SHANGHAI, Feb. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry leaders, engineers and interested visitors of the major Chinese machine tool trade shows CIMT in Beijing and SIMM in Shenzhen will be able to have a look at the brand-new gear hobbing center Affolter AF110 plus at the Affolter Technologies booth, where the Swiss experts showcase their groundbreaking worm screw power skiving (WSPS) technology for the first time in China. Affolter Technologies SA (www.affoltergroup.ch), the technology and world market leader in micro gear hobbing centers for the watchmaking and micromechanical industries, sees big demand for the innovative WSPS process in the Chinese automotive industry.
"This cutting-edge technology was developed by our engineers in an in-depth R&D process. WSPS allows us to finish a high-precision worm in only 6 seconds. If done by worm hobbing, every piece takes 25 seconds," explains Managing Director Vincent Affolter. In other words: WSPS makes producers 4 times more efficient. Mr. Affolter: "This will increase the productivity and efficiency of manufacturers in the automotive and aircraft industries considerably."
Many producers in these industries need to manufacture large quantities of high-precision worms. The WSPS technology focuses on small worms with a module of 0.3 to 1.5. "Such worms are used in car seats or trunks, for instance," explains Mr. Affolter.
Extremely fast process
The idea behind the new technology: Unlike in worm hobbing, where the hob turns much faster than the workpiece, the Affolter engineers inverted the process. "The workpiece turns extremely fast, with 2 new spindles up to 12'000rpm, while the cutter turns much slower. Only highest quality machines can reach this speed and at the same time provide the necessary stiffness," states the Managing Director. The Affolter experts have redesigned their well-established gear hobbing machines to optimize the WSPS process, resulting in the brand new Affolter AF110 plus. Extensive test runs were very successful: "We achieved outstanding results processing both steel and brass. The new Affolter AF110 plus and the WSPS technology will open completely new opportunities for our customers," states Affolter.
China is a key market
Affolter Technologies, a traditional Swiss family company founded in 1919, established the daughter company Affolter China Co. Ltd in Shanghai in 2013 (www.affolterchina.cn). Starting from 2004, Affolter took first steps in the Chinese market, conducted in-depth market analyses and took part in major trade fairs. Since 2008, Chinese experts have joined the global sales team of the company. "Our objective has always been to manufacture in Switzerland and sell in China, to provide our customers with products of the highest possible quality and performance standards," emphasizes Libin Yin, General Manager of Affolter China.
Today, the Chinese daughter company sells Affolter CNC gear hobbing machines and provides customer service in Asia. "With their high performance, precision and productivity, our machines are perfectly suited to meet the needs of micro-gearing market sectors such as the watch industry, micro-mechanics as well as aircraft and automotive manufacturing and dental equipment," explains Mr. Yin. "In China, the need for higher precision, high-tech manufacturing is rapidly growing."
About Affolter Technologies SA: Tradition meets innovation: Affolter Technologies SA is a part of the Affolter Group with more than 160 employees around the globe and was founded in 1919 by Louis Affolter in Malleray, Switzerland. Today, the fourth generation leads the family enterprise. A China daughter company was founded in 2013. Affolter Technologies operates worldwide with a broad network of distributors. The highly-specialized company is world technology leader in high-precision gear hobbing solutions. For more information, please visit: www.affoltergroup.ch and http://www.affolter-applications.ch/
