Published 3/14/2017

Machining, Manufacturing Technology on Display in Pfronten

Automation, additive manufacturing, five-axis machining and more was on display at DMG MORI’s recent open house at its Pfronten, Germany, campus.

Barbara Schulz

European Correspondent, Gardner Business Media

By a majority shareholding of 50.1 percent in Realizer GmbH in Borchen, Germany, the group is strengthening its future technologies in additive manufacturing. The Lasertec 30 SLM, which is based on Realizer technology and will be built in Bielefeld, complements DMG Mori’s other product offerings in the field of additive manufacturing. At the open house, the machine was building an impeller.

The hybrid Lasertec 65 3D combines five-axis milling with additive manufacturing via metal deposition by a blown powder method. According to DMG Mori USA CEO Dr. Thorsten Schmidt, there are machines installed at companies operating in the field of oil and gas, but it is also growing its popularity in toolmaking, aerospace and the medical industry.

The impeller built on the Lasertec 30 SLM was subsequently finished on an HSC 20 Linear, demonstrating possible integration of SLM technology into production environments.

The company’s Ecoline brand is a thing of the past. It has been divided into the CLX series of basic universal turning centers, the CMX V series of basic vertical machining centers and the CMX U series of basic universal milling machines. This world premiere CLX 350 included a different spindle motor and a different spindle, Mr. Zassdzki, application engineer from Poland, where the machine is produced, explained. The work area is better accessible for cleaning, he added, and the maximum turning diameter is now 320 mm (this used to be 250 mm). In its standard version, the universal turning center offers a footprint of less than 5 m².

The Lasertec 75 Shape expands the company’s portfolio in laser texturing by offering a 21 percent reduced footprint, a work envelope for workpieces ranging to 840 mm in diameter and 520 mm in height, as well as an option to include an automated pallet changer.

The former Swiss-made Dixi machines are now available as DMG MORI machines called µPrecision, which are available for DuoBlock, Portal and NHX 8000 machines. While the machines will be assembled in Pfronten, the highly-skilled workers performing the 500-hour scraping process for the guideways to ensure an accuracy of less than 15 microns will remain in Switzerland, a DMG MORI representative said.

The DMU 50 third generation, one of the three world premieres, was a crowd puller. The machine is designed for five-axis milling applications, featuring an enlarged swivel range (28 percent more compared to the previous model), a more powerful spindle and an innovative cooling concept, DMG Mori said. A rapid traverse of 42 m/min. and 30 rpm in the swivel-rotary axis is said to ensure the dynamics for five-sided to five-axis simultaneous machining. In addition to the 15,000-rpm SpeedMaster motor spindle, the user can also choose between motor spindles with up to 20,000 rpm.

To support DMG MORI’s customers and companies outside the machine tool industry in handling the digital transformation by way of fully connected production processes, DMG MORI has acquired a share of 85 percent in start-up company ISTOS (Innovative Software Technologies for Open Solutions).

After Japan-based DMG Mori Co. acquired further shares in the German DMG Mori AG and reached a total shareholding of 76 percent in AG last year, the company’s president, Dr. Masahiko Mori, and DMG MORI’s CEO, Christian Thönes, seem to deliver on their promise to become leaner and focus on product quality and service. While DMG MORI once again underlined its technology innovation at the company’s recent open house at Deckel Maho in Pfronten, Germany, there were “only” three world premieres on display among the 80 machines showcasing the company’s range of product offerings, clearly a sign of the company’s consolidation efforts, including a reduced number of machines introduced to the market each year as well as the reduction of product offerings from 300 to 150.

With consolidating the product lines, the company has also closed its Dixi plant in Le Locle, Switzerland, plant in Chiba and the factory in Shanghai, and is now operating 14 plants worldwide, Dr. Mori said at the open house press conference. The former Swiss-made Dixi machines will now be available as DMG MORI machines called µPrecision, which are available for DuoBlock, Portal and NHX 8000 machines. While the machines will be assembled in Pfronten, the skilled employees performing the 500-hour scraping process for the guideways to ensure an accuracy of less than 15 µm will remain in Switzerland, a DMG MORI representative told me during the event.

The company also displayed a mobile automation system for lathes with intuitive programming via Celos Powertool. The core of the integrated turning cell is the new loading and unloading system Robo2Go, designed for mobile use. DMG MORI USA CEO Dr. Thorsten Schmidt added that he believes that around one-third of all machines delivered to U.S. customers are meanwhile automated, and the number of companies requiring automation or at least demanding automation options for future capacity expansion was growing, he said.

The slideshow above highlights a few technologies on display at the event, including additive manufacturing, laser texturing and five-axis machining. Approximately 200 U.S. customers came to the company’s annual open house, which clearly signals a positive mood among American manufacturers, Dr. Schmidt said. He is also happy to see a general sense of relief in the oil and gas sector, where recovery is already gaining momentum.