In 2017, Starrag (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) signed an agreement to build the Joint Lab of Starrag, the School of Mechanical Engineering and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in the planned city of Lingang, Shanghai. The project commenced in 2018 and was completed in 2019. Liu Xin, General Manager of Starrag China, considers the Shanghai Tech Center to be the Starrag flagship for Chinese users. “Here, you will find five of the machining centers on which Starrag can present its expertise, especially our latest high-tech processing technologies for aerospace, medical and other markets. The customers who have visited the Tech Center were very impressed and their interest in Starrag’s products and technologies have grown.”

Mr Liu has focused all his efforts on the exhibition center.

In addition to the LX 051 and NB 251, two machining centers of the Bumotec product range, namely the Bumotec s191 and Bumotec s181, have been exhibited on the premises. The Bumotec s191 is a classic machining center of which six hundred units have already been sold worldwide. It is a very successful small turning and milling center for the precise and efficient processing of workpieces for the aerospace, luxury and medical equipment sectors. Bumotec s181 is Starrag’s new machining center for the medical equipment industry with two workstations to significantly increase productivity.

The fifth machine is from the Heckert product range: the newly introduced horizontal four-axis machining center Heckert H50 of the H series. The compact design considerably reduces the footprint of the processing machine, and the high rigidity ensures precise machining. “In addition to the exhibition, Starrag also offers its customers on-site test processing, the processing of small batch sizes and other services that are directly tailored to their needs. At the same time, the demonstration machine in the Tech Center can be delivered directly to the customer as an inventory machine, ensuring that the delivery time for customers on-site is as short as possible. Thanks to the above-mentioned offers of the Tech Center, many aerospace manufacturers have found effective and precise machining solutions for their production. “Actions speak louder than words, and the value of the showrooms is evident from this.” Mr Liu adds that the SJTU/ ME-Starrag Joint Lab has even more advantages.

The SJTU/ME-Starrag Joint Lab is Starrag’s flagship project for customers and the basis for research at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The faculty and students of Shanghai Jiao Tong University carry out research here and develop innovative software and processes that go on to help improve the performance of Starrag’s machining centers.

Mr Liu believes that this is a significant collaboration between educational institutions and business that has exceeded all expectations. Each year brings with it many new successes and breakthroughs. Since the official opening in 2019, open days with various themes have been organised in the exhibition rooms every November, which provide the opportunity to present the results of the collaboration as well as the latest technological developments of Starrag.