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Editorial

By Dr. Christian Walti

You are holding the latest edition of our customer magazine, Star, published just in time for EMO Hannover 2019. The world’s leading trade fair for metalworking will be held on 16 to 21 September with the motto “Smart technologies driving tomorrow’s production!”

A prime example of smart technology is the “dynamic duo” at the Premium AEROTEC plant in Varel, Germany: Starrag linked two ECOSPEED F 2040 machining centres to a flexible manufacturing system, which recently paved the way for the aircraft manufacturer to enjoy low-intervention, unattended and digitalised production in which data acquired from sensors is used to optimise the production process even further. 

We learnt that the new investment in Varel has a 10 to 15% shorter running time than the older ECOSPEED systems.

A visit to another satisfied Starrag customer showed that performance can often still be improved. “One of our best work horses” is how Alexander Peters, Managing Partner  of NEUMAN & ESSER GmbH from Übach-Palenberg,  Germany, described a Starrag gantry machining centre from the Droop+Rein T product line. This centre has proven its worth, particularly for the complete machining of very large, sophisticated machine components, since 2011. The investment has paid off because, depending on the size, the machining time has fallen by an average of 30 to 40% and accuracy has doubled even in critical areas.

British valve manufacturer KOSO Kent Introl from Brighouse, England, is also very happy with the excellent performance of Starrag machines. Its Heckert DBF 630 5-axis horizontal machining centre fully machines parts from the raw material to the finished part in a single clamping position, without waiting times. Significantly more parts are now produced per week than would be possible on two separate machines. The new Heckert DBF 1000 horizontal machining centre tops this performance, even replacing two roughing machines and one finishing machine when machining units made of high-strength materials.

Turbine production is another domain in which Starrag machines excel: Visitors experienced this for themselves first-hand at the traditional Turbine Technology Days event at our headquarters in Rorschach, Switzerland.

As varied as all these reports are, they share a common denominator: Every application hinges on machine availability. This is where Starrag’s ServicePlus concept comes into play, increasing the technical availability of machines to at least 95% thanks to enhanced support, thereby further increasing our customers’ competitiveness.

I hope you enjoy the exciting insights and findings in the new 2/2019 edition of Star. Better yet: Get to know Starrag and our products and services by visiting one of our locations or our stand (hall 12, B58) at EMO Hannover 2019.

Christian Walti