After machine optimization: higher overall productivity

150 years of company history have made WILKA Schließtechnik GmbH, based in Velbert in Germany, what it is today: a renowned manufacturer of locking technology, now in its 6th generation of family management. Locking cylinders are required in a wide range of variants and for a variety of applications. The machines that produce the locking cylinders can handle every requirement – from normal profile cylinders to perfectly equipped high-security cylinders. The machine used for the machining of the locking cylinders has 72 controlled axes and 22 selectable article programs are resulting in 212 individual CNC station programs. The recipe management allows fully automatic changeover of the machine. The machine is operated via a touch panel on which corrections can also be made during production if necessary. If required, the 10 stations can also be run in individual cycles. Together with NUM GmbH in Holzmaden (Germany), WILKA has executed a machine optimization, which included the upgrading from a 32-bit to a 64-bit computer system and, very significantly, the optimization of the control programs and processes. Both measures led to significantly smoother operation and shorter machine cycle times, which are finally resulting in a higher overall productivity. This is another example in a long series of very successful machine optimization. Christian Unger, Managing Director NUM Germany: "In this project, we were once again able to fully utilize the strength of our local application engineers and thus generate added value for the customer."