Specifically, users can save on wasted toolpath movements by dictating the order in which regions are machined.

About Stillam CNC Programming SolutionsStillam is the Sub Saharan distributor for EdgeCAM,

Alphacam, Cabinet Vision and Radan sheet metal CAD/CAM software.

EdgeCAM is a complete CAM software solution for production machining and mould & die applications with an extensive range of 2-5 Axis milling, turning and mill/turn strategies, seamless CAD integration and sophisticated automation tools. EdgeCAM is a brand within the Vero Software Group.

Radan is one of the most powerful sheet metal CAD/CAM software in the world, helping customers increase their material utilisation and reduce inventory – and offers a significant return on investment. Radan was recently ranked by CIMdata as the world’s fastest growing CAM vendor, with most industrial users.

Alphacam offers a multitude of applications for doors, windows, cabinets, stairs and panels. Anything in wood, from 2D fascia doors to complex 5-Axis stair handrails can be produced easily and quickly. Alphacam has such flexibility that is bound to have a solution for your needs, whatever they might be.

Cabinet Vision has been award-winning software for woodworking professionals since 1983. The Cabinet Vision Solid product line is widely recognised as a major technological advancement for the industry. The products use solid modeling technology to create true three-dimensional presentations of the final product on-screen, while simultaneously generating the necessary information for the shop floor. Cabinet Vision products keep the simple tasks easy and make the complex jobs possible.

Stillam is situated in the hub of Johannesburg's manufacturing industry and has reseller agencies in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town who manage all sales, support and training in their region. The facilities in Johannesburg include a training centre, which caters for up to 10 candidates at a time, and a conference facility for all user groups and conferences, which are held throughout the year.

Stillam opened its Cape Town training centre in 2014 and

will be setting up a dedicated Cape Town office in 2015.Stillam delivers world class support and backup and has

a team of highly trained professionals who themselves attend international training courses to further enhance their skills to be able to deliver the best possible service available. Both in house and onsite training and support are offered in all the provinces.

For more information contact Stillam on TEL: 011 663 2600 or visit www.stillam.com

Rough waveform turning

Turning on milling machines

Ordering of profiling and roughing

Engraving cycle


An established leader and an agile expanding partner. A leading provider of equipment and technology into metalworking and general engineering companies in

both application and through the expertise of skilled technicians. Delivering solutions of real value.

All these describe W.D. Hearn, a company continuing to expand and re-conceive its services portfolio in light of the lightning fast evolution of technology in today’s competitive world.

“Our continuing mission is to provide a market-driven services portfolio inspired by an intimate understanding of our customers´ needs, while at the same time keeping our commitment to a ‘Different Thinking is Better Thinking’ policy,” says MD Ray Cooper.

“Over the years we have built extensive product knowledge within the W.D. Hearn group in application, service and repair. As a result we have carefully chosen hi-tech suppliers from Europe, America, Taiwan and Korea to cover virtually all job shop and production requirements. This includes a range of CNC machines, metrology and measurement equipment, accessories, tooling, conventional machines and related equipment.”

“However we are continually evolving our product line.

This is why we recently signed an approved distributor agreement for the machine tool product division of Renishaw PLC, to market their machine tool probe systems for CNC machine tools.”

“We have now been appointed the distributors for Mitsubishi Electric EDM and WEDM machines. As the sole appointed distributor for Mitsubishi EDM in South Africa, we will now be able to supply Mitsubishi’s range of next generation EDM machines, encompassing the very latest wire cutting and die sinking. Although we will be working through Europe, the machines are all manufactured at the Japanese manufacturer’s state-of-the-art plants in Japan and China. The company operates under the Monozukuri principle, which was the theme for JIMTOF 2014. The principle translates into “an inspired approach to the art and science of making things should be at the core of our beings.”

“The range of wire cutting models includes a larger machine the MV2400S which has XYZ axis travels of 600 x 400 x 310 (optional 425) mm, UV travels of +/- 75mm,

W.D. Hearn has

recently been appointed sole agents for Mitsubishi Electric EDM and WEDM. The MV1200S

wire cutting model has XYZ axis travels of 400 x 300 x 215 mm, UV travels of +/- 60mm, a maximum workpiece size of

810 x 701 x 215mm, a maximum submerged weight of 500kg and incorporates the all new cylindrical drive technology

Expanding W.D. Hearn services portfolio reflects latest efforts, different thinking

Appointed distributor for Mitsubishi Electric EDM and WEDM.

W.D. Hearn are also the agents for Nikon Metrology which supplies portable measuring and articulated arms amongst other optical inspection and mechanical 3D metrology solutions, complemented with vision measuring instruments


a maximum workpiece size of 1050 x 820 x 420mm and a maximum submerged weight of 1500kg, and the MV1200S which has XYZ axis travels of 400 x 300 x 215 mm, UV travels of +/- 60mm, a maximum workpiece size of 810 x 701 x 215 mm and a maximum submerged weight of 500kg. Both models incorporate the all new cylindrical drive technology.”

“The latest addition to the MV Series is the MV4800 Advance, which cuts significantly quicker than previous EDM machines, plus it has a larger tray allowing manufacturer’s flexibility to machine larger parts than ever before, which is extremely vital in the aerospace industry for example. The MV4800 Advance features a broad travel of 800 x 600 x 510 mm and can machine workpieces up to 1350 x 1100 x 500 mm.”

“We will be concentrating on the smaller model MV1200S, which we believe is suitable for the South African die & mould market, and will have one on display at our inhouse exhibitions in April.”

“The die sinker models range from XYZ axis travels of 300 x 250 x 250mm, a maximum workpiece size of 730 x 490 x 200mm and a maximum workpiece weight of 550kg up to XYZ axis travels of 650 x 450 x 350mm, a maximum workpiece size of 1050 x 760 x 350mm and a maximum workpiece weight of 2000kg.”

Other developments“In the past 12 months we have officially signed

agreements with Tornos who have a niche of Swiss type lathes and multi spindle machines, Starrett who

manufacture precision measuring tools and equipment, Sisma who provide laser sources and systems for welding, marking, 3-D and cutting, Nikon Metrology who supply portable measuring and articulated arms amongst other optical inspection and mechanical 3D metrology solutions complemented with vision measuring instruments, Flow waterjet systems for the Eastern and Western Cape, Renishaw and now Mitsubishi EDM and WEDM.”

“When it comes to local service, metalworking operations require three things - their problems are understood, they are responded to quickly, and that they get the right solutions. To better understand our metalworking customers, we took time to visit and listen to them before launching our latest strategy of investing in the leading-edge technology solutions that we are known for, the fast turnaround demanded in their operations, and local presence they can rely on.”

“We now have fully fledged branches in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town that are able to offer virtually the full spectrum of technology involved in metal removal, from high end equipment to accommodating those companies that prefer to be more cautious in their capital spend.”

“Additionally our comprehensive service department is geared towards maximising our customer’s machine uptime and we will continue expanding and evolving to provide ever-increasing customer value.”

For further details contact W.D. Hearn on TEL: 021 534 5351 or visit www.wdhearn.co.za


Hypertherm adds supportto South Africa

South African aluminium products manufacturer Hulamin has announced that it is part of a

group which had signed a deal to buy a casthouse from BHP Billiton.

BHP, the world's biggest mining company, has sold its Richards Bay, Bayside casthouse to Isizinda Aluminium, which is 40 percent owned by Hulamin and 60 percent held by black investment group Bingelela Capital. The deal value was not disclosed.

The diversified major, which is in the process of demerging its South African aluminium, manganese and coal assets into a separate new company (Newco) that will be listed in Australia, South Africa and Britain, said that it had reached a definitive agreement to sell its Bayside value-added-product casthouse in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, to Isizinda Aluminium, a

majority owned, broad-based black economic-empowerment consortium.

BHP will supply the casthouse with 96 000 tons of liquid metal from its nearby smelter for R10 billion over the next five years, the company said.

The transaction also takes in the unprecedented supply of metal in liquid form, 17 hectares of land for future expansion into an aluminium downstream hub, equipment and the buildings associated with the casthouse, which is guaranteed 96 000 tons of liquid aluminium a year to be transported from Newco’s Hillside smelter to the nearby Bayside casthouse for the next five years.

Isizinda Aluminium, headed by CEO Sizwe Khumalo, has, in turn,

concluded a slab supply agreement with the JSE-listed Hulamin, South Africa’s leading aluminium fabricator.

Hypertherm, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plasma, laser, and waterjet cutting systems from the USA has announced that it has opened an office and decided

to increase its presence in South Africa. In an interview with Hypertherm’s

European Director Theo Cornielje at the recent EuroBlech 2014 Cornielje said “The South African market has always been extremely important to us and has become very active in recent years. We have had very good support from our channel partners and machine builders in South Africa, and we will continue to support them.”

“Craig Sterley joined us a couple of months ago after spending over nine years as National Sales Manager at a diversified multinational manufacturer and supplier of tooling and engineered components. Prior to that he spent a number of years at a construction tool company and also worked in the power tool market.”

“His primary focus in this role will be to

improve and develop the company’s network of channel partners, both distributors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), expanding Hypertherm’s presence in this important

market, and growing sales of our cutting systems.”

“Hypertherm is developing into a multi-technology company offering a variety of systems and software. We are going beyond our traditional product offering and developing new and exciting ones, and we need to have a presence in all the mature and developing markets.”

“We have followed similar strategies in Turkey and Russia which have been very beneficial. We have identified a number of opportunities in South Africa and we need to convert these. The only way we are going to be able to do this is to have someone on the ground.”

“Adding Craig Sterley to our team will enable Hypertherm to strongly support our partners within South Africa and help

Hulamin’s share is 40 percent and the remaining 60 percent will be held by black investment group Bingelela Capital.

Hulamin purchases significant portion of BHP Billiton’s SA casthouse

Craig Sterley

"The sale of the casthouse reflects our vision to grow the downstream industry in South Africa and to contribute to the transformation of the economy in Richards Bay," said BHP's chief executive elect Graham Kerr.

Kerr declined to say if any other South African assets would be sold-off.

BHP closed its Bayside smelter operation in June 2014 after "significant financial pressure" but the casthouse operations continued to operate with aluminium from the neighbouring Hillside smelter.

South Africa's government wants local companies to play a bigger role in developing its natural resources.

The agreement “will secure our rolling-slab supply from Bayside for the next five years,” Hulamin said.

The transaction, which must still secure a regulatory nod, is expected to be completed before June.

Expansion of the casthouse beyond its current capacity is being studied to create a larger downstream aluminium industry within South Africa. If progressed, such projects are expected to come into fruition over the next few years and would be beneficial for the downstream aluminium industry and the Richards Bay economy.

Hulamin, which is headquartered in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal is currently the casthouse’s biggest customer.

Newco, of which Hillside forms part, will have 12 assets in five countries and 24 000 employees and contractors. Besides BHP Billiton’s integrated aluminium business in South Africa, Mozambique and Australia, Newco also takes in manganese and energy coal in South Africa, metallurgical coal in Australia, nickel in Colombia and silver in Australia.

them understand plasma technology in general and the benefits of Hypertherm plasma in particular. Craig’s experience in relevant industries will help increase our presence in this extremely important and evolving market,” concluded Cornielje.

Hypertherm designs and manufactures advanced cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, heavy equipment, and structural steel. Its product line includes plasma, fiber laser, and waterjet cutting products, in addition to CNC motion and height controls and CAM nesting software. Hypertherm systems are trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses. The company’s reputation for cutting innovation dates back more than 45 years, to 1968, with Hypertherm’s invention of water injection plasma cutting.

The associate owned company has more than 1 400 associates along with operations and partner representation worldwide.

For further details contact Craig Sterley of Hypertherm on email [email protected]

Hypertherm has introduced HyAccess extended consumables for cutting and gouging in hard to reach areas for use with its Powermax30, Powermax30 XP and Powermax45 plasma systems


Waterjet manufacturer Jet Edge, Inc. and its Africa representative

Jetstream Cutting Solutions CC, have announced that operators of a remote copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are planning to double the mine’s productivity with the help of a new Jet Edge Edge X-5™ 5-axis waterjet.

The DRC mine operation, which is at least a three week’s drive from Johannesburg, South Africa, plans to use the Jet Edge waterjet system to speed up the completion of a copper processing plant. The Jet Edge machine is the mine’s second waterjet system. In 2012, they installed a new Jetstream 3-axis waterjet, powered by a 90 000 psi (6200 bar) 50hp Jet Edge X-tream xP90-50 hydraulic intensifier pump.

“They run their first machine 24/7,” said Jetstream Cutting Solutions Director Malcolm Cruickshank. “The Jet Edge X-Stream pump was key to the success of the first machine because they could utilize the higher pressure to increase productivity.”

For their second waterjet system, the mine operators selected Jet Edge’s premiere 90,000 psi (6200 bar) EDGE X-5 system with dual or independently programmable 5-axis cutting heads and laser plate mapping system, Aquavision Di industrial PC controller, and IGEMS CAD/CAM waterjet cutting software.

Cruickshank noted that the mine officials chose a Jet Edge system for their second machine based on the reliability of their first Jet Edge pump, and Jet Edge’s ability to quickly supply spare parts when needed.

“Reliability is very important to them due to the remoteness of the mine,” he said. “They appreciate the speed with which Jet Edge can supply spares.”

Jake Hall, a Jetstream subcontractor and director of Mobile Digital Solutions of Sylvania, Australia, will oversee the installation of the Jet Edge system and train the mine’s waterjet operators how use the new 5-axis machine.

“The EDGE X-5 is a good system,” Hall noted. “It’s intuitive and easy to operate. I’ve seen lots of systems in my 11 years working with waterjets and it seems to do the job very well and will be easy to teach. The Aquavision Di controller is

extremely reliable. Its PLC based. The IGEMS software is great. It solves a lot of the problems of other CAD/CAM software. It’s been specifically designed with waterjetting in mind. Lead ins and outs are easy and it’s easy to nest multiple parts. Most importantly, you’re not stuck to a certain order. With some software, if you miss one step, you have to start all over again. IGEMS is flexible and it’s not labour intensive. The library of materials is good and the speed control is good.”

Hall added that he has been very impressed with Jet Edge’s X-Stream intensifier pumps, service and training.

“The X-Stream pump is bullet-proof,” he said. “We feel comfortable that we have a good support network and that we can call Jet Edge any time, day or night.”

For more information contact Jetstream Cutting Solutions CC on TEL: 011 468 1093 or visit www.jetstreamcutting.co.za

Mine officials plan to double productivity with help from Jet Edge Waterjet.

DRC copper mine installs Jet Edge 5-axis waterjet cutting system

Malcolm Cruickshank of Jetstream Cutting Solutions with Deon De Bruyn and John Hoffman from the mines maintenance

division at the handover of the Jet Edge EDGE X-5 Waterjet Cutter

The Jet Edge EDGE X-5 Dual Head Waterjet Cutter installed and ready for handover

Jet Edge Dual 5 Axis Cutting Heads in action – cutting pipe flanges out of 20mm stainless steel


As part of the overall strategy of the Aluminium Federation of South Africa (AFSA) to assist in favourably positioning the South African aluminium industry, the industry body

will host an International Aluminium Conference and Exhibition from 16 – 18 March 2016 at the Lagoon Beach Hotel in Milnerton, Cape Town, Western Cape.

“The local aluminium industry held a strategic session in September, where a vision of doubling aluminium production by 2018 was articulated. Local players need to be ready to tap into growth opportunities in the South African aluminium industry which is the objective of the planned conference and exhibition,” said Mark Krieg, executive director of AFSA.

The event is aimed at industry, professionals and academics allowing both industry presentations and papers as part of the conference programme. It is envisaged that the conference will be coupled with the bi-annual meeting of the International Aluminium Institute (IAI).

The focused conference agenda will address aspects such as identifying required technologies along with the desired types of industry practice. Alongside conventional exhibition opportunities, the event will also offer interactive exhibition and/or technology opportunities.

The key thematic areas identified and planned for the conference are:

New technologies and innovation. Possible topics include:�� '�SULQWLQJ�� 1HZ�DOOR\�GHYHORSPHQW�� :HOGLQJ�� )ULFWLRQ�VWLU�ZHOGLQJ�� 'HVLJQ�DQG�VLPXODWLRQ�� $OXPLQLXP�SRZGHU�� (QHUJ\�FRVW�VDYLQJ�� $GKHVLYHV�� 6XUIDFH�ILQLVKLQJ�� (PHUJLQJ�DSSOLFDWLRQV�� $OXPLQLXP�DSSOLFDWLRQ�LQ�WKH�JUHHQ�HFRQRP\�� *UHHQ�EXLOGLQJ�FRGHV�� $UFKLWHFWXUDO�� 5HQHZDEOH�HQHUJ\�� 5HF\FODELOLW\�RI�DOXPLQLXP�� 8VH�RI�DOXPLQLXP�DV�DQ�HQHUJ\�VXEVWLWXWH�� $OXPLQLXP�LQ�WUDQVSRUWDWLRQ�� 7DOHQW�GULYHQ�LQQRYDWLRQ��HPSOR\PHQW�IRU�WKH�IXWXUH�� ,QWHUDFWLYH�ZRUNVKRSV�� 6NLOOV�DQG�WUDLQLQJ�

For further information on the conference or AFSA, please visit www.afsa.org.za or afsa-aluminium-conference.co.za, or contact Rentia Malan Email: [email protected]

AFSA plans international aluminium conference and exhibition

Success comes to shops that are attentive to the changing needs of their customers. Such shops are generally willing to make fundamental manufacturing changes

and process additions, when appropriate, to best meet those demands. In a growing number of cases, a shop’s customer wants to receive more than just a component that has been accurately machined.

Gantec Tool and Die owner Anthony Barnes has always been conscious of this fact since he established the company in 2008.

“I started out primarily as a design studio specialising in plastic product design and development, coupled with mould design. At that stage the manufacture of the tooling was outsourced. During my career as a toolmaker I learnt how to use and take advantage of the CAD/CAM design software available. In fact I believe that I was one of the first in South Africa to use the Vero Visi CAD/CAM software supplied by Software Development in South Africa, and I have remained loyal to the brand ever since. That

was over 27 years ago,” said Anthony.When Anthony’s son Jarrad joined him in 2010 they

decided to expand and get back into the manufacture of tools, moulds and dies.

“Our customers were demanding that we take control of their projects from beginning to end.

So we purchased the necessary toolroom machinery including a brand new Leadwell V-40 CNC vertical machining centre.”

“We also made a substantial investment in the CAD/CAM design software, which includes full 3D solid and surface modeling, presentation shading, drafting and dimensioning, intricate split line generation and mould build libraries,” added Jarrad.

“We were then able to offer a total project management service. After the design phase, this service includes having development components machined or grown samples made, to manufacturing of the moulds,” continued Jarrad.

Laser welding, maintenance and repairs“We also offered a service to maintain the moulds. Because

of the extreme use of moulds in the plastic industry you are always going to have the necessity of repairs. But we felt that the industry standard repairs were not a good enough end result for our clients,” explained Anthony.

“This is why we looked at the relatively new process of laser welding, and purchased a German manufactured OR Laser 3300 which was supplied by Retecon Machine Tools in 2012” said Anthony.

“The decision was strategic but also a timely investment. It led to many more doors opening and helped improve the company’s performance and competitiveness, while at the same time increasing our customer base for design and manufacture of dies and moulds. This is after all the core focus

Company is one of two in South Africa accredited by Tupperware.

Gantec increases capabilities for

tool and die market

The DMG MORI Milltap 700, which was supplied by Retecon Machine Tools, allows Gantec Tool and Die to

machine-to-completion precision parts in fewer set-ups and reduced cycle times. The Milltap 700 is a compact machining centre

with tool changes in 0.9 seconds, and chip-to-chip times of less than 1.5 seconds, rapid traverses of 60 m/min, a 24 000 rpm spindle,

and it is equipped with a Siemens 840D control


Gantec Tool and Die have recently introduced a spark eroder to their capabilities

A mould can comprise a number of different components


of the business,” continued Anthony.

New home, new machinesWith the increase in business the company moved to a

bigger factory in the same industrial park, which is located in Spartan, Gauteng, in February 2014. The move afforded the company the opportunity to increase its machining capacity to help take the pressure off the company’s existing equipment.

“We had been growing at 40% per annum and when you grow at such a rate, productivity is always a critical concern for any and every manufacturer or machine shop. We had already started on a route to invest in the latest advanced manufacturing technologies so it was an easy decision to invest in a DMG Mori Milltap 700, the first joint development from DMG and Mori Seiki. The Milltap 700 is a compact machining centre with tool changes in 0.9 seconds and chip-to-chip times of less than 1.5 seconds, rapid traverses of 60 m/min, a 24 000 rpm spindle, and it is equipped with a Siemens 840D control,” explained Jarrad.

“We could have invested in two different machines but the Milltap 700, which was supplied by Retecon Machine Tools, allows us to machine-to-completion precision parts in fewer set-ups and reduced cycle times.”

At the same time the company introduced another CNC lathe, a spark eroder and an injection moulding machine so that they could run trials with the moulds they were manufacturing.

The company’s services now include component design, development and liaising with client to mould design and mould manufacture. We design and manufacture high-tech moulds for intricate components, including high-speed automatic unscrewing moulds, and incorporation of hot runnerless injection systems.

The company’s

commitment to continuous improvement and its progressive attitude to investing in the future have seen Gantec Tool and Die branch out and provide moulds for other industries, including closures and packaging. In addition to investing in its equipment, manufacturing processes and systems they have also invested in their people. They recently hired two apprentices.

Another development is that the company has formed a strategic alliance with UTP Mould and Die.

For further details contact Gantec Tool and Die on TEL: 011 394 0848 or visit www.gantec.co.za


Twenty General Motors South Africa (GMSA) suppliers were awarded the accolade for supplier quality excellence at a glitzy awards

ceremony in Port Elizabeth. The winning companies are amongst 1 506

suppliers to General Motors manufacturing locations across the world who met or exceeded 13 stringent quality performance criteria to achieve the awards.

This is the third year that GMSA is measuring and recognising its local suppliers against the corporation’s global standards for achieving the highest levels of quality performance over a 12-month period of supply to the company.

The number of suppliers who received awards doubled since 2013 said John Astbury, GMSA Vice-President for Global Purchasing & Supply Chain (GPSC). “The awards criteria applied to all suppliers across the world, making this global recognition for South African-based suppliers, who play a vital part in the overall quality of our vehicles.”

“We view their hard work and dedication as part of the foundation for GM to continue to be a leader in product quality and overall customer satisfaction,” he said.

Astbury said the supplier base had met the challenge he laid down in 2013 to double the number of companies meeting the global quality criteria for the award, from 10 in 2013 to 20, and for suppliers to demonstrate consistency by becoming repeat winners. Seven of the 2014 winners were on the podium in 2013 too.

“It was also pleasing to note that the 20 winners ranged from companies that had been supplying GMSA since the 1950s, to some that had joined the supply chain less than five years ago.”

The “youngest” suppliers to receive the award were third-time winner First National Battery and first-timer Trek Plastics, both suppliers to GMSA since 2010, while glass manufacturer Shatterprufe has been supplying GM vehicles since the 1950s.

The winning suppliers to GMSA are, in alphabetical order:�� $FRXVWH[��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU��VXSSO\LQJ�GHDGHQHUV�IRU�WKH��

Chevrolet UTE, Spark and Isuzu pick-up models. �� %RVDO�$IULFD��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU��VXSSO\LQJ�H[KDXVW�SLSH��

and muffler components to the Isuzu pick-up. �� &ORPDUN��VHFRQG�WLPH�ZLQQHU��VXSSO\LQJ�VWLFN�RQ�

data labels and decals for Chevrolet UTE and Spark, Isuzu pick-up and various GM import models.

�� &UHDWLYH�*UDSKLFV�,QWHUQDWLRQDO��VHFRQG�WLPH�ZLQQHU�� supplying stick-on data labels and decals for Chevrolet UTE and Spark, Isuzu pick-up and various GM import models.

�� )DXUHFLD�,QWHULRU�6\VWHPV�2I�6$��VHFRQG�WLPH�ZLQQHU�� supplying door trim panels for Chevrolet UTE models.

�� )HGHUDO�0RJXO�6HDOLQJ�6\VWHPV�6�$��VHFRQG�WLPH� winner, supplying exhaust flange gaskets for the Isuzu pick-up models.

�� )LUVW�1DWLRQDO�%DWWHU\��D�UHSHDW�ZLQQHU�LQ�DOO��\HDUV�WKDW�� the award has been presented, supplying automotive batteries for Chevrolet UTE and Isuzu pick-up models.

�� .D\PDF�6WUXFWXUDO�)RDP��D�ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU�RI�WKH�� award, supplying the utility box ASM for the Isuzu

pick-up Extended Cab model. �� 230�7RROLQJ�,PSRUW�$QG�([SRUW��D�UHSHDW�ZLQQHU�LQ�DOO��

3 years that the award has been presented, supplying a range of small to medium size stampings for Chevrolet UTE and Isuzu Pick-Up Models.

�� 3ULQFLSOH�3ODVWLFV�²�'HDO�3DUW\��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU�� supplying small to medium size plastic injection moulded parts for Chevrolet UTE and Isuzu pick-up models.

�� 3ULQFLSOH�3ODVWLFV�²�0DUNPDQ��VHFRQG�WLPH�ZLQQHU�� supplying medium size plastic injection moulded parts for the Chevrolet UTE models.

�� 6��1�5XEEHU��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU��VXSSO\LQJ�VPDOO� moulded rubber parts for Chevrolet UTE and Isuzu pick-up models.

�� 6FKDHIIOHU�6RXWK�$IULFD��D�UHSHDW�ZLQQHU�LQ�DOO��RI�WKH�� years that the award has been presented, supplying a range of clutch assemblies and a wheel bearing for Chevrolet UTE and Isuzu pick-up models.

�� 6KDWWHUSUXIH�²�6WUXDQGDOH�3ODQW��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU�� supplying the side door glass for Chevrolet UTE models.

�� 6RQGRU�,QGXVWULHV��D�UHSHDW�ZLQQHU�LQ�DOO��RI�WKH�\HDUV�� that the award has been presented, supplying a range of foam products for Chevrolet UTE, Isuzu pick-up and Isuzu truck models.

�� 6WDWHOLQH�3UHVVHG�0HWDO��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU��VXSSO\LQJ�� medium size stampings for Chevrolet UTE and Isuzu pick-up models.

�� 6XPLWRPR�5XEEHU�6RXWK�$IULFD��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU�� supplying a range of tyres for Chevrolet UTE and Isuzu truck models.

�� 7UHN�3ODVWLFV��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU��VXSSO\LQJ�VPDOO�WR� medium size vacuum formed plastic parts for Chevrolet Spark and Isuzu pick-up models.

�� 75:�2FFXSDQW�5HVWUDLQWV�6RXWK�$IULFD��ILUVW�WLPH�ZLQQHU�� supplying seat belt components for Chevrolet UTE models.

�� 87,�&0+�6XE�$VVHPEO\��VHFRQG�WLPH�ZLQQHU��VXSSO\LQJ�� wheel and tyre ASM’s for Chevrolet UTE, Spark and Isuzu pick-up models.

GM suppliers honoured for excellence

Three time winners of these prestigious awards are from left, Michael Klimment, CEO OPM Tooling, Michael Grannum, Port Elizabeth

Branch Manager Sondor Industries, Russel Bezuidenhout, Managing Director, First National Batteries and Len Terblanche, Managing Director, Schaeffler SA

with Ian Nicholls, vice president for GMSA Operations (second from right)


South African freight and logistics company Transnet has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese locomotive manufacturer

CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive (CSR) to build manufacturing facilities in South Africa.

The new manufacturing plants will carry out the production and maintenance of electric locomotives, as well as core rail equipment and components for African markets. The agreement was signed in the wake of the official visit of South African President Jacob Zuma to China.

In addition, this agreement will also allow the establishment of a research and development facility, joint initiation and development of business opportunities in Africa, in addition to the construction of a refurbishment and manufacturing plan.

The countries will carry out possible skills transfer

programmes, including the setting up of a training centre in South Africa.

Transnet spokesman Mboniso Sigonyela was quoted by Independent Online as saying: "In terms of the agreement, Transnet and CSR will contribute their respective expertise and will leverage their unique expertise and experience and provide access to the know-how of their highly qualified and specialised business divisions."

In the initial stage, CSR will deliver the technology to Transnet to manufacture and maintain locomotives and core rail components at its facilities. CSR is expected to develop a joint venture with Transnet and that entity will be based in South Africa.

In 2014, Transnet ordered 599 electric and 465 diesel locomotives from four manufacturers, including CSR with the support of a $557.7 million funding guarantee from US export credit agency US-Exim.

CSR and Transnet to set up manufacturing facilities in South Africa

It is reported that CSR has provided 95 electric Class 20E locomotives to Transnet,

with an estimated price tag of R2.7 billion


Specialist die caster Pressure Die Casting (PDC), based in

Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, has been rewarded for the company’s achievements on a number of fronts with the award of the Nedbank sponsored Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB) Business of The Year for 2014, in the manufacturing sector.

The awards ceremony was held in November at the Royal Showgrounds and honoured the remarkable achievements of business people in Pietermaritzburg. Previous winners of the award include Somta Tools and Ramsay Engineering.

“We were very proud and honoured to be awarded the PCB Business of the Year for Manufacturing at the Annual Awards Banquet 2014. All credit must go to our management and staff for this award,” said PDC MD Mike Wolhuter. Wolhuter has recently been appointed to the PCB board and is hoping to contribute to the organisation by representing the manufacturing community of Pietermaritzburg and focusing on issues such as electricity availability, tariffs and other industry issues.

“Some of the factors that influenced the judges decision included the significant growth in company turnover and profit over the past few years. Another reason was that 30% of the company’s turnover this year was for components that two years ago were imported either from China or India and are now locally manufactured cost effectively.”

“Although this ‘home shoring’ exercise has proved to be very successful for us, it is only one of a number of factors that the company and the staff have implemented that contributed positively to the bottom line.”

“The judges also complimented us on the international competitiveness of the company as more than 50% of product manufactured by PDC is exported.”

“But it is not just about product and manufacturing. Mention was made of the company’s strong commitment to its

staff, which includes staff education and training opportunities. We also have the only factory clinic in Pietermaritzburg that is licensed to dispense anti retrovirals (ARV’s) to staff.”

“This has resulted in a world class average attendance rate of staff of 98% and an average employee service of 10 years.”

PDC, a specialist die caster of brass and aluminium castings, was established in 1952. The company manufactures a range of components, with weights from just a few grams to 800 grams, with current production runs from 1 000 to millions of components per annum. The manufacturing process that a component

follows varies according to its complexity, and sub-assemblies are made according to the customer’s brief.

PDC manufacture more than 100 different components for a number of industries, the primary ones being the architectural and building hardware industry, the fire protection industry, the power reticulation industry, the OEM and aftermarket automotive industry and the plumbing industry.

The company’s tool room is an integral part of the process

and critical to the successful manufacture of high quality products. All tools and dies are made and serviced in their own toolroom.

PDC has been a certified ISO 9001 company since 1997 and is audited regularly to ensure conformity and continuous improvement.

“We are a full service supplier working with our customers to provide a die casting solution that includes component design, tooling design, tool and die manufacture, material alloying and analysis, high pressure die casting, fettling and CNC machining, testing and assembly, metrology, packaging and logistics,” explained Wolhuter.

For further details contact Pressure Die Casting on TEL: 033 397 5500 or visit www.pdc.co.za

Pressure Die Castingawarded Nedbank sponsored

PCB Business of The Year for 2014

John Bush - Area Manager, Nedbank KZN Inland hands over the award

to PDC MD Mike Wolhuter

“We are a full service supplier working with our customers to provide a die

casting solution that includes component design, tooling design, tool and die manufacture, material alloying and analysis, high pressure die casting,

fettling and CNC machining, testing and assembly, metrology, packaging and

logistics,” explained Wolhuter


The only real competitive advantage the local automotive industry has over international competitors is the availability of natural resources in the country, says

National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa president and Toyota South Africa Motors CEO Dr Johan van Zyl, in an Engineering News article.

“We have to ask ourselves, why would anyone want to come here to produce cars? What makes us better?”

Van Zyl says there are several steps in the automotive assembly chain where South Africa has proved uncompetitive, with the country having, for example, the highest labour costs among the Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“That space is taken. Where will we find our competitive advantage?”

While South Africa’s auto industry does have several strengths, the country’s natural advantage also does not lie in the design and development of new vehicles, believes Van Zyl, and neither so in manufacturing, logistics, the selling of vehicles, or in providing aftersales service.

South Africa’s competitive advantage lies in its natural resources. “The beneficiation of our mineral resources is key.”

South Africa uses its lead resources optimally in the production of car batteries, for example. However, it does not use iron-ore, locally produced resin, or copper – from

South Africa or Zambia – in the same manner.Van Zyl says the steel used in a locally produced vehicle

amounts to around 830 kg on average, with another 235 kg of aluminium, 28 kg of copper and 68 kg of resin used.

The current local content on vehicles produced in South Africa is around 40%, or 290 kg of steel, 96 kg of aluminium, 16 kg of copper and 3 kg of resin, with the rest imported.

Should imports be reduced by 10%, an additional 103 000 tons of resources a year will be beneficiated in South Africa, saving the country R2.5 billion a year, says Van Zyl.

However, in order to achieve this, it is necessary to sell and build more cars locally, and to invest in, and develop the skills and technology base needed to increase the local parts content of vehicles built in South Africa.

Van Zyl also questions why South African manufacturers should pay dollar-based prices for commodities, such as steel, produced at a rand cost base.

Also, with South Africa having 80% of the world’s platinum reserves, why “do we only have 15% of the world’s catalytic converter market, and not 40%?”

Van Zyl adds that the automotive industry in South Africa “cannot create jobs. Economic activity creates jobs”.

He notes that the manufacturing industry in South Africa is declining, with the motor industry now contributing 30% to domestic manufacturing, which he regards as “scary”.

SA’s mineral resources are auto industry’s only true advantage – Van Zyl


The new all-wheel-drive Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé has ensured that the Bloodhound SSC World Land Speed Record programme has passed a significant high-speed

testing milestone.The test marks the start of a major technical partnership

between Jaguar and The Bloodhound Project, with the ultimate aim of raising the world land speed record above 1 610km/h and to assist in inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers, which is the overall objective of the project. The current record stands at 1 228km/h and was set by Andy Green in Thrust SSC in 1997. Andy will drive the Bloodhound Supersonic car.

On the relatively soft surface of the Hakskeen Pan desert in the Northern Cape, the stability of the AWD F-TYPE R Coupé and its dynamic ability - it has a limited top speed of 300km/h - enabled the successful completion of a vital communications test for the Bloodhound SSC team.

Ian Hoban, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar said: “Our target with engineering the all-wheel drive F-TYPE was to maintain the engaging rear-drive character that’s so important to Jaguar sports cars, yet offer even greater dynamic capability.

The result is a controllable, exploitable and blisteringly fast performance car in all weather and road conditions.”

The AWD F-TYPE R Coupé was driven flat-out by Bloodhound Project Director and former World Land Speed Record holder, Richard Noble who said: “We are absolutely delighted to announce Jaguar as a Main Partner to the Bloodhound Project. This is a very fine match – Jaguar is very strong on innovation and with its huge drive in advanced technology, education and motorsport track record, we have the perfect partner. Together we have developed outstanding inter-team synergy and this is a very special relationship. We are proud to carry the Jaguar branding on Bloodhound SSC.”

Fitted with the same radio equipment as the jet and rocket powered Bloodhound SSC, the F-TYPE was driven head-to-head at top speed with a similarly equipped jet flown at 805km/h just metres above the ground. The combined closing speed of almost 1 126km/h enabled the successful test of the system that will allow communications between the ground crew and Andy Green in Bloodhound SSC, which will run for the first time on the Hakskeen desert just twelve months from now.

New all-wheel-drive Jaguar F-TYPE R boosts

Bloodhound SSC record bid


South Africa’s vehicle component manufacturing sectors have expressed surprise and puzzlement at the Competition Commission’s announcement about its

investigation into price fixing, market division and collusive tendering by 82 manufacturers.

The commission said that its investigation was prompted by information it had received that automotive component manufacturers colluded when bidding for tenders to supply 121 automotive components to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The OEMs included some motor manufacturers that have local manufacturing operations – Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Nissan.

Spokespersons for these manufacturers confirmed that they would co-operate with the commission’s investigation if and as required.

The commission listed only a few of the 82 implicated companies. They were Denso Corporation, Maruyasu Industrial Company, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Tokai Rika Company, NGK Spark Plug Company, Mikuni Corporation, Aisin Industries Company, Panasonic Corporation, Futuba Corporation and Fijistu-Ten.

Competition Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele said that the commission’s investigation “into this pervasive collusive conduct” joined similar investigations launched in other jurisdictions internationally.

Bonakele said the commission would prioritise the investigation of cases that involved automotive components that were in vehicles assembled in and supplied to the South African market.

Nico Vermeulen, the director of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, said the industry was “a bit surprised at the size and scope of the investigation”.

He said the names of the companies who had allegedly contravened the Competition Act appeared to be Japanese sup-pliers, and the alleged offences related to imported

components and not those locally manufactured and supplied.Ken Manners, the vice-president of the National Association

of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers, admitted being completely surprised by the commission’s announcement about the investigation.

Manners said it was strange but encouraging that the manufacturers listed by the commission included hardly any that manufactured in South Africa. “I really don’t know how the Competition Commission’s reach includes collusive activity outside the country.”

A matter of viabilityHe added that there were few automotive component

manufacturers in South Africa in competition for the same business because the volumes could not justify more than one company manufacturing a particular component.

However, Mava Scott, a Competition Commission spokesman, said the commission’s approach was to pursue all firms implicated “whether they are inside or outside South Africa as long as they have an impact on the South African market and contravene the Competition Act”.

Scott said what normally happened in practice was that an implicated firm outside the country would appoint a South African law firm to deal with whatever allegations there were against the company.

He confirmed more than one automotive component manufacturer had approached the commission and admitted involvement in these practices, and divulged information in return for immunity from prosecution in terms of the commission’s corporate leniency programme.

Scott said the commission would only take a decision on whether to grant these firms conditional immunity when it had finished evaluating the information.

Scott said the investigation launched by the commission was “huge” because it involved conduct taking place since 2000 to date.

Component makers surprised by probe

Exhibition space is in high demand for the KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition (KITE) which will be held at the Durban Exhibition Centre from 9 to 12 June 2015.

The biennial event is the province’s leading industrial showcase offering exhibitors a unique marketing opportunity.

Established in 1984, KITE has become a key component in the industry’s exhibition calendar, and the 16th installment promises another opportunity for local and international businesses to showcase their products and services, while providing a platform for business networking.

“The 2015 exhibition is themed ‘Innovation through Technology’ with a focus on clean, green technology,” explained Managing Director for Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, Gary Corin.

“This year’s event will also feature more robotics technology, alongside an array of other advanced technological types.”

The 2013 edition had 5 131 visitors with 1 621 of them first-timers. The visitor profile of KITE consists of members from

South Africa’s industrial technology sectors. These include senior decision-makers, stakeholders, directors, managers, contractors, developers, engineers, regional government personnel, municipalities, planners and owners.

Exhibitors are given the opportunity to deliver messages directly to a serious buying audience, while also conducting key industry research. They will represent a range of economic sectors in the industrial world including robotics, chemical and plastic technologies, electrical and electronic technologies, engineering supplies, information and communication technology, logistics and supply chain management, mechanical and materials handling technologies, automation and electronics, safety, health and environmental technologies.

Keep informed about the event on Twitter (@KZNIndustrial), on the Linked In group (KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology) and on the official website www.kznindustrial.co.za.

For further details contact Loftie Eaton on 083 368 6081 or at [email protected]

The 16th KZN Industrial Technology Exhibition focuses on “Innovation through technology”


The Ford Struandale Engine Plant celebrates its historic 50th anniversary signalling a proud heritage and an impressive track record spanning five decades of

production in Port Elizabeth.The plant officially opened in 1964 in the Struandale

industrial area, and has produced over 3-million units covering eight engine platforms to date.

“This is an important milestone for Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, as Ford originally started in Port Elizabeth, which was the local motoring hub in the 1920s and remains one of the region’s most important sectors,” says Jeff Nemeth, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company of South Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa.

“The Struandale Engine Plant has endured an ever-changing automotive landscape, and remains a crucial part of our local operations. Moreover, it is a significant supplier within the global Ford network, supplying machined components and engines to Ford plants in North America, South America and Asia.”

Recognized as a global centre of excellence, the Struandale Engine Plant is the only facility in the world that performs dual roles for the Ford Ranger engine program, both machining components as well as assembling the 2,2-litre and 3,2-litre Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel engines.

The fully assembled engines are shipped to the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria for installation in the new Ranger, which is exported to over 148 markets around the world. The balance of the components are exported to Ford engine plants in Thailand and Argentina.

It has an installed capacity of approximately 220 000 component kits (cylinder head, block and crankshaft), as well as 75 000 engine assemblies for the Ranger programme.

As of January 2014, the Struandale Engine Plant began producing the Power Stroke 3,2-litre turbodiesel engine for the North American Ford Transit that is assembled in Kansas City. With an additional installed capacity for 31 000 engines, this the first time that Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa is exporting products to North America.

“The local team has consistently proved that they are up to the challenge, using trademark South African ingenuity and dedication to produce world-class products,” Nemeth states. “From the popular RoCam engine that reached a final production volume of over 1,3-million units to the new Duratorq TDCi engine that powers the mighty Ranger, the local products and the people that have made it happen have done us proud.”

After commencing operation in 1964, the Struandale

Engine Plant’s first milestone was reached just months later when the 10 000th engine was produced in April 1965. Its 100 000th engine followed just three years on, burgeoning to a million units by 1987.

One of the plant’s most successful programs was the trusty RoCam engine, with manufacturing getting under way in 1999 and concluding 13 years later, after reaching a total production volume of 1 346 919 units.

The RoCam engines were used in several South African models and exported to a number of markets including India, Spain, Germany, Italy, Russia, Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina.

In the process, the Struandale Engine Plant achieved ISO 14001 environmental certification in 2000 and, in 2005, produced both its 500 000th RoCam unit and two-millionth engine.

In 2009 it attained the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Certification and was awarded the Maximum Level 8 Quality rating from Ford’s Global Powertrain Organisation (PTO).

The facility underwent a complete revamp during 2010 following the announcement of an investment of more than R3,4 billion in Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. This led to the production of the sophisticated new-generation Duratorq TDCi engine at the Port Elizabeth plant to power the all-new Ford Ranger, which is assembled at the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria for the domestic and export markets.

Component machining commenced in May 2011, followed by engine assembly a month later. By November 2013 the local team churned out the 100 000th Duratorq TDCi engine, and followed this up with the plant’s three-millionth engine tally being reached in July 2014.

The Struandale Engine Plant has won numerous awards, including 2013 Exporter of the Year from the Exporters Club of South Africa (Eastern Cape), Best Exporter for OEMs, and IDC Job Creation Award. It has also received the SJM Flex Environmental Award for the past two years.

Additionally, the plant’s employee wellness and community support initiatives have received numerous plaudits. In particular the HIV & AIDS Wellness Cluster, conducted in conjunction with the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) to support local supplier companies, has been met with local and international acclaim.

The most notable highlight was being named among the best-in-class private sector wellness programmes across the world by the Global Coalition’s Business Action on Health Awards in New York in 2011.

A proud legacy spanning five decades

The South African government’s substantial infrastructure programme outlined in the National Development Plan is expected to drive demand for

steel over the next decade, says Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina.

He told over 250 delegates to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) South Africa Workshop on Steelmaking Raw Materials, in Cape Town, that he expected steel demand, both upstream and downstream, to grow between 6% and 10% over the next decade.

This was on the back of the government’s 18 strategic infrastructure projects, ranging from rail and energy to education, water and sanitation, which would create a demand stimulus for the steel industry. Masina said the government considered the steel industry a key part of South Africa’s industrial development, as well as a significant job creator and foreign exchange earner, particularly through exports to the rest of the continent.

“While we remain the largest primary steel producer on the continent, the downstream segment of the industry holds enormous potential for investment injection, growth and development,” he commented.

He said this included the rail, energy, construction, automotive, white goods, general engineering and petrochemical industries.

Masina added that the iron-ore and steel value chain was considered a priority sector to bring about industrial development, job creation and economic transformation. Current demand for South African steel had been slow owing to low economic growth. Arcelor Mittal South Africa (AMSA) CEO Paul O’ Flaherty said despite this, his company remained a valuable player in the economy.

“ArcelorMittal has added 1.1% to the gross domestic product of South Africa and paid $150-million in taxes,” he told delegates from OECD countries.

He said his company was committed to working very closely with the government in public-private partnerships in a bid to create more jobs and drive investment. He also supported the government’s call for more beneficiation

in the industry.South African Iron and Steel Institute secretary-general

Johann Nel added that the primary steel industry in South Africa provided employment to more than 25 000 people, with substantial jobs being created in the indirect economy through suppliers. However, he said there had been no significant increase in the number of people being employed by the steel mills.

With demand for steel currently lower in South Africa, AMSA had been able to export more, particularly into Africa, where O’Flaherty said there was significant demand and much opportunity. South Africa had a significant steel-making industry, relative to the size of its economy compared with similar global economies.

Only 16-million tons of steel are produced on the African continent, seven-million from South Africa. South Africa is ranked nineteenth in global steel production. Egypt is the other main steel producer in Africa. According to the World Steel Association, over 1.53 billion tons of steel are produced yearly. O’Flaherty said reliable and affordable electricity, skilled labour and working out how to maximise beneficiation were a few key challenges in the South African steel industry.

Steel demand set to grow over next decade


© ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe

© ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe


PRASA reveals new

high-powered train

The next three years will see an influx of new long-haul passenger locomotives enter service in South Africa after the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA)

unveiled Africa’s first 4000-series diesel locomotive at Cape Town Station recently.

The new high-powered locomotive – the first of 70 – marked a “turning point” for the State-owned entity as it hoped to re-introduce services along a number of corridors that were mothballed on the back of ageing infrastructure and rolling stock.

The first AFRO 4000 locomotive, manufactured by Spain-based Vossloh, would undergo three months of testing before starting operations in March this year.

Another set of locomotives would make their debut in January, signaling further momentum in PRASA’s strategy of replacing its ageing locomotives fleet, which had been deteriorating owing to under-investment, old technology, loss of critical skills and deferred maintenance.

As part of PRASA's “journey” towards modernising its fleet and delivering “high-quality, safe and reliable” passenger services, a “significant number” of the new locomotives would arrive within the first half of next year, with 15 to be delivered by March.

Dual-diesel-hybrid versions of the locomotives would be introduced in the latter half of 2015. Of the 70 units, 20 would be the 4000-series diesel locomotives.

By September, PRASA Rail CEO Mosenngwa Mofi believed the passenger rail company would have gained a critical mass, enabling the reintroduction of services along the mothballed routes.

The locomotives would bolster services for long-distance and regional services, including Shosholoza Meyl, Premier Classe and Metrorail.

The group, which currently operated six corridors, planned

to reopen another four, with a priority on the Mafikeng to Johannesburg route.

Ten of the new locomotives would be based in the Eastern Cape, while the others would be focused on long-distance mainline passenger services and regional services.

PRASA’s Metrorail services currently carried more than two million passengers daily, with another one million transported through its mainline passenger service each year.

Mofi explained that, at its peak, 120 mainline passenger trains a week were operated, but owing to the ageing and legacy fleet, this had been cut to the current 42 a week.

PRASA chairperson Popo Molefe added that the new locomotives were designed to PRASA specifications to suit local conditions and came fitted with the latest technology.

He outlined features of dual-braking, an aerodynamic lightweight body, which boasted speeds of about 120 km/h to 130 km/h and dual-hybrid-diesel operations, enabling uninterrupted travel without the need to swap lead locomotives to suit each terrain on long distances.

The new locomotives boasted driver display units with route and train management systems for the driver to detect and reset any faults and had two driving cabs, enabling the vehicle to be driven in both directions without turning.

The introduction of the new fleet would also cut the maintenance costs by half and reduce diesel consumption.

Some 250 jobs at a South African forging company could be cut after US motor company Ford cancelled a components contract with SKF, not long after strikes hit

car parts manufacturers, a union has said.Auto makers producing in South Africa resumed activity in

September after a four-week strike by 220 000 metalworkers that hurt assembly lines of brands including Toyota, General Motors and Ford.

Ford's regional head said the company would hesitate before making further investments in the continent's most developed economy because of frequent work stoppages.

South Africa's SP Metal Forgings will discontinue production of two components that it supplied to SKF, the world's largest bearings maker, after Ford cancelled its

contract with the Swedish company, said Marius Croucamp, spokesperson for the Solidarity union.

Production of the two parts will stop in February, SP Metal Forgings said in a letter dated November 28 to employees and seen by Reuters.

"It could be a consequence of the strike," Croucamp said of the contract's cancellation.

The South African company declined to comment while Ford was not immediately available for comment.

An SKF spokesperson confirmed the company was a Ford supplier but declined to comment on its "contractual relationship with them".

Ford sells about 6 000 vehicles a month in South Africa, making it the country's third-largest supplier behind Toyota and Volkswagen. It also exports vehicles.

Ford cancels SKF components contract, hits South African jobs


Alstom’s Lapa manufacturing plant in Brazil has manufactured the first complete body-shell of the twenty X’Trapolis Mega commuter trains currently under

production in the site as part of its 600 trains contract with Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

Seven months after the financial close of the €4 billion contract between Alstom and PRASA, the project is well under way, with the manufacturing proceeding smoothly with the

Gibela consortium, the local joint venture created to execute the PRASA contract.

The consortium, in which Alstom has a 61% stake, also comprises New Africa Rail (9%) and Ubumbano Rail (30%). Ubumbano is the hosting entity in the National Empowerment Fund for the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment partners, which was a critical element in the contract which was awarded in December 2013 and is South Africa's largest-ever rolling stock order.

First body-shell ready for new South African EMUs

SigmaTEK Systems LLC, one of the world’s leading authorities on CAD/CAM nesting, material

optimisation and manufacturing process automation has announced the appointment of Danie Jacobs as Vice President of Sales. Danie (or Dan, as he is referred to in the USA) Jacobs assumes responsibility for growing the company’s sales organisation and community of users throughout North America and Latin America.

Danie brings more than thirty-seven years of fabrication industry experience to SigmaTEK, including establishing Vite Machine Tools before selling the company to Retecon Machine Tools. More recently he managed industrial equipment sales and service organizations in the sheet metal fabrication industry. Danie is currently a

member of the Fabricators and Manufacturing Association within the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Chairman of the Tube and Pipe Fabricators Council, and serves on the FMA Education council. In the past Danie was Director of the FMA Board and served on the Board for educational and business councils and associations. Danie and his family reside in Mason, Ohio.

SigmaTEK President & CEO, Ben TerreBlanche, who started his career in the sheetmetal industry by inventing the SigmaNest software while still with Mecad Systems in South Africa comments: “As a visionary leader, coach, and mentor, Danie has demonstrated the ability to develop, lead, and grow sales organizations. Moreover, he embodies the values, principles, and practices at the heart of our

SigmaTEK names Danie Jacobs Vice President of Sales

Ex South African teams up with another South African, who has been very successful since moving to the USA.

The first 20 trains are being built in the Alstom plant in Lapa, Brazil to assure necessary skills training to the South African teams, ahead of the opening of a purpose-built local manufacturing facility in Dunnottar. South-African commodity suppliers have been involved in the manufacturing of this first body-shell.

This first stainless steel body-shell is now ready to start the fitting phase, after which, by the end of 2015, the first complete PRASA train will be shipped to South Africa for an intensive testing program, before it can enter into revenue service by June 2016.

Gibela now employs 78 people and 16 South African railway engineers are almost halfway through an 18 months training programme on the trains design and technologies at several Alstom plants in Europe.

Alstom is supplying PRASA with its X’Trapolis Mega, the new X’Trapolis train developed by Alstom to fit South Africa’s 1.067 m gauge. Several Alstom plants are involved in the PRASA project, among them Sesto (Italy) for the traction motors, Le Creusot (France) for the bogies, Reischoffen (France) for the driver cabin, but also the French sites of Ornans, Tarbes, Villeurbanne and Saint-Ouen.

organization and industry. While we certainly continue to strive for technical superiority, it is the quality of our people that truly enables SigmaTEK to solidify its market leadership position. We welcome Danie to the team and look forward to his contributions in the coming years.”

For further details contact Mecad Systems on 086 111 2236 or visit www.mecad.co.za

SigmaTEK Systems has released version 10.2 of its SigmaNEST® CAD/CAM

nesting software. It offers a split window, allowing different areas of the workspace

to be viewed simultaneously. Users may also manually nest parts across the split windows and onto other sheets, without having to select the layout from the list.

Additional features include laser destruct; center of gravity tabbing;

conditional tabbing for drop doors; special lead-ins with manual tabs; quick search in parts, sheets, and

work order list; horizontal line cropping; and punching enhancements


In a short period Vala Moya (Pty) Ltd. has built a reputation for machining complex components and products for the torque and

tension technology industry, with batch sizes ranging from one-off to a couple of hundred. With the equipment that the company has invested in, larger batch sizes are possible but these orders are not common.

However, core to its business is the range of components manufactured for the company itself, a specialist in delivering solutions for torque management and control problems, including a range of torque wrenches.

Back in 2003 when Michael Hall established Vala Moya (Pty) Ltd. he did not imagine and had little idea that his ‘Shut the air’ (the loose meaning for Vala Moya) company would be developing and manufacturing components for a range of products that he had previously been selling into industry for a number of years. But a change of direction three years ago saw Vala Moya transform into a manufacturing entity, and the rest as they say is history.

The move to begin manufacturing components and final product for the torque and tension technology industry came from Michael’s sheer frustration at not being able to source a reliable local supplier and the increasing cost of importing product. His enthusiasm for the industry was waning and he needed to address the situation because most of his working career had been associated with it, but mainly on the sales and management side.

“We were importing most of our product, mainly from the USA. Then came the Chinese invasion and we were up against it in terms of pricing. The quality was nowhere near what we were supplying, but being a price conscious industry it was easy to go for the cheaper option, where post-purchase product support was non-existent – a fatal flaw in terms of product

operational integrity and safety protocols” exasperated Michael Hall explained.

Give a little, get a lot“A torque wrench is a tool

designed to exert torque on a fastener to achieve proper tightening or loosening of a connection through the use of hydraulics, or pneumatically, or electrically. They come in many sizes and shapes with various torque capabilities and can be used in heavy-duty industrial bolting applications.”

“The concept of a hydraulic powered torque wrench was first introduced on the market sometime in the early 1960s in a primitive form.Several key advances have been developed by manufacturers since that time which provided major advancements in the technology and usability of the tools far beyond the original concept tool.

Today’s tools offer benefits such as lighter weights, smaller

Vala Moya talks the torque

SHOPFRONT FOCUS

Vala Moya will machine most of its components for its various products

A machined component for a torque wrench

Vala Moya is a specialist company involved in delivering

solutions for torque management and control problems, including

a range of torque wrenches

�


nose radius dimensions for fitting into tight spaces, use of exotic alloys, actuation triggers on the tool itself, multi-position reaction members, 360° × 360° hose swivels, and the ability to run multiple tools simultaneously from a single power pack.”

“The main characteristics of a hydraulic torque wrench which set it apart from other powered wrenches of similar function are that (1) it must generate torque using only hydraulic means (2) it must be self ratcheting, and (3) it must include an accurate method of determining the amount of torque applied. Some manufacturers utilize a holding pawl design to keep the wrench locked in position prior to each power stroke; others use varying designs, which as in all industries have debatable faults or claimed advantages. Hydraulic torque wrenches typically offer accuracy of ±3% and have a high degree of repeatability making them well suited to applications where large bolts are involved, and a high degree of accuracy is required. A hydraulic torque wrench is significantly quieter, lighter in weight and more accurate than pneumatic impact wrenches.”

“An electric torque wrench is a planetary torque multiplier or a “Gearbox” mated to an electric motor. At the end of the “gearbox” is a reaction device that is used to absorb the torque. This allows the operator of the tool to use the electric torque wrench with very little effort. Electric torque wrenches were invented in the 1980s.”

“A pneumatic torque wrench is similar to the electric torque wrench. However, itis mated to a pneumatic air motor. At the end

of the gearbox is a reaction device that is used to absorb the torque which allows the tool operator to use it with very little effort. The torque output is adjusted by controlling the air pressure. Pneumatic torque wrenches were also invented in the 1980s.”

“Torque wrenches have always been popular as a tool, but as the world has progressed and become more safety conscious the demand has grown. There are now many more custom applications, and this is one area where we have specialised.”

“Our journey into manufacturing began three years ago when I decided I had had enough of being beaten up on supply chain formalities. I had numer-ous years of experience in

the product so the transition into the manufacturing side, although daunting, was relatively seamless.”

“We first set up shop in Elandsfontein, Gauteng and purchased a Victor VTurn 26 and a Victor VCenter 102. I must compliment Gordon Boddy of Victor Fortune South Africa with the help and advice he gave us in setting up these machines that would allow us to get going. Rather than just wanting to sell us a couple of machines he came with a solution and then helped us to implement the local manufacturing programme.”

“At the time we had no idea of the enormous task we had taken on but fortunately we had Gordon and he has continued to support us on the manufacturing side.

The first two machines that Vala Moya purchased from Victor Fortune South Africa were a Victor VTurn 26 and a Victor VCenter 102

Last year Vala Moya purchased a further two machines from Victor Fortune South Africa �


This is why we have purchased a further two VCenters from him – a VCenter 85 and a VCenter 102 – both with 4th axis milling capabilities. His advice and experience has been invaluable, and highly appreciated.”

The work that is put across a shop’s machine tools makes each shop unique. Processing that work, particularly how it is fixtured and to some extent tooled, is what transforms a general-purpose machine shop or, for that matter, a stand-alone machine, into a shop-specific outfit.

Vala Moya is no different. Firstly it specialized in the manufacture of torque wrenches, and secondly Hall decided to concentrate, but not limit himself, on custom applications and new product development.

“I have always serviced the mining and petrochemical industries and it made sense that I should continue to do so. These industries don’t use product that you can buy off the shelf at a local engineering distributor. The torque wrenches are more specialized, and in most instances need tool packages and accessories for

the multitude of job-specific bolting applications on any given site facility.”

“We are also able to visit a client, assess his specific bolting requirements and then provide a viable solution for him. Our solution-driven experience and product support has defined our commitment and service with our increasingly growing customer base. Increased productivity, reliability and safety ratios are key benefits experienced by our customers.”

“All our components are made inhouse except for the electrical, hose and plastic component requirements. Every product is assembled by our company, while at the same time going through stringent quality checks.”

“From the outset, and maintaining stringent quality standards, we only use high quality materials for our components. These include

aircraft alloys for the housings as an example. Otherwise we use K600 tool steel or similar. All components that require heat treatment are vacuum heat treated at Bohler Uddeholm South Africa.”

“Material is generally received in a blocked format and we machine from scratch. We are prepared to spend money on our materials because we often supply product where it is used in a safety critical environment. Besides, quality will always be associated with our company.”

“On the tooling side we buy from Iscar, Sandvik and Multitrade and we employ EdgeCam for our machining and designing formats.”

Besides torque wrenches Vala Moya also manufactures a range of bolting solutions, mechanical tensioning nuts, turbine bolting applications, Dumptruck/LHD wheel bolt removal tools, heavy-duty industrial drive sockets, and pneumatic safety valves.

For more information contact Vala Moya on TEL: 011 873-4458 or visit www.valamoya.com

Owner Michael Hall with his wife Megan who looks after the administration and finance side of the business

Components ready for assemblyBesides torque wrenches Vala Moya also manufactures a range of bolting solutions, mechanical tensioning nuts, turbine bolting applications, Dumptruck/LHD wheel bolt removal tools, heavy-duty industrial drive sockets, and pneumatic safety valves

Most components are machined from block. Vala Moya uses high quality materials including aircraft alloys for the housings, as an example.

Otherwise Vala Moya uses K600 tool steel or similar. All components that require

heat treatment are vacuum heat treated at Bohler Uddeholm South Africa


When not hurling himself down bob-sled tracks at 90 miles an hour on a small high-tech sled,

Kristan Bromley designs and manufacturers sleds for 22 nations preparing for the next Winter Olympics, including Britain, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Korea.

He has one world championship under his belt, two overall world series titles, numerous British national titles, and is three-times European champion. In 2008 he became the first man in history to win the World Championship, European Championship and World Cup in the same season. The British media nicknamed him Doctor Ice because he gained a PhD from Nottingham University with a thesis entitled "Factors affecting the performance of skeleton bobsleds".

His company, Bromley Sports, ships between 100 and 200 bespoke sleds to athletes around the world, but is currently moving into the recreational

arena, having designed and developed a patented sled for an exciting new snow activity, Baseboarding.

“Over the next two to three years we’re changing from purely providing a low volume, highly customisable Olympic-governed sled, to manufacturing up to 10,000 Baseboards for a mass market. Our mission is to become the most advanced sliding sport product manufacturer in the world.”

And he says VISI, from Vero Software, is a critical aspect of the company’s future. “It’s absolutely vital for creating both high precision performance parts, and carbon fibre lay-up tooling.”

Baseboarding has recently been introduced at the Whistler Olympic

Park in Canada, and Kristan Bromley describes it as “bodyboarding on snow” sliding down a groomed run on a pat-ented board providing optimal ride dynamics, keeping the rider close to

Bromley Sports keeps leading athletes at the top of their gameMedals and world titles for skeleton racers are the prime objective.

When not hurling himself down bob-sled tracks at 90 miles an hour on a small high-tech sled,

Kristan Bromley designs and manufacturers sleds for 22 nations preparing for the next

Winter Olympics, including Britain, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Korea

The Baseboard allows riders to experience the adrenalin fuelled,

head-first ride position of skeleton racing


the snow, with a low centre of gravity. “The Baseboard has a low friction curved base and parallel runners which create a highly agile board with easy-to-learn steering using feet and subtle upper body movements. It’s a safe recreational way for families visiting snow resorts to experience the head-first ride position of skeleton racing – which is an amazing adrenalin rush.”

Although the Baseboard is extremely light, it is strong and stylised. “The product is underpinned with thermo-plastic composites, creating a super-tough 3D structure that can withstand temperatures of minus-30 degrees centigrade.”

But Bromley Sports made its name in the highly competitive world of skeleton racing. “We’re giving athletes the tools to fight for Olympic medals, and VISI is absolutely pivotal in creating maximum-performing sleds by pushing boundaries to improve performance. Reducing aerodynamic drag by five per cent can cut an athlete’s time by one, two, or even three tenths of a second, and that’s enough to take them from tenth place right through to Gold.”

With more than 60 carbon fibre and stainless steel components in the skeleton sled, and the prospect of mass

producing Baseboards, he says it was important to bring the whole operation in-house. Previously, most of the tooling work was sent to sub-contractors, but he realised that by bringing tool design and manufacturing in-house they could create new designs, develop products faster, and innovate more efficiently.

To achieve that, they invested in a Doosan DNM 650 VMC, retro-fitted with a Nikken fourth axis rotary table, driven

Kristan Bromley with the Baseboard next to the Doosan 650 II VMC

Bromley Sports use Hexagon Metrology’s Romer Absolute Arm to reverse engineer the athlete’s

form to maximise aero performance

�


using VISI’s multi-axis machining capability, meaning they can develop complex tooling as well as machining prismatic style components. “The VISI team was instrumental in explaining how the software works and getting us up and running with our machining centre. The engineers’ machining knowledge was invaluable, and without their support we wouldn’t have been able to get our products out there so quickly, helping athletes win medals in the World Cup.”

The company, which was established by Kristan and his brother Richard in 2000, now uses VISI for every component in their skeleton sleds and Baseboards. “And it’s not just the components that go into making up the products. We develop everything that supports the manufacturing process in VISI as well – the tooling and jigs.”

Rules for the skeleton sled are set by the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT), the sport’s international governing body, but allow for the use of a variety of materials to come together to make a high

performing product. “Technology is one of the key parts of an athlete’s performance. In the same way that a Formula 1 driver can’t win the world championship without the best car, a skeleton racer would really struggle to win Olympic medals and world titles without the best sled technology.”

The development process includes ensuring that the sled is tailored to an individual athlete’s body. “We design it around the athlete’s own ergonomics, reflecting the pressure points of their shoulders and knees.” Bromley Sports use Hexagon Metrology’s ROMER Absolute Arm with integrated laser scanner to reverse engineer the athlete’s form. “We scan an athlete’s body shape and generate accurate mesh data for Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis in less than an hour.”

Once the design is completed in Creo, he seamlessly drops the file into VISI and starts to work on machining strategies. “Although VISI is extremely powerful and flexible, it’s also simple to use. When we’re machining new tooling for the carbon fibre composites, being able to approach that particular tool with different machining strategies, and having the ability to manipulate those cuttings paths, is

critical. To achieve the precision we need to help athletes win medals, we’ve found we can’t hit a tool with a “one toolpath suits all” approach. We need to tailor those toolpaths and the cutting strategy in order to reduce machining time and produce a part with a high level of surface finish that requires minimal hand polishing.”

And he says VISI’s simulation capability ensures they have the mould and toolpaths ready for perfect, accurate and collision-free machining before they start to cut metal.

Defining Bromley Sports’ association with VISI, he says the software means they can build sleds with greater precision and to the required tolerances. “Gaining performance is all in the detail, and as an organisation trying to help athletes win Olympic medals we need the world’s best, to help the world’s best.”

For further details visit Bromley Sports on www.bromleysports.com

VISI Machining is used to manufacture both high precision performance parts,

and carbon fibre lay-up tooling

The Baseboard has a low friction curved base and parallel runners which creates a highly agile board and intuitive ride experience. The Baseboard has a patented design with low centre of gravity and anti-flip characteristics

The Doosan 650 with Nikken 4th Axis is used to machine aircraft grade anodised aluminium alloy components


Do you know who has what tools and equipment in your warehouse? Can you account for all tools and equipment issued, and do you have measures in place

to identify tool and equipment losses? You may be able to answer this question positively, but can you say for certain that you have a record of when these tools or equipment were last maintained, and when their next service is due? Are you compliant in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) in this regard? Warehouse managers, tool crib managers and safety managers are often concerned with these issues and other relevant issues when it comes to managing tools and equipment.

It is not surprising that these issues are of concern as failing to manage tools and equipment have various consequences. In terms of tool and equipment losses due to theft, a recent survey found that this issue costs industries in the United States of America a whopping $600 million per year (National Equipment Register Survey, 2007 in ToolWatch Corporation Industry Statistic Sheet, retrieved 2014). When considering that as little as 6.5% of that equipment is ever recovered (National Equipment Register Survey, 2007 in ToolWatch Corporation Industry Statistic Sheet, retrieved 2014), it is easy to understand why managing tools and equipment is vital. Despite the exorbitant cost of theft of these items, a failure to keep them well maintained can cost organisations in time and money due to mistakes being made or due to substandard production.

Lastly, an organisation that fails to keep record of relevant information relating to tools and equipment also does not comply with the requirements of OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, 2014).

Taking into consideration all these potential consequences of failing to effectively manage stock of tools and equipment,

Eskom wanted to move away from their paper-based tool and equipment management solution to a more sophisticated and reliable system. Eskom currently has 10 training centres across South Africa. Each training centre houses tools and equipment to the value of R1.6 million and they were loosing approximately R800 000 in total per annum, due to tool and equipment losses. Given these losses, Eskom required a system that assisted them to monitor tool and equipment movements, provide a reliable method of recording these movements, record calibration and maintenance done on tools and equipment and lastly, record future services and calibration required on the same tools and equipment.

In this discussion we address the problems experienced when managing tools and equipment, as well as highlight the latest technology and processes available to implement a tool and equipment management system.

Eskom will be used as a case study to outline the likely problems experienced by most companies, and the implemented solution will be elaborated upon in order to highlight an effective management system used to address this problem.

The first section of this paper will address the reasons as to why a paper-based system is ineffective. This purpose of this section is to provide further insight into the challenge that so many organisations face. Once a general overview has been elaborated upon in terms of these reasons, the case study organisation will then be discussed in order to understand the specific challenges they faced.

The second section deals with a specific solution that was implemented at Eskom to help them effectively manage their tools and equipment. The process employed at Eskom will be addressed in this section and is depicted in a diagram.

The third section will outline the core features and the respective benefits of using the system employed. Lastly, final thoughts on the paper will be shared.

1. Why is a paper-based tool and equipment management system ineffective?

Depending on the nature and size of the organisation, management and control systems for tools and equipment may or may not be in place. Smaller organisations or organisations that do not keep many tools are not likely to manage their tools and equipment at all, or may count stock of these items when required to for recording on the asset register. This approach renders the organisation vulnerable to the actions of deviant employees. Conversely, larger organisations, or organisations who rely heavily on the use of their tools are likely to implement some form of a tool tracking system, no matter how rudimentary it may be. These rudimentary methods may include using paper and spreadsheet procedures for controlling tools and equipment.

A basic system of control includes employees being issued with the required tools

BETTER PRODUCTION

Eskom benefits from tool management and traceability system

Marking trolleys supplied to Eskom by Traceabilty Solutions


and equipment once a day, once a week or once a month (depending on the organisation’s specific procedure). The serial numbers (if any) and/or a description of the item is recorded by an individual on a spreadsheet or document. In some cases, the employee signs in confirmation of receipt of the item(s). Depending on the procedure adopted by the company, the employee then returns the items at the end of the day/week/month which is likely to be recorded on the same document it was issued on. The items issued to the employee are then checked against the spreadsheet or paper to verify whether the employee still has the tools or equipment previously issued, and whether these items are in fact the same tools and equipment that was previously issued.

The above outlined procedure relies heavily on the correct information being recorded initially by individuals (if at all). Additionally, the above procedure requires that the issuer effectively controls the document and that upon return, the items are properly inspected. This type of procedure is prone to human error. Lack of proper recording, item descriptions and inspections provide many opportunities for tools and equipment not to be returned. If the equipment is in fact returned, the defined procedure may or may not make provision for ensuring that the tools or equipment are returned in good working order, potentially resulting in faulty equipment being reissued. Some individuals are irresponsible when using tools or equipment, and as a result the life of the item can be dramatically decreased.

With specific reference to Eskom’s case, a report was generated and printed from SAP, an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. Once the report had been generated, a comparison was made between what was recorded on the system versus what was in stock. The specific challenge that Eskom had faced with this system was that assets that were depreciated to a point where they had a zero value, did not feature on the report for comparison with the physical items. The fact it was not operational and as a result,

depreciation of the item did not mean discrepancies were found between what was in stock versus what was recorded on the system. Consequently and due to the extent of tool and equipment losses suffered at the training centres, an effective and efficient tool and equipment management solution was required.

2. Tool and equipment management systemAn equipment and tool control and management system

that uses a 2D code scanner and individual biometrics to issue and return items at Eskom’s training centre was delivered to manage tools and equipment issued to students. The organisation requested that the implemented system also keep track of the movement of tools across different locations.

New items or items that are not marked are firstly marked with a 2D code and human readable text with a dot peen marker, which imprints a permanent mark onto the item. Materials that are up to 62 Rockwell C in hardness can also

be marked. Appointed marking operators control the dot peen markers. Tools and equipment can be marked at just about any location as the dot peen markers were customised to be mobile marking stations. Where a mark can not be made directly onto the item, a non-transferrable tamper evident asset label is stuck onto a visible part of the item. The label cannot be removed and restuck onto another item as the label disintegrates when interfered with. The asset number allocated and marked or stuck onto the item is a unique number issued by Eskom’s asset register system. Once the item is marked, it is scanned to verify that the information is correct and that the mark is scannable.

Registration entails the operator logging onto the system by scanning his or her fingerprint. The 2D code on the item is then scanned (the scanner is plugged into a personal computer), and the information is then populated to the relevant field in the custom software package. This serves two purposes. The first purpose is to register the item on the database, and the second purpose is to confirm the uniqueness of the number allocated. The operator is then required to record the type and description of the item. This is done by the operator selecting options from various drop down fields in the software, thereby �


minimising human error in recording data. The information recorded includes the type of item, the description of the item, whether the item is in good working order or not, and whether the item requires calibration or not.

Once the item has been registered, the item is issued to the individual concerned. The item is issued only once the item has been scanned, and the fingerprint of both the person issuing the item and the person receiving the item has been scanned and captured on the system allowing full accountability for both parties.

Once the item has been used and is returned by the student, the item is returned on the system by means of the verifier (storeman) logging onto the system by scanning his or her fingerprint. Once the person who has logged on has been verified, the 2D code on the item and the fingerprint of the user are both scanned in order to complete the process of the item being returned on the system. At this stage the item is inspected for faults. If the item requires maintenance, this is recorded on the system. Serviceable items are then entered into stock and packed away for reissuing when required.

3. Benefits of using the outlined management systemBefore addressing the benefits of using the outlined

management system, the core features of the system are highlighted below. The core features of the outlined management solution render the solution more effective in managing tools and equipment. The core features include:

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receiver�� $�UHSRUWLQJ�IXQFWLRQ�IRU�PDQDJHPHQW�WR�UHYLHZ�

tool and equipment movement, even across different locations

By marking directly onto the part, the mark is permanent and cannot easily be removed. Markings can be done in recesses where it would be difficult to get into to remove and can still be picked up by a scanner. Even if a file is used to file away at the mark, it can still be established that a mark was previously there. In addition, the filed away information can be recovered forensically, if need be. Where a tamper evident label is used and interfered with, it can be seen as the label disintegrates. When searches are conducted, the marks that are filed or labels that are tampered with will easily be identi-fied and it can quickly be established that the part belongs to the company. Defaced items or labels that have been interfered with can still establish accountability when it is in the receiver’s possession.

The 2D code can store much more information in a smaller space on the marked item than what would be possible with a 1D code or man readable text. A lot more information can be accessed from the tool or piece of equipment as a result of this, and this allows the company to better manage services and calibrations when required to. The 2D code allows for automated reading of information, which is not possible with only human readable text. In addition this 2D code could also be a huge theft deterrent as it is unlikely that people would go to the lengths required to mark a 2D code on an item in order to get away with stealing it. Either way, unless the perpetrator has a dot peen marker, the right scanner and software, the use of 2D codes makes it more challenging for individuals to mark and copy the unique number allocated to the tool or piece of equipment. For even more security it is even possible now to put non counterfeit

codes on items.The most beneficial features of the system implemented,

are the fact that it requires minimal human intervention to record information as well as the fact that responsibility for items is established through scanning fingerprints of the issuer and receiver. Human error in recording, describing, receiving and/or issuing the tools/pieces of equipment is minimised.

The operator is required to select from pre-populated fields to effectively describe a part. This standardises descriptions used and thereby eliminates confusion about which part had been issued and returned. This implemented system also ensures that no item can be issued without scanning the 2D code on the part and without scanning the issuer’s and receiver’s fingerprints. This way responsibility for the item is immediately established and an audit trail per item is available for review.

Another benefit of using fingerprints to establish responsibility is the fact that trainees who have left tools behind on power lines or on site will quickly be identified. This helps to eradicate potential safety concerns that may arise, as well as the loss of tools resulting from negligently leaving tools behind. If tools are found unaccounted for onsite, once the 2D code on the tool is scanned, the person who was issued with the tool will be identified. Trainees are likely to ensure that they have all their tools before leaving a training site due to this feature of the implemented system.

Lastly, the system implemented includes a reporting function, which provides management of the training centre with important information relating to tool and equipment movement. The reports provide an audit trail in terms of movement of items across the different training centre locations. In so doing, management are able to identify questionable transactions on the system, a well as any items which have not been returned, or have been returned by the person who was not the initial recipient.

4. Final thoughtsKnowing who has what tools and equipment and having

the peace of mind of knowing that record is kept of service and calibration dates is of concern to warehouse and tool crib managers, as well as to accounting staff and executives. The objectives of most tool and equipment management systems are to establish responsibility and accountability of those using the items as well as to maintain tools and equipment. At the end of the day, if a system can deliver on these objectives, the system is deemed to be effective. There is no better system to establish accountability and responsibility than one that uses fingerprints and permanently marked 2D codes to do so. Using what is unique to both humans (fingerprints) and the items issued (once marked with the 2D code) not only establishes accountability, but also deters deviant employees from stealing items. Lastly, using a standardised method of capturing and storing information supports warehouse and tool crib managers to keep track of services and calibration requirements of tools and equipment, which offers these managers peace of mind as a result.

Traceability Solutions is an authority on marking, identification and traceability solutions for various industries. The company is based in Northriding, Johannesburg and has branches in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal.

For more information on this solution and other solutions available for part marking, identification, track and trace contact Traceability Solutions TEL: 011 704 4744 or visit www.tracesol.co.za


The 3D printing market is roughly divided into four different segments. The desktop 3D printers are for home users and range from kits that require a lot of work by the user,

to systems that work straight out of the box. The prices of these printers range from $300 to $5,000. Examples of these systems are the Ultimaker and Printrbot.

Professional printers are for use within offices. They tend to be more productive and produce better looking parts. Their pricing ranges from around $10,000 to $150,000. Examples of these systems are the Stratasysa Design Series and the 3D Systems Professional range. They are mainly used for visual prototypes by design, engineering and marketing teams.

Increasingly however people are using them for form & fit testing and small production runs. In between the desktop and professional segment we have the “Professional desktop 3D printer” segment which straddles the two markets. Systems such as the Formlabs Form1+.

Highly productive systems meant for large prototypes or actual production fall into the industrial 3D printer category. These systems range in price from $30,000 to $1.5 million. Examples of these systems are the EOS systems, Envisiontec Perfactories and Arcam Q10s. (Disclosure: I’ve done work for Ultimaker, Formlabs & Envisiontec).

3D printing is a vernacular collective name for many different technologies. Each works very differently, the materials are very dissimilar and the output ranges widely. Post processing and designing for each of these technologies is also very different. Depending on your part, work space, the final application of the part or even your design, different technologies or individual systems could be better suited.

There are 3D printers for dental applications, ones for small jewelers, ones for making large car bumpers for concept cars and ones for making hearing aids. Even within the same 3D printer, printing technology output can vary widely between vendors. And even within a vendor’s range one will find

differences in layer height, materials allowed on the machine and cost that make one system much more suited than the other to your individual application. Therefor the market can be a bit bewildering when you’re first shopping for a 3D printer.

In order to aid people shopping for a system or those who may consider buying one I’ve prepared some handy guides meant to help your selection of a 3D printer. I hope that this will give people pause when considering a system and also let them assess the costs and requirements. I’ve made this guide for companies looking to buy a system mainly meant for prototyping used in an office or semi-office costing between $10,000 and $150,000.

1. Am I buying this just to be cool?With the hype about 3D printing reaching new peaks many

people, even theoretically rational companies, are shopping for a 3D printer just because it’s cool. If you are doing this then don’t buy a professional system. Just get a desktop system, put

10 questions you should askbefore buying a professional 3D printer

Technology developments on display at EuroBlech 2014 continue to deliver efficiencies that help metal fabricators stay competitive.

The PolyJet 3D Printer from Stratasys Design Series

“John, I heard you were looking for a new challenge in addition to your role as our office manager”

A home user range from Ultimaker


it in the corner and show it to people visiting the office. This is much cheaper and desktop systems also take up much less space.

2. How many people in my company can 3D model or do CAD?

A huge bottleneck at many companies is the lack of in house CAD capability. You need good CAD people to make use of the system. These CAD people will also be working with it most intensively, so it important that they are on board before you select a system. Once you have these people they should be given the time to learn to design for 3D printing, and learn the technical constraints of whichever 3D printing process you are taking in house. You can not expect a CAD person to straight off the bat make good files that are optimized for 3D printing.

3. What are the technical requirements of the parts that I want to make?

If you’d like parts that work in aircraft for example or need full color it will reduce the plethora of 3D printers to a handful of choices. Other requirements such as high temperature parts or biocompatibility will also greatly reduce the choice landscape.

4. Can I fit this thing in the office? Many 3D printers are labeled as being office friendly. Often

this is the case with the systems being relatively quiet and emission free. But, to 3D print intricate shapes you will also need 3D printing support material. This material will have to be removed. In many cases the 3D printer is office friendly but the support removal process can not be done in an office. You will need a waterjet station or a post processing unit. Often post processing processes will produce dust, smells, chemicals or damp that you will not want in your office. Let the sales rep walk you through the entire 3D printing process including post processing to get a real idea of how 3D printing works. I know it’s nice to have the thing in the office but often the best place for them is in an industrial or semi-industrial room with good HVAC.

5. Have I calculated in the labour costs?It’s not a question of putting a machine in a corner and

pushing a button every once in a while. With 3D printing you have to optimize files, nest them and post process the parts. The amount of labour varies widely depending on how much engineering is required for your parts, and how much post processing your parts would require. Companies often forget to put in labour in their 3D printer investment calculation.

6. How many useful parts am I going to make per month? I’ve been so surprised at just how many companies go

ahead and buy a 3D printer without calculating the cost per part. Over time you will see 3D printing spread through your organization. But, initially in many companies the business case is simply not there since the number of parts per month is too low. That’s why I’d always recommend first engaging a service bureau for a number of months before considering buying a 3D printer. That way you can experiment with different technologies, learn about 3D printing and actually make a strong business case for owning a 3D printer rather than buying one willy nilly.

7. Am I actually only going to be making one type of part?Some machines are really good at producing visual models.

Others are very versatile while still others produce very strong parts suited for testing. Many companies should not buy a 3D printer because the types of parts they need are simply too varied. One time an SLA part is needed, another time a metal part, then an ABS part etc. For these types of companies owning a machine does not make sense and they would be better off

using several different technologies through a service bureau.

8. What software do I need? CAD software and 3D printing software is expensive.

Budget the CAD and 3D printing seats beforehand to keep yourself from any nasty surprises. You will need a 3D printing software package such as Magics to repair files and nest builds.

9. Do I really want to pay $800 per kilo for plastic?Another thing sometimes overlooked is the price of the

consumables per part. Consumables in 3D printers range widely with some plastics being sold for higher prices per kilo than titanium. Differences in consumables pricing can completely change the cost picture of one machine or technology versus another.

10. What will be the main use of this 3D printer?Often only one department is pushing the purchasing

decision for a 3D printer. But, if many other departments would also need a system a completely different system could be a more optimal choice. Also, if you will be using the 3D printer for product development then it may be worthwhile to consider deeper uses for the system within the company. Using it for product development may speed up this team, and it will let them make many more iterations of products.

But, if you do have the system then looking at how you can use it to really change how you develop and market things will help you get higher utility from it. Involving marketing and letting them see designs earlier can eliminate many mistakes. Involving customers or sales channel partners in design and development through letting them see visual prototypes is also something to consider.

Maybe you’d like to do testing of the form factor of your device very early in the design process with consumers? Or you could give wax models of your jewelry line to your sales force so you can be the first to show retailers the fall collection. Or make a detailed model of your industrial wind turbine so your sales managers can visually showcase the improvements or USPs of your design to prospects.

The use of 3D printing in sales is super effective but rarely talked about or used today. It is through looking more holistically at the use of the 3D printer by the entire company that often the greatest value is unlocked. Additionally, when answering this question many companies come to the conclusion that they’re only getting it because it’s cool. In that case just buy a desktop machine.

Article by Joris Peels, a heavyweight 3D printing industry commentator writing for Inside 3DP.

The EOS M 400 laser sintering machine from DMLS


EuroBlech 2014, the 23rd International Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibition, wrapped up on 25 October in Hannover, Germany, after five exhibition

days. A total of 59 600 trade visitors attended the sheet metalworking show, viewing exhibits from 1 573 companies from 38 countries. This year 38 percent of the total attendance came from outside of Germany, compared to 34 percent at the 2012 event. Most visitors from outside Germany were from the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Czech Republic, Spain, UK, Belgium and the USA. The show’s total net floor space was 86 500m².

The busy atmosphere at the show reflected the overall positive outlook of the sheet metalworking sector. New bending, welding, and laser technology on display at the world’s largest metal fabricating and forming tradeshow will help manufacturers in their pursuit of achieving higher levels of production efficiency in the future.

The exhibition survey shows that companies assess the current business climate as more favourable than two years ago. Approaching new markets was the main aim for the

exhibitors at this year’s exhibition, and EuroBlech 2014 was more international than the previous exhibition.

Fiber laser cutting for sheet metal made its worldwide debut at EuroBlech back in 2008, so it makes sense that next-generation technology made its 2014 debut there as well.

“We are seeing a clear trend to use higher power lasers for cutting applications,” said IPG Photonics founder and CEO Valentin Gapontsev in a recent investor conference call.

“At EuroBlech, some OEM customers demonstrated cutting systems using IPG's 8 kilowatt fiber lasers. One of our customers has promised a demonstration of a 12 kilowatt fiber cutter at the Fabtech show in November 2014.”

Cutting market growthGapontsev cites market research suggesting that there is

plenty of headroom for IPG to expand into. “From worldwide sales of over 7,500 units of high-power laser cutting machines expected in 2014, the share of fiber cutters doesn’t exceed 30 per cent,” he explained.

By 2020, that share is expected to have grown to between

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

EuroBlech 2014 wows visitors Technology developments on display at EuroBlech 2014 continue to deliver efficiencies

that help metal fabricators stay competitive.


60 and 80 percent of an anticipated 12 000 units. If correct, it would represent a near-quadrupling of fiber laser unit shipments by the end of the decade – with the added benefit of the demand for higher powers.

“These results demonstrate our fiber lasers' continued penetration of large-scale applications, our ability to capitalise on growing demand for several key applications, as well as the leverage we have in our operating model,” said Gapontsev.

Alternate power source for laser cuttingAmada, working in conjunction with JDSU, introduced a

direct-diode laser (DDL) that cuts with 2 kW of power. It was incorporated into a laser cutting machine called the ExC.

The DDL power source, which differs from fiber lasers in that it doesn’t need an “active” fiber to assist in the creation of the laser light, has been used in the sheet processing industry for welding and heat-treating applications, but not for cutting because the quality of the light was not good enough. However, Amada and JDSU have worked together to develop a DDL beam that is suitable for cutting.

The cutting capabilities indicate a drastic improvement over traditional CO2 laser cutting technology. According to Amada the real benefit for the technology is its energy efficiency. The DDL’s wall plug efficiency — or the optical power from electricity consumed — is around 40 to 45 percent. That is more than quadruple that of CO2 technology and almost 10 percent greater than fiber laser technology. The electrical requirement for the ExC machine running at the show was only 18 kVA. The new laser technology probably won’t be commercialised until later in 2015.

More focus on the bending processWith lasers cutting metal parts at incredible speeds

these days, fabricators have had to put more focus on the bending process to keep up with the laser cutting machines. Early advancements in bending automation centered on robotic arms that performed the actual material handling and bending, but the focus lately has been on tooling changes, which quietly eat up a good part of any press brake operator’s day.

Salvagnini introduced a new twist on press brake tooling management. Instead of maintaining a storage area on the side or in the rear of the press brake, the B3’s tooling is stored within the press brake itself, and it adjusts the positioning of the tools according to the next job.

Electric-powered press brakes have been more widely available in recent years as fabricators have looked for more energy-efficient, quicker, and more precise bending machines. One of the forerunners in this equipment segment, SafanDarley, presented its new take on the technology for the first time at EuroBlech.

The company’s newest generation of electric brakes employs a servo-electric drive with a double-pulley system. The new press brakes have a C-frame, a narrower press beam, and the ability to deliver greater tonnage per inch than previous generations. The brake is available with up to a 300 ton capacity.

Bystronic unveiled its Xpert 40 electric press brake. One feature is the storage for press brake tooling both within the operator’s reach and on the side of the brake. Another feature is the brake’s extra bottom weight. This acts as a counterbalance to the typically top-heavy portion of the press brake. This is especially important for those fabricators interested in moving the small press brake around the shop floor with a forklift.

Bystronic also introduced ByOptimizer a new online

service that creates maximally optimised cutting plans for laser cutting.

New in bending technology on the Trumpf stand this year was the introduction of the MagicShoe and the TruBend Series 5000. The MagicShoe is a work shoe fitted with smart sensors. This makes it easy for the operator to move around and initiate the stroke wherever they are standing at the machine. Dragging and relocating foot pedals becomes a thing of the past, and the space in front of the machine remains clear.

Durma presented several new machines with new designs and livery. The fiber laser HDFS 3015 has a cutting table located on the long side of the machine, which according to the company provides a faster switching time. The workspace is 3000 x 1500mm. Durma also unveiled for the first time a DLC 160 punching and shearing line for punching, marking and shearing angle iron up to 160 x 160 x 9mm with a maximum punch diameter of 32mm as standard.

Durma’s new ADS 30175 press brake operates with lower noise, higher speed and lower power consumption. A new servo electric punch and a tube laser for cutting pipes up to six metres and equipped with a 2kW fiber laser, up to 170mm diameter also premiered.

Ermaksan showed their Fibermak EFB LM 4000 with a bed size of 3 x1,5 in combination with a tower server that has three pallets and a new press brake Falcon 3100mm x 175 tons, a new low-cost machine. Additionally Ermaksan presented a new EVO II servo hydraulic press and the new ECO plasma cutting machine. Both new machines consume significantly less power, enabling companies to achieve strong savings on energy bills.

Intelligent manufacturing cellThroughout the last decade, it became clear that we have

an increased problem finding skilled workers. Automation is the answer to that. Attracting huge attention on the Salvagnini stand was the FlexCell, a solution designed to increase the capabilities of workshops organised in cells, by combining a panel bender and a press-brake. The Salvagnini OPS-FlexCell software optimises the production processes according to the bends to be made.

Product manager Pierandrea Bello: "Our concept with a combination of bending and brake center transcends the traditional production organisation for cells that are normally pretty inflexible. In general such cells are therefore configured according to the product to be made.

In FlexCell’s case, Salvagnini has instead made flexibility the system’s cornerstone, offering a cell that is innovative, broadening production horizons, while also introducing a management system that helps take its efficiency to a whole new level and make it even simpler to use.”

The cell consisted of a L5 fiberlaser cutting system in a version enhanced with automated loading-unloading and part separation, which automatically routes parts to the cell for processing, a P1 electric panel bender combined with the E3 electric press brake.

Salvagnini also introduced for the first time a P2lean panel bender and a B3 press brake fitted with an automatic bending tool setting device.

Other highlightsThe highlight on the Trumpf stand was the new design

and programming software, TruTops Boost. Numerous new machines were introduced including the TruMatic 6000 fiber, TruLaser 5030 fiber and the TruPunch 5000. Trumpf also showed new features and combinations on already established products. For instance the TruDiode 3006, in �


combination with the welding cell TruLaser Robot 5020. The laser system, thanks to its low investment and operating costs, offers an attractive way to make a debut in the world of laser welding. The special advantage of the diode direct laser is its relatively high efficiency level – as much as 40 percent, according to Trumpf.

Prima Power displayed a new-generation FMS with integrated punching, shearing and bending and a new integrated punching / shearing cell Shear Brilliance. In Prima Power’s laser range they exhibited the Laser Next, a new 3D laser system for the automotive industry and the new version of the Platino® Fiber laser cutting machine with improved performance criteria and the Laserdyne 430BD for precision laser cutting, welding and drilling of 2D and 3D parts.

For information on MicroStep’s and Messer Cutting Systems; highlights see further on.

Innovation awards18 companies were selected for their

innovative achievements the MM Maschinenmarkt and Blechnet Awards.

Amada won an award for their Ensis-3015AJ fiber laser cutting machine. The Ensis 3015 AJ utilises a highly innovative resonator to automatically and precisely adjust the diameter of the laser beam. This unique feature enables continuous processing of thin-to-thick materials by a single machine and no lens change or additional setup is required. As a result, the Ensis 3015 AJ provides fabricators with a full range of cutting capabilities in materials up to 25mm thick.

Trumpf took honours for their product "TruTops Boost", a new software solution that merges into a single system all the steps needed to generate sheet metal manufacturing programs. This includes everything from part design and data import to nesting and even

writing NC programs for cutting, punching and bending. Trumpf also received an award for their laser machine TruMatic 6000 fiber.

Bystronic won an award for their ByJet Flex waterjet cutting system. The machine is designed as a flexible modular system that allows users to equip their waterjet cutting system according to their individual requirements. Thanks to the possibility of exchanging the cutting head, both 2D and 3D applications are possible on the ByJet Flex. In addition, the ByJet Flex is based on a modular water basin system. This allows the machine's cutting range to be extended from 2 by 3 meters up to a working area of 10 by 3 meters.

Other award winners included Abacus for their spinning machine Premo 600, CoastOne for a press brake with a spindle drive, Passport stamping technology for a new multi-tool tool, Wila for the tool changer E2M (Easy to Move), Honors Engineering for a multi-tool for steel, aluminium and

copper alloys, Feintool for it’s fine blanking press XFT 1500 speed, Schuler for it’s stamping press MSC-2000, Carl Cloos for its solution Spare Matic, a new fully automated welding tip and gas nozzle changer, Kasto for its range of bandsaws, Remmert for its Basic Tower storage system, Fronius with AccuPocet 150/400, the world's first-ever portable MMA welding unit to run on lithium-ion batteries, and Simufact with Simufact.welding simulation software.

EuroBlech 2016EuroBlech 2016 will take place from 25 – 29 October

2016 in Hannover, Germany.Information on EuroBlech is available at www.euroblech.com

and on the Blech events at www.blechevents.com �


The excitement of this large exhibition is never ending. The pace at which all

manufacturers are developing, upgrading and exhibiting their latest technologies is stimulating and incredible.

Trumpf once again demonstrated why they are one of the leaders in sheetmetal machinery.

Their laser cutting machines with up to 8 kW in either “Fiber” or CO2 design are the largest and fastest for cutting thick plate. Together with their advanced programming system TruTops they perform at incredible speeds in various metals.

The new punching machine TruPunch 5000 series and bending centres, TruBend 3000 series, either as stand alone or as a flexible cell with automation ensure the highest productivity.

Ficep further developed their structural machinery for plate as well as beam lines. The Gemini plate machine is now available with an increased drilling/milling facility, 3D plasma head, marking and oxyfuel torches. The beam drilling lines have an additional axis, allowing hole patterns to be drilled without beam

movement, thereby increasing productivity and accuracy.

Furthermore the angle lines are now available with either drill or punching units and additional cropping stations allowing special profiles for the tower industry as well as construction industry.

Graham Rome and Hans-Peter Neth, both of Retecon Machine Tools

EuroBlech 2014 was an event that I looked forward to from the time I made the decision to attend which was February 2014. One has to appreciate

the size of this exhibition which covers 85 000 square meters

in eight halls (a rugby field is only 10 080 square meters). There were 1505 exhibitors from 39 countries.

The 2014 exhibition was the fourth EuroBlech that I have attended, my first being in 1988 then again in 1996

and 2008. There have been tremendous advances made since 1988, especially in the punching and laser technology and today nothing runs without a computer.

In 1988 slitting steel without shims to set the knife clearances was unheard of. We now have shimless slitter tooling with up to half a micron thickness tolerance that runs with a software program. I would highly recommend to anyone involved in the sheet metal industry to make an effort to attend Euroblech 2016. Just get a lot of walking exercise before you leave.

Hans-Peter Neth - MD of Retecon Machine Tools

Rob Barclay - Ideal Trading, the agents for Neuenkamp in South Africa

Rüdiger Uhlitz and Sebastian Dörmbach, both of Neuenkamp with Rob Barclay of Ideal Trading in the centre �


On the surface it seems these exhibitions are getting smaller, with less exhibitors and visitors. If you read the press releases from the organisers the shows

are getting bigger with higher attendance. Is this real or are there are more exhibitors, smaller stands with more of the same? There seem to be more manufacturers making the same product with smaller production and fewer overheads. The perception is that business is booming. My belief is that the ability to manufacture a good product is becoming easier and easier and the smaller manufacturers are exhibiting on smaller and more simple stands with no frills.

Technology moves on and gets cheaper. Once again we saw technology on display that five years ago was available from a select few, and is now available as almost open technology. Fiber laser is a case in point. Central European manufacturers dominated the area but seem to have lost the edge. Far Eastern manufacturers are building products at two-thirds the price with exactly the same power sources and controllers, using the same processing cores and very similar software. Manufacturers from Turkey are also doing something similar with prices substantially cheaper than their competitors in central Europe.

Bending equipment technology, press brakes in particular, is getting cheaper. In the past it was not possible to get a machine with angle sensing, material thickness measurement, multiple axis towers on the back of the machines and spring back compensation, to name a few, from China or the Mediterranean manufacturers. Today it is old hat. Bending software with all the functions we hardly use, is now offered by all the “alternative” manufacturers. It works and is efficient. Electrically driven machines with belt drives or ball screws, with low electrical consumption and no hydraulics and working at extremely fast speeds, are available from all the markets today.

Cutting is cutting, bending is bending and when you look at a price differential that adds up to hundreds of thousands or millions of ZAR one starts to wonder who is

shafting who. Consider the components. Most racks, linear guides, cabling, optical fibers, beam control optics, drives, invertors etc. can only be sourced from a few manufacturers. It seems to me that all the manufacturers, European and those from the East, are sourcing from the same suppliers. So what exactly are you paying for? It seems we are all blinded by the fact that to have a quality product one needs to buy from Europe or Japan. Is it the huge factories with clean white facades, massive R&D budgets or is it the marketing that gives us the feeling we are special and should we be paying the higher price that will cover the cost of a very nice holiday home someone, for the benefit of a name? Or is it the shame of saying I bought a Chinese or Taiwanese machine?

Many of the larger manufacturers see this open technology as a risk. The cheaper machines are becoming as fast and reliable, so they are moving to develop their own laser sources, software and peripheral equipment to create the perception of better quality and efficiency. I believe this will result in more of the same at double the cost.

The cost of making a capital investment in South Africa today is huge. The fear of making a mistake and buying a product that may leave you in the lurch with no backup seems to be a hymn sung by too many people. Many users who have bought from the big suppliers have found to their dismay that size creates an underlying arrogance and the customer comes first credo is lost. Unfortunately there are also fly-by-night machine tool dealers that for the price of an air ticket can become an agent for a good product from China and destroy its good name with bad service. The price of a good technician today, with experience, is high. Keeping up the training is expensive. When the time comes look at the local dealer, see if they have the capacity to keep the equipment up and running, and also look at the hidden cost of maintenance and spare parts. The costs of sustaining the big facades, costly R&D and massive marketing budgets come from somewhere. Open technology is cheap. Proprietary technology costs.

When the time comes and people start buying these Far East products and improve the footprint of these manufacturers in this country, there will be many people feeling the pinch and competing with machinery as good as, if not better than, the equipment from Europe and at two thirds the price, the costs will drop. One of the factors driving the price of components from the Far East is the price of the machinery being used in manufacture, a huge part of the initial investment. Labour and materials come later. They are using the machines we are scared of.

EuroBlech 2014 was an eye opener, especially from the technology point of view. The choice of alternative manufacturers and products available is huge and growing. Local manufacturers need to look around and ask themselves: What are we paying for? This is my perception of the industry currently and what we should avoid going forward.

Vaughn Hanwith-Horden of F&H Machine Tools with *DYLQ�3RSODN�RI�*HQHUDO�3URÀOLQJ

Vaughn Hanwith-Horden - MD of F&H Machine Tools

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EuroBlech 2014 was quite a big show! I'm a first timer to the show and was impressed with all that

was on display. I'm used to small cubicles with pamphlets, not with actual demonstrations.

Alutip is in the process of expanding and for this reason it was the right show to be at. We recently acquired a new Bystronic Xpert 150ton/3100mm bender to satisfy our need for the bending of all our smaller parts. It was good to realise that we indeed made the right choice! Bystronic’s stand was huge with all their different types of benders on display and they even had a little baby 40ton/1m machine on display.

Bystronic had a 6kW fibre laser on the stand that is capable of cutting 30mm aluminium. This might not sound too impressive until you hold the hot sample in your hand and see the two 2mm holes right through the 30mm aluminium material! The norm is that one cannot cut a hole with a diameter smaller than the material thickness.

Another very impressive offering was on the Amada stand. On the cutting side they had punching machines and lasers with stacking equipment in operation. The benders have robotic bend assist (arm), auto tool changers, scanning and measurement equipment all integrated in a cell. The parts were photographed, picked up by the robotic arm with suckers, bent, turned, bent again and even step bent to make a half round shape. The whole setup is designed to be able to do hundreds of parts per day with no human intervention!

What was impressive on the welding side is that they did robotic welding (the same box shape part as bent above) with a fibre laser as the power source, which is impressive!

In Alutip's line of business, material handling is a huge challenge due to the plate sizes we use (7.5m x 2m in 6mm and 8mm thickness). It was interesting to see all the different equipment available to store and handle such big plates.

A number of smaller equipment was also on display. This included for instance induction heaters, drills, aluminium cutting, grinding technology and friction welding equipment. The exciting thing is that most of the exhibitors are represented in South Africa.

All and all, it was a well-organised, well equipped and well planned show, capable of showcasing all the types of tools and machinery to equip oneself to deliver a product of higher quality in a shorter period of time with less human effort.

Pieta Labuschagne of Alutip, Andrew Poole of First Cut and Bertus Kritzinger of Trailord

Pieta Labuschagne - General Manager of Alutip

I could see a big development in technology, not only in machines, but also software. There was a huge focus on complete automation and employee efficiencies. I am really

excited about the new software to assist programmers on the laser and bending machines from Trumpf, TruTops Boost and cannot wait for it to be released.

There is a big battle between the different manufacturers on the laser and bending front and everyone is really investing a lot of money in upgrading the systems to achieve a better product. Waterjet cutting has also been improved tremendously and one should think of which machine is the correct one for a specific application. Waterjet or laser cannot replace each other, but will compliment your service offering. All the latest developments also point out that we as industry should invest in training and that there is a huge opportunity for young people. Although a lot can be automatically manufactured, humans must do the final assembly. A German customer once said to me “you should not use technology to replace the lack of your employee’s skills.” Ben Steenkamp of Fabrinox

Ben Steenkamp - Director, Fabrinox


MicroStep’s main focus this year was on multi- functionality, automation and highly efficient specialised systems for the processing of tubes and

profiles, sheet metal and dished ends. In addition to the rapid integration of relevant innovations

by our suppliers, we continuously implement the results of our own research into our products, always with the aim of optimising the entire technology-based production process.

One of the main features of our stand included the MG series, which is the top of the range product amongst the MicroStep® cutting systems. It is built for permanent use in the industry and meets the highest demands on precision, performance and usability. The MG series can be configured with a variety of technologies including 2D cutting, bevel cutting, tube and section processing, dished ends, drilling, tapping, countersinking and technologies for labelling and scanning.

A new radical innovation added to the MG cutting system is that it is now possible that subsequent weld preparations can be attached to already cut components. This new, patented technology called ABP® (Additional Bevelling Process) can be used on the cutting system in combination with a laser scanner. The investment costs compared to the conventional method for the subsequent chamfering are extremely small. In addition, the quality and precision is much better due to the higher stability of the overall cutting system.

The MasterCut Eco is now further improved with innovations and additional features.

The MasterCut Eco is a powerhouse that numerous customers already rely on, on a daily basis in many production areas. Designed for small and medium-sized companies in the metal industry, the compact and rugged CNC cutting system is packaged with a plasma power source and a powerful TEKA - filter system. The system is fitted with low maintenance and strong drive AC drives. Five different formats are now available with sizes of 3 x 1.5 up to 6 x 2 meters.

As of 2015 the system can also be equipped with an optional bevel cutting head that will deliver clean and precise bevel cuts up to 45°. This includes an automatic calibration system that will significantly improve the precision and dimensional stability of the cutting process and make tedious mechanical adjustments entirely superfluous.

The brand new ProfileCut series is a highly efficient solution for processing of tubes and profiles. Through the generous working surface, profiles can be easily edited to 1000mm height and 12 000mm length. Besides the common carrier forms - I, H, U, L, T - round tubes or square profiles can also be processed. The new 120° rotator enables complete machining of profiles without an additional rotational axis in the editing area. The ProfileCut, with the help of the standard laser scanner can also determine the exact position

and shape of a profile. Material side deviations from the ideal shape are detected automatically and are efficiently compensated for.

In a large open cargo with heavy profiles the system can easily and securely be driven into the processing zone. This saves time as the profiles do not need to be stretched or otherwise prepared for processing.

The ProfileCut series can flexibly be adapted to individual production requirements. The system can be equipped with a drilling support for the precise placement of holes, cuts and threads, and labelling technologies for labelling of finished beam sections can also be integrated. In addition to the processing area for profiles and supports, the cutting machine can also be equipped with a cutting table for sheet metal working. This gives the flexibility in the manufacturing process and saves the purchase of a further cutting or drilling system.

For maximum productivity, the editing process can be completely automated including delivery of the profile to be machined, determination of position and compensation for any differences in shape using laser scanners, fast and

precise cutting of profiles, automatic discharge of the finished support pieces and a seamless connection to the warehouse management and the "Micro Step Production Management - mpm®" software.

Eva Stejskalová of MicroStep with Ludwig Oellermann of MicroStep South Africa

Ludwig Oellermann - MD of MicroStep South Africa

A new radical innovationadded to the MG cutting

system is that it is now possible that subsequent weld

preparations can be attached to already cut components

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Henri Zermatten of Manrepco with Tony Windt of TWR Steel

Tony and Andrew Broekhuisen of Aluminium Trading

Having had the privilege of attending several EuroBlech and EMO exhibitions in

Hannover, Germany over the years it makes you wonder how much more machine tools can improve. When I first attended this show some years ago for the first time, you were overwhelmed by the size of the show and by the amount of quality machines on display. Having just attended EuroBlech 2014 nothing has changed. One thing is certain, the industry is not standing still.

On my early trips it was like visiting the bush for the first time. You tend to only look out for the big five missing out on so much more by ignoring the smaller creatures of the bush. The same goes for machine tools. There is so much finer detail that makes all the equipment so unique and dedicated to specific applications and products.

Machine tools are evolving not only by becoming bigger and faster but also in the intricate componentry such as integrated axis, software becoming user friendly and more powerful, moving away from hydraulics to electric motors, fibre lasers able to cut faster and thicker, punching machines punching at 1500 strokes a minute, automated handling of material and material flow becoming important due to the cost of space and labour. The machine tool builders are now looking at time saving where every second counts, and at designing and building machines with the least human intervention as possible. All of this could be seen at EuroBlech 2014.

Prima Power, one of the leading builders of laser cutting and punching machines and systems, is moving rapidly with the introduction of new technologies in these areas. This was demonstrated at EuroBlech 2014 with the company showcasing a PSBB (punching, shearing, buffing and bending) line that was producing an office drawer system at extremely

high speed with the least personnel and very little scrap. The latest 5kW Palatino Fiber laser that was on display included a compact server for handling blanks and processed sheets. The loading and offloading of material also ran at high speeds with little human intervention.

It’s encouraging to see the number of South African customers that make the time and effort to visit this exhibition and how many invest in equipment after visiting the show. It’s also encouraging to be part of and see the networking that takes place during the show, many of whom meet each other for the first time and then start business relationships even though they are competitors.

EuroBlech also provides the opportunity to see concepts and ideas, and it is healthy to see how many customers that visit EuroBlech, implement these ideas in their factories in South Africa. EuroBlech will always be one of my favourite exhibitions and I will certainly continue visiting Hannover for many more years to come.

Roberto Costantino of Prima Power with Malcolm Moriarty of Talmac

Malcolm Moriarty - Talmac Machine Tools

�


This was my first visit to the EuroBlech show. I went there to specifically look at laser technology

and eccentric presses. I was pleasantly surprised by all the laser machine exhibitors on show as I only knew about five manufacturers beforehand.

I was able to ask a lot of technical questions from the exhibitors and was exposed to technology, machinery and software that I did not know existed. I was surprised to see how technology can interact with industrial machinery and what the advantages are.

There was an opportunity to interact with other South African business owners who gave me helpful and beneficial advice about laser cutters, to share ideas and to make some valuable business contacts.

Yes, I arrived safely back home but without my suitcase, which arrived 24hours later. I enjoyed the experience and will definitely be back in 2016.

Johan Kriel - Director of LK Plating Services

Mathys Besselaar of Retecon with Johan Kriel of LK Plating Services

Hershel Ismail and Luis Fernandes, both of Schuurman Lasercut with Garth Haigh of First Cut in the centre

Lee and Craig Johnson of Multi Tanks

Brian Rose, Leon Freese and Gerrie Mulder, all from Steelbank

Luis Torres of CML Machine Tools with Francesca Mesini of Euromac �


Messer Cutting Systems displayed for the very first time in Europe their new

“FiberBlade” fibre laser system. The FibreBlade is a newly developed fibre laser cutting system specifically for sheet materials from 1 to 25mm thick. Available with either 2, 3 or 4 kW resonators and glass fibre beam guidance, the FiberBlade includes an innovative and yet simple laser beam technology. This allows users to profit from low maintenance costs together with the resulting low cutting costs. In many cases the initial capital investment costs can be amortised even without the machine being fully loaded.

The basic machine concept of the FiberBlade is based on the tried and tested flatbed guidance machine with a movable pallet exchanger table and a 2-axis cutting gantry. The fibre cable of the laser resonator is simply carried within the energy services drag chain. The plate pallets are exchanged fully automatically in a shuttle table arrangement. Cutting areas of the FiberBlade are 1.5m x 3m or 2m x 4m or 2m x 6m, and the fibre laser is up to three times more efficient than a CO2 laser.

Through its unique design, the FiberBlade has relatively low energy consumption. The cutting performance per kilowatt is significantly higher than with CO2 Lasers, as the shorter wavelength of the fibre laser is absorbed more efficiently by the material being cut. Additionally the efficiency of the FiberBlade laser is around 30% and is thus three times more efficient than with conventional CO2 lasers.

A further advantage of the FiberBlade is the extremely low setting up and maintenance costs. Fibre lasers operate with continuous glass fibres without deflection mirrors and gas purging. What is more, there are no moving parts in the laser resonator itself and the lifetime of the emitter diodes can be over 50 000 hours.

In addition to the FiberBlade Messer Cutting Systems also exhibited their “workhorse” MultiTherm plasma cutting

machine with the “Fine Focus” plasma system. This machine is well known in the South African “cut to size” industry. Exhibited were the latest software upgrades as well as a new generation torch height control system for faster floor to floor processing times, as well as better fault finding diagnostics. All of which are designed to increase production efficiency and reduce costly downtime.

A full range of the Messer Oxy-gas equipment was also on display, everything from the smallest gas welding torch the MiniTherm to the Essen hand cutting torch. The Essen torch is designed to be one of Messer’s most robust hand cutting torches and has already found its place in the very arduous South African industrial conditions. To complement the gas cutting and welding equipment a full range of industrial light and heavy duty gas regulators was also shown.

The exhibition was very successful for Messer Cutting Systems who received a number of large orders for machines directly as a result of customers attending the EuroBlech 2014 exhibition.

Ingo Göller and Gudrun Witt of Messer Cutting Systems with Maurice Mawson of Messer Eutectic South Africa

Antonella Galuppini of Faccin with Francesco Tallarico of Talmac Byron Gueffroy and Robbert van Rijssen, both of Durma South Africa

Maurice Mawson - Joint Managing Director of Messer Eutectic South Africa

�


EuroBlech 2014 was a combination of refining existing technologies and proposing new innovating

technologies to the sheetmetal market in general. Most manufacturers seemed to place importance on ergonomics and ease of use of machinery controllers. What I noticed on all the major manufacturers exhibits is an all out attack on the full market segments. In the past you would have certain machinery brands focusing on either the higher or lower end of the market. Now it's a full go at the whole sector.

Fiber laser machinery products have had a definite growth in manufacturing companies and it's interesting to see the advances made by Eastern European and Asian companies in this sector. Automation of the full sheetmetal manufacturing process continues to advance with systems becoming easier, faster and more efficient. Major producers seemed to have placed emphasis on advance laser welding systems where ease of setup and use has taken a big step

forward. On the whole EuroBlech is always exciting and fresh no matter how many times I attend the event.

Aylwin Stephenson of Press Dynamik with Rick Ferreira of Amada Johannesburg

Rick Ferreira - MD of Amada Johannesburg

Karel Wilmot, Jacques Strauss and Jurgen Lecki, all of Retecon Etienne van Rensburg, Dean Findlay and Hannes Marlin, all of SPE

Roberto Leoni of Heli Engineering with Michael Torres Derrick and Henk van Niekerk of Ultra Lock

�


At and Jaco van der Merwe, both of Abel Equipment with Ali Okcal of Durmazlar in the centre

Markus Funk and Olivier Courvoisier, both of UTP with Kerstin Besemer and Sven Franke, both of Behringer

Jens Hartig and Gareth Clark, both of Amada Johannesburg with Japie Breitenbach of Dale Automation

Charlie Taljaard and Erald Smith, both of Mac Brothers with Manus Potgieter of Potgieter Industrial Machinery

Willie and Ciska Jones of Jones Masjiene with Ben TerreBlanche of SigmaTek

Karl Braun of Stainless Steel Designswith Keith Zeeman of Rails It

Erich Bauer of NCT Accessories Rob Wicks of Laser Punch & Bend with Barry Page of Amada Johannesburg


Ermaksan showed their Fibermak EFB LM 4000 with abed size of 3 x1,5 metres in combination with a tower server

Below: Durma’s new ADS 30175 press brake

Durma presented several new machines with new

designs and livery including the fiber laser HDFS 3015.

It has a cutting table located on the long side of the machine, which according to the company provides a faster switching time.

The workspace is 3000 x 1500mm. Durma also unveiled for the

first time a DLC 160 punching and shearing line for punching, marking

and shearing angle iron up to 160 x 160 x 9mm with a maximum

punch diameter of 32mm as standard

�


Frans Vilakazi and Larry Cohen, both of Branch Engineering David Milwidsky of Segals Metals

We were scheduled to leave with a group of 23 South Africans for Germany to visit the EuroBlech show, and thanks to Amada South Africa

who made all the travel and hotel arrangements, when an e-mail arrived notifying us that our flights to Germany were cancelled due to a 24 hour Lufthansa pilots strike, and yes our flight’s scheduled departure was in that 24 hour gap. The travel agent frantically managed to arrange an alternative flight and fortunately we could depart for Germany for our first EuroBlech show, although it took somewhat longer getting there than had been scheduled.

Armed with comfortable shoes we headed for Messe Nord. We had been warned that this show, which is held every two years, is huge and the two and a half days we had planned to be there would barely be enough time to visit all the companies we needed to see.

By 12 o’clock on our first day we were hungry and tired after what felt like to us that we had been walking for ever and had been overdosed with information. We inspected the map of the show and realised that we had merely covered two thirds of the first hall, and there were a further seven to visit.

We found that most companies were friendly and equipped with at least one representative that spoke English, and keen to part with knowledge and advice about new techniques and trends in our field of engineering.

It was amazing to see the vast variety of specialised machinery available and from so many different countries, although we did notice that there was a very large Italian representation. Many companies that were

at the show do have ties with South Africa through agents, and it was great to see that we are up to date with technology and machinery, even though South Africa is a relatively small market. The interest in our market was clear from the numerous prompt emails we received on our return from the companies we visited at the exhibition.

A fantastic experience was the reaction we received

from everyone who smiled when we said we were from South Africa, as they all want to visit, as they perceive it to be a beautiful country. It is very encouraging that internationals recognise our country as being a good one and we should build on this.

We will definitely be going again in 2016!

Sietse and Ketti Walma van der Molen of Budget Sheet Metal

Sietse Walma van der Molen - Director of Budget Sheet Metal


The Secant Engineering team from left to right: Graham Kirby-Smith, Sipho Kunene, Wayne Thompson, Colin Kirby-Smith, Peter Ried and Gavin Baard


Three-dimensional printing has become one of the premier disruptive technologies transforming traditional industrial models and sparking a new industrial revolution, according

to Frost & Sullivan, a business growth strategist in Mountain View, California. The possibility of 3-D printing’s evolution from a tool to create jewelry and spare parts to one that can print cars is redefining the scope of several industries. Only after 2020, however, will the technology reach a tipping point and begin to print complex metal systems and large aircraft parts.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, “Future of 3-D Printing

— Key Implications to Industries,” expects the market to witness a three-fold increase in current revenues, reaching $21.50 billion in 2025.

The aerospace, defense, and automotive sectors are among the early adopters of 3-D printing technologies. Using these technologies, participants in these industries have realized significant time savings in developing prototypes and experienced shorter product development cycles.

With improvements in supporting technologies, 3-D printers will become faster, more accurate, and better suited for mass manufacturing practices. Since 3-D printing technology is in an early stage of development, it cannot directly compete with traditional technologies in the manufacturing sector. Further, while the costs of these technologies have fallen dramatically from 2007 and made manufacturing-on-demand a reality, they still are too stiff for customers to bear, the company reports.

“It is important to lower cost of ownership through establishment of global standards for 3-D printing raw materials,” said Frost & Sullivan Visionary Innovation Research Group Senior Research Analyst Robin Varghese. “This will fuel mass adoption of 3-D printers in the household and allow more manufacturers to document, relay, and realize demand in real time, eliminating the need to store finished products based on forecasted demand. Such standards will also lead to the emergence of numerous stand-alone 3-D printing raw material manufacturers.”

Three-dimensional printing technology also has the potential to drive economies of scale for small, innovative enterprises. Its ability to facilitate mass customization is the most attractive proposition. Market leaders have begun adjusting sales, distribution, and marketing strategies to cater to end users’ custom specifications of products, as well as print and deliver 3-D printing solutions to their doorstep.

“With a fragmented yet open value chain and no clear one-stop-shop solutions, the market is seeing many solution providers monetizing 3-D printing by offering value-added services that revolve around design and customization,” said Frost & Sullivan Visionary Innovation Research Group Team Lead Archana Devi Vidyasekar. “Business models such as in-house 3-D printing, contract manufacturing, 3-D printing as a service, and retail 3-D printing also are emerging as a means to enhance profitability.”

Frost & Sullivan report predicts three-fold increase in 3-D printing revenues by 2025

According to the new market research report "Laser Processing Market by application (cutting, drilling, marking), laser type (gas, solid, fiber laser), machine

configuration (moving, fixed beam), vertical (machine tooling, automotive), geography - global forecast to 2020,” published by MarketsandMarkets, Dallas, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.18 percent between 2014 and 2020, reaching $17.36 billion by 2020.

Europe and the Asia Pacific region are expected to experience the fastest growth in the laser processing market. Europe is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.92 percent, whereas APAC is expected to grow at a rate of 6.1 percent between 2014 and 2020. Countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea are expected to witness a strong growth in the laser processing market during the forecast period as well,

mainly because of the growing number of automobile and OEM industries in those countries.

The machine tooling segment constitutes the largest end-user segment for the laser processing market. This market is experiencing a positive growth trend because of increasing applications in medical, machine tooling, and automotive.

The factors contributing to the growing adoption of laser technology in manufacturing processes worldwide include its clean, damage-free operation; the rising demand for efficient material processing techniques in manufacturing industries; and the miniaturization of electronics goods.

For more information about the report, visit www.marketsandmarkets.com/market-reports/laser-cutting-boring-and-engraving-machines-market-611.html

Laser processing market worth $17.36 billion by 2020

With improvements in supporting technologies, 3-D printers will become faster, more accurate, and better suited for mass manufacturing practices


Alcoa and the fight for the aluminium automobile

South Africa remained an important manufacturing and export platform for Ford Motor Company, said executive chairperson Bill Ford in Dubai last year, speaking during a

media round table.However, he added that other countries on the continent

were “becoming interesting”, and that the US carmaker was casting its net wider for possible manufacturing locations.

However, this was no zero sum game where one country lost, and the other one won, he noted. Should Ford sales grow further in Africa, as anticipated, the continent would be able to host an increasing number of assembly plants.

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa assembled the Ford Ranger in Pretoria, exporting the pickup to around 150 countries, including a number of African destinations.

Bill Ford confirmed that Ford was considering Nigeria as a possible production hub. “We are looking closely at that market; determining the best way to participate.”

He added that Ford was not yet ready to make an

announcement on the matter, but that it would talk to the media “in the not too distant future”.

Ford Middle East and Africa president Jim Benintende noted that Ford was in talks with the Nigerian government about the content of its new automotive policy.

He said the new Middle East and Africa business unit, formed last year, was still finding its feet on the continent.

Ford was still working out which countries required more dealerships, which offered the opportunity to increase sales, and which countries would be best suited to local manufacture.

Ford had “great aspirations for this region”, with its rising economic growth and growing youth population, added Bill Ford.

Nigeria had recently hiked duties on new imported vehicles, in an effort to stimulate local production.

Nissan had already opened an assembly plant in the West African country, in response to the policy, with a number of other carmakers also mulling local production.

Ford looks at setting up Nigerian assembly plant

The aluminium producer has developed a new manufacturing process that allows it to make an aluminium alloy that is 40% more formable and 30%

stronger than existing aluminium.That means, in short, that Alcoa is addressing in one fell

swoop some of the major hurdles keeping aluminium from becoming a more pervasive material on vehicles. Using its Micromill technology, it is creating a more flexible, stronger aluminium that is 30% lighter than high-strength steel.

“Alcoa Micromill represents a major breakthrough in aluminium materials,” said Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld. “This technology will unlock the next generation of automotive products with strength, formability and surface quality combinations never before possible.”

The amount of aluminium per vehicle is expected to increase eleven fold in North America from 2012 to 2025,

according to Ducker Worldwide. Notably, Ford's 2015 F-150 is already being produced with an aluminium-alloy body.

What has hindered that greater adoption of aluminium, however, has largely been the lack of flexibility of aluminium. Because Micromill aluminium is 40% more formable, it will be easier to shape and thus be used for the parts like the inside panels of vehicle doors and external fenders that are traditionally made with steel, Alcoa says.

Alcoa has already conducted successful customer trials with the product in San Antonio, and is qualifying the material for next-generation automobiles.

As the steel vs. aluminium battle wages on in the automotive world, Alcoa is bringing a new technology to the lightweighting fight.


JIMTOF - The Japan International Machine Tool Fair - usually does not disappoint in releasing product introductions and new technologies for the first time. The recent edition

of the event ran from 30 October to November 4, 2014. It took place at Tokyo’s Big Sight exhibition and convention centre, which is conveniently linked to an efficient public transport system that will move you seamlessly to downtown Tokyo, and is close to a number of first-class accommodation choices.

A unique aspect of JIMTOF is that each show features a major theme that exhibitors are encouraged to rally around. The theme for the 2014 show was Mono-Zukuri DNA. Loosely translated the phrase means “an inspired approach to the art and science of making things should be at the core of our beings.” Others say that it really stands for “craftsmanship along with the latest technology are the best predictors that a manufacturing company can have to succeed in a competitive environment” and “it encompasses how engineering connects to the future and the world.” None can be disputed in the context of the Japanese nation, as the passion amongst both the exhibitors and visitors is clear for all to see. It is further

illustrated in the hand craft of Kisage or ‘scraping’, a finishing process used in engineering to produce extremely flat surfaces. In this technique craftsmen use a chisel to shave the surface of a casting. This highly skilled manual method allows flatness’s down to 2µm to be achieved on sliding surfaces.

Exhibitors interpreted this theme in various ways. Some showed how new machines and equipment enhance productivity. Others focused on machining concepts for transforming advanced designs into reality (creative product innovation). Many displays could be seen as expressions of both interpretations.

JIMTOF has historically attracted a large amount of attention from Japan and overseas due to its status as a mirror that reflects the technological level of the industrial nation of Japan. Reaffirming its role as an embodiment of the tradition of machine tool technology in Japan and as a showcase for state-of-the-art technologies that will reshape the production floors of the future, the tradeshow’s organisers approached this year’s event with renewed vigour to promote the importance of manufacturing.

JIMTOF - One of the world’s foremost machine tool trade shows

As a global leader in machine tool design and construction, Japan plays a key role in developing and promoting new metalworking technology.

The impressive entrance that welcomes visitors to the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition facility


JIMTOF 2014 drew over 870 exhibitors and 136 196 (International: 10 539) visitors (up 5,8% from 2012) from across

the world during its six-day run

The DMG MORI stand attracted many visitors

As an exhibition that introduces state-of-the-art machine tools earlier than any other exhibitions in its industry, although the Americans will dispute this because their exhibition takes place two months prior, JIMTOF is recognised on the same level as EMO in Europe, IMTS in the USA and CIMT in China. JIMTOF is one of the largest exhibitions organised by Tokyo Big Sight Inc. Holding and the Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association (JMTBA).

JIMTOF 2014 was the 27th time that the exhibition has been held and marked the 50th anniversary of the inaugural event, which was first held in Osaka in 1962. Because machine tools and related products and equipment form the basis of all industry, JIMTOF has developed into one of the world’s foremost machine tool tradeshows.

JIMTOF has historically attracted a large amount of attention from Japan and overseas due to its status as a mirror that reflects the technological level of the industrial nation of Japan.

Reaffirming its role as an embodiment of the tradition of machine tool technology in Japan and as a showcase for state-of-the-art technologies that will reshape the production floors of the future, the tradeshow’s organisers approached this year’s event with renewed vigour to promote the importance of manufacturing.

Too often you go to an exhibition and after reading all the hype and spin on the exhibitors and technology that will be on display you are left wondering why the organisers can’t pay attention to the well being of the exhibitors and visitors. After all they are the most important aspect of the success of an exhibition. Firstly not enough emphasis can be placed on making the access/entry to the exhibition as simple and free flowing as possible. This is closely followed by the visitor leaving the exhibition with the information he needs without being burdened with a load of brochures that inevitably will be thrown in the nearest rubbish bin. We all know how costly it is to print these brochures. Besides we all know the hassles the

extra weight causes if your travel to an exhibition includes a flight. So make it easy for the exhibitor and provide a mechanism that (in this electronic age it should be easy) will satisfy both exhibitor and visitor.

JIMTOF virtually covered this gripe of mine. Each visitor was registered via an electronic business card that contained full contact details and each stand was then equipped with a card reader. This contact information was available immediately to the exhibitor, and depending on how well organised the exhibitor was the information was available on your smartphone before you left the stand. In my case, because of the high costs that we incur for data transmission to our smartphone when travelling internationally, the information was sent direct to my desktop. Even the local agent was informed that I had visited the stand in Tokyo.

Besides a whole host of tracking information can be obtained and future plans can be made from this simple system, which I am sure is not that costly.

Another noticeable aspect of JIMTOF was the size of the exhibitors’ stands. An example was the DMG MORI stand. It was only 2 340 m² and this is compared to 10 237 m² that the company occupied at the last EMO in Hannover, Germany. One of the main reasons is the exhibition space available and the number of exhibitors that the organisers have to accommodate. However the smaller stands also fed into the philosophy of the Japanese – you are there to work and learn and not there to relax. As a result the entertaining areas

The exhibition halls were well organised and always busy

�

Peter and Chris Killian from Hi-Tech Machine Tools attended JIMTOF 2014

Also attending were Terry Nichols of Multitrade Distributors, Teruhiko Masuda of Mitsubishi Materials, Stephan Joubert of Multitrade Distributors and Michael O`Reilly, MMC Hardmetal (Thailand)

were small and non-existent in most cases. I was one of a select group of international journalists from

the USA, Germany, China, Thailand, Czech Republic, Brazil and of course South Africa to be invited by the JMTBA to attend JIMTOF 2014. I must thank the management and staff of the JMTBA sincerely as we (the international journalists and editors) were treated royally. I personally thank Ms. Keiko Honda, Assistant Manager, International Marketing Department of the JMTBA for so expertly organising all my travel and accommodation arrangements.

The JMTBA is a nonprofit trade association of Japanese metal cutting machine tool builders. It was established in 1951 and reorganised to its present status in 1978, with an eye to ensuring the overall growth of the nation's machine tool industry and contributing to the sound development of the Japanese economy.

In pursuit of its goals, the association undertakes wide-ranging projects through its standing committees as well as other ad hoc groups including extraordinary committees, panels, and study groups.

This edition of JIMTOF attracted 83 members of the

JMTBA and collectively the companies occupied nearly 50% of the exhibition space.

JIMTOF 2014 drew over 870 exhibitors covering approximately 82 660 m², and 136 196 (International: 10 539) visitors (up 5,8% from 2012) from across the world during its six-day run.

In comparison for those of us that visited EuroBlech 2014 in Hannover Germany, the show’s total net floor space was 86 500m² and there were 59 600 visitors over five days, and we thought that was busy. With nearly half the amount of space available and over double the amount of visitors the show layout has to be at a premium. The hustling and bustling in the isles is something I have never seen before and I have been to many exhibitions. Getting close to view the machines or the equipment on the stands, especially those ones where new products were being exhibited, can be a challenge.

However, the hype and crowds are encouraging for the future growth of the Japanese manufacturing industry, which has long relied on the potential for wealth creation inherent in manufacturing. Restoring the pre-eminence of manufacturing aims at helping to secure Japan’s long-term

economic well-being.It was also encouraging to see the amount of young people

that attended the exhibition. A career in manufacturing has been shunned in recent years worldwide because the youth find the lure and glamour of other high-tech occupations more attractive. Manufacturing is increasingly perceived as too dirty. Appealing to the creativity and intellectual challenge and encouraging talented young people to see value in manufacturing careers should be a must for every nation. “Making things” has a vital human element that can be as exciting and fulfilling as information technology, computer science or design engineering.

Wide-ranging exhibits in a systematic layout were also among factors behind the resounding success of this year's JIMTOF. Metal forming and cutting machines were concentrated in East Hall 1-3, while control and related software for computer-aided design and manufacturing, and other associated machinery and equipment, were displayed in East Hall 4-6. West Hall 1-2 were filled with displays of cemented carbide tools, high speed steel tools, and

Sodick launched a new metal 3D printer, the OPM250L, which is a hybrid laser sintering/high-speed milling machine. The machine attracted

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Jacob Harpaz CEO of ISCAR and President of the IMC Group

machine tool accessories, and West Hall 3-4 accommodated exhibitors of precision measuring machines and instruments, optical measuring instruments, testing machinery, diamond and CBN tools, grinding wheels and abrasives, oil hydraulic and pneumatic machinery, and gears and gear devices. In the Atrium Hall, various tools and accessories were showcased along with industry magazines.

Additive manufacturing and machining in the spotlightThe explosion in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing as

some like to call it, started about three years ago. Since then magazine and website pages have been filled with all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas on how the technology is advancing and yes, you have to be part of it. Machine tool builders are

recognising the fact as well.Earlier this year DMG MORI launched its Lasertec 65 3D

Shape, which allows highly compact 5-axis milling and laser texturing of 3D plastic injection moulding tools on one machine and in one setup. After the milling of the mould, a geometrically defined surface structure is applied to the mould by means of a fibre laser. A final erosion or etching is eliminated.

One of DMG MORI’s biggest competitors Mazak Corporation, introduced its new hybrid multi-tasking �

An international press conference was held on the third day of the show and the media were addressed by Yoshimaro Hanaki,

Chairman of the Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association (JMTBA), Shigemi Oikawa, Executive Vice president and CEO of

Tokyo Big Sight Inc, Yoji Ishimaru, President of JMTBA and Tomohisa Yamazaki, Chairman of International Committee JMTBA



technology when it unveiled its new Integrex i-400AM. As a fusion of additive technology and Mazak’s most advanced multi-tasking capabilities, the machine will significantly reduce part cycle times while providing high-efficiency Done-In-One® processing, the company says.

The value of adding a milling process to a laser sintering machine continued with the launch of two other machines. The Matsuura Lumex Avance-25 integrates a fiber laser for sintering layers of metal powder with a high-speed milling process that contours a number of successive layers of sintered material. The milling leaves a surface that is smooth and accurate, requiring no subsequent finishing.

Sodick’s new metal 3D printer, the OPM250L, is a very similar hybrid laser sintering/high-speed milling machine. The new concept introduced by Sodick combines selective laser sintering coupled with traditional machining. The OPM250L “One Process Milling Center” can fabricate tooling inserts with complex internal cooling channels that would be impossible to achieve using traditional fabrication methods.

The tool building process in this 3D printer entails the layering of 10 layers of metal powder, with each layer PHDVXULQJ��ƫP��WKDW�DUH�LQGLYLGXDOO\�VHOHFWLYHO\�VLQWHUHG�� followed by conventional machining with spindle speeds up to 45 000 rpm. This regular machining at 0.5-mm intervals means very deep fine detail can be machined into the insert.

Kitamura’s “reverse 3D printing” process does not include 3D printing. The company has developed a directly integrated software program that interfaces between a scanner and the machine control. After scanning a 3D model with the scanner connected to the machine, the software converts the scanned points so the machine can cut the 3D object from solid material. This process is the focus of Kitamura’s XrossCut VMC, which uses two parallel X axes, one moving the spindle and one moving the table. While feeding one of these components in the plus direction and simultaneously feeding the other in the negative direction, cutting rates can exceed 230 mpm in aluminium, plastic or other soft materials.

The future is multi-tasking and accuracyThese developments have highlighted the fact that the

future machine tool will be all about offering multi-tasking, multi-function and hybrid operations. Multitasking capability continues to expand the operations it includes and the range of travel for integrated B, Y and other add-on axes. Multi-function mill-turn machining centers and vice versa - milling centers with the possibility of turning are already a standard offered by many major world manufacturers, and those that don’t offer this type of machine better get their planning fast-tracked.

Big machines for big parts were well represented. Wind turbine components, frames for construction equipment, engine casings for power generation and parts for large airliners are still in demand, and more machines are needed to produce them. Builders promoted the rigidity, high torque and thermal stability of these machines. Full five-axis capability was the norm rather than the exception.

Machine features designed to conserve energy were also getting attention. Some of the energy-saving provisions on display included gas-charged cylinders instead of hydraulic systems; axis motors with inverters that allow power regeneration; control systems that automatically turn off electrical devices (pumps, lights, motors) when not needed; and gear boxes in spindle drives that allow smaller motors than those used in direct-drive systems to achieve equivalent speed and torque.

Environmental safety was often bundled with energy

The international media were treated to a visit to Japan Airlines museum and maintenance workshops


�

efficiency as a key end-user benefit. For example, minimum quantity lubrication (MQL), a technique to deliver a fine mist of coolant precisely aimed at the cutting tool/workpiece interface, was promoted by many exhibitors as an “eco-friendly” practice. One booth showed a new toolholder that served as a self-contained MQL dispenser. It operates without connection to a machine’s built-in coolant delivery system.

Another common theme was machine tool automation. “Minimum operator involvement” was the goal for the same reasons it’s getting a lot of attention state-side: Good operators are hard to find, and it’s essential to maximize their contribution to the overall productivity of a machining system. Add-ons or accessories such as robotic part handlers are more likely to be included when new equipment is ordered by Japanese shop managers than not, several exhibitors said. Automation is not an option — it’s a must.

Interestingly, the need for automation is reaching deep into machine design and machining strategy. For example, an HMC from one builder is designed to move the spindle, rather than the worktable, in three axes. This configuration keeps the workpiece still so that it is simpler for a gantry loader/unloader or robotic arm to find it. Likewise, shifting prismatic work to turn-mill machines with bar feeders to take advantage of

built-in workhandling/fixturing automation is a popular strategy among shops in Japan.

Japan's machine tool industry enjoying a strong recovery. At an international press conference held on the third day of the show, the organisers reported that orders collected by Japan's machine tool industry totaled JPY1.092 trillion (about US$8.7 billion) during January-September 2014, up 35.6% from the same period of last year, including

JPY354.28 billion from domestic customers and JPY738.1 billion from international buyers, up 24.8% and 41.5%, respectively. Monthly orders have remained above the JPY120 billion level for seven consecutive months, and those in September alone hit a six-year high of JPY135.5 billion.

Another sign of Japan's thriving machine tool industry is that overall output value during January-August topped JPY756.2 billion, jump-ing 30.6% year-on-year (YoY), with JPY684.4 billion generated by NC (numerically controlled) models, up 32.6%. Output of machining centers showed the strongest growth of all machine tools, skyrocketing 60.1% to JPY311.6 billion.

The industry's overall exports grew to JPY616.7 billion during the eight-month period for a 21.8% YoY growth, partly because of recovering market demand worldwide, and partly because of the persistent weakness of the Japanese yen against the greenback. Exports to East Asia soared by 42.2% YoY to JPY255.4 billion, while those to Europe and North America picked up 12.6% and 8.2%, respectively

When you are looking down from the Tokyo Skytree

it gives you a perspective of how tall the structure is

The media also visited the Tokyo Skytree, which is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It became the

tallest structure in Japan in 2010 and reached its full height of 634 metres in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world and the second tallest structure in the world after Burj Khalifa (829.8 metres) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Another view of the Tokyo Skytree

Other debut highlights included the DMG MORI NRX 2000 - a completely new two-spindle turning center. The NRX 2000 is the ideal solution for efficient mass production of chuck parts (e.g. for the automotive industry). The company also introduced the NZX 4000, a turning center for the production of long workpieces with large diameters.

Eight world firsts were presented by Okuma. These included 5-axis milling centers MU 5000V, 8000V MU and MU 10000H and multi-tasking lathes Multus U3000 and U4000, which are equipped with a H1-milling spindle with dual function (L/M). The H1 dual function spindle head utilizes Capto C6 tooling and has a heavy-duty 30 HP (intermittent) milling motor spindle.

Okuma has developed the “OSP suite,” a next-generation CNC optimised for monozukuri. With core Okuma “Intelligent Technology,” “suite apps,” and “suite operation,” the OSP suite is a next-generation intelligent CNC that provides Okuma’s Premium Solutions.

Visitors to the Mazak stand were able see 21 highly advanced machine tools in action, including five multi-tasking machines from its Integrex range, two of which made their debuts: the Integrex j-200S and Integrex e-1600V/10S.

A total of seven models featured the new high-performance Mazatrol SmoothX CNC, which is the seventh generation of Mazak’s Mazatrol controls.

Alongside Mazak’s new machining centres and CNC control system, the company unveiled two new hybrid machines. Shown for the first time in Japan were the VTC-530/20 FSW, which incorporates the Airbus Innovation Group-developed DeltaN FS friction-stir welding capability, which enables the machine both to machine and join a range of high performance materials in one platform.

A globally known supplier of CNC grinders and machining centers mainly for use in the automotive industry, JTEKT Corp. presented the newest camshaft production line composed of its GC20Mi CBN camshaft grinder, GL32Mi CBN cylindrical grinder, and gantry loader at the show.

The SNK Group demonstrated the RB-300F 5-Axis bridge type machining center aimed at the automotive industry. This cost-effective machining center employs a high-speed, high-power spindle head to handle both high-speed milling and heavy milling, along with an improved cartridge spindle housing for easy maintenance.

Toshiba Machines unveiled its MPJ-2640M double-column type machining center, which features shortened lead time and a rapid X-axis travel of 15m per minute, as well as high rigidity achieved by an integrated bed and bearing anchor. The MPJ-2640M features a spindle speed up to 6000 rpm, 32% faster attachment changes and 37% faster automatic tool changes. A 3D measurement 'Direct Scale Tester' indexing head is also built into the machine tool for profiling of moulds.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries displayed its MVR EX series double-column 5-face milling machine designed for the heavy milling of parts and components for wind turbines and other applications.

Another significant trend noted was reshaping CNC units into large, flat panels with oversized high-definition display screens. New operating systems clearly copy the features and functions of the smartphone. Touchscreen navigation, customisable displays, hot-button shortcuts and easy networking make these CNCs appealing to the “connected” generation of young professionals in manufacturing.

In the EDM field, Mitsubishi Electric's wire-cut MP4800 unit now employs linear shaft motors rather than ball screws for motion control. This enables faster movement and consumes less energy.

A glance at the many cutting tool suppliers at JIMTOF finds small tools proliferating. One company showed a 0.01-mm-diameter end mill as a standard item, not as a special, indicating that prices are going down and availability

is going up. Another company showed a 0.5-mm drill with a coolant hole in the center for work on diesel engine injection nozzles.

All the big names had stands including Sandvik Coromant, Iscar, TaeguTec, Mitsubishi Materials, Kyocera, Tungaloy, Walter, Nikon, Kennametal, Kitagawa, Zeiss and Renishaw.

The show's organizers arranged business meetings to boost opportunities

Mazak Corporation introduced its new hybrid multi-tasking technology when it unveiled its new Integrex i-400AM, which

offers a milling process to a laser sintering machine

International guests and media were treated to an evening of the Japanese spirit of hospitality and culture


for doing business between exhibitors and visitors, helping a great number of buyers to source the products they truly needed. In addition, the 16th IMEC (International Machine Tool Engineers' Conference) also took place in conjunction with JIMTOF, gathering experts worldwide into the Tokyo Big Sight conference tower to discuss the topic of “Innovation to Create the Future – Advanced Machine Tool Technologies.”

JIMTOF 2016What to expect at JIMTOF 2016? Planners are focusing

on substantial new exhibit space to be constructed, currency exchange rates that make a visit more affordable, and more opportunities to sample Japanese culture and cuisine. Of course, the main draw again will be the promise of first-time introductions of technology that point to new directions in manufacturing concepts.

Left: Kagami-biraki is a ceremony performed at celebratory events in which the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet and the sake is served to everyone present. Kagami refers to the lid of the sake barrel and biraki means “to open” so kagami-biraki liter-ally means “opening the lid.” Because of the lid's round shape, the kagami is a sym-bol of harmony. The kagami-biraki, therefore, represents an opening to harmony and good fortune

)DU�OHIW��-DSDQ�LV�D�ÀUVW�ZRUOG�country that boasts a rich culture and a respectfuland friendly population



PRODUCT REVIEW

The positive geometry of the Double Z inserts for the new WSX series takes face milling to a new level of usability. The geometry produces

low cutting resistance, making it ideal for all types of machines, from low power through to heavy duty types. This level of cutting resistance is only usually associated with conventional single sided positive inserts and allows end users to increase machine utilization. The new moulded SNMU and SNGU G class type inserts used on the WSX cutter have all the attributes of a single sided positive geometry insert but importantly, also have the advantage of being double sided with a cost saving, eight cutting edges.

The cutting edge of the Double Z geometry inserts are set at a 17° positive axial rake angle when clamped in situ. This provides the perfect solution that includes a strong but sharp cutting edge whilst allowing the inserts to be double sided. Furthermore, a large 5mm max depth of cut is possible.

ReliabilityA predictable and safe

performance is demanded by today's customers and the WSX series meets these criteria with strong insert

clamping and an Anti–Fly mechanism. Through coolant holes are also standard in cutters under Ø160, providing efficient chip removal and cooling to further enhance process reliability.

Wide application areaThe WSX series comes

complete with a comprehensive range of insert grades to cover a huge range of material

applications, from carbon and alloy steels through to heat

resistant materials and hardened VWHHOV��7KH�ODWHVW�728*+��

technology is used in the new MP range of insert coatings to

provide enhanced heat and wear resistance and provide a low

coefficient of friction, lending further help towards the ultimate aim of complete process reliability.

The inserts are equipped with a series of chip breakers specifically designed to cover a varied range of applications. L breaker has a positive land for lighter cutting and the lowest

cutting resistance, M breaker is for general cutting and R breaker has enhanced edge strength for unstable cutting.

The cutter bodies are available from Ø40 to Ø200 in coarse, regular and fine pitch types.

For further details contact Multitrade Distributors on TEL: 011 453 8034 or visit www.multicarb.co.za

Innovative insert geometry - New WSX series low cutting resistance

face mill from Mitsubishi Materials


Travelling column VMC machines five sides simultaneously - Doosan VCF850LSR

The Doosan VCF850LSR vertical machining center features a versatile traveling-column design with a tilting B-axis spindle head and a 500-mm rotary table for machining

multiple sides of a workpiece at once. The headstock is mounted to a rigid swiveling base driven by a heavy-duty, high-precision worm gear. The B axis is capable of 1200 Newton metres during contour machining and can be locked down using a hydraulic piston with 1 965 Newton metres of torque for heavy-duty cutting.

The spindle head can rotate 110 degrees on either side of vertical, enabling it to machine large and complex parts in a single setup.

The 12,000-rpm built-in drive spindle motor features a CAT-40 Big Plus cartridge-type spindle system and offers 18.5/22 kW and 147.25 Nm (108.60 foot-pounds) of torque. A 20-bar through- spindle coolant system delivers coolant directly to the tool tip.

The machining center’s bed is a rigid, one-piece casting of fine grain Meehanite cast iron with heavy ribbing. The roller linear motion guideways measure 45 x 45 x 45mm in the X, Y and Z axes. Each axis is driven by a precise double-nut ballscrew centered between the guideways and supported on both ends by angular contact thrust bearings. All axes have large-diameter ballscrews directly connected to oversized AC servodrive motors without gears or belts, avoiding backlash. Absolute-type linear glass scales in the X, Y and Z axes promote high positioning accuracy and enable tighter part tolerances with fewer offset changes.

The VMC is equipped with a 60-tool chain-type double-arm automatic toolchanger driven by a servomotor and offering tool-to-tool time of 1.5 sec. Additional features include a handheld manual pulse generation for fixture and part alignment; a program and data protection key switch; FANUC 31-iB series control equipped with a slot for a PCMCIA and USB port; and an operator panel that can swivel 180 degrees.

For further details contact Puma Machine Tools on TEL: 011 976 8600 or visit www.pumamachinetools.co.za


Inspection system for automotive, aerospace gear

The Gleason 300GMS analytical gear inspection system enables complete inspection of gears for automotive, aerospace and other like-size gear applications, as

well as non-gear workpieces. The system is capable of inspection tasks including gear geometry, surface finish, form measurement and prismatic measurement. A Renishaw 3D probe head provides accuracy and flexibility for gears and gear-cutting tools, especially finer pitch gears, Gleason says.

The system features the Windows 7-based Gleason GAMA 3.0 applications software suite with input screens for programming workpiece and cutting tool data. A .Net control system and movement optimization are said to reduce cycle times for inspection of gears and gear tools. The ergonomically mounted operator workstations and operator interface are designed to improve user effectiveness. The interface includes a “weather station” to record temperature and humidity, as well as video telephony, notepad and voicemail messaging, enabling users to capture video and

transmit it via the web to colleagues or to Gleason for support.

Further highlights of the 300GMS are:�� *HDU�LQVSHFWLRQ�IRU�PRGXOH��DQG�KLJKHU�� '�JUDSKLFDO�WRRWK�FRQWDFW�DQDO\VLV

�� 3UREH�FKDQJHU�ZLWK�XS� to 9 change positions

�� (DV\�SURJUDPPLQJ�E\�� means of QR code scanning�� ,QWXLWLYH�RSHUDWRU�LQWHUIDFH�� (UJRQRPLF�RSHUDWLQJ

panel adjusts to allow machine operation in standing or seated position.�� ,QWHJUDWHG�GUDZHUV�IRU�

probes, extensions, calibration ball and artifacts� �� 6PDOO�IRRWSULQW�²�RQO\��P�

For further details contact F & H Machine Tools on TEL: 011 397 4050 or visit

www.fandhmachinetools.co.za

Kennametal has announced the availability of the new Beyond Drive inserts featuring a bronze TiOCN top coating for increased wear resistance and

wear indication.The new Beyond Drive cutting tool inserts from

Kennametal are helping component suppliers succeed in this environment by facilitating enhanced performance and extended tool life, resulting in increased productivity in the form of more finished pieces per cutting edge.

Specifically designed to suit critical component manufacturing using cast iron, steel and stainless steel materials for a variety of industries, the new Beyond Drive inserts represent Kennametal’s ongoing leadership in design, engineering, materials science and manufacturing directly targeting the needs of component manufacturers.

Beyond Drive is available in eight grades and numerous insert styles, covering a complete range of applications for turning steel and cast iron components.

Beyond Drive inserts feature a proprietary post-coat surface treatment that improves edge toughness, reliability, and depth-of-cut notch resistance while a micro-polished surface reduces friction and workpiece sticking (BUE). A fine-grained alumina layer allows for increased cutting speed, improving productivity and reliability at high cutting temperatures.

The titanium oxy-carbonitride outer coating (TiOCN) not only increases wear- and abrasion-resistance, but also functions as an effective wear indicator. Depending on the application, field tests show anywhere between 30 percent and 125 percent more parts per edge.

All new Beyond inserts are CVD (chemical vapour deposition) coated; whereas conventional CVD coatings are under tensile stress, Beyond inserts undergo a proprietary post-coat treatment on all surfaces to reduce this stress, improving coating adhesion and decreasing micro-chipping. More uniform and reliable wear of the cutting edge results in improved and more consistent tool life.

For further details contact Kennametal South Africa on TEL: 011 748 9300 or visit www.kennametal.com

Inserts feature bronze TiOCN top coating -

new Beyond Drive™ cutting tool inserts from Kennametal


As fiber lasers claim more and more market share in industrial applications, particularly by matching or surpassing the capabilities of more

established CO2 machines, Amada is offering an innovative new player in the field.

Amada’s latest fiber laser boasts a very special feature, namely the ability to continuously adjust the beam to match the material thickness. What in the past could only be achieved through manual lens changes is now performed automatically by the system itself.

The principle underpinning these capabilities is based on the use of two different fiber diameters. Depending on the thickness of the material, the beam is modulated in such a way that it is injected into either the inner or the outer fiber. In the case of thin sheets, the laser beam is restricted to the inner core of the fiber. As the material thickness increases, so too does the diameter of the laser beam. As a result, the kerf grows slightly wider as the sheet thickness increases and the finished parts can therefore be removed without difficulty. The technical implementation of this function is based on the expertise bundled in the Amada beam source that was developed in-house. Users benefit from long, unattended production runs, almost without any setup operations and optionally equipped with significant automation capabilities.

Practically interruption-free productionThe elimination of the need to change lenses is not the

only crucial advantage offered by the innovative Ensis-3015 AJ. A second is the 2000 Watt output which is enough to cut sheets of as much as 25mm in thickness while still providing outstanding quality. In other words thanks to the beam modulation described above, the Ensis achieves performance with a laser output of 2000 Watts that conventional solid-state lasers can only offer with significantly higher power ratings. The result is practically interruption-free, high speed, high quality production with all system components performing with

outstanding energy efficiency.

Even nozzle changes are automatically changed to provide

optimum cutting results. The Ensis-3015 AJ is ideally suited for ferrous steels as well as for nonferrous metals such as copper, brass or titanium and has an extremely compact footprint.

The Ensis advantageThe major hurdle the Ensis 3015AJ overcomes is satisfying

the requirements of job shops and contract manufacturers that deal with a high volume of various materials. In environments in which a broad “material mix” and material thicknesses might be processed in low volumes, “a lot of job shops want that capability to do the heavier plate. That’s been the hang-up against fiber technology. Companies are willing to invest in fiber technology, but a lot of them want to have or keep CO2 on their floor as well so they can do the thick stuff.”

With the proprietary technology built into the ENSIS, “we can change the properties of the beam on the fly. When we switch to cutting the thick mild steel and have to switch to oxygen as an assist gas, I can now automatically change the properties of that beam to emulate how a CO2 machine will perform on that material.”

For further details contact Amada Johannesburg on TEL: 011 453 5459 or visit www.amada.co.jp

Continuous cutting through thick and thin - Amada Ensis-3015 AJ

Electric-powered press brakes have been more widely available in recent years as fabricators have looked for more energy-efficient, quicker, and more precise

bending machines. One of the forerunners in this equipment segment is SafanDarley.

The company’s newest generation of electric brakes employ a servo-electric drive with a double-pulley system. The new press brakes have a C-frame, a narrower press beam, and the ability to deliver greater tonnage per metre than previous generations.

Even the highest quality, world leading press brakes cannot guarantee end product accuracy. Variations in material quality, grain direction and tensile strength contribute to angle variation. Because of these variations, the finished part angle can deviate from the programmed value resulting in time and material losses. SafanDarley has solved this problem with its new, patented E-Bend L angle measurement System.

The system offers huge increases in productivity through the elimination of test bends, providing greater up-time and avoiding material waste. In production, the system only needs to measure the angle once and will ‘learn’ the required bend depth, then apply this measurement to each of the following components ensuring every component is exactly the same. Once the first bend pass has been made, the

system will automatically measure the spring-back and the bend depth will be corrected in the

second pass.The system uses two laser cameras which move

on their own linear guide: a CNC Controlled ‘W’ axis to measure the bend angle from both the front and back of the material, resulting in maximum angle accuracy.

E-Control EC30The SafanDarley E-Control Touch Screen

system is the most efficient and simple Man-Machine Interface of its time. Only the buttons required at that moment are visible on the 17”-screen. The E -Control is the new standard for ergonomic intuitive operation.

Other benefits include faster positioning, higher acceleration and greater accuracy. This new concept

E-Brake has a fully adjustable operator panel. Small servo motors automatically adjust the position off the

screens for maximum operator comfort.The brake is available with up to a 300-ton capacity.For further details contact CML Machine Tools on

TEL: 011 397 3650 or visit www.cmlmachines.co.za

Safan H- Brake 175.32/27

with E-control EC 20 and E-Bend L


The system offers huge increases in productivity

through the elimination of test bends, providing greater up-time

and avoiding material waste


Software eases 3D waterjet cutting

FlowXpert 2015, Flow International Corp.’s upgrade to its FlowXpert

software suite, offers new capabilities for 3D pathing and cutting to enable waterjet users to work more effectively in 3D with less complexity. The CAD/CAM software platform expands on the company’s FlowMaster intelligent software suite and includes Design powered by Spaceclaim, an integrated 3D CAD/CAM programming tool with Flow Sequencer. This integration, engineered in partnership with Spaceclaim, increases flexibility and is specifically designed for waterjet cutting, enabling faster waterjet programing. According to Flow, best practices such as waterjet application tips, material cut speed knowledge, improved pathing algorithms and expanded lead in/out customisation enables the program to estimate what

steps are needed to produce the best part.

The software includes a redesigned interface for 2D and 3D part programming. Users are able to design a part and path it in the same program, and it is possible to modify the geometry of a part without losing the path. In most cases, the Sequencer integration will automatically update the path to accommodate the changes, the company says. Additionally, the software detects model and path errors and suggests corrections. Additional features include 3D CAM offset capabilities, versatile sheet metal processing from Spaceclaim, customisable clean-up tools

and the capability to save a 3D model as a 2D programmed part.For further details contact W.D. Hearn on

TEL: 021 534 5351 or visit www.wdhearn.co.za


Automotive parts manufacturers need highly specialised equipment for trimming formed sheet metal

components while meeting all their specific requirements.

With the new Laser Next machine, Prima Power has drawn on its 35 years of experience in this field. Collaborating with customers and partners operating in the automotive industry resulted in the design of a fast, compact and highly efficient 3D laser for high volume automotive production applications.

Over the last ten years, Prima Power has been steadily increasing the performance of its 3D laser machines for automotive applications. The Laser Next represents a step change in this development cycle. Productivity on a typical benchmark component (B-pillar) has been raised by 25%. This means that four Laser Next machines can produce the same as five of the previous model.

The technology in the Laser Next gives it the best dynamic performance of any 3D laser on the market with 208 m/minute trajectory speed and 2.1 g acceleration. Some of the advances in machine design include direct drive motors and transducers for the main axes and focusing head, and synthetic granite machine frame with optimised geometric design.

The footprint for the Laser Next is also significantly smaller and the layout of the machine has been designed to allow for stand-alone and multi–machine configurations. The compact design makes it possible to site four Laser Next machines in the same area as would be occupied by three of the previous model. In addition, there is no need for special foundations for

the machines. For multi-machine configurations up to three Laser Next machines can be sited next to one another all connected to the same magnetic scrap conveyer, delivering astonishing productivity per square metre.

To achieve improved Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE), Prima Power has used its know-how from hundreds of installations dedicated to the 24/7 manufacture of stamped high strength steel and of hydroformed automotive components. By examining every detail of the process, the design of the Laser Next has been optimised to maximise machine uptime, reduce non-productive times, minimise and simplify maintenance and consider the need for specialised resources dedicated to these activities.

Laser Next has a work volume of 3 050 x 1 530 x 612mm and is equipped with 3 kW or 4 kW high brilliance fiber laser.

Its compact focusing head, fully sealed for best protection, features direct drive motors, double protection SIPS, fully metallic sensor, and Focal Position Control.

The high-precision and dynamic turntable with servo motor and absolute encoder is designed to ensure the highest reliability, safety and ergonomics. Thanks to reduced blocking times, the distance between table and light curtains is very short, allowing faster and more comfortable loading/unloading operations in full safety.

For further details contact Talmac Machine Tools on TEL: 011 827 6539 or visit www.talmac.co.za

Prima Power delivers a revolution in high productivity 3D laser for

automotive applications


Renishaw offers hardware and software for CMMs that are specifically designed for measurement of aerospace blades, including ApexBlade planning software for

Revo sweep scanning and DMIS programming, Modus airfoil analysis for the calculation and reporting of blade section profile and airfoil characteristics, and SurfitBlade to aid reverse engineering of the complete airfoil. All products complement Renishaw’s Revo five-axis measurement system and together are said to enable the whole blade to be inspected quickly and accurately based on high-precision contact probe data.

The ApexBlade software package quickly generates collision-free programs that drive the Revo system to carry out sweep scans that collect point-could data from across the blade surface. The CAD model is imported into the virtual Revo CMM environment prior to generating the measurement plan. Both transverse and longitudinal scans are supported, and each sweep can be split. A DMIS file is generated that can be executed within Renishaw’s Modus metrology software.

The software generates a cloud of tip center data points over the entire airfoil and root surfaces, and the Modus point cloud sectioning (MPCS) functionality enables the construction of on-surface sections by intersecting defined planes with the captured point cloud at any time. Via the

Modus airfoil module, the nominal aerofoil sections available from the CAD model and the actual sections from the MPCS can be taken to provide blade fitting functionality for the reporting of blade section profile and aerofoil characteristics. Modus offers comprehensive graphical reporting tools and the profile measurement results, which are fully integrated with all other feature measurement reports, can be output in PDF file format.

For reverse engineering capability, Renishaw’s SurfitBlade software is an offline application

used to generate NURBS blade surface forms for use in downstream processes such as computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis. Average blade geometry can be established from a series of blade results.

For further details visit www.renishaw.com

Suite of blade measurement, analysis tools offered


The greatest challenge when machining cylinder heads is to minimise the cycle time and at the same time produce

components with close tolerances and a GHÀQHG�VXUIDFH�TXDOLW\��'HEXUULQJ��LUUHJXODU�tool wear and unpredictable insert tool-life typically provide long cycle times in the face milling operation.

The cylinder head conveys air, plus gasoline or diesel to the combustion chamber and serves as a cover for the cylinders. In most four-stroke engines it also mounts the valves, camshafts and works as a framework for a number of other components. It therefore needs to be strong and rigid. Thanks to the high thermal conductivity and low weight, the cylinder head is normally alloyed with aluminium.

Innovative CoroMill® 5B90 milling concept excels at high-performance machining of aluminium components with improved milling performance

Sandvik Coromant, a global leading supplier of cutting tools, tooling solutions and know-how to the metalworking industry, presents the innovative CoroMill® 5B90, a high-performance WRRO�IRU�ÀQLVKLQJ�DOXPLQLXP�FRPSRQHQWV��7KH�VWDWH�RI�WKH�DUW�tool with an innovative cutting edge arrangement delivers excellent surface quality, without burr formation and reduces

cost-per-part by up to 30 per cent. CoroMill 5B90 is ideally suited for typical automotive industry applications such as machining cylinder heads, gearboxes, valve blocks and motor block crankshaft and deck faces.

1XPHURXV�EHQHÀWVThe new customer and application

VSHFLÀF�ÀQLVKLQJ�FXWWHU�IRU�DOXPLQLXP�DOORZV�a controlled, high-feed machining process, resulting in improved part quality. As no cost-intensive insert adjustment is necessary, set-up time can be reduced by up to 66 per cent. While each tool is custom-made for customers, Sandvik Coromant offers PCD inserts from stock.

Superior performance

When machining the cylinder heads of a four cylinder engine made from AlSi9Cu-1 at a cut depth of 0.7 mm the new CoroMill 5B90 (diameter of 160 mm, 9 cutting edges) achieved a tool life of 40 000 parts (at a rotational speed of 7 000 rev/min and a feed rate of 12 500 mm/min).

For further details contact Sandvik Coromant on TEL: 0860 101 008 or Mary-Ann Germishuys on TEL: 011 570 9615 or email: [email protected] or visit www.sandvik.com

Leading metrology solutions developer Hexagon Metrology has unveiled the Leica Absolute Tracker AT960, a ZDON�DURXQG�FRRUGLQDWH�PHDVXULQJ�PDFKLQH�WKDW�ÀWV�LQ�D�

VLQJOH�ÁLJKW�FDVH��7KH�ODWHVW�PRGHO�LQ�WKH�/HLFD�$EVROXWH�7UDFNHU�range, the AT960 answers customer demand for a genuinely portable laser tracker with high-speed dynamics and six degrees of freedom (6DoF) capabilities.

With a complete range of Leica laser tracker accessories built into the device, the AT960 measures to a Leica T-Probe, /HLFD�7�6FDQ�RU�UHÁHFWRU�VWUDLJKW�RXW�RI�WKH�ER[��+RW�VZDS� EDWWHU\�IXQFWLRQ�DQG�,3��FHUWLÀFDWLRQ�IRU�XVH�LQ�HYHQ�WKH� toughest workshop conditions means the AT960 really can be taken anywhere.

Also launched is the Leica Absolute Tracker AT930 system. With all the features and functionality of the AT960 without the 6DoF compatibility, the AT930 offers a totally transportable 3D solution with unprecedented dynamic capabilities and real-time operation.

“The new AT960 and AT930 laser trackers feature the latest electronics and optical technologies. Leveraging the recent developments of PowerLock, absolute interferometry

and optical miniaturization we are able to release next generation portable products based on proven features,” explains Duncan Redgewell, General Manager, Leica metrology products.

“The AT960 and AT930 replace the hugely-successful AT901 and T-Cam products and complement the basic Leica Absolute Tracker AT402. We now offer the most complete and modern range of laser trackers available on the market, giving our customers the opportunity to choose the right equipment IRU�WKHLU�VSHFLÀF�QHHGV�µ

For further details contact Retecon Machine Tools on TEL: 011 976 8600 or visit www.retecon.co.za

A high-performance tool for finishing aluminium components.

Machining challenges - Sandvik Coromant presents the innovative CoroMill® 5B90

Hexagon Metrology launches a new range of all-in-one high-speed laser tracker

Sandvik Coromant CoroMill® 5B90, a new finishing cutter for

aluminium, scores with an excellent surface finish and reduces the

cost-per-part by up to 30 per cent

TruTops Boost, the new software solution developed by Trumpf, merges into

a single system all the steps needed to generate sheet metal manufacturing programs. This includes everything from part design and data import to nesting and even writing NC programs for cutting, punching and bending. The new operating reasoning makes TruTops Boost easy to understand and, thanks to the Boost Technology, makes it unbeatably fast, since the calculations are carried out automatically.

With TruTops Boost, designing and programming for sheet metal processing becomes almost child’s play. The new Trumpf software is based on an entirely new operating philosophy. The program steps the operator through the process and provides support in numerous automatic features. Here, a single system, working on the basis of the job order, handles the design, generates an unfolding, and prepares NC programs for 2D laser cutting, punching and bending. No longer is it necessary to place information in intermediate storage and call it up in various applications.

This brings about major advantages. For example, the operator has at his fingertips the newest version of all the job orders and can see the status within the current process step. In addition,

TruTops Boost immediately recognises when a specification has been changed in the design or in the programming. The software then automatically adjusts the upline or downline steps or notifies the operator if he needs to intervene. TruTops Boost considers every possible technology when examining

job orders; it recognises correlations and automatically implements them. When processing data for bending parts, for instance, TruTops Boost calculates, right from the layout

stage, any notches and cut-outs and makes preparations for manufacturing the parts from sheet metal.



The Sisma SWA-150 IV class laser system is suitable for welding and repair of

moulds with and without filler material and other open laser welding work on large workpieces. Thanks to the many adjustments of the optic head and to the motorised axes, the welding

operations are made easier and allow fast action with excellent results. Laser parameters are managed through an easy and intuitive touch screen that allows the control of the waveform, the diameter of the welding and an eventual rotating spindle.

With the fiber coupling, the laser beam is guided flexibly and almost loss-free to the welding head with a 10x stereo-microscope and an LCD shutter as eye protection. The welding head is equipped with a motorised enlarger for specifying the beam diameter, an adjustable LED workpiece illumination and a flexible gas feeder. A colour touchscreen for adjusting the laser parameters is also provided.

The welding head is mounted at the end of a motorised and controlled 3-axis movement. The axis system can additionally

be rotated to position the welding head above the workpiece. It can be motor positioned in the x and y directions within a range of 150 mm. Thanks to the universally adjustable welding head, difficult-to-reach places deep within the mould inserts can be very effectively welded. The z-axis can be pivoted through up to 90° and motor positioned in a range of 500 mm, as well as manually adjusted within an overall range of 800 mm. Moreover, it can be programmed on a path in order to execute automatic movements, allowing the unit to operate even on oblique surfaces.

The system, which is also available in sizes SWA300 and 300W, is designed for prolonged use or for small operations.

For further details contact WD Hearn on TEL: 021 534 5351 or visit www.wdhearn.co.za

Sisma laser systems for mould maintenance

Generate NC programs at the touch of a button - Trumpf TruTops Boost

Producing large-diameter holes can be a big headache for many shops that are aiming to be cost effective and competitive in today’s global market.

TaeguTec has introduced the SpadeRush, a new line of high productivity head changeable drills for large diameter hole making that removes the challenges imposed on machine and cutting tools performing such operations.

The SpadeRush’s smoother method of making large-diameter holes that stays within the cycle times necessary to be competitive has been accentuated with an optimized cutting edge and unique rigid clamping system that generates higher productivity and outstanding performance.

Available as a standard drill in 3xD and 5xD for a diameter range of 26 millimeter to 41 mm, the SpadeRush’s unique clamping technology enables customers to quickly change drill heads without removing the clamping screw from the holder – an important feature that greatly reduces tool setting times and also machining downtime.

Furthermore, the asymmetrical bottom design of TaeguTec’s SpadeRush means error proof insert mounting, high tolerance, improved tool accuracy as well as repeatability and an excellent surface finish.

Its self-centered design eliminates the pre-centering function that many shops have to contend with when

performing large diameter hole making applications. Moreover, the SpadeRush’s stronger rigid screw clamp not

only improves productivity but also cuts on machining cost. To keep the material cool during high-speed applications,

SpadeRush’s through coolant hole feature permits coolant to be applied directly to and in the hole-making area which also prevents the tool and holder from premature wear and damage.

The post-treatment of the SpadeRush’s flute design improves chip evacuation, reduces power consumption and strengthens vibration dampening, which strengthens the tools durability.

Several tests were performed while creating TaeguTec’s new line, and in all cases SpadeRush outperformed the competition.

Just to give one example, SpadeRush outperformed a popular competitor’s similar tool by increasing tool life by 30 percent while drilling into alloy steel at exactly the same cutting conditions.

End of year celebrationIn November 2014 TaeguTec

South Africa held its traditional ‘End of Year’ get together for clients, suppliers

and friends. Featured below and to the right, is a selection of the over 300 attendees.

For more information contact TaeguTec SA on TEL: 011 362 1500 or visit www.taegutec.com


SpadeRush cuts stress of large-diameter hole making

Hendrik Lourens, Niel Brits, Bertus Opperman, Janie Thompson, Deon Vermulen, Chris du Plessis, Michael Bonthuys, Wally Hatting and Anton Fourie


Neeltjie Campbell, Marie Mulder, Johan Nienaber, Clinton Campbell and Andy and Natasha Venter

Cyril van der Merwe, Rudi van Schalkwyk and Martin Engelbrecht with Willem Oberholzer of TaeguTec South Africa

Chris Potgieter and Martin Kruger (right) both of TaeguTec South Africa with Joe Swanepoel and Tyrin Murray

Shaun Treadwell, Nadine Spaey, Ryan Fourie and Wayne Mc Queen Jaco, Francois, Gerhard, Hennie, Louis and Johan

Annetjie Potgieter and Nathan Govender, both of TaeguTec South Africa

Front row left to right: Peter van Musschenbroek, Heinrich Wieghand, Kevin Chambell and Mannetjie de Jager, and in the back row: Tertuis

du Toit, Nico Watson and Janu Rossow

In November 2014, over 300 clients, suppliers

and friends attended TaeguTec South Africa's traditional

‘End of Year’ event


The C frame CNC vertical machining center PX 20 series has been developed by Jyoti with the aim to deliver and the ability to cope with various arenas of the demanding

manufacturing industry. The PX 20 Series fits into the 3-axis segment with the

option to include a 4th axis rotary table.Various working areas are available with table sizes ranging

from 660 X 360mm to 915 X 460mm. The X-axis travel range is from 510mm to 760mm.

The machines come equipped with 8000 rpm BT40 Taper spindles with 7.5/ 5.5 kW servomotor and a 20 tool automatic tool changer for faster tool indexing. Axis rapid rates for all machines are 25 m/min with better accelerations.

Having a FEM proven structure enabled with a BT-40 Taper precision spindle, the latest control system available, full enclosure guarding and many other features, this series can deliver optimum performance for various industry needs for machining in numerous materials.

The machine has 3-point leveling for easy leveling and better accuracy over the life of the machine, a better chip evacuation channel at the rear side of the machine for easy

scrap disposal and better maintenance, all operating controls within easy reach of the operator and simple job loading and unloading facilities, ample safety measures with software and hardware interlocks and a completely covered machining area. Various productivity improving options are available such as the rotary table, coolant through spindle, probes and fully tooled up solutions.

For further details contact EDM Shop on TEL: 011 762 5231 or visit www.edmshop.co.za

The DMG Mori Sprint 50, an automatic CNC lathe is equipped with three turrets, of which the lower turret has a B-axis, a unique feature for automated production

turning machines. Three turrets allow highly productive machining of short workpieces and collision-free machining with three turrets on the main and counter spindle. The swivel range of the B-axis on the lower turret from 23.5 to +158.5 degrees allows machining of negative angles with cost-effective standard tools.

Alternatively, the Sprint 50 can also be equipped with three turrets without a B-axis. In the cost-effective entry level option the machine has two turrets, including the patented and thousand-fold proven Twin concept. This unique work area concept with two turrets and the cross traverse of the counter spindle-tailstock combination allows parallel machining in two independent work areas.

The focus of the Sprint 50 is on highly efficient production turning in serial production. The 12-fold VDI 25 turrets with Trifix® are consistently equipped with driventool stations and offer speeds of up

WR��PLQ��N:��1�P��7KH�7ULIL[® precision quick change interface for set-up times of less than 30 seconds and repeatability of 6 µm. is also standard. The application field of the Sprint 50 models is complete machining of bars up to Ø 50 mm diameter.

The ergonomically designed Sprint 50 offers perfect accessibility and maintainability. The distance between the machine front and the turret has been reduced by 70 percent to 400 mm for easier setup operations. Despite its wide machining area with a B-axis swivel range of 182° (-23.5°/ +158.5°), the Sprint 50 has achieved a compact footprint of 9.6 m2 (including a chip conveyor), thereby dramatically increasing productivity per unit area. Additionally, steep, low-maintenance covers made of stainless

steel are used in the machining area for better chip disposal and from standard equipped for wet, oil and dry machining, while all hydraulic units are located in one place for better access and easier maintenance.


DMG Mori Sprint 50-3T, B-axis next generation automatic lathe provides highly productive bar machining

with three turrets and unique B-axis

Jyoti CNC vertical machining centerPX 20 series


For difficult-to-machine materials like Inconel and Rene in complex aerospace applications or cobalt-chromes and high-alloy stainless steels in precise medical applications,

the new Widia Victory FS geometry is a ground, high positive design best used in finishing tasks where surface finish and minimising part deflection are critical. Precision grinding, proprietary nose geometry, and optimised edge treatment result in an insert that retains its high-quality cutting edge with minimal heat generation and good chip breaking at finishing parameters. Its high rake angle reduces cutting forces and also reduces built-up edge.

The FS is available in WS10PT, a high-performance PVD grade. This grade utilises a two-layer coating that increases coating integrity and reduces depth-of-cut notching, increasing productivity and dependability. All inserts in the WS10PT grade undergo a post-coat treatment to increase compressive stress and improve edge toughness. This delays built-up edge and results in longer tool life. WS10PT is available in other geometries including the UR geometry.

Stainless steel performanceWidia´s Universal Roughing (UR) geometry is specifically

designed to increase roughing and medium turning performance in stainless steels and steel workpieces. Its unique chip

breaker and rake profile design without inflection points breaks up stringers without concentrating cutting forces that result in breakage. Its positive rake angle further reduces cutting forces while improving depth of cut notching resistance. Together with a multi-layer coating with a ZrCN top coat for both extended performance and improved wear identification, the result is the ability to increase speeds or feed rates efficiently, increasing

productivity and reducing cycle times.Widia grades WP15CT, WP25CT,

and WP35CT are also available in the Universal Roughing geometry to particularly improve performance on steel workpieces. Emphasising an excellent combination of toughness and cutting performance, WP15CT is universally applicable on all finishing, medium machining and light roughing steel operations, wet or dry, interrupted and non-interrupted.

WP25CT is best applicable on all medium to light roughing operations, wet or dry on interrupted and non-interrupted cuts. WP35CT is the

best choice on all roughing and heavy roughing jobs, also wet or dry, interrupted or non-interrupted. These new grades also feature the ZrCN top coating and proprietary post-coat treatment that reduces friction and improves edge toughness as well as functioning as an excellent wear indicator.

For more information contact Widatech on TEL: 087 150 3266 or email: [email protected]

Widia Victory turning portfolio expands, maximising performance in wide range of materials

Okuma’s Multus U seriesmultitasking CNC lathes reduce setup time

Okuma’s Multus U Series general purpose multitasking CNC lathes are designed to reduce setup time, improve accuracy and keep non-cutting time to a minimum.

The series includes two machine sizes: the Multus U3000 (maximum diameter of 650mm and bed length of 1 000mm) and the Multus U4000 (maximum diameter of 700mm and bed length of 1 500mm). The series of lathes is equipped with a comprehensive package of the company’s Intelligent Technologies (thermo-friendly concept, collision avoidance system and Machining Navi) and a variety of efficiency features.

These lathes are excellent for machining process-intensive parts, such as those in aerospace, oil/energy, medical and construction, and provide a complete multitasking solution.

A highly rigid traveling column allows for powerful cutting along the entire Y axis, the company says. There are 17 variations in specs, including multiple bed lengths, optional subspindle (W axis) and optional lower turret. They are designed for highly efficient cutting of difficult-to-machine materials and a variety of CNC machining applications. The company provides long, stable machining accuracy with thermo-static design and thermal deformation control technology. Machining Navi, which

is optional, maximizes tool performance by choosing the optimal speed(s) at which the machine can avoid chatter.

For further details contact F & H Machine Tools on TEL: 011 397 4050 or visit www.fandhmachinetools.co.za


Haco has introduced a new concept for press brake controllers: SyncView, a dynamic display located on the beam that moves horizontally to the correct bending

location. The tablet screen is positioned automatically where the workpiece is being worked on by the operator, allowing the operator to watch both the screen and the workpiece simultaneously during the bending process.

The 3-D image of the bending steps is always right in front of the user rather than yards away. This allows the user to understand and carry out bending steps more quickly during the bending sequence.

The 3-D images on the screen can be rotated without the operator having to leave the work position, enabling fast evaluation of complex pieces. The operator looks in the same direction at both the

screen and workpiece, reducing constant head turning between the screen and the place where the workpiece must be positioned.

The idea behind SyncView originated by simply observing a press brake’s bending process and evaluating each step objectively. It became quickly apparent that the way in which the operator and the machine interact is often far from logical and efficient. With the traditional press brake, the operator is actually ‘bound’ to his static read-out screen on the side of the machine. He has to constantly interact with it: for setting up, making adjustments and viewing the correct way to position the piece. This means that he is looking either at the screen or at the work.

For further details contact Craft Machine Tools on TEL: 011 845 2030 or visit www.craftmachinetools.co.za

Press brake display moves on beam to correct bending location


It provides true high-speed machining at a fraction of the cost of a high-speed machine, and with great ease of use. It enables manufacturers to very economically increase productivity.

When it was first introduced, NC machining was a game changer, revolutionising the metalcutting industry and making it possible for machined parts to be cut with greater speed and precision than ever before. As a result, productivity and production were greatly increased.

Back then, technology and equipment were such that the spindle rotated faster than the cutting tool, which was typically made of high-speed steel. With time, other, harder metals were used and new ones, such as submicron hard metals, were developed. The increasingly greater speed possible for cutting tools eventually outstripped the spindle speed attainable on standard CNCs. This affected small diameter cutting tools even more since they need to be operated at higher rotational speeds.

The need for speedThe industry addressed this change in circumstances

through development of high-speed machines and high-speed auxiliary spindles. However high-speed machines are expensive, take up valuable shop floor space and may often sit idle. Auxiliary spindles, while more flexible and less expensive, have performance issues.

This is where the Spinjet HSM jet spindle comes in. A highly innovative breakthrough in spindle technology, it delivers the results manufacturers seek, making it a real alternative to investing in a high-speed machine.

Spinjet HSM Iscar’s Spinjet HSM jet spindle uses a coolant pressure of

20-40 bar, to attain high speeds. As coolant pressure increases, it generates higher and higher spindle speed, reaching up to 50,000 rpm. At rotational speeds like these, manufacturers can save up to 70% of machining time. Manufacturing also requires somewhat lower speeds and to accommodate these, two other Spinjet models offer rpms of up to 20 000 and 30 000.

Compact enough to be held in the operator’s hand, Spinjet easily attaches to any milling or turning machine. In fact, the

spindle is stored in the tool magazine and is as easily accessed and connected as any other standard tool. The Spinjet plug and play spindle kit includes a wireless receiver that monitors rpm, allowing machining to be followed and for on-time intervention to take place, if needed.

PerformanceComparison tests of machining with and without Spinjet

show highly significant time savings and extended tool life with this HSM spindle. For example, in thread milling on an SAE 4340 workpiece, per part machining time was cut by 70% and resulted in extending tool life by roughly 200%. In milling a mould of V2 material, overall machining cycle time was reduced by over 60% and the polishing process time was cut in half.

Sustainable advantages Not only do the shorter cycle times achieved with Spinjet

save energy and costs, but chip removal is efficient, tool life is extended, and the machine tool’s regular spindle is exposed to less wear and tear.

ApplicationsIscar’s Spinjet is ideal for semi-finishing and finishing

operations including various milling applications, drilling, grinding, engraving, chamfering, and more, on a wide range of materials. In addition, the smaller diameter tools needed for these operations can cut at the speeds required.

Here CAM developers can get into the act in a big way since the new and more efficient tool paths they create are extended further as the Spinjet can be relied on to execute high-speed moves and thereby achieve faster cycle times.

QualityBut what about part and surface quality? Does the Spinjet

sacrifice precision for high-speed? Absolutely not! Along with the higher rotational speed, Iscar’s unique technology has run out of only a few microns, which translates into cutting accuracy.

Its machining is high precision and results in excellent surface quality, an especially important attribute for finished parts.

Bottom line Iscar’s Spinjet marries speed with accuracy

to result in rapidly-produced high-quality parts – the goal of every manufacturer. With its technology and performance, the Spinjet not only leads to greater machining efficiency and flexibility but as a true alternative to investing in a high-speed machine, it is the key to significant savings for manufacturers.

For further details contact Iscar South Africa on TEL: 011 997 2700 or visit www.iscar.com

Iscar’s Spinjet HSM spindle – Seriously cool(ant) speed

In each field, every once in a while, along comes a game changer. The Spinjet HSM jet spindle is just that.


Salvagnini has introduced a new twist on press brake tooling management. Instead of maintaining a storage area on the side or in the rear of the press brake, the

B3’s tooling is stored within the press brake itself, and it adjusts the positioning of the tools according to the next job.

Like with panel benders, on which the tooling shifts in the toolholder to accommodate the current bending job, so does the tooling in the press brake. Salvagnini calls this an ATA —Automatic Tool Adjuster — option. For bending jobs involving flanges, the tooling is shifted to create gaps where the flanges can be bent upwards without coming into contact with the

upper tooling.In the lower die, the V-shaped groove automatically adjusts

for the next job.With the upper and lower tooling setting up for the next

job, a press brake operator has to wait only a few seconds. It is described as a tool change that can take place as the operator reaches for the next blank for bending.

Application versatility and, above all, ultimate production efficiency are the goals set and reached by Salvagnini with the B3 press brake, which is now fitted with the automatic bending tool setting device.

“An entirely flexible and efficient solution, that lets you bend parts that are all different to each other in sequence. So this is the ideal machine for anyone who processes materials that vary little, and hence can reap huge rewards from optimizing the bending cycle with the elimination of time-consuming machine retooling. This is another form of efficiency, and another process solution designed to cater to the specific needs of a market that is now mature and pursues productivity through responsiveness, the elimination of all inefficiencies and reduction of downtime, so as to adopt a different approach to press-brake bending by introducing kit production too,” explains Nicola Vanzo, Salvagnini’s Corporate Project Manager.

For further details contact Potgieter Industrial Machinery on TEL: 011 022 4648 or visit www.industrialmachinery.co.za

Salvagnini’s new press brake tooling management

Yaskawa Motoman MH50 II-Series robots for processing large parts

The new powerful, high-speed MH50 II-series robots have an extremely flexible design, allowing them to be used for a variety of applications, including coating, dispensing,

machine and press tending, material cutting and handling. The long reach of the MH50 II model and the extended reaches of the MH50 II-35 and MH50 II-20 make these robots superior for processing large parts. In many cell layouts, the extended reach models can eliminate the need for an external track,

decreasing system cost and simplifying programming. Internally routed cables and hoses maximise system reliability, minimise interference and facilitate programming.

Wide work envelopes with small interference zones allow the MH50 II-series robots to be placed in close proximity to workpieces and equipment, reducing floor space requirements.

The robots have brakes on all

axes and can be floor, wall or ceiling mounted for layout flexibility.

These models use the dynamic DX200 controller that includes

patented multiple robot control technology to easily handle multiple tasks

and control up to eight robots (72 axes), I/O devices and communication protocols. Featuring a robust PC architecture with

unmatched memory capacity, the DX200 uses a Windows® CE programming pendant with colour touch screen.

The energy-saving DX200 controller features faster processing speeds for smoother interpolation, advanced robot arm motion, built-in collision avoidance, quicker I/O response and accelerated Ethernet communication.

Its extensive I/O suite includes integral PLC and HMI pendant displays, 4,096 I/O and a graphical ladder editor that can provide system level control. The DX200 supports all major fieldbus networks. It is compliant to ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 and other relevant ISO and CSA safety standards.

For further details contact Yaskawa South Africa on TEL: 011 608 3182 or visit www.yaskawa.za.com

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