From 15th to 18th June 2021, for the second time it was »Welcome to the OPEN HOUSE ONLINE live from Tuttlingen, Germany!« Welcome, to an event which elicited one or two appreciative »Ohos!« from the industry visitors . Welcome to machine premiers like the DZ 28 S five axis and the 715 Series, to innovative 360° tours, and to the new, livestreamed Innovation Talks.
Whether experienced in-person or virtually, the CHIRON
Group OPEN HOUSE is a platform for innovation and communication for the entire
industry. And once again this year, it inspired visitors from Germany, Austria,
Switzerland and the rest of Europe. It was especially exciting, thanks to the
online format, to be able to welcome many guests from the USA to the second
OPEN HOUSE ONLINE, giving them the opportunity to see, experience and discover
plenty of things to incorporate into their manufacturing practices. We received
so much positive feedback from customers, partners and suppliers on the many
new innovations and high-quality experiences at the OPEN HOUSE ONLINE 2021.
Carsten Liske, CEO of the CHIRON Group, has a positive summary of the event, »Our
efforts over the last few months paid off. We have consistently pushed forward
with our innovation program, optimized our product portfolio and offer our
customers the right answers to their current and future challenges.«
New
perspectives on areas of expertise and machining centers
360° tours allowed visitors to
the OPEN HOUSE ONLINE to get an exclusive insight into, for example, the Turnkey Center or the CHIRON Group Precision Factory. The new Innovation Talks proved to be another very successful element – with over 2,000 views.
These were professionally moderated debates on hot topics such as
digitalization, automation, the future of microtechnology and medical
technology, additive manufacturing and many more, streamed live from
Tuttlingen, Germany.
The CHIRON Group also presented the newest machining center in the »fleet«, with expert presentations and all the technical features at a glance. The CHIRON MT 715 two+ for autonomous machining on all six sides generated the most interest, closely followed by the CHIRON DZ 28 S five axis with a spindle distance of 1,200 mm for simple machining of large volume components.
Visitors from the high-precision micromachining sector were most interested in the extremely compact and dynamic Micro5 machining center, presented by Stephan Encke, Sales Manager Aerospace, Medical, Precision Technology:
Another highlight was the CHIRON DZ 16 W five axis with VariocellUno automation
unit , a handling robot and workpiece store.
The Additive Manufacturing department presented two new digital systems for the innovative 3D metal printer, the AM Cube. The VisioLine AM and DataLine AM allow targeted analysis and optimization of the laser deposition welding process.
Digital
products and services for real added value
Increased efficiency, availability and productivity – the
digital systems from the SmartLine portfolio create the conditions to fully
exploit the information from machining centers. It makes it easy to recognize
tangible potential for manufacturing and enables targeted further development.
The SmartLine module also offers the basis for new digital services from the
CHIRON Group. These SmartServices enable targeted service provision for
increased total-system effectivity and are focused – for maximum effect – on
the various phases of machine and system life cycles: Start-up, production and
modernization.
Ralf Bernauer and Daniel Kopp, Service Specialists in Turnkey and Application in Schlierbach, on ProductivityServices:
Fancy
another »lap« of the OPEN HOUSE ONLINE?
If you didn't have the chance to visit or want to look more closely at your
favorite machine, get in touch with your contact partner in Sales. They'll
accompany you on a virtual guided tour, give you advice and help you learn
about the topics that are of most interest to you.
A laugh a minute Watch the outtakes to see what didn't make the cut for the events platform (for good reason).
Creating the best foundations for productive processes includes the building and commissioning of machining centers by the CHIRON Group Service. For example, this was the case with medical technology company Smith & Nephew's new production site in Penang, Malaysia, where precision manufacturing of knee and hip prostheses is to begin at a facility measuring 250,000 square meters in early 2023. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that implementing this has taken more effort than usual.
All production at Smith & Nephew Operations Sdn Bhd is to start in early 2023. While this might sound manageable, in the midst of a pandemic, this represents a logistical and organizational challenge for everyone involved in the CHIRON Group's turnkey project. First, 15 machines had to be constructed at the CHIRON Group Precision Factory in Neuhausen, Germany. Then, project integration had to be carried out by the Application department in Tuttlingen, Germany or, after five weeks of transport by sea, by CHIRON America in Charlotte, USA. The machining centers then needed to be shipped from Germany and America to Penang (also known by the Malay name »Pulau Pinang«), Malaysia. After that, they had to be installed and commissioned on-site, the machines needed to be accepted by the customer, validated and training also provided. All standard procedure so far. However, further complications were caused by the coronavirus pandemic, such as delays in transporting people and material. In addition, extensive and time-consuming customs and visa formalities had to be dealt with and the alternating service teams from Germany and the USA had to quarantine for 14 days for each new assignment.
First-rate support from Amy
and John
Whether
visiting the Consulate General of Malaysia in Frankfurt or requesting,
completing and promptly sending the various forms for work visas, service technicians Marco Wagner
and Thomas Schöpf – the first team to travel to Penang – were expertly supported
in organizational matters by Amy Kozina, Human Resources Manager at CHIRON America. She coordinated all of the
paperwork and kept people in the know about upcoming deadlines. Moreover, the
Human Resources Manager will continue to work in the background, putting all of
the vital elements in place for the teams from Germany and the USA, until the
end of the project.
CHIRON Group Service gained a new local team member in the form of Hock Leong Ch`ng, or – to call him by his »international« name – »John«. He has been the primary contact person for Smith & Nephew since October 1 and will assist with all of the next steps until the start of production, before then offering support to the production lines. Frank Geiselhart, Head of Global Service at the CHIRON Group, calls the new service technician »the first service employee at the Malaysia site«. He continues, »the Asia Pacific market for medical technology is growing rapidly, with more and more international companies like Smith & Nephew building their own manufacturing sites here and needing quick and expert on-site support.«
Providing support from the
hotel via HoloLens
Every
new installation performed by CHIRON Group Service involves unpacking and
installing the machinery. But this was not possible for Smith & Nephew
Operations. In early September, the specialists from Tuttlingen had to
quarantine in a hotel around 300 kilometers away in Kuala Lumpur. However, they
were fully prepared with HoloLens and a laptop and could remotely provide
advice and support.
This went very well and, as Project Manager Gjvat Kosumi showed the team on their first day at the new, state-of-the-art site in Penang, the two CHIRON FZ 12 S five axis machining centers were in exactly the right position in the big, but still largely empty hall. Gjevat Kosumi works for Smith & Nephew Manufacturing AG based in the northern Swiss town of Aarau, where over 300,000 hip and knee implants are manufactured every year. He is responsible for establishing the production of femur components for artificial knee joints in Malaysia and will achieve this using the two machining centers from the Application department in Tuttlingen, as well as additional systems for grinding and polishing made by other manufacturers.
In addition, the project management team and machine setters Sam and Kumar from Smith & Nephew worked in close collaboration to ensure that commissioning went smoothly. Thomas Schöpf said it was »a routine procedure«.
Alternating teams until the start
of production
The
service technicians from Germany finished their assignment on November 26 and
it is now the turn of Jason Stombaugh and other colleagues from Charlotte, USA,
to work in partnership with John from Smith & Nephew. Their task is to install
and to commission eight FZ 12 S machining centers with a VariocellUno
automation unit for manufacturing tibial plateau prostheses. The German team
will then be called upon again and a service technician from Tuttlingen will
assist John with installing five additional machines for manufacturing the
inlay that acts as a sliding bearing between the two components. Two FZ 08 W
machining centers will be used to machine blanks on three axes, while the DZ 08
W with VariocellUno will subsequently machine the inlays with high precision on
four axes.
Once all of the machines are ready for operation, the German and American service teams will start alternating again. They will prepare and carry out the process of acceptance by the customer, integrate additional components, carry out validation and also – to ensure productive operation from the very start of 2023 – provide the operating personnel with training. You can read more about this and the production-related challenges of the turnkey project in an upcoming edition of speedfactor.
Smith & Nephew
The
success story of Smith & Nephew began in Hull, a city in northern England,
in 1856. This is where pharmacist Thomas James Smith, and later his nephew
Horatio Nelson Smith, sold bandages and pharmaceutical products. In the
process, they laid the foundation of a medical technology business that is now
a public limited company that employs around 16,000 workers in 100 countries.
With the slogan »Life unlimited«, Smith & Nephew develops technologies for
the business areas of sports medicine, orthopedic reconstruction, trauma
products and advanced wound management. The company's main headquarters are in
the town of Watford, to the north of London. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, there is a
sales subsidiary in Kuala Lumpur and Smith & Nephew Operations Sdn Bhd is
situated in Penang. The new high-tech site – covering an area of 250,000 square
meters for manufacturing, technology and logistics and which will create 800
new jobs – will supply the Asia Pacific market with orthopedic products and
support the global supply chains from 2023.
Travel diary from service technician Marco Wagner:
After
23 hours of traveling, we landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on
September 2. We then passed through more than ten stations until all of the
health checks and immigration formalities had been completed. After two hours,
we were finally able to sit in a taxi on the way to the hotel where we would be
quarantining. We were received by two of the hotel's members of staff wearing
protection suits. They gave us an envelope with the menu and room key and
escorted us to the lift. Having arrived in our room, we then unpacked, relaxed
and sat tight. There were to be no dinners in restaurants, no walks through
Chinatown or drinks with a view of the skyline at the Heli Lounge Bar – a
helicopter pad by day, and probably the city's coolest bar by night.
Instead, we spent 14 days self-isolating, only opening the door three times a
day to take in meal trays before shutting it again. A strange experience
indeed. Fortunately, there were no issues with the Wi-Fi and we were able to
work and enjoy the spectacular view of the Petronas Twin Towers, which stand at
452 meters. After the end of the quarantine period, we even found that we
unexpectedly had five days to check out the towers and the city before we were
granted our work visas. We were finally able to set off for Penang on September
20.
Penang (also known by the Malay name »Pulau Pinang«) is both a Malaysian state
and the name of an island. While the Smith & Nephew site is situated on the
mainland, our hotel was on the island and we had to cross the strait every day
via the 24 kilometer-long Second Penang Bridge (yes, we had a lot of time to
study our guidebook in great detail. :))
We also had the company of three employees from Haas Schleifmaschinen based in Trossingen, Germany. We shared minibuses with them and did a few joint activities together, such as exploring the island on scooters. This was not without its risks, given that cars were driving on the left-hand side and there were occasionally groups of monkeys running over the road.
Smith & Nephew gave us an excellent welcome and looked after us very well. For example, when we had to evacuate our hotel due to a detected coronavirus case within eight hours, they had immediately booked another one for us on a Sunday. Sam and Kumar, a setter and a programmer at Smith & Nephew respectively, took me on a tour through the tropical rainforest and we also played badminton with other members of staff. Playing for two hours at a temperature of 30 degrees, in a humidity similar to that of a steam bath and, what's more, against excellent opponents was pretty exhausting. But a cool beer certainly helped to replenish any lost electrolytes!
Our section of the project, installing and commissioning the two FZ 12 S five axis, went very smoothly and we were able to familiarize John with all of the key tasks. In addition, we gave him our tools and measuring instruments to ensure that he has the right basic equipment for future tasks.
How would I sum up the trip? From the perspective of the project, it was a success and, personally, I found it very enriching. Sure, having to quarantine was not ideal but necessary in the circumstances. In the Service department, there are new challenges with each project. That's just part of the job and you have to deal with it. It's therefore a matter of solving one problem and moving on to the next one!
Urban gardening is the trend in major cities around the world. On parking garage roofs, public green spaces and in backyards, people are sowing, tilling, planting and harvesting. Working with one's hands is a welcome counterbalance to mental work, reduces stress and bears real fruit. Also on the factory premises of the Taicang Innovation Factory, where the big »Happy CHIRON Gardening« event began on April 20.
Bright sunshine, a light breeze: the conditions couldn't have been better at the start of the unusual team project initiated by HR & Admin Director Joanna! The 100 participating employees were divided into five groups, each responsible for planting and maintaining a specific area.
Equipped with hoes, rakes, shovels and in high spirits, everyone set to work to literally prepare the ground for vigorous growth. Loosening the soil, weeding, fertilizing, watering and planting. Everything that tastes good: Watermelons, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, beans, pumpkins. And everything that looks beautiful and will turn part of the plant site into a blooming garden, a green oasis: Chinese roses, hydrangeas, mulberry trees and much more.
Done! At the end of the first day, everyone felt what they had worked on - and were mighty proud of their collective work. To provide an incentive for daily watering and regular care, HR manager Joanna and her team launched a small competition: The employees of the group which grew the most watermelons could invite their families to a »Happy Picnic« in the new CHIRON garden.
