Smarter manufacturing thanks to automation
JT-Teknik maintains its competitive edge with two automated eVo universal machines from DMG MORI Systems.
JT-Teknik from Spøttrup, Denmark, has been concentrating on demanding 5-axis cutting for the automotive industry, medical engineering and mechanical engineering in general since the company was established in 1991. The company has 23 employees and has been working on machine tools from DMG MORI since 1996. In 2012, the CNC experts discovered a way of also manufacturing in a competitive way in high-wage country Denmark by investing in a DMU 80 eVo including PH 150|8 palette handling. In 2014, JT-Teknik 2014 installed another standard automation system from DMG MORI Systems – a DMU 60 eVo linear, also with PH 150|8.
Complex and top quality components are the trademark of JT-Teknik. Owner Troels Toft, son of founder Jens Toft, and managing director Peter Hjelm have been putting their faith in repeatedly impressing existing customers with quality and reliability for many years. "Customer orientation is an important part of our business philosophy", emphasises Peter Hjelm. This also includes advising the customer at the development stage if necessary. "If we see potential for optimisation during the manufacture of a component, both parties can benefit from it".
A real prestige project that JT-Teknik has been supplying since 2010 is the Zenvo ST1 from Zenvo Automotive. This super-sports car, which has about 1100 horsepower, is manufactured entirely in Denmark, and is one of the most expensive vehicles of its kind in the world. "It has quality down to the last detail", explains Peter Hjelm. JT-Teknik manufactures numerous add-on and interior components made from aluminium for the Zenvo ST1, from side mirror holders, ventilation grilles and the fuel filler cap to the buttons in the cockpit.
As with the majority of orders, JT-Teknik mainly manufactures individual components for Zenvo Automotive. The managing director considers short delivery times to be a decisive competitive factor: "In Denmark our wage costs are extremely high, and we compete with providers from cheaper countries, including Germany". He says that this disadvantage can only be compensated for by means of efficient production. "If we want to remain competitive we have to manufacture smarter than the others", says Peter Hjelm, putting it in a nutshell. JT-Teknik took the first step in this direction when it purchased the automated DMU 80 eVo in 2012.
DMU eVo model series with 150|8 – efficient and flexible manufacturing
JT-Teknik already works with two standard automation systems from DMG MORI Systems. Both the DMU 80 eVo and the DMU 60 eVo linear that was installed in 2014 have in conjunction with the PH 150|8 palette handling systems, as Peter Hjelm concludes: "The fact that we can run unmanned shifts increases our productivity immensely". Both universal machining centres can be equipped with up to ten palettes, and can therefore manufacture unmanned for long periods at night or over the weekend. "During the day we reduce our non-productive time with the aid of the palettes, because we can equip the two machines during the main production time", continues the managing director. He also states that there is much more manufacturing flexibility when dealing with urgent orders. "This also applies to the universal machines: The eVo models are designed such that they can easily cope with our extremely wide range of components", adds Peter Hjelm.
Following its good experience with the DMU 80 eVo, JT-Teknik also specifically chose the smaller sister model with linear drives during the second capacity increase. The demands that are made of machining accuracy and surface quality are normally extremely high during day-to-day operations, says Peter Hjelm, justifying the purchase: "We manufacture smaller precision components on the DMU 60 eVo linear. The linear technology provides the positioning accuracy that is needed for this.
JT-Teknik can look to the future with optimism, since the business has developed extremely positively for years. The move to a bigger manufacturing facility with sufficient room for the additional employees and the machine tool investments took place in 2010. Peter Hjelm would like to make further modernisations here – also with a comparable standard automation system. "Innovative CNC technology and the associated automation will help us to develop our 5-axis expertise and manufacture even more productively".