Linamar goes for Giuliani machine tools

Between the Giuliani Divison of IGMI, a leading solution provider of machine tools for the high volume industry, and Linamar Corporation exists a strong partnership.

Between the Giuliani Divison of IGMI, a leading solution provider of machine tools for the high volume industry, and Linamar Corporation exists a strong partnership.

Linamar Corporation is one of the largest machining houses in the world with more than 9000 employees in 33 manufacturing locations and total sales over CDN$1 billion.

Although the company is diversified into many areas, automotive remains the focus of the group.

One reason for the success and rapid growth of the company is their ability to offer their customers a competitive price for the products, while maintaining the flexibility necessary to react to the customers needs.

It is this philosophy that drew Linamar to the Giuliani product line, an interest that culminated in the purchase of their first machine, by the Invar division of Linamar, in 2001.

The selection of the Transcenter machine for these parts (steering column: two companion parts are produced on the one machine) was driven by its ability to provide a flexible, yet cost effective way to produce this part.

Invar's customer was one of the largest first-tier suppliers to the automotive companies, and these parts are designed to fit a variety of cars and trucks.

The parts are loaded into the machine alternately - part 'A' in the odd-numbered fixtures, and part 'B' in the even-numbered fixtures.

The Transcenter machine automatically brought the machining units to the proper position and presented the proper tooling depending on which part was present.

The part complexity - both parts combined require over 60 separate machining operations - was covered by the seven four axis machining stations, most equipped with six spindle turret heads.

The parts are machined complete from a qualified blank in approximately 30 seconds each.

To further control production costs, Giuliani also provided a complete automation package including automatic loading and unloading of machinery and in-process inspection equipment, and automatic part transfer throughout the cell.

The success of this application is evident in the purchase of a second Transcenter machine for the cell less than one year later.

Today, the partnership between Linamar and Giuliani remains strong, with programs in work for the production of such various parts as iron steering knuckles, aluminium, ABS components, and steel fuel injection systems.

Back to top