At IMTS, Affolter will showcase the Affolter AF110 plus.
"U.S. manufacturers in the automotive industry can benefit from Affolter's high precision gear hobbing and worm screw power skiving (WSPS) technologies," said a company spokesperson.
Affolter, in partnership with its representative Rotec Tools, will showcase the fully automated gear hobbing center Affolter AF110 plus.
The AF110 plus is designed to maximize the productivity of manufacturers of small gears in the automotive, aerospace and medical equipment industries.
"In one luxury car, up to 50 small high-precision gears and worms are used-from the electric car seat all the way to the trunk. U.S. manufacturers in the automotive industry produce a high number of such micro gears. Reduced cycle times are the key to optimized overall productivity. At the same time, manufacturers must ensure highest precision and quality," explained Vincent Affolter, Managing Director of Affolter Technologies.
Affolter sees the U.S. automotive market as a key market for growth. "The AF110 plus is the most advanced machine offered by Affolter Technologies," said a company spokesperson. It is engineered to provide versatility, precision, power, rigidity and ease of use. The AF110 plus has eight axes and a cutter-spindle speed of up to 12,000 RPM capable of making gears with a maximum DP17 and minimum of DP1270.
Various automation systems for part loading and unloading are available, such as universal grippers, drum loader or robot loading as well as options such as deburring, dry cutting, centering microscope and oil mist aspiration. Affolter said, "The loader system AF71 with two grippers provides 24 hours automatic production. While a gear is in the hobbing process, the other gripper already reaches out for the next part to load." The AF110 plus can cut spur, helical, frontal, bevel and crown gears.
Worm Screw Power Skiving (WSPS), a cutting-edge technology developed by Affolter engineers, is available as an option. "Unlike worm hobbing, where the hob turns much faster than the workpiece, the Affolter engineers inverted the process. The workpiece turns extremely fast, with two new spindles up to 12,000 RPM, while the cutter turns much slower. Only highly advanced machines can reach such speeds and at the same time provide the necessary stiffness," said Affolter. "WSPS allows manufacturers to finish a high-precision worm in only 6 seconds-four times faster than the traditional worm hobbing. Manufacturers of a high volume of worms will greatly benefit from this new process and improve their productivity significantly." The WSPS technology focuses on small worms with a module up to 17 DP.
"The Affolter gear hobbing machines offer customers a production machine with high precision and efficiency," said Ivo Straessle, President of Rotec Tools. "The simplicity of these machines is remarkable. The user-friendly controls with step-by-step and easy-to-follow functions will simplify the gear-making process. With a relatively small investment, customers can keep know-how and technology in-house."
For more information contact:
Rotec Tools Ltd.
100 Buckshollow Road, Ste. 3
Mahopac, NY 10541
845-621-9100
info@rotectools.com
www.rotectools.com
IMTS 2018 Level 3, Booth N-237223