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A m
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e 1
– 2
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meet the teCh gurus
china’s challenge
industry 4.0 explained
ContentsE D G E I S S U E 1 – 2 0 1 6
04 news and trends
07 Knowledgeindustry 4.0 explainedBig data is opening the way for what is being called “the fourth industrial revolution”.
08 case: chinaeffiCient giantEconomic challenges forced one Chinese company to rethink its work practices - with great results.
13 cutting edgeq&a with patriCk de vosSeco’s cutting-expert answers technical questions submitted by readers.
14 case: swedenhungry for businessA competitive spirit has helped Fårbo Mekaniska increase turnover by tenfold in 10 years.
18 possibilitieson the right traCkWith demand for rail transport growing, could this ingenious prototype be the train of the future?
20 edge and youhaet lo/taiwan“The secret of our success is keeping up with developments in the industry. Seco is the same.”
22 case: automationrobot suCCessInstalling a robot cell has boosted the eficiency of Swedish tool-steel supplier Uddeholm.
28 edge of the worldjörgen anderssonSeco product manager Jörgen Anders-son’s passion outside of work is mine diving.
32 edge-ucationseCo’s teCh CentresA new facility in Chennai, India, has boosted Seco’s global network of technology centres.
coVer STorY
2 EDGE (1. 2016)
EdgE is a customer magazine from Seco Tools published in 25 languages worldwide.
Seco Tools AB Marketing Department, 737 82 Fagersta, Sweden. Phone +46 223-400 00 Fax +46 223-718 60 Internet www.secotools.com Publisher Hans Hellgren E-mail
[email protected] Managing editor Katarina Annerby E-mail [email protected] Editorial
production and layout Appelberg Publishing Group Project
manager Per-Ola Knutas Editor Daniel Dasey Art directors
Cecilia Farkas, Johan Nohr Print Elanders Coverphoto Li Jingwang/GettyImages
This issue of Edge features several stories from Asia. With over-production and increased competition, the region – China in particular – is currently facing a more challenging economic situa-tion. In this new business environment, it is becoming increasingly important for the metal working industry to choose sup-pliers that ofer concrete beneits.
At Seco we have a long tradition of help-ing our customers increase their proit-ability and eiciency. The story of how we have helped one of our customers in this way, the Chinese heavy industry equip-ment manufacturer MCC-SFRE, is told on page 8.
And don’t miss Edge’s usual mix of new insights, such as the feature on Industry 4.0 on page 6, and interesting personal stories, such as the report about the Seco Product Manager who dives into aban-doned mines in his spare time on page 28.
Enjoy!
hans hellgrenvice president, sales and [email protected]
Asia focusing on eiciency
3EDGE (1. 2014)
2003
500 million 2010
12,5 billion2015
25 billion
Connected devices
335.25 disc milling cutter
Seco has added two new insert
sizes for its highly successful
335.25 Disc Milling Cutter. The
cutter now provides a comprehen-
sive range of cutting widths from
13.5 mm to 32 m, aimed at a wide
scope of applications.
The highly versatile 335.25 cut-
ters perform slotting, back facing,
helical and circular interpolation
and even plunging operations. Seco
offers both ixed-pocket versions of the cutters with centralised coolant,
and adjustable versions in widths to
accommodate all types of produc-
tion environments.
Beneits: New cutting widths, lower
tooling costs and reduced tooling
inventory, maximum lexibility, reli-ability, precision and ease of use.
The right connection The Internet of Things (IoT) – advances in technology that allow connected devices and
machines to communicate with each other – is transforming homes and industries around
the world, the metal working industry included. Recent igures show that IoT has had a meteoric rise, and that it will just continue to grow.
read more on page 7 (the industry 4.0 trend)
Jabro® HigH Feed macHining
The unique design of the JHF980
cutter allows for the highest possi-
ble feed rates. The addition of extra
lutes means that these rates are now higher than ever.
Often used in the machining of
complex workpieces on modern
milling machines, the JHF980 is
perfect for machining steel, stain-
less steels and titanium alloys.
The universal design of the cutter
allows for chip thinning in multiple
machining methods, such as peck
drilling, helical interpolation and, of
course, high-feed roughing.
Beneits: More lutes allow true high feed roughing.
news and trends
4 EDGE (1. 2016)
2020
50 billion
m6 cHipbreaker
The introduction in 2015 of the
M6 chipbreaker with Duratomic®
Chrome grades TP2501, TP1501
and TP0501 featuring Used Edge
Detection provided the perfect
combination of properties for most
types of medium to rough turning in
steel. Customers have since asked
for the range to be widened and it
is now being expanded steadily –
for example by more than 30 new
items.
Beneits: Reliable and versatile,
easy cutting, unsurpassed in meet-
ing high-performance needs thanks
to the new Duratomic TP2501,
TP1501 and TP0501 grades.
turbo range Seco Tools’ Turbo range of tools
for square shoulder and helical mill-
ing is extremely versatile and lex-ible. It includes cutters on stock in
diameters from 10 to 250 millime-
tres and a wide selection of inserts
in four sizes. This allows for milling
in both small and large machines,
with unlimited combinations of
materials and applications. With
the existing Turbo XO..-insert geom-
etries, corner radius program and
cutting grades there are no limits to
machine all kind of materials. Com-
binations of geometries and grades
will always give an alternative to
optimise the application. Rigid or
weak machining condition, there is
an alternative to achieve best pos-
sible productivity.
Beneits: Flexibility, versatility,
increased accuracy, best possible
productivity.
‘Suggest’ feature now on My Pages My Pages, Seco’s digital portal for customers in the metal
working industry, now features a useful ‘Suggest’ function.
To use the function, start by selecting the material from which your workpiece is made. Next, choose the appropriate geometry.
My Pages will now come up with a suggestion for the tool that
matches your workpiece needs.
My Pages is designed to work on all platforms, regardless of
whether your platform is a desktop computer, a smartphone or
a tablet. The tool’s functions include product searches, orders,
test reports, Threading Wizard software, and the new tool-
suggestion function.
Check out Seco on Instagram
A social media account focus-
ing on some of the fascinating
custom tools made by Seco has
attracted thousands of followers
around the world.
Adam Wojciechowski, a CNC
technician at the Seco Tools
Custom Tooling Facility in Troy,
Michigan, set up the CNCTOOLS
account on picture-sharing
service Instagram in January.
His posts focusing on novel and
innovative custom tools quickly
attracted the attention of the
industry and by July he had close
to 3,000 followers. Wojciechows-
ki posts new images daily, and
any questions about featured
tools that he can’t answer person-
ally are generally answered by
other Seco staff on the forum.
“Instagram has allowed me to
share my passion for CNC tech-
nology and also to market and
advertise Seco Tools and keep
the name trending in the machin-
ing community,” he says.
... and coming soon: Seco’s new web www.secotools.com
5EDGE (1. 2016)
Secomax™ H05-H35 grade chainSeco’s new Secomax CH0550, CH2540 and
CH3545 grades bring together a range of exist-
ing technologies and design approaches to pro-
vide a whole new level of product performance.
The grades have been produced follow-
ing extensive development and rely on several
entirely new technologies. This new hard-
turning grade chain, together with the existing
CBN060K (H15) from Seco, has been devel-
oped to meet increasing demands for produc-
tivity, surface inish and reliability from a range of industries.
read more: www.secotools.com/PcBn
news and trends
6 EDGE (1. 2016)
hello Social machinesYesterday’s machines worked together in a production chain, but tomorrow’s machines will be ‘social’. They will be able to communicate with each other and retrieve, deposit and pro-cess information, which they will then act on.
Smart productsindustrial production is increasingly about products themselves dictating how they should be produced. This is thanks to the fact that products are now tagged with an increasing amount of information regarding what they should contain and are in constant contact with stock, machines and con-trol systems.
Klas Anderssonmanager, Customer Inter-face Services, Seco Tools
Reduced impact on the environmentincreasingly smart factories are run-ning processes optimally, leading to less waste and fewer faults, bet-ter energy eficiency and reduced environmental impacts. Smart machines also automatically switch to a stand-by state when appropri-ate, further reducing energy con-sumption.
Interview by Per-Ola Knutas Illustration by Mika Pollack/AgentMolly
Knowledge global trends
f ollowing the advent of the steam engine, the produc-tion line, and the computer technology boom, it’s now
time for the next – and fourth – industrial revolution. We call the phenomenon ‘Industry 4.0’ and it will lead to an overarching – and fascinating – change to the way the production industry operates.
While our industry hasn’t been as fast as the media and retail industries to make the most of digital technology, it could be the sector that stands to derive the greatest beneit from the fact that the world is increasingly connected.
No other sector has as much data to exploit. Machines and processes churn out enormous amounts of data. And the industry player that is best at exploiting this in a smart production process, with tools, machines and end products all integrated, has enormous potential for powerfully increasing production eiciency. The next
revolution
some industry 4.0 trends
big data is a big deal
7EDGE (1. 2015)
case mcc-sFre, cHina
EDGE (1. 2016)EDGE (1. 2016)8
giantChina’s eficient
The world’s number one steel-producing nation, China, is struggling to balance an econom-ic slowdown with industry over-capacity. Based in the country’s northwest, state-owned company MCC-SFRE Heavy Industry Equipment is facing up to these challenges by constantly focusing on improving eiciency.
By Wang HuazHOng PHOTOS by WANG JING
9EDGE (1. 2016)
case mcc-sFre, cHina
¥1.3 billionMCC-SFRE Heavy Industry
Equipment Co’s ambitious goal
for 2015’s industrial output.
“ We have to save and improve eiciency in every way pos-sible. The consumption of cut-ting tools accounts for a large part of our costs.”JIA XIAOFENg, MANAgER AT MCC-SFRE NO 1 MACHININg PLANT
A state-owned giantSFRE was established in 1966 and
entered a joint venture with MCC in
2004. MCC-SFRE has four machining
plants and about 3,000 employees,
of which 600 are technicians, includ-
ing 95 senior engineers. The venture
manufactures a wide range of machines
for many different kinds of industries,
but its main products are machines for
steel works, mainly strip mills and plate
mills. Their rolling equipment meets
the standards required by developed
economies such as Europe and Japan.
The company formerly operated its
own schools, cinemas and hospitals in
Zhuangli township.
“Even though market demand for steel has slumped, we have not cut production of rolling equipment, but rather increased it, because we have to cover operation costs and maintain the company’s momentum,” he says.
yang adds that steel producers are ordering new-generation rolling equipment from the company to improve quality, eliminate obsolete production capacity and save costs. But because buyers dominate the deals, the company is producing more and making less money.
In 2008 therefore, MCC-SFRE invested
A bulletin board stands at the gate of the machining plant operated by MCC-SFRE Heavy Industry Equipment Co in Zhuangli in north-western China. On it is spelled out the massive rolling-equipment manufacturer’s ambitious goal for 2015: generating CNY1.3 billion (EUR187 mil-lion) in industrial output.
Based in China’s Shaanxi Province, the company is a joint venture between China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), a state-owned conglomerate, and Shaanxi Forging and Rolling Equipment Works (SFRE), a heavy-duty equipment manufac-turer and developer with 50 years’ experi-ence specialising in rolling equipment and strip-treatment equipment for steel works. The rolling equipment that the joint ven-ture produces is purchased by steel manu-facturers, who use it to shape steel into a uniform thickness, ahead of distribution to customers.
Yang Xuejun is Director of MCC-SFRE’s technology department and says the com-pany has been forced to respond to a wide range of challenges in the wake of the 2008 global inancial crisis.
10 EDGE (1. 2016)
CNY100 million to upgrade 80 per cent of its machining lines. The company now has the capacity to manufacture 50,000 metric tonnes of high-end-only metallurgy and rolling equipment a year.
“We have to maintain and improve eiciency in every way possible,” says Jia Xiaofeng, a manager at the MCC-SFRE No 1 machining plant. “The consumption of cutting tools accounts for a large part of our costs.”
Seco Tools has been supplying cutting tools to MCC-SFRE since 2000. Today, half of all cutting tools used in MCC-SFRE’s plants are Seco Tools products, thanks to
Tough times ahead for China’s steel producersWhile there has been pressure from an
economic slowdown, steel production in
China has not decreased in line with mar-
ket demand. According to oficial igures, Chinese steel output in 2014 reached
a record high of 822.7 million metric
tonnes, up 0.9 per cent year-on-year, and
accounting for 49.7 per cent of the world’s
total. Rolling-equipment makers will have
to manage costs in order to survive the
tough years ahead, amid an estimated
425 million tonnes of over-capacity.
11EDGE (1. 2016)
case mcc-sFre, cHina
Meanwhile, the Seco Tools team in Shaanxi province interviewed machining plant managers to learn about how every turning machine operated. They were then able to use the data to provide the managers with proposals regarding the numbers and types of cutting-tool machines needed for both routine and non-routine jobs. The pro-posal was accepted by MCC-SFRE, reducing expenditures on cutting tools by more than 30 per cent.
“MCC-SFRE is a typical Chinese state-owned company,” says Tang. “It makes changes cautiously and does not accept new ideas overnight. We need to be on hand to better understand their needs and to provide the necessary help and on-site training.”
A wide range of toolsMCC-SFRE uses over 20 brands of
tools in its cutting processes. Half of
those tools are manufactured by Seco
Tools, including: Octomill face milling
cutters, Turbomill square shoulder mill-
ing cutters, Copymill cutters, turning
tools and boring tools.
the durability, proiciency and value-for-money advantages that they provide.
“We use more than 20 brands of cutting tools, but Seco Tools have unparalleled edg-es, especially their milling tools which are sharp, resilient and fast,” says Yang. “That’s the major reason that we’re buying more from them and less from others.”
Tang Jie, a sales engineer at Seco Tools’ Shaanxi operation, says that in addition to product competitiveness, MCC-SFRE chose Seco Tools for its on-site services and because of the long relationship between the two companies.
This resulted in the biggest order to date, when in 2014 MCC-SFRE ordered tools worth millions of yuan, including 30,000 inserts and 100 cutters.
12 EDGE (1. 2016)
how should i use the new step textbooks?what are the different step modules?what is step and why should
i consider taking part?
answer: The STEP textbooks can be used by metal cutting pro-fessionals to study machining models, principles and methods about diferent aspects of the machining process.
Metal Cutting, Theories and
Models describes state-of-the-art machinability models for mod-ern machining from a scientiic perspective. The book provides an overview of all aspects that come into play in the machining process. It is the reference book for all the other books in the series published by Seco.
Metal Cutting, Theories in Prac-
tice describes the same princi-ples and models as presented in the previous book, but from a practical perspective. This book presents the machinability models in such a way that they become of practical usage in daily work.
Tool Deterioration, Best Practices deals with a particular aspect of the machining process, namely tool deterioration. Tool dete-rioration is the balancing point in machinability models. Most problems in machining pro-cesses can be classiied as tool deterioration related events. This book is a basic and indis-pensable tool in every machin-ing expert’s toolbox.
answer: STEP takes in a wide range of training packages and modules spread across several diferent levels. STEP Core Cur-riculum is a series of education packages aimed at explaining the basics of the machining process and tooling. STEP Advanced Curriculum con-tains packages that elevate the knowledge of participants to the specialist level. STEP Collection is a series of packages related to speciic practical machining models. NEXT STEP ofers a practical link between metal cutting technology and produc-tion economics.
STEP is available through diferent channels, including classroom presentations and workshops, e-learning packag-es, technical literature (articles, booklets and guides, posters) and now also text books.
answer: Right from its earliest days, Seco has had a strong focus on educating, training and informing customers about the most eicient and efective ways of using cutting tools. Over the past decade, the company has invested heavily in the creation of the Seco Technical Education Programme (STEP), an educational initiative aimed at the manufacturing industry, worldwide.
STEP allows Seco to provide professionals in the global metal-cutting industry with educa-tion and training programmes focused on using cutting tools in the most eicient and efective ways. Key focus areas have been ‘what to do and why’ and ‘how to do it’, helping professionals work-ing in the industry to ensure that the machining processes that they carry out are reliable, pro-ductive and cost efective.
STEP has been developed to provide participants with overarching models and gen-eral knowledge related to the machining process. As such, undertaking STEP training can be a smart move prior to undergoing product and appli-cation training. The more gen-eral knowledge a professional possesses, the more he or she is capable of recognising and exploiting the built-in features and potential of the cutting tools used in a diverse range of applications.
patricK de vos, corporate technical education manager at seco tools group, answers your questions about machining.
cutting edge Q&a
do you have questions?
send them to the email
address below:
ask patrick
Q&A
13EDGE (1. 2016)
By KarIn Strand PHOTOS by JONAS GAUFFIN
Small town heroesSwedish industrial subcontracting company Fårbo Mekaniska has increased its turnover from four million Swedish crowns in 2005 to 50 million today, while its total number of employ-ees has grown from four to 34. With that kind of momentum behind it, almost nothing seems impossible for this company from Fagersta in central Sweden.
case Fårbo mekaniska
14 EDGE (1. 2016)
Brothers in arms.
Ronnie Berggren, Production Manager at Fårbo Mekaniska, and his brother Roger, CEO and owner.
Fårbo MekaniskaFårbo Mekaniska was established in 1988
and taken over by Roger Berggren in 2005.
The company’s turn-over was 52 million
Swedish crowns in 2014 when the number
of employees was 34. The company is an
industrial subcontractor that produces eve-
rything from the simplest parts through to
advanced precision engineering, both in large
production runs and on a one-off basis. Its
customers include Atlas Copco Secoroc, Seco
Tools, Sandvik, Outokumpu, Metso Minerals,
Morgårdshammar, ABB and Ruukki. www.farbomek.se
15EDGE (1. 2016)
Located next door to Seco’s headquarters in Fagersta,
Sweden, Fårbo Mekaniska produces Secopoint tool
dispensers to be delivered to different markets across
the world.
Fårbo Mekaniska is one of the manu-
facturers of Seco’s Secopoint Smart-
drawer tool-dispenser. And, of course,
the company uses the solution itself.
have only gone up and up, and in 2013 the company received a prestigious award from Dagens Industri, one of Sweden’s leading business newspapers. In 2014, Berggren was singled out as one of ive inalists in the annual Confederation of Swedish Enterprise competition to ind the nation’s most enterprising person.
berggren believes a large part of the company’s success stems from his own background.
“I believe in what I’m doing and I also understand the operation,” he says. “I’ve stood working at the majority of the machines we have here, and if some-one comes in and shows me a design, I can tell if we can make the product.”
Berggren continues, “I’m also a very competitive person. I have a sports background and was part of a loorball team that won the Swedish national cham-pionships. I’m passionate about challenges and ind-ing the best solution for every customer. I’m also a team player who, with my colleagues, wants to work towards just that solution.”
Berggren’s proactive approach has resulted in the company becoming one of the larger companies in Fagersta, sitting behind giants such as Seco Tools,
fårbo meKanisKa is located in an industrial pre-cinct directly south of the Swedish town Fagersta. It sits on a plot of land almost immediately next door to Seco Tools, with whom the company has enjoyed a long history of cooperation. Fårbo Mekaniska produces items including spare parts for the roll-ing mill industry, products for the mining industry, tools for the engineering industry and parts for the shipping sector. In addition to Seco Tools, the company’s largest customers include other globally active Swedish companies such as Sandvik, Atlas Copco and ABB.
“About half of what we produce are recurring items, with the rest totally new products where we adapt each product according to the customer’s wishes,” says Roger Berggren, CEO and owner of Fårbo Mekaniska.
Berggren began working for Fårbo Mekaniska in 1988, straight after inishing two years of mechani-cal engineering training at secondary school. He took over the company in 2005. Since then, things
case Fårbo mekaniska
16 EDGE (1. 2016)
“ I’ve stood working at the majority of the machines we have here, and if someone comes in and shows me a design, I can tell if we can make the product.”ROgER BERggREN, CEO. FåRBO MEKANISKA
Secopoint™ SmartdrawerOne of the products Fårbo Mekaniska
produces for Seco Tools is the Secopoint
Smartdrawer tool-dispensing machine.
Looking a little like a iling cabinet with a computer on top, it can be most simply
described as a cross between a ware-
house, store room and ordering point.
Users type their unique code into the
computer along with the name of the tool
they want to access and can then eas-
ily ind their way through the draws to locate the desired tool or insert. The tool
dispenser can also be used for the stor-
age of calibrated instruments, portable
computers, and other items of equipment
to be reused.
Smartdrawer registers withdrawals
and sends an order to the relevant sub-
contractor before the drawer becomes
completely empty, meaning no machines
need stand still due to a shortage of a tool
or insert.
“Of course we also use Smartdrawer
ourselves,” says Fårbo Mekaniska’s Roger
Berggren. “The dispenser has saved
us lots of money, as we always have the
insert needed. The consumption of mate-
rials has also fallen as everyone just picks
out what they need.”
Fårbo Mekaniska both produces and
services Secopoint Smartdrawer. Over
100 of the tool dispensers are produced
each year.
Atlas Copco, the local hospital, Bergslagssjukhuset, and the local municipal council. He sees two major challenges in running the business.
“One is attracting the right people,” he says. “We have many clever operators, but I’m always looking for people who like to tinker and ix things. This job demands creativity.”
Berggren continues, “The other challenge is delivery times. Customers don’t want to hold onto inventory and lead times are becoming increasingly shorter, often only two or three weeks. That means that we need to work around the clock and be lex-ible. We hired a production planner a year ago whose job it is to improve our delivery reliability and we’re becoming steadily better.”
Berggren believes the future will continue to be bright. Fårbo Mekaniska is busy expanding its prem-ises and has recently invested in three new machines. The company now has at its disposal a large array of machinery, including various lathes, milling machines and machining centres. All are equipped with inserts from Seco Tools.
“The machines are the backbone of the com-pany,” says Berggren. “With the short delivery times that we have, the machines mustn’t get too old. They have to run around the clock.”
17EDGE (1. 2016)
This full-size mock-up of a futuristic metro train shows that public transport could
be about to take a big step away from the noisy, worn-out metal cages of the past.
Driverless and with a sleek, attractive design, the Siemens Inspiro concept train is
30 percent more energy eficient and 20 percent lighter than conventional metro trains. The concept could well ind a home in the growing market for rail transport, with german transport consultancy company SCI predicting that urban rail will
grow faster than high-speed and conventional rail, albeit from a smaller base.
Next stop:The future
possibilities urban rail
building your own urban rail solution?
edge’s possibilities section takes a look at interesting
developing technologies from around the world and the
seco tools that can be used to make them a reality.
Solutions for
railway wheelsFrom high-power locomotives
to high-speed trains, Seco
understands the complexities
involved in machining new rail-
way wheels.
Our broad range of toolholders
includes solutions designed for
the unique challenges of spe-
ciic railway wheels, allowing you to optimise machining of
these large pieces, while also
extending the life of your tools.
Read more on secotools.com/
heavymachining
“ If we have a problem, Seco has a solution.”HAET LO, SHIE MINg MACHINERy CO. LTD, TAIWAN
20 EDGE (1. 2016)
By JOHn ScOtt MarcHant PHOTO by CHUNG SHIH-WEI
Pushing the boundaries
businessman Haet lo heads a thriving machinery parts opera-tion in northern taiwan. His business philosophy is simple:
lexibility, passion and responsiveness. These are values that also sync well with seco’s approach.
when i started with Shie Ming Machin-ery as a driver 24 years ago, I never imagined that one day I would swap the seat of my delivery truck seat for a chair behind the manager’s desk. I’ve done nearly every job in this organisation and understand the role that listening and learning play in achieving optimal results.
This approach is paying handsome dividends. Since taking the helm of the company in 2001, I’ve reduced our reliance on ICT products and secured a sizeable slice of the regional glass bottle mould business. I’ve also secured a irm foothold in the aircraft parts market with GE Aviation.
DMG machines are the lifeblood of this business. We had one in 2006, 18 by the end of 2014 and are aiming for 38 by 2017. Seco is a central part of this growth. They take care of our machines and always provide high-quality parts at a moment’s notice.
The secret of Shie Ming’s success is our ability to meet the needs of customers and keep abreast of industry developments. Seco is the same. If we have a problem, they have a solution. If we need service, they are by our side morning, noon and night. Exploring fresh frontiers in the aircraft parts business is a major component of our future business plan, and we look forward to working closely with Seco in achieving this goal.
Haet Loage:
44
Job:
Manager of Shie Ming
Machinery Co. Ltd.
location:
Miaoli County, Taiwan
family:
Married with
two daughters
hobbies:
Cycling, eating Hakka
cuisine, following Formu-
la One, hiking and travel
education:
Bachelor of Business
Administration at Asia-
Paciic Institute of Crea-
tivity, Taiwan.
edge and you
21EDGE (1. 2016)
By anne HaMMarSKJöld PHOTOS by TObIAS OHLS
manufacturing company uddeholm is the heart and soul of a district in central sweden and one of the world’s leading producers of tool steel for sectors such as the automotive industry. such achievements require excellent forward planning, and a newly installed robot cell is helping the company to more eficiently meet customer demands for ine-machined tool steels.
Automation beneits everyone
case uddeHolm
22 EDGE (1. 2016)
Intelligent industrial solutions can deliver great results.
Swedish automotive-industry supplier Uddeholm recently installed a robot cell for mill-ing, signiicantly increasing
eficiency.
23EDGE (1. 2016)
Shaping our everyday livesIt’s highly likely that your glasses and the car that you drive both have a link the district
of Hagfors in Sweden’s Värmland province. The Uddeholm steelworks has been located
here since 1878 and today produces one of the world’s best and cleanest tool steels.
This steel is used for the production of industrial work tools for the cutting, shearing,
and shaping of steel, other metals and plastic in both a cold and warm state. The steel
is used by the automotive industry and producers of pacemakers, PET bottles and eye-
glasses to name just a few applications.
Uddeholm works with about 100,000 different customers in 100 countries. Some
50 percent of the production output goes to the automotive industry.
Over the last two years, the company has taken on 100 new employees and proit margins have increased from 4-5 percent to 17 percent.
CNC operator Erica Davidsson worked in milling before the arrival of the robot cell and was initially sceptical about the change. “I wondered how it would work with our different materials and dimensions. Our production covers a wide range of areas and this creates major demands. But now it’s working well and no one has lost their job as a result of the robot arriving.
Visiting hagfors in the province of Värmland in western Sweden is a little like taking a fantastic journey
back in time. The local landscape, with its large lakes and deep forests, has been home to the processing and reining of iron and steel since the seventeenth century. That heritage is today being maintained by Udde-holm, the world’s leading producer of tool steel for use in the production of industrial work tools for a range of sectors, including the automotive industry.
While its heritage is a source of immense pride, having a long history doesn’t get you far in the face of tough global competition.
Over the past eight years, Uddeholm has been at the centre of a comprehensive ei-ciency drive, involving the investment of one billion Swedish crowns (100 million euros) in the facility. In the spring of 2015, another 250 million crowns was invested in projects including a better lue-gas treatment sys-tem, a research and development facility for powder steel, and an eleventh remelting furnace. Another strategically important investment has been in the company’s irst robot-loaded machine cell for double-sided milling, something that became fully func-tional in the spring of 2015 after about two years of planning, evaluation and testing.
case uddeHolm
24 EDGE (1. 2016)
Stefan Stenmark is a production engineer at Uddeholm and manager of the project, which came about when an older mill need-ed refurbishing. When it became apparent that the cost of refurbishment was too high, the idea of trying another solution was pro-posed.
“When we evaluated the options, the existing solution just seemed completely wrong,” says Stenmark. “I’d long been thinking about a robot, and it now seemed the time was right. It’s been an intense and fun journey which has involved everything from evaluating suppliers to inding the money and putting the solution into ser-vice.”
Stenmark says the procurement of the robot cell for milling started in 2013 and involved a new way of working, in every sense of the phrase. “We don’t usually col-laborate with the supplier during procure-ment, but in this case it felt both natural and useful,” Stenmark says. “Among other things, we were able to discuss material solu-tions as part of a dialogue with Seco and the machine supplier, Stenbergs.”
håKan nordh is a service engineer at Seco and Account Manager for Uddeholm. He says his involvement in the robot procurement process was an important and instructive experience, which among other things involved undertaking research trips to Tur-key and Taiwan for “test runs in real situa-tions and with the real material”.
“Uddeholm’s requirement speciications to the machine supplier were for a 2RA surface inish, Sverker 21 tool steel, and a maximum throughput time of 2.5 minutes. These were the basic requirements that we had with Stenbergs. We really appreciated having the opportunity to be in the loop from an early stage and to work with Udde-holm on this important procurement.”
25EDGE (1. 2016)
“ Milled steel is as good as ground steel and the robot cell maintains the measurements better than the ground segments.”ULRIKA åHS, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT, UDDEHOLM
case uddeHolm
26 EDGE (1. 2016)
Seco’s Double Octomill is one of the face-milling cutters used by Uddeholm’s robot cell.
Some 850 of Hagfors’ 5,000 or so inhabit-ants work at Uddeholm, and many others have links to local suppliers. The company is, in other words, the heart and soul of the district, and the investments now being undertaken will impact on many people’s lives.
“Uddeholm is a part of a 350-year-old production chain that is now being re-exam-ined and developed,” says Stenmark. “We’re building our operation on skilled operators. At the end of the day, it’s about ensuring the district’s future.”
New Double Octomill™ allows for increased productivityThe new-generation Double Octomill R220.48 face-milling cutter is a
highly versatile, economical and productive tool that can be used for
roughing and inishing.Seco’s Double Octomill is one of the face-milling cutters used by
Uddeholm’s robot cell. The innovative Double Octomill has inserts that
are positioned in the pockets by HSS pins, making indexing easy and
secure. Nothing can go wrong because the HSS pins keep the insert
correctly in place, ensuring an extremely long life for each pocket (65
HRC). The Double Octomill’s 16 cutting-edge inserts make it unbeat-
able value on a per-edge and per-part basis.
The face-milling cutter is available in diameters ranging from 40
to 500 mm and it is particularly well suited to the processing of large
components. All Double Octomill cutters use a unique pocket design
and ground slots on the insert to achieve maximum precision.Following assembly and six weeks of tri-
als, the machine was delivered to Uddeholm in December 2014 and then underwent ine tuning. The machine and a larger mill have both been fully operational since last spring. Together, the machines provide a complete solution, with the robot cell han-dling breadths from 25mm to 200mm and thicknesses from 4mm to 80mm, and the larger machine handling all other sizes.
head of department at Uddeholm Ulrika Åhs says the robot cell means that customers have had to adjust to new, ine-machined plates.
“Milled steel is as good as ground steel and the robot cell maintains the measure-ments better than the ground segments,” she says. “Thanks to thorough investigation, we also know that the new structure doesn’t afect the material properties any more than polished. And the chips from the robot cell are better for the environment. They can go straight back into the smelter for recycling, without further processing.”
Uddeholm’s intention with the robot was never to reduce the workforce. Instead, the primary goal was to increase eiciency and in this way be able to ofer a lower price for the material produced.
“The competitive advantages that the robot cell ofers our customers are: quality, time and delivery reliability,” says Stenmark. “For us internally, it frees up capacity and various people have now been given new work duties. Everyone is satisied and the whole solution has turned out better than I expected.”
27EDGE (1. 2016)
“ We always have back-up systems of everything with us – extra breathing gas, extra lights, two separate scuba systems.”JöRgEN ANDERSSON, PRODUCT MANAgER FOR MILLINg AT SECO AND A KEEN MINE DIVER
edge of the world
28 EDGE (1. 2016)
By KarIn Strand PHOTOS by JACEK MAJEK (UNDERWATER PHOTOS) AND JONAS GAUFFIN
It’s pitch-black, deep within the belly of the earth.
The only light comes from our head-mounted lights and lashlights, which illuminate railway sleepers on the ground, a switchboard on the wall and a bundle of drill steel – all testament to the industrial activities that once took place here. We’re 80 metres beneath the surface of the earth in the old Tuna Hästberg mine, out-side Borlänge in central Sweden.
The mine provides Jörgen Andersson with a way of challenging himself. A product manager at Seco Tools during working hours, he regular-ly dives in the kilometre-long, water-illed for-mer industrial spaces located beneath our feet.
“I’ve been involved in sports diving since I was 16 and I’ve been a scuba diving instructor for 22 years,” he explains. “A year ago, I felt I was faced with the choice of either quitting or of developing myself as a scuba diver. That’s when I irst heard about this mine.”
Tuna Hästberg is an old iron mine located between the towns of Borlänge and Ludvika and dating from approximately the 16th centu-ry. The mining of iron ore here continued right up until 1968. Today, the almost 600-metre deep mine is illed with water up to a depth of about 520 metres.
“Diving in a mine is, of course, completely diferent to diving in a lake or in the sea,” says Andersson. “Down here it’s not about explor-ing the unknown, but about exploring the for-gotten. Not many people dive in mines, but it’s an incredible experience.”
It’s easy to understand what Andersson is talking about. As we wander through the mine, even the sections above water are fascinating. All of a sudden, we ind ourselves in a gigantic break-room with a ceiling that’s vertiginously high. Nearby, abysses open up to reveal that the water’s edge isn’t far beneath us. The water is crystal clear, with visibility of at least 30 metres.
“So, you can imagine what it feels like to hover weightless through this water in this envi-ronment,” Andersson says. “It’s a mix of feeling completely relaxed while at the same time hav-ing to be incredibly focused.”
Ropes are attached to the walls of the water-illed former workspaces to assist the divers. A great deal of thought has been given to safety.
when Jörgen andersson isn’t working as a product manager, he likes to pull on his scuba gear and dive into an old, water-illed mine. on display beneath the surface are forgotten but well-preserved mining workplaces and
spectacular caverns.
dive into the past
29EDGE (1. 2016)
Three tips for when diving in minestrain
“Undertake specialised training.
There’s a big difference between
regular scuba diving and mine diving.”
be patient
“give yourself time to develop. Don’t
undertake dificult dives too soon.”
be thorough
“Don’t cut corners when it comes to
pre-dive planning. Be extra thorough
with the check list.”
machine. In 2000, he commenced studies at the Swedish School of Mining and Metal-lurgy in Filipstad, eventually graduating with a bachelor of science in metallurgy and materials. He next undertook a masters in materials science and did his thesis work at Seco Tools. He was employed by the compa-ny in 2006 to work in milling development. Today, he is Corporate Product Manager for Milling and Minimaster Products.
“Without academic qualiications I wouldn’t have got this job,” he says. “But the truth of the matter is that the 10 years that I
“When you train to become a mine diver, almost everything revolves around solving problems,” Andersson says. “If anything happens down here, you can’t just surface. Although it’s incredibly beautiful and other-worldly, it’s also a very hostile environment should anything happen.”
To avoid damage to both suits and equip-ment and to avoid getting caught on objects in this former workplace, the divers’ swim-ming technique, equipment and judgement all have to be perfect. If a diver gets too close to the bottom in the diving environment, the sediment can be disturbed, reducing the visibility to zero. A large part of the training involves practising for breakdowns and emergencies. Divers need to be able to ind their way back to the entrance, even in complete darkness.
“One of the diferences between this and regular sports diving is that we always have back-up systems of everything with us – extra breathing gas, extra lights, two sepa-rate scuba systems, and so on,” says Anders-son. “In total, all the equipment weighs close to 50 kilograms.”
the only serious incident Andersson has been involved in occurred during the mine-div-ing course when he failed to pressure equal-ize between 12 and 21 metres and burst an eardrum. He was fortunate to not have sus-tained permanent damage to his hearing.
Mine diving is always undertaken in groups of two or three, and an average dive lasts about an hour. The cold limits the length of dives. The water temperature is only four degrees Celsius and despite the fact that Andersson wears a thick underlayer close to his body, it gets cold. As a result, it’s very pleasant after a dive to go into the heated mine cabin located next to the dive platform, have a cup of cofee and chat for a bit while your body returns to its normal temperature.
Andersson’s working career began at ABB in the Swedish town of Ludvika where he spent 10 years working on a CNC milling
edge of the world
30 EDGE (1. 2016)
Jörgen Anderssonage:
44
bacKground:
Three years of workshop
training at high school,
10 years working on a
milling machine at ABB
in Ludvika, bachelor of
science in metallurgy
and materials from the
Swedish School of Min-
ing and Metallurgy in
Filipstad, masters in
materials science, glob-
al Product Manager for
Copy Milling Tools and
Minimaster Products at
Seco Tools.
family:
Wife and ive kids.leisure activities:
“There’s only time for
work, family and diving.”
Diving in abandoned
mines, in four degrees
Celsius water tempera-
ture and with equip-
ment weighing close to
50 kilos, requires rigor-ous precautions.
spent on the milling machine were probably the most valuable for me. I have irst-hand experience with the application and this is invaluable.”
So, is there anything here, down in the deep, that relates back to Andersson’s work at Seco Tools? “No, hardly anything. The bits of old drill steel we ind down here are about as close as you come,” he says with a laugh. “It’s actually the opposite. Diving allows you to totally disconnect from the everyday world. I enjoy it enormously, par-ticularly after a dive when you relax and talk about your diving experience. Then I really get a smile on my face.”
From having been on the verge of giving up diving entirely, Andersson is now look-ing forward to developing further. “Now I feel like I have a reason to stick with it for at least another 15 years,” he says. “There’s lots to learn and lots of diferent levels within the mine to dive on. And there’s also lots of interesting mines in Sweden.”
31EDGE (1. 2016)
New insights. Seco’s tech centres, including the recently opened facility in Chennai, India, provide on-site training in new techniques and technologies.
edge-ucation
32 EDGE (1. 2016)
W
By danIel daSey PHOTOS by ATUL LOKE
Opened in March 2015, Seco’s new Virtual
and Practical Centre in Chennai, India,
has already provided assistance to a large
number of customers seeking help with
technical and business challenges.
hen a customer in India had a question about the precision of Seco’s drills, Seco’s new Virtual and
Practical Centre in Chennai India was able to help.
Centre Engineer Prakash Srinivasan says engine component manufacturer Gnutti Precision was interested in whether drills mounted using Seco’s shrinkit system were more prone to run-out than those mount-ed using a competitor’s chuck system.
Eager to demonstrate the superior reli-ability of the Seco product, the centre con-ducted a trial for Gnutti with clear results. “We invested in a shrink it holder and held a demonstration in the centre,” Srinivasan says. “This proved there was no run-out. The customer was so convinced that they are now on the verge of purchasing their own shrinkit machine from Seco.”
The Chennai facility is one of a large number of technical centres provided by Seco around the world. Located in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany,
Hungary, Poland, the United States, Italy, France, China, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, the centres aim to not only showcase Seco’s tools but also to educate manufacturers about new techniques and technologies. They provide a venue where Seco can work together with customers to arrive at novel and innovative tooling solu-tions that improve the productivity of the customers’ business.
the indian facility is the newest technical cen-tre and was opened in March 2015. Situ-ated on a 560-square-metre site in down-town Chennai, it is capable of providing outstanding on-site training for up to 40 participants and also of broadcasting dem-onstrations to large audiences across India and the wider Asia Paciic region.
The centre is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, including machine tools, CAD/CAM, tool measuring and setting equipment, as well as a full range of Seco’s latest high-performance cutting tools. Visitors to the centre can receive training
Centre of the action
33EDGE (1. 2016)
Brand new facilities. Prakash Srinivasan, an engi-
neer at Seco’s tech centre in Chennai, says customers have welcomed the opening of the centre and appreciate both the train-
ing and facilities that it offers.
Global problem-solvers
through e-learning modules com-bined with hands-on trainings. The centre also hosts the South India sales oice with a staf of nine and can produce customer speciic component run-ofs and host new product launches. It is available for booking to all of Seco Tools industry partners, customers and distributors.
Srinivasan says Seco saw Chen-nai as a prime location for a new technical centre as the city is an industrial hub serving the thriving Indian automotive and ancillary sector, as well as the growing power generation sector. Visitors have so far come from across India, with the main customer segments being automotive, power generation, aer-ospace, and general engineering.
“Customers have welcomed the opening of the centre and appreci-
ate the training and training facili-ties it ofers”, says Srinivasan. “We have ofered them demos on the on 3-Axis DMG-Mori machine, the shrinkit machine, presetter and the latest tooling.”
One of the centre’s key focus areas is the Seco Technical Educa-tion Programme (STEP). The pro-gramme aims to ill the “technol-ogy gap” experienced by businesses when they fall behind the leading edge of technical advances. Keep-ing up to date allows businesses to improve productivity, reduce waste and reduce machining time.
The Virtual and Practical Centre shares its premises with Seco Tools’ regional sales oice, meaning that it is well placed as a venue for pro-ject discussions and for demonstrat-ing the latest technical solutions for businesses.
regardless of where in the world they are based, staff at seco’s technical centres like nothing more than suc-cessfully solving customer problems.
when seco opened its US technical centre in Troy,
Michigan in 2008, one of its primary goals was to
help customers solve technical problems and become
more eficient and proitable.Seven years on, the centre has a long track record
of doing just that.
Don graham, Manager, Education and Technical
Services at the centre, is able to provide a long list of
happy customers from industries ranging from aero-
space to automotive. “One customer had to thread
70 HRc iron parts and was told that you couldn’t do that with PcBN (polycrystalline cubic boron nitride),”
graham says of a particular stand-out success. “We
were able to help them produce a wide variety of
thread forms using PcBN and solid carbide thread
mills. It meant millions of dollars in sales for them.”
graham says the customer-centric approach of the
centre is simple. “We want to be easy to do business
with,” he says. “We want to partner with our custom-
ers. We want to help those customers remain viable in
the global marketplace. In most instances we feel we
can be of greatest beneit by helping them get their part cost down and productivity up.”
Seco operates Technical Centres in countries
including the UK, China, Hungary, the Benelux coun-
tries, France, germany, Poland, Sweden and Italy and
all take a similar approach.
Emilio Scandroglio, Technical Director, at Seco’s
Technical Centre in guanzate, Italy, says day-to-day
activities are all about educating and assisting custom-
ers. “We organise demos with all the typical applica-
tions and exercises with chip forming diagrams in order
to show the cutting geometries behaviour in relation to
the cutting parameters,” he says. “During other general
visits, we organise factory production tours and practi-
cal demos on our available machining centre.”
In Poland, Seco’s Marcin Hoszwa says the local
technical centre is appreciated by customers. “Our
main customers are from the aviation industry, and
we help them to select the most eficient tools and machining conditions for different materials like super
alloys, titanium or composites,” he says. “We organise
STEP trainings for all customers, distributors and stu-
dents to promote knowledge about using modern tools
and machining methods, strategies.”
edge-ucation
34 EDGE (1. 2016)
21 4 6 113 5 7 12
98 10
italy:
“We organise exercises
and demos with all the
typical applications.”
uS:
“Our advice meant
millions of dollars
in sales for the
customer.”
9
centre: Hungary
Location: Budapest
opened: 2008
Special focus:
Education, productivity
Visitors per year:
10-12 groups
main customers:
automotive, power
generation
10
centre: Poland
Location: Warsaw
opened: 2008
Special focus:
Trainings for customers,
distributors and students
Visitors per year:
About 400
main customers:
Aviation
11
centre: India
Location: Chennai
opened: 2015
Special focus: Seco
Technical Education
Programme (STEP)
12
centre: China
Location: Shanghai
opened: 2008
Special focus:
All kinds of external
and internal trainingVisitors per year:
About 400
main customers:
Potential and exist-
ing customers undergo
STEP training
7
centre: Sweden
Location: Fagersta
opened: New centre
with dedicated demo
hall and showroom will
open in 2016
Special focus:
R&D testing, demos,
customer solutions
Visitors per year:
1,500-2,000
8
centre: Czech Republic
Location: Brno
opened: 2015
Special focus: Technical
and product information,
CET, machining strategy
5
centre: germany
Location: Erkrath
opened: 1992
Special focus:
Customers, universi-
ties, schools, direct
sales, and distribution
partners.
Visitors per year:
1,200+
main customers:
All customers who are
interested in qualiica-
tion and eficient appli-cation strategies.
6
centre: Italy
Location: guanzate
opened: 1990
Special focus: Training,
education, demos
Visitors per year: 200
main customers:
Direct customers, dis-
tributors and students
3
centre: France
Location: Bourges
opened: since 2007
Special focus: Educa-
tion, tool testing, R&D
Visitors per year: 350
main customers: mainly
general engineering cus-
tomers but all segments
and customers can use
it, such as aerospace,
agricultural and auto-
motive.
4
centre: Benelux
Location: Braine
l’Alleud, Belgium
opened: 1996
Special focus:
Education, tool testing
Visitors per year:
Up to 150
main customers:
Auto motive, aerospace,
medical and general
engineering
Poland:
“We help our customers to
select the most eficient tools and machining condi-
tions for different materials.”
Seco’s Technical Centres
1
centre: US
Location: Troy, Michigan
opened: 2008
Special focus: Educa-
tion, customer appli-
cations, competitive
analysis
Visitors per year: 1,400+
main customers: Aero-
space and automotive
2
centre: UK
Location: Alcester
opened: 2013
Special focus:
Customer projects
Visitors per year: 500+
main customers:
Large aerospace down
to tier 2 suppliers
35EDGE (1. 2016)
youtube channelAlso check Seco’s channel on
youtube to watch videos of how our
products shape the metal parts
that build your world – from hip
bones to jet engines.
Cutter dimensions
range from diameter
25 – 125mm, with
a corresponding
imperial range from
diameter 1 – 5”.
BIg IS BeautIFul. Seco Tools is expand-
ing its Square/Helical T4 range with a vari-
ety of larger insert sizes. The new T4-12
is a 90-degree cutter for both slotting and
contouring applications. It can be used
in both square shoulder milling and heli-
cal milling, where a larger depth of cut is
needed.
Large contact areas in the T4-12’s
pocket seat allow for reliable insert mount-
ing, meaning the cutter delivers increased
productivity and more reliable machining.
The ease of the mounting process means
inserts can be positioned correctly, ensur-
ing good surface quality.
Inserts are available in a range of dif-
ferent cutting grades developed for dif-
ferent materials, with peak performance
in steel and cast iron. The inserts are
also suited for stainless steel, hardened
materials, high-temperature alloys, and
nonferrous materials. The T4-12 is suit-
able for industry segments such as gen-
eral engineering, automotive, aerospace
and power.
tools oF tHe trade
Square/Helical t4-12
Cutters are available
for different shanks
and for shell end
mill mounts, with
two different pitch
versions available.
want more?
liKe us!And don’t forget to visit our
Facebook and Instagram pages,
and send us a tweet on Twitter
about anything Seco related.
edge updatedJust like the magazine,
Edgeupdate.com has a new
look and a lot of new features.
Be sure to check it out!
checK out Edgeupdate.com’s new look, featuring access to our Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram pages.
03030174 ST2015652536 EDGE (1. 2016)
