CNC boring/milling machines output booms

Builder of CNC 5-axis milling and boring machines, Hermle, has recorded its best sales performance in 60 years, with sales turnover of EUR 220 million in 2006, reports editor, Mike Page.

Machine tool builder, Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG - or Hermle - of Gosheim, Germany, has reported a record EUR 220 million sales turnover during 2006.

During a 50th Anniversary Open Day staged by Hermle's UK agent, Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools, Michael Bisser, head of Hermle's sales department, told Manufacturingtalk that the now very strong German home market had helped generate a 40% rise in sales during 2006.

Bisser said that the German market accounts now for 50% of Hermle's turnover.

One of the causes has been the establishment of direct sales companies in Germany and Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Direct sales subsidiaries have also been established in Moscow, Russia, in 2005 and in Italy in 2006.

Hermle has also added a second office in St Petersburg and another in Togliatti, Volga region.

In speaking about the machine tool products and 5-axis boring/milling machines, Bisser said although 80-90% of machines sold are able to machine in 5-axis simultaneously, only 5-10% of users actually do so, while the majority machine in 3+2 axis.

Mould and die shops are very familiar with Hermle machines, but the number of European mould and die shops has dropped considerably.

Worldwide, sales to mould and die shops now account for 30% of Hermle machines sold against 50% before.

Increased machine tool sales have come from the expanding aerospace and medical sectors.

Machinery builders and subcontract machining or 'job shops' also account for increased sales.

The remaining mould and die shops have invested in pallet-fed systems, with probing and sensor systems, to increase unmanned machining, said Bisser.

When asked about new technologies, Bisser told Manufacturingtalk about 'microforging' (Microschmieden in German).

About 10 years ago, a Munich, Germany company started researching the use of high-pressure steam to 'microforge' metallic powder onto similar/dissimilar substrates.

It works by injecting fine metallic powders into the steam jet.

Four years ago, Hermle acquired the company - renaming it Hermle Innovaris.

The process can lay down metallic layers, for example, on a Hermle CNC borer/miller, of 0.1-2mm thick at feed speeds of up to 20m/min.

Typically, microforging can produce a 5mm layer of aluminium or 3mm of copper on, for example, die steels and a growing variety of substrates.

The process will deposit mixes of metallic powders too.

For example, it will build up a heat sink layer of copper on a plastics injection mould tool's surface.

A demonstration will be given at the forthcoming EMO machine tool exhibition in Hannover, September 17-22, 2007.

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