Güdel Orders Custom Bridge Mill for U.S. Manufacturing

Güdel, Inc. (Millann Arbor, MI) is investing several million dollars on a custom bridge mill designed specifically for machining TrackMotion and gantry modules built in the U.S. Installation of the machining center is slated for the first quarter of 2015.

With a bed that measures 16 m long by 1.5 m wide, the new machining center is ideal for milling the company’s longest beams. Additionally, it has the ability to machine three faces and both ends of a beam in one setup which, compared to standard bridge mills, is a significant advantage for throughput and time savings.

According to chief executive officer Stefan Nilsson, “This is a strategic investment by us. This new machining center increases our capacity and improves throughput as North American demand for TrackMotion and gantry robots increases.”

The machining center has a moving portal bridge and is equipped with an automatic tool changer for 40 tools. The machine uses a Güdel contouring control for milling, drilling and machining. Two similar units are already operational at the company’s world headquarters.

Güdel Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of Güdel Group, a global manufacturer of robotic automation products, systems and services for welding and metal fabrication that supplies linear motion modules, robot track motion units, gantry robots and components to OEMs, systems integrators and machine builders serving the automotive, aerospace, logistics, heavy industrial and power generation industries.

www.gudel.com