CASE STUDY

Titanium sheets. Any thickness. From a single source.

How we developed a custom vacuum clamping table to precision-
grind non-magnetic sheets from 0.2 mm to exact specification.

The Forte range is a compact design with large Z travel, direct access to the work piece is further supported by the ergonomic working height of the machine table. This one has an integrated zero point system.

Background

There are countless material alloys, sheets in various formats and thicknesses – but rarely exactly what is actually needed. The result: order material from one supplier, send it elsewhere for cutting, and again somewhere else to grind it to the required thickness.

Multiple steps, multiple handovers, long lead times – all before the actual work can even begin.

The Challenge

This problem became especially pronounced with titanium sheets in the Grade 5 alloy. The complex back-and-forth between suppliers, cutting services, and grinding operations led to long delivery times and unnecessary complexity.

There was also a technical hurdle: clamping non-magnetic sheets requires a precise approach. A wrong setup here costs quality at the end – and when tolerances are measured in thousandths of a millimetre, there is no room for compromise.

“The complex back-and-forth between suppliers and processors costs not
just time – it costs precision.”

The Solution

We took matters into our own hands: raw material is now sourced directly, and formats and thicknesses are produced in-house. No external dependencies, no lost time.

The key was a custom-designed vacuum clamping table. It enables precise fixturing of even very thin, non-magnetic sheets – the fundamental prerequisite for achieving tight thickness tolerances and consistent flatness across the entire format.

The result: a fully controlled process from raw material procurement to finished sheet – in exactly the thickness required.

The Result

Today we are able to produce a wide range of materials from 0.2 mm thickness – in any desired gauge, with no dependency on standard thicknesses such as 1.5 mm, 3 mm, or 4 mm. Depending on format size, we achieve thickness tolerances of up to +/− 0.002 mm.

Three key outcomes at a glance:

Titanium sheets in different thicknesses

Material: Titanium Grade 5 and other alloys · In-House Development: Vacuum Clamping Table · Service: Precision Grinding, FormatProduction from 0.2 mm

In-house production.

IT6 circular accuracy.

What is usually considered special accessories is standard at HEDELIUS: All machining centres are equipped with a CNC full keyboard, colour monitor, spindle feed overdrive and original software as standard. State-of-the-art control technology from SIEMENS or HEIDENHAIN guarantees maximum operating convenience and unrestricted functionality. You decide which system you want to work with.

All machining centres are equipped with a CNC full keyboard, colour monitor, spindle feed overdrive and original software as standard.

Liquid-cooled motor spindles with precision cooler.

The new HEIDENHAIN TNC 7 control system focuses on intuitive, task-orientated and individual control. A customised user interface provides the user with optimum support in every situation. Familiar HEIDENHAIN programming functions are supplemented by smart functions. The control elements of the TNC keyboard are retained, providing a solid basis for the control of HEDELIUS machining centres.

The SIEMENS SINUMERIK ONE control system brings your ideas to life. SINUMERIK ONE is the future-oriented CNC system for highly productive HEDELIUS machining centres. For unimagined new possibilities, ideas and business models. For faster innovations thanks to the seamless interaction between the virtual and real worlds. And: SINUMERIK ONE is far more than just a powerful hardware innovation.

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Titanium sheets. Any thickness. From asingle source.