According to the organizers, the Control international trade fair for quality assurance –set to take place at the Stuttgart Exhibition Center from the 3rd through the 6th of May 2022 – provides suppliers and users with a globally recognized trade event that is focused strictly on relevant issues. System-supplier Klingelnberg will once again be present at the event, now in its 34th iteration, in Hall 6, booth 6307. At this year’s Control, Klingelnberg will be unveiling innovative solutions for mid-sized gears. The company will also be presenting optical measuring technology on its P 40 precision measuring center, while the P 26 precision measuring center will be used to demonstrate the award-winning Done-in-One principle for different measurement processes in a single operation.
Klingelnberg measuring technology has been recognized on numerous occasions. In 2018, iF Design Forum Design GmbH awarded the company its iF Design Award in the Product category. This was followed in 2018 and 2020 by the Best of Industry Award, given out by the trade magazine MM Maschinenmarkt, first for Klingelnberg’s cyberphysical production system, and then for the Done-in-One solution. In 2021, the Done-in-One solution also won over the German Design Council, which recognized Klingelnberg with the German Innovation Award. In 2016, Klingelnberg received the ROI Award for the cyberphysical production system in the "Production and Design" category, presented by the trade journal Produktion and the management consultancy ROI Management Consulting AG.
P 26 – Done-in-One for different measurement processes in a single operation
Klingelnberg precision measuring centers (P-series) systematically follow the approach of enabling as many measurement tasks as possible on one machine. They execute the entire process in a single automated sequence directly on the shop floor. Particularly when producing larger series of rotationally symmetrical drive elements with their many GD&T features, it is important to monitor the process in real time and as close as possible to the production environment. The P-series has proven itself particularly in these types of shop-floor applications. Klingelnberg precision measuring centers themselves are used as a reference around the world, not just by countless customers, but also by renowned metrology institutes.
Klingelnberg received the German Innovation Award in 2021 for the Done-in-One solution. The German Innovation Awards honor products and solutions across the industry that distinguish themselves from earlier solutions primarily by their user centricity and added value. The German Innovation Awards are granted by the German Design Council, which was enacted into law by the German Parliament in 1953 and is funded by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). The trade magazine MM Maschinenmarkt was early to recognize Klingelnberg for the Done-in-One solution, bestowing its Best of Industry Award to the company in 2020.
P 40 – More measurements daily with Hybrid Metrology
Klingelnberg Hybrid Metrology is a smart combination of tactile and optical measuring technology. An optical sensor system developed specifically for gear measurement, as well as the rapid changeover between the 3D NANOSCAN tactile sensing system and the HISPEED OPTOSCAN optical sensor, enable flexible, fast, and highly precise measured value acquisition under all conditions.
With the current version of this option, pitch, tooth thickness, and gear concentricity can be measured optically on cylindrical gears, making it possible to increase the number of measurements for shop-floor quality control per shift and machine by 20 % on average. The appeal of this option grows with the number of teeth on the gear to be inspected. Approximately two minutes of quality control time can be saved per gear when it comes to gears of interest to the automotive industry. For gears used in electromobility, which frequently have a large number of teeth, this measuring time savings is even greater. And optical pitch measurement, like tactile pitch measurement, is performed in accordance with VDI/VDE 2613 Group I.
The measurement and analysis are performed using Klingelnberg’s well-known cylindrical gear software. With the latest version of the software, hybrid use of tactile and optical precision measuring centers as part of a networked system is made easy. Because the optical measuring system used by Klingelnberg is highly accurate on nearly every metallic surface, approximately 90 % of cylindrical gears in a typical portfolio are suitable for optical measurement. All Klingelnberg precision measuring centers in the P 26 to P 100 series can be optionally equipped or retrofitted with an optical solution. Klingelnberg continues to develop its optical measuring technology, always striving to further decrease measuring times. In many cases, a software update is all that is required to participate in these advancements. The way to achieve this is with a maintenance contract that provides continuous access to the latest developments. Visitors can learn more about individual options and prices for this type of maintenance contract at Klingelnberg’s exhibition booth.
P 152 – Large-scale series for mid-size gears
The increasing cost pressure on large components for wind power requires new technologies that will enable proven principles for high-volume and mass production of smaller components to be transferred over to large components. To meet this need, Klingelnberg has developed a new precision measuring center. The P 152 is the latest addition to the family of Klingelnberg precision measuring centers. It is capable of measuring components with a maximum outside diameter of 1,520 mm and workpiece weights up to 8,000 kg with the usual precision. Despite this high workpiece weight, no special foundation is required because the Klingelnberg design engineers succeeded in extending the machine concept of the small and medium series to the large component dimensions. The inherently rigid machine bed with a 3-point support plays a key role here. The bed design and floor support have been so cleverly selected that even when loaded with workpiece weights of up to 8,000 kg, the angular position of the individual machine axes to each other does not change significantly. With its broad range of varied workpiece diameters and measurement tasks, this measuring device is also ideal for contract gear manufacturers. This ensures high precision across the entire component spectrum from smaller to larger gears, and also dimension and form measurements. The 3-point support enables the integration of an active vibration platform into the machine bed. This means that even the low-frequency vibrations from the shop floor can be safely absorbed.
Because the machine is isolated from these vibrations, the P 152 can be located on the normal shop floor without having to build an inherently vibration-isolated foundation. Despite this, it is ensured that all changes visible in the measuring results actually do come from the component and are not induced by the ambient conditions. The P 152 thus acts as a bridge for medium-sized gears such as planetary gears used in wind power and combines dimension, form, and position measurements with gear measurement, making the operating principles used in high-volume and mass production applicable to large gears as well. Form measurements, such as roundness and cylindricity measurements, are becoming increasingly important on machine elements. The P 152 offers all the possibilities of the Done-in-One principle in the mid-sized diameter range as well.
Hall 6, Booth 6307: Experience expertise and industry know-how
Last but not least, Klingelnberg will also be presenting its services and software solutions. This year will also see the return of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günther Gravel, Head of the Institute for Production Technology at the University of Applied Sciences (HAW) in Hamburg. Again in 2022, the expert in measured value analysis will spend two full exhibition days at the Klingelnberg booth, where he will be available to take part in stimulating discussions.