…it is possible! To reach such a level of performance, a different machining concept should be used. I visited the Swiss, located in Genevey-sur-Coffrane, machine manufacturer Esco. I discovered machines working from coil or with barloaders attaining that output of production. The tools are rotating around the material to be machined and the company offers a wide range of turnkey solutions. Meeting With Jean-Marc Schouler, CEO.
A simple concept Located in the heart of the Swiss watchmaking cradle, Esco was naturally founded to help that industry grow. Since the very first start the idea was to work from coil, thus using a non-rotating bar of material. To machine precise parts, the material must be perfectly "straight", reason why the machines are equipped with a straightening unit. Then a spinning tool head that includes the tools rotates around the bar to machine parts. The concept is still the same nowadays. M Schouler says: "The straightening unit is a tool of precision that allows us to correct any possible flaw due to the coil. Having to straighten the material has an influence on its diameter but as the repetitiveness is exemplary, there is no quality trouble". However the company must always explain and reassure its potential customers that are accustomed to working with a rotating bar and hesitating to go into the other technology.
An (almost) universal solution Traditionally switching from cams to NC controlled machines slow down the production. One of the brakes to invest in such a technology is therefore clearly the reduction of productivity. With the Escomatic lathes, the opposite occurs in 100% of the cases. Parts usually done on D2 or D5 cams machines benefit from productivity gains from 10 to 45% (depending on the parts) when using a D2 or D5 NC machine. The material feeding the machine is not rotating and as the tools are spinning around it, this implies a high quality of all the parts (also a reason why the company owns a 3D measuring system). The distances to be carried out by the tools are minimal and save valuable time, thus explaining the performances of this technology.
How to win with Esco The NC lathes from Esco combine numerous features to make their users gain productivity:
- Simple and intuitive programming
- No cam to design, produce/order, wait for the delivery, set up
- High rotation speeds
- Minimal tools travel
- Work from coil
You have to see it to believe it A relative ignorance of possibilities, both in terms of quality and kind of parts that can be realized, linked to a classical vision of high precision turning where the material is rotating have the tendency to confine Esco in some limited fields of production. It is a pity because the products offered by this company are perfectly in phase with the world’s competition of nowadays. A famous advertising pitch of the eighties said "To try it is adopting it", it suits Esco products perfectly well.
Will you try them?
Esco SA Rue des Prélets 30 2206 Les Genevey-sur-Coffrane Tél: +41 32 858 12 12 Fax: +41 32 858 12 05 E-mail: [email protected] www.escomatic.ch
We will come back on Escomatic products in the next issue of Eurotec released February 2010. Cheers py
