High-tech partner with direct interface

Alpex's expertise and innovation are clearly evident in the company's manufacturing facilities: For example, Alpex has developed production molds for the automated series production of the carbon fiber roof structure for the Aventador for Italian sports car manufacturer Lamborghini. Alpex also developed for Lamborghini the first mold of its type in the world with guides for the series production of components by high pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM). The special challenge here is to maintain complete leak-tightness of the mold for high-pressure resin injection, despite the guides.

If the Russian Irkut MS-21 currently in development is to compete successfully with the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737, Alpex will play a key role. Alpex supplies molds to Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut for the production of carbon wing components, air ducts, center wing boxes and flaps for this twin-jet medium-range aircraft. The parts are assembled using assembly devices designed by Alpex.

The entire process from the decision to phase out the old CAD/CAM system until complete conversion to Tebis took only three months. Tebis Implementation personnel played no small role in this quick reorganization with their enthusiastic support in the processes at Alpex. Tebis individually trained Alpex CAM personnel on site and provided, installed and configured the Tebis software, all within the specified time frame. Thomas Jäger contracted Tebis' CAM process structurers to get the maximum benefit from the investment in Tebis. These specialists prepared the postprocessors in accordance with customer requirements and adapted them on-site. They defined the standard tools and included these as examples in the Tebis tool database, which was subsequently completed by Alpex personnel. In order to standardize the CAM processes at Alpex, Tebis personnel analyzed the processes, set standards and defined example CAM templates based on these. The information distribution was then defined and the NC documentation set up. "The Tebis personnel were able to provide many ideas and initiatives based on their experience, many of which we successfully adopted and integrated in our processes," summarizes Jäger. The project was successfully completed after the test phase. Jäger raises the commitment of the Tebis personnel: "They delivered first-class work and even exceeded our expectations. What they said, they also did."

Product quality plays an important role at Alpex. No less critical are fast response and efficiency in manufacturing. "Tebis can give us the best possible support with its solid technical expertise," says Jäger. He also values Tebis's broad product spectrum: "Tebis is a technology supplier, implementer and consultant all in one. This is important for us, as we must be technically top notch, able to respond quickly and flexibly to new developments and always improving our processes. I place my complete trust in Tebis for this." In his opinion, Alpex holds potential for improvement in the interface between design and manufacturing preparation/NC programming as well as in further reducing machine downtime. To fully exploit this potential, Jäger first wants to draw on the expertise and experience of Tebis Consulting.

Alpex already has a comprehensive technology base with four complete Tebis workstations, a direct interface to CATIA, 5-axis simultaneous milling machines, 5-axis trimmers, multiple setup, a simulator and two viewer stations in assembly. The system will soon be expanded with the unique Tebis functions for surface correction and optimization.