Editorial

 The selection of suppliers and maintenance providers is extremely important for any manufacturing company. Partner relations are established between the parties and they must be constantly taken care of if all the parties involved wish to grow and develop. It is exactly the virtue of being a reliable partner which has been putting company Tipteh on the map of Slovenian industry for the last 15 years.
Tipteh was founded in 1996 in Ljubljana by three technical solution experts. Next to Damijan Jager, who runs the company today, the founders were Irena Tribušon Nosan and Feliks Turk. The company activities include representation, distribution and implementation ...   

 Mid-June, Portorož was full with engineers, researchers in the field of industry, and students from Slovenian and Croatia who gathered for the 4. Industrial Forum IRT 2012. The reactions from more than 300 participants show the organiser once again succeeded to prepare an event that fully justified its mission of the most significant professional event for the Slovenian engineers and researchers in industry.
What's more, the exhibitors and forum participants think the organisers led by Darko Švetak managed to make a step ahead considering the program, the number of participants, as well as in attracting important guests from the enterprise sector. More than 40 professional lectures were held in the two days at the 4. Industrial Forum IRT 2012, presenting the situation and the developmental decisions in the industry and in the research and development sphere …   

 
The Green Automation initiative, presented at the last AUTOMATICA fair by VDMA Robotics and the Fraunhofer institute for manufacturing automation and automation (IPA) with the basic idea that robotization and automation can improve the efficiency and thereby the exploitation of available resources, was replaced this year at the AUTOMATICA 2012 fair by the concept of BLUECOMPETENCE, which unifies all the aspects of devotion to sustainable manufacturing with the efficient use of resources and environmentally friendly products in the machine and industrial equipment building branch.
The themes and commitments to sustainable development are omnipresent, but it is a question how they are realised, what may be the possible contribution of automation and robotics, and what the companies involved in this initiative are striving for.
  Dr. Tomaž Perme 

 The fifth edition of AUTOMATICA fair attracted approximately 31 000 visitors from more than 100 countries and consolidated its position of the most important business gathering in the automation industry and the biggest robotics show in the world. The forecasts for both industries are good, reflecting in the expansion of show from four to five halls, where more than 720 exhibitors from 40 countries presented their solutions for the manufacturing industry. The exhibitors and visitors were extremely satisfied with the fair that took place from 22 to 25 May 2012 at the new fairgrounds in Munich.   

 Since February 2012, thermostat housings moulded from Ultramid® A3WG6 HRX are in use at VW. The new polyamide has been developed specifically for applications requiring high hydrolysis resistance in conjunction with high strength.
The coolant control module’s cover, which is moulded from the new material, must withstand demanding conditions – a pressure of several bars at a peak temperature of up to 130 °C – and exhibit minimal deformation. The housing cover moulded from the polyamide specialty offers benefits in terms of both weight and cost. The moulded plastic component does not need to be finish-machined, and the desired dimensional accuracy is easier to achieve. Supports, holders, valve seats and other functions can be integrated without effort. In addition, the high surface quality of the plastic is important, since it counteracts abrasion by the coolant. 

 Determining the mass is a regulated field in commercial activities, in calculating tolls, penalties, tariffs, premiums, charges, fees, compensations and other sorts of payments. In the practice, mass is also inseparably involved in many other fields.
For example in setting the price for direct sales in the public and in pre-packaging products. The determination of mass is also necessary for a consistent implementation of laws and regulations, or for expert opinions in legal proceedings. Mass is often measured in the medical practice, not only when weighing patients, but also in the diagnostics and treatment of illnesses. Mass is also measured in pharmacies when preparing prescription drugs, as well as in … Vesna Vilčnik 

 As the mould closes around the parison and is inflated and pressed to the cavity wall by air blown into it, air is trapped between the parison and the two mould halves. This trapped air must be removed.
In order to expedite this venting process, conventional moulds are often equipped with vents for expelling any trapped air with the help of vacuum. In this way, air can only be removed locally and the introduction of a vacuum leaves marks on the finished part.
Specialist fhw-moulds has developed a new solution for this problem: the extrusion mould for a 20 litre jerry can is now vented in all four corners of the mould and vacuum can be used to increase the ventilation effect. The vent is cut across the entire height of the mould corner so as to eliminate the occurrence of marks on the finished part. 

 By 2030, the energy demand will increase by more than a half, demanding a considerably greater use of renewable energy sources. The unpredictability of such sources will require smart grids to balance the energy production from all sources on the one hand and the new energy storage media, such as electric cars, on the other.
Electrical grids are facing ever greater challenges, as not only ever more wind and solar power plants, but also an increasing number of small decentralised power producers are integrated. Today's infrastructure cannot cope with that, so smart grids will have to be developed in order to balance the production and distribution of electrical energy. The situation can be compared with a dense network of motorways, full of cars driving in both directions.   

 The strong demand for new jet engines and power plants has led to a substantial productivity improvement requirement with equipment manufacturers in order to keep up with the booming market. One of the most difficult and slowest operations done on these components is broaching the blade root slots on the turbine discs. Whereas others only found themselves troubled by this process, Seco recognised an opportunity to become the market leader.
The turbine blade root slots are usually shaped in the form of a fir tree or a reverse wedge in order to ensure a reliable fastening of blades. Linear or pull broaching is the most efficient machining process for this application. In this process, the pulling tool containing a row of teeth removes the metal from the disc. The teeth are of different sizes and shapes, removing the material so that it gradually assumes the desired final shape. 

 With this year’s theme “For a sustainable future”, EuroBLECH puts a special focus on energy efficient technology, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and intelligent use of material.
The fair in Hannover is taking place between 23 and 27 October 2012, and 1340 exhibitors from 37 countries have already booked their exhibition stands. »This reflects a further recovery of the sheet metal working industry; and it also shows that the industry sector is inspired by overall trends such as sustainability, awareness of resources, energy efficiency and mobility. Major developments in sheet metal working focus upon lightweight construction, intelligent use of material, processing of hybrid structures as well as new applications of established production processes,” says Nicola Hamann, Exhibition Director EuroBLECH, on behalf of the organisers, Mack Brooks Exhibitions.