THE MICROTECHNOLOGY INFORMATION PORTAL/THE SHOW
26.01.2018
A - Machines
Swiss DT 13 solutions keep Ensto turning
Ensto’s new, high-production Swiss DT 13 was purchased through Tornos’ full-service machine tool partner Makrum in Tampere, western Finland. This company supports the company in producing clean, recyclable, trusted and innovative products with a long lifetime and low life cycle environmental impact. Jukka Jalo, a method engineer with Ensto Operations knows his way around machine tools and when he joined Ensto in September 2015, he concluded that an investment in easier-to-use production equipment was necessary. “My main work is in development projects in this industrial environment ; developing and enhancing machining methods and designing and planning new preventive maintenance methods,” Jalo explains. “One area is to look for new and future machining methods and machines.” While Ensto’s existing production equipment had been a formidable investment, Jalo found that operator ease of use was lacking. The service and usability of previous machines was not at a level expected by today’s manufacturing companies. So, he set out to find a partner that could support Ensto in terms of machines, service and training. After pre-selecting three potential partners, Jalo and his team visited several booths at EMO 2015 and found that Tornos’ machine range fit both Ensto’s current and future needs, offering both easy-to-use, standard Swiss-type machines and high-production multispindle lathe solutions. From that point, Makrum and Tornos worked closely together to quickly support Ensto in its complete supplier selection process. In November 2016, Jalo traveled to Moutier, Switzerland, with Ensto’s development manager Tapani Ahonen and machinists Petri Martikainen and Janne Laaksonen to put the Tornos Swiss DT 13 through its paces. The team asked probing questions about the Swiss DT 13 technology. The engineers were amazed by the high quality test cuts that the Tornos machine produced. In fact, after watching the machine produce high-end connectors to.
The face of Tornos in Finland
When manufacturers in Finland want the best of both worlds regarding premier metal cutting solutions and peerless customer service, they look to Tornos partner Makrum.
Situated in western Finland’s most populous inland city, Tampere, Makrum is a full-service machine tool supplier. As the exclusive Finnish importer and dealer of some of the world’s leading machine tool manufacturers, Makrum offers a wide selection of lathes, machining centers, boring and milling machines. Additionally, it offers a wide array of special purpose machine tools and highly productive automation solutions. Moreover, Makrum delivers a full range of services from customer needs and assessments to turnkey delivery and comprehensive after-sales service. “Customer Service is our top priority. Our team consists of highly skilled, experienced, and enthusiastic professionals dedicated to helping our customers find the best possible solutions to their specific needs,” said Makrum Sales Manager Ismo Hyttinen. “High-quality service, training and product support are what keep the machines we sell running at peak performance. It also lays the foundation for good, long-term customer relationships.” Arnaud Macabies, Head of Sales in Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe at Tornos, said Makrum’s long-time collaboration with Tornos is the key to the kind of fast, expert and streamlined service experienced by Ensto Finland Oy. Hyttinen agreed : “The Finns and the Swiss share a very similar way of thinking in that we like to do things with consideration and precision,” Hyttinen said. “Our mutually shared focus on flawless quality forms a good foundation for profitable collaboration between Makrum and Tornos. This ensures that customers in Finland achieve the highest level of success with their Tornos solutions.”
“Our mutually shared focus on flawless quality… ensures that customers in Finland achieve the highest level of success with their Tornos solutions”
±3 micron precision, Jalo was impressed that such an affordable machine could produce such results. “In one instance, the Ensto team tried to trick us by asking the setup engineer to start the machine and immediately saying, ‘We can measure the part now,’ said Makrum Sales Manager Ismo Hyttinen. “On cold startup, we produced the part to within 3 micron tolerance. After that, the acceptance test was just a technical detail.” But those real-time results weren’t the only factors in Ensto’s choice of the Swiss DT 13. Jalo’s team was also impressed with the knowledge of Tornos’ application and setup engineers. The ability of Tornos proprietary TISIS programming software to connect to the internet to allow monitoring and maintenance was another major benefit. Another point of amazement was the relative silence of the Swiss DT 13 in operation ; Ensto operators can listen to the radio next to the machine in operation. Ensto took possession of its new Swiss DT 13 in March. In contrast to its older, existing machines that can take six months to achieve smooth operation, the Tornos was up, running and producing parts within two days. Ensto expects that trend to continue along the full life cycle of its new Tornos solutions. The company has its own maintenance engineers, trained at Tornos headquarters in Moutier, to perform simple tasks like adding lubricant to the central greasing units, cleaning collets, repairing small parts damaged during machining and ensuring that the machine and its components are in generally sound condition. More complex maintenance tasks will be handled by Makrum. Jalo and his Ensto colleagues characterize the Swiss DT 13 testing and buying process as evidence of Tornos’ bold brand promise : ‘We keep you turning.’
Ensto.com