Machine Tools News

SchottelGmbH Wismar has invested neary $615,000 in a new crane system, a system designed to provide faster and more efficient production process, replacing an old system from 1979.Its two new cranes are double-girder overhead travelling cranes with a load bearing capacity of 50 tonnes each, representing an approximate 10 tonnes more load bearing capacity. “The Wismar subsidiary focuses on the development and assembly of propulsion units for special purpose vessels. Nowadays, these vessels are designed with larger dimensions and more power…

How have major events such as the U.S./China trade war, oil price fall and COVID-19 impacted Twin Disc’s commercial marine business to date, and what adjustments have you made in response?These are the three things that I’ve been highlighting in employee communications and with investors over the last few months. For us, COVID was just the third punch after the other two. China is typically our second largest market after the U.S., and we lost lots of orders to our competitors as the trade war started to affect us. It’s rebounding a little, but it definitely impacted our sales into China.

A new app from German manufacturer igus offers unique insight into its production and development. Equipped with virtual reality (VR) headsets, the company's technical sales consultants now have the capability to show customers the igus factory in Cologne, Germany regardless of where the customers reside.Guided factory tours, popular among customers in the industrial community, offer an opportunity to experience products and witness manufacturing on site. However, these tour are not always possible…

Japan-based Yanmar has delivered two 6EY26DF dual-fuel commercial marine engines with the ability to use both heavy fuel oil (HFO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuels for the LNG tugboat. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) will take delivery of the vessel once construction is completed in February 2019 with the tugboat expected to commence operation in April 2019.Yanmar has also received orders for the LNG fuel tanks, buffer tanks, and gas combustion devices that make up the LNG fuel feed systems for the engines.The MOL-owned vessel will be manufactured by Kanagawa Dockyard Co., Ltd. and operated by Nihon Tug-Boat Co., Ltd. with Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. providing the LNG fuel.

Today Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA), a Group company overseeing the business of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) in North America, commenced full-scale operations at its newly relocated Head Office in Houston, Texas, following a move from its previous base in New York. MHIA held a reception at Rice University today to mark the occasion in the presence of guests including The Honorable Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas. Present at the reception, MHI President & CEO Shunichi Miyanaga offered the following remarks: "I am delighted that we have been able to set up a new base in Houston to better serve our customers and oversee our Group operations in North America.

SCHOTTEL, a German manufacturer of marine propulsion systems, has invested a total of €45 million to open a new state-of-the-art Rudderpropeller factory, increasing the company’s production capacity by roughly 30 percent. The factory, near its headquarters in Spay, Germany, was officially opened in the summer of 2015 following a construction period of about two years. It features four production shops (up to 270 meters long and 18 meters high) and a three-storey building for administration, social and technical purposes.

Established in 1984 as a company dedicated to engineering marine motors, Armor Mécanique is situated in the port of Lorient. And while the coastal view remained picturesque, the ensuing years brought change. The company, founded by Marcel Février, is now dedicated to precision engineering and boilermaking. In 2005, upon Février’s retirement, experienced precision engineer Franck Vincent took on management of the company. Upon taking up the reins of Armor Mécanique, Vincent found that he had quite a lot on his plate.

For the 2014 business year, the Liebherr Group is currently anticipating an overall turnover of 8,866 million euros (2013: 8,964 million euros). In the area of construction machines and mining, a decline is expected. For the other areas, the 2014 figures are higher than the previous year’s. The Liebherr Group’s overall turnover is expected to be 8,866 million euros in this business year. Compared with the turnover from 2013, this is a slight drop of about 98 million euros, or 1%.

The overall economic situation did not improve in 2013. According to current forecasts, the global economy will grow by just under 3% and global production probably by 3.1%. In this year the volume of worldwide trade will, according to World Trade Organization (WTO) forecasts, increase by 2.5%. In view of only moderate overall economic development this year, the Liebherr Group expects its total turnover to reach €9.1 billion, which equals the previous year’s figure. A slight downturn is anticipated in the construction machinery and mining area…

As preliminarily communicated in the stock exchange release on June 19, 2013, Konecranes’ profitability development has been unsatisfactory amid the current challenging business environment, the company said in a news release. In addition, the economic environment remains uncertain, and Konecranes said it will prepare accordingly. The company is planning new measures to reduce annual cost base by EUR 30 million by the end of 2014 of which roughly two-thirds relates to the Business Area Equipment and one-third to the Business Area Service. Furthermore, Konecranes is planning new actions to reach savings in variable costs. The total cash-based restructuring costs are estimated at maximum EUR 20 million for the years 2013 to 2014.

Unison has received an order from Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), the supplier of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of two shipbuilders of nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy, for an all-electric CNC machine capable of bending large-bore tubing and piping up to eight inches in diameter (219mm OD). The machine will be the first of its type ever built, extending the shipbuilder’s range of precision software-controlled bending facilities to include fabrication of larger diameter pipes that previously could only be bent on very high torque hydraulic machines.

World economic development was weaker in 2012 than in the previous year. Although growth was still 3.2%, the emerging markets’ rates of growth declined as well. The industrial nations continued to pursue a course between consolidation and economic stabilization. Within the Eurozone only a few countries achieved economic growth. The volume of world trade increased by 2.1%. The 2012 business year progressed well for the Liebherr Group. Although the reduced dynamism of the world economy had a noticeable effect on orders received in the final months of the year…

Methods Machine Tools donated the Feeler VMP-580 CNC Vertical Machining Center and a Feeler HT30-Y Turning Center to Ivy Tech Community College’s Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (OAMTC) in Warsaw, Ind. Methods is providing the new machines to Ivy Tech for instructional use in its curriculum during the 2012-13 academic year, including in its Advanced Manufacturing program and the Orthopedic Quality Standards and Technical Skills certificate program. Methods intends to replace the machines with the latest models in subsequent academic years.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) is to open a showroom of the company's machine tools within its machine tool production plant in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. With the showroom MHI aims to demonstrate the high-performance features of its machine tools, including gear cutting machines, as well as the company's ability to respond to customer needs; at the same time the new facility will also enhance user support, including consultation on technical matters and trial cutting. The new machine tool showroom will be opened at Changshu Ryoju Machinery Co., Ltd., where MHI has been producing gear cutting machines since April 2011. It will initially exhibit MHI's best-selling GE15A dry-cut gear hobbing machine, which was MHI's first machine tool produced at the plant.

High Transport Efficiency and Environmental Compatibility Recognized. TØNSBERG, the world's largest roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ship*, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has been awarded the "Ship of the Year 2011" by the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE). Every year JASNAOE selects what it considers to be the most technologically, artistically and socially superior ships and marine structures built that year, and the TØNSBERG was chosen for its highly evaluated transport efficiency and environmental compatibility.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has completed the development and begun full-scale marketing of a double column machining center - dubbed the "LH250" - capable of high-precision machining of workpieces up to 2 meters in length. The new unit not only offers significantly enhanced vibration absorption capability in the machine structure and greater rigidity in the high-speed main spindle, it also incorporates MHI's unique main spindle lubrication cooling technology and suppresses self-heating of the machine normally caused by long hours of continuous operation, which take a toll on machining precision. Through these innovations, the LH250 has achieved machining with 5 micrometer (µm, 0.001 millimeter) level precision, the highest level in the same size machine category.

Climax Continues Worldwide Expansion With New Machining and Welding Sales, Rentals and Service Facility in the United Kingdom. Climax Portable Machine Tools has opened a new sales, service and rentals depot in South Manchester, United Kingdom to support local customers across the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia and to equip them with precision on-site machining and welding systems. The company’s 13th international rentals office, the new 3.000 sq. ft. depot will offer specialized engineering services…

Power Transmission Solutions, a business unit of Emerson Industrial Automation, introduces its new consolidated 300-page industrial coupling catalog covering Kop-Flex, Jaure, Morse and Browning products in bore sizes up to 43.5 inches, and torque ratings up to 329,000,000 lbs-in. The wide variety of designs covers a multitude of industries, such as steel, aluminum, pulp and paper, and mining, as well as turbomachinery. Applications include rolling mills, crushers, pumps, fans, steam turbines, elevators, machine tools and hoists to name a few.

To support increased demand worldwide for on-site portable machining tools, Climax Portable Machine Tools has opened new rental depots in Houston, Texas; Prairieville, Louisiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio; as well as a new international location in Perth, Western Australia. The four new machine tool rental facilities expand the company’s  reach with eleven rental depots worldwide, and allow Climax to provide nearer accessibility of its tools to customers within the power generation, shipbuilding, heavy construction and mining, and service and engineering industries. Renting is often a fast, cost-effective way to obtain needed machine tools for unexpected repairs – or to take advantage of new business opportunities - without making unnecessary capital expenditures.

A.R. Larsen Co., Inc. 15040 N. Accord International, Inc. 4380 S. Wayside, Ste. Products: Bulbflats, T-bulb, L-Profiles, millimetric Universals & Flats. 2203 Northwood Drive, Bldg. Products: DC Inverter Stick, MIG, TIG and Stud Welders that offer proven reliability, rugged construction and great welding characteristics. Products: Temporary Surface Protection for marine survice, repair and building projects. Bell Design Group Ltd. Products: Full service architectural design, interior decor and exterior styling concepts. Experienced designs comply with Coastguard Authority regulations, SOLAS and Lloyd`s Register. Benjamin R. Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. 2712 E. Products: Boring bar systems, Bore Welding Machines, Valve Repair Machines, Flange Facers, Milling Machines, Lathes.

A common thread found in shipyards — across the nation and around the world; among builders of the most massive oceangoing ships to builders of the smallest inland boats — is the need to outfit and maintain a well-trained workforce; one that knows how to use the latest technology efficiently. Helping to fulfill this need with renewed vigor is Oregon-based Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc., a manufacturer who for 37 years has made its business out of producing all types of manufacturing processes streamlined and efficient, as attested by its 20 patents. The company recently launched a targeted initiative for the world's ship and boatbuilding industry, as it sees an unrivaled opportunity to tap markets new and old.

Wärtsilä has officially opens its Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Vaasa, Finland. The MTC is a new concept for Wärtsilä, and is aimed at securing and further developing its manufacturing competencies, and sharing manufacturing know-how throughout the global Wärtsilä network. The MTC concept is designed to enhance Wärtsilä's ability to effectively develop and globally share its core manufacturing competencies, including machining, forging, casting, welding, production & assembly automation, and digital manufacturing technologies. This will produce value-adding benefits by supporting component design, and manufacturing and supplier development. It will also optimize Wärtsilä's efforts towards "first time right" quality, "as promised" delivery times, and competitive costs.

Climax Portable Machine Tools announced the award of a $1.5m contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for refurbishing the Markland Locks on the Ohio River. The award will be funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which earmarked money for the Army Corps of Engineers for construction projects. According to Climax, this contract will save and/or create 30 jobs in Oregon. More than $11.6b dollars a year of commerce pass through the Markland Locks and Dams on the Ohio River. When the locks needed to be refurnished, the Army Corps of Engineers began looking for a solution that would not disrupt the flow of shipping and that could replace its current repair process which was costly and time consuming.