I N N O V A T I O N A N D P R O G R E S S I N M E T A L F O R M I N G

Journal ofLASCO UMFORMTECHNIKWERKZEUGMASCHINENFABRIKfor customers, employeesand business partners. 2nd Year, issue no. 2, June 1999

Quality jump inQuality jump inconnecting rconnecting rododforforming ming Page 4Page 4

Page 3News

Joint Venture inDetroit

„Flexitime“ will make LASCO more efficient.

Page 3News

BMB invests inprecision line

Page 2Trends + Markets

Investment initia-tive warning

Page 6In-house

More flexibility inworking time

Page 7In-house

Design on thetest rig

Page 8In practice

Leiber automatesaluminium forging

Page 4Know-how

More economicforging

die-forging hammers andpreforming, trimmingand calibrating presses toform harmonious andefficient production cells.Workpieces will be billetsof square and round sec-tion steel, 35 to 110 mmdiameters.

The pant will be deliver-ed this month.

Initiativedemanded

The tax and political

economic decisions

of the Federal

Government and the

most recent tariff

negotiations further

impair conditions for

middle-class enterpri-

ses in Germany.

Capital goods produ-

cers, burdened by

increasing costs,

must try to assert

themselves in mar-

kets characterised by

demand weakness

and global price pres-

sure. Needless to say,

the difficulties are

enormous.

We recognise the

challenge and by

placing trust in the

motivation, will to

succeed and compe-

tence of our employ-

ees, we accept the

initiative.

Strengthened market

presence and the fur-

ther intensifying of

dialog with users of

our products as well

as the development

of supplementary

operational areas for

LASCO engineering,

characterise our stra-

tegy.

The exceptional posi-

tive resonance at

home and abroad

resulting from the

launch of this journal

encourages belief

that we are on the

right track and we

hope this latest issue

sparks a similar res-

ponse.

Ed

ito

ria

lE

dit

oria

l

By Friedrich Herdan,President

Coburg. The persistentweakness, and someti-mes regressive trendin investment, espe-cially in Germany, hasbrought recovery ofthe machine tool indus-try to a halt.

This is underlined bycompany presidentFriedrich Herdan in hisreport to the generalcompany meeting on theresults of the 1998-tra-ding year. The effects inthe industry range fromturnover drops, throughredundancies to totalcollapse of some enterpri-ses. Yet there are stillcompanies able to navi-gate against the currentof these troubled econo-mic waters to increase

sales, create jobs and toachieve sufficient profits.

LASCO has succeeded,through enormous effort,correct market decisionsand severe cost discipline,to disassociate itself to alarge extent from thenegative effects of thedomestic crisis. The dropin demand for machineryfor the building materialsindustry has been com-pensated by increase turn-over in the metal formingsector. This has increasedthe proportion of theLasco core business ofmetal forming machinesto more than 70 % of totalturnover.

Total sales for 1998were almost 52 million-

DM, an increase of aboutsix percent over the pre-vious year. A positiveresult, but one that bringsprofits described by presi-dent Herdan as, „Verymodest“.

A sharpening of thenegative market trend isemerging in the currentfiscal year. The profit per-spectives in the industriesin which Lasco is mostlyactive are characterised bydeep recession years andnet yields are clearlybelow average levels offormer times. In such cir-cumstances many enter-prises, nationally andinternationally, draw onthe emergency invest-ment brake.

However, Lasco’s ba-lance at the end of 1998shows what Herdandescribes as, „An atypical-ly full order book“, butincoming orders in thefirst months of 1999 areconsiderably below theprevious years figures.

Faced with the nationaland international demandweakness, the alreadyhigh price pressure furtherintensifies. The effects ofthe most recent changesin tax legislation and wagetariff negotiations placefurther cost burdens onproducers. The collectiveresult is that Germanmachine tool manufac-turers will need to makeconsiderable sacrifices tosurvive the year.

Trends+Markets

Regressive investment trend

Industry in troubledwaters

Ankara. The Turkishgearbox maker HemaDisli Sanayii ve TicaretA. S. (Polatli, Ankara)ambitiously expandsproduction capacity.

As an addition to theexisting facility, a new fac-tory is under construc-tion near Ankara. Whencompleted, in the secondhalf of the year, gear-boxes and transmissionparts will be produced forthe group’s own gearboxand tractor factory.

In the search for bestpossible productionengineering, the Hemamanagement set theiraims high and, aftermany months of highlycompetitive negotiations,finally made their choiceof three automated for-ging lines from Lasco.„The order is valued atover 10 million-DM andwill be the first co-opera-tion between Lasco andthe Hema group,“ reportsHorst Sauerbrey who will

lead the project with fullauthority of the Lascomanagement.

Lasco will supply threeproduction lines for for-ging and heat treatmentof transmission partssuch as gears and shafts,including technology andplanning. This will evenextend to layouts of buil-ding measures and theprovision of utilities such

as electricity, gas and air.

The plant will representthe current level of tech-nology in the industryand include inductionheaters fed by automaticbillet sorting, elevatingand loading devices, allon anti-vibration moun-tings. The high degree ofautomation is continuedby the use of Lasco for-ging robots linked with

The Turkish group Hema chooses Coburg know-how

Sights raised

Market maker.Horst Sauerbrey is mana-ging the HEMA-Project.

Ready for export.Hema - hydraulic preforming presses during finalassembly.

News

Detroit. With the aimof intensifying custo-mer contact and servi-cing, Lasco Umform-technik and LettsIndustries Inc. (De-troit) have founded inDetroit, the heart ofthe US automotiveindustry, the jointventure enterpriseLasco EngineeringServices L.L.C.

LES will provide theNorth American custo-mers with personal atten-tion to sales and service,advice and consultationconcerning the completespectrum of Lasco equip-ment and spares.

Waving Flag. LES will be waving their flagon the Internet as soon as the website is comple-ted.

LES founded in Detroit

LASCOstrengthensUS presence

The enterprise waslaunched in August lastyear with a team of fivehighly qualified staff ledby Horst Reinhardt who iswell known to the indus-try as Lasco’s agent formost of the thirty yearshe has lived in the States.Mike Gill is responsible foractivities in the powdermetal industry in whichhe already has over 18years experience.

Lasco and Letts haveequal interests in the newventure and provide theircombined support.

Multimedia Services

Agency in actionCoburg. With a row ofambitious projectssuccessfully realised,Lasco MultimediaServices enters itssecond full tradingyear as an internetagent with a shar-pened profile; con-firmed by the ordersalready received inthe first quarter.

Going on-line this yearwith pages produced byLMS are:

auto parts makerScherer & Trier (Michelau);the Moritz group(Germany/Italy) - makersof computer keys; foodwholesalers BauerBrothers (Rödental); Heim(Lautertal); network spe-cialists Rosenbauer

(Neustadt); and an asso-ciation of two major ban-king groups.

„These belong to thenew generation of web-sites,“ explains marketingmanager Georg Weber.„They are notable by theirextremely high transferspeed, quality and har-mony of page, colour andtext, with unusual specialeffects featuring soundand moving pictures.“The impact of these pro-gramming and presenta-tion techniques is soimpressive that LMS nowoffer websites accordingto conventional HTMLstandard only on request.

A sign that LMS is buil-ding an expanding nicheas an Internet agency, is

the quality of enquiriesreceived. „We are in-volved in websites forcatalogues, online-shopsand remote maintenancesystems on the basis oftransfer of moving pic-tures. We are also en-gaged in preliminary pro-ject conversations with anation-wide trade asso-ciation. This gives us con-fidence that we are buil-ding a reputation as acompetent E-Commerceservice provider andbusiness partner,“ con-cludes Weber.

By the way: a glimpseinto the current projectsbeing worked on by LMScan be found in on thenet at: (http://demo.lms-coburg.de/).

BMB buys net-shapeforging line

Schönebeck, near Mag-deburg. Lasco was thesuccessful bidder in aworld-wide tender tosupply a precisionforging line for automo-tive steering racks to thecompany BMB, a jointventure between Mer-cedes Lenkungen GmbHand the Australian com-pany Bishop Steering.

The demands on theforging line are particu-larly rigorous due to thevariation in tooth geome-try throughout thelength of the steeringrack that precludes sub-sequent finish grindingprocesses.

The purpose-builtLasco SPR 1000 screw

press will forge the racksto net shape withguaranteed tolerancesmeasured in thousandsof a millimetre, ready foruse. The 1000-ton ratedforce press employs afrequency converter forprecise, computer-con-trol of the drive motorspeed.

Shocked. LMS employs the „shockwave“ presentation technique.

Leaders. Managing Director Horst Reinhardt(left) and Mike Gill are responsible for guiding theprogress of the new venture in the USA.

human production fac-tors.

Lasco have been en-gaged for nearly twodecades in developingsimple, robust and reliable

Know-how

The die-forming hammer developed into a CNC hot former

A quality jump through sensoand control engineering

The economics of aproduction process canbe greatly influenced bythe weight or thicknessaccuracy of the forgedpart. A typical case is theforged connecting rod.

The energy of the for-ming blow delivered hasan influence on the finalthickness of the forging.In competition with othermanufacturing pro-cesses, such as sintering,weight variations havesevere cost consequen-ces. The continuallyincreasing qualitydemands of the motorindustry impose greatstresses on the manufac-turers and make it diffi-cult for them to deliverparts whose price is inany way effected by

Coburg. By the application of modern controlengineering, dimensional deviations in the die-forming hammer can be corrected largely auto-matically. With the aim of making a precision-forging hammer with high part thickness accu-racy, LASCO has developed the hammer into anintelligent CNC-hot former.

The concept ofthe double-actinghydraulic hammer

drive is nowworld-favoured.

systems for determiningand controlling the speedand position of the for-ging hammer ram.

Working together witha maker of digital linearmeasuring devices, asystem has been deve-loped by Lasco to sensethe position of the ham-mer ram over its com-plete stroke, to a resoluti-on of 0.05mm with anaccuracy of about99.73%, even with veloci-ties as high as 6 m/sec!

Accuracy

Bringing the diestogether and pressing a„re-reference“ buttonautomatically compen-sates for die height chan-ges as a result of re-working.

Final thickness of theforging is influenced,naturally, by factors otherthan the forming energy.Temperature of the part,temperature and con-ditions of the dies andvariations in the stockmaterial all play a part.Lasco, as supplier of pro-cess-suited productionequipment is able tooffer solutions to thewhole process control.

Acquiring the closed-die ram position of theforging hammer isequally as important asdetermining the ramspeed. Whilst the latter ismore a proof of the per-

fect functioning of themachine, the formergives vital information onthe die-forging processitself, for each blow!

Under pressure. Increasing demands onquality and price of forgings forces optimisationof production processes.

Know-how

or

Brain. Control technology brings the impor-tant parameters of hammer die-forging undermore economical control.

The hammer frameis heated for apositive influenceon guideclearances.

Acquired positionalnformation has an influ-ence on subsequentactions. For each andevery blow in a sequence,the anticipated closingposition of the ram under

normal conditions can beinput and compared withthe actual value. If adeviation outside thegiven tolerance is detec-ted, the energy of thesubsequent blow can beautomatically adjusted tocompensate. Extremedeviations can indicatethat the part was not cor-rectly located in the dieimpression, in which casethe hammer can bestopped automatically.

The energy of eachhammer blow can berapidly adjusted and sosudden deviations withina blow sequence, as wellas slowly developingdimensional changes, canbe compensated for.Sensors installed in thehammer or connected toit obtain information onthe compensationdegree necessary.

Clever technique

Maintenance intervalindications help also toreduce unplanned stop-pages in the hammer. Theclosing time of the ham-mer blow valve, forexample, is related towear and has an influenceon the precision withwhich the blow energy isregulated. If the controlsystem notes a discre-pancy between the ener-gy correction factor inputand the actual effect ofthat correction then thisindicates wear in thevalve and a maintenancewarning can be displayed.

In a similar way, leakagein the hammer hydraulicsystem can be detected.

An electronic timer mea-sures the interval be-tween charging of thehydraulic accumulatorand if this becomes shor-ter than a given value

then it indicates leakagein the system and anappropriate maintenancewarning can be displayed.Accurate electronictiming of the accumula-tor charging time indi-cates the condition of thehydraulic pump.

Perfection

The question is, doesthe old term „die-forginghammer“ still apply tothis modern generationof forming machine? It isno longer a means ofdeforming metal throughenergy provided by liftingand dropping a mass, buta machine tool derivingintelligence from sensedinformation and compu-ter control? It uses con-trol loops to compensatefor internal and externalfactors causing deviationsin intended results. Wethink the term „CNC hotformer“ to be moredescriptive and appro-priate.

work-time accounts andthe extension of flexibleworking hours. As long asthe monthly „timeaccount“ of an employeeis in the so-called „greenzone“, i.e. the plannedworking time according tothe industry-wide collec-tive agreement is notexceeded by more than35 hours, he/she maythen, by agreement withhis/her superior, take

these hours or days off. Ifthe monthly overtimeworked is between 36 and65 hours (yellow zone) thedepartment must makeimmediate arrangementswith the employee forhim/her to take this timeoff. Above 65 hours (redzone) means the interven-tion of management toimplement organisationalchanges. Flexitime givesmore freedom to the

In-house

Coburg. Lasco pre-pares to meet thechallenge of the newmillennium by beingmore flexible andready to satisfy custo-mers wishes. This isthe aim of the newflexible work-timearrangement in forcesince the beginning ofthis year, which isdesigned to makeoptimum use of avail-able human resources.

The creation of freeoption in the individualworking time of em-ployees also means pla-cing more direct respon-sibility on individuals andtheir departments. Thereform is welcomed bythe works committeewhose foreman, Gian-Carlo Azzali, comments,„The new working timestructure contributes tosecuring jobs. Its properapplication will reduceovertime and when theorder book allows, openthe way to further jobopportunities.

The core of agreementbetween managementand the works committeeis the introduction of aso-called traffic lightsystem for control of

On June 1st. we werepleased to welcome backThomas Götz asCommercialD i r e c t o r.T h o m a sfirst joinedthe com-pany in 1993and set upthe controlling depart-ment, then left for twoyears to gain some valu-able experience as com-mercial director ofGEIGERtechnik, a supplierof plastic goods to theautomobile industryemploying 300 people.

Günter Hofmann isabout tocomplete his37th yearwith LASCO ,and movesfrom leaderof design tothe position ofDevelopment Director asof 1.6.99.

Commercial specialistThomas Brückner rein-forces the staff from May1st, undertaking respon-sibility for the marketingdepartment. A native ofCoburg, he studied inBamberg and brings to

Lasco practical experien-ces of wor-king with thei n s u r a n c egroup HUK,the car rentalcompany Sixtand SchenkerBTL.

Klaus Herbert Kaehlernow represents the mar-keting interests of LASCOas technical adviser inNorthern Rhine West-phalia and Baden-Wuerttemberg since thebeginning of March. The48-year-old engineer livesin Iserlohn and already

PersonnelPersonnel

Flexibilty to better meet costumers needs

A new „flexitime“ systemmotivates the workforce

Azzali’s opinion is thatthe new structure willimprove the co-operationbetween departments andimprove production plan-ning with the benefit ofmore comfortablyachieved delivery sched-ules.

The reaction of theworkforce is to a largeextent positive althoughtheir interests are varied.„While time in lieu is veryimportant for many,there are those who valuethe economics of over-time above all others, andthat is understandable,“he admits. „We must havein mind the need to sup-port the competitivenessof LASCO on the interna-tional market and thussecure our jobs, and Ithink this is a sensible andfuturistic scheme.“

It is the regret of themanagement that thescheme must already bemodified as a result ofthe most recent tariffnegotiations.

has 18 years experiencein metal forming. Since1986 he hasbeen activethe GermanF o r g i n gAssociationand for thelast sevenyears has served on theadministration commit-tee. In January, Mr. Kaehleropened an office toanswer questions concer-ning organisation andoptimisation of forgeengineering for theGerman industry.

employee to arrange per-sonally suitable workingtimes „Through the intro-duction of staggered wor-king hours we increasethe availability of thedepartment as a whole,“comments Roland Mar-cos-Macho, deputy workscommittee foreman. „Wecan make ourselves avail-able to our customers atshort notice.“

Constructive. Job security is equally important to both sides. Gian-

Carlo Azzali, works committee foreman and deputy Roland Marcos-Macho (L)with president Friedrich Herdan (R)

10 years with LASCO

Ulrike Rusert, sales01.03.1999

Erna Teichert, vacationhouse 01.04.1999

Ralf Klatt, machining17.04.1999

Alfred Herrmann.machining 01.06.1999

Recently retired

Hermann Rauschert,transport 31.12.1998

Herbert Fischer,accounts and personalmanager

01.06.1999

Sadly mourned

Ernst Albreit, retired†10.12.1998

Dietmar Büchner, tech-nician, technical office

†21.04.1999

In-house

Design on the test bed

The aim of the project to redesign our image (cor-porate design) is the sharpening, co-ordinating andoptimisation of the corporate presentation to showan unmistakable profile in the market. The identity ofLASCO should be clearer than in the past and so ele-ments such as logo, word marks and house colourswill dominate in the new vision. The project will berealised by the Weber Communications Agency andimplemented within the framework of the master’sthesis of Michael Ferstl, under the guidance ofProfessor Ulrich Böhme.

WebSite on-line again

New pages have been added to our sitewww.lasco.de and/or www.lasco.com in the Internet.An improved navigation system, a clearer contents-related struc-turing and amore conclusivevisualisation ofour companyidentity werecentral to therevision. A reduc-tion in graphicshas made thepages faster.Improved service and database support communica-tion will be responsible for more visits.

House magazine Private file: Ralf Goller

On top of theworld

A touch of patriotism. Upper

Franconian Goller hoists the state flag at thesummit.

Myth. Kilimanjaro

is the highest moun-tain in Africa.

Machame/Tanzania.The climax of a trip toAfrica is undoubtedlyan ascent of Kili-manjaro. The moun-tain, Africa’s highestat almost 5900 metersand the highest free-standing mountain inthe world, has beendrawing adventurersand mountain clim-bers into its spell forcenturies and has nowclaimed the admira-tion of our colleagueRalf Goller.

The 29 year old designengineer finds relaxationfrom his work in theLasco technical office intrecking, or, as he puts it,„Enjoying nature onfoot.“

After a five-day march -48 kilometers horizontallyand 4000 meters vertical-

ly - the eyes of tentreckers lit up at the siteof the Franconiancolours, red and white, asRalf hoisted the state flagon the highest point inAfrica.

In addition to the phy-sical effort - five to sixhours each day on thesteep, 0.5 meter wideMachame Trail - the emo-tions of the trip leavedeep impressions. Ralfwas prepared for the

spectacular natural sce-nery, from the primevalforest in the valleys at thefoot of the volcano to theexotic flora up to thevegetation line and thebarren, rocky landscapeof the summit. He be-came accustomed to themicroclimate of themountain which has itsown laws, independent ofthe surrounding area:warm clothing for the icynights in camp, capes forthe daily downpour, snowgoggles to protectagainst UV-radiation. He isused to oxygen deficien-cy of higher altitudes butthe crystalline, breath-taking panoramas,African star-shine andsunrises far exceeded hishighest expectations. Hefound disturbing, how-ever, the great differencebetween European for-tune and Tanzanianpoverty. „Its funny,“ hereflects, „to see the hotelscreened with barbedwire and the people out-side living only on cornporridge, and then toclimb the mountain with

House magazine

At workplace. At his workplace in the

technical office Ralf Goller designs automationsystems.

high-tech equipmentwhile porters in sandalsand rags bring up yourbaggage behind you.“

Ralf undertook the tripas a member of a travelgroup of 14, includingtwo women, in which theages ranged from 19 to63, but not all were ableto accommodate the cli-mate and the strain; athird having to turn backshort of the summit.

Training atSkoda

Pilsen. The Lasco salesteam expands its know-ledge of casting techno-logy. In January, a twelve-man team from the salesdepartment attended atwo-day training courseat Skoda in Pilsen whoare suppliers of majorcastings such as pressand hammer bases.

We participate in:

September

16th InternationalForging Congress

Beijing, China

September, 9th to 16th ‘99

Speech: Hydraulic DieForging Hammers -Present Situation andFuture Developments

Exhib

itio

ns/C

ongresses

Exhib

itio

ns/C

ongresses

A leapforward

UPGRADE: Mr Samuel,Leiber has expendedgreat effort andinvestment on pro-duction technologyfor the next centurywith the choice ofmachinery supplierfinally landing withLasco. Is this becauseof a long association?

Samuel: We knewLasco as a competentsupplier of die-for-ging presses but wehad none of theirmachines up to now.Decisive for us, wastheir automation con-cept.

UPGRADE: Why is theperipheral equipmentso important?

Samuel: As a specialistin aluminium, Leiberis becoming moreand more involvedwith the automobileindustry which meansour capacities mustbe optimised forlarge-scale manufac-turing under enor-mous price pressures.Automation is essen-tial.

UPGRADE: How doesLeiber rate Lasco’sperformance?

Samuel: We allowedLasco a very shorttime to produce theequipment - only sixmonths - but theydelivered on time.

UPGRADE: Have thepromised results beenachieved?

Samuel: We are ontarget. The equip-ment runs on 3-shifts,six days a week; anenormous jump for-ward in output forLeiber.

Emmingen. No oneknows better thanLeiber the exceptionalcharacteristics of thelight metal, alu-minium, on whichtheir whole enterpriseis founded. As far backas the mid 60s, the for-mer agriculturalmachinery workshophas featured facilitiesfor hot working andmachining of alu-minium alloys.

Since the automobileindustry discovered theadvantages of this metal,the mid-sized company ofLeiber with the necessaryknow-how, has had a fullorder book and beenunder pressure to expandcapacity. The family-owned company, withheadquarters inEmmingen and plants inSpain and Poland, hasincreased turnover by50% in 1998 to around 75million-DM and createdover 100 new jobs. Today,the group, with a totalworkforce of 500, is num-bered amongst the mostimportant aluminium die-forgers in Europe and isset for major enlarge-ment.

Production engineeringfrom Coburg is playing anessential part of this push.Since February 1998, afully automatic Lasco for-ging line has been in ope-ration at Leiber’s head-quarters and is a landmarkin the company’s history,which, since its foundingin 1928, has been a purelymanual facility.

The aluminium specia-lists have committed sub-stantial investment toachieve the market andtechnology leadership foraluminium forgings inEurope and the newworkshop in Emmingen isevidence of this determi-nation. It houses the LascoSPR 1000 screw presswhich, together withautomation and handlingsystems developed inCoburg, turns out forgedtransmission parts ofguaranteed consistentquality in high volumes.

The production linebegins with sawn anddeburred aluminium bil-lets, heated to forgingtemperature, and presen-ted to the Lasco line. Atransport system brings in

the billets at regular inter-vals and properly orientedto the first impression inthe press die for pre-for-ming. The preform is thentransferred to the secondimpression for finish for-ging after which it is auto-matically unloaded fromthe press. Human inter-vention is only needed forthe trimming operation.

Lasco’s precise controltechnology gives the ope-rating personnel absolutecontrol of the productionparameters. The line fulfilsthe highest qualitydemands but also givesflexibility of application toLeiber to produce, notonly vehicle parts, butparts for the electrical,construction and machinetool industries.

Journal ofLASCO UMFORMTECHNIKWERKZEUGMASCHINENFABRIKfor customers, employees andbusiness partnersIssue: No. 2, June 1999

Editorial Staff:Herbert Rüger, Georg Weber.

Editorial address:Lasco Umformtechnik GmbH,Hahnweg 139, 96450 Coburg,GermanyPhone + 49 95 61 6 42-0Fax + 49 95 61 6 42-3 33eMail: lasco@lasco.deInternet: www.lasco.de

Photographs:Hagen Lehmann, Georg Weber.

Layout:w e b e r - kommunikation, Neustadt.

English translation:Roy Scott Translation Services.

Printing:Schneider Druck, Weidhausen.

In practice

Inte

rvie

wIn

te

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A productivity push from Coburger automation

Aluminium specialistLeiber steps on the gas

Dipl.-Ing. (TH)DIRK SAMUEL

Research and development,Leiber oHG, Emmingen

Hidden workhorse. The large extraction hood covers much of the SPR 1000 but can’t conceal

its impressive output.

Job-sharing.The machine works -the man supervises.

Finale. Only trim-

ming is still manualwork.