High precision and easy handling |
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The Winpro AG has been using TRUMPF Bevellers for 30 years |
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Reliability and long service life are not just the characteristics of Swiss
watches. Machine and rail vehicle builders also have a top address: the firm
Winpro AG. The company which manufactures components for machines and systems for
railroads and also provides services such as assembly and repair, can look back on 130
years of tradition. It's also a tradition at the company to use the TKF 1500
beveller. The TRUMPF EXPRESS editorial team paid a visit to the company at its
headquarters in Winterthur, Switzerland. |
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| Peter Coray prepares the weld seam with a TKF 1500-0 PLUS |
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"The machine simply has a good rythm", says Peter
Coray enthusiastically about the TKF 1500 beveller. The parts laser-cut on a TRUMATIC L
3030 in the sheetmetal production plant at Winpro are 8 mm thick, and are then given a 9
mm-wide bevel edge. The machine operator prepares around 25 workpieces daily for
subsequent welding. As bogies for rail cars, they are then supplied to such renowned
companies as Bombardier or Stadler, or further processed in the company's own assembly
department. |
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Why did it have to be the TRUMPF beveller in particular? "Actually,
no one can quite remember," says Hans Keller, equipment manager at Winpro.
"We've been working ith them for around 30 years now and so far we've had no
problems." He says this with a smile, because Winpro AG has only been in existence
for one year. The origins of rail vehicle construction in Winterthur, Switzerland, go back
much further, however. About 130 years ago, Charles Brown founded the Swiss Locomotive and
Machine Factory (SLM). That was taken over by the Sulzer Group in 1961, then partly sold
to ADtranz during the 1990s. It was very nearly closed down, but at the beginnig of 2001,
the employees decided to purchase their own company as par of a management buyout.
Their success has proven them right. As a supplier to the Swiss machine industry, the
170-employee firm is long established. Now WinproAG, with its products and services for
mechanical and plant engineering, has set is sights on the German-speaking countries of
Europe. Trust in the TRUMPF technology of weld seam preparation, based on one of Professor
Berthold Leibinger's patents, is still as strong as ever, despite all the changes at
Winpro |
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| The TKF beveller is used by Winpro to prepare for TIG welding of bogies for rail vehicles |
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High precision and ease of handling are among the special advantages of the machine.
"For workpieces with complex contours that are only manufactured in small batches,
that is a big advantage," explains Hans Keller. "If we prepared the weld seam on
our stationary milling machine, we'd have to do a lot of elaborate contour
programming." Thanks to its excellent curve characteristics - the smallest possible
inner radius is 55 mm - such applications pose no problems for the TKF 1500. The Siss are
currently using a version with twomgears, so that the opersting speed can also be adjusted
to suit high tensile materials . The maximum processing speed 2 m/min. Sheets between 4
and 160 mm can be worked without problems. The helix angle is infinitely adjustable
between 20 and 55 degrees. |
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Hans Keller,
equipment manager at Winpro |
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Keller sums up:"Last but not least, the beveller is contributing
toward the guranteed flexibility and punctuality of Winpro AG - and that's what our
customers expect from us as a matter of course." |
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| The TKF cuts off large, prism-shaped "chips" from the right-angled metal edge |
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To join metal sheets by means of welding, at
least one of the workpieces has to be beveled along its welding seam beforehand to create
a joint for the welding material. Before the beveller was invented by Professor Berthold Leibinger in 1963, these bevel cuts
had to be painstakingly ground by hand, planed, milled or flame-cut.
The TKF power tool produces bevels on edges quickly and precisely. It cuts off large,
prism-shaped "chips" from the right-angled metal edge with a steel plate that
moves to and fro. Bevelling lengths an angles can be adjusted without problems - and the machine can even
work concave and convex edges. A great advantage of this environmentally friendly
technology is that it transfers no heat to the workpiece, so changes to the structure can
be avoided. The beveller is an indispensable tool for metalworkers and plant engineers |
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