FRIEND OF TRENDS

Klenke Maschinenfabrik (Northeim, Germany) manufactures components for vehicles, construction machines and mechanical engineering, as well as offering heat treating for the automotive industry. It was not until the 1960s that this company was reoriented towards the automobile industry, when the demand for the agricultural implements declined.

Today, Klenke is equipped with a highly developed machine shop of CNC lathes, drilling and milling machines that guarantee precision on a micro-level. The company specializes in flywheels, brake discs, brake drums and wheel hubs. Jörg Kluge, the director of production planning, proudly claims, "Whenever I see a truck drive by there is a piece of us built into it, because all the major manufacturers use our flywheels or brake drums." In fact, flywheels account for approximately 80 percent of production.

Klenke operates 50 CNC machine tools with a permanent staff of 100 employees, supplemented by 10 to 20 specialists from contract companies. Kluge anticipates further machine tool investments in the future – globalization is a fact of modern manufacturing and Klenke is up to the challenge. Capacity for the core area of rotation-symmetric components such as flywheels has already been expanded by 2,000 sq m in the past 10 or 15 years. "And all this started as a little village blacksmith in 1931," recalls Mr. Kluge.

When you hear the word 'trend', fashion is probably the first thing that comes to mind – but there are also trends in engineering "for truck flywheels, approximately half of the manufacturers request that we provide the exterior surface with grooves," said Kluge. "That is the trend here."

In a quest to increase productivity in the area of groove milling, Klenke collaborated with Seco Tools on a particular application. In this case, the team turned to the new SNHQ disc mill inserts, which work easily with 335.19 fixed pocket cutter bodies. To verify improvements, competitors' products were used as "test rivals" against these new inserts. The goals were set high: reducing processing time, increasing tool life, improving surface quality and significantly boosting productivity – all at the same time.

Mario Woitschewski of Seco presented the results. "We implemented inserts SNHQ120435EL2-M07 and SNHQ120435ER2-M07 in grade F40M for milling GG25 grey cast iron. Based on the previous process, the result after optimization of the cutting data was impressive. The feed rate was increased from 220 mm/min to 525 mm/min and tool life was simultaneously boosted from 50 to 80 parts."

In this regard, a considerable increase in productivity was achieved at the Klenke Machine Factory. The data fully convinced Kluge. It was already apparent at the first run how much better the particularly easy-cutting geometry works. The SNHQ inserts reduced the machining force, helping to maintain both the machine and the spindle, while simultaneously increasing the surface quality of the parts being machined.

Woitschewski found nothing but words of praise for the manner in which the test was carried out. "The people here at Klenke were exceptionally well prepared. It was really a lot of fun working with them. That shows how important a partnership-oriented atmosphere is for this type of work."

Klenke Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Unteres Tor 25, 37154, Northeim, Germany, 05551/9799-0, Fax: 05551/9799-50, www.klenke-maschinenfabrik.de.

Seco Tools Inc., 2805 Bellingham Drive, Troy, MI 48083-2046, 586-528-5200, Fax: 586-528-5250, www.secotools.com.