The distance separating the BIEMH trade show in northern Spain and the Simodec show in eastern France is not all that significant. The types of machine tools displayed at the biennial shows in early March, however, were on opposite ends of the machining spectrum.

Spain’s BIEMH, which takes place in the city of Bilbao, is famous for presenting equipment with the capacity to accurately machine huge workpieces used in a variety of industries. Conversely, Simodec (the International Trade Fair for Screw-Cutting Machine Tools) focuses on equipment used for high-volume production of small, precision components. So, I began the first week of March checking out a wind-turbine hub casting fixtured to a traveling-column machine, and I ended the week by watching simultaneous machining of Rolex watch stems from six pieces of barstock.

The continued trend of machine tool designs integrating aesthetics as well as accuracy was another interesting part of these shows. Machine tool builders clearly recognize that ergonomic design elements improve not only the attractiveness of a machine, but also user-friendliness and overall functionality.

Spain’s BIEMH show features equipment that can machine 16,000-pound wind turbine hubs. On the other hand, the machines at Simodec in France typically produce small parts with tiny features, such as this jaw for a medical clamp.

Although it’s impossible to capture all the shows had offer in one article, this piece provides a taste of what the contrasting European shows brought to the table.

Stop One: Big Machines In Spain
The 2008 edition of BIEMH marked the show’s 25th anniversary and was the third time it took place at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC). The BEC co-organizes the event with AFM—the Spanish Association of Machine Tool Manufacturers. Approximately 50,700 visitors attended this year’s show that featured 1,761 exhibiting companies from 36 countries.

One industry application that clearly stood out at the show was energy production via wind turbines. Nearly every major Spanish machine tool builder touted features of their machines that made them well-suited for producing wind-turbine components, such as hubs, tower sections, tower flanges and gear boxes. Wind turbines are not only increasing in usage for energy production in Europe and the United States, but they are becoming more massive. The machine tools that many of the Spanish manufacturers offer are not only appropriately sized for these applications, but typically offer a number of interchangeable machining heads to provide the flexibility to perform operations such as milling, boring and facing in one setup.

One example is Soraluce’s floor-type, traveling column machine that offers maximum X- and Y-axis travels of 30 meters and 5.3 meters, respectively. The turbine hub casting loaded on its rotary table at the show weighed 16,000 pounds after requisite facing, drilling and tapping operations. Recognizing the growing demand for wind turbines, Soraluce has opened a facility near Pamplona to cast and machine these hubs for wind-turbine OEMs.

Many Spanish builders offer traveling-column machines with automatic head changing systems, like the Juaristi MX at left. For large vertical turning applications, Talleres De Guernica offers power chucks such as this 2-meter version.

Some of the large machines that can use multiple heads, such as Juaristi’s MX series traveling column machines and CorreaAnayak’s Supra line, offer optional, automatic head-changing systems. The heads are stored in a “magazine” when not being used, and change-out functions like an automatic tool changer on a machine tool.

Large-scale turning equipment was also represented at the show. Gemenis and Langun brands comprise the Goratu Group, which displayed the big Gemenis GHT 11 horizontal lathe that finds use in the wind turbine, oil and paper industries. It offers swing over bed of 2 meters, spindle bore diameter of 162 mm and maximum distance between centers of 24 meters.

For applications in which vertical turning makes more sense, Bost’s VTL 16C offers a maximum turning diameter of 1.6 meters and workpiece weight of 15 metric tons. The 16C version at the show is the smallest of the company’s VTL platform—its largest model offers a turning diameter of 5.3 meters. Optional equipment makes it possible for these VTLs to perform turning, milling, drilling and grinding operations in a single setup.

Talleres De Guernica displayed a variety of its large hydraulic and pneumatic power chucks. The chuck shown above can hold workpieces with diameters as large as 2 meters. A TDG representative at the show said the company was quoting a 4.5 meter chuck for a customer machining wind turbine tower segments. That chuck would be the largest the company has produced to date. Many of the Spanish machine component makers such as TDG are represented by AMT, which is Spain’s association for machine tool accessories, components and cutting tools.

Stop Two: Small Machines In France
The Simodec show in France dates back to 1954. It takes place in the heart of the French Alps in Arve Valley, and is organized by Foire de la Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc. The 2008 edition attracted approximately 14,900 visitors, which is 11 percent more than the 2006 show. Like BIEMH, the Simodec show gains greater attention from the international metalworking community with each edition.

The beautiful Arve Valley contains the world’s highest concentration of screw cutting shops, making this area not only an attractive place to visit, but spot-on appropriate for a show focused on precision machining of small parts. The area screw machine shops have recovered a good amount of previously outsourced work by focusing on production of highly complex components, according to Simodec organizers. Such progressive shops will require advanced machining technologies like those featured at the show to continue that trend.

In addition to bar feeders, Iemca offers a gantry parts loading and storage system (shown above) for high-volume production of small castings and forgings. The Escomatic rotating-tool-head design seen at Simodec allows turning of small components using non-rotating wire as material stock.

For example, Willemin displayed its bar-fed, W-408 MT machine that can perform both turning and five-axis milling operations. The bar feeder allows long stretches of unattended operation while reducing typical workpiece fixturing and setup hassles. The machine at the show was producing the complex part shown on page 102. The part, which includes an intricate, serrated jaw for a medical clamp, was produced from stainless steel barstock in 22 minutes.

Emissa’s WinFlex 300 MultiBar machine, demonstrated production of multiple stems for Rolex watches. The compact, three-axis machine has a revolver turret head with eight stations and was outfitted with a bar-feeding system that accommodated six pieces of bar stock for simultaneous machining of six stems. After machining on five sides of each part is completed, a backworking device grips all parts as they are sawn from the barstock to allow machining of their final side.

Index displayed its Speedline A100, which is a compact, single-spindle version of the company’s MS line of multi-spindles. The A100 has multiple tool carriers located around a fixed spindle that accepts barstock as big as 42 mm in diameter (90 mm for the A-200 machine version). Other new single-spindle lathes included the Tornos Micro 7 machine that is said to offer an alternative to cam-type machines. The Micro 7 is designed to turn part diameters of 7 mm and smaller to an accuracy of ±2 microns. In addition, rotary transfer machine builder Wirth & Gruffat unveiled its new TAM 7.40 sliding headstock machine developed for watchmaking and other applications requiring tiny components. The single-spindle lathe is available in a number of configurations, including self-generating milling, three-tool turret head and counterspindle versions.

Bar feeders are a staple for high-volume production of turned parts from barstock. Iemca, one company that manufactures bar feeders, recognizes that automation is also required for high-volume machining of small forgings and castings. Its new Automata gantry parts loader and storage unit permits long stretches of unattended machining of such parts on lathes, mills and grinding machines. The device features a gantry loader with X- and Y-axis strokes measuring 2.5 meters and 1.2 meters, respectively, and it is available with either stacking or palletizing parts storage systems.

Finally, Esco’s Escomatic 646 machine demonstrated the company’s rotating-tool-head design that permits machining of small, round parts from non-rotating wire. The workpiece stock does not rotate, so small diameters can be fed from a coil (larger stock can be fed as bars).