Shop Solutions Continued from page 56
Flexible Solution for Global Automotive Supplier
M
odatek Systems, a subsidiary of the Austrian-Canadian company Magna International, manufactures parts all over the world for the automotive industry. The Magna Group is a major diversified global automotive supplier with 315 pro- duction sites and 90 engineering and research and develop- ment centers in almost 30 countries.
Management of the Canadian branch of Magna Interna- tional embarked on a search for a suitable systems supplier for production lines for machining trailing arms for SUV platforms. What they found was a standardized yet flexible solution from Licon mt (Laupheim, Germany). Licon mt sup- plied four twin-spindle LiFLEX II 1078 machining centers to Modatek Systems that offered process flexibility and the ability to accommodate any product variations that came from the final customer, General Motors.
The process-oriented approach and support provided by Licon mt were essential to the success of the project. Previ- ously, Modatek Systems had executed very few machining projects of this kind and welcomed the machining know-how offered by Licion mt and the confidence that “Made in Ger- many” brought with it. The first of four twin-spindle machining centers, the LiFLEX II 1078 4U model was shipped to Canada six weeks ahead of the officially agreed upon delivery date. Modatek Systems approached Licon mt with a descrip- tion of the parts to be processed. “The process had to be very dynamic from the start because the manufacture of the ma- chines and the start-up of processes needed to be completed within a relatively short timeframe,” said Dorde Zmijanjac, project manager for Licon mt in Germany. “Through web conference calls as well as personal meetings, we were able to quickly and accurately coordinate, determine, and approve order-specific details such as individual concepts for fixtures as well as the customer’s loading system. Our experience enables us to be flexible in responding to individual customer requirements throughout the project process. At the end of the day, this all contributed toward the successful launch of the project and also strengthened the market position of our North American subsidiary.” Factors such as productivity, process reliability flexibility, durability and longevity, ease of maintenance and servicing, reusability and reconfiguration were the primary considerations for designing the process. “Cost per part is always at the heart of
Licon mt supplied four twin-spindle LiFLEX II 1078 machin- ing centers to Magna International’s Canadian subsidiary Modatek Systems that offered process flexibility and the ability to accommodate any product variations that came from the final customer, General Motors.
all investment decisions made by our customers,” said Winfried Benz, managing director of Licon mt. “This is the major invest- ment driver which we have to confront in our market environ-
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