References

BONOMI EUGENIO S.p.A. – Bonomi Group

Plant Manager:

Our production includes a significant number of different items and lots ranging from a few to tens of thousands of parts.

For production we mainly used machining centers for mid-low lots and transfer machines for large lots.

These choices were not sufficient to adequately cover our wide range of needs and, especially in mid-range series, the results were not satisfactory.

Thanks to the PORTACENTER, we have improved our production, increasing productivity, reducing set-up times and guaranteeing the flexibility we need.

After a first initial experience, we quickly installed a second PORTACENTER .

Mr. Fabio Nicoli
Plant Manager
BONOMI EUGENIO S.p.A. – Bonomi Group 
Via A. Mercanti 17 - 25018 Montichiari (BS) 
Italy
www.gruppo-bonomi.com

KOMET AUSTRIA GmbH

Owner:

We bought the first PORTACENTER in 2006 and the second one in 2013.

We had a horizontal machining center and we were unable to deal with the work load due to high volumes but relatively small lots, so, in order to solve this problem, we should have purchased two additional machining centers, which also meant hiring more personnel to operate the machines.

Then we discovered the PORTACENTER!

We were able to move all the milling operations to one machine, since the processing time per piece had been reduced.

With no doubt, the main advantage of the PORTACENTER was that, with the same number of operators, we managed to deal with the work load without hiring other technicians.

Once a piece is tooled the first time, the following set ups are quick and easy to be processed.

Mr. Arno Drechsel
Owner
KOMET AUSTRIA GmbH
Julius Durst Str. 10 - 9900 Lienz
Austria
www.kometirrigation.com

VALVOMEC S.r.l.

Toolmaker / Machine Operator:

I bought the first PORTACENTER in 2006 and the second one in 2016.

The problems we had before were long set up and cycle times.

Let’s say that once “we had found a balance”, we tried to machine as much parts as possible, increasing inventories (a high cost for the company).

As the PORTACENTER has an extensive tool magazine (24 per unit and 72 in total), I can leave several tools mounted on for different jobs. This means reducing the tooling time to that required for replacing moulds. The PORTACENTER has a very compact design, is far more accurate and faster both in cycle time and tool management. So, you can also make small production batches and then change items quickly, reducing the tooling time.

Now we got more precision, reduction of set up and cycle times, flexibility in product change. This allows us to keep up with our customers’ requests.
 
Giuseppe Suranna
Toolmaker / Machine Operator
VALVOMEC S.r.l.
Via Tagliaferro 1/1 - 13019 Varallo Sesia (VC)
Italy
www.valvomec.it

KÜHR GmbH

Owner and CEO:

We bought the PORTACENTER in 2013.
Since then, we have cut down on scrap, we reduced our production costs thanks to the speed of re-tooling and we are able to deliver much faster.

Moreover, with the PORTACENTER, we achieved positive results, improving the quality of our finished pieces and increasing productivity.

Today, we can offer our customers faster deliveries with more competitive prices!
 
Dr. Alexander Ostertag
Owner and CEO
KÜHR GmbH
IZ-N.Ö. Süd, Straße 3, Obj. 35
A-2351 Wiener Neudorf
Austria
www.kuehr.com

BÖME S.r.l.

Owner:

I bought the first PORTACENTER in 2014 and I have recently bought the second one.

With the PORTACENTER, I did the right choice because I found the right compromise between Productivity and Flexibility.

We have different parts that are machined on your machine with batches that sometimes are small (500/1.000 parts) and sometimes are larger (15.000/20.000). Before, these parts were produced by single machining centers or by a twin-spindle lathe.
We found out that PORTACENTER set up times are similar to those of the previous machines but now the productivity is five times better on average than before (from annual statement).

We used to have a twin-spindle machine and two machining centres specific for the production of those parts and we often had them outsourced. Now the PORTACENTER is enough and we still have a fairly good safety margin.

We are grateful to you for your design equipment.

Your project allowed us to realize the clamping part in an extremely functioning and performing way.
 
Eng. Carlo Medina 
Owner 
BÖME S.r.l.
Via dello Strego 1 - 28010 Cavallirio (NO)
Italy
www.boeme.com

SYMMONS INDUSTRIES INC.

Director of Manufacturing Engineering:

With our transfer machine, we had significant downtime and we had longer changeover times, around 1.5-2 hours. Moreover, the production team was unable to machine a feature on our new shower valve with the transfer machine, which is hard tooled and not flexible. Lastly, we were having capacity issues running our current diverter valve, requiring multiple machine operations.

Thanks to the PORTACENTER we can make everything in one process, whereas the other two machines manufactured in two different operations.
With the added tools of 24 per carousel on each spindle (72 total), we are able to machine in an extra feature, which required 4 additional tools in total. The diverter valve can run on both PORTACENTERs, which will free up capacity in three other machines in our CNC shop.

The positive results are the significant changeover improvement at 15 minutes (in some cases, changeover is zero minutes within the same valve family), easier operation and setup of the machine, without needing a very skilled machinist, and last but not least, the smaller footprint.
 
Steven Kinney
Director of Manufacturing Engineering
SYMMONS INDUSTRIES INC.
31 Brooks Drive - Braintree, MA 02184-3804
United States
www.symmons.com/

KRAMER ITALIA S.r.l.

Production Manager:

I bought the first PORTACENTER in 2016, the second one in 2017, the third one in 2018 and recently the fourth machine.

I had cycle time problems due to downtime in tool changes and loading parts. In order to have all machining processed on the part I had to tool different machines.

On the PORTACENTER, I load the part on the free pallet, while the units are machining.

The positive results are a considerable reduction of production times, precision and reduction of set up times.
 
Eng. Marco Stradiotti
Production Manager
KRAMER ITALIA S.r.l.
Via Matteotti 1 - 13864 Crevacuore (BI)
Italy
www.kramer-italia.it

CAVAGNA GROUP S.p.A. – OMECA Branch

Production Manager:

I bought the first PORTACENTER in 2009 and I have recently installed the sixth PORTACENTER.
Before I had to machine the part in different clampings with the following problems:

• Dents
• Critical thickness accuracies
• Burr problems

Thanks to the PORTACENTER we had the chance to optimize the cycle in order to solve quality and cycle time problems.

In addition, now we can tool from one part to another in 15 minutes thanks to the great availability of ever-present tools in stock. In fact the changeover consists only of clamp change.

Giuliano Pintossi
Production Manger
CAVAGNA GROUP S.p.A. – OMECA Branch
Via Statale 11/13 - 25010 Calcinato, Ponte San Marco (BS)
Italy
www.cavagnagroup.com

F.LLI TOGNELLA S.p.A.

Owner – Technical Director:

I bought the PORTACENTER in 2014.
Before, it was impossible for us to machine the six “sides” of a piece, also with a few sloped holes, at the same time.

Now, I can machine the six “sides” and use standard tools.

Thanks to the PORTACENTER, I solved problems with the machining of some kind of pieces, with execution times that finally allow me to speak about “Productivity”.


Ferruccio Tognella
Owner – Technical Director
F.LLI TOGNELLA S.p.A.
Via Goito 60 - 21019 Somma Lombardo (VA)
Italy
www.tognella.it

MI.GA.L S.r.l.

Production Manager:

We bought the first PORTACENTER in 2011 and we have recently ordered the seventh PORTACENTER.

The parts we deal with are usually machined on horizontal machining centers.

On a machining center, in order to compensate for tool changes and have a reasonable cycle time, we put more parts on each fixture. This created repeatability problems as they are forged or cast parts.

The PORTACENTER is competitive in terms of cycle time with one piece per cube, thus simplifying tooling and lowering costs.
The same thing applies to tooling the machine before starting production: having to check 16 or 24 pieces per cube resulted in long start times. Today, we load a maximum of 4 pieces on the PORTACENTER, thus significantly speeding up the tooling step.
Another advantage is the possibility of load and unload with robot, a chance you can’t have with a machining center unless you invest more than 20/25 times the amount for the fixture cost. As a consequence, there is an important reduction of personnel.

The flexibility in managing the ramp up and down of a part means that before a part is regularly machined on a transfer, there are smaller batches and pre-series to do that on a transfer cannot be handled with low costs as with the PORTACENTER.
 
Fabio Ghidini
Production Manager
MI.GA.L S.r.l.
Via Angelo Gitti 18 - 25060 Marcheno (BS)
Italy
www.migal.it

OMB SALERI S.p.A

Production & Lean Manager:

We bought the PORTACENTER in 2015.
This machine allows us to manage and operate small batches using a department reasoning and not a single machine logic… so, I do not have to stop big orders in order to process smaller requests anymore, because now I can rely on the PORTACENTER.

 
Alessandro Ronchi
Production & Lean Manager
OMB SALERI S.p.A.
Via Rose di Sotto 38/C - 25126 Brescia
Italy
www.omb-saleri.it

GIACOMINI S.p.A.

Production Manager:

We had complex machining operations which required several processing steps on our transfer machines, including long and complicated setups.

Furthermore, at a qualitative level, it was not always possible to obtain the best result, especially considering the risk of performing manual deburring operations.

Thanks to the flexibility of the PORTACENTER, it is possible to combine processing operations and this allows us to work on even very complex pieces in a single clamping, with simpler and faster setups, even eliminating any subsequent deburring problem.

Again, thanks to the PORTACENTER, we have considerably reduced the lead-time of items that were previously processed on transfer machines in several operations, even though sometimes its cycle time may be higher.
However, this problem can be solved by having the parts immediately available and thanks to the fastest setup times.

Furthermore, the quality of pieces produced with the PORTACENTER is significantly improved, eliminating deburring issues and quality control issues.
 
Vincenzo Crocco
Production Manager
GIACOMINI S.p.A.
Via Per Alzo 39 – 28017 San Maurizio d’Opaglio (NO)
Italy
it.giacomini.com