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Evotion 2023 | Magazine

ChamferCut IG: Nothing is impossible

On the new LK 280 DC gear skiving machine from Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH, internal gears can not only be produced efficiently, but also chamfered during the machining process thanks to an integrated ChamferCut device. This opens new opportunities for the industry to manufacture gearboxes with higher power density, giving them a competitive edge in the market for modernized or alternative drive technologies.

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Digital training at Liebherr

Digital training at Liebherr

This year‘s industrial mechanics training graduates at Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH are the second year to have completed all of their training entirely digitally. The future-oriented training model combines the advantages of digital technology with skilled trades practice and has been so successful that it is being extended to the electronics training. The company owes this to its trainer team‘s energy and willingness to experiment, the support from the IT department and the commitment of the apprentices.

You can rely on Liebherr

You can rely on Liebherr

Italian contract gear cutting company Zanetti uses gear shaping and gear hobbing machines from Liebherr to manufacture gears and shafts. Machine reliability is the key factor here. But it‘s not just the machines that are reliable: right from the outset, the collaboration between the two companies was characterized by reliability and mutual trust. This has not changed to this day.

Digitalization of installed base

Digitalization of installed base

How can you generate data from older gear cutting machines, which are needed for the processes of Industry 4.0? Liebherr has the answer, because the vast majority of digitalizing products found in gear technology can be retrofitted without a problem.

Modern gear skiving impresses visitors

Skiving Day at Liebherr in Kempten

Modern gear skiving impresses visitors

On Skiving Day on March 16, 2023, Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH offered a forum for intensive discussion and questions about the complex technology of gear skiving. Under the motto “Modern gear skiving – the latest in research and practice”, the company presented the various aspects of the process, machines and tools, together with experts from industry and research. And there was even a global premiere: Liebherr presented its LK 500 DC, a gear skiving machine with integrated chamfering device.

Picking a winner

Picking a winner

Wick AG, a leading integrator of robotics systems in Switzerland, was instantly so impressed by Liebherr’s bin picking software that they added it to their portfolio and they are exclusively distributing the software in Switzerland. The open concept of LHRobotics.Vision enables a flexible combination of camera systems and robots from different manufacturers, while also being intuitive and extremely easy to operate.

Knowing beforehand how it will work in production

Knowing beforehand how it will work in production

The virtual commissioning of a palletizing cell with automatic loading of a gear skiving machine significantly shortened the project duration at a transmission manufacturer. The preliminary simulation via a “digital twin” helped save time and costs during the actual commissioning and ensured planning reliability for the start of production.

Machining time reduced by 60%

Machining time reduced by 60%

When looking for a gear hobbing machine to expand its production, Czech gear and transmission manufacturer Wikov found what it was looking for at Liebherr: on the LC 380 DC, it can now not only hob, but also chamfer gears during the machining process – thanks to efficient FlexChamfer technology. This has significantly enabled Wikov to reduce the machining time for each workpiece.

Liebherr gets hands-on

Manual assembly 4.0 in battery pack production

Liebherr gets hands-on

Manual assembly stations are also needed for highly automated assembly lines in the automotive industry, not every assembly step can be automated in a productive or cost-effective manner. As a specialist in the automation of battery pack assembly, Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH has expanded its portfolio to offer users versatile solutions for smart, digitally supported manual assembly.

Liebherr measuring technology for e-mobility

Liebherr measuring technology for e-mobility

Gearboxes for electric vehicles require a particularly high level of manufacturing accuracy for the gears which are used. The waviness and roughness of gear surfaces are important parameters in this. So Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH have further developed their WGT measuring instruments and fitted them with the relevant features. The first of these instruments are already being used by an e-vehicle manufacturer in China.

Liebherr automates disassembly of high-voltage battery systems

The increasing prevalence of battery-electric vehicles leads to questions about the environmental footprint of vehicle batteries, but also about the safety and availability of raw materials and therefore the competitiveness of the German and European industry. In this context, local battery recycling and the recycling of raw materials is an important building block for the European circular economy. Up to now, however, the disassembly of the battery system has been complex and expensive as the separation of the components is usually done manually. To combat this, Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH is developing strategies and processes for the automated disassembly of high-voltage battery systems and is a partner in the research project "ZIRKEL", funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF), which explores the entire circular economy of traction batteries.

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Flexible machine concept successfully improved

Flexible machine concept successfully improved

Maximum process reliability, more flexibility and excellent productivity: Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH has successfully overhauled its gear cutting machine platform for workpieces with a diameter up to 500 mm. The new machine generation now provides even more flexibility. The highlight: Easy chamfering during the machining process is now possible using either ChamferCut or FlexChamfer.

Liebherr plant in China

Liebherr plant in China

In 2019, Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH opened facilities in Yongchuan in South West China for the manufacture of generating grinding and gear hobbing machines. After an initial phase plagued by difficult conditions and restrictions caused by the pandemic, the production plant is now operating smoothly at the new site – and all thanks to a motivated team on site and exemplary support from Kempten. And demand for the machines is on the rise.

Generating grinding of double helical gears

Generating grinding of double helical gears

In future, generating grinding can also be used under certain conditions to produce double helical gears. This means Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH is expanding its range of processes for hard-finishing for this gear type to meet the highest quality requirements. Compared to established processes such as profile grinding or hard milling, generating grinding is much faster and therefore also provides an interesting alternative from a commercial perspective.

PHS 1500 Allround doubles productivity

GEA Group is one of the largest system suppliers for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. The Food Solutions division manufactures components for packaging machines at its Wallau site. There, a well thought-out automation concept has significantly increased productivity. Two Grob G751 5-axis machining centers produce the same amount of parts as five machines previously did – and almost exclusively in batch size 1. And this is thanks to the automated loading of the Liebherr PHS 1500 Allround pallet handling system.

Process reliability from automation

Process reliability from automation

A range of different materials and methods are applied in dosing and adhesive bonding applications for battery pack assembly. Applying heatconducting paste in the battery tray and sealing the battery pack cover demands complete process reliability – any rejects at this stage become expensive. At the test facilities in the Kempten Tech Center, Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH tests the automation for adhesive bonding and dosing applications and, from a single source, offers customer-specific applications providing process reliability.

“Closed loop” guarantees manufacturing quality

“Closed loop” guarantees manufacturing quality

Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH gives your machines maximum transparency with a modular platform consisting of data profiles and protocols. This is supplemented by digital data exchange between the gear cutting machine and measuring instrument: the “closed loop” makes a key contribution to integrated quality control in production.

“A really interesting challenge”

“A really interesting challenge”

The apprentices at Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH all agreed that this was a really unique project. The remarkable end result was a miniature format gear cutting machine built by the apprentices – for the most part independently – in an interdisciplinary project as part of their training. This exercise not only benefits the training center, but also provides the company‘s development department with a vivid model for testing kinematics and software programs.

Long distance, close cooperation

Long distance, close cooperation

At Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH, Market and Product Sales work together in established teams. In this issue, Evotion introduces the team for Asia: David Feng and Takumi Nagatsuka manage the sales locations in China and Japan and are the first point of contact for customers there. Josef Grünwald and Guillaume Roth, area sales managers at the Kempten site and both very familiar with the Asian market, act as the interface with Engineering, Production and Logistics.

Trustworthy partnership over decades

Trustworthy partnership over decades

The special gearbox manufacturer Rögelberg has relied on machines and tools by Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH for many years now. The crucial factor is not just the high quality but also the good service – and above all, profound trust in the expertise of the Liebherr experts.