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01/15/2016|LASERTEC & ULTRASONIC News 01.2016

Opening up new markets with ULTRASONIC

Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich is specialised in the machining of hard-brittle materials – and it gains extra impetus with the aid of ultrasonic machining.

Peter Heinrich and sons
Peter Heinrich and sons

Quartz glass, borosilicate glass and all types of ceramics are the materials used in the daily business at Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich. The family-run high-tech company founded in 1973 manufactures top quality, precision workpieces from these advanced materials. Its 67 employees combine the classic craft of glass working with state-of-the-art production methods such as ULTRASONIC machining on machine tools from DMG MORI. Its latest investments in this field include an ULTRASONIC 20 linear and an ULTRASONIC 50 linear.

“The demand for high-tech products made of hard-brittle material is increasing continuously”, explains Manfred Müllejans, long-standing team leader in milling at Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich. This benefits not only the growth of the company, but also further innovative developments in this field. Thanks to this innovative approach the specialists for quartz glass and ceramics have become a key supplier for the semi-conductor industry as well as for optoelectronics, laser technology, medical engineering and process measuring and control engineering. Manfred Müllejans goes on: “We work in close contact with scientific institutions and are continuously developing new solutions for customer-specific applications.”

Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich
An additional oscillating kinetic movement on the tool is generated by the ULTRASONIC technology, which superimposes the actual rotation resulting in a considerable reduction of the effective process forces.

The diverse range of products and services offered by Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich starts with the process development phase. Production, assembly and the packaging design – high-quality fragile goods need special care during transport – round off the offer. The employees use a multitude of different technologies in production, including water-jet cutting, grinding processes, laser cutting as well as glass equipment construction and 3D measuring technology. “Forty percent of our production performance comprises machine cutting”, adds Manfred Müllejans, making reference to the machining centres and lathes.

Where machining is concerned Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich has been cooperating with DMG MORI since as long ago as 1999. The reliability and precision of the machines plus the quick response of the DMG Service have played a decisive role in the long-lasting partnership. The technological advances in machine tool construction are also of specific importance for such an innovative company, as Manfred Müllejans explains taking ultrasonic machining as an example: “The use of ULTRASONIC machines and the possibilities these offer for the cost-effective and accurate machining of hard-brittle materials has enabled us to open up new markets with our high-tech products.”

In recent years Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich has invested in an ULTRASONIC 20 linear and an ULTRASONIC 50 linear for ultrasonic machining. The fundamental principle here is based on an ULTRASONIC HSK actuator system which transfers the ultrasonic frequency inductively from the spindle to the tool holder. This generates an additional oscillating kinetic movement on the tool, which superimposes the actual rotation resulting in a considerable reduction of the effective process forces. Spindle speeds of up to 40,000 rpm and an internal cooling system also contribute to the machine’s high level of precision. “This enables us to achieve the necessary surface qualities demanded of our products on the ULTRASONIC machines”, says Manfred Müllejans about the machining quality. In addition the reduced process forces result in a noticeably higher service life of the tools and this in turn, of course, means lower incidental costs.

Classic work steps in glass working are also part of day-to-day business at Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich.
Classic work steps in glass working are also part of day-to-day business at Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich.

The flexibility of the ULTRASONIC machines is another plus point for the service provider. “We produce a lot of prototypes and our batch sizes are generally very small, so complete machining in a single setup represents enormous added value for us”, explains Manfred Müllejans. Short idle times are an equally decisive factor for a high level of efficiency as machine reliability and the corresponding availability in production this entails.

As Aachener Quarz-Glas Technologie Heinrich expects the demand for sophisticated products made of hard-brittle materials with high requirements on complexity and precision to rise in future, efficiency in production will also gain in importance. So Manfred Müllejans is already expressing interest in the further mechanical development of ultrasonic machining: “With the new ULTRASONIC 20 linear as a mill-turn machine we will be in a position to expand complete machining even further.”