Investing in Precision Porsche Werkzeugbau elevates tool engineering with high-speed machining centres

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Starrag UK Ltd.

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In recent years, Porsche Werkzeugbau in Schwarzenberg, Germany, has taken its mechanical machining to the highest technical level. Two large Starrag HSC machining centres Droop+Rein Fogs play a major part in this. The machines are used to finish press tools for moulding skin parts of vehicle bodies with the utmost precision and produce surfaces with grinding quality.

A premium car manufacturer should have a premium engineering plant. To ensure that the Porsche Werkzeugbau Schwarzenberg plant fulfils all of the preconditions for this, 40 million euros was invested over the last five years to develop the tool-engineering plant to the highest possible level following the transition from Kuka. Among other things, the Schwarzenberg-based company used this money to set up two new production halls, purchase a new 25,000 kN servo press for production-related tool try-outs and invest in retrofitting and new machine tools — including two Starrag HSC centres of the Droop+Rein Fogs 35 68 N40C type. In addition to this, mechanical production was completely overhauled and the production processes were restructured.

All of these measures were based on a solid foundation. Beforehand, the whole tool-engineering team analysed the entire process chain, from development and design to procurement, production and try-out of the tools, right through to the transfer to the operator pressing plant — including a fitness test for the pool of machines. An important detail that came to light was the realisation that when it came to mechanical machining, there was potential for improvement in the finishing of the tools, particularly in terms of accuracy, speed and surface quality.