Part of the Heller factory in Redditch which the company says underpins the elevated level of after-sales service and support it provides

Germany-owned Heller Machine Tools, whose factory in Redditch produces selected four-axis and five-axis horizontal machining centres (HMCs) for world markets, will stress at MACH 2024, that this facility places it in an excellent position to provide customers with an elevated level of applications and service support. The exhibition is taking place 15-19 April at the NEC, Birmingham.

The Worcestershire facility, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, is also a global competence centre within the group for top-level turnkey projects and innovative manufacturing solutions. ‘360-degree solutions’ is Heller’s name for its pre- and post-sales services. Based on this principle, the machine tool manufacturer provides users with solutions to maximise machine availability and productivity, helping them to produce parts reliably and at a competitive cost per part in day-to-day manufacturing.

The holistic Heller service includes time studies which are accurate to ±5%, evaluation of requisite workholding, consideration of automation and unmanned running requirements, built-in chillers for cooling the machine elements if they are required to achieve tolerance, tool life monitoring and broken tool detection.

Manufacturing solutions
John Dineen, sales and service manager at Heller Machine Tools in the UK, said: “Our 360-degree approach to manufacturing solutions begins with understanding what the customer is trying to achieve and this entails looking closely at the enquiry and listening carefully.”

Pictured right: a Heller HF 3500 Gen2 horizontal machining centre in pallet-change configuration

He continued: “However, there is much more to it than that. We draw decisive conclusions from the discussions and communicate our finding clearly and precisely at all contact points with the potential user. To achieve this, every member of staff at Redditch requires agility and flexibility, as they are needed in order to adapt to what can be a rapidly developing situation when the pace of change accelerates during a project.”

A particular focus at the show will be Heller's ability to supply turnkey cells for highly efficient machining of tough titanium and nickel superalloys, notably in the aerospace industry but also in other sectors including oil and gas. In this connection, the machine manufacturer will stress the considerable range of different spindles that it manufactures in-house to suit a vast range of applications.

For example, the HMC on the stand will be an HF 3500 second-generation five-axis model for which it is possible to select a DC (dynamic cutting) universal direct-drive motor spindle, rated at either HSK-A63 16,000rev/min 56kW 180Nm or HSK-A100 12,000rev/min 45kW 400Nm. There is also a PC (power cutting) spindle rated at HSK-A100 10,000rev/min 45kW 360Nm and an HSK-A100 13,000 rev/min 45kW 228Nm SC (speed cutting) spindle. Two further options with an HSK-A63 interface are rated at 12,000rev/min 45kW 228Nm (PC) and 18,000rev/min 45kW 103Nm (SC). All are produced at Heller’s headquarters in Nürtingen and feature the company's Zero-Spindle system for rapid interchangeability.

Five-axis machine
The five-axis machine itself, which is built in Redditch, has a 710 x 750 x 710mm working volume. In this case, the machine will be exhibited without a DDT (Direct Drive Turning) rotary table and spindle locking function for turning tools. To raise cutting performance, the Gen 2 design has a short distance between the spindle nose and the centreline of the 225deg swivelling trunnion and is available with twin motors and ballscrew drives for moving the trunnion/rotary table in the Z-axis, with position feedback via linear scales. The high-end PRO package offers more than 1g acceleration in all linear axes.

Pictured left: power skiving is one of the advanced machining options Heller now offers on its HMCs

Although not at the show, but which will feature prominently on the stand, will be the new F 6000 five-axis mill-turn machining centre launched by Heller at EMO 2023. It has been designed from the ground up following extensive research carried out among the manufacturer’s customer base. Highlights of this new generation machine include new swivelling heads with integrated motor spindles developed in-house and an optional direct-drive torque table for carrying out in-cycle turning operations. A pallet changer is included as standard for first-level automation, enabling easy integration later on of a rotary or linear pallet storage and retrieval system.

To ensure that all of the above benefits are maximised in production, Heller’s design engineers have focused on clear and easy operation, as well as good accessibility to all work areas. Operation is simplified by the new Siemens Sinumerik ONE control, which is fitted as standard, and the convenient control unit in panel design with 24in touchscreen. At the same time, better access to the work area and the optional new ‘SETUP-Assist’ software make it easier to prepare for the next machining process.

The key to higher productivity is complete machining in a single setup and five-axis machines like the F 6000 are ideal platforms to achieve this. Heller has also been busy recently integrating more in-cycle machining technologies in addition to milling and the customary option of turning on a torque table. Examples are various gear-cutting methods, turning with a facing head, power skiving and even friction stir welding.

Automation solutions
The main purpose of automated manufacturing on production centres is reduction of idle times to optimise system availability. For this purpose, Heller offers proprietary automation solutions that can be optimally combined with its HMCs.

Pictured right: the Heller RSP rotary pallet magazine is typical of the automation solutions the German HMC manufacturer can supply

Due to the wide variety of market requirements, this portfolio is complemented by a range of specialised solutions for pallet exchange and component handling and storage that the company offers based on best-in-class partnerships, such as with Fastems and Gressel as well as subsidiary companies STS, Paatz and Wenzler. The manufacturer also has a special arrangement with Kuka KMR Cybertech for the integration of automated tool loading and unloading.

Featured at MACH 2024 will be Heller4Industry, the group’s worldwide drive towards integration of its machine tools and controls into the Industry 4.0 environment. Within the multi-faceted portfolio is the HELLER4Services interface, which focuses on transparency of digital manufacturing and maintenance. The module forms the basis for evaluating machine data and statistics to reduce downtimes. Additionally, visualisation of specific information such as status displays of axes and spindles enables a user to predict wear and implement preventive maintenance.

HELLER4Operation is an easy-to-use, operator-oriented user interface. Touchscreen controls at the tool and workpiece loading stations promote rapid and easy operation, facilitate the manufacture of one-off components and help to integrate production into the value chain. HELLER4Performance includes workpiece-specific analysis for optimisation of a process and for extraction of real-time data over the internet, plus evaluation and graphical display in the cloud. For example, it can map tool paths and workpiece tolerances during parts of a cycle where tool wear is expected.

Other services within HELLER4Industry include ‘Energy Monitoring’, ‘Axes Condition’ and ‘Spindle Condition’, while the new myHELLER customer portal helps customers keep track of their shopfloor activities, such as ordering spare and wear parts and service visits.