IGW Romania makes innovative investments
17 February, 2022
In the last 20 years, dial phones have become smartphones, cars have become electric and self-driven, laptops are more powerful than ever, music can be played by asking Google or Alexa and your fridge is able to order groceries. Given these examples of technological evolution, it’s needless to say that when IGW invests in new equipment, a profound decision-making process has to be made in order to explore all industrial options.
Integrated machine
An all-in-one solution
This profound decision-making process had to be made recently with the replacement of a turning machine in Romania. Instead of replacing the current outdated machine with a similar one, IGW engineering decided to consult the market for more innovative solutions that would bring benefits to cycle time, setup time and production throughput time. After detailed analysis, the decision was made to invest into fully integrated machines that combine multiple operations in one machine. The final selection was the integrated turn-mill solution by DMG, together with the DMG CTX Beta 2000.
The machines will be used for the manufacturing process of turbo pinions for centrifugal compressors. Through the use of a counter spindle, we are able to machine both sides of the pinion in one setup. With the use of the milling spindle, we can integrate hobbing and other milling operations in the same setup.
Due to its extended range up to 2000 mm, we are also capable of manufacturing larger pinions.
Big step forward
Being able to include multiple processes in one machine comes with great advantages. With this machine we will realize a reduction in the number of setups with 6 less setups. That means we could decrease the setups from 20 to 14. Great advantages indeed!
The machine was installed just before Christmas and tests have shown that these promised advantages aren’t just promises. Given the success of the machine, the decision to invest in a second one has already been made.
One decision led to another
In addition to this investment, IGW also scoped the possibility of investing in other machines with similar technology for other product categories: Not for our turbo pinions this time, but for our small gear wheels.
The small gear wheels are our smallest range of gears up to a diameter of 400 mm. Next to integration of technologies, we also looked at automation possibilities.
Since automation has become more available even in a highly discrete production environment, IGW made the evaluation with different machine suppliers. Finally, we took the decision to invest into automation for the soft turning of our smaller gear wheels. Keep an eye out for more information!
Exciting and innovating times for IGW! We are curious to see what the next years of technological evolution will bring to the table.
