2024-09 September Issue

VOLUME 13 | NUMBER 6 | SEPTEMBER 2024 | WWW.SHOPMETALTECH.COM 

Prompting Productivity 

IS AGGRESSIVE ADOPTION OF AI THE ANSWER TO RAPID PRODUCTIVITY GAINS? 

MACHINING 

Your in-depth IMTS preview 

AI 

CUTTING TOOLS 

Revolutionizing protective 

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FABRICATING 

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WELDING 

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CONTENTS | 7 

VOLUME 13 >> NUMBER 6 >> SEPTEMBER 2024 >> www.shopmetaltech.com 

COVER STORY 

14 PROMPTING 

PRODUCTIVITY 

The lagging productivity of 

Canadian manufacturing in 

comparison to the United 

States and other leaders of the 

industrialized world presents 

one of our greatest challenges 

and opportunities. Is aggressive 

adoption of AI the answer 

to the rapid labor productivity 

gains we need? 

AI 

FEATURES 

MACHINING 

18 TURN THE PAGE 

Two-axis CNC lathes still have their 

place, but if you’re not investing in 

machinery that can drop parts complete, 

you’ll soon be out of the game. 

24 IMTS PREVIEW 

What you should know before 

attending the most pivotal event for 

North American manufacturing. 

CUTTING TOOLS 

34 UNLEASHING SAFETY 

Revolutionizing the manufacturing 

of canine protective gear with some 

quick-change tooling 

FABRICATING 

41 LASER FOCUSED 

Why TRUMPF thinks targeting 

the recycling of EV batteries is not 

only necessary but realistic. 

DEPARTMENTS 

9 THE VIEW WITH LOU 

Does Canadian manufacturing 

have a problem with boss bloat? 

10 LEADERS 

CAMM’s new chair Saylo Lam 

on what the future of moldmaking 

can look like. 

44 TECH TIPS 

7 criteria for choosing a sheet 

laser cutting machine that can 

fundamentally impact your ROI. 

WELDING 

48 IT’S A MATTER OF INTEGRITY 

A deep dive into in-situ weld cooling 

rate measurement methods. 

SEPTEMBER 2024 

www.shopmetaltech.com

The View with Lou | EDITORIAL | 9 

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR 

Lou Smyrlis | 647.225.2922 | lou@shopmetaltech.com 

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Kip Hanson | editor@shopmetaltech.com 

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We acknowledge the fi nancial support 

of the Government of Canada. 

Boss Bloat 

IS YOUR COMPANY suffering from “boss bloat”? 

It wouldn’t be surprising if it was. Managers have 

emerged as the fastest growing occupation in the 

country after decades of companies fl attening their corporate 

hierarchies in search of greater effi ciencies. 

Data compiled by Statistics Canada shows since 2021 more 

than half a million new management jobs have been created, 

a 33% increase. In comparison, the percentage growth in nonmanagement 

jobs over the same time frame has only been 

8%. Looking specifi cally at manufacturing, there has been an 

even greater increase in management positions: 41.5%. 

The distinct infl ation of our business management 

ranks over the past three years is contributing to Canada’s 

already alarming productivity levels. So what is going on? 

It turns out there are several explanations. One I would say 

is not troubling because it’s short term and a worthwhile 

investment. The remaining ones though should be a concern 

if they’re the reason for the expansion of management titles in 

your own business. 

The reason for the boss bloat I don’t think should trouble 

us has to do with the massive retirements of the Baby Boomer 

generation. As Baby Boomer managers announce their 

retirement dates, their companies are responding to the 

anticipated loss of decades of experience by promoting their 

replacements early so the new managers can be mentored 

by the outgoing ones before they leave. This is doubling up the 

management ranks for a short time but it’s a wise way to retain 

company knowledge and minimize succession risks in a tight 

market. 

The remaining reasons for the increase in management 

positions are suspect: 

• Promotions to management to justify pay hikes: 

The Canadian labor market has been extremely tight since 

2021 with the number of job vacancies soaring to 1 million 

and the unemployment rate falling to historic levels. This 

pressured companies into doing things to retain employees 

that in retrospect may not have been the wisest. Handing out 

management titles to justify pay hikes may be the opposite 

of the commonly used tactic during slow growth years of 

handing out titles to avoid pay increases but it’s just as unwise. 

• Promotions to management in response to the influx 

of Gen-Z workers in the job market: As of last year, 

people born between 1997 and 2012 accounted 

for about one fi fth of the working age population 

and they have an expectation of more immediate 

and more frequent recognition of their experience 

than previous generations. Employers are 

responding with management style titles even 

in cases where new managers are not actually 

managing any people. 

If your company has increased its 

management ranks lately, which of the above 

three reasons refl ects your circumstances? SMT 

LOU SMYRLIS 


10 | LEADERS 

CAMM’s New Chair Saylo Lam 

What the future of moldmaking can look like 

SHOP: Congratulations on your appointment as chair of the board 

for CAMM. Can you share with us why you sought the nomination 

to the position after having served as vice chair? 

LAM: I take the role of chair very seriously. I am in a very fortunate 

position that I can give back to the industry that provided a great 

life for me. I have an incredible team here at Circle 5, so I believed 

the natural progression was to take on a role where I can reach out 

and connect with moldmakers like myself and to achieve a positive 

impact for the industry. 

SHOP: You essentially grew up in the moldmaking industry. 

Can you share a bit about your background? 

LAM: I think my story is very similar to many others that have the 

same role as me in the industry. My father founded Circle 5 and 

before I even had my driver’s license I was getting dropped off at 

the shop after school. I started by sweeping the fl oors and learning, 

I guess through osmosis, how a shop runs and operates. During the 

time I thought it was drudgery that I had to work at my dad’s place 

during the summer, during holidays, and Reading Week. However, 

in hindsight it was probably the best training I could have ever got. 

I was very blessed to learn on the shop fl oor and to work in every 

department. It enabled me to really understand and lead Circle 5 

to where it is today. In university I studied engineering so I ended up 

with the theoretical side on math and sciences but I also had the 

practical element of working on the shop fl oor and actually working 

on molds. That was a blessing. After fi nishing university, I started 

working full time and I am so happy that my dad never gave me a 

free lunch. I had to earn everything. My dad created a program for 

me that made me successful. And by the way I am doing the same 

thing now. At Circle 5 we try to create a very multi-faceted kind of 

learning space so that we always keep curious minds occupied and 

engaged in our company. 

We don’t create silos in our facility. If you’re a member of the 

CNC department, you’re not exclusively relegated to CNC. If there 

is something that you are curious about, I like to believe that we 

create a space that we can share that with you. At least two 

times a year we have modules where leaders of departments do 

seminars on what they do. So there is always a learning element 

in our organization. We encourage asking and exploring about 

various areas of the company and we fi nd that leads to less 

miscommunication and greater understanding in our operation. 

SHOP: Looking at the two years 

of your chairmanship, what 

will be your top priorities? 

LAM: Number one is addressing 

the fact that the pandemic has 

taken a toll on our fi nances, as 

it did with many organizations. 

I want to restore our fi nances 

and how we plan to do that is 

through a membership drive. 

We want to provide and curate 

a program that entices industry 

professionals and gives them 

value to become members. 

The events that we plan to put 

on are going to be fun, they’re 

going to be collective and 

they’re going to involve some 

learning. So fun, collective, 

learning is our goal. 

The second thing is that we 

want to geographically expand 

our reach beyond the large 

concentration of membership 

in the Windsor area. There is 

a powerhouse of potential 

membership in the Toronto GTA 

and Montreal. Given that we 

are the Canadian Association 

of Moldmakers we want to have 

events that are relevant to those 

prospective members. As chair 

I would like to create a space 

where people can be more 

open to sharing information 

that will benefi t all moldmakers. 

Another thing I am working 

on right now is talking to the 

federal minister of export 

development and the trade 

commissioner. We are talking 

about exploring the idea of 

Canadian content for tool 

www.shopmetaltech.com SEPTEMBER 2024

LEADERS | 11 

and equipment makers. Using the 

automotive battery plants here and 

in St. Thomas as an example, where 

of course the people working there 

– the electricians, the plumbers, the 

millwrights, the pipe fitters – will all 

have to be hired locally or regionally 

to support those plants. However, 

there are no provisions to protect 

the skilled trades of the tool and die 

makers. Automation equipment can 

be brought in from anywhere. If there 

are taxpayer dollars being used to 

build these plants, I believe there are 

successful examples of Canadian 

content rules that should be used 

to support tool and die makers. I 

am working to unite moldmakers to 

support Canadian content rules. We 

have had dialogue with government 

and the CAMM board is leading the 

dialogue on how we can shape policy 

to give Canadian moldmakers the 

right playing field. 

SHOP: What are the top two market trends driving 

moldmaking shops right now and what challenges are 

these trends causing for them? 

LAM: The two biggest challenges moldmakers face today 

are demographics in the workspace and customer base 

and changing the image that advanced manufacturing 

has had since the recession of 2008. 

Moldmakers in North America have thrived for over 

a generation, but many owners now are at the point 

of retiring. They were part of an era where CAD CAM 

technologies were just starting to kick in and now, as many 

of the leaders in the industry are near retirement age, 

there is a bit of reluctance or hesitation to adapt to 21st 

century manufacturing. This is at the leadership level where 

sometimes there is a disconnect with the youth of today. 

That’s not just for moldmakers, but society as a whole. 

The second thing is related to the industry’s image 

and branding. I believe that the great financial crisis of 

2008 really put a dent in that image for a generation of 

workers. At that time the headlines were all about how 

manufacturing, in particular automotive manufacturing, 

was really bearing the brunt of the layoffs. People felt 

that automotive had turned its back on them and that 

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12 | LEADERS 

suggested to youth they should do things 

outside of advanced manufacturing. It was a 

silent thing that happened slowly and steadily. 

I also believe the strength of moldmakers – 

their stubbornness, their resolve in believing in 

what they do – actually hurt us because this 

was a time when we needed to be more open 

minded about changing yet we were still relying 

on the same playbook. I believe it created the 

two camps we see in the industry now: the 

companies that are still holding out and maybe 

riding out, and the firms trying to be innovative 

and learning to pivot. 

SHOP: When it comes to the challenge 

of adopting new technologies, how can 

equipment suppliers help moldmakers 

meet that challenge? 

LAM: Electromechanical systems are not trade 

secrets. Everyone knows what linear motors 

are, what very high-end controllers for CNC 

machines are, and what they can do and how 

they can compensate thermally and also for 

backlash, etc. What moldmakers look for, what 

we challenge our suppliers with, is reliability. 

When it comes down to it, whether it’s one-offs 

like injection molds or dies or making widgets 

down the line, protecting against downtime is 

a major factor, especially now when the CAPEX 

for such machines is so expensive. We like to 

have an excellent maintenance program with 

quick assist response. Also, are they placing 

sensors in their systems? Employing Industry 

4.0 features, understanding the true life cycle 

of their machines and providing that insight to 

customers like us so they can protect and help 

us with our preventive maintenance programs. 

Those are the things we seek from equipment 

suppliers. And, of course, business times are 

tough. So can they help with financing inhouse 

as well to help us in procuring those machines. 

The extra thing I challenge for 2024 and 

beyond, and this is something I believe will 

separate suppliers from the herd, would be how 

do they adopt AI technologies? How do they 

capture the tendencies and trends and provide 

those insights? I believe that will enable them 

to provide better machine tools for us, and also 

that is how you can unlock a level of productivity 

that we don’t even realize at this time. 

SHOP: One the challenges manufacturing faces 

across the board is that it isn’t attracting enough new 

entrants and that the new ones coming in may not 

have the skillset you would like them to have. Is there 

anything the equipment manufacturers can be doing 

to help with the industry’s recruitment challenges? 

LAM: The controllers that run these high-end 

CNC and EDM machines, it’s almost like learning 

another language. I believe that if they can make it 

conversational like a ChatGPT, where you can explain 

what you want to do, that will be something that 

will reduce the barriers of entry. Specifically looking 

at demographics, from a leadership standpoint, it 

comes down to having an open mind. I am a Gen 

Xer, so when I started working at age 15, I went 

through a right of passage, a series of hard knocks. To 

say that’s the same method we are going to bestow 

on the future entrants into our industry is going to 

lead us into a vicious cycle rather than a virtuous 

one. Beyond technology I believe there has to be 

a cultural shift. Maybe people will scoff at this, but 

I say utilize social media to communicate with the 

new generation. As leaders we need to understand 

how the words we use connect with the future. For 

instance, you may be comfortable speaking as a 

professional in the trade, however, for new entrants 

you have to speak differently, using the vernacular 

they use. Otherwise, you will sound like their out 

of date, boomer uncle. In our facility we refuse to 

use the word “kid”. We call them future stars. Even 

if it’s just one word, it sets the tone of how you are 

subconsciously embracing your future employees. 

We keep an open mind instead of scoffing at a 

young person’s ideas. Remember a fresh set of eyes, 

fresh experiences, are the things that will enable us 

to overcome the demographic challenge. Not all 

the new ideas will work but to discount them you are 

handicapping yourself. 

SHOP: Does the new generation not also present 

an opportunity in that it is the most educated 

and the most technologically adept generation 

we have ever had? 

LAM: Absolutely. When I talk about adoption of 

technology, it’s not just about CNC machines. The 

shop owners from the previous generation are 

not programmers, they don’t understand python 

programming and large language models, etc. These 

are technologies that are not exactly traditional to 


LEADERS | 13 

our moldmaking, however, SHOP: For your equipment suppliers, is that not also a challenge in that they 

these are items which, 

have to make their training fit in with this new way of learning? 

maybe not directly, could 

be of benefit. It’s something LAM: Absolutely. It’s the whole ecosystem. Our customers and our suppliers 

you should consider and are facing the same challenges. How do they speak to the new generation? 

understand because the How do they share the new technologies? Support doesn’t even mean 

future stars have a better coming onsite anymore. It could be virtual with a chat box next to the controller 

understanding of those to knowledge share. This is what I mean about service. It could be someone 

types of languages. Or even with a headpiece, with AI, and a wealth of knowledge. AI can take tribal 

how training can be done knowledge, the knowledge that comes from years in the field, aggregate it, 

via YouTube or by using and then share it across the customer base. 

VR goggles. Training for a 

Gen-Xer would be reading 

a manual. A savvy Gen- SHOP: At the outset you mentioned moldmaking shops that have been doing 

Xer would put the manual things a certain way for a long time and having been successful at it may be slow 

with a video and cheesy to change and hesitant to try new technologies. What do you advise those folks? 

corporate music. So maybe 

training is something that LAM: It’s a very sensitive question because many of those owners have 

needs the creativity of a a track record of success. They are going to trust in their experience. I would 

future star to really make ask them to look at their trending over the last two years and then ask 

it connect with the new themselves where they want their company to be in the next 10 years. I 

generation of workers and believe we are at the point of a paradigm shift. We have to ask ourselves 

adapt to their needs. 

what does the future of moldmaking look like? Will it still look like a 1990s 

movie, or will we redefine what manufacturing looks like? SMT 

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14 | COVER STORY | AI 

Prompting 

Productivity 

Is aggressive adoption 

of AI the answer to rapid 

productivity gains? 

AI 

BY LOU SMYRLIS 

Canadian manufacturing stands at the threshold of 

a revolutionary transformation powered by artificial 

intelligence (AI). Can aggressive adoption of AI 

help manufacturing leap frog past its persistent 

productivity problem? Are job shops ready and 

willing to take the leap of faith into what can seem at 

the moment as expensive and scary new technology? 

The answers to those two questions are pivotal to 

manufacturing’s future. 

That Canada’s faltering labor productivity needs to 

be addressed is no longer up for debate. As Carolyn 

Rogers, deputy director of the Bank of Canada put 

it earlier this year: “You’ve seen those signs that say, 

‘in emergency, break glass.’ Well, it’s time to break 

the glass.” As Rogers herself acknowledged, however, 

it can be hard to feel a sense of urgency about an 

abstract concept like productivity. 

First, let’s put some numbers behind Rogers’ 

concern. While Canadian manufacturing has its 

darlings (high-tech, high-value industries such as 

aerospace, moldmaking and, increasingly, electric 

vehicle manufacturing) the overall reality for 

manufacturing (and Canadian business in general) 

is a much darker picture. Canada ranks 29th among 

38 OECD countries for labor productivity. In the 

time a Canadian worker produces $1.00 worth of 

goods and services, a French worker produces $1.20 

and an American $1.30. 

Looking at it another way, 40 years ago, in 1984, 

the Canadian economy was producing 88% of the 

value generated by the US economy per hour. While 

that wasn’t great, by 2022 Canadian productivity 

had fallen to just 71% of that of the US, who is not 

only our largest trading partner but also our biggest 

competitor when it comes to location for investments 

in new manufacturing plants. 

Left unchecked, low productivity will add 

inflationary pressure to product pricing, making 

Canadian manufacturing less competitive globally. 

“Productivity is a way to inoculate the economy 

against inflation. An economy with strong 

productivity can have faster growth, more jobs and 

higher wages, with less risk of inflation. An economy 

with low productivity can grow only so quickly 

before inflation sets in,” Rogers noted in alerting 

Canadian businesses about the country’s longstanding, 

poor record on productivity. 

At a time when Canada’s performance is clearly 

headed in the wrong direction, AI presents a 

“generational opportunity” to boost productivity, 

according to a recent report by the Canadian 

Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab. 

“By making workers more productive, AI presents 

a generational opportunity to prompt productivity 

gains. It can do this by accelerating and automating 

many low-value, laborious tasks at little cost, freeing 

up workers to focus their time on higher value-added 

activities,” states the report’s lead author Patrick Gill. 


COVER STORY | 15 

HERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS AI CAN DRIVE PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS: 

1. Predictive Maintenance: 

• Reduced Downtime: 

AI algorithms analyze data from 

machinery to predict potential 

failures before they occur, allowing 

for timely maintenance and reducing 

unplanned downtime. 

• Extended Equipment Lifespan: 

By addressing issues proactively, AI helps in 

maintaining optimal machine performance, 

which extends the lifespan of equipment 

and reduces the frequency of replacements. 

2. Quality Control and Defect Detection: 

• Enhanced Inspection Accuracy: 

AI-powered vision systems and machine 

learning models can detect defects and 

inconsistencies with greater precision 

than human inspectors, ensuring higher 

product quality. 

• Real-time Adjustments: 

AI systems can make real-time 

adjustments during the manufacturing 

process to correct deviations and maintain 

consistent quality standards. 

3. Supply Chain Optimization: 

• Demand Forecasting: 

AI can analyze market trends and historical data to predict 

demand more accurately, helping manufacturers align 

production schedules and inventory levels with market needs. 

A study by US think tank McKinsey estimates that, based 

on its rate of adoption, AI could enable labor productivity 

growth of 0.1% to 0.6% annually. That would mean Canada 

could catch up to the current labor productivity of the US by 

2030 under a fast adoption scenario. 

Adoption of AI can take manufacturing beyond 

improvements in productivity, according to Saylo Lam, 

president of Windsor mold-making firm Circle 5 and 

the newly appointed chair of the Canadian Association 

of Moldmakers. AI can help add an intangible to boost 

manufacturing’s perception among future workers. 

“It will change the perception of manufacturing. It’s 

going to be like having an assistant to improve your 

productivity, your problem solving, and your output 

because at the end of the day there still needs to be a 

human to integrate, to put together an injection mold,” 

Lam says. “At Circle 5 we build custom injection molds of 

every shape and size. AI will enable higher productivity, 

higher integration, and quite frankly it’s going to eliminate 

drudgery perception. It will make manufacturing cool 

again. It will rebrand the manufacturing experience.” 



16 | COVER STORY 

But as we asked at the outset, are Canadian 

manufacturers ready and willing to make the 

investment? The report from the Chamber of 

Commerce’s Data Lab shows that only 15% of 

manufacturers have adopted AI into their operations 

to this point. In comparison, nearly one third of the 

businesses in the information and cultural industries 

have or soon plan to adopt AI. The report also found 

that AI adoption is higher in industries with higher 

levels of educational attainment and manufacturing 

ranks near the bottom on that score. 

To better understand the barriers to AI adoption 

in manufacturing, it’s helpful to dig into how we fell 

into the productivity ditch in the first place. Two 

main factors determine how productive an economy’s 

workforce is: capital intensity and labor composition. 

Capital Intensity: 

This is about equipping workers with better tools, 

either in terms of machinery or, increasingly, 

through improvements in computing power and 

enhanced ability to use and move information. 

One of the major fi ndings from recently published 

Statistics Canada research shows that Canadian 

business investment per worker plummeted by 20% 

over a 15-year stretch. The report found that for 

every worker, Canadian businesses invested $628.80 

less in their companies in 2021 than they did in 

2006. Consider what is happening with robotics. 

Since 2010, the global stock of industrial robots has 

more than doubled and continuing innovation in 

robotics and machine learning portends an even 

more accelerated adoption of robots lies ahead. 

Canada ranks near the bottom of the top 20 

manufacturing nations in terms of robot density. It’s 

ranked as 17th by the International Federation of 

Robotics with a robot density of 

198 robots installed per 10,000 

employees. It ranks considerably 

behind its major trading partner, 

the US, which is ranked 10th 

overall with a robot density of 

285. Korea tops the list with 

an incredible robot density of 

1,012 robots installed per 10,000 

employees – more than five times 

Canada’s robot density. 

Paradoxically, the Canadian 

downturn in business investment 

over the past two decades 

happened even though profits 

and markups rose. In other 

words, the money to invest was 

available. Canadian business just 

chose not to invest it. And it looks 

like that pattern is continuing. 

Reko International Group is 

considered a technology leader in 

manufacturing, yet the remarks 

of its CEO, Diane Reko, during The Future State 

of Manufacturing in Canada panel session at 

FABTECH were sobering: 

“I think the problem we are all facing is the idea 

of uncertainty right now. There is much uncertainty 

over interest rates and inflation and the cost of labor. 

Traditionally before an election, particularly when 

it’s a hotly contested election, a lot of businesses 

get nervous and don’t want to make investments. 

That kind of puts a hold on things. We are seeing 

a real slowdown in the automotive space right now 

and it will be nice to get beyond these concerns,” 

was Reko’s frank assessment of manufacturing’s 

willingness to invest at the moment. 


COVER STORY | 17 

Labor Composition: 

This is a measure of the skill of the 

people in the labor force and how 

much training they receive. Although 

efforts have been ramped up over 

the past couple of years following 

manufacturing’s outcry about the skills 

shortage, Canada still lags behind its 

competitors in creating new trades 

and internship programs, according to 

Barry Cross, an assistant professor of 

operations strategy at the Smith School 

of Business at Queen’s University. 

That’s a significant problem since trade 

and internship programs are where 

the talent to boost productivity would 

ideally come from. 

“One of the issues with the existing 

workforce is that we have taken people 

who are very comfortable being a 

technician and asked them to be a 

technologist. There is an educational 

gap that needs to be filled by someone,” 

says Max Ceron, a director with 

CWB Association and CWB Group. 

“If someone has been doing the same 

job producing widgets for you for X 

amount of time and now you’re saying 

I want you to use this new tool to make 

more widgets, there’s going to be a 

fear there. I see it in countless welding 

shops. A new welding machine comes 

out with all these new features and a 

salesperson comes over and convinces 

the shop to buy several of these welding 

machines. They get all hooked up and 

the next day you go check and the 

employees are using them on the most 

basic setting, with none of the options. 

They’re using them how they used the 

old technology. They’re not using them 

how they’re meant to be used. And that’s 

not anyone’s fault except for the lack of 

education. It’s the training scenario that 

needs to be addressed in order to get to 

the productivity levels we hope to get to.” 

Clearly, as a country we have 

significant hurdles to overcome in 

terms of industry’s commitment to investing in better technology 

and training our workers to use it. Prompting productivity is a 

national issue that reaches across industries, involves different 

levels of government, and has persisted unsolved for decades. 

That may make it seem like the solution is out of the reach for the 

average job shop pressed to deliver on this month’s orders, and 

yet the answer starts with each individual manufacturer making 

the commitment to change course. SMT 

Supporting 

W O R KHOL D I N G SO LUTIO N S 

WE PUT IT TOGETHER 

- IN SECONDS! 

- IN SECONDS! 

Canadian 

Subplates 

Metalworking 

Receiver 

Pallets 

5-Axis Self 

Centering Vise 

Risers 

LEARN MORE 

BOOTH 432154 

WEST BUILDING 

877-426-2504 

WORKHOLDING@JERGENSINC.COM 

SEPTEMBER 2024

18 | MACHINING Advanced Turning 

Turn the Page 

Two-axis CNC lathes still have their place, but if you’re not investing in 

machinery that can drop parts complete, you’ll soon be out of the game 

BY KIP HANSON 

Although CNC machine tools like this one present a steep learning curve, those 

who’ve invested in them have no regrets. IMAGE: HITECH 

Adopting new technology can seem a little scary. That’s true 

whether you’re considering a robotic vacuum cleaner to entertain 

your cat, or the latest smartwatch to tell you how poorly you slept 

last night. For a machine shop, though, the move to live-tool, 

Swiss-style, or multitasking lathes can be terrifying. 

For one thing, they’re expensive, quite possibly double that of a 

conventional two-axis machine. That makes it very easy to justify 

staying the course, especially when funds are limited. With 

that comes the likely need to upgrade the shop’s CAM system, 

invest in training classes and loads of tooling, and potentially 

hire someone with experience programming and operating said 

equipment (assuming you can fi nd them). 

Still, the reasons to do so are manifest. Fewer operations 

mean shorter lead times and less work-in-process (WIP), 

improving cash flow. Part 

quality is similarly improved, 

as is flexibility, overall 

equipment effectiveness (OEE), 

and throughput. And when 

implemented properly, 

advanced turning equipment 

opens the door to the Holy 

Grail of manufacturing: 

lights-out operations. 

But perhaps the most 

important reason to set aside 

any trepidation and climb 

aboard the live-tool lathe 

bandwagon is this: chances are 

excellent that the shop across 

town will do so soon, if they 

haven’t already. 

INTEGRAL TO SUCCESS 

One of these is Integral 

Machining Ltd. of Brantford, 

Ontario. Founded in 1989, the 

company is like many job shops, 

willing to take on “whatever work 

comes through the door, provided 

it fits within their capabilities.” 

This work includes small- to 

medium-sized production runs of 

parts for the aerospace, medical, 

alternative fuels, instrumentation 

and photonics industries, to name 

a few. Given the eclectic mix 

of complex parts, it didn’t take 

long for company president Peter 

Reypa to realize that investing 

in Swiss-style turning equipment 


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smart functions of the TNC7. This new CNC control 

delivers faster results while preventing machine overload. 

Meanwhile, be sure to optimize your processes 

with machine data collection from the HEIDENHAIN 

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CO 2 footprint by up to 99% with the new generation of 

LC and RCN encoders, whose enhanced optics ensure 

reliable measurement without compressed air. 

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HEIDENHAIN CORPORATION 

www.heidenhain.us

20 | MACHINING 

was the best way to attract and keep 

more of this work. 

Production manager Paul 

Sweeting explains that the fi rst such 

investment was a TRAUB TNL16 

sliding headstock automatic lathe, 

followed by a Tornos DECO 13a 

screw machine, both of which were 

in operation long before he started 

there in 2008. The company’s most 

recent addition arrived last year—a 

BW209Z dual-gang, twin-spindle, 

9-axis CNC lathe from Tsugami. 

“We wanted a machine that 

could shoulder some of the work we 

were doing on our other two Swisstype 

lathes and help eliminate the 

bottleneck,” says Sweeting. “After 

kicking the tires on most everything 

out there, we determined that the Tsugami was the 

best fit in terms of capabilities and price point.” 

Although he and others at Integral Machining are old hands at 

live-tool, sliding headstock lathe work, the BW209Z is admittedly 

quite complex. It boasts three separate programming channels, 

allowing them to remove more metal in less time than previously 

Thanks to Hi-Tech’s investment in 

advanced turning equipment, parts like 

these are now completed “in a fraction 

of the time” required to process them 

conventionally. IMAGE: HITECH 

5-AXIS 

MACHINING 

AUTOMATION 

CMM 

TURNING 

LIFTING 

FILTRATION 

www.machinetoolsolutions.ca 

(905) 790-8640

MACHINING | 21 

A bird’s eye view of Integral Machining’s production fl oor in Brantford, Ontario. IMAGE: INTEGRAL MACHINING 

possible. “The ability to perform pinch turning and 

other synchronous operations lets you more easily 

optimize the machining cycle, especially on front-heavy 

or back-heavy programs.” 

As suggested earlier, though, one of the caveats to 

owning such a capable machine is the need for equally 

capable CAM software. And as Sweeting points out, 

what’s perhaps more important is the need for a postprocessor 

able to output accurate machine code. After 

another exhaustive search, Integral Machining chose 

ESPRIT by Hexagon, which they purchased from NC 

Performance Technology in nearby Richmond Hill. 

“As long as I’ve been here, getting CAM software to 

output clean code for our Swiss-type lathes has been 

next to impossible, and in most cases, you can blame 

the post-processor. They’re never perfect. There’s 

always some manual editing going on, a practice that 

is prone to mistakes. So we shopped around and found 

ESPRIT. It consistently generates 100% edit-free 

programs that you can load on the machine and run 

with no alarms, no crashes, no errors.” 


Y NOT? 

Another Ontario machine shop is Hi-Tech 

Manufacturing Inc. of Oakville, a “privatelyowned 

and family-run Canadian provider of 

integrative machining solutions specializing in 

precision parts.” Vice president Vlad Zlojutro 

says his father Dusko founded the business 

in 2003, which was originally a tool and die 

shop focused on the area’s automotive market. 

Following the economic disruption that arrived 

five years later, however, the Zlojutros expanded 

their footprint with work in the food and 

beverage, aerospace and medical, and clean 

energy industries. 

Hi-Tech’s fi rst foray into advanced turning 

equipment came in 2017, when the company 

invested in a Nakamura-Tome SC300 

LMYS twin-spindle, Y-axis lathe from Elliott 

Matsuura Canada Inc. Since then, they’ve 

added a similar machine—a Hwacheon 

Cutex 180AL YSMC, which they use for 



Completing complex parts like these in 

a single operation is only possible on 

advanced turning equipment such as 

Swiss-style or multitasking lathe. 

IMAGE: INTEGRAL MACHINING 

smaller parts—as well as a Takumi PV 1250 three-axis 

mill, a Matsuura MX520 five-axis machining center, 

and a Tornos Swiss-style GT32, the latter three machines 

also from Elliott. 

“We’ve been through several really big learning 

experiences,” laughs the younger Zlojutro. “When we first 

got the Nakamura, we were still doing much of our work on 

manual mills and lathes. Obviously, the cycle times were 

quite slow, and even though that type of equipment has 

a much lower shop rate than a CNC machine, we found 

ourselves losing some bids. The SC300 immediately cut 

our cycle times in half, and since then, we’ve optimized our 

processes and part quality even further by using features 

like through-the-tool coolant and fully leveraging the 

machine’s milling capabilities. It has been incredible.” 

The cycle time improvements on the Tornos have proven 

equally incredible. On one job that previously required two 

operations with a combined cycle time of 15 minutes (and a 

great deal of WIP), they can now drop parts complete in a 

fraction of the time. “Our sales volumes have gone up quite 

a bit due to our continual reinvestment in manufacturing 

technology,” says Zlojutro. “Yes, it was a steep learning 

curve, but we quickly adjusted to the new reality and look 

forward to continuing down this path.” 

After evaluating “most everything out there,” Integral Machining management determined that the Tsugami BW209Z was the best 

solution for their type of work and production quantities. IMAGE: INTEGRAL MACHINING 



This Tornos Deco 

13a was Integral 

Machining’s 

second Swissstyle 

turning 

machine, giving 

them decades 

of experience. 

IMAGE: INTEGRAL 

MACHINING 

JUMPING THE HURDLES 

None of this surprises Elliott Matsuura’s turning products manager, Kevin 

Smith, who agrees with what Paul Sweeting of Integral Machining said 

earlier. “First and foremost, anyone wishing to be successful with turn-mill 

needs to invest in high-quality equipment,” says Smith. “Without that, 

you’re asking for trouble. But the other thing that’s often overlooked is 

the CAM post-processor. It’s not enough to get a demonstration on the 

CNC machine—you also need to thoroughly vet the software needed 

to program, preferably assisted by an applications person from whatever 

company is supplying the machine.” 

This last statement is similarly crucial. Without a strong support 

system, climbing the learning curve will be much more challenging— 

worse, it will take longer to achieve return on investment (ROI), since 

the company will be making payments on a machine that has not yet 

reached full machine potential. 

“That’s probably why 80% of our first-time turn-mill and multitasker 

sales are turnkeys,” he notes. “You need to have the right people, and 

like I said, that includes support from your machine distributor and the 

CAM provider. But it would be best if you also had buy-in from your 

staff. You can’t just set the machine on the floor and expect them to start 

making parts. They should be excited about the new technology, not 

afraid of it. That’s where someone from our applications team can help. 

We’ll work with the programmers and machine operators to motivate 

them and help them up the learning curve. It makes a big difference, 

and without that hand-holding, it can be very intimidating.” SMT 


“ You can’t just 

set the machine 

on the floor and 

expect them to 

start making parts. 

They should be 

excited about the 

new technology, 

not afraid of it. 

Kevin Smith, turning 

products manager Elliott 

Matsuura 

www.shopmetaltech.com 

“

24 | MACHINING IMTS 

SHOWTIME! 

Your preview of what to see at IMTS 2024 

EXPANDED PRODUCT LINES 

MAZAK 

BOOTH: 338300 

Mazak will showcase a wide 

range of machines from its Ez, 

SYNCREX, QUICK TURN, 

NEO and INTEGREX series. 

Booth visitors will also see 

Mazak’s most recent automation 

and digital technology and 

discover industry-leading Mazak 

MPower Complete Customer 

Care as well as Mazak Capital 

Equipment Financing (MCEF) 

for streamlined equipment 

fi nancing. The advanced 

manufacturing area will 

showcase several of Mazak’s 

next generation NEO Series 

machines. The new HQR 

200MSY NEO Series machine 

will take center stage at 

IMTS as the company’s fi rst 

turning center machine platform 

in the NEO Series line. 

Visitors will also see the 

HCN-4000 NEO horizontal 

machining center with a 

PALLETECH system for 

automated lights-out production. 

CONVEYOR, FILTRATION & 

COOLANT 

JORGENSON 

BOOTH: 338009 

Visitors to the Jorgensen 

Conveyor and Filtration 

Solutions booth will experience a 

cutting-edge PermaClean system 

equipped with the new EcoFilter 

80 self-cleaning conveyor and 

a Will-Fill automated coolant 

system; MunchMan Dual-Belt 

Conveyor; FlexForce highpressure 

system with a new chiller 

option; next generation Magnetic 

Conveyor for ferrous materials; 

ER20T Eco Briquette Press; and 

the Flex G line that’s part of the 

company’s FlexFiltration systems. 

Jorgensen’s new EcoFilter80 

self-cleaning conveyor enables 

efficient fi ltration of fi ne chips 

to 80-microns nominal. It is the 

first economical non-drum style 

conveyor offering fi ltration below 

100-micron. EcoFilter conveyors 

use non-disposable fi lter boxes 

that reduce chips and particulate 

from migrating to a machine tool 

coolant tank. 

HIGH PERFORMANCE 

TOOLING 

CERATIZIT USA 

BOOTH: 431900 

At the CERATIZIT 

booth, attendees can 

expect to see a diverse 

range of tools, including 

products featured in the 

company’s new catalog. In 

addition to the debut of its 

new catalog, CERATIZIT 

USA will unveil a new 

end mill, specifically 

for titanium and super 

alloys. One section of the 

CERATIZIT booth will 

be dedicated to a customer 

journey and how VAC 

Motorsports manufactures 

a billet block engine and 

other components for 

BMW racing enthusiasts 

using CERATIZIT 

tooling. A BMW race 

car owned and driven by 

customer, manufacturer, 

and race car driver, Tony 

Salloum, will be on display 

in the booth. 



3D PRINTING 

TRUMPF 

BOOTH: 433133 

TRUMPF Inc. will highlight the new 

TruPrint 2000, featuring a larger, 

square build plate and a design for more 

productive, reliable, and high-quality 

3D printing. Optimized for serial 

production, the new TruPrint 2000 offers greater productivity and quality 

for manufacturers, particularly in the tooling, dental and medical technology 

industries. The system comes with a 300-watt laser in the basic configuration 

and is available with increased power from an optional a 500-watt integrated 

fiber laser. The TruPrint is designed for easy and safe powder handling, and 

the combination of laser power, build volume, and coating time creates an 

economical machine for series production. 

High Performance 

Static and Driven 

Precision Tool Holders 

for Turning Centers 

MACHINING & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS 

SANDVIK COROMANT 

BOOTH: 338348 

Going beyond cutting tools, Sandvik 

Coromant will be showcasing an extensive 

array of holistic engineering products and 

services to help shops with data-driven 

solutions and machining technology. 

Booth visitors can expect an immersive 

experience that brings together the company’s products, expertise, and digital 

machining technology for a wide range of industries, with solutions that drive 

greater productivity and manufacturing wellness in advanced machining 

applications. In addition to its team of Yellow Coat experts, senior leadership 

from Sandvik Coromant will be in attendance, including Michael Eneberg, 

Global VP of Sales and Marketing, and Magnus Ekbäck, VP of Strategy 

and Business Development, providing attendees with direct access to the 

company’s strategic vision and decision-makers. 

GRINDING MACHINE 

ANCA 

BOOTH: 237406 

The ANCA booth, will feature eight 

machines, including the introduction of 

an advanced, high-precision tool grinder, 

the MicroX ULTRA, as well as the next 

generation of integrated manufacturing technology, AIMS Connect. ANCA 

will further highlight its commitment to tool grinding production as the 

company celebrates its 50th anniversary and the opening of its new Tech 

Center in California. ANCA also plans to announce the winners of the annual 

Tool of the Year and Female Machinist of the Year awards during the show. 


Perfect: ER collet chuck 

and quick change system 

in one tool holder. 

Made in Germany 

www.Mittmann.com


PRODUCTIVITY-ENHANCING 

INNOVATIONS 

GF MACHINING 

BOOTH: 339458 

GF Machining Solutions will feature 

some of the latest advancements in 

tooling, automation and software from 

System 3R. Regardless of machine 

make or model, System 3R helps boost 

manufacturing output through smart 

productivity solutions, the company 

says. The company’s modular tooling 

reference system minimizes setup 

times, while maximizing spindle 

uptime for high output. Shops increase 

profitability working smarter, not 

harder, with tooling systems for EDM 

and electrode manufacturing, parts 

production and powder compacting 

applications. For 24/7 production, 

System 3R Automation offers 

scalable automation solutions. Among 

those are the company’s WorkPal 

1, WorkPartner 1+, Transformer 

WorkMaster and Transformer 6-axis 

robot, all of which shorten lead times 

and maximize ROI. 

TOOL TECHNOLOGY ICON 

HORN USA 

BOOTH: 431722 

Boring, profile turning, 

internal grooving, threading, 

chamfering, face grooving, 

drilling and slot broaching: 

Horn’s Supermini tool system 

can be adapted for numerous 

machining operations. The 

solid carbide inserts are used for 

boring from a diameter of 0.2 

mm to around 10 mm. Horn 

developed the carbide blanks 

for the tool as a teardrop shape. 

This enables large, precise 

contact surfaces in the tool 

holder, which results in greater 

rigidity of the overall system. 

Furthermore, the teardrop shape 

prevents the insert from twisting, 

which leads to consistently 

precise positioning of the center 

height of the tool. With long tool 

overhangs, it reduces deflection 

and minimizes vibration during 

turning. 

HORIZONTAL LATHE 

OKUMA 

BOOTH: 338500 

The LB3000 EX III is 

built on Okuma’s Thermo- 

Friendly Concept to ensure 

minimal thermal growth, and 

slanted box bed construction 

translates to unsurpassed 

quality and rigidity. Equipped 

with Okuma’s high-power, 

high-torque PREX motor, 

this machine delivers highquality 

machining from 

heavy- to high-speed cutting. 

The operator-friendly, openarchitecture 

OSP-P500 

control makes this machine 

not only easy to operate but 

also to integrate with other 

peripheral equipment. A 

variety of bed lengths, bore 

sizes, and options—including 

live tooling, sub-spindle, and 

Y-axis—means there is a 

configuration to meet any 

shop’s requirements. 

DUAL CARRIAGE, OMAX, BOOTH: 135020 

The OptiMAX Dual Carriage closer together for part duplication or 

from OMAX adds a cutting head further apart for single head usage. By 

and independent motorized Z-Axis adding a VersaJET 5-axis cutting head 

carriage, increasing your capabilities or to one carriage and a TiltaJET taper 

performance or both, without sacrificing elimination cutting head to the second 

floor space. With the second carriage carriage, the OptiMAX Jet Machining 

being a fully functional motorized Center can cut countersinks and weldready 

edges on one head, and taper free 

Z-Axis, the operator can move the 

heads one at a time, aligning them finished parts on the second head. 



WORKHOLDING AND AUTOMATION 

SOLUTIONS 

JERGENS, BOOTH: 432154 

Jergens will present its expanded range 

of modular quick-change workholding 

solutions and automation capabilities. 

Featured products will include the 

company’s range of 5-axis vises and top tooling, cast iron tooling columns, 

Zero Point System, low profi le clamping and Quick-Loc (QL Combo) 

pallets. Another key feature for Jergens this year is the company’s growing 

automation offering for unmanned and lights out manufacturing. That 

includes combinations of such products as a machine washdown tool, Zero 

Point System (ZPS), a range of pneumatic and hydraulic devices, and a new 

spindle gripper, the MT-S, for first level automation without a robot. 

5-AXIS MACHINING 

HERMLE USA & HERMLE MÉXICO 

BOOTH: 339119 

HERMLE USA & HERMLE México, 

will represent the latest in 5-axis 

manufacturing technology. 

Here’s what to expect when visiting the HERMLE booth: 

• Meet the all-new HS flex hybrid and experience the 

future of automation technology 

• Witness machining excellence on both performance and 

high-performance line models 

• Enjoy German hospitality and meet the HERMLE team 

• Enter for a chance to win a custom HERMLE golf putter 

at the HERMLE Golf Putting Challenge 

The HERMLE team of experts will be on hand to offer 

personalized demonstrations, answer questions, and discuss 

how HERMLE solutions can transform your operations. 

Tooling Technology 

Shrinking Technology 

Balancing Technology 

Measuring and 

Presetting Technology 

REDUCTION IN AM BUILD TIMES 

RENISHAW ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING 

BOOTH: 433239 

Renishaw’s TEMPUS technology 

enhances the productivity of the 

RenAM500 series metal additive 

manufacturing systems with reduced build times, detailed build insights and 

advanced process monitoring. Renishaw says its new TEMPUS technology 

enables users of RenAM 500 series metal additive manufacturing (AM) 

systems to reduce build times by up to 50 percent. The technology uses 

advanced scanning algorithms that sequence the layer data to maximize 

productivity while maintaining part quality. The optimization suits 

some part geometries more than others, but all geometries can see some 

productivity benefits. Parts with thin, vertical features, for example, are likely 

to experience proportionally higher productivity savings. 


HAIMER 

Power Series 

For highest precision 

and maximum 

productivity in milling 

operations 

www.haimer.com


H-SERIES MACHINING CENTER 

TAKUMI USA 

BOOTH: 338319 

The Takumi H Series 

machining centers are designed 

to be dynamic and accurate 

to deliver high surface fi nish 

quality and consistent precision. 

These machines provide 

high speed and accuracy 

thanks to their solid one-piece 

bed, column, and cross-rail 

design, high-response axial 

transmission system, low 

vibration, and excellent thermal 

controlled spindle. The H10 has 

XYZ travels of 40.16 x 27.56 x 

19.69 in, a 15,000-rpm, direct 

drive, Big Plus, CAT 40 spindle, 

and 30-tool automation tool 

changer (ATC). The H10 will 

be equipped with Takumi’s 

PCCNC control, using the 

Fanuc 0i-F Plus as the backend 

controller, and running 

a Windows 10 PC i7 CPU 

front-end and interface. 

SAWS & CUTTING SOLUTIONS 

COSEN SAWS 

BOOTH: 236931 

Cosen will showcase six different 

saw models, each of which are 

designed to enhance productivity, 

accuracy, and safety. The models 

include: 

• G320: Fully Automatic, Dual 

Column Band Saw. Capacity: 

12.8” x 15” 

• NC-510MG: Fully Automatic, 

Miter Cutting Band Saw. 

Capacity: 13” x 20” 

• C2: Fully Automatic, Dual Post, 

Dual Miter Cutting Band Saw. 

Capacity: 10.2” x 11.8” 

• SVT-6070S: Fully Automatic, 

Vertical Plate Saw. Capacity 

Height: 23.6” Capacity Throat: 

27.5” 

• V-1822: Semi-Automatic, Manual 

Miter Vertical Tilt-Frame Band 

Saw. Capacity: 18” x 22” 

• SH-500M: Semi-Automatic, 

Scissor Style Miter Cutting Band 

Saw. Capacity: 11” x 19.7” 

Along with these saws, Cosen 

will also be premiering new 

advancements in sawing 

automation. 

GUNDRILLING MACHINES 

KAYS ENGINEERING 

BOOTH: 338373 

Kays Engineering will be 

displaying its American-made 

gundrilling machines, including: 

• DeHoff 2060HT – High-torque 

gundrilling machine with a 

2-inch diameter capacity, wellsuited 

for aerospace parts 

• Eldorado M75-48T – Twinspindle 

gundrilling machine 

with independent spindle 

control, perfect for medical 

manufacturing and job shop 

applications 

• TechniDrill 1.50-36-1 – BTA 

drilling machine with a 1.5-inch 

diameter drilling capacity, for 

applications in the construction 

industry 

• Gundrill Sharpening System 

• Custom machine for resharpening 

your gundrills 

in-house, saving you time and 

money 

With its 3 gundrilling machine 

brands, Kays Engineering has 

drilling diameter capabilities as 

large as 12 inches and as small as 

0.039 inches. 

VERTEX 55X MACHINE, MITSUI SEIKI, BOOTH: 338700 

The ultra-high precision Vertex 55X The 55X III line is designed for both 

III is a machine capable of performing versatility and precision. Machines can 

multiple functions making it ideally be adapted to integrate seamlessly into 

suited for aerospace and mold and any machining cell. To demonstrate 

die work. It uses a Fanuc 31iM-B5 this, the 55X III at IMTS will showcase 

control, making the machine capable of a field retrofittable pallet system with 

processing tasks such as contour milling, shared tool capacity. The system will 

profi ling, boring, tapping, and reaming. have a total of 12 pallets and 140 tools. 



FIXTURING ACCESSORIES 

FIXTUREWORKS 

BOOTH: 432377 

Fixtureworks will 

highlight some of the 

newest additions to 

its lineup of products, 

including retractable 

ball lock fasteners, 

heavy-duty push lock clamps, fl at-style 

clamping fasteners and a new larger module 

for the 5-axis modular clamping systems for 

large workpieces. Also featured will be myriad 

workholding products including pneumatic clamps 

and workholding devices, nutrunner clamps, 

One-Touch Fasteners, 5-axis modular clamps, 

Flex Locators, and many other fi xture clamps and 

locating system solutions. As well as an extensive 

selection of machine components including 

mechanical linear actuators, handles, levers, knobs 

and grips, hand wheels, cranks, industrial rubber 

bumpers, stops and wheels. 

QUALITY CONTROL INSPECTION TECH 

L.S. STARRETT CO. 

BOOTH: 134130 

L.S. Starrett Co. will 

be demonstrating 

the latest in quality 

control inspection. 

Attendees can see an 

all-new touch screen 

wireless digital indicator that is highly accurate, 

fast, intuitive, easy-to-use and rugged, and 

demonstrations of automated wireless measurement 

data capture and transmission from other handheld 

wireless/ electronic gages via DataSure 4.0 

Wireless Data Collection System, or from Vision 

Systems and Optical Comparators via integrated 

software. Among the wide range of Starrett 

solutions to be highlighted at the show will be the 

latest Multi-Sensor Vision Systems, Video Based 

Inspection and Measurement Systems and Optical 

Comparators, and DataSure 4 and the No. W4900 

Wireless Digital Indicator. 

Thousands of values per second. 

Fast. Precise. Reliable. 

LC5 0-DIGILOG. 

www.blum-novotest.com 

Production Metrology 

Made in Germany BOOTH 134710 



QAP & SAFE ADD-ONS 

PROSHOP 

BOOTH: 133027 

ProShop ERP will exhibit the 

QMS Assurance Plan (QAP) and 

SAFE add-ons to its ProShop 

ERP digital ecosystem. The 

ProShop QAP is an add-on 

subscription plan which ensures 

customers that their QMS is 

constantly updated with the latest 

standards. This is made possible 

by implementing the company’s 

Flying Start package directly 

into the ProShop QMS-related 

modules in the digital ecosystem, 

including those used to manage 

and certify companies to any 

quality standard including ISO 

9001, AS9100, ISO 13485, API, 

and more. Each QMS template 

contains the same modules, but 

they are delivered empty for 

manual loading or built with 

custom content when the Flying 

Start package is purchased. 

NEW AUTOMATION SYSTEM 

ZOLLER 

BOOTH: 432018 

In addition to presenting the new 

»coraMeasure LG«, ZOLLER 

will display its range of tool 

presetting, measuring, inspection, 

heat-shrinking, balancing, 

tooling, tool management 

and automation technology. 

Making its North American 

debut at IMTS, ZOLLER’s 

new »coraMeasure LG«, is an 

automated tool measurement 

system developed entirely inhouse. 

This system delivers tools 

assembled in a pallet system to a 

linear robot that loads the tools 

into a ZOLLER »venturion« 

presetting and measuring 

machine. By integrating robot 

technology and an intelligent 

pallet system, the »coraMeasure 

LG« optimizes tool measuring 

to save time, prevent errors and 

reduce the human workload. 

VERTICAL MACHINING CENTER 

DN SOLUTIONS 

BOOTH: 338900 

DN Solutions will be featuring 

the DNM 5700 4th generation 

vertical machining center. This 

newest version of DN Solutions’ 

global best-selling vertical 

machining center incorporates 

a long list of performance 

enhancements designed to 

increase machining productivity. 

The DNM 5700 4th Generation 

features significantly faster X, 

Y, and Z-axis rapid traverse 

rates of 42, 42, and 36 m/min 

(1654, 1654, and 1417 IPM) 

respectively, an increase from 36, 

36, and 30 m/min (1417, 1417, 

and 1181 IPM) from the previous 

generation machine. Additionally, 

the ACC/DEC rates have been 

increased to 0.7, 0.6, and 0.5 

g in X, Y, and Z, a substantial 

improvement from the previous 

generation’s 0.47, 0.41, and 0.43 g. 

SIMULTANEOUS GRINDING OPERATION 

SAINT-GOBAIN ABRASIVES, BOOTH: N-237042 

To be shown for the first time at a major international event, 

New NortonRazorStar belts, quick-change and fiber discs feature 

engineered-shaped ceramic grain, a revolutionary technology with 

metal removal rates in the toughest grinding applications when 

performing off-hand and/or automated grinding. A combination 

of uniquely-shaped razor-sharp grains in an upright position along 

with a special supersized grinding aid, helps to significantly reduce 

heat generation for cooler cuts and longer life on a range of materials such as carbon steel, aluminum, 

stainless steel, nickel alloys and other hard-to-grind metals. In addition, RazorStar belts are ideal for 

robotic applications in markets such as aerospace, automotive, oil and gas and general machining. 



MULTISENSOR MEASUREMENT TECH, AIMS METROLOGY, BOOTH: 134342 

AIMS Metrology will demonstrate multisensor inspection with its range of turnkey 

5-axis coordinate measuring machines. In addition to its Revolution Series 5-axis 

HB and LM CMMs, on display will be AIMS’ newest addition in flexible measuring 

systems—the Itaca FlexGauge. Unlike traditional hard gauging setups, the Itaca 

FlexGauge is suited to applications that require tactile scanning for small, highprecision 

parts. AIMS’ lab-grade LM offers multisensor capabilities with REVO-2 

which provides measuring speeds up to 500 mm/second and data collection rates 

of up to 4,000 points per second for increased part throughput. The mobile HB, 

fitted with a 5-axis PH20, can be placed 

on or near a production line to provide 

dimensional verification and process flow 

monitoring in real time. 

CMMS & ADVANCED 

METROLOGY SOFTWARE 

LK METROLOGY 

BOOTH: 134338 

LK Metrology will be exhibiting a variety 

of new products. Five different CMMs 

will be displayed and demonstrated 

including: the New shop floor ready 

LK ALTERA SF equipped with an 

SLK25 Laser Scanner; the ALTERA S 

SCANtec 5 equipped with a Renishaw 

REVO-2 5-axis scanning system; the 

new ALTERA C HA high-accuracy 

CMM; the ALTO 6×5 Bench Top 

CMM equipped with a PH20 probe; 

and fi nally, a manual ALTO 6.5.5. 

LK will be demonstrating the newest 

version of their well-known CAMIO 

measurement, programming simulation, 

analysis and reporting software. In 

addition, the new Industry 4 Metrology 

Gate, LK’s portal for remote inspection 

monitoring, and the advanced version of 

TouchDMIS CMM software will also 

be shown and demonstrated. 


schunk.com/magnos 

Hand in hand for tomorrow 



CNC AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS 

FASTEMS 

BOOTH: 338966 

CNC automation supplier 

Fastems LLC will showcase its 

flexible automation systems with 

experts available to discuss how 

even the smallest machining 

shops can succeed in creating 

automated manufacturing 

operations. Each day will 

feature educational sessions on 

machine shop productivity and 

live Fastems CNC automation 

system demonstrations as well 

as live daily customer case 

studies. The company will 

highlight its entire flexible 

manufacturing system portfolio 

via Living Factory, and the 

entry-level automation system 

Flexible Pallet Tower (FPT), 

controlled with the automation 

software, MMS (Manufacturing 

Management Software). 

FPT automates 4- and 5-axis 

machining centers with 300-630 

mm pallets or zero-point plates. 

5-AXIS MACHINING 

APPLICATIONS 

GROB SYSTEMS 

BOOTH: 431400 & 431436 

GROB Systems will demonstrate 

a range of 5-Axis machining 

applications at the YG-1 Tool Co. 

booth and the Allied Machine 

& Engineering booth. GROB 

machining centers, which are 

compatible with Industry 4.0 

principles, are made in the 

US at the GROB Systems full 

production facility in Ohio 

and often include advanced 

automation solutions for increased 

productivity. Having the 

machining center and automation 

come from the same builder 

offers customers streamlined 

service and support to keep the 

entire cell running at long-term 

high efficiency. GROB machines 

feature a unique machine concept 

including a horizontal spindle 

position that permits the longest 

possible Z-travel path and 

optimum chip fall. 

TAPPING, DRILLING & 

BALANCING 

FLEX MACHINE TOOLS 

BOOTH: 135204 

Flex Machine Tools will 

be demonstrating tapping, 

drilling, balancing and material 

handling arm products. 

Highlights will include the 

flexible FlexArm REM-24D 

Electronic Tapping Arm with 

a Multi-Position Head that 

allows quick and easy switches 

between vertical and horizontal 

tapping. Renowned for its ability 

to produce accurate tapped 

holes while minimizing the risk 

of tap breakage, the REM-24D 

Tapping Arm has a maximum 

reach of up to 70″ (1,778 mm) 

and is designed for taps up to 

7/8″ (22 mm).The FlexArm 

Mag Drill Arm will also be 

demonstrated, showcasing 

how magnetic drilling can 

be simplified, while reducing 

operator fatigue and increasing 

safety and efficiency. 

MACHINE TOOLS 

UNITED GRINDING NORTH AMERICA 

BOOTH: 236802 

There will be 11 machine tools on display at the UNITED 

GRINDING North America both. They include: 

• STUDER S100 CNC Universal Internal Cylindrical 

Grinding Machine with VersaLoad standard loader 

• STUDER S41 Universal Cylindrical Grinding Machine 

• STUDER S33 Universal Cylindrical Grinding Machine 

• STUDER S131R Radius Internal Cylindrical Grinding 

Machine 

• BLOHM MC7 5-Axis CNC Profi le Grinding Machine, 

which will be a global debut at IMTS 



• MÄGERLE MFP30 5-Axis 

Grinding Center 

• WALTER HELITRONIC 

POWER DIAMOND 400 Tool 

Grinding Machine with Robot 

Loader 

• WALTER HELITRONIC MINI 

PLUS Tool Grinding Machine, 

which will the first time this 

machine has been featured at IMTS 

• WALTER HELITRONIC G200 

Tool Grinding Machine 

• WALTER HELICHECK NANO 

CNC Measuring Machine, which 

will be the first time this machine 

has been featured at IMTS 

• WALTER HELICHECK PLUS 

CNC Measuring Machine with 

Robot Loader and 3D Sensor 

MACHINE TOOL CNC 

SIEMENS 

BOOTH: 133249 

Siemens will present 

its extensive machine 

tool CNC portfolio and 

digitalization software 

technology, highlighted by the digital native SINUMERIK 

ONE control platform for machining applications. Also, using 

a sports theme of “Speed, Agility and Endurance,” aimed at 

the machine shop on its path to digitalization, Siemens will 

introduce MACHINUM to the North American market. 

MACHINUM brings together machine tool controls, 

digitalization software and machine shop services from Siemens 

to help manufacturers optimize their production processes, 

to provide agility for quick adaptation to changing customer 

requirements and calculated uptime needs, plus enable digitally 

proven endurance to maximize the productivity of the entire 

machine shop or production department.SMT

34 | CUTTING TOOLS 

Quick Change Tooling 

Unleashing Safety 

Revolutionizing the 

manufacturing 

of canine 

protective gear 

Canine in water wearing an intruder vest. IMAGE: K9 STORM 

K9 STORM is a Western Canada-based 

manufacturer that specializes in producing 

cutting-edge canine equipment and gear 

and focuses on enhancing the safety and 

effectiveness of working dogs during 

high-risk operations. The company was 

founded by Jim and Glori Slater in 1996 

and has since become an industry leader, 

earning a reputation for innovation and 

quality in the fi eld of canine protective gear. 

K9 Storm milling technician, Madison Sernowski, loading a 

Sandvik Coromant Capto tool holder. IMAGE: K9 STORM 


•CHALLENGE: Tool change downtime and turnover, lack 

of safety measures, need for training and education. 

CUTTING TOOLS | 35 

• SOLUTION: Coromant Capto Quick Change Tooling 

and customer support from Technical Specialists. 

• RESULTS: Significant reduction in tool change time 

and turnover, improved safety measures, and 

increased productivity. 

K9 Storm’s journey began when Jim Slater, former 

canine handler with the Winnipeg Police Service, saw the 

need for improved protective gear for police and military 

dogs. He witnessed firsthand the dangers that working dogs 

face during high-risk deployments in the world of policing. 

To address this critical need, Jim and Glori Slater founded 

K9 Storm to manufacture specialized equipment that 

would significantly enhance the safety and well-being of 

these valuable canine partners. 

Their commitment to ensuring canine safety is at 

the core of K9 Storm’s mission. The company employs 

The K9 Storm milling machine shop. IMAGE: K9 STORM 

It's easy to say your tooling 

solves problems . 

It's harder to prove it. 

We prove it every day. 

Coolant Through DFX Drills 

Metric shank with AlTiN coating. 

New at IMTS 

TMLR Extended Reach 

Long reach thread mills in new sizes. 

DFX Drill 

Prepares holes for SAEJ1926/1 

and AS5202 port tools 

sizes -2 through -8. 

TMLR XL 

Long Reach Thread Mills (TMLR XL) 

feature an extended reach and 

excel in internal deep cut threads. 

Coolant Through Port Tools Without Pilot 

Ideal for non-standard thread minor diameters and lengths. 

Stuck on a tough tooling challenge? Let us help. 

Heimatec isn’t just a world leader in live tools, angle heads and 

multi-spindle drill heads; we’re your source for problem solving 

and tooling application expertise. 

With years of hands-on experience and the most innovative 

tooling, we are your TOTAL solution source. 

Platinum Tooling is now the exclusive importer 

of Heimatec products in North America. 

16 E. Piper Lane, Ste.128 

Prospect Heights, IL 

847-749-0633 

info@platinumtooling.com 

www.platinumtooling.com 


Pllatinum Tooling AD5771 (H) Color 1/4 pg CMW 2019 

SAE J1926 Port Tool w/o Pilot 

Meets the requirements of 

SAEJ1926/1 and MS16142 port 

specifications 

Did you know we manufacture 8,000+ items? 

1.805.584.9495 

Learn more at www.sct-usa.com 

1.800.383.2244 

1.805.584.9495 sales@sct-usa.com 

1.800.383.2244 

Complimentary technical assistance is available 

AS5202 Port Tool w/o Pilot 

Meets the requirements of AS5202, 

MS33649, and AND10050 port 

specifications 

Thread Mills Port Tools Specialty Indexable Single Point Cavity Tools 

Exhibiting at: 

BoOTH 432464 



a multidisciplinary team of experts in fields like 

engineering, canine behavior and material science 

to design and produce state-of-the-art canine gear. 

Some of their marquee products include ultra-lightweight 

custom-fit Threat Level II body armor, canine 

mounted cameras and communication devices, as well 

as specialized skydiving and rappelling equipment. 

THE PHOTO THAT STARTED IT ALL 

K9 Storm’s birth is rooted in the story of Jim Slater, 

a Winnipeg Police Canine Handler, and his faithful 

police dog, Olaf. The turning point came during an 

incident on the job when Jim realized the vulnerability 

of police dogs in dangerous situations. In an effort to 

safeguard Olaf and his fellow canine colleagues, Jim 

set out on a mission to create the first-ever custom-fit 

working canine ballistic vest. A viral photo capturing 

the end product caught the attention of many, resulting 

in a surge of demand from K9 handlers seeking similar 

protective equipment for their four-legged counterparts. 

This demand set the stage for K9 Storm’s journey in 

enhancing canine safety during high-risk operations. 

Sandvik Coromant Capto C4 turning tools on a turret. 

IMAGE: K9 STORM 

WITH 

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for your chance 

to win a Drone! 

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September 9-14, 2024 Chicago, IL 

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Material Handling 

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Learn More 

Software 

• OmniWin 

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After Sales Support 

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Master Fluid Solutions ® 

produces high-quality cutting/grinding 

fluids, cutting oils, concentrated washing and 

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under the TRIM ® and Master STAGES ® brands. 

We provide customers with quality products 

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VISIT US 

BOOTH ####### 

WEST BUILDING, LEVEL 

BOOTH S11085 

Messer Cutting Systems, Inc. 

Menomonee Falls, WI 

Phone: 262-255-5520 

www.messer-cutting.com 



CHALLENGES 

K9 Storm encountered a series of critical 

challenges as they expanded their operations 

to meet the escalating demand for canine 

protective gear. First, they grappled with 

significant tool change downtime and turnover 

issues in their manufacturing process. Frequent 

tool changes were not only time consuming 

but also hindered efficiency and productivity. 

Second, there was a pressing concern regarding 

the lack of adequate safety measures for the 

human workers crafting the protective gear that 

the canine companions were relying on. Lastly, 

there was a clear need for proper training and 

education on the usage of the equipment and 

machinery that was helping to create these 

lifesaving tools. 

Addressing these multifaceted challenges 

required a holistic solution to revolutionize 

K9 Storm’s manufacturing processes while 

prioritizing safety and training for those on 

the shop floor. 

SOLUTION 

Sandvik Coromant played a pivotal role in addressing 

the multifaceted challenges faced by K9 Storm. As a 

trusted partner, Sandvik Coromant brought to the table 

a wealth of expertise in manufacturing processes and 

precision tooling. Their commitment to innovation and 

efficiency made them a natural fit to assist K9 Storm in 

its mission to enhance canine safety. 

The solution provided by Sandvik Coromant was 

twofold. First, they introduced the implementation of 

Coromant Capto Quick-Change Tooling, a tooling 

system designed to significantly reduce tool change 

downtime. This innovation allowed K9 Storm to 

streamline their manufacturing processes, enabling 

quicker and more efficient production of canine 

protective gear. 

Second, Sandvik Coromant’s customer support and 

training sessions proved instrumental in K9 Storm’s 

success. Their team of technical specialists, including 

account manager Marcy Skoryk, worked closely with 

the K9 Storm team to optimize their manufacturing 

workflows, troubleshoot issues and ensure the seamless 

Workholding 

That Works 

No Interruptions. 

No Surprises. 

Machinists hate surprises. 

That’s why the metalheads at Mate 

developed Mate workholding - to 

keep their machines up and running 

without production interruptions. 

Tests confirm Mate’s best-in-class 

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See workholding that works 

West Bldg. 3rd Floor #432146 

MADE IN THE USA


integration of the new tooling system. This handson 

support not only improved efficiency but also 

addressed the safety concerns that were paramount 

to K9 Storm’s mission, further reinforcing the 

partnership’s effectiveness. 

us to tell our story more effectively. We’re proud 

to work alongside a company that shares our 

dedication to canine safety, and together, we’re 

making a lasting impact on the protection of 

working dogs around the world.” 

IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPACT 

During the Integration of Sandvik Coromant’s 

solution into its operations, K9 Storm underwent 

a transformation that revolutionized its 

manufacturing processes and safety standards. 

The implementation was a carefully executed 

transition that involved the adoption of Coromant 

Capto Quick-Change Tooling, guided by 

Sandvik Coromant’s technical specialists like 

Skoryk. K9 Storm’s manufacturing team received 

comprehensive training and support to easily 

incorporate the new tooling systems into their 

production line. This collaborative effort ensured 

a smooth transition, minimizing disruptions and 

maximizing the efficiency of their operations. 

The implementation of Quick-Change Tooling 

resulted in several huge improvements for K9 

Storm. Machine setup time saw an impressive 

75% reduction, streamlining their manufacturing 

processes and leading to a noticeable enhancement 

in manufacturing efficiency. This boost in 

efficiency not only allowed for faster production 

of canine protective gear but also contributed to 

significant cost savings. 

Equally noteworthy is the vast improvement 

in workplace safety, with a staggering 100% 

reduction in near misses and workplace safety 

injuries. With the risk of accidents reduced, K9 

Storm’s dedicated team could focus on their 

mission to protect working dogs and meet the 

growing demand for their high-quality products. 

The increased productivity also helped to position 

K9 Storm as a leader in the industry, further 

solidifying their mission to enhance canine safety 

during high-risk operations. 

“Sandvik Coromant’s support has been 

invaluable in strengthening our brand and 

expanding our reach,” said Riley Slater, 

marketing manager at K9 Storm. “Their 

partnership has not only improved our 

manufacturing efficiency but has also allowed 

Canine scaling stairs using a night vision intruder vest. IMAGE: K9 STORM 

K9 Storm’s devotion to research and 

development, combined with its commitment to 

quality and safety, has made it a trusted partner for 

law enforcement agencies and search and rescue 

organizations worldwide. The company’s products 

have not only protected countless working dogs 

but have also contributed to the success of critical 

missions and operations. Since 2022, K9 Storm 

vests have played a crucial role in saving the lives 

of 10 dogs, protecting them from serious injury or 

even death during high-risk operations. 

“Collaborating with Sandvik Coromant has 

not only improved our manufacturing processes 

but also brought a new dimension to our product 

development efforts. Their precision tooling 

solutions have enabled us to create even more 

advanced protective gear for working dogs, 

pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in our 

industry,” said Jeff Slater, milling manager at K9 

Storm. “This partnership has been instrumental 

in elevating our products, showcasing K9 Storm’s 

commitment to innovation and safety.” 



LOOKING AHEAD 

Looking ahead, the successful partnership between 

K9 Storm and Sandvik Coromant holds great 

promise for continued growth and innovation. 

Together, they envision an evolving collaboration 

that not only sustains the manufacturing efficiency 

achieved but also explores new horizons in the realm 

of canine safety. The future prospects include an 

ongoing dialogue on how to further enhance the 

protective gear for working dogs, incorporating 

cutting-edge materials and technologies. 

Additionally, the partnership seeks to continuously 

refine manufacturing processes to meet the evolving 

demands of their customers worldwide. 

“The partnership with Sandvik Coromant has 

been a game-changer for K9 Storm,” said Jim 

Slater, founder and CEO of K9 Storm. “Their 

innovative solutions not only streamlined our 

manufacturing processes but also fortified the safety 

of our canine companions and dedicated workforce. 

We’ve seen a sizeable reduction in tool change 

time, enhancing our efficiency and allowing us to 

meet the soaring demand for our protective gear. 

Most importantly, it has reaffirmed our devotion to 

canine safety during high-risk operations, a mission 

that’s at the core of what we do.” 

The collaborative journey of K9 Storm 

and Sandvik Coromant has been nothing 

short of transformative. Together, they have 

achieved extraordinary outcomes in terms of 

enhanced safety measures, boosted productivity 

and sustained growth in the realm of canine 

protection. This partnership underscores 

their commitment to ensuring the welfare of 

working dogs during high-risk operations. 

As they look ahead, the potential for future 

collaborations remains bright, promising even 

greater strides in the pursuit of canine safety and 

manufacturing excellence. Together, they stand 

as a testament to the power of innovation and 

dedication in making the world a safer place for 

our loyal four-legged companions. SMT 

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Phone 800 234 1560 

www.onsrud.com 



Laser 

FABRICATING | 41 

Laser Focused 

TRUMPF targets recycling of EV batteries on an industrial scale 

Cutting open used or faulty batteries 

using laser technology enables battery 

recycling to be scaled up. IMAGE: TRUMPF 

FBY LOU SMYRLIS 

For electric car makers and battery manufacturers, 

“black mass” will literally come to be viewed as 

black gold over the next couple of decades. 

Black mass is the powdery cocktail of metals 

such as lithium, nickel and cobalt created from 

recycling either spent vehicle batteries or scrap from 

battery plants. The electrodes for new battery cells 

are created as foil strips coated with these valuable 

materials but until recently it was not uncommon 

for coated foils to end up as manufacturing waste 

that was simply thrown away. That’s a wasted 

recycling opportunity that reveals the shortcoming 

of the electric vehicle manufacturing revolution: the 

high cost of extraction and the considerable 

carbon footprint from mining, refi ning, and 

transporting the materials necessary for electric 

vehicle car batteries. 

Governments have been stepping in to mandate 

strict recycling guidelines. For example, the EU 

requires a recycling rate of up to 90% for batteries. 

Part of the reason for strict recycling mandates is 

the aim of Western governments to build supply 

chains that are not reliant on China, a primary 

source for these materials. 

Theoretically once those materials are removed 

from the ground they can be reused, over and over 

again, with up to 99% of the materials being used 

for multiple generations. The emphasis is on the 

word “theoretically” because so far it has proven 

difficult for battery recyclers to recycle and reuse the 

cathode materials in black mass. 

TRUMPF, however, believes it can help 

carmakers and battery manufacturers start to 

recycle used or defective electric vehicle batteries on 

an industrial scale using laser technology. It recently 

held a press conference to explain how its laser 

systems can cut used batteries safely to remove the 


valuable raw materials from the battery foil. 

“Recycling batteries makes ecological sense 

and, thanks to laser technology, can now also be 

implemented economically. TRUMPF can draw 

on extensive expertise in laser welding and cutting 

for the production of e-car batteries. We have 

been working with all leading car and battery 

manufacturers for years. We have incorporated 

this experience into the development of the new 

processes,” says Hagen Zimer, CEO of Laser 

Technology at TRUMPF. 

So far most of the dismantling of batteries to be 

recycled is being handled manually. That makes 

for a process that is laborious, slow, and potentially 

dangerous to workers, explained Alexander Sauer, 

head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing 

Engineering and Automation IPA, who participated 

in the press conference along with Zimer. 

“As we don’t have a lot of batteries coming from 

the field so far, most of the batteries have been 

dismantled manually, broken into small pieces 

and then put into recycling. But when the amount 

of batteries coming back from the field increases 

significantly within the next 20 years, we will not be 

able to dismantle everything manually so we need 

automation,” Sauer said. “The types of batteries 

are broad and we see a big variance in battery 

types, so we need flexible disassembly machines 

and automation. One of the most flexible tools 

known is the laser. So I see a big potential for laser 

applications in dismantling of batteries.” 

In the future, laser-based processes can be 

deployed to remove the wafer-thin layer from the 

foil, allowing manufacturers to collect the precious 

dust and process it for new coatings. Zimer also 

believes laser technology is the best way to ensure 

efficient and automated dismantling, for example to 


42 | FABRICATING 

remove the covers from batteries or to cut off cables. 

Zimer said the initial use of lasers will focus on 

dealing with scrap material from the production line. 

“Production scrap rates in prismatic cell 

manufacturing are very, very high. Only a few 

manufacturers are capable of running yield rates 

beyond 95%. What we are exploring is converting 

the material using the laser from solid material 

into raw dust material which can be directly 

placed back into the production line,” Zimer 

explained. “That’s what we have in mind, and it 

looks promising.” 

The market for laser processes for recycling 

batteries is just emerging but has the potential 

to be huge, Sauer said. In Europe alone, the 

industry will have to recycle 570,000 tons of 

battery material annually from 2030. Recycled 

materials will account for 15% of the global supply 

of lithium, 11% for nickel and 44% for cobalt by 

the end of this decade, according to estimates 

from S&P Global Commodity Insights. At recent 

prices, nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries contain 

an average metal value of about $10,040 for every 

ton of cells, according to Fastmarkets. Canadian 

recycling fi rm Li-Cycle has already struck a deal 

with Glencore to process black mass. 

That’s not to say that electric vehicle battery 

recycling doesn’t still have challenges that need to 

be worked out. So when is battery recycling by laser 

expected to be deployed on a large scale? 

“I think good timing is the next 3-5 years. But 

when we talk about that, what are we talking 

about? These are individual processes. Cutting a 

battery pack to remove the cover, cutting screws 

out of the cover to separate the copper or stainless 

steel materials from the aluminum —that’s 

already happening. Cutting busbars (the main 

electrical connections between cells and modules, 

connecting all of the HV system to the outlet 

connector, and normally made from copper or 

aluminum)—that’s already happening. But how 

you separate a battery module into the individual 

cells is tricky. It can be generated by heat, but we 

want to explore it a little bit more,” Zimer said. 

Until then, TRUMPF appears laser focused, pun 

intended, on guiding these processes to maturity. SMT 

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Sheet Laser Cutting 

TECH TIPS 

7 criteria for choosing a sheet laser cutting machine 

BY BLM GROUP 

1 

Beyond the common criteria of laser power, work area, axis acceleration and price, 

there are 7 additional assessment criteria for choosing a sheet laser cutting system 

that can have a fundamental impact on return on investment. These selection criteria 

may help you defi ne in greater detail the ideal laser cutting system for your production. 

1. EASE OF USE 

A good interface can make the 

difference with any operator. The 

usability of a laser cutting machine 

allows you to more efficiently 

perform programming and 

maintenance and reduce operator 

training time. Today, in fact, the 

development of process technologies 

and the continuous turnover of 

operators, require that the learning 

curve for laser machine is as steep 

as possible. Only in this way can the 

new operator achieve the highest 

level of efficiency in the shortest 

possible time.When evaluating a new 

laser cutting system, for example, 

make sure that the control interface 

is simple and intuitive. In particular, 

we recommend human-machine 

interfaces that have the following 

characteristics: 

• allow you to start a new production 

with just a few steps; 

• are similar to the interfaces of other 

machines used in the workshop; 

• are equipped with a database of 

laser cutting parameters specific for 

the most common metal materials; 

• provide support and quick 

consultation during common plant 

maintenance operations. 

For production processes to rapidly adapt to production changes requires 

the availability and exchange of information between the machines and 

the management system. BLManalytics,for example, offers a complete 

view of all the production statistics of the Group’s connected systems: up 

and down time, overall system effi ciency, material processed, and much 

more. IMAGE: BLM GROUP 

2 

2. LASER CUTTING HEAD WITH SENSORS 

To have a consistent cut quality the machine must 

always operate in the best conditions. The cutting 

head is the heart of a laser cutting machine and the 

value of this component is essential to ensure the good 

quality of the parts produced. Along with the rapid 

growth in power of the sheet laser cutting systems, 

cutting head technology has also developed rapidly, 

integrating sensors and motorized optical systems 

managed by the machine’s CNC. 

With high powers it is essential to have a cutting 



head able to automatically adjust the focus 

position and diameter of the laser beam 

during cutting, in order to provide ideal 

cutting speed and quality on different 

materials and thicknesses. Furthermore, to 

ensure cutting quality over time, the head 

should have a set of sensors able to monitor 

pressure, temperature and humidity. The 

operator can only then know in real time 

the state of cleanliness of the protective 

window and replace it when necessary. 

3. AUTOMATION AND SCALABILITY 

A laser cutting system that evolves with your 

company can help you to take the fi rst step 

into this technology. As production volumes 

increase or new production requirements 

arise, it may become necessary to integrate 

the existing sheet laser cutting system 

with automatic systems for loading sheets 

and unloading processed parts from the 

pallet changer or with an automatic sheet 

magazine with one or more towers. 

4 3 

4. ASSIST GASES 

Laser cutting with compressed air can 

save you money. Air is almost entirely 

made of the two gases used in laser 

cutting: Oxygen and Nitrogen, that is 

why, if properly treated, it can be used as 

service gas of unlimited availability and 

may represent an excellent solution to save 

money, both in aluminum and construction 

steel laser cutting. 

Many producers of laser cutting systems 

therefore provide the possibility to equip the 

machines with specific kits for laser cutting 

with compressed air that include all the 

accessories necessary for pressurization 

and fi ltering. If you are considering this 

solution, we recommend that you verify 

the quality of the air treatment devices as 

the purity of the generated gas directly 

correlates to the cleanliness of the optical 

path of the system. 

55. INTERCONNECTION 

ERP, production analysis, system monitoring, etc.: 

there are many functionalities that can support you 

in everyday decisions. In an increasingly dynamic 

market, production processes need to be able to 

rapidly adapt to production changes. The key to 

success is therefore the availability and exchange 

of information between the machines and the 

management system. 

During the evaluation of a sheet laser cutting 

system, also carefully evaluate its potentialities in 

terms of connection to the company ERP system, 

remote monitoring of production statistics and 

automatic notification of the machine and production 

status. These functionalities, together with a high 

level of automation, will allow you to be faster in 

production changeover, keep your work constantly 

under control and streamline the production flow 

6from design to production. 

6. PLANT VERSATILITY 

Cutting both tubes and sheet metals with the same 

machine may prove to be an important advantage, 

especially for small batches. For a job shop, 

a “hybrid” laser cutting system that is able to 

cut both tube and sheet metal can offer an 

important competitive advantage, especially 

when production volumes do not justify the 

purchase of two dedicated systems. 

In many other cases, it may be advisable to 

focus on one technology only and make the 

most of its performance or choose a sheet laser 

cutting system that is designed to add tube laser 

7cutting at a later date. 

7. EXPERIENCE OF THE MANUFACTURER 

Choosing a new machine also means choosing the 

partner that will help you throughout its life cycle. 

Choose a manufacturer with years of experience in 

this technology that can ensure the quality of the 

system and of the after-sales service. Here are some 

criteria that may help you make the right choice: 

• presence in your area; 

• tailored after-sales services; 

• a manufacturer easy to talk with. SMT 


48 | WELDING 

Quality 

It’s a Matter of Integrity 

The challenge of devising a workable in-situ weld cooling measurement guide 

IBY LOU SMYRLIS 

If there is a common theme 

to the evolution of technology, 

it’s that major failure often 

leads to recognition that 

technological advances are 

necessary to prevent that kind 

of failure in the future. That’s 

the belief of Tom McGaughy, 

senior technology leader with 

independent engineering 

consultancy EWI, and he’s 

getting a chance to advance 

technology through important 

research he’s involved with in 

developing in-situ weld cooling 

rate measurement methods. 

The genesis of the research 

was the most expensive pipeline 

failure in the history of the 

industry in the Kashagan oil 

field near the Caspian Sea. The 

Kashagan oil field, discovered 

in the late 90s, was one of the 

largest oil field discoveries. 

Several major oil companies 

were involved in developing 

the infrastructure to move and 

process crude oil and gas from 

the field. One of the challenges 

was the fact that the Kashagan 

oil field had high “sour” reserves, 

meaning that the oil and gas had 

high concentrations of hydrogen 

sulfide, a naturally occurring 

compound that is very corrosive 

and highly embrittling to ferritic 

steel. As McGaughy explained 

while addressing the CWB 

Group earlier this year, there are 

ways of dealing with hydrogen 

sulfide. Chemical inhibitors can 

be used to minimize it or the 

inside surface of the pipeline 

can be cladded with a corrosion 

resistant alloy, although that’s 

an expensive option. In the end 

two pipelines were built for the 

Kashagan oil field with a total 

200 kms in length. Cladding was 

not used but the pipelines were 

constructed from state-of-theart 

sour grade pipe steel with 

controlled weld pressures to limit 

hardness of the welds to 250 HV. 

The pipelines went 

operational in 2012 and within 

two weeks suffered numerous 

ruptures and through-wall 

cracks in the body of the 

pipeline and in the girth welds. 

“The corrosion attack was 

so severe it basically destroyed 

most of those pipes,” McGaughy 

said, adding that several years 

of investigations and pipeline 

replacement amounted to a cost 

of $50 billion. 

Looking specifically at the 

pipeline girth weld cracks, the 

investigation concluded the root 

The destruction within two weeks of operation of the pipelines serving the Kashagan oil 

fi eld, in part due to welding operation failures, has led to efforts to develop in-situ girth 

weld cooling rate measurement technology for real-time, in-fi eld monitoring. IMAGE: PEXELS 

cause was inadequate control 

of the welding procedures. 

It turned out that to achieve 

the weld cooling rate desired 

for the pipeline required a 

production rate that was slower 

than normal practice and 

so there was an unfortunate 

“relaxation of welding oversight.” 

As McGaughy explained, the 


WELDING | 49 

pipeline welding was conducted 

at too fast a rate, causing the 

cooling rate to be higher than it 

should have been, which in turn 

led to much higher hardness in 

the girth weld deposits and the 

surrounding heat affected zone. 

That made the pipeline more 

susceptible to sulfide-assisted 

cracking once sour crude 

production began. 

Since then, one of 

the companies involved, 

ExxonMobil, has led efforts to 

develop in-situ girth weld cooling 

rate measurement technology for 

real-time, in-field monitoring. 

The weld cooling rate is 

defi ned as the time to cool from 

800C to 500C in seconds. It’s 

important because how fast the 

weld cools will influence the fi nal 

weld and HAZ microstructures 

(austenite, ferrite, martensite etc). 

“These microstructures will 

have a big influence on properties 

such as strength, hardness, 

toughness, corrosion resistance, 

cracking susceptibility in the 

weld and heat affected zone, so 

there are some scenarios where 

we really need good control over 

this cooling rate, the time that 

it takes to cool from 800C to 

500C,” explains McGaughy. 

The weld cooling rate is 

controlled primarily by the 

weld process, heat input, and 

the preheat and interpass 

temperature. Some processes, 

for example submerged arc 

welding, tend to have more 

total thermal input than other 

processes. The heat input itself 

is directly influenced by the 

welding parameters, primarily 

volts, amps and travel speed that 

are used in the welding process. 

Higher preheat and interpass 

temperatures will tend to slow 

the cooling rate down. 

Material thickness, weld 

geometry and weld pass sequence 

can have a secondary influence. 

“If you are welding very 

thick sections or very large mass 

structures you have a lot of 

thermal mass there. Part of this 

is also influenced by how quickly 

can the heat move away from 

the weld into the base material,” 

McGaughy said. “Large 

structures with thick section 

multi-pass welds tend to pick up 

more thermal energy so they 

tend to generally have slower 

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50 | WELDING 

cooling rates as you add more 

passes. So for the most part when 

we are concerned about cooling 

rate and controlling that, it’s 

often times just the fi rst or second 

pass in a multi-pass weld where 

everything is relatively cooler 

than later on when we are several 

passes into the weld groove.” 

The objective of the 

research McGaughy is involved 

with includes proving the 

feasibility of measuring the 

cooling rate of mechanized 

narrow-groove GMAW girth 

welds, identifying methods 

for integrating sensors into 

mechanized welding equipment, 

and establishing requirements 

for 5G pipe welding to ensure 

robustness for field use by 

pipeline welding contractors. 

“The intent isn’t to develop 

a system that could provide 

complete automated control of 

the welding process, although 

that would be possible with 

today’s technology,” McGaughy 

says. “The goal is to provide 

some tool to guide the welding 

operator. To signal to operators 

when they’re getting too close to 

the upper or lower bounds of the 

acceptable parameters within 

the approved welding procedure. 

A sort of yellow, green, red light 

signal that helps the operator 

control the travel speed, to speed 

up or slow down as needed, to stay 

within the target cooling range to 

get the desired hardness.” 

The initial laboratory 

development efforts using 

standard, off-the shelf 

instrumentation to measure 

temperatures proved 

problematic. The root pass 

thermal measurements suffered 

from a high scatter rate and 

intermittent consistency, although 

the thermal measurements of 

the fi rst hot pass were more 

successful. It turned out that 

weld fumes trapped within 

the bevel on the initial weld 

passes, emissivity reflections 

from machined weld bevels 

and perhaps IR camera/sensor 

positions and distance from 

the weld bevel that were not 

optimized were influencing IR 

thermal measurements. 

“The thermal data was 

actually quite a chaotic data 

stream,” McGaughy explained 

adding that dealing with the 

impact of slag in the readings 

meant they had to devise some 

averaging technique to take 

into account the differences 

in temperature readings. 

Incorporating a fume removal 

nozzle with argon flow, and 

different nozzle geometries and 

angles did improve the root pass 

thermal measurements but they 

were still incorrect. 

The current stage of the 

research includes optimizing the 

IR camera position to reduce 

the effect of fume masking and 

sidewall emissivity reflections. 

As well, the off-the-shelf 

measurement devices have been 

replaced with more sophisticated 

pyrometers that have a wider 

frequency spectrum to “see” 

through weld fume. 

“Essentially we plan to follow 

the same approach in terms of 

welding trials, prove this out in 

flat plate in the 1G position with 

narrow groove pipe welding 

configuration and then move 

into initial trials in an actual 

pipeline welding application 

where we are doing 5G welding 

with the pipe stationary and we 

are orbital welding with the weld 

torch tracking around the pipe,” 

McGaughy said. “This holds a 

lot of promise.” SMT 

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CA-0924 | ©2024 Lincoln Global, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2024-09 September Issue

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