Reflective surfaces made on micro-structures in record time. GF AgieCharmilles is setting a new milestone in Swiss machine building with the model series MIKRON HSM 400, 400U, 500 LP Precision. . GF AgieCharmilles is the only European machine majnufacturer to offer a solution for process-reliable tool measurement on the machine tool. The potential for this functionality was recognized quite early on and thus there began evaluation of intelligent alternatives some years ago. The result is (…)

Who has never dreamed of finding the perfect solution for replacing cam-type machines? Regularly, machine manufacturers release turning machines that more or less meet this aspiration. We met up with the Swiss bar-turning company Laubscher in Täuffelen. Manfred Laubscher, the technical director, has found the machine that is destined to replace whole collections of cam-type machines. The project was only slowed by the global credit crisis. Founded in 1846, Laubscher Précision SA is a (…)

I went to the Motorex press conference today and that was very well done. We received a lot of information, results of tests and proofs about the new Motorex Swisscool Tresor PMC©. This new water-based lubricant is completely free of the usual aggressive chemical additives and uses the oligodynamiceffect of precious metal (silver in this case). In machining, illness due to water-based coolant is not to be neglected. With its new Swisscool Tresor PMC©, Motorex works for user’s skin. There (…)

With the launch of its new coolant called Tresor, Motorex met with Michael Rocker, chemist, Berufsgenossenschaft Metall Nord Süd (BGM), Mainz and talked about skin disorders associated with the use of coolants. You can see the wholeinterview here. Skin disorders caused by coolants – contact eczemas, as they are known – are generally multifactorial in nature. Depending on the damaging factors in each case, we refer to allergic, toxic, irritant or degenerative changes in the skin, and mixed (…)

Recent developments now make it possible to have laser sources which combine performance with compactness – several hundred Watts in less than 20 cm high. These equipments produce a beam of such high quality that they are capable of welding spots just a few tens of microns in diameter. The same laser can operate in either pulse or continuous mode, making it possible to cover an extremely broad range of applications and to work on a large spectrum of conventional and precious metals. . (…)

The problem of swarf management is a familiar one and in the case of precious metals the constraints are even greater than for standard materials. With the value of gold at more than 42,000 CHF per kilo and maximum waste tolerance at no more than 2 per cent, producers are having to find ever more sophisticated solutions to recover as much of the material as possible to avoid paying for “waste”. While swarf management is by no means a source of value added in production runs, the operation (…)

Europa Star and its series of publications in the fields of horology, jewellery and precision engineering are returning to the family that founded them more than 83 years ago. We at Eurotec, part of this batch of publications, are excited about the opportunities this new step offers us. In 1927, a young entrepreneur, Hugo Buchser, established the Geneva publishing house that was to become Europa Star and the multitude of other international luxury, jewellery and precision machinery (…)

Its content is clearly focused on news and ways to help users to be more efficient or save money. It will be sent to readers early June and will also be largely distributed at EPHJ/EPMT in Lausanne. Calibration tool from Mikron. Mikron is the only supplier of a whole machining system: tools, transfer machines and clamping systems. This Swiss manufacturer has built up its experience over several decades in the production of precision tools and machines for demanding applications (more to (…)

Micronarc has organized two seminars to take place during EPHJ/EPMT. People are invited to participate at these upcoming events in Beaulieu, Lausanne. . Counterfeiting in the Watchmaking Industry; Lausanne, Thursday June 10, 14h - 17h. In collaboration with Alliance, you are cordially invited to follow a series of presentations on this contentious theme. Registration is free of charge, but required. See the full program and register here (French). Microfactory Assembly, a (…)

Requirements in the mechanical machining of components for the gas industry and other industrial sectors in very large production batches are evolving very quickly. Initially it was enough just to produce economically. A few years later, with the arrival of « just-in-time » and the annualization of stocks, the main customer requirement of manufacturers was flexibility. Manufacturers had to produce smaller batch sizes at the same price. Subsequently, with the opening of Asian markets, we saw (…)