As every country is striding into intelligent manufacturing and Industry 4.0, Taiwan enterprises try to tap into overseas market by rapidly integrating domestic and foreign resources to develop intelligent machines.

As the curtains went up on the fourth edition of Taiwan Machine Tool Show (TMTS) on November 23, 2016 at the Greater Taichung International Expo Centre, the organiser, Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders’ Association (TMBA), had reasons to be pleased. With 700 exhibitors in 4000 booths spread across 4 halls, this was the Taiwan’s biggest machine tool event of 2016. With over 100 overseas exhibitors in 300 booths including group participation in international pavilions from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, USA, Japan and China, TMTS 2016 reportedly witnessed the largest international participation in any machine tools show in Taiwan.

The event was inaugurated in the presence of Mr Lin Chuan, Premier of the Executive Yuan (in effect, the Prime Minister of Taiwan, as Executive Yuan is the executive branch of the central government); Dr Wu Ming-Ji, Director General of the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs; Mr Ling Chia-Lung, Taichung City Mayor; officials of German, American and Japanese machine tools associations and office bearers of TMBA. In his opening remarks, Jui-Hsiung Yen, Chairman, TMBA, highlighted the theme of the 2016 edition, ‘Activating Intelligent Manufacturing – Heading Towards Industry 4.0’, as the ambition of the machine tool manufacturers of Taiwan to transform machine development and use it into the era of smart manufacturing, which is one of the main concepts of Industry 4.0, the other three being robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and clean technology. While applauding the ongoing progress, the TMBA chairman stressed upon the importance of cooperation between the industry, academics and research institutes in order to continue to build Taichung into a global centre for smart machinery.

Taichung City Mayor Ling Chia-Lung spoke about how the local government of Taichung, with the help of the Executive Yuan, is working to transform Taichung – the heart of Taiwan’s machine tool industry – into a future centre for ‘Smart Machinery Manufacturing’ in Asia. Taichung is not only a major base in global machine tool manufacturing, but also a major consuming market in machine tools and other mechanical equipment. Referring to the projected USD 250 million worth of transactions at TMTS 2016, the Mayor talked about the synergy of the manufacturing industry, research institutes and academia – a recurring theme in the Taiwan success story – and how it will help educate a new generation of workforce entering the industry, something that is essential for the growth of Taichung and Taiwan. In his keynote address, Premier of the Executive Yuan, Lin Chuan pointed at the three key cutting edge technologies on display at the show: five-axis machine tools, servomotor machinery and controller technology. The Premier stressed on the importance of Taiwan developing its own controllers – a major cost component of a machine tool – instead of importing them. Reiterating the government’s commitment to contributing resources for R&D towards manufacturing controllers, he also suggested that the machine tool sector of Taiwan should begin to expand its service base as well as keep adding value to its products to maintain a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Later, addressing the international media from more than a dozen countries specially invited for the event, Jui-Hsiung Yen, Chairman, TMBA, presented an overview of the machine tool industry of Taiwan and its preparation for adapting to the concepts of Industry 4.0, and said, “The machine tool industry needs to focus on ‘single-machine-intelligence’ as a primary launching pad for Industry 4.0, with an eye on the specific needs of the customers.” He pointed out that manufacturers must understand the market dynamics where one customer is looking for a high speed and high productivity machine where accuracy is not of paramount importance, but another may require a high accuracy machine for aerospace or medical equipment manufacturing, where high production is not a key requirement. Industry 4.0 and its concepts of catering to specific needs in a flexible manufacturing set-up will help machine tool manufactures to factor in such specific customer requirements and deliver accordingly. While standard machines will continue to sell, special, customised requirements are going to increase gradually.

Incidentally, on the sidelines of TMTS 2016, Siemens Taiwan and HIWIN Technologies announced a MoU on Industry 4.0 – integrating robotic arms and manufacturing solutions to achieve a smart manufacturing line, enhance value chain’s competitiveness and support Taichung as the Smart Machinery Capital. Technical integrations of Siemens controllers and HIWIN motion control products will support local manufacturers in industrial upgrade. Taiwan’s new government has announced Taichung City as the Smart Machinery Capital as one of its key innovative plans. The agreement will provide concrete assistance to maximize the strengths of local precision machinery manufacturers and end-use components makers, thereby bolstering competitiveness for all involved.

TMTS 2016 followed the ‘exhibition integrated with manufacturing supply chain’ style that is now much appreciated by both exhibitors and buyers all over the world, where visitors are not looking merely for products, but solutions. And not mere solutions but solutions for flexible manufacturing as conceived by the promise of Industry 4.0 to cater to the minimum order of one! Accordingly there was a clear demarcation of 5 different fields, viz., machine tools; components/parts/accessories; tools/measuring/test instruments; overseas exhibitors; and the international associations/media.

According to the organisers the total number of visitors over 5 days of the show was 84,374 (local: 81,478 and overseas: 2,896). The overseas visitors came from 64 countries. China with 605 visitors topped the list followed by Japan (379) and Malaysia (331). India stood 4th with 207. A delegation from Ludhiana with 30 members was the largest Indian group at TMTS 2016. But most Indian visitors had firm plans of buying a machine, and many were existing users of machines made in Taiwan.

Chevalier – Falcon Group

Striving for perfection is one of the ideals of the Falcon Group, of which Chevalier, specialising in grinding, turning and milling, is a the flagship, the other brand being Focus, known for CNC lathes and CNC turning milling machines. From manual surface grinders to a 5-axis vertical machining centre, the Chevalier product range straddles grinders – manual, semi-automatic, automatic and linear motor drive – and turning and milling machines. Between the two companies, there were several machines on display. From the Chevalier range there was a Smart-B818 III surface and profile CNC grinder, FVL-1250 vertical turning lathe and the QP5X-400 5-axis vertical machining centre. “The Smart series is known for multifunction grinders that maximise high precision grinding with ease of operation,” said Michael Chang, VP-Marketing. “These machines are capable of mirror finish on highly accurate workpieces with microfinishes of 5 RMS or better, and are used in various industries including medical, semiconductors, automotive, aerospace, mining and even job shops, with dramatic increase in reliability and productivity,” he added. With table sizes up to 600 mm width and length 2000 mm and 2- and 3- a ballscrew and servo motor drive (Smart-H and Smart-B respectively), these machines feature PC-based conversational smart control that makes it easy to learn and operate. The Chevalier range also includes an intelligent gantry type automatic aluminium wheel production line, which the company did not have on display this time, but was a major attraction during the 2014 edition.

With factories in Taiwan and China and a plant in USA, the Falcon group has a global presence across all the continents of the world and is a regular participant at major machine tool exhibitions across the world. The company is also exhibiting at IMTEX 2017 at Bangalore and has a good customer base in India.

Sigma CNC

In a country with 60 plus years of machine tool manufacturing history, Sigma CNC Technology Machinery Co Ltd, established in 2000, is a relatively young company, promoted by Humor Chuang, who is the President, together with his key partners who share a common vision for production and marketing. The main products are CNC double column machining centre, CNC moving column horizontal machining centre and CNC high precision grinding machine. At TMTS 2016, the company had on display a CNC double column machining centre, Model SDV-4224HLA, with auto swing divided angle head, a Sigma innovation; and a CNC 5-axis double column machining centre, fixed column type Model S5A-2015H. There is also a gantry type in this machine series. “Stability, not speed, is the speciality of our machines,” emphasised Hermann Hsieh, Regional Sales Manager. “Low noise and 5-axis with 4 different heads is another speciality,” he added.

The company has several patents, including one for Z-axis movement supported by 4-roller type linear guideways, and another recent one for Y-axis movement constructed by 3-roller type linear guideways. The SDV-4224HLA also boasts a two step planetary gearbox driven by the spindle motor to drive the direct drive spindle with 10000 RPM. In the 5-axis model S5A-2015H, the 2-axis milling head is Tramec AC-5TK, made in Germany and spindle speed is max 18000 PM. Another innovation is the Super Cupid remote monitoring software developed in-house, mainly to provide users with a convenient operation and simplified interface to view the information from the machine. No wonder the company tagline is ‘we put innovation into practice!’

Campro

Another young company, Campro Precision Machinery Co Ltd, established in 2003, has already totalled over 10,000 units in sales of its various high end CNC machines, with a mix of vertical and horizontal machining centres, double column machines, precision lathes and turning and milling machines. Among the machines on display at TMTS 2016 were NT 208 CNC lathe with a rear chip conveyor and ready for automation; CPV 1050B vertical machining centre with box ways on 3 axes that greatly upgrade stability and dampening capability; U255C 4+1 axis machining centre with C-type structure base design and ease of operation; and a U500C 5-axis machining centre – a versatile machine for smaller components with small footprint. “Our machines have a focused market with a pyramid structure with application in the aerospace and medical industry at the top; mining, marine, automobiles – 2- & 4-wheelers, appliances and dies and mould industry at the middle and general purpose at the base,” said Peter Chiou, Vice General Manager. “By means of technological innovation, process improvement and customer empathy, we seek to perfectly meet the needs of our customers, boost user confidence and become the most trustworthy partner of our clients,” he added.

The company has evolved its own Campro Product Management Systems (CPMS) with a three pronged strategy of: Campro RS232 to WiFi transmission for data uploading and parameter setting; Internet of Machines where all displays, records and analysis results are indicated on NC/mobile devices for intelligent monitoring and provision for spindle detection; and programme for measurement to input data from micrometers t the e-Management system, integrated into product management.

With a factory in Taiwan and two in China, the company has average production of 50 units/month that can be scaled up to 80, and has ambitious growth plans where India to figures on the priority list.

Deta-Detron

Founded by technocrat Alan Huang in 1994, Deta International has benefitted from the promoter’s passion for research – he worked for some time with Taiwan’s well known Industrial Technology Research Institute. Dedicated to R&D of all kinds of tool magazines – it has worked with, and is OEM supplier to some of the leading global machine tool manufacturers including BFW in India – the company is world No. 7 in automatic tool changers and has 50% share in the Taiwan market. It has a wide range of tool magazines with up to 300 tools for vertical and horizontal machining centres.

Detron, one of its affiliates, specialises in CNC rotary tables. With automation combined with multi-spindle processing and multi-surface moulding now a given, the rotary table is now one of the critical machine tool components and Detron has a wide range with built-in torque motor for direct drive. The outstanding quality of detron CNC rotary tables is competitive with imported products and this is the major reason why detron CNC rotary tables have been recognized by many famous machine tool manufacturers. “Some of the models of our rotary tables can be enlarged, making them highly suitable for 5-axis machining,” said Darren Li of the Sales Division. The new DDM rotary table with built-in motor of the 4-5 axis model DV/DF series on display at TMTS 2016 boasts of no resistance and features precise transmission orientation for high acceleration/deceleration to improve production speed and capacity.

Another Deta affiliate, Quantar specialises in the harmonic gear reducer, which is the most critical part of the robotic arm, is now competing with only two suppliers of this technology globally.

Victor Taichung

Founded in 1954, Victor Taichung Machinery Works began with manufacture of conventional lathes and today specialises in a wide variety of CNC lathes – vertical and horizontal – and machining centres. Besides, it also manufactures Plastic Injection Moulding machines (PIM). At TMTS 2016, the company had a large booth measuring over 750 sq.m and had an impressive display of six machine cells for unmanned automation, including one for PIM. “We are now concentrating on Industry 4.0 concepts and these cells are a demonstration of that – combining robots with automation, with one robot serving two machines – machining centres or lathes or a combination of a lathe and a machining centre,” said Wayne Hseuh, Director, Overseas Marketing Division. The company has a global sales network spanning Asia, Europe and North America.

In one cell, two lathes shared a gantry robot, freeing floor space, and also sharing the work feeder (1 pallet) and a measuring station. However, for short cycle times, it is necessary to use two robots. In another case a robot is built inside the lathe for compact floor space. A vibrator is used as a work feeder without spending time to load parts on the feeding station – ideal for small parts. In yet another example, three machines – two lathes and a machining centre – were served by a single robot. An 8-axis robot mounted on the gantry without cluttering the floor for high flexibility in manual operation. The cell height in this case is lower than the gantry robot which is mounted above the machines. Also another demonstrated not only a travelling robot serving two machines but also parts mounted on slave pallets with RFID for identification of parts for different operations and a Renishaw compact CMM part of the cell for part measuring.

YCM

Machining centres and turning centres are the speciality of Yeong Chin Machinery Industries Co Ltd (YCM) Ltd, a company founded in 1954. With nearly 30% of it’s over 600 staff engaged in R&D, the largest among Taiwan’s machine tool builders, all new developments in the company are guided by customer feedback and the work done on these suggestions by the R&D department, while working on new concepts. At TMTS 2016, the company had on display a high performance, 5-axis vertical machining centre – the NFX380 – designed especially for complex high-quality parts mainly for aerospace, automotive, medical, job shop and die & mould applications. From roughing to finishing, the NFX series enables manufacturers to reduce setup time and overall lead-time while increasing machining quality and improving precision of complex machining processes. Another interesting model on display was the NXV 1020 A vertical machining centre with a choice of Fanuc or Siemens controller. This 3-axis machine features direct drive design that provides backlash free, best accuracy, reliability and stability.

Keeping with the trends for Industry 4.0, the company is now ready for offering customers the same IoT experience in selecting and ordering a machine online. “Just choose the model and specifications, set the delivery time, and the machine will be built according to the chosen specs and schedule,” said Wing Liu, Section Supervisor, International Sales Department. Like most leaders of Taiwan machine tool industry, YCM too has a 50 locations strong global sales and service network spanning all the continents. The company is represented in India by Coimbatore based S&T Engineers.

Tongtai

Established in 1969, Tongtai – a member of the M-Team Alliance – is one of a group of six specialised companies, with complementary products and a global market. Apart from Tongtai (horizontal machining centres) the group companies include Honor Seiki (CNC vertical turning centres), APEC (5-axis high speed gantry machining centres), Quicktech (CNC turning & milling complex lathe), PCI-SCEMM (France, palletised MHCs) and Anger (Austria, transfer centres).

With 8 machines on display – a milling & tapping centre, VMC, HMC, multitasking turning centre, vertical and horizontal CNC lathes and a twin CNC multitasking turning centre – and 7 live demonstrations at TMTS 2016, the company’s stall was buzzing with activity. Not just automation, but intelligent automation is the mantra at Tongtai, a group that takes pride in turnkey solutions offering. It is the first machine tool company in Taiwan to offer a 3D metal additive manufacturing or 3D printing machine, as also an integrated hybrid solution combining additive and subtractive manufacturing. Two other concepts – ultrasonic machining for hard and brittle metal and nanoscale machining, were also on display, as was laser repair for damaged parts. With innovations the order, there were solutions galore in smart machining and acronyms like TIMS (Tongtai Intelligent Manufacturing System) and concepts like imachining with automatic calculation of federate, spindle speed and cutting depth to arrive at the best cutting path. Industry 4.0? Tongtai is already keyed into the concept.

Andrew Kung, Director, APEC, dwelt n the company’s aerospace machining solutions where each machine is a customised SPM and not a standard model. Two interesting case studies were highlighted – one of A3XO wing part and another of machining a turbine casing, demonstrating the APEC advantage vis-à-vis the competition.

Habor

All the high-speed, sophisticated machine tools with high cutting/milling speeds generate a lot of heat and the machines need cooling. So Habor, established in 1981, does just that – designs and manufactures industrial cooling machines and temperature controls. Its cooling equipment is mainly focused on solving problems on sustained machining accuracy amid all the heat generated during high speed machining in all types of mechanical equipment. “Our equipment not only improves the machine performance and extend its life, but also helps sustained machining accuracy and prevents damage from thermo deformation and overheated control elements,” said Fran Wu, Manager, International Sales Department. With 80% of its customers in Taiwan, the company exports 10% of its production to Japan and the remaining 10% to other countries – mainly Swiss and German companies. It has supplied the equipment to BFW in India for a spindle cooling in a high end machine for aerospace, and is now looking at other opportunities.

Applications are for temperature controls for all type of mechanical equipment and temperature controls for control boxes.

Jiuh-Yeh, L&L and Jainnher

These are three independent companies with complementary products and in order to be more flexible in catering to the market demands and provide customised services for grinding, milling and lathe machines, recently got together as forming the ‘Intaima machinery alliance’. While Jiuh-Yeh, with its Millstar brand, is a professional manufacturer specialising in milling machines, L&L is a professional manufacturer of high-precision CNC lathes. Jainnher excels in centreless grinding technology.

The Jiuh-Yeh range comprises of bed type vertical and horizontal milling machines, bed type turret vertical milling machines, bed type horizontal boring milling machines, bed type vertical and horizontal CNC milling machines, various knee type milling machine, machining centre, vertical machining centre, and horizontal machining centre. The company has a widespread market globally, with 40% of its production going to the Americas and 30% to Europe, with the other 30% remaining in Asia. It has an agent in India and is looking for exploring the market further.

L&L Machinery Industry Co Ltd has created a superior range of CNC lathes in LC, LD, LS, LL, LFS and LFM series, besides manual lathes in A series. “Nearly half of our production of CNC lathes is used for manufacturing energy-exploration (oil drilling, etc) equipment and the rest is used for making machines used in mining, shaft, mould, power-utility and roller industries,” explained George Lin, General Manager, L&L Machinery Industry Pvt Ltd.

Jainnher Machine Co Ltd’s main products include centreless, cylindrical and internal grinding machines as well as various NC and CNC automatic loading and unloading systems. In the machinery industry, precision requirements are the highest for grinding machines.