By integrating milling, turning and grinding on a DMC 80 FD duoBLOCK with round pallet storage, Tyrolit has achieved highly efficient production of innovative grinding tools.

At its plant in Schwaz, the company manufactures a wide variety of diamond-set grinding tools that are used in a wide range of industries, including the automotive industry. In order to guarantee the high quality of the tools, Tyrolit has relied on state-of-the-art machine tool technology from DMG MORI in its own production for many years. In Schwaz alone, five turning machines, turning/milling centres and machining centres are in use. One highlight is the DMC 80 FD duoBLOCK installed in 2020, which also integrates grinding. A round pallet storage system with seven places automates production.

Innovative strength at Tyrolit

“Research and development have a high priority for us, because this is the only way we can meet the increasing demands of our customers in the long term,” explains Florian Zitt, who is responsible for Process Engineering at Tyrolit. More than 100 employees in the company are responsible for further development, and they cooperate intensively with research institutes and universities. The figures speak for themselves here: 30 per cent of revenue is generated with products that have been on the market for less than three years.

Development partner in process integration

Innovative thinking is also reflected in the company’s own production. “Because in this way we can also manufacture the most modern products economically,” says Florian Zitt. In view of the limited spatial ratios, production solutions are required that integrate as many machining steps as possible in one workspace. “In DMG MORI we have found a partner with whom we are consistently developing these possibilities further.” He is referring to the integration of grinding in a DMC 80 FD duoBLOCK. The two companies cooperated in the development of this solution. It has already been successfully in use since 2020.

Milling, turning, grinding: Short processing times and precision machining down to the µm

“On the one hand, combining three machining processes in one workspace saves a lot of space because we were able to replace three machines with the machining centre,” says Florian Zitt, describing the spatial ratios. On the other hand, processing times have been drastically reduced because reclamping processes and idle times are a thing of the past. “The fact that we no longer have to reclamp manually also has a considerable effect on accuracy,” Florian Zitt refers to the µm-precise production of the grinding wheels, which are of course machined with the diamond-set grinding tools from the company’s own portfolio. “The enormous durability of these products contributes significantly to an economical and also sustainable production.“

Motivation due to more responsibility

Florian Zitt sees another advantage in the advanced technology integration: “In the past, milling, turning and grinding were very different disciplines. Today, these professions are growing together into an even more responsible job.” This contributes decisively to motivation. “Today I would also no longer speak of machine operators, but of machine managers, because we are dealing with absolute high-tech here.” Young people in particular are attracted to working with modern technologies, which benefits Tyrolit in terms of training. “Of course, our goal is also to keep the apprentices in the long term,” says Florian Zitt.

Automated production in understaffed shifts

Die Integration des Schleifens auf der DMC 80 FD duoBLOCK war für Tyrolit eine von zwei Neuerungen. Die andere ist die automatisierte Fertigung. Das Bearbeitungszentrum ist mit einem Rundpalettenspeicher für sieben Paletten ausgerüstet, so dass über weite Strecken eine autonome Fertigung der Einzelteile möglich ist. Mit Hilfe elektrischer Spannvorrichtungen soll der Automationsgrad in Zukunft noch weiter gesteigert werden. Für Florian Zitt ist klar, dass flexible Automationslösungen auch in Zukunft ein Anschaffungskriterium sein werden: „Mit ihnen können wir unsere Kapazitäten in der Fertigung kleiner Losgrößen auch in mannlosen Schichten steigern.“ Am Standort Schwaz liegen die Losgrößen bei durchschnittlich drei Stück.

Digitalisation in tool management

In addition to technology integration and automation solutions, Tyrolit will also continue to drive forward digitalisation. For example, digital tool management has already been implemented. “Each tool is read in before measurement and automatically queried when the standing time of the tools on the machines decreases,” Florian Zitt describes the process. The tool life is checked automatically on the machine. “This enables us to achieve process stability in production because we can always replace the tools in time.

Customer-oriented product development

With its innovative production solutions, Tyrolit is able to produce equally innovative tools. These are becoming more and more complex with the requirements of the customers because, for example, the coolant supply must be implemented in the best possible way. “The Centuria SM-G grinding wheels, for example, have a patented coolant supply, with numerous bores, directly to the diamond layer,” says Florian Zitt, describing the design. Lightweight versions are also an increasingly important topic: “The cores of our Polaris Plus LW tools have cavities. We also have carbon fibre tools in our assortment.” Tyrolit wants to continue its ongoing growth with such developments. “In the medium term, the sales target for the entire group is one billion euros,” says Florian Zitt, looking ahead. “This also means that we will continue to invest in future-oriented production solutions such as those from DMG MORI.”