New milling machine gives more flexibility

International technology partner reads Culobel's calling card. The Hofstade-based company (near Aalst) offers total solutions in metal presswork, pressure vessels and assembly. To ensure that it can keep its tools in top condition throughout their useful life, the company recently invested in a milling machine from Lagun that can also machine larger mold parts. The installation was millimeter work, prepared to perfection and carried out by Bendertechniek Belgium.

From button manufacturer to specialist in metal pressing. That's the transition Culobel has gone through since its inception in 1929. CCO Bart Verbrugge: "From buttons it went to lamp sleeves and we evolved more and more towards supplying metal pressing, deep drawing and the production of pressure vessels. We actually always followed our customers and their requests. For these reasons, we opened a second production plant in the Czech Republic and have a department in China from where we can closely monitor the construction of the dies." 

Today, Culobel distinguishes itself with far-reaching automation, allowing it to produce in the most efficient way with presses of up to 1,000 tons. "One of the strengths are the tracking tools with a length of up to 3,000 mm, a belt feed of up to 1,300 mm and which allow us to unwind up to 10 mm thickness. But thinking along with our customers and being there as a partner is our strongest asset.

Taking matters into your own hands

With more than 750 molds under management for customers all over the world, Culobel has clearly put Belgium on the map in metal press work. In order to keep those tools in perfect condition throughout their entire lifetime, Culobel has its own tool shop. 

Technical director Wim De Coninck: "The milling machine we had was on its last legs. After more than twenty years of service, it was high time to become state-of-the-art in milling again. Now too much was going to suppliers, so we were losing flexibility." At the top of the wish list were the new desired dimensions. "Speed and precision played less of a role in our choice. We wanted a table that allowed us to machine the bulk of our tools ourselves."

Smooth cooperation

Culobel, after a thorough comparison on the market, finally chose the BM3 bed milling machine from the Spanish company Lagun, supplied by Bendertechniek Belgium. "Because, with dimensions of 3,000 mm x 1,300 mm x 1,500 mm, it met our specifications and was available quickly," De Coninck summarizes the main motivations. 

The machine was delivered at the end of February. Getting it into its place in the tool shop, however, was no easy task. "In terms of height, there were only a few centimeters of clearance. The machine was therefore first assembled elsewhere and then brought on site. A precision job that Bendertechniek took care of completely, from preparation to delivery. Actually, we had particularly little contact with them, but that's basically how it should be, because everything went extremely smoothly." 

Gains in speed, efficiency and accuracy

The arrival of Lagun's BM3 has thoroughly shaken up the operation in the tool shop. "Our previous machine had no automatic tool change, now there are 25 tools in the machine, allowing it to complete its program unmanned. Where one operator used to finish one piece completely, now it can do it differently. That way we finish up to eight times faster than before. A second strong point is that we can clamp multiple pieces on the table at the same time, making another big gain in efficiency. And also in height, we have given ourselves more possibilities, for example, to rework less accurate welded structures and bring them up to the desired precision." 

De Coninck suspects that the BM3 also has the potential to bring some of the tool production that is now largely done in China to Hofstade. "But that needs further investigation," he said.