38 Slashing machining time by 20 hoursEric Huyghe Formenbau

50  Almond crescents launch  bespoke machine buildingBott GmbH

 The carousel for precision  grinding wheelsMitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

35

The smart magazine for users

Profile Issue 01 · October 2013

Contents

06 WeareallmembersoftheMödererfamily

75years,34employeesandasimpleexplanation

HansMödererWerkzeug-&FormenbauGmbH

12 Intelligentclampingmakesallthedifference

Thekeytosuccessliesingoodpreparation

AldrovandiAG

18 Rustprotectionwithwater

Banishingtheriskofrust

Chia-moSrl

24 Cuttingdiamondswithprecision

Solutionsforhigh-performancemachining

LüttickeGmbH

04 Editorial

05 Newsflash

11 Competition

30 Gettingitrightfirsttime

Leavingnothingtochance

WalterPottiezGmbH

35 Thecarouselforprecisiongrindingwheels

Micrometreprecisionforthedressingofgrindingwheels

MitsubishiElectricEuropeB.V.

38 Slashingmachiningtimeby20hours

From50to30thankstotheMV2400R

EricHuygheFormenbau

44 Toothfortooth–gearedforsuccess

ATop100SMEreports

NeugartGmbH

43 Profilemagazine

You’vemissedoneofourissues?Noproblem!

65 Origami

Theartofmechanicsandmaterial

66 Userhoroscope

50 Almondcrescentslaunchbespokemachinebuilding

Theflavourofsuccess

BottGmbH

56 Unchartedterritory

Exploringmaterialsrightatthemachine

Empa

60 Movingupintotheworldleague

Injectionmouldswithupto96components

ERMOGROUP

02 Profile08.2013 Profile08.2013 03

Contents Contents

Editorial

Only walking on air is better …

HANS-JÜRGEN PELZERS

Legalnotice

Publishedby:

MitsubishiElectricEuropeB.V.

GermanBranch

MechatronicsMachinery

GothaerStrasse8

40880Ratingen·Germany

Tel +49.2102.4866120

Fax+49.2102.4867090

edm.sales@meg.mee.com

www.mitsubishi-edm.de

Copyright:

MitsubishiElectricEuropeB.V.

Editorialboard:

Hans-JürgenPelzersandStephanBarg

Designandlayout:

CityUpdateLtd.,Düsseldorf

Noresponsibilityistakenfortheaccu-

racyoftechnicaldataandinformation

inarticles.

Newsflash

Anycustomerwhomanagestocutmachiningtimeforatoolfrom50hoursto

30willbewalkingonair(page36).Andthisisprettymuchtheprinciplethatthe

uniqueTubularShaftMotorsworkon–availableonlyatthetopoftherange

fromMitsubishiElectric.Byconsistentlyeliminatingfriction,wearisexcluded

fromtheoutset.Soitishardlysurprisingthatcustomersareincreasinglytend-

ingtoaskforjustasinglequote–aquotefromMitsubishiElectric(page06).

TherearemanyreasonswhyMitsubishiElectrichasbecometheworldmarket

leaderintheEDMsector.TheexclusiveTubularShaftMotorbuildsonthislead

andhelpsmanyuserstoachievebetterresultsinshorterjobtimes.Andwhen

oneconsidersthatthewholesystemsavesenergyonabigscale,itbecomes

obviousthatthecurrentmachinepaysforitselfthroughhigherproductivityand

energysavingsalone.Youcanthenenjoytheextraprecisionandcomfortasa

bonus.And,talkingofbonuses,askmeaboutthespecialenergybonus–you’re

suretolikeit!

Down-to-earthregardsfromRatingen

Hans-Jürgen Pelzers

DistributionManagerEurope

20,000 Blu-ray discs per day onafootprintofonly17m²Manufacturers of optical discs (DVDs and Blu-ray) have

to temporarily produce large quantities of discs in

rapid cycles. Satisfying such tough requirements in pro-

duction, Mitsubishi Electric has been the automation

supplier to Singulus Technologies (Singulus), a leading

maker of replication systems for CDs, DVDs and

Blu-ray discs, since 1999.

ThenewgenerationofEcodan heat pump systems

The new generation offers even higher efficiency and

further simplification of planning and installation.

While the solution for indoor units is available with and

without drinking/hot water storage, outdoor units can

be employed with power inverter or new Zubadan

compressor technology. The hot water tank volume

has been increased to 200 litres net.

LEDscreenssolargethey can be measured in wingspans To highlight the diversified product spectrum and out-

standing pinnacle technologies of Mitsubishi Electric,

the online advertising campaign “You wouldn’t believe

the things we do” has been launched. It shows a selec-

tion of products and applications ranging from satellite

communication and e&ecoF@ctory to power semicon-

ductor modules.

Rapid relief forfloodvictimsWith the quick and unconventional donation of 25 dehu-

midifiers, Mitsubishi Electric has responded to the

flood disaster in southern and eastern Germany. The

move was initiated by Christina Marx, Mitsubishi

Electric employee, who comes from the affected district

of Wurzen. Christina has also ensured locally that the

dehumidifiers run reliably and safely in tough continu-

ous operation.

Profile08.2013 05

LatestdevelopmentsEditorial

06 HansMödererWerkzeug-&FormenbauGmbH

Everyone at Hans Möderer Werkzeug- & Formenbau GmbH, Leinburg, had good reason to celebrate. In October 2012, there was not only the company’s 75th anniversary to com-memorate, but also the change of genera-tions at top management level. And, on top of this, the company that sees itself as a big family had just invested in a second wire EDM machine from Mitsubishi Electric.

Awelcomingreceptionwithsparklingwineandsoft

drinks.Followedbyanopulentbuffetofhotand

colddishes,arrayedaroundasucklingpigturning

onaspit.Amouth-wateringsightfortheguests,

betheyfriendsofheartyFranconiancuisineormore

partialtofishandotherseafood,cheese,fruitor

desserts.Butnotonlythebuffetwassubstantial,but

alsothespeechesinwhichcompanyhistorywas

“servedup”beforetheinformalpartoftheevening.

From1937totheageoftheInternet

AfterthewelcomeaddressbyManagingPartner

NorbertNeubauer,politiciansturnedintheir

speechestothecompany’sdevelopmentandac-

complishments.TherepresentativeofCentral

Franconia’sChamberofTradealsostressedthat

theworldin1937,whenHansMödererestab-

lishedhisbusiness,wasentirelydifferenttoto-

day’s.Therewereneithersmartphonesnorthe

Internetoremail.Agooddealhashappenedinthe

75yearssinceitsfoundation,reportedNorbert

Neubauerinhisillustratedtalk.Atthebeginning,

Möderer’slinesofbusinesscouldnothavebeen

morediverse.Heproducedturnedpartstocustomer

drawings,soldbicycles,mo-

peds,electricalappliances

andsewingmachines,drove

workersfromthesurround-

ingvillagestotheirworkwith

hisownfleetofVWmini-

buses,ranapetrolstation

andkeptbees.Overthe

years,thecompanyspecial-

Theguestsoftheanni-

versarycelebration

lookedforwardtoan

opulentbuffetofhot

andcolddishes.

isedbeforefinallymaturingwithinsomecases

massiveinvestmentinbuildings,themachinepark

andCAD/CAMworkstationsintoahigh-techsup-

pliertospecialisedmachinemanufacturersand

intoamakeroftop-classinjectionmoulds.Amajor

factorinthiswasthedecisiontobuildlarger

mouldsandcomponentsundersubcontract.Asa

result,Mödererbuiltanothershopin2007andpur-

chasedforallproduction

processesmachines

equippedwithlargerma-

chiningranges.Anexample

ofthisistheFA30-Vwire

erosionmachinefromMit-

subishiElectricwithama-

chiningrangeof700×500×

350millimetres(X/Y/Z).The

endofthisphaseofinvestmentwasmarkedbya

FA30-SAdvanceasthesecondwireerosionma-

chine,whichwentintooperationjusttwoweeks

beforetheanniversarycelebration.

Bigextensiontoproductioncapacity

MödererhasbeenworkingwithwireEDMsince

1989.Sometimesinunmannedoperationatnight

andatweekends.Thisiswhythecompany

demandsveryhighmachineavail-

ability.Ademandthatculmi-

natedinthepurchaseofthe

FA30-SAdvancefromMit-

subishiElectricinNovem-

ber2007andhenceina

changeinsupplier.Neu-

bauer:“Wewerehappy

neitherwiththecompetition’sservicenorwiththe

wire-threadingsystem.Withoutareliablethread-

ingsystemandourextra20-kilowirestation,

continuousunmannedoperationwouldbeoutof

thequestion.”

InchoosingtheFA30-SAdvance,theoperator

wentforawire-cutEDMmachinewhosemachin-

ingrangeof750x500x410millimetres(X/Y/Z)

matcheshismaximumworkpiecedimensionsper-

fectly.Thenew,high-precisionerosionsystem

equippedwithanAdvanceCNCcontrolalsohasa

greatercuttingheightthantheFA30-V.Möderer

hadthemachinefittedwiththeoptionallyavailable

digitalFSgeneratorinordertoachieveevenbet-

tersurfacequality.

Nowthatthecompanyhassignificantlyextended

itsproductioncapacitybyaddingthesecond

system,ithasbeenabletoreduceitsproduction

» The first  machine from Mit-subishi completely 

satisfied our expecta-tions, so we didn’t in-vestigate other op-

tions when it came to buying the second 

one. «

TheFA30-SAdvance

wassuppliedona

truckandtransported

byaforkliftintothe

productionshop.

We are all members   of the Möderer family

HANS MöDERER WERkZEuG- & FORMENBAu

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 07

EDMandmore

simplylaidonthemagneticclampingplate.Mö-

derermainlyprocesseshardenedmouldmaking

steelsaswellasspecialmaterialsthataredifficult

tomachineconventionally,suchasthoserequired

formedicaltechnologymachinery.Whateverthe

material,thecompanyusesstandard0.25millime-

trewire.Theworkpiecesizesrangefrom30x30

to700x800millimetres.

“Youhavereachedyourdestination”

Beforethebuffetwasopened,seniormanager

GeorgWeinmann,whohasbeenmanagingthe

companysince1976withhiswifeIngridand,since

themid-Nineties,additionallywiththeirson-in-

lawNorbertNeubauer,deliveredhisspeech.To-

gethertheyhavedevelopedMödererintooneof

thebiggermouldmakersintheNürnbergregion.

GeorgWeinmannstressedtheteamspiritand

pointedoutthathiscompanyislikeabigfamily:

“WeareallmembersoftheMödererfamilyand

Möderer’ssuccessisourcollectivesuccess.”And

thenthebigmomentarrived:GeorgandIngrid

Weinmannhandedoverthemanagementbatons

toNorbertNeubauerandhiswifeAndrea.

Today,thecompanycertifiedtoDINENISO

9001:2000seesitselfasaspecialistintheproduc-

tionofpartsofanycomplexity.Inthemouldmaking

sector,thecustomersincludetheautomotiveand

toyindustries,manufacturersofcosmeticprod-

uctsandsuppliersofautomationsolutions.With

everythingdevelopingpromisingly,Neubauer

viewsthefuturewithoptimism.“We’vepositioned

ourselveswellinthelastfewyears,overtaken

someofourcompetitorsandincreasedourcircle

ofcustomersintheregion.Inviewofthisand

since95percentofourcustomersarelocatedin

andaroundNürnbergsothatbothsidesbenefit

fromtheshortdistancesinvolved,Ihavenowor-

riesaboutthecomingyears.Ourcomprehensive

serviceandabilitytodeliveratshortnoticeare

muchappreciated,asthismakesourcustomers

awareofourdeterminationtosupportthematall

times.”

Neubaueraskedhiswifeandparents-in-lawover

foragroupsnapshot.“Thevoiceofasatellite

navigationsystemwouldnowsay:‘Youhave

reachedyourdestination.’Butdon’tworry,a

newdestinationhasbeenenteredandtheroute

isalreadybeingcomputed.”

bottlenecksappreciablyandtofreeresources

fornewcustomers.Neubauercelebratedtheanni-

versaryinanupbeatmood:“ThefirsEDMma-

chinefromMitsubishiElectriccompletelysatisfied

ourexpectations,sowedidn’tbothertoinvesti-

gateotheroptionswhenitcametobuyingthesec-

ondone.”

Withtheaidofthewireerosionsystems,the

Mödererteamfabricatesextremelyprecise

injectionmouldsfromdrawingsandCAD

data–fromdesignandmouldmakingthroughto

piloting.EDMbusinessalsocomesfromthema-

chinemanufacturesectoriftheseareelaborate

partsthatcannotbecost-effectivelyturnedor

milled.Anexampleofthisisgrippercomponents

forinjectionmouldingmachines.Moreover,wire

EDMforMödererisalsoanalternativetomillingif

unusualgeometriesarecalledfororthedelicacyof

theworkpiecenecessitatesanunconventional

clampingarrangement.ForEDM,inwhichnopres-

sureisappliedtothepart,theworkpiececanbe

We are all members of the Möderer family and Möderer’s success is our collective success.

Sinceeverythingisdevelopingpromisingly,Neubauerviews

thefuturewithoptimism.

GeorgandIngridWeinmannhandoverthemanagementba-

tonstoNorbertNeubauerandhiswifeAndrea.

RaketoothofVA1.4301,ofwhich

thecustomerorderedseveral

parts.Mödererinitiallyproduceda

plate,thencuttheslotthroughall

thepartsandfinallywire-cutthe

exteriorcontourofallthepartsat

nightduringunmannedoperation.

www.moederer.de

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 09

EDMandmore

08 HansMödererWerkzeug-&FormenbauGmbH

Professionals in Profile: Norbert Neubauer

Nameandplaceofcompany:

HansMödererWerkzeug-&Formenbau

GmbH,Leinburg,Germany

Foundingyear:

1937

ManagingPartner:

NorbertNeubauer

Numberofemployees:

34permanentemployees,4appren-

ticesandtemporarystaff

Corebusiness:

Tool-andmouldmaking

How did you earn your first money?

As an electronics apprentice.

What motivates you?

I’m to some extent naturally ambitious. It’s from this that I derive my

motivation to be successful at work and in my private life.

What’s different about how you do things now, compared to

five years ago?

Five years ago, the company was in the middle of a phase of growth. The

investment in the FA30-S Advance marked the end of this phase. Now it’s

a question of consolidation economically and in terms of internal structure.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We aim to stabilise the position that we’ve reached and build on it in a

controlled fashion.

What's your favourite way to relax?

Jogging and singing.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Dependability and honesty.

How would you briefly describe your work to someone with no tech-

nical knowledge?

I cut contours in metal with wire in the same way as I cut wood with

a fretsaw.

www.moederer.de

HansMödererWerkzeug-

&FormenbauGmbH

Kleeäckerstraße2

91227Leinburg-Diepersdorf

Germany

Tel +49.9120.180950

Fax +49.9120.1809555

info@moederer.de

Simply tick the right answer, fill in your address and send off by fax.The closing date is 30th September 2013.

Company Surname Firstname

Postcode Town Date,signature

Note:Onlyoneprizecanbeawardedperperson.Therewillbeadrawforthewinners.EmployeesofMitsubishiElectricandsalespartnersarenoteligibletocompete.Thejudge’sde-cisionisfinal.Paymentoftheprizeincashisnotpossible.Yourdatawillnotbepassedontothirdparties,excepttocompaniesinvolvedinthehandlingoftheprocessesmentioned.Youcanobjectatanytimetothestorageofyourdata.Todoso,simplysendafaxto:+49.2102.4867090.

Tel.

Sauber F1 Factory Tour

Whatfloatsonairandyetachieveshighprecision?

Shuttlecock TubularShaftMotor Hot-airballoon

Win one of 10 places  on the 

F1 Factory  Tour!

Fax+49 . 2102 . 486 7090

No.,road

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 11

Competition

10 HansMödererWerkzeug-&FormenbauGmbH

Outstanding results are only possible with a tailor-made clamping fixture. Since Peter A ldrovandi is convinced of this, he builds the fixtures himself – including one for his new wire EDM machine, an MV1200R Grand T ubular from Mitsubishi Electric.

PeterAldrovandi,ManagingDirectorof

AldrovandiAGinBaar,Switzerland,sits

athisPCandpagesthroughthelatest

contributionstohisdiscussionforum

thathehassetupatwww.aldrovandi.

ch/forum.AsanEDMspecialistthrough

andthrough,hehasbeenrunningthe

forumforseveralyearssothathecan

sharehisexpertisewithhisfellows.“I

havenoreservationsaboutdoingthis.I

regularlyswapnoteswithcolleagues

fromalloverthemetalworkingsector.At

socialeveningsthatIorganiseseveral

timesayear,weshareourworriesand

ideas.”Intheforum,heencounters

auserfacedwiththedifficulttaskof

choosingbetweenthreewireerosion

machinesfromdifferentmanufacturers.

Someadvicesoundsprettyflippant.

Forinstance,“WithMitsubishiyouget

themostforyourmoney”or“Thebig-

gestcheekwasonceafterwirebreakage

whenthemachinerethreadedthekerf

onthespot.”

Incloseanddirectcontactwithcustomers

Inviewofhisopenness,manifestedby

theconstantflowofinformationon

technologicaldevelopmentsandsavings

opportunities,itisnosurprisethat

PeterAldrovandihasregularcustomers

whohaveremainedfaithfultohisfirm

for30to40years.Throughthewindow

hegreetsamanwhohasjustarrivedto

collecthisparts.“That’ssomeonefrom

V-ZugAGthatproduceshigh-grade

devicesforkitchensandwashrooms–

oneofourcustomerssincethe

Seventies.”

V-Zugisthusoneoftheveryfirstcus-

tomersofthemechanicalandtechni-

calfirmthatpurchaseditsfirstwireEDM

machinebackin1974andfocuseson

wireanddie-sinkingEDM.

Thecompanynowusessixwireerosion

machinesandonedie-sinkingmachine,

allofthemstate-of-the-art,andcanthus

Know-how-AustauschrundumEDMimAldrovandi-Forumwww.aldrovandi.ch/forum

ALDROVANDI

Intelligent clamping makes all the difference 

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 13

EDMandmore

12 AldrovandiAG

motorduringapresentationofthehigh-

endNAEssencewireerosionsystemat

theSauberracingcarproductionshop.

“ItoldHans-PeterBarth,theSwiss

Mitsubishiregionalrep,thatifhewere

tooffermeanFA-SAdvancewith

TubularShaftmotors,I’dbuyit.And

whenIfinallysawtheMV1200R

GrandTubularatthe2012Prodextrade

fair,Icouldn’tsayno.”Themachine

completelysatisfiesAldrovandi’srequire-

mentprofile.HeexpectsawireEDM

systemtobecompact,precise,mainte-

nance-friendly,dependableandcost-

effectiveandofferahighmachining

speed.AnintegratedBaxisisanabso-

lutemustforhim.TheMV1200Rpicks

upfurtherpointswithitsprice/perform-

anceratio,lowservicingandoperating

costsanditseasy-to-operatenewAD-

VANCEPLUSCNCcontrol.Completely

digital,thelattercommunicatesmuch

fasterandmoreefficientlywiththeaid

oftheOpticalDriveSystemandthus

enhancescomponentprecision.

However,Aldrovandidoesn’tprogram

atthemachine,whichhehasequipped

witha20-kilowirestationforlongerin-

terruption-freeassignments,butata

veryswiftlyandflexiblyrespondand

ensurepunctualdeliveryevenwhere

moreelaboratejobsareconcerned.

Alsoavailableisamachiningcentrethat

enableshimtoofferthefullrangeof

machininginclusiveofgrinding.

Thesmelloffreshlybrewedcoffee

waftsthroughAldrovandi’sofficeashe

placescupsandaplateofcroissants

onthetable.“In

face-to-facemeetings

withcustomers–and

overacupofcoffee–we’veof-

tenfoundsurprisingandsimplersolu-

tions.We’reincloseanddirectcontact.

Ourcustomersexpectquick,inexpen-

siveandcompetentlyperformedwork

withinthetolerances.”ButAldrovandi

knowswherehislimitsare.“Ifthere’sa

betteralternativetowireEDM,wesay

so.Thecustomer’sconfidenceisthe

mostimportantthing.”

Cultivatingcontactswiththecustomer

alsoincludespersonallysupplying

keyaccountswithfinishedpartsand

collectingpartsformachiningfrom

them.Withinthesparselypopulatedfirm,

relationsarenolesspersonal.As

fellowemployees,theManagingDirector

hashiswifeElisabethandhissister

Esther.Andthen,finally,there’sDaniel

Melligerastheonlynon-familymem-

berwhomAldrovandihasknownsince

childhoodandwho,likehissister,

trainedasatoolmakeratAldrovandiAG.

Clampingfixturescanbeseenonacart.

Aldrovandipicksoneup.“Intheinter-

estsofourcustomers,weaimtoclamp

workpiecesintelligently,sowebuild

thesefixturesourselves.Forseriesparts,

forexample,sothatseveralcanbe

clampedtogetherandwire-cutcost-ef-

fectively.Orforcomplexpartsfor

whichhighpositionalaccuracyisall-im-

portantsothatwedon’thaveto

additionallyalignthemmanually.

“Icouldn’tsayno.”

Aldrovandireplacedan

oldmachinewithhis

MV1200RGrand

TubularfromMit-

subishiElectricin

December2012.

Hewascurious

aboutthelatest

technologies,he

says,includingthe

drivestrategyofthe

MVSerieswithitsTu-

ibularShaftmotorsthat

permitsahighqualityofsurface

finishevenwithstandardsettings.

ThesedrivesintheX,Y,UandVaxes

preventcoggingandensuresmooth

andhighlycontrollablemovements.In

theworkshop,Aldrovanditellsusthat

hebecameawareoftheTubularShaft

DanielMelligerbenefitsfromtheeasy-to-operatenewADVANCEPLUS

CNCcontrol

TheMV1200RGrandTubularthreadsthewireinthekerf.

» With Mitsubishi  you get the  

most for your  money. «

“In the interests of our customers, we aim to clamp work-pieces intelligently, so we build these fixtures ourselves.”

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 15

EDMandmore

14 AldrovandiAG

speciallycre-

atedprogram-

mingstation.He

isabletoadopt

themostcom-

monlyusedCAD

datastraightfromthecustomerand

processthem.Withreferencetoprod-

ucts,hecanshowwhathedoeswiththe

data.“Weproducecomponentsforsen-

sors,medicaltechnologyparts,punch-

ingtoolsandgeneralmachinecompo-

nents.Themainmaterialsweuseare

hardenedtoolsteelandstainlesssteel

aswellascementedcarbideandtita-

niumindimensionsrangingfrom10x

20to200x250millimetres.”

“Ihadnoideathatitworked.”

Becausedatahavetobekeptconfi-

dential,Aldrovandiapplieshighsecu-

ritystandardstohisITinfrastructure.

“I’vebuiltmyown

serversothatmy

dataandthoseof

mycustomers

cannotwander

offintotheWeb.

Mycustomers

appreciatethis

datasecurity.”

Heopensthedoortoastoreroom.“I

keepatleastsixmonths’stockofall

theconsumablesthatIneedforEDM.

Wireandfilters,forexample.Aslong

aspowercomesoutofthesocket,I

candothejobsformycustomers.”

The“IntelligentAT”automaticwire-

threadingsystemdevelopedbyMitsubi-

shiElectrichasalsostimulatedhisinter-

est.Hedemonstrateshowitworks.“I

wasrecentlystandingatthemachine

andglancedintothedielectricbath,

whenthewiresuddenlybrokeandthe

machinethreadedthekerfonthespot.

Andonan80millimetrehighworkpiece.

Untilthismorning,Ihadnoideathatit

workedsoperfectly.”Healsostresses

theenergyefficiencyoftheMV1200R

GrandTubular.“Ibenefitfirstlyfromthe

lowerpiececosts.Andsecondly,asthe

fatherofanine-year-olddaughter,Ihave

anobviousinterestinprotectingtheen-

vironmentandconservingresources.”

www.aldrovandi.ch

3DCADdrawingof

theplateofadie

(erodedcutsare

markedwithorange

lines)

Professionals in Profile: Peter Aldrovandi

Nameandplaceofcompany:

AldrovandiAG,Baar,Switzerland

Foundingyear:

1965,convertedintoaSwiss

Aktiengesellschaftin1976

Geschäftsführer:

PeterAldrovandi

Numberofemployees:

4

Corebusiness:

Wire-cutanddie-sinkEDM,precision

machining

How would you describe in a sentence

what your company does?

We’ve been wire-cutting everything conceivable for cus-

tomers at home and abroad for 40 years now.

How did you earn your first money?

While still at school and in the holidays, I wrote programs for my father for

his very first wire EDM machines.

What motivates you?

Curiosity, because I’m very interested in new technologies. I want to keep

up with the state of technology in all areas of my life.

What’s different about how you do things now, compared to five

years ago?

I drink less coffee and more wine.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We want to continue to make use of the latest technologies so that we can

offer our customers the best-possible results.

What was your biggest business success?

keeping our family business on course in good times and bad.

What’s your favourite way to relax?

I’ve been practising Shinson-Hapkido for five years, which is very relaxing.

I also enjoy playing with new technological challenges. I’m currently ex-

ploring 3D printing.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Honesty and keeping a sense of humour.

How would you briefly describe your work to someone with no tech-

nical knowledge?

using a fine wire and electricity, I cut the most incredible shapes out of a

piece of metal.

AldrovandiAG

Laettichstraße8

6340Baar

Switzerland

Tel +41.41.7630333

Fax +41.41.7630331

mail2006@aldrovandi.ch

www.aldrovandi.ch

Aldrovandi’sproduct

rangealsoincludes

medicaltechnology

components.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 17

EDMandmore

16 AldrovandiAG

Thankstoitsmanyyearsofmarketpresence,Chia-

moSrlhasacquiredawealthofexperienceinthis

field,enablingittoprovideplanninganddesignserv-

icesforbespokecomponentsthathavetomeetthe

customer’sspecificrequirements.

Thecompanyhasbeenquality-certifiedforten

yearsandmeticulouslymonitorstheentireproduc-

tionprocess–fromthematerialsandcertifiedand

testedheattreatmentsthroughtotheapplication

ofSIT-certifiedmeasuringinstrumentsforfinal

control.Allphasesinplanning,machiningand

testingarecarriedoutinternally,thusfacilitating

continuouscontrolofallproductionprocesses.

Chia-moisalsocommittedtotheenvironment,

havinginstalledatitssiteaphotovoltaicsystem

thatcovers50percentofthecompany’senergy

needs.

TheotherstrengthsofthecompanyinBolognain-

cluderapidorderprocessing,asFabioChiari,in

chargeofproduction,confirms:“Weareconstantly

increasinglyourproductrange.95percentofour

standardproductsarenowstockedandwecan

sendouttheitemsonthesamedayaswereceive

theorder.Wedesignandmachinemanyproducts.

Thisapplies,forexample,todrillingtoolsthatfea-

tureaspecialsystemmakingiteasiertoworkwith

thetoolandthuseliminatethestrength-and

centring-relatedproblemsthatcanoccuronthe

machines.Thisproductwastheresultofthe

requirementsofcustomers

whoforthemostpartactas

subcontractorsandap-

proachuswithallkindsofin-

quiriescallingforahighlevel

offlexibility.Thisisarealtest

forus,aswearefacedwith

everyproblemthatcanarise

duringmachining.Thisexpe-

rienceisreflectedineverythingweproduce.”

Areliableandhigh-performancemachine

MostofChia-mo’scustomersareItalian,although

thecompanyhasrepresentativesanddistributors

forthemostimportantEuropeanmarkets:Germany,

FranceandSpain.Chia-mohasalwaysattached

hugeimportancetoquality,whichisreflectedinits

sales.Testedandcertifiedrawmaterials,reputable

Chia-mo Srl has been designing and building accessories for machine tools for subtractive machining since 1972. The company whose headquarters is on the urban periphery of Bologna today produces an extensive range of acces-sories for machine tools and particularly for lathes: chucks, closure systems, lathe collets, tool holders, boring bar sleeves, manual tap holders, tailstocks, awls, spindles and other spare parts.

CHIA-MO

The Mitsubishi Electric machine was chosen to ensure a high degree of precision, quality, reliability and above all productivity.

Chia-moSrl’sexten-

siverangeofcompo-

nentsforlathesand

loadersincludescol-

lets,chucks,groove

nuts,toolholders,

sleeves,tailstocks

andmanyotherprod-

ucts.

Rust protection  with water

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 19

EDMandmore

18 Chia-moSrl

problems.Afteracertainnumberofworkpieces,

rethreadingfailedtoworkproperly,sotheproc-

esshadtobestopped.”

Inaddition,afterthefinishedworkpiecewasre-

movedfromthewater,rustdevelopedonitafter

exposuretotheairforjustafewhours–onlysu-

perficiallyandlocally,butitwasunacceptablefor

aestheticreasons.IthadtofindanEDMmachine

thatwouldsolvealltheseproblems:“AtMitsubishi

Electric,we’vefoundit.ThenewMV2400Rhas

demonstratedexceptionaldependabilityinthelast

fewmonths–threadinghasbeenflawlesswithout

exception.WheneverIcomeintotheworkshop

inthemorning,alltheworkhasbeencorrectlyper-

formed–andwiththepreviouslysetprecision.

Tecnomachalsoassuredusthatthreadingunder-

waterwouldbeperformedwiththesamedependa-

bility.Andsoitwas.Thiswayweareabletosolve

theproblemofrust,aswekeeptheworkpieces

immerseduntiltheverylastmomentandthuspre-

venttheircomingintocontactwiththeair.Then

theyarealldriedcollectively.”

Mitsubishihasdesignedanextremelyefficient,in-

novativeandrevolutionarywirethreadingsystem.

Thewireisheatedandstretched,whichyields

abarelyperceptiblebutsufficientreductioninthe

diameter.Thenawaterjetisdirectedatthelower

machinehead(30cmfurtherdown),whichisonly

afewmillimetreslargerthanthediameterofthe

wireandthreadsthewire.Digitalmotorsfeedthe

wire,withcontinuousmonitoringoftheprocess.

Optimisedparameters

Asfortheprogrammingofthemachine,theChai-

motechniciansstressthatthesystemforthesim-

pleandintuitiveorganisationofworkprocesses,

anddependablesuppliers,meticulousproc-

esses,andtheapplicationofthelatesttechnol-

ogy–allthiscontributestotheachievementof

uncompromisingquality.Oneofthemostrecent

investmentshasbeeninanEDMmachine,the

newMitsubishiElectricMV2400R.

Evenifthelion’sshareofworkisperformedon

lathesandmillingmachinesattheBologna

plant,anotinconsiderableproportioncallsfor

EDM.Particularlyifsubtractivemachiningis

notpossible–notleastbecausetheyhavetobe

carriedoutonalreadyhardenedmaterialinorder

toensureahighdegreeofprecision.

Itisaquestionofspecialshapes(square,hexago-

nal),geometricalsectionswithanextremelysmall

radius,andinteriorareasthatareinaccessible:

“TheMitsubishiElectricmachinewaschosento

ensureahighdegreeofprecision,quality,reliabil-

ityandaboveallproductivity.Allthiswasguaran-

teedbyoursupplierTecnomach.Wetrustedhim–

notleastbecauseofthemanyyearsofprofitable

cooperationthatunitesus–andtooktheplunge

bypurchasingitwithouthavingseenitinopera-

tion.Wehadclearlydefinedourrequirements.”

Allworkperformedunderwater

TheBologna-basedcompanyhastomachinenu-

meroussmall-sizeworkpiecesandhadlongbeen

consideringbenefitingfromunmannedoperation

atnight.Thiswouldmeanthatthemachineis

loadedintheeveningandtheworkpiecesarefin-

ishedbythefollowingmorning.

However,forthistobepossible,itwasnecessary

aboveallthatthewire-cuttingmachinewasable

tothreadthewireautomatically:“Thisfeaturehas

beenavailableonthemarketforsometime,but

noneofthemachineswehadpreviouslytested

provedtobeabsolutelyreliable.Theresults

wereacceptable,aslongashigh

standardsofcleanlinesswere

maintained.

However,itjusttooktheti-

niestcontaminationon

thewireoralittledust,

andtherewere

Thewirethreaderof

thenewMitsubishi

ElectricMV2400R

operatesnotonlyfully

automatically,butalso

ensuresahighdegree

ofreliabilityanduni-

formresults.

Semi-finishedcollet

withawire-cutpilot

boreandovermeas-

ureforskimcutting.

» The new  MV 2400 R has  demonstrated  exceptional 

 de pendability –  threading has been 

flawless without  exception. «

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 21

EDMandmore

20 Chia-moSrl

howevercomplex,ismatureandextremely

user-friendly.“Anexternalcameraispractically

unnecessary.Thevideographicsareself-explan-

atory.Communicationwiththemachinetakes

placeviamasksandsymbolsthatmakeprogram-

mingmuchmorestraightforward.Manyparame-

tersareautomaticallycalculatedbythemachine.

Othermanufacturersadoptthesameprocedures,

butintermsofprecisionwehavefoundthatthis

newmodelfromMitsubishiElectricsetsthe

standard.”

Thesolutionfortheadaptedmovementoftheaxes

isbasedonreluctancemotors(tubularmotors),

whichiswhynofurthermechanicalcomponents

areneeded.Furtheradvantagesincludeenergy

savingsandtheoptimisationofalloperatingpa-

rameters,startingwiththespeedofwirerunning

throughtothevaluesforelectricaldischarge.The

outcomeisaconsiderablereductionincycletime.

Unlikeothermachinesonwhichthenumberof

successivelysettableoperatingcoordinatesislim-

ited,theuserisgrantedmorefreedom:“Wecan

placealargenumberofworkpiecesonthetable,

eachofwhichisaccessibleviaitscoordinates.

Theworkprogramiscapableofpreciselyposition-

ingthemachineheadinthevariouspositionsand

thusworkingautomaticallywithouttheneedfor

manualintervention.”

Conclusions

Sincetheinstallationofthenewmachinefrom

MitsubishiElectric,theproductivityofChia-moSrl

hasimprovedconsiderablywithoutcompromis-

ingonquality:“Weusedtohavetomachinethe

workpiecesoneafteranother,emptythetank

immediatelytodrythecomponents(beforerust

canform)andfinallystartthecyclefromthebegin-

ningwithanewworkpiece.Thisresultedinwaiting

timethatwewantedtoeliminateatallcosts.Now

wecandoalltheworkunmanned–themachine

operatesentirelybyitself.”

Since the installation of the new machine from Mitsubishi Electric, the productivity of Chia-mo Srl has improved considerably without compro-mising on quality.

www.chiamo.it

Wire-cutseriesparts:

hexagonaltoolholders

forreamers.

www.chiamo.it

Nameandplaceofcompany:

Chia-moSrl,Bologna,Italy

Foundingyear:

1972

ManagingDirector:

AdalbertoChiari

Numberofemployees:

30

Corebusiness:

Productionofcomponentsfor

machinetools

Chia-moSrl

ViaCadutidiSabbiuno

40011Anzoladell'Emilia

Bologna

Italy

Tel +39.051.734153

Fax +39.051.734958

info@chiamo.it

www.chiamo.it

Welcome to the home of tortellini, mortadella and other culinary de-

lights. Bologna is the capital of the province of the same name and

has a population of over 380,000. The area between the rivers Reno

and Savena and the Appenine Mountains is also much loved by the

students of the university city.

Bologna is the home of tortellini – ring-shaped pasta filled with minced

meat that is usually served in a meat broth (“brodo”) or with “sugo bolog-

nese” (made from minced meat and tomatoes), which is usually simply

called “ragù”. In Bologna, the “sugo” is made not only with minced meat,

but sometimes also with the addition of “salsiccia” (coarse raw Italian fry-

ing sausage). According to legend, tortellini are modelled on the navel of

Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

Another speciality of Bologna is mortadella, a cooked pork sausage that is

eaten cold, usually diced or finely sliced.

Bologna is also famed for its lasagne and yellow tagliatelle of egg pasta.

According to another legend, the latter is said to have been invented by a

cook who was ordered to create a dish for the wedding of Lucrezia Borgia

to Alfonso I. d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, and found inspiration in the bride’s

golden hair.

Did you know …? Bologna

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 23

EDMandmore

22 Chia-moSrl

MrWeinberger,somewomen’seyes

lightupwhentheyheartheword“dia-

monds”.Howdothepolycrystalline

diamondsthatyouprocessdifferfrom

thedecorativevariety?

Weinberger: Diamondsforjewellery

areusuallynaturalpolycrystalline

gemstones.Theyarebright,andthey

gleamandrefractthelightinitsmany

facets.PCDs,ontheotherhand,con-

sistofpolycrystalline,syntheticallypro-

duceddiamondgrainsthatarebonded

togetherinamatrixusuallyconsisting

ofcobaltandothersubstances.

“True”diamondscanbeimmediately

distinguishedfromPCDsbytheirout-

wardappearance.APCDisusually

blackandnotveryattractive.However,

whattheybothhaveincommonistheir

veryhighstrength,althoughthetwo

typesofdiamonddiffergreatlyintheir

amenabilitytomachining.Whereasa

naturalgemcanoftenonlybegroundin

asingledirection,aPCDcanbeground,

erodedandlasered.

Whatstepshavetobetakentomake

ahigh-performancetooloutofPCD?

Weinberger:WeusePCDforthecut-

tingedge.Forthis,wefirstproducea

toolcarrier.WeusuallybuythePCDin

70mmroundblanks.Wecutthemby

wireerosion,andbrazethematching

bladeintothecarrierandthenfinishit.

Thiscanbebygrindingitorwire-cut-

tingitwiththeaidofthefinefinishing

generator.

ForyourEDMwork,youhavebeen

usingMitsubishimachineslikethe

MV1200,FA20VSandBA8foralmost

30years.Whatdoyoulikeaboutthe

machines?

Weinberger:Thereareanumberof

points.We’reveryhappywiththeafter-

salesservice.Operationisintuitiveand

Cutting diamonds

 with precision

LÜTTICkE

When it comes to high-performance machining in industry, tools with cutting edges of PCD (poly-crystalline diamond) and CBN (cubic crystalline bo-ron nitride) have become firmly established – among other things in the automotive sector and in the machining of graphite and of carbon-fibre- and glass-fibre-reinforced plastics. PROFILE magazine spoke to Stephan Weinberger, Management Direc-tor of innovative tool specialist Lütticke GmbH, about the production and machining of such tools.

KarlJ.Lüttickesteppeddownin2005andhis

daughterBrittaWeinbergerandhisson-in-law

StephanWeinbergertookoverthecompany

together.

The future belongs to automated toolmaking

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 25

EDMandmore

24 LüttickeGmbH

whichinourcaseisamaximumof0.25

mmwide–andathighspeed.And

thirdly,there’sthegeneratoroutputthat

makesmuchfastercuttingpossible.

MrWeinberger,let’stalkaboutyour

fullyautomatictoolchanger.Whatis

itforandhowdoesitwork?

Weinberger:Ihavetoadmitthatgetting

startedwasdifficult.ForLüttickeandour

partnerMitsubishi,itwasthefirstsystem

ofthiskind.Initscurrent,initialstate,a

robotaidedbyatoolchangerloadsaFA

20VSwithnewtoolsforwire-cutting

aroundtheclock.Thesystemisspecifi-

callyintendedforthefabricationofrotary

toolsthathavemorethantwocutting

edges.Fortheextensionsplannedfor

2014and2016,weintendtointegratean-

otherwire-cuttingmachineinthesystem.

Atpresent,thetoolchangercanbe

loadedwithamaximumof15tools.With

interimextension,weplantoincrease

thisfigureto30and,initsfinalstate,to

50.

Whatarethedifficultiesinvolved?

Weinberger:Whenweorderanew

wire-cuttingmachine–sayfromMit-

subishi–wegetacompletesystem

withtestedsoftware.Inthiscase,the

tried-and-testedsoftwarewasn’tavail-

able.Thesoftwareforthecontrolofthe

cellcomesfromGTRandthemachine

fromMitsubishi.Problemsattheinter-

facesarepracticallyinevitable.But

we’vegottogivecredittoMitsubishi.

Theirstaffalwayscameroundstraight-

awaytotrackdowntheerrorsource

andremedyit.We’venowovercomeall

theteethingtroubles.Thesystemhas

beenrunningtotallysmoothlyforthe

lastthreeandahalfmonthsandwe

haven’thadanysystem-relatedfailure.

Self-critically,Ihavetoadmitthatwe

underestimatedtheproblemsbefore-

handanddidn’tdoallourhomework.

Notallthetooldimensionswerepre-

ciselyloggedandthezeropointswere

notallclearlydefined.

theprogrammingsystemneatly

structured,andourstaffareimmedi-

atelyabletohandleitreliably.Wehave

ofcoursetriedoutanumberofrival

productsovertheyears,butweweren’t

impressedbythetrials.

Inwhichproductionareasdoyou

usedEDMmachines?

Weinberger:Weusethemforthepre-

liminarymachiningoftools,which

meanscuttingtheblanks.Wegrindthe

insertseatswiththerequiredprecision.

Ifthecustomerwantsparticularlyhigh

precision,wewire-cuttherecessesfor

thePCDblades.Withthisformof

machining,weworkwithatolerance

rangeof5µmwhenpreparingthetool

carrier.Webasicallyproducesmallse-

ries,althoughwealsohaveproductsin

ourportfoliomachinedinnumbersof

upto200.Theaveragebatchsizewith

PCDis3to5.

LastyearyouinvestedintwonewMit-

subishiMV1200SwireEDMmachines.

Aretheseadditionstoyourmachine

parkorreplacementsforoldermodels.

Weinberger:ThenewMVmachinesare

extensionstoourrangeofmachining

options.FortheScandinavianmarket,

wehavereorganisedourfieldservice,

andthishasyieldedagoodnumberof

wire-cuttingjobs.Oneofthemachinesis

workingtoahighlevelofcapacity.

We’veequippedthesecondmachine

withaclockedaxis.Itisaredundant

systemthatstepsintohandletheexist-

ingworkloadintheeventofamachine

failureormaintenance.Thissounds

costly,anditis.Butweworkfortheau-

tomotiveindustryandifwecan’tmeet

ourdeadlines,welosethecustomer.

Also,we’vejustreachedthelimitsofour

capacityagain.Allourmachinesarein

operation.Wehaveverylittledowntime.

Ourproductiondepartmentoperates

withflexitimeshiftsfrom5amto7pm.

Afterthis,weletmostofthemachines

workintothenight.Ourautomationcell

runs24/7.

WhataretheadvantagesoftheMV

systeminyourview?

Weinberger: Allowmetoconcentrate

onthepointsthatmattertous.Firstof

all,there’sthefinefinishinggenerator.

Unliketheslightlyoldermachines,itde-

liverssignificantlybettersurfaceswhen

cuttingPCD.Italsoachievesamorepre-

cisecut.Secondly,there’stheautomatic

wirethreader.Wecutalltoolswitha

clearanceangleofunder7,11or15

degrees.Intheeventofwirebreakage,

theoldermachinesfirstrunthesystem

backintoitszeroposition.Butnotthe

MV.Itautomaticallyre-threadsthewire

inthepositionwherethewirehasbro-

ken.Indoingso,itfeedsthewirediago-

nally,atthegivenangle,throughthekerf,

Almosteverytoolisuniqueandproducedinsmallbatchsizes.Eachonehastobedesigned,computed

andprogrammedfromscratch.We’veadaptedourstructuretothis.

Lüttickeproducesrotatingtoolswithmorethan

twocuttingedgesonthenewsystemwithitsau-

tomatictoolchanger.

Companies in Profile

Since its founding in 1979, Lütticke GmbH has been concerned with ma-

chining solutions for industry. While the company initially served exclu-

sively the regional market, it now has its sights on Europe. With its innova-

tive products for machining, it has developed into a dependable supplier

to the automotive industry and automotive parts suppliers. Other focuses

can be found in the machining of CRP, GRP and graphite and abrasion

protection. In the last 10 years alone, the product range has grown to

about 10,000 tools, machined typically in batch sizes of 3 to 5 pieces as

well as 100 to 500 pieces. One of its specialities is high-grade special

tools with cutting edges of PCD (polycrystalline diamond) and CBN (cubic

boron nitride).

In the last few years, Lütticke has invested about EuR 4 million in its

modern machine park and in efficient automation solutions. Together with

reputed partners, the company researches and develops, among other

things, blade geometries for the machining of CRP materials and the high-

precision profiling of diamond grinding discs with wire EDM.

The company’s backbone is its 16 highly skilled employees who,

together with the committed managers Britta and Stephan Weinberger,

stand for punctual delivery, precision and innovation. So that it can

continue to meet its high standards of quality in the future, Lütticke suc-

cessfully trains machinists.

In the coming years, the company aims to increase its market shares,

expand its foreign business and grow at its current site with further auto-

mation and innovative further development in the special tool sector.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 27

EDMandmore

26 LüttickeGmbH

MrWeinberger,howdidyousolve

theseproblemsbeforetheinstalla-

tionoftherobotcell?

Weinberger:Basicallywedidn’t.We

hadtheideasandgotthemachinesys-

temgoingbeforewegotthefirstjob.

Onlyafterwardsdidwetakeonwork.

Thiswaywedidn’tgetundertoomuch

pressure.AsImentionedearlier,our

customersexpectdelivery

todeadline.Withthenewau-

tomationstrategy,we’vebeenableto

significantlyboostoursales,and

they’verisenbyabout30%.

Forthefirsttimewe’vebeenableto

adopttotallynewtoolingstrategiesand

machinerotarytoolswithevengreater

precision,asitisouraimtoimprove

speedandprecision.We

believethatwecanonlyhold

ourownasaGerman-basedcompanyif

wecanproducedhigh-precisionand

high-gradetoolswithanattractive

price/performanceratio.

MrWeinberger,you’vebeenconduct-

ingresearchtogetherwiththeFraun-

hoferInstituteinBerlinintothe

optimisationofthesubtractivema-

chiningofCRPmaterials.What’sthe

ideabehindthis?

Weinberger:TogetherwithSGLCar-

bonandtheFraunhoferInstitute,we

wanttodevelopanentirelynewcutting

material.WithMitsubishi’ssupport,we

wanttodeterminetheoptimum

productionparametersandcuttingge-

ometriesforthemachiningofCRP

materialsandwoodwiththeaidofall-

ceramictools.Ourgoalistodevelopa

toolthatattopspeedduringhigh-

speedcuttingisabletoabsorbthe

processheatwellwhilealsopermitting

higherfeedrates.

Wethuswishtoreducetheburnsthat

oftenariseduringthemachiningof

woodtoaminimum.

Arethereanyotherprojects?

Weinberger: Inanotherproject,weare

workingtogetherwithMitsubishion

theEDMprofilingofdiamondgrinding

wheels.Thisprojecthasalready

reachedtheindustrialtestingstage.

Weseeapplicationsintheglass

industryandintheprecisiongrindingof

millswithknurledtoothing.

Wearecurrentlyworkingherewith

metalgrindingwheels.Butthefirstat-

temptstoproducegrindingwheels

bondedinasyntheticresinmatrixwith

conductivefillerhavegonewell.

Whenwillyoubepublishingthe

findings?

Weinberger:Theinitialfindingson

theprofilingofgrindingwheelsareal-

readyavailable.Thefinalreportonthe

researchprojectdevotedtothedevel-

opmentoftechnologyforall-ceramic

shanktoolsforCRPandGRPmachin-

ingwillbepublishedinMay2014.

MrWeinberger,thankyouforthe

interview.

» We have  of course tried  out a number  

of rival products over the years, but we 

weren’t impressed  by the trials. «

Abigadvantageofthe

systemisitsintuitive

operation.

Thissystemmakesitpossibletoproducemany

differenttoolsinsmallnumbers.

www.luetticke.biz

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 29

EDMandmore

28 LüttickeGmbH

QualifiedengineerLarsKölle,whorunsthebusi-

nesstogetherwithhiswifeKatjaPottiez-Kölle,

placesagearingdieonthetablewhoseteethhave

beencutontheMV2400RGrandTubular.“Since

weonlyproduceone-offs,wehavetobesureof

gettingitrightfirsttimewhenwire-cutting,aswith

allourotherprocesses.Atthesametime,it’sa

questionofmasteringthischallengeatacceptable

cost.Thisiswhyprecision,forexample,ismore

importantthanahighmachiningspeed.Speedis

ofcoursealsoappreciated,butbeforeweproduce

scrap,wepreferthemachinetorunalittlelonger

instead.”Precisiondoesn’tofcourseexclude

speed,astheGrandTubularisrenownedasmuch

foritsspeedasfortheprecisionofitscornersand

curves.

UniquepositioninGermany

LarsKöllepointstotheoperatorwhohasjust

clampedaworkpiece.“Tocreatetheconditionsfor

precisecuts,wehaveadditionallyoptedfor3D

machineset-up,enablingustomeasuretheposi-

tionoftheclampedcomponent.”Apartfrom

precision,Pottiez,whoseeshimselfasahigh-per-

formancesupplierofprecisionpunchingtools

andprecisionpunchedpartsandsubcontracting

work,demandshighstandardsofthesurface

quality,reproducibility,parallelismandthecontour

accuracyofhisproducts.

Dowedetectawhiffofaerospace,carsandfood

intheairoftheproductionshop,oritjustourim-

agination?Afterall,thecustomersofthecompany

thatcallstoolmakingitscorecompetencecome

fromthesebranchesofindustryalongwiththe

electrical,electronicsandconsumerdurablesin-

dustry.Pottiezmainlyerodesramanddiesetsas

wellasguideplatesfortools.Thesearerequired

forshapingstainlesssteel,aluminiumandsteel.

Kölletakesanothercomponentoutofaglasscab-

inet.“Alongwithheatexchangersandcorrugated

andtubularfins,thisbaffle,forinstance,isoneof

thefinishedpartsthatcus-

tomersmakewithourprod-

ucts.Thankstothespecial

punchesthatwedevelop

forthispurpose,wehave

achievedauniqueposition

forourselvesontheGerman

market.”Thematerialsthat

Pottiezmainlyprocessesare

steel,metal-ceramicsteels

andcementedcarbide.Thedimen-

sionsrangefromtinytothesizeoftheentire

clampingspace.Themachiningtimes,hesays,

runfromafewminutestoseveraldays.

Non-stopEDM

AJustifyinghispurchaseoftheMV2400RGrand

Tubularandhenceachangeofsupplier,Kölle

stressesitsattractiveprice/performanceratioand

superiortechnicalfeatures.Alsonoteworthywere

thecompetenceoftheMitsubishiElectricstaffand

thegoodimpressionmadebythewaythecom-

panyoutwardlypresentsitself.

Themostimportanttechnicalfeaturesin

Kölle’sviewincludethenowfully

digitalADVANCEPLUSCNC

controlandthenewIn-

telligentATauto-

matic

Baffleasafin-

ishedpartfora

customer

Walter Pottiez GmbH is one of the first users of the MV2400R Grand Tubular from Mitsubishi Electric. With its precision, the wire EDM system seamlessly continues the tradition of the broad range of machines that tool- and mouldmakers need for the effi-cient production of one-off parts.

A batch size of one – a concept that instils fear in many metalworkers – is the norm at Walter Pottiez GmbH in Sulzfeld. In its work, the family company bene-fits from its shallow hierarchy and the resultant flexibility.

» Since the MV2400R Grand  

Tubular runs  unmanned at night, we have to be able to depend on the wire-threading  

system. «

WALTER POTTIEZ

Getting it right 

 first time

EDMandmoreEDMandmore

Profile08.2013 3130 WalterPottiezGmbH

impossibletocalculate,saysKölle,becausehe

onlymachinesone-offs.Itinevitablyreduceshis

energyconsumptionasthecontroldisablesun-

neededfunctionsandthemachineswitchesasre-

quiredfromsleepmodetostand-by.

Ifhewantstoworkoutwhetherhisoperating

costsarelowerthanwiththeoldmachine,

heagainrunsupagainsttheproblemofbatchsize.

Kölleshrugshisshoulders.“Althoughthere-

placementpartsfromMitsubishiElectricare

cheaperthanfromourformersupplier,whateffect

ithasonourmachinehourrateisdifficulttosay

becausewedon’tproduceanyseries.”

Glancebeyondtheimmediateregion

Whatisclear,however,isthatPottiezhasbroad-

eneditsbaseforsingle-unitproductionby

investingintheMV2400RGrandTubular.Kölle

stopsatanassemblytable.“Thisuniquepiece

ofequipmentisafineexampleofhowweconvert

evenourownideasintoone-offitems.This

assemblytable,whichisunavailableforpurchase

onthemarket,isaccessiblefromallsidesand

thusmakestoolassemblyeasier.”

Thecompanyalsodemonstratescreativityinthe

marketingsector,havingextendeditsfeelerswell

beyondtheimmediateregion.In2009,Pottiez

openedasalesofficeforNorthAmericainAtlanta,

Georgiaandhassincesetupajointventurethere

withapartnerfortheproductionofheatex-

changercomponents.

wire-threadingsystem.Asthewordsuggests,

thisisanintelligentsolutionbecauseitthreadsthe

wirereliablyandquicklyinanysituation–inthedi-

electric,inthekerforafterinterruptionsinstart-

holedrilling.Eventheheightoftheworkpieceisno

object.Kölleobservestheprocessinthedielectric

tank.“Althoughthemachinecontributesonly

abouttenpercentofourtooloutputonaverage,it

isinalmostconstantuse.Weoperatesevendays

aweek,aroundtheclock.SincetheMV2400R

GrandTubularrunsunmannedatnight,wehaveto

beabletodependonthewire-threading

system.”Inviewofthis,Pottiezhasalso

investedina20-kilowirestationand

theequallyoptionalmcAnywhereCon-

tactfunctionviawhichbriefstatus

messagesaresenttoselectedmobilephone

numbers.Tobeabletojudgethedriveconceptus-

ingTubularShaftmotors,itisstilltooearlyinthe

managingdirector’sview,havingonlycommis-

sionedthemachinelastautumn.Evenso,

Mitsubishi,hebelieves,hastakenanexcitingnew

approachinthatthewearassociatedwithcon-

ventionalmotorspindlesdoesnotariseonthelinear

motorsemployedwiththeTubularShaftdirect

drives.Anadditionaladvantageofthenewsolution

isthatthedrivetechnologyintheX,Y,UandVaxes

isresponsiblefortotallycogging-freeandextremely

smoothandhighlycontrollablemovements.

Fastertoanewlevel

Inthecontrolsector,MitsubishiElectric

isalsogoingnewways.WithintheOpti-

calDriveSystem,afibreopticnetwork

nowhandlesdatainterchange.This

communicatesconsiderablyfasterand

moreefficientlyviaopticalwaveguides

betweentheADVANCEPLUSCNC

control,servoamplifiersandTubular

Shaftdirectdrivesandthusfacilitates

evengreatermachiningprecision.Apart

fromthis,MitsubishiElectrichasimprovedthe

user-friendlinessovertheoldAdvanceCNCcon-

trol.

Köllegoestoanexternalworkstation.“Thisis

whereweprogramthecontrol.Thedataarethen

transmittedwiththeaidofapostprocessor.”He

pointsoutanotheradvantageoftheMV2400R

GrandTubularasfarasoperationisconcerned.

“AnyoneconfrontedwithwireEDMforthefirsttime

achievesahigherstandardofoperationonthis

newmachinefasterthansomeonewhoisusedto

adifferentmodelandfirsthastore-adjusttothe

newmachine.”

Ontopofallthis,theMV2400RGrandTubular

achieveshighenergyefficiencyasaresultofthe

OpticalDriveSystemcombinedwiththeTubular

Shaftmotors.Howmuchenergyhesavesis

Justifying his purchase of the MV2400R Grand Tubular and hence a change of supplier, Kölle stresses its attractive price/performance ratio and superior technical features.

LarsKölle,Managing

DirectorofWalter

PottiezGmbH,witha

gearingdiewhose

teethhavebeencuton

thewireEDMsystem.

Gearingpunch

withwire-

cutteeth

www.pottiez.de

EDMandmore EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 3332 WalterPottiezGmbH

Professionals in Profile: Lars Kölle

Nameandplaceofcompany:

WalterPottiezGmbH,

Sulzfeld,Germany

Foundingyear:

1963

Managers:

LarsKölleandKatjaPottiez-Kölle

Numberofemployees:

86

Corebusiness:

Toolmakingandjobshoppunching

How would you describe in a sentence

what your company does?

We design, build and test high-precision progressive

compound tools. This is joined by the punching of parts under subcon-

tract for a variety of sectors of industry.

How did you earn your first money?

In my parents’ repair shop for farming machinery and other items of

equipment.

What motivates you?

At work, my interest in technology.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We have a strong international presence and want to develop further in

this area.

What was your biggest business success?

Our foreign activities in the uSA. We had customers there before we

opened our sales office and were able to build on this foundation.

What’s your favourite way to relax?

Spending time with the family or playing a round of golf.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Honesty.

What faults in other people do you find easiest to forgive?

I can forgive anyone who is willing to honestly admit a mistake.

How would you briefly describe your work to someone with no tech-

nical knowledge?

We produce tools with which shapes are produced from flat materials.

www.pottiez.de

WalterPottiezGmbH

Mühlhohlstraße7

75056Sulzfeld

Germany

Tel +49.7269.91250

Fax +49.7269.912525

info@pottiez.de

CBN and diamond grinding wheels can be profitably dressed to a high standard of quality with wire EDM and supplementary axes.

The carousel for precision grinding wheels

Peripheralwheel

MITSuBISHI ELECTRIC

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 35

EDMandmore

34 WalterPottiezGmbH

R 0.05 mm

13.0 mm

Wire EDM dressing of CBN and diamond grinding wheels with metallic binders: The key facts in brief

Precondition The grinding wheel’s binding material must be electrically

conductive.

Achievable today · Smallest inner radius for kerfs ≈ 0.05 mm

· Smallest outer radius ≈ 2 x grain size + binder material

· Multiple profiles on a grinding wheel = unlimited

Benefits

No special dressing tool

necessary

Outstanding grinding wheel

geometry and topography

Profile trueness in the

micrometre range

Intricate contours are

achievable

High concentricity

Rapid response

Simple programming with 2D

contouring: DXF, DWG, etc.

Process amenable to full

automation

Several times longer grinding

wheel service life

Feed rate in the grinding

process up to twice as high

Open-pored grinding

wheels – sufficient defined

swarf space

kNo break-out of binder

matrix components (broken-

off pieces)

Thedressing(=profilingandsharpening)ofgrindingdiscsbywireEDMisnotafunda-mentallynewtechnology.However,withthecurrentwire-cuttingmachinesfromMitsubishiElectric,thescopeformachininghasbecomebroaderthaneverbefore.

Unlikeconventionaldressingwith

fixedormovingdressingtools,thepro-

cesswithwire-cuttingiscontactless.

Althoughthisalsoappliesinprincipleto

die-sinkingdressingwithshape-impart-

ingelectrodes,thewireerosionprocess

ismuchkindertothegrindingwheel.

Precisionanddurablegrindingdiscsthankstocontactlessdressing

Letusstartwithabriefoverviewofthe

process.Thegrindingwheelundergoing

machiningisinitiallysetturningbya

specialspindlewithinthewireEDMma-

chine’sworkingrange.Inthecourseof

theprocess,thecuttingwirenegotiatesa

cuttingpathcorrespondingpreciselyto

thegrindingwheel’sfutureprofile.

Duringtheerosionprocess,theelectri-

callyconductivebinderis

erodedtoexposethe

abrasive(CBNordia-

mondparticles)on

thesurfaceofthe

grindingwheel.

Abrasiveoutside

thefinalgeome-

tryalsosimply

fallsfromthe

wheeltogether

withtheeroded

binder.

Whatisalsoworthnoting

isthatawire-dressedgrindingwheel

canbeusedinthegrindingmachineim-

mediatelyandwithoutfurthertreatment.

Itissharpanditsdirectionofrotationis

nolongerrelevant.Testshaveproven

thattheremovalrateofgrindingwheels

processedwithwireerosioncanbeas

muchastwiceashighasthatofcon-

ventionallydressedwheels.Another

positivefeatureisthat,despitethissu-

periorperformance,grindingwheel

servicelifecanbefivetimesaslong,as

itsstructureisnotdamagedduringwire

erosion.

Child’splaywiththewireerosionsystemsfromMitsubishiElectric

ThewireerosionsystemsfromMitsubishi

Electricmakethisprocesschild’splay.

Thebasisisthegrindingwheel’sgeome-

try–definedeitherinadrawingor,better

still,inageometryfile,e.g.inDXFformat.

Theprofileisprogrammedasacutting

path.IfaDXFisavailable,itcanberead

straightintothecontrolandprocessed

intoanNCprogram.Themachining

technologyisselectedfromthema-

chine’sdatabase,andthenthegrinding

wheelisclampedandworkcanstart.

Theprocesstakesplacefully

automatically,andtheonlythingleftto

doisremovetheready-profiledgrinding

wheelfromthechuck.Itcouldn’tbesim-

plerormoreflexible

IncooperationwithITS-Tech-

nologiesinOberndorfam

Neckar,variousrotat-

ingspindleshaveal-

readybeendevel-

opedwiththe

mostwidelyused

chuckseatsso

thatgrinding

wheelsofmanydifferentsizesandwith

conventionalchuckinterfacessuchas

HSK63-Fcanbeefficientlyprocessed.

MitsubishiElectricandITS-Technolo-

gieshavewide-rangingexpertiseand

plentyofexperienceinthissector.

Evenunmannedandfullyautomatedoperationifdesired

Theprocessassuchisdefinedand

takesplacedependablyonthe

unmannedwireEDMmachine.This

meansthatabasicpreconditionforthe

furtherautomationofthismachining

technologyhasbeensatisfied.Here,

again,MitsubishiElectrichastheasso-

ciatedexpertiseandalsotherequisite

productsofitsown,e.g.therobotsof

theMELFAseries.Manyfullyauto-

matedmachiningcellsthatalsodress

grindingdiscsinself-controlledopera-

tionarealreadyinoperation.

In2013,Hannoverwillagainbethe

focusofthemetalworkingworld’s

attentionfrom16to21September,

whenEMOHannover,theindustry’s

undisputedflagshipfair,istaking

place.

Afullyautomatedmachiningcellasde-

scribedabovewillbeonshowthereat

MitsubishiElectric’sStandC08inHall

25.Welookforwardtoseeingyou!

www.mitsubishi-edm.de

LeftGrindingwheelwithinnerradiiof0.05mm.

AboveExampleofanapplicationofwireEDM

dressing.

Discover the  fully automated  machining cell  

at EMO in Hannover: Hall 25, Stand C08

AboveleftDiamond

grindingwheelD46

withmetallicbinder

BelowleftandrightMultipleprofile

D=150mminnerand

outerradius

r=0.12mm±30°

3,01 mm

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 37

EDMandmore

36 MitsubishiElectricEuropeB.V.

Huyghe Formenbau is synonymous with precision tech-nology and outstanding quality in mouldmaking. With its eight employees, the firm may not be one of the big-gest, but, as owner Eric Huyghe explains, it is one of the soundest financially: “For the banks, we rank among the Top Ten – sure proof of the quality and dependability of our work.”

“Asasmallcompany,wehavealways

concentratedintheregionaround

Lüdenscheidandsoughtourcustomers

here.Wesofarhaven’thadanyneed

foradvertisingcampaignsorforactive

effortstoattractbusiness,”saysEric

Huyghe.Hiscustomersappreciatequal-

ity,punctualdeliveryandflexibility–

valuesthatthecompanyhasbeencom-

mittedtosinceitsfoundingin1995.

Withamodernmachineparkandits

highlyskilledstaff,thecompanyhasa

broadbaseandisexcellentlyequipped

toproducetoolsandmouldsforthe

wholeofindustry.OneofHuyghe’sspe-

cialitiesistheproductionofmoulds

andtoolsforthelarge-seriesproduc-

tionofhigh-gradesystemcomponents

fortheautomotiveandelectricalindus-

tries.Inthelastfewyears,thecompany

hasfocusedstronglyontheconstruc-

tionoftwo-componentmouldsand

builtupitsspecialisedexpertiseinthis

area.

Anyonecanoptimise–you’vegottoknowwhere

Atthismoderntoolmakingcompany,

EDMandconventionalmachiningare

complementaryprocesses.“Eachma-

chiningmethodhasitsstrengths.We

combinethetwomethodssothatwecan

alwaysachievetheoptimumofquality

andmachiningspeedandrespondflex-

iblytocustomerrequests,”Huyghe

stresses.Thisadaptablewayofworking

isonlypossiblewithhighmanu-

facturingdepth–indis-

pensableforsuperlative

quality.

Toensurethatalltheworkintoolmaking

isdonewiththedemandedcare,the

companyhasdeliberatelydecided

againstfarmingoutwork.“Onlythen,”

saysHuyghe,“canwecomprehensively

plan,designandcontrolallworksteps.

Afterall,ourcustomershavetobeable

torelyongettingthequalitytheywant.”

Qualityisassuredinaccordancewith

DINISO9001andDIN2008.ForHuy-

ghe,however,thisisonlytheformalba-

sis.Thecompany’sspecialisedknowl-

edgeisthecrucialresourceforthepro-

ductionofmouldsandtoolsofthe

desiredquality.Thehighlytrainedand

skilledworkforceandtheadvanced

machineparkformasoundfoundation

forqualityandflexibility.Forinstance,

atHuygheFormenbau,alltoolmakers

areabletooperateanyofthemachines

andfullyprocessanyofthedemanded

workpieceswithmaximumprecision.

Eachemployeeissolelyresponsiblefor

hisjob.Thiscallsforgreattechnical

competenceandoffersplentyofscope

forworkingindependentlywhilealso

demandingahighdegreeofpersonal

accountability.

“Inthelastfewmonths,however,one

ofouremployeeshasbeenconcentrat-

ingmoreonwire-cuttingwiththenew

MitsubishiMV2400R“,thebosssays.

Oneindicatorofthequalityoftool-

andmouldmakingisthereworkrate.At

Huygheitispracticallyzero.Inthe

tooldesignsector,theLüdenscheid

companyhasbeenworkingforalong

timewithexperiencedspecialists.

In Lüdenscheid, Huyghe Formenbau finds itself in the very best company, as the region is home to a good 160 firms specialising in tool- and mouldmaking, a stronghold of the industry.

Inthelastfewyears,HuygheFormenbau

hasbuiltupspecialisedexpertiseinthepro-

ductionoftwo-componentmoulds.

HuYGHE FORMENBAu

Slashing machining time

 by 20 hours

Profile08.2013 39

EDMandmoreEDMandmore

38 EricHuygheFormenbau

times,”Huyghecontinues.Foratruly

informativecomparison,theemploy-

eesmachinedalmostidenticaltoolssi-

multaneously.

30hoursinsteadof50

Thecomparisonwasperformedwith

complexworkpiecesofverysimilarde-

signproducedagainandagainfora

longstandingcustomer.Clampedon

theFA20,theworkpiecetookabout

50hourstoreachcompletion.Foritsal-

mostidenticalcounterpart,thenew

MV2400Rcompletedtheprocessafter

aboutonly30hours.“Thefirstmachine

presentationsbyMitsubishiElectric

yieldedverysimilarfigures.Butitwas

thepreciseconfirmationofthesedata

inoureverydayworkthatreallysur-

prisedus,”saysHuyghe.

Ineverydayoperationsinaproduction

shop,itisnoteasytoproduce

comparabledata.However,pricecalcu-

lationcallsforreliableandrealisticdata.

Thecompanygeneratesthedatawithits

ownmethods.Theeconomicalwire

consumptionoftheMV2400Risvery

noticeableoneachjob.Asfaras

consumablesareconcerned,Huyghe

estimatessavingsofabout40%over

theFA20.Itisalittlemoredifficultfor

Huyghetoestimatepowerconsump-

tion,asthemachinesdonothavetheir

ownelectricitymeters.

Paybacktime

“Ifwefinallylookattheissueofpay-

backsoimportantforbusinessowners

andfinanciers,we’renotyetableto

accuratelyquantifyaperiodonthe

strengthofjustsixmonths’practical

experience.Onthebasisofcautiouses-

timates,however,Iexpectthe

MV2400Rtohavepaidforitselfinour

productionshopaftertwotothree

years.”

Thecompanybelievesthatwire-cut-

tingwillcontinuetogrowinimportance

intheforeseeablefuture,asthetools

formanybranchesofindustrysuchas

theautomotiveandelectricalindustries

willbecomeincreasinglycomplex.The

demandformodulartoolswillthus

grow.ThisisataskinwhichEDMma-

chineswiththeirtechnologicaladvan-

tageswilltrulycomeintotheirown.Par-

ticularlywhenoneconsidersthatsuch

machinesarecapableofcuttingtools

directlyoutofhardenedmaterials.

Changeofgeneration

Foryears,thecompanywire-cutallits

high-gradetoolsonaMitsubishiFA20.

Bytakinggoodcareofthemachineand

havingitregularlyserviced,itsperform-

ancewasalwaysimpeccableandthere

wasneveranycauseforcomplaint.But

evengoodthingscanbeimprovedon.

Insummer2012,MitsubishiElectric

presentedthelatestgenerationofits

wireEDMmachines–thenewMV.Huy-

ghewasimmediatelyamazedbythe

machinesanditsoonbecameclearto

himthathisfirmwasonthevergeofa

changeofgenerationinwireEDM.An

investmentthatwouldsignificantly

boosttheproductivityofhisEDMde-

partmentandsoonpayforitself.

TheMVSeriesimmediatelyjustified

theinvestment,asitoffersmaximum

functionalism,significantlyshorter

throughputtimesthanitspredecessors

andhencelowerpiececostsaswell.

Thankstothenewgeneratortechnology,

energyandwireconsumptionissignifi-

cantlylower.Foramodestsum,the

newMVSeriesfromMitsubishiElectric

markstheentrylevelintothehigh-end

classofwire-cuttingmachines.

“Duringthepresentation,themarked

improvementinperformanceandthe

lowerwireconsumptionandenergy

savingswerethedecisivefactorsfor

me,”saysHuyghe.Otherpractical

considerations,likethelargermachin-

ingrangeandthespaceoccupiedby

themachine,werealsoimportant.

Thetestofeverydayuse

TheMV2400Rhasbeeninstalledinthe

Lüdenscheidfirmsinceautumn2012

andhassincebeenrunningin1.5shifts

perdaywithoutanynotablestoppages.

Staffwereinstantlyimpressedbythe

clearlayoutofthecontrolpanelandthe

machine’sintuitiveprogramstructure.

Duringthemachiningoftheveryfirst

workpiecesontheMV,thenewwire-

threadingsystemwasconspicuously

fast.WhiletheFA20tookanaverageof

20secondsforthreading,theMVis

backinoperationagainafter5.“Inrela-

tiontotheoverallmachiningtimelast-

ingseveralhours,”Huygheexplains,“the

timegainedduringthreadingis

negligible,butitisindicativeofthehuge

improvementinproductivityofthenew

machinegeneration.”Withitsmodern

generatorsystem,theMV2400R

operateswithgreatspeedandextreme

accuracy.

“Themostastonishingandforusthe

mostsatisfyingresultswereyieldedby

thedirectcomparisonofmachining

» The economical  wire consumption  of the MV 2400 R  is very noticeable  

on each job. «

www.huyghe-formenbau.de

Clamped on the FA 20, the workpiece took about 50 hours to reach com-pletion. For its almost identical counterpart, the new MV 2400 R completed the process after about only 30 hours.

HuygheFormenbau

produceshigh-tech

products,among

otherthingsforthe

automotiveindustry.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 41

EDMandmore

40 EricHuygheFormenbau

Professionals in Profile: Eric Huyghe

Nameandplaceofcompany:

EricHuygheFormenbau,

Lüdenscheid,Germany

Foundingyear:

1995

ManagingDirector:

EricHuyghe

Numberofemployees:

8

Corebusiness:

Injectionmouldsforautomotive

engineering,specialisingintwo-

componenttechnology

How would you describe in a sentence what your company does?

Huyghe produces high-grade tools and moulds.

How did you earn your first money?

During my training as a toolmaker.

What motivates you?

The fun and pleasure of tool- and mouldmaking. Creativity, new tasks and

the associated challenges.

What’s different about how you do things now, compared to five

years ago?

We’re more efficient.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We want to stay about the same size but produce faster and more effi-

ciently. Boosting not just sales, but also profits.

What was your biggest business success?

Continuous profit-oriented company growth.

What’s your favourite way to relax?

Cycling in the hills.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Honesty and standing up for what one believes in.

www.huyghe-formenbau.de

EricHuyghe-Formenbau

AltenaerStraße225b

58513Lüdenscheid

Germany

Tel +49.2351.952673

Fax +49.2351.952674

info@huyghe-formenbau.de

Profi l

Das clevere Magazin für Anwender

Ausgabe 02 · Dezember 2011

12Die Feuerwehr des PrototypenbausErodiertechnik Naumann

30 Siebe und Filter ganz schön auf DrahtKarl Küfner

36

Wann zeigen Sie Profil?

Möchten Sie und Ihr Unternehmen in der nächsten Ausgabe sein?

Dann schreiben Sie uns einfach an!

Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

Niederlassung Deutschland

Mechatronics Machinery

Gothaer Straße 8

40880 Ratingen · Deutschland

Fon +49 . 2102 . 486 6120

Fax +49 . 2102 . 486 7090

edm.sales @ meg.mee.com

www.mitsubishi-edm.de

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Service – von Ostwestfalen bis Mexiko Mitsubishi Electric und A. & H. Meyer

Profi l

Das clevere Magazin für Anwender

Ausgabe 01 · Juli 2011

10Mehr Biss braucht PassgenauigkeitWF Fottner GmbH

29 Full HD in 3D – Faszination Wohnzimmer Mitsubishi Electric Visual Information Systems

14 Innovative Ausbildung:

Sprungbrett in den Beruf

Wann zeigen Sie Profil?

Möchten Sie und Ihr Unternehmen in der nächsten Ausgabe sein?

Dann schreiben Sie uns einfach an!

Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

Niederlassung Deutschland

Mechatronics Machinery

Gothaer Straße 8

40880 Ratingen · Deutschland

Fon +49 . 2102 . 486 6120

Fax +49 . 2102 . 486 7090

edm.sales @ meg.mee.com

www.mitsubishi-edm.de

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Gedruckt auf Papier aus nachhaltig

bewirtschafteten Wäldern.

Wenn Schweizer mehr als Qualität verlangenWenger S.A.

16

Der schnellste Drahterodierer der WeltRoman Weber GmbH

13

Wann zeigen Sie Pro� l?

Möchten Sie und Ihr Unternehmen

in der nächsten Ausgabe sein?

Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.Niederlassung DeutschlandMechatronics EDM / Laser

Gothaer Straße 840880 Ratingen · DeutschlandTel.: +49 (0) 21 02 /4 86-6120Fax: +49 (0) 21 02 /4 86-7090

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Pro� l

Das clevere Magazin für Erodierer

Ausgabe 2 · Dezember 2010 Pro� l

Das clevere Magazin für Anwender

Ausgabe 01 · September 2012

27Einfach nurQualitätCaleffi

61 Leuchtturm im WerkzeugbauAWEBA Werkzeugbau

Wann zeigen Sie Profil?

Möchten Sie und Ihr Unternehmen in der nächsten Ausgabe sein?

Dann schreiben Sie uns einfach an!

Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

Niederlassung Deutschland

Mechatronics Machinery

Gothaer Straße 8

40880 Ratingen · Deutschland

Fon +49 . 2102 . 486 6120

Fax +49 . 2102 . 486 7090

edm.sales @ meg.mee.com

www.mitsubishi-edm.de

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Gedruckt auf Papier aus nachhaltig

bewirtschafteten Wäldern.

Drahten für den KoboldVorwerk Elektrowerke

42

Pssst, ab September 2012

gibt’s neue Maschinen!

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 4342 EricHuygheFormenbau

Profil

Pro� le

The smart magazine for users

Issue 01 · July 2011

10A perfect fi t for a brighter smileWF Fottner GmbH

29 Full HD in 3D – The fascination of the big-screen at home Mitsubishi Electric Visual Information Systems

14 Innovative training:

The career springboard

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Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

German Branch

Mechatronics Machinery

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Fax: +49 . 2102 . 486 7090

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Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.German BranchMechatronics EDM

Gothaer Strasse 840880 Ratingen · GermanyTel: +49 (0) 21 02 /4 86-6120Fax: +49 (0) 21 02 /4 86-7090

edm.sales@meg.mee.comwww.mitsubishi-edm.de

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8 Flex appeal Krüger Erodiertechnik GmbH & Co. KG

4 Sky-rocketing with high-end technologies MT Aerospace AG

The smart magazine for Eroding

Issue 1 · July 2010

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Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.German BranchMechatronics EDM / Laser

Gothaer Strasse 840880 Ratingen · GermanyTel: +49 (0) 21 02 /4 86-6120Fax: +49 (0) 21 02 /4 86-7090

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Pro� le

Cutting it � neWenger S.A.

16

The world’s fastest wire eroderRoman Weber GmbH

13

12The rapid response force for prototypesErodiertechnik Naumann

30 A star ofthe screenKarl Küfner

36

Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

German Branch

Mechatronics Machinery

Gothaer Strasse 8

40880 Ratingen · Germany

Tel: +49 . 2102 . 486 6120

Fax: +49 . 2102 . 486 7090

edm.sales @ meg.mee.com

www.mitsubishi-edm.de

Service – from eastern Westphalia to MexicoMitsubishi Electric and A. & H. Meyer

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Issue 02 · December 2011

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Clocksmadeoflocallysourcedwoodhavebeen

madeintheBlackForestfor300years.Sincethey

werecheapertobuildthantheirmorewide-

spreadcounterpartswithmetalmechanisms,they

becamesoaffordableforordinaryfolkthatabout

600,000clocksfromBlackForestclockmakerswere

soldinabout1850.Ataboutthesametime,the

firstGermanSchoolofClockmakerswasfounded

inFurtwangentotraincraftsmenandstandardise

clocksizesandforms.Thisencouragedquality

awarenessandexports.ClocksfromtheBlack

Forestbecameahallmark.Withtheonsetofthe

GreatDepressioninthelastcentury,many

companiesintheregionwereforcedtoclose.And

toolmakerKarlNeugartwasthusmaderedun-

dant.However,withenterpriseandenergyheand

afriendfoundedasmallbusinessin1928that

producedgearwheelsfortheclockmakingindustry

andtinycomponentsforfinetools.Thiswasthe

foundationstoneforasuccessfulandinnovative

companythattodayemploys380people,has

subsidiariesinItaly,Brazil,Turkey,theUSA,China

andFranceandachievesglobalsalesofroughly

EUR50million.

In1943,Neugartboughtaresidencewithasuita-

bleshopforproductionactivitiesinKippenheimin

Baden.Initiallyhemadevegetablegratersand

othereverydayitemsthatwereexchangedforfood

untilthecompanywasabletoreturnitsfocusto

gearwheels.

NEuGART

For wire-cutting, the gear manufacturer trusts in the new MV 2400 R Grand Tubular from Mitsubishi Electric. Tooth for tooth 

geared for success

The proverbial precision of Black Forest clocks also applies to the products of Neugart in kippenheim in Baden.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 45

EDMandmore

44 NeugartGmbH

DuringtheperiodoftheEconomicMiracle,

Neugartproducedthemechanismformantleclocks

thatcouldbefoundinalmosteveryGermanliving

roomatthetime.

Theproductrangealsoincludedspring-drivendry

razorsandmechanicaloillevelindicatorsforoil

tanks.Thesewerelaterjoinedbythefirstgears

machinedtothecompany’sowndesigns.Atthe

endoftheSixties,Neugart’schildrenGeorgand

Erikatookoverthefamilybusiness.Inthemean-

time,therunningofthecompanyhasbeenpassed

onjointlytograndchildrenThomasHerrandBernd

Neugart.

Topsuppliertomachinemanufacturers

Contributinghisexperienceinmotormanufacture

tothecompany,Herrhassetthestandardisation

andqualityyardsticksbothforeconomygearsfor

simplehandlingtasksandforlow-playprecision

gears.Thishasgivenrisetotwelvestandardse-

riesofplanetarygearsformachinemanufacture,

automationandmedicaltechnology.Thecompany

hasdevelopedsosuccessfullythatit

currentlyseesitselfintheglobalTop

Fiveintermsofmarketshareandinnovationlead-

ership.“Qualityisouroverridingprinciple,coupled

withinnovativeproductsandoutstandingservice,”

saysMarketingManagerStefanFüllbrandt,add-

ing,“Asyoucansee,we’redoingverywellwith

thisapproach.”

Neugartproductsareknownfortheir‘fit&forget’

durabilityandquality.Costsduetoproduct

defectsarenegligible.Thecompanygenerates

twothirdsofitssaleswithstandardgearsin

differentclassesofprecisionandperformance,

whicharemarketleaders.Neugartbenefitshere

fromitshighmanufacturingdepth.Apartfrombear-

ings,gaskets,screwsandlubricants,allgearcom-

ponentscanbeproducedonsite,saysFüllbrandt.

Onthewallsofthefoyeroftheplantaredocu-

mentsshowingcertificationtoISO9001:2008and

BlueCompetenceenvironmentalmanagement

andanawardasaTop100small/medium-size

company.“Wehavejustbeencommendedby

Bosch-RexrothasaPreferredSup-

plier.That’sarealboost,”says

Füllbrandt.Severalstrategic

partnershipswithlargeauto-

mationspecialistslikeB&R,

Festo,Baumüller,Bosch-

RexrothandSchneider

Electriccompletethe

picture.

PrecisionfromtheBlackForest

Inadditiontoitsplanetarygears,Neugartproduces

variousspecialgearsandgearing.“Ifthecustomer

hasspecialrequestsintermsofthermalconduction,

precisionofmovementorinstallationspace,we’re

ableonthebasisofourhugewealthofexperience

todevelopthematchingspecialgears,”Füllbrandt

explains.Anditwasspecialgearsthatbrought

NeugartandMitsubishiElectrictogether.Somespe-

cialgearshaveatoothgeometrydeviatingfrom

thenorm.“WithwireEDM,wecanproducesmall

gearwheelsinexpensivelyandofferthecustomer

anytypeoftoothing,”saysOttoHebding,Training

andToolshopManageratNeugart.“Wire-cutting

hasnowbecomeanessentialprocessforusinpro-

duction.Wealsouseevenitforthebuildingofspe-

cialmachinesandinjectionmoulds,andparticularly

forsuchsmallgearmodulesas0.6and0.3.”

Themoduleisthemetricunitofgeartoothsizeand

expressesthequotientofthereferencediameter

andnumberofteeth.Thesmallerthemodule,the

smallerthetooth.“Whenourcustomerssawwhat

wewerecapableofproducing,theycamealong

withevenmoreexoticrequests,”saysHebding.

“ThisstretchedouroldCX20wire-cuttingma-

chinetothelimitsofitscapacityandprecision.”

Thetimewasripeforinvestmentinareplacement.

DelightedbythenewMV2400

“WewentstraightforthenewMV2400wire-cutting

machinefromMitsubishiElectricandwerede-

lightedbythefirstdemonstration,asthismachine

cutswithextra-fine0.1mmwire,”saysHebding.

» We’re  extremely happy with the quality,  

precision, flexibility  and speed of  

the machine. «

TrainingandToolshop

ManagerOtto

Hebdingdiscusses

thedetailsofagear-

wheelcontourwith

wire-cutterWilhelm

Michelis.

Thankstoitsglobal

partners,Neugartis

becomingahallmark

ofqualitybeyondthe

nationalborders.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 47

EDMandmore

46 NeugartGmbH

ThenewmachinehasbeeninstalledinKippen-

heimsinceNovember2012andcutsteethinform

ringsforinjectionmoulds.

“We’reextremelyhappywiththequality,precision,

flexibilityandspeedofthemachine.Automaticwire

threadingisout-

standing–evenI

wassurprised.You

onlyhavetosee

howa0.1mmwire

isthreadedbackin

thekerfafterwire

breakage–anab-

solutelytrouble-free

process”,saysHeb-

dingenthusiasti-

cally.“There’soften

tensioninthemate-

rial,whichiswhythewirebreaks.Butevensucha

wirebreakagedoesn’tholdupthemachine,be-

causewiththeautomaticwirethreaderitrunsforan

entireshiftpracticallyunmanned.”Particularly

worthmentioningarealsotheextendedabilitiesof

theMV2400:owingtorapidset-up,itisabletocut

prototypeswithhugelydifferentgeometriesina

veryshorttimesothattheycanundergoapplication

testing.

AlthoughtheleapfromtheoldCXtothenewMV

machinewashuge,Hebdingandhisstaffhave

alreadymadeanumberofadjustmentssothat

theyareagainproducingvariousfixturesfor

production,e.g.toothingstubs,tensiondevices,

drilljigs,andmeasuringandtestingjigs.Tothis

end,theMV2400EDMmachinehasbeenequipped

withanadditionalBaxis.“Thiswaywecanalso

producecircularpartslikecrowns,”saysHebding.

“Thisworksexcellently.”TheKippenheimcompany

usesthenewmachinenotonlyforthemanycus-

tom-machinedparts,butalsoforcurrentproduc-

tion.Forexample,couplingsandplanetarygears

formedicalproductsaremachinedontheMV

2400.Thesethin-walledpartsarehardlybigger

thana10centcoinandhavetobewire-cutas

theyareessentiallytoosmalltobemilled.

Goodstaffarethecompany’sbiggestasset

“Ourcompanyisbasedonimmaculateproducts.

Andthesecannotbeproducedwithouttheskillsof

ouremployees,”saysHebding.“Thisiswhywe

attachgreatimportancetotraining.Foryearsnow,

traineesaccountfor10percentofourworkforce

andweenjoyafinereputationinthetrainingsec-

tor.Ourskilledstaffmainlycomefromwithinour

ownranks.”Thisishardlysurprising,sincetraining

isalsoasubject

deartoseniorpart-

nerGeorg

Neugart’sheart.

The75-year-oldcan

stillbeseeninthe

toolshopandtrain-

ingworkshopal-

mosteveryweek.

“Theseniorpartner

knowsnearlyevery-

onepersonally,”

Hebdingexplains.

“Sinceeveryemployeewearsthecompany’sown

T-shirtwithhisnameacrossthechest,Georg

alwaysknowswhohe’stalkingto,”saysthehead

oftoolmakingandtraininginhisNeugartT-shirt

withalaugh.

www.neugart.de

TheMV2400Rwitha

Baxisintegratedin

thecontrol.

Professionals in Profile: Otto Hebding

Nameandplaceofcompany:

NeugartGmbH,Kippenheim,Germany

Foundingyear:

1928

Managers:

ThomasHerrandBerndNeugart

Numberofemployees:

380

Corebusiness:

Planetarygearsforeconomyand

precisionapplications;custom-

machinedgears

How did you earn your first money?

As a surveyor’s assistant involved in reparcelling and in a vineyard.

What motivates you?

As the Training Manager, I aim to stimulate the interest of many young

people in technology and machine tool manufacture and of course in our

company.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We wish to grow even more strongly internationally, strengthen our service

orientation, improve our position among the Top Three worldwide and stay

an independent company.

What was your company’s biggest business success?

Surviving the credit crunch in 2008 almost unscathed, having a bigger

workforce than ever today and being able to invest well over EuR 2 million

in machines and plant.

What’s your favourite way to relax?

Growing vines and mountain-biking.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Conscientiousness, honesty and ambition.

www.neugart.de

NeugartGmbH

Keltenstraße16

77971Kippenheim

Germany

Tel +49.7825.8470

Fax +49.7825.8472999

sales@neugart.de

Neugart products are known for their ‘fit & forget’

durability and quality.

EDMandmore

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EDMandmore

48 NeugartGmbH

Thewire-cutEDMma-

chineMV2400Stakes

overtwodaystoma-

chinethesmall

partsthatremotely

resembleChrist-

mastrees.These

aretheflagship

productsofBott

GmbHinWolfeggin

Baden-Württemberg.

Just10millimetreswide

and15millimetreslong,

theyhavetotakealotofpunish-

ment.

Sixsuchintricatepartsarefittedina

subassemblythatisinstalledinacus-

tomisedmachineandusedinproduc-

tionasastampingtool.Eachcompo-

nenthastowithstandextremelyhigh

pressuresandshowaslittlewearas

possible.Sothatthecuttingedgesaf-

ter150,000stampingoperationsarestill

assharpanddimensionallyaccurateas

onDayOne,theyarecutonthe

MV2400Swireerosionmachinefrom

MitsubishiElectric.Themachinetakes

almost100hourstocut30suchpartsfor

thestampingtooloutofablockofce-

mentedcarbide.“Ourcustomeruses

thistooltoproducelargenumbersof

partsandmarketsthemworldwide.For

himweproducethecomponentthatis

practicallythemachine’skeyelement,”

explainsAloisBott,ManagingDirector

ofBottGmbH.“Basically,partsareget-

tingmoreandmorecomplexanddiffi-

culttomachine,asdesignengineers

squeezemoreandmorefunctionsina

singlecomponent.Thisiswhytoolmak-

ingissuchadifficultfield.Everything

hastobeexactlyrighttothenearest

hundredth.“Inmostcasesit’sthetini-

estdeviationsthataccountformajor

differencesinquality,”explainsGeorg

Strobelpointingtothenewmachine.

“ButwiththeMV2400Swe’reexcel-

lentlyequipped.”

Asuccessstorytakesitscourse

“IoriginallysetupmyownbusinesssoI

wouldhavemoretimeformyleisure

pursuits,”sayscompanyfounderBott,

laughing.“Butnothingcameofthat.

Almond crescents launch bespoke machine building

BOTT

Today, Bott GmbH Werkzeug- und Maschinenbau in Wolfegg has over 40 people on its payroll and has just ordered its second wire EDM machine from Mitsubishi Electric.

A number of successful entrepreneurs started off small, working from their garage. And one such entrepreneur is Alois Bott who got his one-man show by the name of “Alois Bott Mechanische Bearbeitung” off the ground in a barn in 1979.

» In most cases  it’s the tiniest  

deviations that ac-count for major differences in 

quality. But with the MV 2400 S 

we’re excellently equipped.” «

GeorgStrobelinspectsthequalityofmouldsfor

pressingtoolsma-chinedwiththenew

MV2400SwireEDMmachine.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 51

EDMandmore

50 BottGmbH

Whathappenedisexactlytheoppo-

site.We’vegrownbecausewe’reeffi-

cientandgood,we’veboughtnewma-

chinesandtakenonnewstaff,proc-

essedourordersandinvestedfurther.”

Whatstartedlifeas“AloisBott

MechanischeBearbeitung”withapart-

timehelperinabarninBadWurzach

hasdevelopedovertheyearsintoasuc-

cessfulcompanythatnowproduces

technicallyelaboratemachinecompo-

nents,stamping,punchingandform-

ingtoolsandbespokemachinesfora

hugerangeofindustriesandapplica-

tions.InGrimmensteincommerciales-

tateinWolfegg,itnowemploysmore

than40people.Thecompanyhasfour

divisionsandover2,500squaremetres

ofproductionandofficespace.

BottGmbHstartedoffpurelyasajob-

shop.Thedevelopmentandproduction

ofhighlyaccuratesingle-andmulti-

componentscalesforpowdergoods

camelaterasasecondlineofbusi-

ness.“Todayit’salsoourbread-and-

butterbusinessthathasalways

helpedusthroughleantimes,”saysBott,

underliningtheclosenesstohiscustom-

ers.Manyhighlyreputedmechanicalen-

gineeringcompanies,nowregular

customersofBottGmbH,havesettled

inandaroundtheSwabianJura,Stutt-

gart,LakeConstanceandtheBlack

Forest.“Ifeelit’sessentialthatwe’renot

farfromourcustomers.Ifthereare

problems,wecanthensolvethemto-

gether.Thiswaywecantacklecom-

plicatedcomponentsthatmanyother

firmsareunableorreluctanttohandle,”

saysBottoutlininghisrecipeforsuccess.

Highmanufacturingdepthforqualityandpromptdelivery

Itsabove-averagemanufacturingdepth

of95%enablesthecompanytohandle

thelion’sshareofitsoutputin-house.

“Weturn,mill,grind,wire-cut,measure

andinspecteverythingonourownma-

chines.Ouremployeesworkonthevery

latestCAD/CAMsystemsandourpro-

ductionequipmentisgearedessentially

totheefficientfabricationofprototypes

andsmallseries,”saysBottwithrefer-

encetohismachiningcentresfrom

Herle,OkumaandDMG.“Thiswaywe

cancopewithanydesiredqualityor

deadlineandcanproduceanypart,how-

everextravagant,ourselves,”Bottex-

plains,holdingupacomplexstamped

part.

“Butultimatelyoursurvivaldependson

beingabletoproducesuchpartsneatly

andtoahighstandardofquality,”says

Bottandtellsusthestoryofhowhebe-

cameaspecialmachinemanufacturer

moreorlessbyaccident20yearsago:

“We’dbeenproducingvariousspare

partsasajobshopforTekrumin

Ravensburg.”Thefamilycompanythat

joinedGriesson–deBeukelaerGmbH&

Co.KGin2005isoneoftheleading

makersoffineconfectioneryandice

creamwafers.20yearsago,company

ownerKrummwaslookingforsomeone

whocouldbuild,atthedropofahat,a

machinetomass-producehisfamous

almondcrescentsandFlorentines.

“Wewereoutofourleague,tobehonest,

butmypresentCo-ManagingDirector

JörgOsterkampsaid,‘Let’sgoforit!’

Wesatdownanddesigned,builtand

set-upthemachinefromscratchin

2000Extensionofproductionspaceto2,800m²,

1,200m²ofwhichwasrentedfor7years

2012AppointmentoffellowManagingDirectorJörgOsterkamp

2001 Large-scaleinvestmentinthelatest

productionmachinery

Bott GmbH's progress

1979 Foundingof“Alois

BottMechanische

Bearbeitung”,

1employee

1981 Moveitothecompa-

ny’sfirstownandlarger

premisesinWeit-

prechts,5employees

1987 Renamed“Bott

GmbHWerkzeug-

undMaschinenbau”,

13employees

1994 Movetonewcom-

panysiteinWolfegg,

16employees

1999 Newdivisionforcom-

ponentdevelopment

andproduction,

21employees

2008 Investmentina

highlyefficient

computernetwork,

38employees

2009 Recession-related

consolidation,

34employees

2011 Extensionofthe

developmentdepart-

ment,37employees

2012 Extensionofoffice

spaceby300m²,

40employees

2013Workforce:43employees

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 53

EDMandmore

52 BottGmbH

eightweeks.MrKrummwasnoth-

inglessthanastonished,asalltheother

machinebuildershehadaskedsaidit

wouldtakeeighttotenmonths.Our

speedenabledTekrumtogointobusi-

nesswithAldiandlaunchedourcareer

asbespokemachinebuilders,”Bott

laughs.“Toolmakingwasthenadded

sevenyearsago.Thiswasthestartof

ourrelationswithMitsubishiElectric,

becauseitisessentialforourtoolmak-

ingactivitiestohaveourownwireEDM

capability.”

Goodemployeesarethebackboneofanycompany

Toolmakingisthetradethatcallsforthe

mostspecialisedknowledgeandthe

bestmachinery.Bottaddsthathiscom-

panyhasbeentrainingitsownappren-

ticesfor25years.

“Wenowtraintwotothreeapprentices

peryear.Thisisquitealotforacom-

panythissize,”saysBott,“butit’swhat

wedowellandmakesthecompany

strong.Wehaveaverylowaverageage.

Andyoungpeoplewanttobeableto

usethelatesttechnologiesandprove

themselves.

WhenIfoundedthebusinessin1979,all

myfriendsaskedmewhyonearthI

wasdoingit.Imeanwhileknowthatwe

areonlysogoodbecausetheright

peoplehavecometogetherintheright

placeattherighttime.I’mfirmlycon-

vincedthatwehavethuscoveredalarge

partofthebusinessrisk,”saysBott.

Asalogicalconsequence,thismeans

thatthecompanyhashighlymotivated

staffandahighlyprogressivemachine

park.AnexampleisthenewMV2400S

wireEDMmachinefromMitsubishi

Electric.

“Weboughtthepredecessor,theFA20,

sevenyearsago.KarlHaller,our

ToolshopManager,chosethemachine

andswearsbyit,”Bottproudlyexplains.

Originallyselectedsolelyfortoolmak-

ing,ithassubsequentlyalsobeenused

forcustomisedmachineconstruction

andjobshopwork.Somuchinfactthat

EDMbecameabottleneck.“Butbefore

wefarmedoutworkandgaveupcon-

troloverour

processes,we

decidedtobuy

asecondma-

chine,”says

Bott.“Thiswas

adecisiontaken

withintwodays,

becausepunc-

tualityandqual-

itycometopof

ourpriorities.

Ourcustomersreallyappreciateit.They

knowthatBottsuppliesthemwith

partsthatarealwaysdimensionallyac-

curateandthusimmediatelyreadyto

install.That’sourhallmark.”

www.bott-maschinenbau.de

Mouldsforpressing

toolsmachinedwith

thenewMV2400S

wireEDMmachineat

BottGmbHinWolfegg.

Twogenerationsof

wireEDMmachines

fromMitsubishiElec-

tric:intheforeground

thenewMV2400S

andinthebackground

theFA20.

Professionals in Profile: Alois Bott

Nameandplaceofcompany:

BottGmbHWerkzeugund

Maschinenbau,Wolfegg,Germany

Foundingyear:

1979,and1987asaGmbH

ManagingDirectors:

AloisBottandJörgOsterkamp

Numberofemployees:

43

Corebusiness:

Toolmaking,machinebuilding,jobbing How did you earn your first money?

Bolting cars together as a car mechanic.

What motivates you?

Maintaining and building on what has been achieved. It is motivation

enough to see that the company doing well economically.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We want to continue to expand the company and keep it stable in eco-

nomic crises.

What was your biggest business success?

Achieving things that others don’t achieve. You can then see that some-

thing develops out of it.

What’s your favourite way to relax?

In the garden or motorcycling.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Frankness, honesty and enthusiasm.

www.bott-maschinenbau.de

BottGmbH

Werkzeug-undMaschinenbau

Grimmstein9/6

88364Wolfegg

Germany

Tel +49.7527.96110

Fax +49.7527.961150

info@bott-maschinenbau.de

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 55

EDMandmore

54 BottGmbH

Pieperthumbsthroughalist

ofjobs.“Thehighmachining

speeddisplayedbyMitsubi-

shiElectric’swireerosion

systemisalsoimportantfor

us.Wedon’thavethe

comparisonwithanother

machine,butourjobshop

supplierconfirmswithhis

jobrecordsthathetakes

longerthanustowire-cut

similarparts.”Using0.25

millimetrewire,Empatakes

anythingfrom3minutes

to20hours.Thepri-

marymaterialisup

to210millimetres

high,500milli-

metreslongand

200millimetres

thick.Because

theworkshop

achievesrapid

throughput,towhich

aclampingsystemalso

contributes,itnowhasca-

pacityforextrajobs.

Inadditiontothesinglewire-cutting

machine,whichhasbeeninoperation

sinceJanuary2013,theworkshophas

fivemillingmachinesatitsdisposal.

EDMaccountsforacorrespondingly

smallproportionofmachiningvolume.

Allthesame,some

challengescan

onlybemastered

withwireEDM

technology.

Superioruser-friendliness

Pieperwatchestheoperatorinitiatea

wire-cuttingprocess.“Themachineof-

fersplentyofcomfort.Theoperatorgot

onwellwithitfromthebeginning.”One

contributoryfactoristhesuperior

user-friendlinessofthetotallydigital

ADVANCEPLUSCNCcontrolthat

communicatesappreciablyfasterand

moreefficientlywiththemachine’s

servoamplifiersandtubulardirectdrives

viatheopticalwaveguidesofthenew

OpticalDriveSystem.

Oneoftheresultantadvantagesofthis

isgreatermachiningprecision.Program-

ming,hesays,isnotperformedatthe

machine.Instead,Pieper’steamsends

entireprogramstotheMV1200STubu-

lar.

Pieperholdsawireguideinhishand.

“Thiswearingpartcanbeswiftlyand

easilyremovedandreplaced.Ataskthat

arisesonceaweekduringcleaning.It

isjustasimportantthatthemachinere-

threadsthewireintheeventofbreak-

ageautomatically,ashereatthework-

shopwesometimesrunthemachines

unmannedatnight.”Empathusbenefits

fromthenewIntelligentATwirethreader

thatre-threadsthewireinthedielectric,

afterinterruptions

instart-holedrill-

ingorinthekerf–

andevenonhigh

workpieces.

Whetherathread-

ingjetisusedor

ErwinPieper,aSwissdiploma’edmas-

termechanicandWorkshopManagerin

theDesignEngineering/Workshop

departmentatEmpa,laysathree-part

erodedstainlesssteelcomponenton

thetable.Itwouldbeidealasapaper-

weight.However,pulledapart,itbe-

comesanote-holderbearingtheword

“DANKE”.“Thispart,ofwhichwe’ve

producedseveral,isintendedasathank-

youfortheEmpamanagementand

departmentsinvolvedintheinvestment

intheMV1200STubular.We’reexpect-

ingittopayforitselfintwotothreeyears,

asthecostofjobshopEDMworkuntil

nowhasequalledthecostofthenew

machineoverthesameperiod.”

Empawasfoundedin1880asthe

InstituteforConstructionMaterials

TestinginthebasementofZurich’s

Polytechnikum(schoolofengineering),

today’sSwissFederalInstituteof

Technology(ETH).In1938theinstitute

wasre-namedtheSwissMaterials

TestingandExperimentalInstitutefor

Industry,BuildingConstructionand

Commerceandhadthereputationfor

destroyingallthematerialsittested.

Pieperlaughs:“Ourimagetodayisbet-

ter.Since1988,thenameEmpahas

stoodfor‘EidgenössischeMaterialprü-

fungs-undForschungsanstalt’”–or

‘MaterialsScienceandTechnology’in

English.AndthatiswhatEmpanow

is–aninterdisciplinaryresearchand

servicesinstitutionformaterials

scienceandtechnologydevelopment.

Empalaysthescientificfoundations

forthesustainabledevelopmentofso-

cietyand,togetherwithpartnersinin-

dustry,convertsresearchfindingsinto

marketableproducts.Tothisextent

theinstitutehasalargehandinstrength-

eningtheinternationalcompetitiveness

ofSwissindustry.

Cuttingmaterials

Thetasksoftheworkshopinclude

erodingmaterialsamplesthatareoften

composedofseveralmaterialsand

cannotbecutwithconventionalmeth-

odsbecauseofthematerial’shard-

ness.Examplesofthisincludenickel-

basedalloyswithstructuralsteel

andgold-germaniumbrazedontometal.

Empatakessamplesoftheseand

amongotherthingsexaminesthebe-

haviourofthematerialsintermsof

fatigueatdifferenthightemperatures.

OrEmpawire-cutscracksandin-

spectswhetherandhowtheypropa-

gateunderload.Therangeofwire-

cutmaterialsalsomainlyincludesalu-

minium,berylliumbronze,titanium

andstainlesssteelaswellascemented

carbideandstructuralsteel.

Pieperremovesatinymolybdenumpart

fromaglassshowcase:“Sincea

millingtoolmightbreaksuchahard

metalandprocesssecurityissoim-

portanttous,weoptedforwire-cutting

inthiscase.”Precisiontothenearest

hundredthofamillimetreisusuallysuf-

ficientforEmpa.Thedemanded

surfacequalitycomestoanaverage

roughnessof0.8to0.4micrometres.

By investing in an MV1200S Tubular, Empa Materials Science & Technology, Dübendorf (Switzerland), has ventured into uncharted territory. Instead of pay-ing jobshops for EDM work, the re-search institute is now itself an owner of a process-secure wire erosion machine – a machine that will probably soon pay for itself as well.

Uncharted territory

EMPA

FranzSteblerreplacesthewirespoolandcor-

rectlyfeedsthewirearoundseveralpulleys.

CoreholderofBöhler

V155temperingsteel

and1.6582,wire-cut

ontheinside,forthe

extrusionofceramic

filters.

» For the money  that we were willing  

to spend we’ve bought the best machine and the one with the best operating and main-

tenance charac-teristics. «

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 57

EDMandmore

56 Empa

not.Pieperisalsointerestedinthe

tubularshaftmotorsoftheMVthaten-

surecogging-freeandresponsivemove-

mentsinthemachine’sXandYaxes.

Hestressesthewear-freedomofthe

drivestrategythatdispenseswithspin-

dlesandballbearingsandthereforeen-

suressmoothandmaintenance-free

running.

Bestmachinefortheavailablemoney

“WeoptedfortheMV1200STubularbe-

causeitembodiesacombinationof

advancedtechnologyandaveryattrac-

tiveprice/performanceratio.Thelatter

referstoitshighprecisionanditscom-

parisonwithamillingmachine.”Pieper

opensuptheprojectfolder.“Welooked

atthreequotationsbeforehand.For

themoneythatwewerewillingtospend

we’veboughtthebestmachineand

theonewiththebestoperatingand

maintenancecharacteristics.”To

seereferenceerosionsystemsfrom

MitsubishiElectricinaction,says

Pieper,theywenttoracingcarbuilding

Sauber,whowire-cutsalmostthe

samespectrumofmaterialsasEmpa.

AnotherpointinMitsubishiElectric’s

favourisitsgoodservice,hesays,for

whichthecompany’sSwissdealerin

theneighbouringtownisresponsible.

www.empa.ch

Steblerclampsa

workpieceinthe

machine.

Professionals in Profile: Erwin Pieper

Nameandplaceofresearchinstitute:

EmpaMaterialsScience&Technology

inDübendorf,Switzerland

Foundingyear:

1880

ManagingDirector:

Prof.Dr.Gian-LucaBona

Corebusiness:

Research&development,materials

science&technology

How would you describe in a sentence what your company does?

Research, development, testing and teaching.

How did you earn your first money?

In my apprenticeship as a machine mechanic.

What motivates you?

Curiosity and the joy of technology.

What’s different about how you do things now, compared to five

years ago?

EDM, 5-axis machining in the milling sector, programming with a CAM sys-

tem and investment in clamping systems for faster set-up.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We want to continue to research and develop. As a workshop, we have to

keep up with new trends.

What’s your favourite way to relax?

In my free time with my model railway and walking and doing nothing.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Reliability and openness to different solutions.

What mistakes in others do you find easiest to forgive?

When someone tries something out and it goes wrong.

If you were asked what you do by a friend with no technical knowl-

edge, how would you explain your work in a single sentence?

That I cut metal with a wire and electricity.

www.empa.ch

Empa

Überlandstrasse129

8600Dübendorf

Switzerland

Tel +41.58.7651111

Fax +41.58.7651122

contact@empa.ch

Another point in Mitsubishi Electric’s favour is its good service.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 59

EDMandmore

58 Empa

WhenJean-YvesPichereau,CEOoftheERMO

GROUP,Marcillé-La-Ville(France),welcomesvisi-

tors,youcansensesomethingofthecompany

philosophyinhishandshake.“Ishakethehandsof

allmyemployeeseverydayandwishthemagood

morning.Treatingeveryonelikemembersofthe

familyisimportantforme.Iknoweachofthem

personallyandwanttoshowthemthatIappreci-

atetheirefforts.”Pichereauhashigh

standards,hascomealongwaywith

hisbusinessandispassionate

abouthistrade.Hiscompany

philosophyisonekeytohis

success,hisconcentration

onmultiplemouldsthatheproducesfortheplas-

ticsindustrybeingtheother.Pichereauopens

hislaptopandpresentspicturesofinjectionmoulds

pastandpresent.“Initially,wemainlyworkedfor

manufacturersofcarsandtelevisionssets.Wethen

changedourtackandhavemadeanameforour-

selvesasworld-classmakersofmultiplemoulds.”

Superlativewire-cuttingprecision

Adevelopmentduemainlytotheprecisionof

ERMOinjectionmouldsandtheirsurfacequality.

Pichereautapsoneofthepictureswithhis

finger.“Lastyearwelargelywire-cutamouldcon-

sistingof16components.Ittook3,000working

hours.Theprecisionwaswithin5micrometres–

somethingthatnotmanycompetitorsarecapable

ofachieving.”Heselectsanotherpicture.“These

mouldsfortwo-componentinjectionmoulding

makeusunique.Theprocesscreatesinjection

mouldingsthathavetwocoloursorcombinetwo

materialsinasinglecycle.WearethefirstFrench

companytodesignandmakesuchmoulds.”

Pichereauknowsthathiscustomersattachimpor-

tancetoafastresponse,highdeliveryqualityand

rapidandcompetentservice.Thisiswhyheneeds

wireEDMmachinesthatdisplayimpressiveper-

formance,constantavailabilityandhighefficiency.

You’vegottosetoutwiththegoal,hesays,tobe

thebestineverydepartmentandofferyour

customersinnovationthatenablesthemtoboost

theirproductivity.ERMOhasalreadyproduced

mouldsthatnoonepreviouslythoughtwerepos-

sible.Sothatthecompanystaysontrackfor

success,headds,itoperatesaroundtheclock,at

nightand,asfaraspossible,withunmannedma-

chinesormachinesmonitoredbyasmallerteam.

Withwireerosion,ERMOmachinesinjectionmoulds

thatinsomecasesweighover10tonnes,consist

ofamaximumof96componentsandareworthas

muchasEUR1million.Asthematerial,the

companymainlyuseshardenedandstainlesssteel.

Pichereaushowsusacomplexwire-cutcom-

ponentanddisclosesitssecret:“Toproducethis

part,whichisamouldingelementandejectorin

one,wewerethefirstFrenchcompanytoinvestin

Inasinglecycle,two-componentinjectionmouldingcreates

mouldingsthathavetwocoloursorcombinetwomaterials(the

picturesshowcut-outsinthehalvesofthebi-injectionmould

withaninsertedfinishedproduct).

 Moving up into the

world leagueERMO GROuP

If there were a world league for makers of multiple moulds, the ERMO Group would be up among the leaders. The mouldmaker has achieved this position among other things thanks to its high-precision injection moulds, delivery quality and service.

Multiplemouldsfor

two-componentinjec-

tionmouldingare

whatmakeERMO

unique.

» The precision  was within  

5 micrometres – something that 

not many compe-titors are capable 

of achieving. «

Initsentrancearea,ERMOdisplaysproductsfromthemedical,

packagingandcosmeticssectorsthatareproducedwiththe

aidofmultiplemoulds.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 61

EDMandmore

60 ERMOGROUP

operator’shelp.This,hebelieves,isadecisivead-

vantageinviewofthelengthofprocessing,

whichcantakeanythingfromafewhourstoa

matterofdays.Weoftenmakefulluseofthe

sizeofthemachinetableandclampseveralcom-

ponentsinparallel.Thesmallerones,hecontin-

ues,areerodedduringthedayandthelargerones

atnight.Moreover,thenewMitsubishiisconvenient

tooperate,evenforsomeonewhohasneverprevi-

ouslyworkedatsuchasystem.Evenatrainee

tooklittletimetomasterit,headds.

Ahighflyerprivatelyaswell

Pichereau,leisurepilotwithaplaneandheli-

copterlicence,willsoonbetakingpartinanair

rallyacrossSouthernEuropeforawholeweek.

Whetherhe’llfindtimetothinkaboutdevelopments

inmouldmaking,hedoesn’tknow.However,his

positioninthisrespectisveryclear.“Ifthemould-

makingdepartmentistostillexistinfiveyears’

time,innovationcoupledwithqualityandreliability

willberequired.Thisiswherewireerosionisof

specialimportancebecausewire-cuttingsystems

permitcontinuousproduction–aroundtheclock

ifneedbe.Unmannedofcourse.Fromaneconomic

pointofview,there’snoalternativetosuchanau-

tomatedsystemwhenoneconsidersthehighcost

oflabourinFrance.Ifacollisionoccursonamill-

ingmachine,itcomestoanabruptstopwiththerisk

ofdamagetoitscostlytools.Unlikeonawire

EDMmachinethatautomaticallyrethreadsthe

brokenwireandcarriesonworking.”

anMVSerieswire-cuttingsystemfrom

MitsubishiElectric.Themachinewentinto

operationinOctober2012.”

OnthetriptoTECHMO61inAlençon–aproduc-

tionlocationoftheERMOGROUPthatusesthe

MV2400RGrandTubular–Pichereauexpresses

hiswishforastrongerpresenceofFrenchcom-

paniesontheinternationalstage.AttheChinaplas

tradefairinGuangzhou,theFrenchindustryonly

participatedwithasmallstand,whiletheGermans

bookedanentirehall.Francewoulddobetter,he

feels,ifmorecompaniestookthesameapproach

astheERMOGroupwithitsglobalexportshare

ofover70percent.

Dropinwireconsumption

ClaudeLambert,WorkshopManager,leansagainst

theMV2400RGrandTubular.“Weusedtofarm

outtheEDMworkthatwenowdoonthenewma-

chinetojobshops.Thankstotheperformanceof

thismachine,we’venowgottheextracapacityto

wire-cutcomponentsforothercompanies.”Atan

externalPC,hisname-sakeDidierLambert,opera-

toroftheMV2400RGrandTubular,processesa

filereceivedfromtheproductionplanningsystem.

HethensendstheDXFdatatotheEDMmachine’s

digitalADVANCEPLUSCNCcontrolfullydesigned

byMitsubishiElectric.“Becauseofthesmooth

wirefeedandTubularShaftMotorsthatverysensi-

tivelycontrolthemachine’smovements,we

achievethedemandedprecisionevenonhigh

conicalcuts.”Alsocontributorytothisisthe

OpticalDriveSystemthat

communicatesconsiderably

fasterandmoreefficiently

byopticalwaveguide.Loïc

Drouet,Plant/LocationManageratTECHMO61,

stressesthat,intermsofparallelism,theyachieve

precisionoflessthan5micrometres,evenovera

heightof150millimetres.

Inadditiontothis,DidierLamberthasfoundthat

thewireconsumptionoftheMV2400RGrand

Tubularis37percentlowerthanonothermachines.

Avaluethatcanbeimprovedon,hebelieves,and

perhapsuptoashighasthe46percentreportedby

MitsubishiElectric.Thentherearesavingswith

theionexchangemedia.ClaudeLambertpatshis

namesakeapprovinglyontheshoulder,encoura-

ginghimtocarryonoptimisingtheprocess.“The

machineisonlyeverasgoodasitsoperator.”

Drouetincludesautomaticwirethreadingamong

theimportantfactorswhenchoosinganEDM

machine.ThankstothereliabilityoftheIntelligent

ATwirethreader,we’recapableofproducingex-

tracomponentsinagiventimeandthusboosting

ourproductivity.Furthermore,wire-threadingis

performedinthekerfandeventherewithoutthe

www.ermo-group.com

DidierLambertstart-

ingthewire-cutting

processontheMV

2400RGrandTubular.

With wire erosion, ERMO machines injection moulds that in some cases weigh over 10 tonnes, consist of a maximum of 96 components and are worth as much as EUR 1 million.

DidierLambertclamp-

ingaworkpiece.

Inhisplane,PichereauistakingpartinanairrallyacrossSouthernEurope.

EDMandmore

Profile08.2013 63

EDMandmore

62 ERMOGROUP

Professionals in Profile: Jean-Yves Pichereau

Nameandplaceofcompany:

ERMO,Marcillé-La-Ville,France

Foundingyear:

1981

ManagingDirector:

Jean-YvesPichereau

Numberofemployees:

181

Corebusiness:

Finemechanicalengineering

How would you describe in a sentence what your company does?

We develop, design and produce injection moulds for plastics.

What motivates you?

Innovative projects and research & development for the satisfaction of

customer needs.

What’s different about how you do things now, compared to five

years ago?

We have made the transition from traditional sectors such as the automo-

tive industry and television set manufacturers to high-tech markets, such

as medicine, packaging and cosmetics.

Where do you see your company in five years’ time?

We are positioning ourselves increasingly as a manufacturer of high-preci-

sion injection moulds.

What was your biggest business success?

The way the company has developed, starting out with 4 employees and

today, 34 years later, having grown into a group of international stature

that is recognised by major customers.

What attributes do you value most in other people?

Honesty, thoroughness and professionalism.

How would you briefly describe your work to someone with no tech-

nical knowledge?

We design and produce metal moulds that are required for the production

of plastic parts.

www.ermo-group.com

ERMOHeadOffice

ZoneArtisanale-BP15

53440Marcillé-La-Ville

France

Tel +33.243.007122

Fax +33.243.006520

Origami             the art of mechanic and material    Converting a simple sheet of paper into a scaly dragon is a severe test of the material and of the folder’s dexterity.

Profil08.2013 65

Origami

PaperwasalreadybeingfoldedinJapanwhentheEuropeans

werestillbuildingcastles.Inthelastcentury,AkiraYoshizawa,

thegrandmasteroforigami,popularisedthecraftanddevised

anotationtomakeitaccessibletoall.

Accordingtolegend,ifyouwantawishtocometrue,you

shouldfoldathousandcranes.Whetherthelegendisrightor

theendurancetherebyacquiredmakesthewishcometrue,

wecannotsay.

Whydrawsomethingwhenyoucanfoldit?Someofthese

Japaneseworksofartrepresentinganimalsandplantsconsist

ofasmanyas300folds.Inclassicalorigami,everythingis

producedfromasinglesquaresheet,withouthelpfromscis-

sorsorglue.Thegreatertheconstraints,thegreaterthe

chanceofovercomingone’sownlimits.

Everseenacranewithawingspanofasailingyacht?No?

Thenyoudidn’tgototheOdateJukaiDomewherethe

78metretallmarveloncesat.Ontheotherhand,youneed

goodeyestobeabletoseethesmallestcrane,asitisonly

1x1mminsize–which,ofcourse,isstillhugebyEDM

standards.

InJapan,foldedbutterfliesarepopularweddingpresents–

andareobviouslyamorepersonalexpressionofaffection

andskillthananyquicklypurchasedgift.

Ifyouwanttolearnorigami,youcanattendcoursesandfind

instructionsinbooksandontheInternet.Origamicallsfor

patienceandfinemotorskills.Ifyouworkatit,perhapsyou

willonedayemulateYoneyamaYuichi’sfeatoffolding100

cranesin40minutes.Byextrapolation,hiswishwouldcome

trueinonly400minutes.ComputerprogramslikeTreeMaker

andReferenceFindermayhelpyoualongtheway.Andwho

knows:perhapsyou’llbethefirsttofoldanorigamiscale

modelofawireEDMmachine?

EDMandmore

64 ERMOGROUP

This month’s horoscope

withease.Withsuchaplomb,youeven

achievethingsthatothersconsiderim-

possible.Sointhecomingweekstake

partinasmanyprizecompetitionsas

possible(startingonpage11ofthis

magazine).Andifyouwinsomething

big,rememberErodiawhogaveyou

thetip.

Scorpio(24.10.–22.11.)

Jupiter’smoonGanymedewillbecon-

trollingyourlifeinthenextfewweeks.

NotaspreciselyasaCNC,butyou’ll

besurprisedthatsomeofthefoodyou

eatsuddenlytastesentirelydifferent.

Ontheotherhand,youproduce

stampingdiesmuchfasterthanyou

expect–evenwhenyoudon’tneed

them.Seeforyourself!

Sagittarius(23.11.–21.12.)

Neptuneisresponsibleforsurfaces

thatfeelvelvetybecausethevibrations

penetratetothesubatomiclevel.

YouhaveaMidastouchwithyourlei-

sureactivities–domore,gooutand

beadventurous!Neptuneconjuresa

smileontoyourlipsandevenyour

EDMmachinegreetsyouwithextra

sparks.Allthesame,don’tforgetthe

backups!

Capricorn(22.12.–20.01.)

Saturn’smoonTelestoswervesauda-

ciouslyoutofitsusualorbit.Youap-

preciatetheseextraordinarycurvesnot

onlywhenwire-cutting,butalsoduring

yourbeerafterwork.Sothatthingsgo

faster,takeadeepbreath!Evenwhen

itgetsreallyhotinsummer,youknow

asanexperiencedEDMmachinistthat

youmustn’tdangleyourfeetinthedie-

lectrictank.

 LIBRA  (24.09.–23.10.)

Don’ttakeanyshortcutswhenroughingandsmoothing

inthecomingweeks.Proceedwithcaution,asthiswill

payoffinthelongrun.Wipethedisplayofyourwire-cut-

tingmachine–importantbecauseMarswithitsgravita-

tionalpullmaybeexercisingitsinfluence.

You’vealsonowgottheknackofinteriordecorating–this

isyourchancetoimpressyourpartner!

October2013

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

November2013

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

December2013

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Gooddayformakingmoney

Extra-luckydaysintherespectivecategories

Gooddayforventuresofallkinds

Luckatwork

Aquarius(21.01.–20.02.)

Yourbrightideascausethelightstogo

outamongyourrivals.Nowyoucanre-

allyletthecreativesparksflysothat

youcanswitchoffafterwards(your

MV2400Rdoesthislaterwithoutyour

help).

Howaboutsomethingnew?Takeup

origamiororchidgrowingoranything

thatbeginswithO!

Pisces(21.02.–20.03.)

YouseemtohaveaninbuiltFSgenera-

torforrelationships.Thisopensnew

doorsinareaswherealleffortsusedto

befutile.Steerclearoflegumesinthe

nextfewweeksandswapworkplaces

withoneofyourmates.Thechangein

perspectiveraisesyourspirits,andyou

cannoweffortlesslyaffordthenewma-

chine!

Aries(21.03.–20.04.)

Thankstothenewconstellationbetween

MarsandSaturn,younowmasterthe

mostintricateconicalcutsasifbymagic.

Theupperandlowercontourssimplyma-

terialisebeforeyourmind’seye.Thepeo-

plearoundyouareastonishedbyyour

output.Butyoumightliketoreadabook

forachange–it’llcalmyoudownand

giveyounewinspiration,andthenyou’ll

makeevenfasterprogress–almostlike

withanMV2400R.OnSundays,greentea

isthesolutionforextraget-up-and-go.

Taurus(21.04.–20.05.)

Whileotherscan’tputafootright,you

shinelikeafixedstarintheEDM

firmament.Treatyourselftoalittlewell-

ness–you’veearnedit.Yousoonbump

intoafriendfromyearsagoandyour

conversationturnsyourthoughtsto

suchtotallynewideasthatevenyouare

surprised.

Gemini(21.05.–21.06.)

Aftertryingoutdielectricsindifferent

ways,youhituponabrilliantideafora

newcocktail.Eventhebig-nameastro-

logicalexpertsareunabletoagreeon

thescaleofJupiter’sinfluence.

You’reinstorefordifficultdecisionsand

thisdoesn’tjustrefertogivingthe

cocktailaname.

Cancer(22.06.–22.07.)

Inthenightofthefullmoon,youdream

ofafloatingdriveforerosionmachines.

Thissenseoflightnesspervadesallar-

easofyourlifeinthecourseoftheweek

–evenyourshoppingbagsareonlya

fractionasheavyasusual.

Withthisextrabuoyancy,youmanage

tocompleteprojectsthatyou’vebeen

puttingoffforquiteawhile.Nowtake

theextratimeandstudytheunique

floatingtubularshaftmotors!

Leo(23.07.–23.08.)

Onholidayyoucontrolyourmachine

fromyouriPadanditworks!Giveyour-

selfandyourautomaticthreaderapat

ontheback!

Whendiesinking,youshouldpayspe-

cialattentiontotheelectrodes,asMars

currentlyholdsswayoverthem.

Virgo(24.08.–23.09.)

Yourhoroscopebenefitsfromyour

knowledgeofplanetaryprograms–

younegotiateyourcurvesandcorners

 User horoscope

FunFun

66 Profile10.2012 Profile08.2013 67

AdvertiseyourProfile!  Would you and your company like to be in the next edition?

Then write to us!

PEFC/04-31-0830

Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.

German Branch

Mechatronics Machinery

Gothaer Strasse 8

40880 Ratingen · Germany

Tel +49 . 2102 . 486 6120

Fax +49 . 2102 . 486 7090

edm.sales @ meg.mee.com

www.mitsubishi-edm.de