METALWORKING NEWS 2 Editor’s Comment 4 Viewpoint 6 Industry News The first double-sided, multi-edge milling concept; SA arms and weapons legislation; Boeing, Paramount Group; First train expected; Pressure Die Castings wins contracts; Industry 4.0; Toyota SA; Engineering Community Conference 2016; Emergency steel tariffs; Volkswagen; Denel-Gupta deal; New auto plants; Mitsubishi Electric; World Power Products; APDP incentive; Ford; Aluminium hub; Tysica; Alstom; Aluminium value chain; WD Hearn 42 Shopfront Focus Moulding a niche; Resolution Circle; Moving into fabricating 62 Better Production IT and OT converging in the Factory of the Future 66 International News Hexagon; Conzzeta; Okuma; Robotics market; Global machine tool; MBK Partners; Schuler; Prima Power; Selective laser melting technique; AM will not threaten metalworking; “Bible of the Metalworking Industries”; Radan; Unmanned war vehicle system; 3D printing; Engel; Alcoa 84 Product Review PolyWorks® 2016; Victor CNC; Yaskawa; Haas; Hypertherm; Holemaking & drilling options; BLM Lasertube LT8; Iscar; You Ji YV-600E2T; Tongtai; FixtureBuilder 3D-modelling software; Alpha Laser; Studer; Hurco; HyperWorks 14.0; solidThinking Inspire 2016; Nikon; Mastercam X9; Tungaloy’s DoForce-Tri; Trumpf METALWORKING NEWS V 15. 2 May 2016 1 EDITOR’S COMMENT Look after our skills and resources or a long time the mining industry was the Volume 15 Number 2 well-being of our economy. It is an industry May 2016 that affects all of us and has a long F Editor historical background. Its real beginning dates back to the 19th century, when the diamond and Bruce Crawford gold rushes started. While the history of gold Online Editor mining is often presumed to postdate that of Damon Crawford diamonds, the precious metal was, in fact, discovered, and the first mine established, at Editorial Board roughly the same time as the diamond rush, Professor Dimitri Dimitrov, they say. Global Competitiveness Centre Although diamond and gold discoveries in Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Stellenbosch played an important part in the growth of early South Africa, beneath the surface of South Dr Willie Du Preez, Senior Researcher, Faculty Africa’s incredibly varied landscape, lies the of Engineering and Information Technology of the Central University of Technology richest mineral treasure trove to have ever been discovered in a confined region. Almost every precious stone, metal and Production Manager mineral known to humans has been found here in deposits varying from mere Wendy Crawford traces to quantities of unparalleled value. However, the mining industry is now struggling under a myriad challenges, Reproduction after more than 160 years of commercial enterprise, sighting a number of Jericho Graphic Design temporary factors that might have contributed to the unusually low level of Advertising production. While part of that deterioration is a result of the global slump in Bruce Crawford / Wendy Crawford metal prices currently threatening 32 000 jobs in the country, some of South Tel: + 27 11 463 0489 Africa’s problems are self-inflicted. Varying statistics are reported and it is Cell: + 27 83 628 7654 believed that mining now accounts for less then 5% of GDP whereas the E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.metalworkingnews.co.za manufacture and export of vehicles and components accounts for almost 12%. There is good and bad news in these figures. It can indicate that we are Printed By not reliant so much on mining anymore and have developed other areas or, Paarlmedia - A Division of Novus Holdings which is the more likely, costs in terms of labour remuneration and unrest have caught up with the industry and investors are looking elsewhere. Conversely the METALWORKING NEWS automotive industry has been relatively ‘stable’ and, along with the APDP is published by: BA Crawford Specialised Publications (Pty) Ltd incentive, is attracting investment and is growing. As reported in this issue, US PO Box 69299, Bryanston, South Africa, 2021 motor company Ford’s investment of another R2.5 billion in its South African manufacturing operations brings to nearly R50 billion the total spent on, or 41 Arklow Road, Bryanston, South Africa, 2021 committed to, South African vehicle production by foreign companies. Tel: + 27 11 463 0489 This brings me to my real point. The industry is highly diversified in terms E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.crawfordpublications.co.za of the number and types of models of machine tools, metals, castings, accessories and production systems it uses. It employs a highly skilled Subscriptions workforce of design, mechanical, sales and service engineers, as well as Annual – Local: R140.00 (incl VAT) technicians and assembly workers. These skilled individuals are undoubtedly International: on application the industry’s most important assets and retaining them is a great challenge. ISSN 1682-8909 Commendably the OEMs are very active in the upliftment of skills in the Copyright industry. Both Mercedes-Benz SA and BMW South Africa have made recent All rights reserved. No editorial matter announcements about training their own staff. This is a positive spinoff, but the published in Metalworking News may be cost of the government’s dictatorial attitude towards training in the supporting reproduced in any form or language without industries has been a major obstacle towards the upliftment of skills in industry written permission of the publishers. While and business as a whole. New legislation now proposed by the Department of every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction the editor, authors, publishers Higher Education and Training (DHET) is going to be very detrimental towards and their employees or agents shall not be the supporting industries. responsible or in any way liable for any errors, South Africa still has one of the most diverse and important mining omissions or inaccuracies in the publication industries in the world, as well as an attractive resource base that holds whether arising from negligence or otherwise much promise for future mining activities. or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product But because of the numerous squabbles in the does not mean that the publisher or editorial industry it is declining. Let it not happen to the board advocates or rejects its use either automotive industry. generally or in any particular field or fields. 2 METALWORKING NEWS V 15. 2 May 2016 VIEW POINT New technologies raise the global bar in mouldmaking he business of global mouldmaking is extremely competitive and constantly changing — case in point, the Treturn of high-end mouldmaking to the United States from overseas. Reasons for this include reshoring initiatives, requirements for higher precision on certain parts, logistical issues and rising costs of parts made overseas. In reply, overseas mouldmakers are employing aggressive pricing and financial engineering tools such as currency devaluation as a way to retain business, while in the United States, the secret weapon is advanced manufacturing technology. Much of the current trend reflects differences between the moulds made overseas and those before ejection. manufactured here. Overseas When the additive manufacturing process is mouldmaking generally involves basic complete, the vast majority of mould components moulds with single-digit numbers require secondary operations such as milling, of cavities. On the other hand, the EDM or grinding to achieve required accuracy. To strength of the US mouldmaker is streamline the mouldmaking process, manufacturers the manufacturing of high-precision can create a cell in which a mould component is moulds with 50, 100 or more cavities. built via additive manufacturing methods on a These complex multicavity moulds standardised clamping and palletising system, after facilitate true mass production of which the pallet is moved to a milling machine parts. However, every cavity of a and/or an EDM for secondary operations. The 150-cavity mould, for instance, must advantage here is the seamless transfer of data be perfect to produce 150 perfect parts. There can be no between the 3-D printing model, the additive manufacturing deviation. A scrapped two or four-cavity mould made overseas machine, the milling machine and the EDM. may be less of an issue, but a mistake in the manufacture of a However, achieving that seamless data transfer requires 150-cavity mould is a whole different story. full integration of the differing manufacturing technologies. For US mouldmakers, the integration of new technologies The recently initiated strategic cooperation between into the mouldmaking process facilitates manufacture of GF Machining Solutions and the global provider of high-end moulds that provide reductions in part producing cycle times, additive manufacturing solutions EOS, for instance, represents increased production volumes and top product quality. All of one such effort to expedite that integration. which elevates US mouldmaking to levels far beyond that of Another technological advantage for US mouldmakers is many other countries. their application of sinker EDM’s with highly advanced digital One important new technology is additive manufacturing. spark generator capabilities. Such generators help produce Additive processes have evolved to the point that they produce surface textures that reduce friction on the mould surface workpiece materials with physical characteristics extremely area, including inside small details