Whether for grinding corn, forming metal or producing electric power, water power has assisted mankind since the dawn of technology. With the advent of computer-aided control technology, ways have even been found to the use the liquid natural element for cutting, with greater precision and less damage to the material than ever.
Karl Linhardt Stanzformen GmbH, a German company based in Dietenhofen near Ansbach in Central Franconia, is now putting this precision to use. The company, founded 85 years ago by Karl Linhardt, has decades of experience in the development and production of dies, and today employs a workforce of 60. With the introduction of die cutting technology 10 years ago, Linhardt set new standards that still apply today – in line with its motto "Staying ahead through innovation."
Water pressure up to 6,000 bar
With water jet cutting technology, the specialist company has now raised its benchmark for perfection a step higher.
In addition to high-precision cutting accuracy, this technology also allows minimum cutting widths and correspondingly high utilization of material. The water jet, up to 0.4 millimeters thick, is thinner than a needle and attains a pressure of 6,000 bar, with discharge speed at the cutting head reaching as much as 1,000 m/sec. In contrast to the metal-removing processes of milling and electric discharge machining, this cutting technique causes no burrs nor any significant thermal stresses, so that the end products are not deformed and also remain stress-free.
Apart from high precision, another positive feature is the great variety of materials that can be processed with the cold cutting technique, in principle covering everything from rubber and foam materials to stainless steel and armored glass.
The range of application areas is similarly broad. In machine engineering and system building, for example, transmission plates, tools or seals attain unprecedented edge qualities. Similarly, light panels and inscriptions for advertising banners or tools for bicycle repair are also part of the production range for water jet technology.
Made-to-order production across all sectors
It is therefore only logical that Linhardt GmbH’s new investment from Bystronic is not restricted to the production of in-house designs, but also used to offer contract production for the above-mentioned products and industries.
CEO Nikolaus Linhardt
offers a positive appraisal of the results to date. "Products machined on the water jet cutting system now account for about 35 percent of sales, and that figure is rising," he notes.
In addition to the above-mentioned sectors, companies in the electrical industry and in medical engineering, the packaging and paper industries as well as aerospace companies, are just some of the customers eager to draw on the expertise of the precision equipment manufacturer from Central Franconia.
Tools in sizes up to 2,000 x 3,000 millimeters with a material thickness of up to 100 millimeters can be processed on the machine, not only with precision but comparatively cheaply.
And because no additional costs are incurred for production tools, small batch sizes or individual items can easily be accommodated.
Publisher: Karl Linhardt GmbH, Industriestrasse 2, D-90599 Dietenhofen; www.linhardt-gmbh.com
Press contact: Peter Ade, Phone +49 (0)911/ 950 5118; e-mail: info@ade-pr.de
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