Heller showcases 5-axis expertise and Industry 4.0 integration at Mach 2024

Mach 2024 Heller showcases 5-axis expertise and Industry 4.0 integration at Mach 2024

2024-01-22 Source: Heller 4 min Reading Time

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Celebrating 50 years in 2024, the UK-based Heller Machine Tools factory highlights its commitment to comprehensive customer support and innovative manufacturing solutions at Mach 2024. The facility, renowned for producing 4-axis and 5-axis horizontal machining centres particularly emphasizes its 360-degree approach to manufacturing solutions.

Power skiving is one of the advanced machining options Heller now offers on its HMCs.(Source: Heller) — Power skiving is one of the advanced machining options Heller now offers on its HMCs.
(Source: Heller)

German-owned Heller Machine Tools, whose factory in Redditch, UK, produces selected 4-axis and 5-axis horizontal machining centres (HMCs) for world markets, will stress at Mach 2024 that this facility places it in an excellent position to provide customers with an elevated level of applications and service support. The Worcestershire facility, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, is also a global competence centre within the group for top-level turnkey projects and innovative manufacturing solutions.

360-degree solutions is Heller's name for its pre- and post-sales services. Based on this principle, the machine tool manufacturer provides users with solutions to maximise machine availability and productivity, helping them to produce parts reliably and at a competitive cost per part in day-to-day manufacturing.

Gallery

The Heller RSP rotary pallet magazine is typical of the automation solutions the German HMC manufacturer can supply.(Source: Heller)

Part of the Heller factory in Redditch, UK, which the company says underpins the elevated level of after-sales service and support it provides.(Source: Heller)

The holistic Heller service includes time studies which are accurate to ± 5 percent, evaluation of requisite workholding, consideration of automation and unmanned running requirements, built-in chillers for cooling the machine elements if they are required to achieve tolerance, tool life monitoring and broken tool detection.

John Dineen, Sales and Service Manager at Heller Machine Tools in the UK commented: “Our 360-degree approach to manufacturing solutions begins with understanding what the customer is trying to achieve and this entails looking closely at the enquiry and listening carefully. However, there is much more to it than that. We draw decisive conclusions from the discussions and communicate our finding clearly and precisely at all contact points with the potential user. To achieve this, every member of staff at Redditch requires agility and flexibility, as they are needed in order to adapt to what can be a rapidly developing situation when the pace of change accelerates during a project.”

Jonathan Smart, Managing Director, NCMT (Source: NCMT)

New 5-axis machining centre

Although not at the show, to be featured prominently on the stand will be the new F 6000 5-axis mill-turn machining centre launched by Heller at the last EMO trade show, held in Hannover from 18th to 23rd September 2023. It has been designed from the ground up following extensive research carried out amongst the manufacturer's customer base.

Highlights of the new generation include new swivelling heads with integrated motor spindles developed in-house and an optional direct-drive torque table for carrying out in-cycle turning operations. A pallet changer is included as standard for first-level automation, enabling easy integration later on of a rotary or linear pallet storage and retrieval system.

To ensure that all of the above benefits are maximised in production, Heller’s design engineers have focused on clear and easy operation, as well as good accessibility to all work areas. Operation is simplified by the new Siemens Sinumerik One control, which is fitted as standard, and the convenient control unit in panel design with 24-inch touch screen. At the same time, better access to the work area and the optional new Setup-Assist software make it easier to prepare the next machining process.

The key to higher productivity is complete machining in a single set-up and 5-axis machines like the F 6000 are ideal platforms. With this in mind, Heller has been busy recently integrating more in-cycle machining technologies in addition to milling and the customary option of turning on a torque table. Examples are various gear-cutting methods, turning with a facing head, power skiving and even friction stir welding.

Automation solutions

The main purpose of automated manufacturing on production centres is reduction of idle times to optimise system availability. For this purpose, Heller offers proprietary automation solutions that can be optimally combined with its HMCs.

Due to the wide variety of market requirements, this portfolio is complemented by a range of specialised solutions for pallet exchange and component handling and storage that the company offers based on best-in-class partnerships, such as with Fastems and Gressel as well as subsidiary companies STS, Paatz and Wenzler. The manufacturer also has a special arrangement with Kuka KMR Cybertech for the integration of automated tool loading and unloading.

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Featured at Mach 2024 will be Heller-4-Industry, the group's worldwide drive towards integration of its machine tools and controls into the Industry 4.0 environment. Within the multi-faceted portfolio is the Heller-4-Services interface, which focuses on transparency of digital manufacturing and maintenance. The module forms the basis for evaluating machine data and statistics to reduce downtimes. Additionally, visualisation of specific information such as status displays of axes and spindles enables a user to predict wear and implement preventive maintenance.

Heller-4-Operation is an easy-to-use, operator-oriented user interface. Touchscreen controls at the tool and workpiece loading stations promote rapid and easy operation, facilitate the manufacture of one-off components and help to integrate production into the value chain. Heller-4-Performance includes workpiece-specific analysis for optimisation of a process and for extraction of real-time data over the internet, plus evaluation and graphical display in the cloud. For example, it can map tool paths and workpiece tolerances during parts of a cycle where tool wear is expected.

Other services within Heller-4-Industry include ‘Energy Monitoring’, ‘Axes Condition’ and ‘Spindle Condition’, while the new my-Heller customer portal helps customers keep track of their shop floor activities, such as ordering spare and wear parts and service visits.

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