At Prodex, Walter Dünner SA will be presenting a new ER collet equipped with a positioning device which comes in very useful when changing tools. This innovation, developed in collaboration with Rego-Fix, provides an efficient solution to the recurrent problem of positioning when using an ER collet, and is a great gift to the market from the company Dünner, which is celebrating 75 years of innovation in the service of microtechnology this year. We met Daniel Dünner, director of the third generation, and Pascale, his wife, administration manager.
Collets during the cooling phase. There are a lot of different crafts at work in Walter Dünner SA’s workshops.
Walter Dünner was founded in 1935 with a single objective: to allow customers using automatic lathes to make the most of their production tool. This seemingly very simple view led the company to be the first to develop carbide guide bushes in 1938 and to supply constantly innovative solutions to the market. This view has endured over the generations and is still the same in the company today. Walter Dünner SA is a reference in clamping innovation.
Exceptional products Over the years, the manufacturer has developed a wide range of original solutions to make the most of the evolution in production equipment. Here are a few examples of products which are currently very much in demand.
- Ceramic guide bushes – unique know-how. Mr Dünner explains, "It took a while for the ceramic guide bush to find its place on the market, as it was radically new, but it succeeded in overcoming a certain inertia in the market. Today many companies realise that this is the only guide bush which can allow then to produce certain parts satisfactorily".
- Large-opening collet – an efficient solution. The patented system of large-opening collets means a part can be clamped in counter-operation above a shoulder.
- Flexible guide bush – rubber in the service of machining. When working with materials including irregularities of up to 0.5 mm, this type of guide bush compensates for any material errors. It also ensures that the bar is clamped over all its length (50 mm). Ceramic machining, vulcanisation and much more… All the machining operations required to produce the Dünner range are carried out in Moutier, the company’s headquarters. The company has acquired the necessary know-how in ceramic turning and in vulcanisation. Mr Dünner explains, "We have invented the necessary machines and specific tooling in order to be able to design and produce the parts we sell". Constantly innovating for the customer "We produce all our guide bushes and collets in Switzerland with raw materials also purchased in Switzerland. With constantly increasing raw material prices and the euro exchange rate which is once again very low, we are facing challenges which have nothing to do with technology", says Mr Dünner. "But this problem is dealt with in the same way as technical problems, with the interests of the customer at heart, with the objective of creating a win-win relationship ". With its 75 years of experience in innovation, Walter Dünner SA is in a good position to help production companies to take things a step further.
To be seen at Prodex in Basel, hall 1, stand E40
Walter Dünner SA Route de Soleure 25 2740 Moutier - Suisse Tél. +41 (0) 32 / 493 11 52 Fax +41 (0) 32 / 493 46 79 [email protected] www.dunner.ch
We will come back on this anniversary in Eurotec’s next issue.
By the way, we already published some interesting stories about the company
