New Ideas 2000 Issue 2 (PDF | 2.1 MB)

Charmilles Leads a New Millennium of EDM Technology
Fall 2000
www.charmillesus.com
Inside This Issue:
Leading a New
Millennium of EDM
Technology ...............2–4
An IMTS 2000 review of
the leader in new EDM
technology.
A New Generator ........5
Advance training proves
new Charmilles generator
outperforms all others.
TechMold Case
Study .........................6–7
Charmilles reliability takes
hold in the desert.
Selecting the Correct
Part .................................8
A top flight parts
department is often the
key to a happy customer.
The Problem
Solvers ...........................9
Customer support center
efficiently solves problems.
Mikron Update ....10–11
Agie Charmilles acquires
milling machines business
from Mikron.
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE PAID
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
PERMIT NO. 9059
What’s New................12
The Roboform 20 Series.
12 Good Reasons to Buy
New Equipment ..14–16
Charmilles President
Harry Moser on why to
purchase now!
Fall 2000
www.charmillesus.com
www.charmillesus.com
Leading a New Millennium
of EDM Technology
Even among the most impressive EDM technology showcased at IMTS 2000,
Charmilles Technologies emerged as the leader. Charmilles impressed attendees with modern solutions to EDM needs for a variety of applications.
Charmilles Technologies’ newest offering, the
Robofil 230, requires no regular recalibration of
the axis due to its glass scales, insuring superior
positioning accuracy. The machine’s U-V axis
design allows customers to cut extreme tapers in
molds and extrusion die applications. The
Integrated Collision Protection (ICP) is another
feature that distinguishes the 230 from its
competitors. At IMTS 2000, the Robofil 230 was
shown with a CT-FANUC 18l control and 3R
workpal robot.
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Robofil 230
www.charmillesus.com
The Robofil 290P features an interactive graphics
interface which allows programming while
machining of another workpiece is in progress.
CAM-CT enables prompt programming of 2-axis
contours, readily integrates the latest EDM
technologies from Charmilles and allows ISO
programs to be modified.
fil290P
o
b
o
R
The 290P also boasts
a powerful generator.
Roboform 35Q
C Ri
The Roboform 35 utilizes Charmilles’ PILOT-Expert 3 system,
which adjusts pulsation frequency and pulsation length
according to the actual cutting depth. The new motor servo
control and 2-microsecond machining loop time allow
faster retraction during pulsation. The system monitors each
spark and cuts out bad sparks immediately, optimizing the
process. At IMTS, the Roboform 35 was featured with a
built-in Quick Change Robot (QCRi) to handle workpieces
and electrodes. In conjunction with an EROWA presetting
station, the new QCRi allows operators to further boost
their total hours of EDM productivity. By integrating the new
QCRi with the Roboform 35, Charmilles offers a total
automation solution.
continues on page 4 …
New Ideas In EDM
3
www.charmillesus.com
The SPS (Sinker Programming System [Roboform])
Kiosk in the Charmilles Booth at IMTS 2000
Penske Nascar
Roboform 55QC
tomatic 12G
Bos
Ri
Also shown with a QCRi and the new
Mexcel tooling from Mecatool, the
Roboform 55 features an adaptive new
generator and three new Expert systems—
Program Expert, Power Expert, and the
newest breakthrough in diesinking technology, the Pilot Expert 3. The Roboform 55
packs a large work tank and tool changer
capability to boost productivity. This
machine can accommodate one bulky or
several smaller parts in one step.
4
The winners of the 2000
U.S. Grand Prix Tickets
were Tim Aoleck of
Peshtigo, WI and Tim
Piper of Elmhurst, IL!
Also featured at IMTS 2000 was the Bostomatic
12G. Built to ensure unprecedented accuracy and
an aggressive price point, the 12G is ideal for a
wide range of machining tasks including the
production of graphite or copper electrodes,
hardened steel cavities, medical components,
jewelry and other applications.
For more information on these and other
Charmilles Technologies products, please visit
www.charmillesus.com.
www.charmillesus.com
Advanced training proves the New
Charmilles Generator Performance
Everyone in Diesinking EDM is
talking about automation. To have
a “lights out operation,” the
following has to be considered:
is the machine able to perform
without flushing and operator
intervention or do you have to
“baby sit” the machine to get
good and consistent results? This
was one of the criteria when
Charmilles Technologies developed the new Generator
Generation (first introduced on the
Roboform 35) in early 2000. But
how can you bring the machine
and the new PILOT-EXPERT 3
system to the test and what is
the best testing field? How about
customers using the well established ROBOFORM 100 and 20
series that outperform all other
EDM machines already?
25 minutes, the average wear was
0.049” and the surface finish was
CH24. The application engineer
who showed the group how to
optimize the technology and the
cut was finished in 3 hours and 10
minutes. After the training, the
attendees had the opportunity to
cut with the new ROBOFORM 35.
The first time they tried the cut, (no
flushing and technology — “out of
the box”) they achieved an outstanding cutting time of 2 hours
15 minutes and only 0.012” wear.
Gisbert Ledvon, Charmilles Technologies’
marketing manager said the reason for
the recent revamping of the Charmilles
web site was, “We wanted to be more
customer-oriented.” The enhancements
were part of the biggest modifications to
the site since its launch in the mid-90’s.
One of the site’s new features, and a
definite example of the new customer
focus, is an area where buyers can look
at a list of used Charmilles EDMs and
sellers have the opportunity to market
their used Charmilles machines.
This proves again that Charmilles
Technologies has taken another
step into the future of EDM where
the machine is designed around
the needs of the customer. The
new Roboform generator proves
that automation is not a dream
anymore.
Do you want to trade in your
Based on that, Charmilles
Technologies held a new type of
advanced diesinking training
class. The customers received a
graphite rib (0.33” x 0.060” deep
1 .25”) electrode prior to the training and were asked to cut the rib
on their machine using flushing
and “tweaking” to get the best
results. During the advanced
training the Charmilles
Technologies Application Engineer
explained how to optimize the
technology and flushing to
improve the cut. The results (see
table below) are as follows: the
average cutting time (on their own
machine) of 19 attendees (in 2
training sessions) was 5 hours and
Make sure you check out the
integrated QCRi robot for the
ROBOFORM 35 and 55 — the
next step to full automation.
New Ideas In EDM
Flush Y, N
used Charmilles EDM or buy a
used Charmilles EDM?
Log onto our website under
Used Machines.
www.charmillesus.com/prod/used_edm.cfm
Attended
Machining
Y, N
Tweak After
Started Y, N
Cycle Time,
Minutes
Wear
Surface
Finish
Avg. of 19
Attendees
on FO20, FO20A,
FO200, FO2000,
FO30, FO40/41
Y
Y
Y
Average
5 Hr 25”
Average .049
CH-24
CT AE on FO20
Y
Y
Y
3 Hr 10”
.024
CH-24
User Operator
1st Try on FO35
N
N
N
2 Hr 15”
.012
CH-24
CT AE on FO35
N
N
N
2 Hr 10”
.012
CH-24
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Charmilles Reliability
Takes Hold In The Desert
In terms of EDM reliability, what apparently grows in the desert is Charmilles.
Just ask Paul Moosbrugger, an EDM
machinist who has been at Tech Mold in
Tempe, AZ, for 19 years. Recently, Tech
Mold, an ultra-precision injection
molding company making molds for
the plastics industry, purchased another
Charmilles Robofil 2030SI. It’s not
experienced any down time since.
Moosbrugger picks up the story as
Aaron Stout, Charmilles Technologies
Regional Service Manager, is leaving the
building.
“Aaron left at noon one day after making
his test cuts on our new 2030SI and by
1:00 p.m. I had a job running on the
machine,” Moosbrugger says. “In the
month-and-a-half since we got the
machine, based on 168 hours a week,
that thing has run 80 percent of the time.
At this rate, the machine is going to pay
for itself in less than six months. It’s
incredible.”
Tech Mold records generator hours on
every machine to determine their efficiency. “We figure,” Moosbrugger says,
“if we can use a machine 40 percent of
the time, maybe 60 percent with a tool
changer, that’s pretty efficient. When you
see 80 percent, that’s incredible. That’s
just guys walking by, loading parts, and
hitting the ‘Go’ button.”
Charmilles machines even pre-date Tech
Mold. Owner Bill Kushmaul started the
business in 1972. He purchased a used
Charmilles in 1970. Tech Mold was 50
percent owned by The Tech Group until
July 1999, when Tech Mold went off on
its own.
Today, the private company boasts 160
employees. Much of their business comes
from the medical packaging and hi-tech
sectors. For instance, Tech Mold makes
molds for child-resistant closures, ink jet
cartridges and medical components.
Kushmaul believes that moldmaking is a
prime use for EDM’s. And he has continued to put his faith in Charmilles. The
company owns eleven Charmilles
machines — four wire machines (two
Robofil 2020’s and two Robofil 2030SI’s)
and seven sinkers. When asked if there is
a particular attribute that makes
Charmilles EDM’s so worthwhile,
Kushmaul unhesitatingly says it’s their
accuracy.
Tech Mold’s shop foreman Doug Graf
also mentions accuracy when discussing
the Bostomatic 12G, a high-speed milling
machine that’s now also sold by
Charmilles’ distributor network.
“The machine is very accurate,” Graf
says. “It doesn’t move around in the X
and Y axes as other machines did that
we looked at. The machine holds it day
in and day out.”
Moosbrugger points to Charmilles’ userfriendliness and reliability when asked
about Charmilles’ best attributes. For
instance, the Roboform 31 BA sinker is a
reliable machine, Moosbrugger says,
and the combination of the Roboform 31
BA sinker and an attached robot results
in good generator hours.
The Robofil 2030SI wire machine has
been designed to operate with increased
flexibility and unbeatable accuracy over
a long working life. The 2030SI accepts
wire ranging from 50 to 300 microns in
diameter and has an optional add-on
that enables the use of 30-micron wire.
No more than a matter of minutes is
required to adjust from one wire width to
another - only the closed wire guides
need to be changed.
Operator Moosbrugger describes Tech
Mold’s buying process this way:
“Whenever we say, ‘We need another
wire or we need another sinker,’ Bill will
usually send somebody out, a senior guy,
to go out and make test cuts on what’s
out there. Over the years when we’ve
done that, Charmilles just seems to win
hands down. We do go out there and
we do look at other products on the market. We find that we still think we’re
buying the best based on test cut results,
user friendliness, and ability.”
That job is often done when nobody is
around. One of the great virtues of
Charmilles’ machines, both Kushmaul
and Moosbrugger agree, is their ability
to run unattended. Kushmaul maintains
that type of capability is a necessity in
the current super-competitive EDM
market.
Even during the middle of a workday,
that autonomy is important. “Like right
now,” Moosbrugger says, “I run four
wires by myself. I’m successful on a daily
basis getting phenomenal hours out of
6
www.charmillesus.com
Don Geiger, an EDM operator at Tech Mold in
Tempe, AZ, works with the Charmilles Robofil
2020, the Robofil 2030SI, and the Roboform
2000 (clockwise starting at left).
them because you have features like the
auto rethread feature after a wire breaks.
If you maintain them properly you’ll get
good results. It allows one operator to
run a lot of equipment.”
Owner Kushmaul appreciates the service,
too. “They’re always willing to send
somebody out,” he says. “They’ve been
very cooperative with training and maintenance. Because we’re out in the middle
of the desert, everybody worries about
how you’re going to get serviced. I think
they’ve serviced us very well over the
years.
“And I know in our area they’ve gone to
more knowledge-based sales people
and that’s helped a lot. They have people in the field selling machines that
know the machines. That’s been a big
factor.”
Accuracy, reliability, user-friendliness,
good sales and service. Moosbrugger
contemplates the Robofil 2030SI’s efficiency and sums it up neatly. “There are
a lot of things that go into it but the bottom line is if the machine was a lesser
machine, we wouldn’t see those results.
We’re very happy with it. If we needed
another wire tomorrow, I wouldn’t even
hesitate in getting another Charmilles.”
New Ideas In EDM
7
www.charmillesus.com
Parts Department Key to
Customer Support Center
Parts have been a large part of
the new look for Charmilles
Technologies’ Customer Support
Center. Four full-time warehouse
employees are responsible for the
shipment of over 7,000 parts to customers from Charmilles’ North
American headquarters in
Lincolnshire, IL.
Along with a streamlined service
operation, the improved performance
of the parts area, under the leadership of warehouse manager Brian
Smith, has been responsible for the
great results from the Charmilles
Customer Support Center.
“I’d say our biggest problem in the
past was selecting the correct part,”
says President Harry Moser. “Now
we have a very good, highly motivated team in the warehouse that
does a very good job of getting the
correct part.”
August was the busiest month of
2000 to date for the Charmilles
warehouse team. 3,703 shipments
flew out of Lincolnshire via either UPS
or Fed Ex. And the accuracy rate was
terrific – 99.43 percent of the shipments left the warehouse with the
correct part!
Ordering parts will be even easier
with a soon-to-be released CD that
will enable customers to pick the part
themselves with 100 percent accuracy. Each of the 7,000 parts was
digitally photographed over a sixmonth period. These pictures will be
put on a CD that should be in
customers’ hands by year-end.
8
“A customer will be able to click on
the model name or number, and a
picture of the machine will come up,”
Harry Moser says in describing the
process. “The customer then clicks on
the portion of the machine that
they’re interested in. A picture of the
sub-assembly comes up and then the
user can scroll down on all the parts
and part numbers within that subassembly. Click on any part and the
picture of that part will show up so
that the customer who is trying to
identify a correct part will be able to
see it on the CD.”
Harry is excited about the CD’s
potential. “We’re confident that this
will dramatically reduce the incidence of an incorrect part being
shipped and assure the customers
get the correct part.”
If a customer calls in during a business day, it is almost a certainty that
they’ll receive the requested part the
next day. Ninety-six percent of parts
orders are shipped the same day the
order is taken. The other four percent
are parts that are emergency
ordered from Charmilles’ headquarters in Geneva,Switzerland.
The Lincolnshire warehouse is open
Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m. CST.
• Stratified Wire
• Brass Wire
• Zinc Coated
Wire
• Wire Guides
• Power Feed
Contacts
• Flush Nozzles
and more …
Tell us your
needs!
Charmilles’ got
the goods!
Contact
Charmilles’
Consumable
Department
1-800-CTC-1EDM
ext. 153 or 154.
www.charmillesus.com
Customer Support Center
Efficiently Solves Problems
New technology has
made Charmilles more
accessible than ever.
Ninety percent of callers
now get through to a
live service engineer
when they call in. The
average hold time is
only 50 seconds.
Greg Thomas politely requests his caller
hold the line a minute. He puts his headset down and calmly walks over to a
bank of eight color television monitors.
No, Greg isn’t a director for the local
station’s news show. He is a telephone
service engineer at Charmilles
Technologies’ Customer Support Center
in Lincolnshire, IL and he has a problem
— a customer on the East Coast needs a
new machine installed right away.
Actually, the wire EDM arrived a few
days ahead of schedule so the install
date has to be moved up.
Greg faces the bank of monitors and
positions his computer mouse to click on
the service engineer who will handle the
call. His schedule for the next four weeks
is available to Greg with simply a mouse
click. Greg sees that with customer
approval, a preventative maintenance
call can be delayed to early next week
to accommodate the installation job.
Just another day at the office for Greg.
“When a customer needs something
quickly or needs something changed,” he
says, “we can work it out.”
The Customer Support Center includes
both service and spare parts, the result
of a 1999 merger between the two
functions.
New Ideas In EDM
Customers have noticed
the improvement according to Charmilles
President Harry Moser.
“Customer response has
been wonderful on the
improved live response
and reduced queue time,” Moser says.
“When I talk to customers, they remind
me that we weren’t great in the past but
we’re very good now, and they seem
very appreciative of that.”
is about customer service.
Scott holds a staff meeting every other
week and devotes half of it to customer
service training. “It could be video or
some sort of literature. We discuss techniques and what is working and what is
not working. It’s good communication.”
And it’s working. Telephone service engineer Kirk Walker has been in the EDM
field for 15 years, the last 3 1/2 with
Charmilles. He says the biggest challenge when he talks to customers is,
“trying to understand what their problem
is and both of us agreeing on where to
look and what to look for and how to go
about fixing it.”
Another example of technology working
to enhance the customer experience is
Office Link — a phone system feature that
more evenly distributes incoming calls
between inside service engineers located
in Lincolnshire and outside service engineers around North America.
Before Office Link, the Lincolnshire-based
service engineers were beleaguered
because they received all of the phone
calls. The result was long hold times and
an uneven distribution of phone calls
between inside and outside service
engineers.
“Office Link was our solution,” says Scott
Kieta, Charmilles’ manager of technical
services. “It was our solution to boosting
our live response rate as well as getting
our remote resources staffed adequately
and not using resources here to transfer
calls out.”
Kirk has built up quite a rapport with
many customers. “They pretty much
become your friends over time,” he says.
“You are talking to the same guy every
time when he calls in and they like to
speak with you.”
Charmilles’ Customer Support Center is
open Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m. CST.
Scott has been with Charmilles for 10
years, the last three in his current
position, where he is in charge of the
Customer Support Center. He knows that
at its core, the Customer Support Center
9
www.charmillesus.com
Agie Charmilles Acquires Milling Machines
Business From Mikron
Agie Charmilles recently announced the acquisition of the
“Standard Machines” product group from the Mikron
Technology Group. As a result of this acquisition, the milling
machine product group is expected to grow by twenty
percent during this fiscal year.
The Mikron “Standard Machines” product
group includes the core companies of
Mikron AG Nidau (marketing, sales and
service) and Comp-Tec AG (research,
development, and production) along with
the sales and service organizations with
companies in Switzerland, Germany,
France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, the USA,
Singapore and China.
Agie Charmilles will preserve the Mikron
brand and add it to its existing range.
Supplementing Agie Charmilles’ EDM product group, the wide range of products
which will continue to be marketed under
the trademark “Mikron,” includes milling
machines suitable for start-up companies to
highly complex HSM machining centers at
the top end of the market.
“For us, this acquisition is a unique opportunity to now concentrate our efforts to turn
the strategy pursued in the USA with the
acquisition of Bostomatic into a sustainable
reality in the most significant European
markets with immediate effect,” explains
Kurt E. Stirnemann, Agie Charmilles Group
CEO. “The Mikron acquisition brings with it
a bundle of market advantages including
added technical competence, strong brand
10
www.charmillesus.com
recognition, an existing customer
base and established sales
channels.”
Agie Charmilles, the worldwide
leader in EDM technology, is now
in position to become one of the
world’s leading system suppliers
with two complementary technologies and a comprehensive
product range. High-speed
machining centers are increasingly
being used for processing steel
and hard metals in die-casting,
tool making, and the manufacture
of EDM electrodes.
New Ideas In EDM
You Can See Your Ad
in the Next Edition of
New Ideas In EDM
by calling Steph Meyers
at DGS Group • 317-479-3155
11
www.charmillesus.com
What’s New: Upgrade Your
Roboform 20/20A/20CNC/22/30/31,
Form 20/20A
Charmilles Technologies now
offers an upgrade from 32 amp to
64 amp for the Roboform 20
series machines.
The upgrade, which features an
electrode with a frontal surface
equal or bigger than 1 in2,
doubles the roughing speed for
graphite and steel.
The upgrade is part #852 8550.
Check the electrical cabinet
behind the front door of your
Roboform 20 series machine, level
13, to see if you still need to purchase your upgrade.
Best of all, installation of the
upgrade does not require the
assistance of a specialist.
Please call 800-233-1782 for
pricing information.
12
www.charmillesus.com
Wall Street Or Asia Got You Worried?
Forget It! Charmilles Technologies’ President
Harry Moser Offers Twelve Good Reasons
To Buy New Equipment Now!
“The best
Lincolnshire, IL – With the stock market fluctuating wildly and the Federal
Reserve Board repeatedly raising
rates, it’s easy to become distracted.
What’s going to happen next?
Deciding on equipment purchases is
tough enough but in an atmosphere
suddenly fogged with economic
unpredictability, there’s a tendency
to panic.
At least one top machine tool executive says this is no time to lose focus.
Harry Moser is president of EDM
manufacturer, Charmilles
Technologies (Lincolnshire, Illinois). In
the September 11, 1998 IMTS Show
Daily, when the markets looked most
unstable, Moser predicted that the
Fed would loosen monetary policy.
Subsequently, the Fed reduced rates
on October 2nd, October 16th and
November 19th of 1998. He recently
updated his analysis, outlining the
reasons why the Wall Street rollercoaster should be ignored. “If you
intend to stay in business, this is a
great time to buy new machine tools
and manufacturing equipment,” he
states. Here are his twelve
reasons:
1 . Low Cost Financing is
Available.
Since the interest rate valley in the
fourth quarter of 1998, the Fed has
raised the short term federal funds
rate 1 .75 percentage points but FiveYear Treasuries, the basis for
equipment leases, have only
14
increased 1 .58%. Thus, leases
are still quite affordable. In fact,
aggressive machine tool manufacturers, like Charmilles, often further
subsidized rates for credit-worthy
customers during IMTS 2000.
2. It’s the Best Investment
Alternative.
Invest in what you know and can
control—productive equipment for
your business. Other alternative
investments are outside of your control and have uncertain projected
returns. In fact, stock returns are likely
to be low or negative, probably
“reverting to the mean” after a period
of “irrational exuberance.”
3. Only Productivity and Quality
Can Beat Lower-priced
Competitors.
Low labor rates make foreign
companies price competitive. You
can’t compete against price by not
investing. You can only compete by
having the equipment that allows
your employees to produce at a level
above the competition and at a
productivity level that overcomes the
labor rate disadvantages. U.S. manufacturing productivity increased at a
6.9% annual rate in the first quarter
of 2000 showing that U.S. industry
can be competitive. Adding a robot
to a CNC EDM can increase your
productivity by 50% while reducing
the fully burdened operating cost per
hour by 30%, reaching the operating
cost level of low wage, non-robotic,
Southeast Asian installations.
companies
invest
consistently
year after
year
regardless
of short-term
economic
conditions.”
4. Consistent Investment
Pays Off.
The best companies invest consistently year after year regardless of
short-term economic conditions. They
always have the most recent technology and they have sufficient capacity
to deal with increases in demand. If
you let your technology fall behind,
you may never be able to catch up.
5. Capital Equipment is the Only
Cost that is Competitive versus
Foreign Companies.
In Southeast Asia, the dollar cost of
labor can be 10% of North American
levels but the cost of imported
machine tools is the same as in
the U.S.
6. Southeast Asia’s Short-term
Advantage is Gone.
In late ’98 and early ’99, Southeast
Asian shops had two special temporary advantages. Costs were cut
dramatically due to depressed
national currencies and they had
huge excess capacity due to their
devastated domestic demand. Since
www.charmillesus.com
then, the Southeast Asian currencies
have strengthened and their domestic
demand and manufacturing capacity
utilization are soaring.
7. Booming European and
Southeast Asian Economies
Will Strengthen U.S.
Manufacturing.
U.S. retail sales and homebuilding
are softening due to the Fed’s
actions. The manufacturing boom in
Europe and Southeast Asia will
decrease U.S. imports and increase
U.S. exports, compensating for any
drop in domestic U.S. demand. As
U.S. interest rate expectations soften,
the dollar will drop versus European
currencies, further strengthening
export demand.
8. Your Domestic Competitors
are Investing.
U.S. machine tool orders are up 4%
YTD May 2000 vs. 1999. Charmilles’
U.S. and Canadian orders in May
New Ideas In EDM
and June 2000 were the best May
and June ever; 33% greater than the
same months in 1999.
9. It Makes Your Services More
Marketable.
Your customers are shrinking their
vendor bases. They will stick with the
vendors that offer a broad range of
processes and that have continued to
invest in the most modern technology.
10. To Attract and Retain Top
Employees.
Skilled toolmakers/precision machinists are always very hard to find. This
was true even at the slowest
times in early 1999. Top performers are easier to attract
and retain with the latest
equipment that makes them
more productive and demonstrates your commitment to the
future of the company and the
employees.
11 . 2000 and 2001 Will
Probably be Good
Years.
Inflation is still low, and there
are enough signs of moderating growth that the Fed is
unlikely to raise rates more
than another 0.25%. In fact,
NTMA forecasts call for the following
increases: moldmaking 6%, diemaking 8%, and precision machining 4%.
Capacity utilization rates in the
Fabricated Metal Products sector, SIC
code 34, is an excellent measure of
metalworking activity. The indicator
bottomed in May ’99 and has since
recovered 2/3 of the ground lost
since manufacturing was last really
strong in the first half of 1998.
I’m confident enough in the future
that Charmilles-US has hired 15
service engineers since January and
ordered as many stock machines in
June and July 2000 as in the previous
five months combined. We are ready
for a continued recovery!
12. Recently Introduced Technology
Some recent breakthroughs in
machine tool technology can
significantly improve a company’s
competitive position. For example, the
newest CNC diesinker EDM’s cut the
most difficult jobs in 50% of the time,
unattended. This is the same result
that was typically achieved with earlier models that were attended. New,
fully integrated robotic systems help
to make the transition towards 24/7
much simpler and affordable.
Charmilles Technologies Corp. is the
worldwide leading manufacturer of
manual and CNC die-sinking EDM
systems and wire EDM systems. For
more information on the company’s
products and services, contact
Gisbert Ledvon, Charmilles
Technologies Corp., 560 Bond Street,
Lincolnshire, IL 60069-4224.
Tel: 1-800-CTC-1EDM.
Fax: 847-913-5340.
http://www.charmillesus.com.
An earlier version of this story appeared
in the IMTS Show Daily, Sept. 2000,
published by Gardner Publications, Inc.
Redistributed with permission.
15
560 Bond St.
Lincolnshire, IL 60069
www.charmillesus.com
Tel: (888) CTC 1EDM
AGIE CHARMILLES Group
GEORG FISCHER GF Manufacturing Technology