(HAROY, Norway) — At a time when increasingly more Norwegian industrial companies are moving production to low-cost countries, Finnoy Gear & Propeller is choosing to focus on robotization and automation in order to keep its production in Norway. With the help of five-axis machining, the company will continue to produce the highest quality components in organized processes.
As part of the company's long-term strategy, profits are put back into the business in order to invest in a modern, digitized future. Over the past few years, the company has invested tens of millions of NOK in new office buildings and smarter production for increased quality and control of delivery times. It is barely a year since the company invested in the Gurutzpe multifunction lathe and the impact of the extensive investments is expected to increase in the future.
The company is the first in the country to acquire the fourth generation of DMG MORI DMC 80 FD duoBLOCK, which is a five-axis lathe and milling bench. The machine is characterized by functionality and high quality to help create sustainable solutions from receiving orders, process planning and 1:1 simulation for machining of finished workpieces and delivery of complete propulsion systems. The model is equipped with a high-speed pallet changer that contributes to the degree of automation and a universal machining center. FD-t technology drills provide speeds of up to 800 rpm and 2,050 Nm provide higher machining properties.
"Thanks to the positioning accuracy of the duoBLOCK mill-turn's universal machining center, all work pieces meet the strict quality requirements we have," says Kurt Idar Harnes, programmer at Finnoy Gear & Propeller. “The technology gives us the versatility we need for our custom-made solutions. Large workpieces of up to 900 mm in diameter and 1,450 mm in height and a maximum load of 1,400 kg are machined.”
A key factor in succeeding with production technology is work preparation and process planning. Trond Svartdal at Jærtek has assisted the company in providing technological forward-looking solutions for favorable equipment utilization and streamlining of work operations using Edgecam. The CAM solutionmakes it possible to develop and test production processes virtually, leading to large time and cost savings even before the first component is manufactured. Sven Alvestad at Seco and Odd Arne Aschehoug at Kyocera have provided tools at start-up for increased productivity and profitability.
“We want to reduce the lead time to a minimum with the same machining result that we already have today. We estimate the time savings to approximately 40 percent as we do not have to run manually or make corrections using several different machines,” says Jan Olof Karlsson, production foreman at Finnoy Gear & Propeller. “A greater degree of automation is not being promoted to replace our employees, but to reduce production and material costs. With local production and better production planning, we ensure shorter delivery times at a continuously high-quality standard.”
For more information about Finnoy, click here.