Manufacturer of rotary transfer machining systems has set up a department to source used Mikron rotary transfer machines for upgrading and re-sale.

A re-engineering technology department, Mikron Respeed Systems, has been set up by Mikron Machining Technology in Agno, Switzerland that is able to source a used Mikron rotary transfer machine from the 7,000 or so installations worldwide and supply a range of services and upgrades in technology according to customer requirements and budget available. As a result, an 'as new' Mikron rotary transfer machine can be purchased with application and project engineering support as a turnkey solution for a price around 50% of a new machine cost with a one year warranty and full support from the original manufacturer. Said Carmine Ruotolo, manager of Mikron Respeed Systems: 'We can offer an important advantage against second-hand dealers because of our historic files of previous machine installations around the world.

Also, our in-house team has the expertise and detailed knowledge of machine tool building and application engineering relative to special purpose technology.' The new department is complementary to the new machine business of Mikron Machining Technology and offers a range of options.

These include: to source and supply a machine from an existing Mikron user as it stands and provide whatever installation or modification, such as electric or safety upgrade the customer requires.

Machines can be re-tooled if required, or key elements partially or completely replaced, or a machine can be completely re-engineered, retooled and passed-off under customer acceptance procedures with a 12 month warranty exactly as a new machine.

Explained Ruotolo: 'We have often been requested to provide different levels of machine capability and technology at a reasonable investment, when customers need additional capacity, are setting up an operation in another facility or country or require backup for a key production process.

For customers that have extensive experience of our machines we can provide just the basic machine and equipment they need to enable them to complete a project themselves.' He then added an important factor is that a previously owned customer machine can be sourced and completely re-engineered and tooled using Mikron's skill and internal knowledge in four to six months - significantly shorter than a new machine build.

As a result, price structuring tends to be between 40 and 60% of a new machine purchase depending on the complexity of the project.

In re-tooling and re-engineering, Respeed Systems can add various degrees of automation, build in the flexibility of CNC axes to a previously mechanical driven machine frame and provide the full resource of Mikron Machining Technology departments for support when required.

Added Ruotolo: 'Important in all Mikron machine development is the original design criteria, modularity, construction and the accuracy that is built into the table, the indexing mechanism and the ability to use standard machine elements to quickly and simply re-tool.' He and his team of eight people and two apprentices understand the machines they are working on.

Ruotolo started in Mikron's service department at Agno as an apprentice in 1968 and progressed to become a service engineer and later technical consultant.

When Mikron Service was established in 1992 he was put in charge of the Multifactor rotary transfer machine product range and in 2004 charged with developing and structuring the Respeed Systems project.

Consequently, he has lived and breathed special purpose rotary transfer machines for almost 40 years.

To secure order entry and continuous work flow, a minimum stock of 15 machines have been sourced.

These have all been stripped down, the castings checked and any refurbish work carried out.

Tables, unit heads, electrics and electronics, coolant and hydraulic systems have been inspected and upgraded when needed, with new bearings, bushes, seals, and relays fitted.

He said: 'These machines are not cannibalised, they are used as a source of sound raw materials to which we can inspect and bring to 'as new' standard.' With up to eight machines now being re-engineered in the current factory area, one particular project involving a Mikron Multifactor 12-station rotary transfer machine is part of a two machine project for China.

The re-engineered Multifactor has a new autoloading system to produce qualifying operations on a compressor component and will work in conjunction with a new 15-station Mikron Multifactor machine being built to machine the remaining four faces of the component in a single cycle.