Upgrade of the machine park

In 2019, the time had finally come and after a long planning phase, the new sliding headstock lathe moved into the production hall of the B+B headquarters in Donaueschingen as an addition to the machine park. In contrast to its predecessor, this machine takes up considerably more space. However, it also brings with it a number of advantages. With 31 tools, a bar feeder and 12 programmable axes, all diameters and materials from 4 mm to 32 mm can be machined. The turning length of 320 mm and the passage of 32 mm are also a significant increase over its predecessor. The high-pressure system with 130 bar ensures optimum cooling and heat dissipation, which are the best prerequisites for machining round and shaped bars.

Whether stainless steel, aluminum, plastic or brass, production times have been halved in some cases compared to the previous machine. For example, an acceptance part previously took about 4 minutes, had to be processed on 2 machines, and additionally required an employee to insert the part. With the new achievement, production time has been reduced to about 2.5 minutes. In addition, machining on a second machine is no longer required and therefore no employee has to intervene again.

The sliding headstock lathe therefore not only saves a great deal of time and capacity, but also delivers higher precision in the end result. Conversely, however, this also requires better qualification of the employees. The operation of this highly complex machine is significantly more extensive and complicated than with the previous version. With the purchase of the machine, it was directly ensured that all employees receive complete training for the operation and maintenance of the machine.

In addition to the large sliding headstock lathe, B+B will be able to call two further achievements its own in 2019 and thus supplement its machinery.

An additional injection molding machine was purchased as an extension to the machine park. It is the same model as the already existing injection molding machine from B+B. This means that the molds can be used on both machines and no additional purchases are necessary. Thanks to the practical V-table, the injection molding machine has 2 mold halves, one of which is in the injection process and the other can be loaded in parallel by one employee. This reduces the cycle time enormously and the order processing can be planned more flexibly. Equipped with a dryer, cooling and heating system as well as a high-temperature set/injection nozzle, plastics can be injected and processed at temperatures of up to 400 °C. This ensures consistent process reliability. Consistent process reliability is always guaranteed.

A robot arm in the final production was also added to the inventory of B+B Thermo-Technik GmbH in 2019. This supports in the production in all work steps and thus facilitates the handmade production significantly.