Large Machines and Capacity in Renovated Pfronten Facility

DMG MORI hosted its 20th open house earlier this month in Pfronten, Germany. The event featured 76 machine tool exhibits, including four world premieres, and gave nearly 8,800 attendees (including global customers, journalists and guests) had the opportunity to tour the recently renovated and expanded facility to see its latest machine tool technologies. Here are some observations from the event:

• Large-part machining: In more ways than one, DMG MORI is expanding its manufacturing portfolio. Case in point: The DMU 600 P is designed for machining extremely large and heavy components. It is well suited for automotive, rail, shipping and construction industry applications, with a travel of 6,000 mm in the X axis and 4,200 mm in the Y axis. An optional crossbeam has a path of 2,000 mm, and the ram stroke provides an additional 1,500 mm.
   
• Increased production capacity: Pfronten’s new high-tech assembly hall was designed so that two DMU 600 P machines could be built in their entirety with room to spare. Upgrades and renovations in 2014 have doubled the facility’s previous capacity.In keeping with Germany’s Industry 4.0 plans for more intelligent production capabilities, the factory also boasts an integrated information system. Digital workstations installed throughout the factory enable employees to look at the exact configuration of customer orders, lock-in necessary materials and order supplies for each machine tool without leaving their workspace. The result is an increase in shopfloor efficiency.  
   
• Updated equipment: One of the four machine tool world premieres was the second generation CTX beta 1250 TC. This turn-mill features the new CompactMaster spindle, and it machines workpieces ranging to 350 mm in length with tools ranging to 400 mm length. The second premier was the DMC 270 U, a five-axis machine featuring a gantry design and a new B-axis milling head. The company also highlighted the DMU 100 P duoblock and DMC 125 FD duoblock five-axis machines, now in their 4th generation respectively, which feature a new wheel-type modular tool magazine.
   
• Celos: In the spring of 2015, DMG MORI will launch four new application tools for its Celos CNC operating system including Job Scheduler (production planning), Tool Handling (reducing tool setup times), Service Agent (predictive maintenance) and Messenger (machine status overview).  
   
• A push for single-source machining: The other main topic of conversation in Germany involved streamlining the product lines. During the press conference, DMG MORI executives, including Dr. Ruediger Kapitza and Dr. Masahiko Mori, discussed plans to use the German and Japanese machine tool resources to the fullest extent. This means getting Celos on every machine. It also means discussing the possibility of a joint IT department. The goal is to centralize the company’s machine tool line to meet the increasing demands of its customers. Expect more information on this later in 2015.