When you talk to Michael Trenkle, mechanical engineer, about his automatic tool changer design, it’s easy to lose yourself in the details. He’ll tell you about speed and accuracy down to the micron, and about how he ensures his subassembly interfaces with others in this 5000-part 3D model. He’ll describe the challenges of laying out piping and cabling for the oil, coolants, and the pneumatic air that runs through the system. All of it is fascinating from a design and engineering perspective.
But while Trenkle sweats the small stuff, in another country, someone is waiting for the finished machine. That someone has contracts with robotics, automotive, and agricultural machinery companies, and a reputation for precision to uphold. That someone supports employees, a busy shop floor, and even apprentices from the local community.
Our customer documentary videos want illustrate how the careful design pays off in the bigger picture. Because, nobody in product development is an island. We’re all part of a larger supply chain, whether we’re the customer, the software vendor, the OEM, or the subcontractor’s subcontractor.
In our latest customer video, we take you to the company where Trenkle works, DMG MORI, a global manufacturer of machine tools, turning centers, lathes, ultrasonic and laser machines.
The video also takes you across borders, from Germany to Austria where Metalltechnik Vils, a family company, machines precision parts for brand names like Bosch, Georg Fischer, Trumpf, Swarowksi, and others—using equipment from DMG MORI.
Where does PTC Creo fit in? We’re the software DMG MORI uses to build the machines…that build the machines… that build the machines. They say they’re faster and create better products using the software.
“By using PTC Creo, skeleton models, layouts, parametric family of parts, simulation and cabling features, we quickly create detailed models from concepts and ensure we minimize any need for physical prototyping,” says Trenkle. “We are more flexible in what ideas we explore.”
For example, with PTC Creo Simulate, engineers optimized DMG MORI’s latest duoBLOCK® design for dynamic and static masses.
“We reduced the dynamic mass (mass of moving parts) by 50% and increased the static mass. This results in higher stability, long-term precision and lower overall energy usage,” says design team lead Roland Köchl.
And with PTC Creo View MCAD, the engineering team no longer needs to create 2D technical drawings. “There’s no need for them,” says Reinhard Musch, head of manufacturing for DECKEL MAHO. “The 3D model is significantly easier for teams to understand, is precise, and can be directly used for manufacturing – it’s very efficient.”
But now we’re getting into the details again, aren’t we?
See inside both companies, and see PTC Creo at work, in the new video:
