TOOL SOLUTIONS FOR E-MOBILITY
Basic, Performance, Expert
In the years to come, MAPAL expects huge growth in machining solutions for electric vehicles. The tool manufacturer has focused on ambitious components that will be produced in large quantities in future. The new Basic, Performance and Expert classification describes customer-specific solutions for their machining.
MAPAL’s strong focus on its customers’ needs when developing tool solutions is not new. With the arrangement of machining options into three solution levels – Basic, Performance and Expert – the company now offers a clear classification for tool selection options for a specific part. In doing so, MAPAL gives customers a rough indication, with smooth transitions.
THREE ROUTES TO THE FINISHED COMPONENT
Basic versions include solutions with standard tools, which cover requirements in the manufacturing of prototypes or small series in a costeffective way. The investment required is comparatively low, and the use of tools is flexible. As many changes are often still being made to the component and process at this stage, the flexibility achieved using standard tools is very helpful. Use of custom tools is avoided in the Basic solution where possible.
Performance solutions are designed for series production and focus on machining specific parts using custom tools. Here, multi-stage and combination tools can be used to process the workpiece more efficiently than with Basic versions. The Performance solution enables reliable series-ready production without quite fulfilling the very top requirements for quality and productivity.
This is reserved for the Expert version. It includes solutions designed to machine specific parts with the fewest tools possible productively and effectively in short cycle times with the best possible quality. Here, multi-staged tools with multiple cutting edges that combine all functions in a single device are typically used. An example of an Expert solution is the tool set for machining the stator housing for an electric motor, which MAPAL has already successfully established in the industry. MAPAL has taken productivity and quality to their absolute limit with these tools. Basic and Performance solutions are also available for manufacturing the stator housing – which meet the requirements for each level respectively.
Dear business partners,
dear readers,
The year 2022 was marked by drastic geopolitical and economic events. The war in Ukraine, inflation and the ongoing disruptions to global supply chains have had a significant impact on our work, and certainly on yours, and have made it a bit more unpredictable.
Encouragingly, the economic mood in our industry improved during autumn 2022. This was certainly helped by the fact that in-person encounters were possible once again as Covid-19 transitioned from pandemic to endemic – for instance, at the AMB in Stuttgart, which was a huge success. We presented our consistent focus on the market segments automotive/ electric mobility, die & mould, aerospace and general machining to our customers and interested parties there for the first time. The positive feedback confirms our decision to continue on this path.
In the current issue of Impulse, we present our strategies, solutions and applications in electric mobility, aluminium machining and tool management. We began at a very early stage to develop the processing of strategically important components of electric mobility in terms of processes and products. As a result, we are in a position to offer our customers sophisticated and cost-effective processes today. There is no one-fits-all approach. Instead, we focus on the requirements of the component and offer various solutions depending on the production lot size and component features. In this way, we remain true to our core principle: the customer and their needs are the be-all and end-all of what we do. With the increasing popularity of electric drive solutions, this approach is now also coming to bear in practice.
With tailored tool management solutions, we support our customers in focusing on their core competencies and enter into a close, trusting relationship with them. Integrating digital solutions from our subsidiary c-Com gives our tool management range a new quality. For new projects in particular, installing digital tool management is now standard, and the cloud has also become established and accepted as an intermediary between different process components. We have made significant progress in this area in recent years – with plenty of associated benefits for our customers. In this respect, all our efforts draw on the ideas, skills and personal commitment of our employees. They are the foundation of all we do. This is why we attach such great importance here at MAPAL Group to training the skilled workers of tomorrow ourselves – with great commitment and a sustainable approach. I’m especially delighted that 85 apprentices graduated at the MAPAL Group again in 2022. With great success: the 2022 world champions in the field of “Robotic Systems Integration” and the best industrial mechanic in Baden-Württemberg come from MAPAL. Almost all graduates have accepted our offer of employment and are now an integral part of the workforce.
So I am – and we are – optimistic going into 2023 and looking ahead with positivity. We look forward to many opportunities for in-person interactions with you and working together on your challenges.
Have a good read!
Yours,
Dr. Jochen Kress
