The reduction of costs is still one of the major factors contributing to improved competitive capacities in both national and global markets. This is true for WINI, the renowned manufacturer of office furniture, as well. In Coppenbrügge any savings potential related to grooving louvre door runners is  therefore – among other things – much sought-after. Their main problem was the premature end of a diamond-tipped milling cutter with solid carbide body sized 16.2 x 25 Z 2 after cutting only 250 work pieces. Moreover, only a slow feed rate of 4.5 m/min was possible and re-sharpening the tool turned out to be a time-consuming and expensive endeavour, because the DP tip had to be unsoldered and replaced.

The price-performance ratio was thus not acceptable. Several tool manufacturers had therefore been faced with new requirement specifications.  The service life and feed rate had to be increased together with a simultaneous improvement of the chip removal. AKE Knebel GmbH & Co. KG did not only meet these requirements, but even exceeded all expectations. In the course of an initial stage of development a modified standard cutter with Ø 16.2 x 15 Z 2+2 had been applied. With this tool the service life was increased by an average of 75 % (medium value for all decors), the possible feed rate went up to 7.0 – 8.0 m/min, the chip removal considerably improved.

This was, however, still insufficient for the responsible people at WINI and AKE although even the noise was clearly reduced. AKE’s further development then resulted in a cutter type DP 5429 with Z 3+3 tool geometry, because the feed rate per tooth was to be further increased. It was now decided to use a specifically designed body material for the shank, in order to eliminate vibrations. With this special production tool AKE managed to keep the purchase price low and thus minimize tooling costs in total in view of a distinct increase of the service life and 50 % lower set-up time thanks to reduced tool changes. If you put a figure on it this means: the service life was increased by approx. 225 % as against the original situation, the tooling costs could thus be decreased by 53 % p.a.

After all, the noise could be reduced by 30 %.
PLT Ultra Hogger - Good tools getting even better

The further developped PLT compact hoggerof AKE is easy to service and guarantees a constant kerf up to the very last eroding cycle.

Thanks to the steady kerf this tool can ban be opti-mally adjusted to the customer´s demanded kerf. This is far more efficient when purchased and for servicing
Steady kerf

    Constant performance of the hogger due to un-changed knife geometry - from brand new to the last erosion
    No oversized kerf required

Excellent cutting quality

    Improved hogging performance by division in roughing and finishing element
    Reduced vibration

Highest efficiency

    Up to 12 eroding cycles
    Up to 25 % longer tool life
    Up to 35%erosion costs saved over the whole tool life
 
A tooth for a tooth – high tech on a large scale

The clear demand of metal processing users centres upon precise tools with a long service life. This is also true for circular sawblades. In this field DP-tipped teeth have been applied for quite some time already for high-strength types of material. AKE Knebel GmbH + Co.KG in Balingen succeeded in producing  the largest DP-tipped circular sawblade worldwide with a diameter of 1300 mm.

Alcan Singer GmbH is considered to be one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium profiles. These profiles are being processed on one of Europe´s largest extrusion press installations. After re-shaping, the profiles have to be cut to the required lengths. However, it was particularly with cutting of high-strength aluminium that the problems appeared. When conventional TC-tipped sawblades were applied, the tools were finished after the third cut. Now, the challenge for AKE was to find an adequate solution for this oversize sawing machine for profiles of up to 400 mm.
This means, in future it must be possible to apply both, TC-tipped sawblades with a diameter of 1800 mm and DP-tipped sawblades. The solution was provided by AKE Knebel GmbH & Co.KG in Balingen:  a sawblade with DP-tipped teeth and a diameter of 1300 mm!  DP is, admittedly, very susceptible to strokes, however, it is also a material that easily cuts aluminium alloys. However, the manufacturer’s main problem was the production of this oversize sawblade diameter. Lothar Schneider, application engineer at AKE Knebel GmbH & Co.KG.: “To begin with, a feasibility study had been elaborated for this project with Alcan and the first field runs were carried out on smaller sawing installations. The results proved that the application does work. Well, diamond-tipped tools have to be eroded. However, the available conventional erosion machines only have a maximum work space of 850 mm.

Thanks to our know-how in machine-building this problem could be solved”. The production of the sawblade with 1300 mm diameter was the least problem for the sawblade specialist. It was rather the sawing machine with its vibrations and the PCD’s susceptibility to strokes that gave rise to special requirements.
Moreover, the large size meant that we had to come to grips with the resulting tensions of the tool, which was realized by means of expansions slots, special heat treatment etc. The responsible people at AKE Knebel mastered these specific requirements successfully. There is thus no more obstacle to the economic success of this high-tech sawblade – provided that it is applied professionally. A new technology which will very soon be a show-stopper and keep the market going.