Gearing up for more production
January 1st 2008 Norbar Torque Tools has
invested over £300,000 in a
new Gleason-Pfauter CNC
gear hobbing machine with
robotic feeder in a bid to
match demand for
increased sales volumes of
its Pneutorque pneumatic
torque wrenches and
Handtorque torque
multipliers.
The new hobbing
machine will produce
around 70% of Norbar's
gears, for use in the
gearboxes in its Pneutorque
and Handtorque products.
Where it would have
previously taken 15-20min
to cut a set of three gears,
Norbar has completed trials
where a single gear can be
cut in about 1min, 20 sec.
In addition to the gear
hobbing machine itself,
Norbar invested in an
automatic robotic feed
magazine, reducing load
time from 20-30sec to five.
This means the machine
does not need an operator
standing there to feed the
machine and is part of an
ongoing plan to maximise
manning efficiency.
Having a shorter set up
time also means that the
company does not need to
build up large stocks. In the
past it would have made
enough gears to last a
month, but now it can bring
this down to a week's worth
of stock. More articles from Norbar Torque Tools Limited: | 
