THE MICROTECHNOLOGY INFORMATION PORTAL/THE SHOW
19.01.2018
A - Machines
LAUENER: 20 years of success with Deco
Twenty years later, the enterprise has almost 150 machines, about fifteen of them being cam-type lathes. The dedicated workshop for medical products, which represent about 50 % of the sales, is equipped with Deco and EvoDeco machines only. Mr. Freire explains : “The Deco/EvoDeco product is really accomplished and we are fully familiar with it.”
Certification – and more
The company has been certified according to ISO : 9001, ISO : 14 001 and ISO : 13 485, but, as Mr. Raffner says : “These standards are a good basis for us to validate our processes. However, the requirements of our customers are consistently more demanding. This is the reason why we focus on two fields – watch making and the medical industry. It’s also why we purchase equipment that enables us to meet the specific demands.” And while, a couple of years ago, the gap between watchmaking and medical industry in terms of demands and process monitoring was still great, this gap has reduced fast. The General Manager adds : “7 or 8 years ago, the workpieces were produced in the main process and, if required, they were finished in a finishing process. Today, a single bar turning process suffices to produce and finish the parts.”
“We decided to purchase the machines due to their flexibility, productivity and precision – and they did not disappoint us”
Rigor being the watchword
Even if standards may seem to be restrictive (especially as far as the validation process is concerned), they provide a rigor that ensures optimum control and traceability of the process. This is of benefit to process stability and all employees are aware of this. Mr. Raffner tells us : “We managed to overcome the culturally motivated idea that standards have a restrictive effect. Yes, standards are restricting, but we know that the same standards make our company more precise and competitive.” This rigor is the tangible expression for the quality idea that is the same throughout the world.
Shared know-how…
It’s true that the expertise gathered in the field of medical technology has benefited watch-making, and vice versa. The latter especially applies to the know-how required to produce minute parts. “Our experience in watchmaking and especially in the manufacture of watch movement parts with a size of less than one millimeter helps us to produce ophthalmic needles with a diameter of a few hundredths of millimeters,” Mr. Freire declares. The realization of such parts is the standard for Lauener.
… for a large variety of products
Today, Lauener is specialized in just two fields of activities, but within these fields, a huge variety of products are manufactured. The types of the parts produced differ considerably. In this way, a potential decline in demand for a specific part or even its disappearance have less impact on the company. Mr. Raffner gives us an example : “The life cycle of our customers’ products definitely has an impact on our product range. That’s why it is important for us to diversify our product portfolio in order to be able to balance and anticipate the future equipment requirements as far as possible. It should be noted that the evolution of the measuring devices and the introduction of statistical process measurement lead to a revision of certain manufacturing processes and of the type of the machine used.” Mr. Freire adds : “The same is true in the medical industry. Nowadays, we barely manufacture any orthopaedic screws. Other products have replaced them.” Such continuous changes certainly have an impact on the philosophy, the organization and the production.
Flexibility and validation
In line with this open-mindedness, the production must not only be flexible. In fact, it must be capable of simply reproducing the prototyping processes and the processes for small-batch production in a real production cycle. “We simply have to be flexible. In a manufacturing cell for the medical industry, we carry out new set-ups every day. For some parts made of tough materials, new tools are required daily,” the department manager declares.
Training as the key to the company’s success
As far as awareness and vocational education are concerned, Lauener has always attached great importance to training. Incidentally, in the course of the introduction of the TB-Deco software in 1997, the company substantially contributed to the training of its employees in the use of the Windows tools. This was done by organizing training courses and financing 2/3 of the acquisition cost for home computers for the employees. The philosophy of continuous training is still alive. Mr. Di Gerlando explains : “We offer training for various audience types, such as apprentice training and vocational re-training in the form of basic training. For our employees, we certainly offer continuous training intended to update and enhance their expertise.” Lauener enables its staff to make progress and to develop further. Mr. Raffner adds : “We consider the training of apprentices to be an investment. We don’t only work for Lauener but also for the entire Swiss micro-technology industry. And this is essential for the future.” For the customers, competent and motivated staff is another advantage.
Prices, deadlines and reliability
As a matter of course, the customers want to get their parts by just-in-time delivery. This means at the price and within the deadline and under the conditions that each have been agreed upon. However, the security of supply is equally important to them. They need to know that they can rely on their supplier. To be able to offer this service to its customers, Lauener mainly banks on versatility and multiplication of the resources. Consequently, there is no problem should it not be possible to manufacture a medical part on the regular machine ; the processes can be validated and the production monitoring system enables the bar turner to work on another machine of the homogenous machine inventory.
Deco, EvoDeco, controlled processes
The machine pool, which consists of Deco and EvoDeco machines and is supervised by Mr. Freire, is a paramount example for homogeneity. Both the kinematic system and the programming of the first Deco machines of 1996 are similar to those of the EvoDeco machines supplied last (and also of the machines that have not been delivered yet). Since that time, numerous attachments and tool holders have been provided with an interchangeable design. “We decided to purchase the machines due to their flexibility, productivity and precision – and they did not disappoint us. They fully meet the current requirements and will certainly meet the future ones. These machines are extremely versatile and we can produce virtually any part on them,” the manager declares and he adds : “For us, the kinematic system and the PELD language are the main strong points of the Deco and EvoDeco machines 2 . For the production of complex parts, this couple remains the best in the market. These machines can machine workpieces that no other machine can realize.” Thanks to its optimum control characteristics, a new EvoDeco machine installed at Lauener can be made fully operational in less than one week.
Customer-oriented approach of Tornos
Asked about the responsiveness and quality of the Tornos service, the Lauener managers tell us : “We are fully satisfied with our relationship with Tornos and we are following the evolution of the Tornos products with great interest. We consider the new multi-spindle lathes, for instance, to be really interesting. For one and a half year now, we have been feeling that Tornos is following an even more customer-oriented approach and this confirmed our decision for our means of production.”
As close to excellence as possible
Mr. Raffner concludes : “These days, for Lauener, just as for all our colleagues, the challenge is to keep an industrial enterprise in Switzerland running. Not only do we need the best means of production, we also must be most efficient and as close to excellence as possible, at all times.”
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