Kung Hei Fat Choi, Everyone!

Chinese New Year 2012 is the year of the Dragon. It is considered to be an exciting time. In a Dragon year, events can be magnified and everything feels intense. This is a time when we can be daring and bold to take risks. It could also be an excellent time to embark on a new business venture. As long as you use the power and energy of this year to power your ambition, there is very little you cannot achieve!

Wishing you a great year of the Dragon!

All the Best,

Ringier Metals

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Message from JK Lasers

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, industrial laser manufacturer JK Lasers has cut a greetings message using a 400W fiber laser.

Demonstrating the precision cutting capability of the JK400FL, the intricate design depicts a dragon with the message ‘May You Enjoy Good Fortune’ in Chinese.The image was cut at 2 meters per minute on 0.3mm stainless steel using a Nitrogen assist gas to cool the metal and remove dross. Depending on the shape to be cut, the JK400FL can cut up to 10 meters per minute. To see the Chinese New Year message being cut, visit.

Plasma Cutting Technology

Plasma cutting is believed to improve productivity and lower cutting costs. It cuts faster, and do not require a pre-heat cycle. Plama cutting also cuts any metal that conducted electricity. However, many are still unaware of its benefits and how it is really works. 
 

Hypertherm presents a 30 minute Plasma Cutting Course, which demonstrates how plasma is used for cutting, its uses, parts including consumables, and various cut types.

Feel free to send me your comments regarding this video.

Smarter decisions, better products

Rajiv Ghatikar, Vice Presiden, General Manager,
Asean and Australasia, Siemens PLM Software

The Asian market continues to demand environmentally-friendly products produced with a more sustainable production model. However, uncertainties facing manufacturing companies today create significant challenges as to how to most effectively invest their capital in order to maintain, or return to, economic growth. They know they must further optimise their existing capacity yet have the flexibility to respond and expand when market demand begins to accelerate.

In an interview conducted by International Metalworking News for Asia, Rajiv Ghatikar, Vice President and General Manager, Asean and Australasia, Siemens PLM Software, explains the numerous enhancements of Tecnomatix 10 to power manufacturing productivity and how it can help manufacturers in Asia.

According to Ghatikar, today’s increasingly competitive global manufacturing industry, combined with the current international economic environment, has companies looking for new and innovative ways to boost productivity, cut costs and increase quality, especially this region where the manufacturing sector is so competitive.

“We believe that this latest version of Tecnomatix, which is a digital manufacturing solution available from Siemens, has tremendous potential to positively affect the productivity and efficiency of the manufacturing industry, and as the leader in this field, we are proud to deliver the kind of solutions that will continue to create value for our customers, while helping the manufacturing industry thrive and grow,” he said.

Software features

“Machining and metalworking manufacturers focus on component production using NC processes.  A robust and capable CAM system is required for these manufacturers.  More importantly, it is critical that the manufacturing work packages are created and managed so that the correct information is available at every stage of the process. While NX CAM is well known as a premium CAM system, Tecnomatix 10 includes several components that directly support the creation, management, distribution, and effectiveness of these work packages on the shop floor,” Ghatikar added.

He said that starting with Tool Data Information systems, NC programmers make use of approved, inventoried tool data as they develop programs.  Fixture and Machine libraries are managed and maintained with Resource Manager.  Complete packages of component manufacturing processes are built with Part Planning components.  And all of this critical information is delivered to the shop floor using direct Teamcenter access and DNC data delivery.

Manufacturing challenges
When asked about some of the recent and larger challenges Asian manufacturers faced, and what can be done to overcome these issues with Tecnomatix 10 in mind, Ghatikar outlined numerous difficulties faced by Asian manufacturers.  “We would say worldwide competition, shorter product cycles, newer methodologies, and manufacturing complexity are critical and crucial.”

Worldwide Competition — Intensive global and local competition increasingly forces manufacturers to produce quality products in the shortest possible time at minimum cost. The pressure to reduce lead times is particularly obvious.  Every country continues to upgrade the skills of their citizens.  Therefore, competition is more intense at all levels.

Shorter Product Cycles — The primary force of driving manufacturing is a reduced product development cycle.  While continual changes in design are implemented, more frequent and additional NC programming is required to manufacture products, along with the dies, moulds and tools that are often desired.

Newer Methodologies — Newer manufacturing methodologies are becoming popular.  Digital manufacturing, collaboration, concurrent engineering, lean production, supply chain management, and design for manufacturing have moved manufacturing operations into the mainstream.

Manufacturing Complexity — The tools and processes used in manufacturing are also becoming more complex, to gain higher production efficiency.  The rapid pace of technology change continues.  High-speed machining has gained acceptance to improve both product quality and productivity.   Multi-functional machine tools such as machining centres, turning centres, mill turn machines, and multi-axis lathes are commonplace.  More NC programming is driven by the continued change in technology and increased complexity in manufacturing tools and processes.

In general, Ghatikar said the latest release of Tecnomatix powers manufacturing productivity by enabling smarter decisions for manufacturing throughout the plan, define, build and support lifestyle. From a new, more intuitive user interface presenting information in-context, to a more integrated product/production environment that helps to eliminate errors before they are discovered on the shop floor, Tecnomatix 10 brings to market the latest in digital manufacturing solutions, which work together to power productivity for the manufacturing sector in this ever-changing world.

“Because of various recent calamities in Asia, particularly the natural disasters experienced in the Southeast Asian region, what manufacturers need now is to increase productivity to boost manufacturing to make up for lost time.  With the various new functionalities and capabilities of Tecnomatix 10, Asian manufacturers will now be able to achieve increased productivity and overcome all abovementioned challenges in a shorter period of time,” he added.

Enhanced solution

The latest release of Tecnomatix includes a host of enhancements across the manufacturing spectrum.  In the part manufacturing space, the most noticeable advancement is the introduction of the Shop Floor Connect for Teamcenter component.

Shop Floor Connect for Teamcenter is an application add-on for Teamcenter software that delivers CNC program files directly into the machine controller. More than just a traditional DNC system, the connection to the centralised Teamcenter database avoids data duplication and manages revisions to  ensure the correct manufacturing data is used on the shop floor.  It also enables production staff to access current and released CNC programs, drawings, 3D models and other data sources through a web-based user interface that runs on any browser-enabled device or controller.

Tecnomatix components are woven tightly into the larger Part Manufacturing Solution, an integrated approach to moving from part to production, all under the part and process management control from Teamcenter.  This integration of resources, data, and supporting information, provide the process and data management to keep the shop floor connected directly to the engineering data.

PLM trends in Asia
Siemens PLM is committed to the Asian marketplace with a network of direct and channel sales, multiple offices, and support personnel.  “We understand trends and customer needs in various Asian countries and industrial segments.  Siemens PLM and our partners can provide professional services and consultancy to help customers achieve business visions and goals, by providing competitive solutions to solve their problems in product design, manufacturing process planning and validation, and production execution,” said Ghatikar.

One major trend that Ghatikar see in terms of technology is the consolidation of disparate databases and management structures, allowing more direct data sharing and reduced confusion across the enterprise.  “Our Shop Floor Connect for Teamcenter product addresses this trend directly, making sure that the production environment is connected directly to the PLM environment.  Manufacturing work packages, released to production can be browsed, viewed, and selected for use on the shop floor.  Duplicate databases are eliminated and optimised work packages are properly stored as revision updates for future use,” he stated.

Ghatikar added, “In Asia specifically, businesses, especially those in the manufacturing sector, need to be agile and flexible to meet the demands of their customers while staying competitive at the same. With the current economic situation in Europe, the focus for manufacturing will be on Asia and there is a great deal of potential for growth, not just among bigger players, but also among SME/SMBs. With the availability of PLM solutions now, smaller manufacturing companies now have a competitive edge, evening out the playing field and creating more growth potential for the industry as a whole.”

In 2012, Siemens PLM targets to introduce advanced and intelligent end-to-end solutions to the Asian market to enable customer enterprises working in a more collaborative and flexible environment, from product concepts through actual production. “Our business vision is smarter decisions, better products,” he finally said.

"Industry Sourcing" app indispensable in tight economy

Free, time-saving and cost-saving mobile tool from Ringier allows Android users to search for products and suppliers across 20 industries

HONG KONG – For the first time, an Android mobile app for sourcing industrial machinery, tools and materials across 20 key industries from Greater China is now available from Ringier Trade Media Limited, a leading B2B industrial information provider. Destined to be the mobile tool box for industrial traders, Ringier’s "Industry Sourcing" app links to the world’s leading sources of equipment in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. This free and portable updated source of industrial product and company information and news that is updated daily via industrysourcing.com – the leading online industry trade marketplace for manufacturers doing business with China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Preset information needs by industry and country of interest is easy with the "Industry Sourcing" app. Direct contact with suppliers is simplified because new product and supplier information are sent direct to the mobile device.

Product and Supplier Searches With this free and handy app, it’s possible to choose from hundreds of industrial products and machinery videos: Search from over 40,000 Products and Suppliers across 20 key industries

Keep Up with Trends and Developments Search online content from 35 leading industry trade magazines, ranging from Plastics to Renewable Energy, to access valuable research, technical information and product information.

Latest Business News about China Insights and news about the world’s largest economy and its trading partners are updated daily to keep industrial traders informed of key developments that can help them make vital and informed decisions.

Trade Show and Conferences Select from hundreds of industry events in Asia and worldwide: trade show information from industrysourcing.com will help manufacturers keep on top of the major events for every industry and every region. Search Ringier Conferences for focused industry events in China that will serve as a platform for stronger linkages with leading suppliers across 20 industries.

Ringier Innovation Awards Link to the prestigious Ringier Innovation Awards to find out where trends and product developments are heading, and who are at the forefront of the Coatings, Foods & Beverages, Packaging, Plastics, Metalworking, and Pumps & Valves innovations.

Download Now

It’s easy as one-two-three:

(1) Visit the Android Market http://market.android.com

(2) Search for “Industry Sourcing” and follow the download instructions.

(3) The Industry Sourcing app will automatically apply the most appropriate language, English or Simplified Chinese, based on the phone language settings.

International Metalworking News - Middle East Issue: 2011-11

Machine tool equipment vendors continue to focus on complete machining of workpieces in order to shorten throughput times. In this issue of International Metalworking News- Middle East, we present technical articles to help you in your individual core competences in a new production environment.

Centreless grinding process, while complex, offers the finest roundness precision from the shortest machining time. An article on a new regulating wheel designed to ensure stable grinding process can be found in the Grinding Section of this month's issue.

The aerospace is one of Middle East's most demanding industries with a need for ongoing research, development and testing. An innovative probe option for five-axis measurement allows surface finish inspection to be fully integrated within CMM measurement routines. This editorial piece is featured in the Inspection & Measuring Section.

An editorial on Iran's wind turbine industry is highlighted on Metal Forming. As these towers increase in size, height, diameter and plate thickness, they cannot be kept in stock easily. Wind tower production requires a lean and continuous-flow of environment.Catch this issue's outlook report on metalworking industry and find out what companies in the Middle East think about the future of machine tools business in the region.

Lastly, the exhibitors at the EMO Hannover 2011 showcased top-performing high-end products offering maximised productivity, availability and cost-efficiency. Topical issues like resource-economy and the machining of new design materials were widely discussed at the relevant side-events. Find out more in this month's Show Review Report Section.

Read E-zine: http://cn.industrysourcing.com/ezine/res/11/11/imne.html

Outperforming all the others

Laser development at TRUMPF in 1985, when the company
presented its first proprietary CO2 laser

From the time when Theodore H. Maiman fired up the first laser in May 1960, engineers at TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG have begun laying the foundations for an impressive success story.   Ringier Metalworking was fortunate to be invited to INTECH 2011 held at TRUMPF’s headquarters in Ditzingen, Germany.

For two days, press representatives all over the world witnessed how TRUMPF fully committed itself to the business. After all, building a family owned-company is a humbling experience, which is something that applies in equal measure to everyone who works for it: managing partners, management executives and employees alike.

40 years of laser
From their very first use in welding mainsprings for watches, through high-quality cutting of materials ranging from extremely thin foils to sheets of metal centimetres thick to the employment of ultra-modern direct diode lasers, the industrial laser owes its success in large part to TRUMPF –and it has done so for the last 40 years.

Peter Leibinger, head of TRUMPF’s Laser Technology Division, describes it, “Our goal as a laser manufacturer is to be the first to make cutting-edge technology available for use in manufacturing. We transform the latest research developments into mature products that are suitable for industry.” Mathias Kammüller, head of TRUMPF’s Machine Tool Division and, like Leibinger, a member of the TRUMPF Group’s Management Board, adds: “Laser systems are universal tools that can be used again and again in a huge variety of processes. We offer the right laser in the appropriate machine for each and every application.”

TRUMPF has provided numerous such machines to the growing market for laser processing. The first, in 1979, was a combined punch/laser machine equipped with 500 and 700 watt CO₂ lasers that at that time the company still sourced externally. Eight years earlier, watch manufacturer Carl Haas, based in the little town of Schramberg in the Black Forest, had already recognised the suitability of lasers for precision watchmaking applications and built the first solid-state laser. Since Haas is now TRUMPF, this marks the beginning of our company’s laser era.

In the decades that followed, both CO₂ and solid-state lasers experienced rapid developments. The year 1985 was a milestone for both technologies, since it was then that TRUMPF became a laser manufacturer in its own right with the development and production of the TLF 1000 CO₂ laser, and it was also the year that Haas introduced the first laser light cable for industrial use. Just two years later, TRUMPF brought out the TRUMATIC L 3000, the first flatbed laser machine with flying optics, where the machine table stays still while the cutting head “flies” across the sheet metal.

The year 1995 can be regarded as another hallmark. This was when TRUMPF not only expanded its products’ capabilities to include processes such as laser welding and tube cutting, but also for the first time employed a solid-state laser to process thin steel sheets in the TRUMATIC LY 2500 flatbed cutting machine – the forerunner of today’s hugely successful “fibre” machines, which began to conquer the market in 2008 with the integration of the latest TruDisk disk lasers.

Today, there are around 20,000 TRUMPF CO₂ lasers and 15,000 of solid-state lasers in use around the world. While the CO₂ lasers continue to dominate the market for flatbed laser machines, there is a growing demand for the range of machines with fibre-guided solid-state lasers, as these lasers complement each other perfectly. Taking an automotive analogy, the CO₂ cutting machine is a versatile off-road vehicle, which, thanks to up to 8 kilowatts of power is capable of high-quality steel cutting for sheet thicknesses from 0.5 to more than 30 millimetres – making it ideal for negotiating the rally challenge of quick design changes and short product runs that defines the workload of many suppliers. Solid-state laser machines, on the other hand, are like racing cars in that they can get up to incredible speeds on certain “surfaces”: in this case thin sheet metals – even copper or brass. They can handle thicker materials, too; indeed, their results on mild steel are comparable to those of a CO₂ laser. But when used to process stainless steel, cut quality deteriorates relatively quickly – meaning these lasers prefer a racetrack of sheet metal that is no more than 5 millimetres thick.

“Lasers as a tool are still in their youth – even now, 50 years after the first laser was fired up and 40 years since they began to cut their teeth in an industrial setting at TRUMPF,” said Peter Leibinger. “People are still constantly coming up with new applications for both CO₂ and solid-state lasers. Some, such as the cutting of glass display covers for mobile phones, benefit from the speed of laser processing, while others, such as the cutting of lightweight materials, would simply not be possible without lasers.”

Latest products on display
During the INTECH tour, TRUMPF introduced its latest TruLaser 5040 fibre to the members of the press. With a processing area of 4m x 2m, this new machine offers users even more flexibility in terms of sheet format. Both the TruLaser 5030 fibre and 5040 fibre models can in the future be shipped with a 5-kW laser– a real first for the market. This not only increases the maximum thickness of sheet that they can handle, it also speeds up their already impressive feed rates.

“Employing the TruDisk 5001 solid-state laser is an important innovation in these machines. Thanks to the higher laser output, they can now process material up to five times faster while using much less power than similarly performing CO₂ laser machines,” said Mathias Kammüller, head of TRUMPF’s Machine Tool Division.

Another highlight during the tour is TruLaser Cell 8030, developed for laser cutting hot-formed 3-D components in high-output production environments. It has dynamic rotary table with reduced rotary times. Quality is guaranteed by FocusLine automatic focus adjustment: this ensures suitable laser focusing, even on components with variable thicknesses – such as those often found in the automotive industry.

Wrapping up
As a family-owned company, TRUMPF’s thinking and actions are focused on the long-term. It stands for innovation and high technology. With its 8,500 employees worldwide, TRUMPF is committed to its goal: outstanding performance for its customers. Its international presence makes TRUMPF a constant in all global markets. With 58 subsidiaries and branch offices, the Group is present in almost every European country, in North and South America, as well as Asia.

"Following the major declines during the recession years, we now have strong growth in all the world's regions - most particularly in China, but also in Germany and the American markets" said Company's President and Chairwoman of the Managing Board, Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller. She added that the high-tech company also owes this success to its role as a technological leader: "We have increased our outlay on research and development, already high as it is, by 22%. Only in this way can we offer our customers products that give them the competitive edge."

TRUMPF's strong commitment in China is also contributing decisively to the company being able to make use of growth opportunities there. TRUMPF is currently in the process of doubling its production capacity in China. The extension to the factory in Taicang near Shanghai is due to be opened in the spring of 2012.

“No-one can say today how the global economy will develop in the coming weeks and months,“ stated the head of TRUMPF. “However we are convinced that high-growth markets will continue to exist in the future, and our presence there also benefits our locations in Germany.”

Mastering Precise Manufacturing Processes for Critical Parts

By Sean Holt, Aerospace Applications Manager at Sandvik Coromant US

When it comes to manufacturing, few industries involve higher demands, stricter safety standards and tougher-to-machine materials than aerospace and automotive. In these industries, subpar surface quality or part integrity can mean life or death—and are simply unacceptable.

Because these parts must withstand extreme conditions, they often require titanium, super alloys and other hard-to-machine materials. It is these same materials that guarantee the most solid, reliable components, however, that often become subject to extreme manufacturing methods that cause heat and stress that adversely affect the integrity of finished parts. Additionally, manufacturing processes for these parts are checked and accepted prior to machining; making it impossible to change or improve aspects of the machining process—insert style, grade, geometry, cutting speed/feed/depth — without costly recertification.
The importance of surface quality
“Surface integrity” describes the quality and condition of a surface region, and encompasses the surface topography and any sub-surface metallurgical alterations.

A combination of stress and elevated temperatures that occur during machining can lead to alterations of crystalline microstructure, cause micro-hardness changes, surface cracking, craters, folds, inclusions, plastic deformation and residual stresses in any finished part.

The extent of such defects depends upon the properties of any work-piece and its interaction with the mechanical and thermal energy during machining.

Machine and tooling leaders are constantly developing technological innovations to eliminate multiple challenges inherent in machining hard materials. When optimizing their processes, however, manufacturers and their customers must know and understand the effects of changing operating parameters before they accept new machining strategies.

Profit takes productivity, quality
When optimizing a machining process for a critical component, keep productivity and quality in mind. Any new method should offer a reliable process with the lowest total cost, while still producing parts with optimal surface quality for high performance and longevity. In titanium, for example, the minimum requirements are finished parts with a deformation depth no greater than 10 micrometers, with compressive residual stresses returning to normal within 200 micrometers of the surface.

With titanium and other difficult metals, tooling plays a large part in the process. First, because of the materials involved, these machining applications call for larger-volume insert use. The cost of these inserts — and the resulting time operators must spend indexing them — can be a huge drain on profit. To combat this, manufacturers can use uncoated inserts with a ground sharp edge, which will maximize tool life. Previous tests in titanium have shown that coated tools offer no consistent surface-integrity advantage over uncoated tools, since coated tools cause a high level of chemical reaction and temperature extremes at the cutting edge.

An insert-holding system can also play a part in reducing setup and tool-change times, which occur more frequently when machining difficult materials. Quick-change systems can allow manufacturers to change inserts in a matter of seconds, rather than minutes. Finally, using a maximum cutting speed of 380 surface-feet per minute will slow down the tool-wear process.

Another productivity tip: Always use a round insert or the largest radius possible when machining critical parts, to allow an increased feed rate. This helps to achieve higher metal-removal rates and increase efficiency. Also, productive coolant systems can help with chip-breaking performance.

Partner up
Industries that require components with high surface quality can be difficult to navigate. It’s important to choose a partner that understands the nuances of challenging machining applications. Tooling partners should provide total solutions that encompass spindle interface, tool-holder selection, programming methods, insert grade and geometry. Be sure to choose a partner who has the training programs and resources to provide ongoing support if issues or questions arise.

While critical-component machining presents challenges, the growth opportunities are extraordinary. With a partner that understands the balance of productivity and part quality — plus the right knowledge and tools — the sky is the limit.