INTEC Leipzig/Germany 26 February - 1 March 2013 MECSPE Parma/Italy 21 - 23 March 2013 Metavak Hardenberg/ the Netherlands 9 -11 April 2013 Metalloobrabotka Minsk/ Belarus 9 - 13 April 2013 CIMT Beijing/China 22 - 27 April 2013 Open House Gosheim/ Germany 24 - 27 April 2013 Intertech Dornbirn/Austria 15 - 17 May 2013 Metalloobrabotka Moscow/ Russia 27 - 31 May 2013 Machtool Poznan/Poland 4 - 7 June 2013

For other trade shows with Hermle exhibits, please see www.hermle.de We look forward to seeing you!

Dear customers, interested persons, employees and friends of the company,

Theendoftheyear2012isnotquiteyetuponus,but itseemsappropriatenowto lookbackonourachievements.Manypeopleareinwon-derofhowthedomesticeconomyand inpar-ticular themachinemanufacturingbusiness isdoing so well, at the very time that the busi-nesspressandeconomicgurusareconstantlytalking about a crisis of one sort or another.But for us and many others, especially manyofourcustomers,theanswerissimple:There’snopointraisingconcerns!Inotherwords,intheknowledge of our own strength and capacityfor innovation, neitherwenor othershave al-lowedourselvestobeputoff.Wehavefollowedthepathaheadconsistently.

Asaresult,inthefirstninemonthsof2012wewereable to increasesalesby19% toaround€212.5 million. Extrapolated to the entire fi-nancial year, we are approaching total salesof approximately€300million. It is alsobothinterestingand impressivetonotethatduringthefirst threequartersourdomesticbusinessgrewbyaround8%toover€95million,whileforeignbusinessincreasedbyaverygood30%

toaround€117million.This isreflectedinanexportof55%.

Whileourorderbookshavestabilizedin2012,followingonfromtheextremelyhighincreaseslastyear,theyremainathighlevels.Inthefirstninemonthswebookedorderstothevalueof€242million, just4.5%downonthepreviousyear. Inourbusiness, theseare typicallymar-ginalfluctuationsthatour"breathing"companyisabletooffsetwithoutaproblem.Thebasisforourbreathingoperationsareouremployees.Wecurrently employ 926 people, which is an in-creaseof35peopleonlastyear,thankslargelyto strengthening of our service business. Theloyalty of our employees to the company isevidenttoointheanniversarylistshownhere.ContinualinvestmentintheworkforceatHerm-lecanbeseeninthefactthatsinceSeptember2012wehavehad94youngpeopleengagedonapprenticeships,whichmeansthattraineesmakeup13%ofourworkforceatGosheim.Ournewproductsandexpansionoftherangeofservicesandproductsweofferarealsoevi-dence of our strong investment in the futureand Hermle AG’s capacity for innovation. Ex-amples include additional equipment such as

thePW150palletchangerfortheC22Udy-namicCNChigh-performancemachiningcenterand the PW 3000 pallet changer for furtherautomation of the C 50 and C 60 CNC high-performancemachiningcenters.Inaddition,attheAMB2012weintroducedtheC400basicCNCmachiningcenter–anewseriestobroadenourrangeofproductstooffercustomersinallmarketsthebestmachiningandproductionso-lutionsfortheirrequirements.Sowearelookingforward to thechallengesof thecomingyear,and,asusual,willmeetthemheadonwithfullawarenessofourownstrengths!It is a shame that politics is increasingly re-movedfromtherealeconomythereareenoughvoicesofdoomoutthere.LetusjusthopethattheEurocrisiswillbehandledsensibly.

Sincerelyyours,

DietmarHermle

40 years

Hussal Egon

Volz Wilhelm

25 years

Aicher Hildegard

Peyerl Gabriele

10 years

Derntl Rudolf

Digeser Wolfgang

Eble Stefanie

Gretz Anton

Gulde Thorsten

Gutrung Pascal

Hanßmann Tanja

Hölzel Carolin

Kammerer Simon

Kather Andre

Klipfel Thomas

Kruck Dominik

Maier Egon

Maier Tobias

Mattes Wilfried

Müller Markus

Muschke Sven

Patzak Daniel

Rapp Christoph

Schätzle Marc

Schwarzwälder Benjamin

Stern Tobias

Weiß Sabrina

Wener Martin

Wiltschko Claudia

Würtz Michael

Dat

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anni

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cele

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insightsINFORMATIONFROMTHECOMPANYinsights

Issue II 2012

2TECHNICAL DETAILS C 60 / C 60 U MT C 50 / C 50 U MT

·5-axis/5-sidedmachininginoneclampingoperation·ExtremelywideswivelrangeoftheAaxisforcomplexmachiningprocesses·Optimumcraneloadingthankstowidedooropenings·Highrunning,positioningandlong-termaccuracy·Automatictoolchangebythepick-upmethod·Smallspacerequirementthankstocompactconstructionformatrelativetothe supportsurface·Machinetransportedcompleteandnofoundationrequired

Working area C 50 / C 50 U MT C 60 / C 60 U MT TraversepathX-Y-Z 1000-1100-750mm 1200-1300-900mm RapidlineartraversesX-Y-Z 60-60-55m/min 50m/min LinearaccelerationX-Y-Z 6m/s2 6m/s2

Main spindle drive Speed 9000,12000, 9000,10000,12000 18000rpm 15000,18000rpm Speed(UMT) 12000,18000rpm 12000,18000rpm Torque upto380Nm upto476Nm Torque(UMT) upto356Nm upto356Nm Power upto60kW upto56kW Power(UMT) upto56kW upto56kW

Tool changer (pick-up) Magazinepockets 60/42pieces 70/50pieces Chip-to-chiptime approx.7s approx.9.5s

Control unit Heidenhain iTNC530 iTNC530 Siemens S840D S840DSL

Control unit (U MT) Heidenhain TNC640 TNC640 Siemens S840D S840DSL

Pallet changer PW 3000 + C 60 / C 60 U MT / C 50 / C 50 U MTUNIqUE MACHINE CONCEPT

TheC50/C60provideusersinallindustrieswiththeadvantagesofmegamachiningcentersthatcanmachineworkpiecesofupto2000or2500kginfiveaxes.High-techspindleswithhightorqueorspeedensuredynamicsinanewdimension.Inlinewithrequestsforevenmorepossibleapplica-tions, thesemassive-performancemachines are also available inmilling-turningvariants.

Products

3

Pallet changer PW 3000 + C 60 / C 60 U MT / C 50 / C 50 U MT

MORE ROOM FOR MANEUVER – AUTOMATICALLY

ThePW3000palletchanger,comprisingthreemodules,isusedtoautomatetheC50/C60andC50UMT/C60UMTsystems.

Thebasemoduleconsistsofthetravel, liftingandrotaryaxes,aswellasasafetyenclosurewithhingeddoors,andensuresthatthepalletscontainingtheworkpiecesarebroughtinandoutsmoothly.Theset-upstationmodulewitharotatingdoorenablesthepalletstobesetupinparalleltoproductiontime.Theset-upstationmodulewitha rotatingdoorenables thepallets tobesetupinparalleltoproductiontime.Inaddition,theoneortwo-layerrackmodulecanaccommodateupto8pallets.

Particularlypractical:ThePW3000palletchangercanalsobeextendedandlinkedtotwomachiningcenters.

Technical details PW 3000

·Fastandsimpleinstallation·Noflooranchorsrequired·Freeaccesstoworkingareaforsetupmode,manualinterventionsorcalibration andcleaningtasks·Large-volumepalletstorageforproduction-orientedandcustomsetup·Canbeexpandedtoformacompletemanufacturingsystembylinkingupto C60machiningcenters

Technicaldata Transportweight 3000kgincl.pallet Palletdimensions 1000x1000/ Ø1200mm Workpiecedimensions Ø1400x980mm/ Ø1400x930mm(MTvariant) Storage twolayersof5pallets twolayersof9pallets Linktogether 2machiningcenters

C 50

C 60 PW 3000

Products

for automatic loading and unloading up to 3000 kg

4

Products

C 400 basic – 5-axis machining of the latest generation

STRONG AND PRECISE

Technical data C 400 basic

·Optimumdroppingofchipsthankstorequirements-basedworkplacedesign (includingfordrymachining)·Freeaccessibilityforallauxiliaryunitsonthebackofthemachine·Alldriveandguideunitsareoutsidethedirtyarea·Digitaldriveswithlow-maintenancecentrallubrication·Frequency-basedrecoveryofthebrakingenergyintothemains·Oil-mistextraction,swarfconveyorand/orinternalcoolantsupply·Machinetransportedcompleteandnofoundationrequired

Working area TraversepathX-Y-Z 850-700-500mm RapidtraverseslinearX-Y-Z 35m/min LinearaccelerationX-Y-Z 6m/s2

Main spindle drive Speed 15000/18000rpm Torque upto180Nm Power upto20kW

Tool changer (pick-up) Magazinepockets 38pieces Chip-to-chiptime approx.6.0s

Control unit HeidenhainiTNC530

UNIqUE SPACE CONCEPT

TheC400basic isacompactyetpowerfulpackagebasedonproven5-axistechnology(threetoolaxesandtwoaxesintheNCswivellingrotarytable).Thegenerouslydimensionedworkingspaceissimplyuniqueinrelationtothesizeofthemachineandsupportsurface.

Inparticular, the large collision circlebetween the cheeksof theNCswivel-lingrotarytableoffersenormousbenefits,sinceitallowsworkpiecesofupto1000mm in lengthor1000mm indiameter tobemachined,withall axesoperatingtogetherperfectlyandahighmachiningcapacity.Theperfectcircum-stancesforthebestresultswithhigh-qualitysurfaces.

www.innovations-medical.de

5

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: INNOVATION FROM TRADITIONWhen it comes to precision mechanical manufacturing, Innova-tionsMedicallivesuptothetraditionofthemedicaltechnologycraftsthataboundintheregionaroundTuttlingenandtheHeu-berg.Nevertheless, innovativeproductsandconstantexpansionofthecompany’sproductrangehavecontributedtoaround8000individual articles being listed under surgical instruments andaround9000more in theotherbusinessareasof implantsandsterile containers. Since it possesses the expertise and qualitycapabilities inhouse, InnovationsMedicalmanufacturesmostoftheseitemsitself,inindustrialsingle-pieceandbatchmanufactur-ingprocesseswitharound65qualifiedemployeesworkingattwositesinTuttlingenandanotherinSteginSwitzerland.

NO ALTERNATIVES: INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY RATHER THAN COSTLY INVENTORIESInnovationsMedicalanditspredecessorcompaniestookanearlydecision to implement highly automated parts production, andwereamong thefirst touse robot technology in theseprocess-es.Basedonaahigh-qualityandconstantlyexpandedmachinepool, including series F and UWF Hermle milling machines anduniversalmillingmachines, the companyhasdevelopedmassesof expertise inmilling andautomation, andhas acquired3 and4-axis machining centers from a number of manufacturers. De-signedforthecompany’spiece-by-piecemanufacturingprocesses,thesemachinesbecameabottleneck,however,asthenumberofproductvariantsroseandmanufacturingbatchesincreasedinsizetotoday’s20to1000units."Withtheobjectiveofprovidingin-dividualpartsandcomponentsorentireassembliesmorequicklyandflexibly, for immediateornext-dayassemblyandshipment,our requirements in terms of flexibility, performance and feasi-bilityofpartsproductionchangedcompletely,"explainsWinfriedKreidler,ManagingDirectorofInnovationsMedical.

STATE-OF-THE-ART: SWITCHING TO 5-AXIS MANUFACTURING AND ROBOT AUTOMATION"Wegaveupoursolutionforflexiblesingle-unitproductionandlookedinsteadforanappropriate5-axismachiningcenter.DuringalivedemonstrationoftheequipmentwewereconvincedbytheperformanceandqualityoftheCseriesandtheroboticautoma-tion, which was by then much more mature than before," saysMrKreidler,justifyinghisdecisiontoworkwithHermle.Anorderwas placed for a highly automated, flexible production system,comprisingtwoC22U5-axisCNChighperformancemachiningcentersandoneRS2robotsystemforworkpiece/palletmanage-mentwithonemagazine.

FUTURE-PROOF: REqUIREMENTS ARE REALIZED EFFICIENTLYPartsthatonceweremachinedin3or4axesbeforethenbeingreclampedforfinishingcannowremain inplaceontheC22Uuntiltheyhavebeencompleted.Asaresult,throughputtimescanbereducedinsomecasesfromtwomonthstothreeweeks.Unitforunit,wearesignificantlyquicker,andmoreaccuratethankstothesingleclamping."Overnightwecanproduce50kitsforaprod-uct,whicharethenassembledthenextday.Thatisonlypossibleasthepartsarereproducibleandleavethemachineswithexactlytherightfit.Theoptionof loading individualworkpiecesforau-tomaticproductionandthentoassemblethese lateroranotherdayissimplymarvellous.Summary:Wemadeabsolutelytherightdecision,andhavediscoveredatrulyexpertpartnerforoursolu-tions inHermle,"statesWinfriedKreidler,withsatisfactionfromhisinvestment.

C 400 basic – 5-axis machining of the latest generationRobot-supportedcustom flexible parts production

Initsmade-to-orderproductionofspecialistmedicaltechnologycomponentsandkits,InnovationsMedicalreliesondailyproduc-tionofparts.ItisabletomeetthisrequirementthankstotwoCNC5-axishighperformancemachiningcenters,whicharefedbyarobotsystemfromtheworkpiece/palletmagazine.

TheworkingareaoftheC22Umachiningcenterwiththe30000rpmspindleandspecialworkpiececlampingfixtureforanaluminiumsterilecontainerlid,whichismilledfromasolidpiececompletelyfreeofNCswivellingrotarytable

Robotfeedingandremovalofafinished,milledsterilecontainerlidforreturntostorageinmultipleworkpiececlamp

RS2setupstationatInnovationsMedicalinTuttlingen,withWinfriedKreidel,ManagingDirector(right),JochenKreidler,HeadofProduction(center)andTonyTech,SystemOperatorandCNCProgrammer(left)

FlexiblemanufacturingsystematInnovationsMedical,comprisingC22U5-axisCNChighperformancemachiningcenters(rightandhiddenleft)andtheRS2robotandmagazinesystem(left)forworkpieceandpalletmanage-ment

Users

www.stryker.ch

6

EFFICIENT PRODUCTIONwrit largeAsapioneerofmedicaltechnologyfororthopaedics,Strykerhasdeveloped over more than 80 years to become a global groupwithitsowndevelopmentandproductionsitesintheUSA,PuertoRico, Ireland,China,Germany,FranceandSwitzerland.Consist-entlyadaptingtomeetmarketrequirements,eachsitehasspe-cific qualifications above and beyond the standard range. Forexample,theSwisssubsidiaryStrykerOsteosynthesisinSelzachisspecializedindevelopmentandproductionofimplants,platesand external fixings, including associated instruments. Despiterathersmallseriesproduction,thetechnologyisrelativelyhighlyautomated.

365 DAYS X 18-24 HOURS = 3.5 M FINISHED PARTS PER ANNUM"Of our 410 employees, around 60 are active in development,80 in quality assurance and 200 in production," says GerhardHänggi, Director of Manufacturing at Stryker Osteosynthesis.Depending on what is on the order books, production staff,working in a variety of shift models operating 115 CNC pro-duction machines, produce up to 3.5 million finished parts peryear, even despite small batch production of between 10 and500units. "However, thenumberofvariants isespeciallyhigh,with more than several thousand active parts. As a result, wehave deployed an inter-disciplinary 'island production' systemwith equally high degrees of productivity and flexibility." Themachine concept for 5-axis complete and simultaneous ma-chining–with3axesinthetooland2axesintheworkpiece–wasveryquicklyconvincing.Machiningtestsandtheresultinghighquality,reproducibleprecisionmachiningwerejustwhatweneededagoodfiveyearsagotooptfortheHermleC20solution.

PRODUCTIVITY THANKS TO FLEXIBILITY AND AUTOMATIONWhenthecompanywasreadytoacquireadditionalCNC5-axismachiningcenterswith integratedhighlyautomatedpart feed-ing, Hermle once again gave a convincing presentation of itsfull range of services. Currently, Stryker now has a C 20 U(with externally automated workpiece handling), a C 30 U (forproductionandprototypemanufacturing)andtwoC30Uwith

theRS05robotsystemforautomatedproduction.Whencom-binedwithanNC-swivellingrotarytableandthe largeworkingspace (traversepathsX=650,Y=600andZ=500mm)and toolmagazineandroboticautomatedworkpiecehandling,theC30Usystemscanbeusedanywhere.TheyalsohaveaRenishawtouchprobeandatoolbreakageandmeasurementsystemfromBlum.Whilepreviouslyitwasnecessarytouseaseparatemachineforeachindividualprocess,todayourmachiningcenterswithRS05candoallthetasksinonerun",saysMarkusLindt,summarizingthebenefits.

THIS IS WHAT TRUE PARTNERSHIP LOOKS LIKEStrykerhasambitiousaimsinrespectofimprovingthequantityandespeciallyqualityofitsproduction."Nowwehavefoundtherightsystemsforourrequirements,"reportstheirHeadofImplantProduction. "Anyone who, like us, wants to produce 7000 andmorehoursperyearneedsconsistentautomationandasgoodasnodowntimeatall.WiththetechnologiesandservicesfromHermle,we’reontherighttrackinallrespects.Andthankstoourexperiencewithrobots,wealsofoundthechangetorobot-sup-portedloadingofthemachiningcenterstobequiteeasy.ThefactthatHermlealsoconsideredourspecifichandlingandmagazinerequirements in the construction of the systems, and that theentireteamdemonstratedexemplaryspeedofresponse,hasjustconfirmedtousagainthatwehavechosentherightpartner."

GerhardHänggi,DirectorofManufacturing(left),andMarkusLindt,HeadofImplantProduction(right)ataproductoverviewheldbyStrykerOsteosynthesisinSelzach,Switzerland

ProductionsystemC30UCNC5-axishigh-performancemachiningcenterwithRS05forautomatic5-axiscompletemachiningincludingworkpiecehandling

WorkpiecemagazineoftheRS05withsixmatrixpalletstoholdflat,longimplantblanks

Robot-supportedworkpiecehandlingensuresupto8000hoursofusefulproductiontimeonCNChigh-performancemachiningcenters

Users

AxSOSTibiaTargeting

AxSOS

www.amv.dk

7

Danish niche politics...Thehighlyautomated5-axismillingonaHermleC42Uwithpalletchangerroundsoffthetechnol-ogyneededatDenmark’sAMVærktøjOdenseA/Sforeconomicproductionofcomplexshapesandlargetools.

"Toolmakerswillalwayshavework.Butifallyoudoisfabricatetoolparts,thenyou’llalwayshavechallenges!"thatisthephiloso-phybehindthesuccessofCarstenG.Laursen,ProductionMan-agerandTorstenViby,SalesManager.Togetherwiththecompanyfounderandmanagingdirector,ClausJensen,thetwoco-ownerscomplete a powerful leadership triangle at AM Værktøj OdenseA/S.From1970to2005,AMVærktøjfocusedprimarilyontheDanishmarket,becomingaknownplayer there.Withglobaliza-tion and the trend towards large tools, the medium-sized toolmanufacturingspecialistwhichtendstoworkbehindthesceneshasbeenconfrontedwithnewrequirements.Reasonenough tore-equipforthefutureandrepositionthecompanyaccordingly.Asaresult,from2006theyhavenotonlytargetedtheneighbouringSwedishandNorwegianmarkets,butatthesametimehavedevel-opedwithcorrespondingtechnologicalinvestmentintoaspecial-istinlargetoolsandlarger,morecomplexOEMparts.

A TECHNOLOGY LEAP AT ALL LEVELS"Itquicklybecameapparentthatatagloballevel,seenasarela-tively smallDanishmould-makingand toolmanufacturingbusi-ness,wewouldonlyhaveopportunitiesifweofferedourcustom-ersafullrangeofservicesfromconstructionthroughproductiontosparepartsforlargetoolsystems,onthebasisofourfullex-pertise,"explainsTorbenViby.Startingwith3DconstructionusingaCAMsystemandCNCfullmachining throughCNCcoordinatemeasurement systems, the companyput together a technologypackagethatwasprovisionallycompletedbytheacquisitionofaHermleC42Umachiningcenter."ThisenabledAMVærktøjtofab-

ricatecomplexmouldandtoolcomponentsandOEMpartsfullyautomatically,in"installable"quality,fromoneunitupwards.

5 AXES MEAN NEW CUSTOMERSToexploittheadvantagesoftheCNChigh-performancemachin-ingcenterevenfurther,andoffsetthelackofqualifiedexpertisein the labour market, the managers went one step further andacquired thePW850pallet changer system tofinishoff theC42U."ManylargetoolshaveanumberofcomplexcomponentsandsegmentsthatareidealforfullyautomatedmachiningontheHermleproductionsystems.Normallyweoperateasingleshift,butusethemachiningcenterwiththepalletsaroundtheclock24hoursaday.Thisfreesupourexpertsforcompletionofothermoredemandingwork,whilewecancontinuetousethepartsproducedautomatically,whichareofhighestqualityandreadyforinstalla-tion," explains Production Manager Carsten R. Laursen. When Irememberthatwefirstplannedtousetwo4-axismachineswithauxiliaryaxes,IamveryhappythatwefollowedtheadviceofourpartnerLarsLyngeatHermleNordic.Thankstocomplete5-sidemachiningandparallelworking,wearemuchmoreproductiveandrationalthanbefore."

EFFICIENCY AND FLEXIBILITY IN SUPPLYWiththeacquisitionoftheC42U5-axisCNChigh-performancemachiningcenterwiththePW850palletchanger,AMVærktøjinowabletosupplycustomersthattheypreviouslycouldsimplynothaveentertained.Evenbetter: "Asournewandoldcustom-ersseehowwecontinuetodevelopintheirinterests,theycon-

tinuetoreturntous,evenwithordersfortoolsorOEMpartsfromAsia, and have these manufactured in Denmark instead," saysSales Manager Torben Viby. There are sound reasons for doingso:Completemachiningwithoneor justafewclampingssaveswork in termsofcomplexfinishingandexpensive reprocessing.Short throughput times and fast response to customer require-mentsandsparepartsordersalsocontribute.Thedoorisopentofurthergrowth.

HIGHEST PERFORMANCE SECURE AT ALL TIMESQuality, machining accuracy, availability and known goodservicesmean that theHermlehigh-endsolution is a true "per-former".From2006to2012,salesquadrupled,whichmeantthattheworkforcehasgrownfrom12to43specialists.Significantly,thewormhas turned, as theysay,with threeconstructors cur-rentlyworkinginabranchinThailand!Thegrowthpathispoint-ingupwards!

GenerousworkingspaceofthecompactC42U5-axisCNChighperformancemachiningcenterwithNCswivellingrotarytableandinterchangeablepallet(630x630mm)withspecialworkpiececlampingsystem.

GlimpseofthePW850palletchangersystemwithtwopalletpocketsandtheswivel/linearunitforpallethan-dlingbetweenthesetupstation,thetwostoragepocketsandtheworkingspaceoftheC42U.

CompleteviewoftheflexibleHermlemanufacturingsystem,comprisingtheC42U5-axisCNChighperformancemachiningcenter(rearleft)theZM43additionaltoolmagazine(rearright)andthePW850palletchangersystem

Teampictureinfrontofaselectionofcomplex5-axisworkpiecesfromthetoolsandmould-makingandOEMpartsspectrum:TorbenViby,SalesManager(right),andCarstenG.Laursen,ProductionManager(center),bothfromAMVærktøjOdenseA/S,withLarsLynge,DirectorofHermleNordic(left)

Users

www.otto-huss.de

8

"AnyonewhorecognizestheopportunitiesandadvantagesofmodernmachiningcenterscandothingswithCNCsystemsthatyoucannotevenbegin to imagine,"explainsThomasBir-kelbach, Managing Director of WerkzeugbauOttoHussGmbH,outlininghisexperienceofdecades in the manufacturing of parts andcomplextools.Andtoalargeextent,thecom-pany’s history reflects the development oftechnology in the fields of milling and com-plete5-axismachining.Itallstartedin1987withtheswitchtowardscontractmanufactur-ing,productionandspecialmachiningoftoolsandmould-making.Theobjectivewastocre-atetherequiredcapacityandalsotoinvestinafuture-proofCNCmachiningcenter.Thebal-ancewasachieved:Today,theMachiningServ-icesdivisioncontributesaroundtwothirdsofthebusinessactivity,withtheremainingthirdcoming from themanufacturingof tools andspareparts.

SOUGHT, FOUND, FELL IN LOVE"Duringanevaluationexercise,15yearsago,we got in touch with Hermle and had themshowus theirunconventional concept in theC800Vseries.Givenitsmineralcastingbedandthreeaxesinthetool,weweresurethatit would precisely meet all of the machin-ing requirementswehadat thatpoint," saysThomasBirkelbach.Followingthegoodexpe-rience gained there, a Hermle universal mill-ing machine U 630 S followed on. In 2003we moved into 5-axis technology, with theC40U,addingafurther5-axissystemintheC20Uin2007.

TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE MAKES ECONOMIC SENSEAsubsequent investmentproject involvingaC42UCNC5-axishigh-performancemachin-ing center and a B 300 V CNC machiningcenterdemonstratesthatthecompanyisinnowaypreparedtooverstepthemark,despiteitssatisfactionandloveofthe5-axistechnology.Asitbegantoregisterbottlenecksinprelimi-narywork,Hussdecidedin2012tosplittheworkload between 5-axis high-performancemachiningandhighlyefficient3-axisprefabri-

cation,sothatthemachiningcenterswerenotoccupiedwithuneconomicalwork.Thisfreeduptherequiredcapacityinthetoolandplatemanufacturing areas, as well as in contractmachining, while the business also benefitsfrommoreflexibleuse."Duetooursingle-partandsmall-seriesproduction,wehavetocaterfor high fluctuations in orders and capacityin our CNC machining area. For that reason,wedon’thavefullstaffcoverageforcompletetwo-shift operations, but instead start sec-ondandpotentiallythirdshiftswithmodifiedproduction structures comprising combinedpreliminary and full-range work, as well asmultiple-machineoperation,"saysThomasBir-kelbach,explainingtheunderlyingconcept.

CLEARLY INCREASED RANGE OF SERVICESWheneverpossible,3-axismachiningisused.Then, whenever necessary, work switchesto a 5-axis machining center. Furthermore,multiple-machine operation means that oneoperatorcanlookaftercriticalmachiningop-erationsonone5-axismachiningcenter,whilethe second is operated more-or-less autono-mously, to manufacture spare parts or smallseriescomponents.Ideally,theC42Upermitsboth5-sidedand5-axisfullmachiningandsi-multaneousmachiningonlargeformatwork-pieces.Andwithasfewclampingsaspossible.This allows Huss to cope with the tendencyforeverlargertoolsandincreasinglycomplextoolcomponents,offeringtheircustomersrealaddedvalue.

Fromrighttoleft:MarkusLotterschmid,NCprogram-mer,PatrickVogt,machineoperator,andThomasBirkelbach,ManagingDirectorofWerkzeugbauOttoHussGmbH.Extremeleft:AndreasHärtter,Hermlesalesrepresentative

Advantage for the userfrom the pragmatic package

GenerousworkingspaceoftheC42UwithNCswivel-lingrotarytable(800x630mm).Thetoolcomponentbeingclampedandworkedonhereisa"Bodyworkparttrimmingknife"foratransfertool.

Aglancein"HermleCornerI"withtwoofthreeC800V,C20VandB300CNCmachiningcenters(fromlefttoright)

Publisher informationPublished by:Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AGIndustriestraße 8-12 – D-78559 GosheimTel. +49 (0)7426 95-0 Fax +49 (0)7426 95-6110 info@hermle.de www.hermle.deEditorial, concept design: Udo Hipp Layout: Südpol. Die andere Agentur. · www.suedpol.comUser articles: Edgar GrundlerPhotos: Inspirations · www.inspirations.de Hermle AG Hermle customersPrinted by: Straub Druck + Medien – Schramberg

This information is non-binding. We would like to thank the editors and publish-ers for their permission to use published technical papers and user reports.

Germany

Hermle + Partner Vertriebs GmbH (Gosheim, Germany) www.hermle-partner-vertrieb.de

Hermle-Leibinger Systemtechnik GmbH Tuttlingen, Germany www.hermle.de

Hermle Maschinenbau GmbH Ottobrunn, Germany www.hermle.de

Hermle Demonstration Center in Kassel-Lohfelden awt.kassel@hermle.de www.hermle.de

BelGium

Hermle Belgium Halen, Belgium www.hermle.de

BulGaria

Hermle Southeast Europe Sofia, Bulgaria www.hermle.bg

China

Hermle China Shanghai Representative Office and Beijing Representative Office www.hermle.de

Denmark - FinlanD - norway

Hermle Nordic Årslev office, Denmark www.hermle-nordic.dk

italy

Hermle Italia S.r.l. Rodano, Italy www.hermle-italia.it

netherlanDs

Hermle Nederland B.V. Venlo-Blerick, the Netherlands www.hermle-nederland.nl

austria

Hermle Austria Vöklabruck office, Austria www.hermle.de

PolanD

Hermle Polska Warsaw office, Poland www.hermle.pl

russia

Hermle Vostok OOO Moscow, Russia www.hermle-vostok.ru

switzerlanD Hermle (Schweiz) AG Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland www.hermle-schweiz.ch

Hermle WWE AG Baar / Zug, Switzerland www.hermle-vostok.ru

CzeCh rePuBliC

Hermle Česká Republika Organizacni slozka. Prague office, Czech Republic www.hermle.cz

usa

Hermle Machine Co. LLC Franklin / WI, USA www.hermlemachine.com

WhenyouexaminethegrowthoftoolbuildersWerkzeugbauOttoHussGmbH,youwillseeHermlemachin-ingcenterstracingathinredlinethroughout.Followingtheacquisitionofthecompany’sfirstmachinesandinvestmentinadditionalequipment,thepast15yearsandmorehavecontinuedtoseeexpansionintechnol-ogymatchedbygrowthincapacity.

Users

Selectionoftypicalupto5-axismachinedtoolsegmentfortransfertools,fullymanufacturedbyOttoHuss