“No time to rest.” In his brilliant speech, Daimler‘s CEO, Dr. Zetsche, essentially rephrased our own gui-ding motto. Namely: ”Those who stop getting better, have stopped being good.“ This motto is reflec-ted by a number of our activities in recent months. ARKU enterred the deburring business in developing its own machines. We also offer trials and contract deburring in our leve-ling and deburring centers. Debur-ring technology now allows us to offer one further improvement for sheet metal in addition to leveling. The positive initial feedback has motivated us to continue developing this technology.In addition we have reinforced our management. The former Business Unit Manager, Marcus Bartle, has been appointed the first third-party manager in ARKU‘s history. Those who know Marcus Bartle also know that he has internalized the afore-mentioned motto. No time to rest. That is why you can continue to ex-pect new impulses for sheet metal processing from ARKU. You can ex-perience our deburring machines on a visit to our OktoBurrfest event on October 8th, 2015 in Cincinnati!

Albert Reiss, ARKU CEO

New impulses for sheet metal proces-sing

No. 45 / 2015

InfoMAXExperts in leveling and deburring

ARKU Coil Systems Inc. · 11405 Grooms Road · Cincinnati, OH 45242 · USA · Phone: +1 (513) 985-0500 · Fax: +1 (513) 985-0580 · E-Mail: leveling@arku.com · www.arku.com

Continued on page 2

A few rough edges can be a sign of cha-racter for people. However, on sheets they represent a problem. That is why ARKU now smooths out these rough edges by entering into the deburring business: The new EdgeBreaker® de-burring and rounding machines are available for tests and contract work at ARKU‘s three leveling and deburring centers.

Baden-Baden, Germany – Wherever panels are cut there is a demand for cleanly deburred, rounded and easily usable parts. This applies to agricultural machinery as well as to the engineering industry. The vari-ous cutting processes create diffe-rent types of millimeter thick burrs or slag on the edges of the parts. Deburring machines rapidly create rounded edges, ensuring that the production process proceeds without any problems. This deburring is a key element of the production reliability. Burrs and slag are not simply remo-ved; the edges are also rounded. This reduces the risk of the operators suffering cuts when transporting the parts. This also prevents delays with the subsequent processes.

Many good reasons

But what does this all have to do with ARKU? Reliable and high-quality de-burring machines are recommended as they make precision leveling even more efficient. Where else should the-se machines come from if not from the leveling expert itself? ARKU‘s own machine specialists have the necessary

extensive experience with sheet metal processing. Furthermore, inquiries from a variety of different customers encouraged the establishment of this new business unit.

The EdgeBreaker® 4000 is the machine to kick-off the introduction. The power-ful name represents a series which will be progressively expanded in 2015. Extensive preparatory work had to be done to ensure that the highly efficient ”EdgeBreaker®“ is ca-pable of handling the diverse produc-tion requirements worldwide. ARKU developed and tested the new machi-ne series intensively in cooperation with internal and external experts. In keeping with ARKU‘s business

philosophy, the new deburring ma-chine will not be launched until it is truly ready for the market and the results are impressive.

Double sided deburring

Whether aluminum, steel or titanium, the oscillating grinding drum on the EdgeBreaker® 4000 removes undesi-red burrs and creates a clean, even surface. Furthermore, the oscillation also reliably removes any residue from the grinding drum.The rounding units running in a transverse direction are equipped with sanding blocks which round the edges on both sides. In addition, the sanding blocks‘ vibration-free movement also guarantees precise results. This also has a positive effect on the service life of the sanding blocks which can be rapidly replaced using a click system that has been registered for patenting.

The EdgeBreaker® also distinguishes itself in terms of efficiency.The calibration unit for the debur-ring blocks measures and automati-cally compensates for the wear on the units. In addition, the machine also identifies parts whose parameters were previously entered into the con-trol system. This is a familiar appli-cation for leveling technology where it has proven its worth due to its ease of operation. The deburring machine

The EdgeBreaker® is coming The leveler expert, ARKU, enters the deburring business

The robust EdgeBreaker® reliably deburrs and rounds sheet metal parts made of various materials.

Part parameters can be quickly and conveniently entered using a touch screen control.

ARKU gewinnt Außenwirtschaftspreis

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InfoMAXContinued from page 1

You are cordially invited to experience the ARKU deburring machines at our leveling and deburring center in Cincinnati on October 8th, 2015. There will be an exciting mix of lectures, discussions and machine presentations. You are wel-come to bring your parts for trials. Please contact us at leveling@arku.com or call us at +1 (513) 985-0500. We are looking forward to your visit!

Discover the new ARKU deburring machines at theOktoBurrfest on October, 8th, 2015

A reception surrounded by machines and sheet metal parts is something unique. As is a speech by the Chair-man of the board of Daimler AG. That is why almost 200 guests were gathe-red at the ARKU leveling and debur-ring center on March 12th.

The leveling and deburring center was festively decorated and the young trai-nees proudly demonstrated their skills in their workshop. 17 apprentices – approximately one tenth of the entire staff – make ARKU the ideal host.

Dr. Zetsche places a major emphasis on promoting young talent. The new company restaurant which was used as a conference room was completed on schedule. “Yesterday, to be pre-cise”, joked ARKU´s CEO, Albert Reiss.

Mid-sized companies with potential

Following the welcoming speech held Dr. Zetsche commenced his lecture by quoting the German Chancellor: “No time to rest!” Instead, Daimler is

focusing on worldwide growth and strong innovation. Environmentally friendly and autonomous driving are only two future markets in which the company is already investing heavily.

The car manufacturer bases its growth on its foundation in Germany. In turn, mid-sized German companies profit from this. ARKU also draws approxi-mately half of its orders from the auto-motive industry, including Daimler AG. According to Dr. Zetsche, this requires an efficient partnership and cooperati-

on between politicians, major industry and middle-sized companies “so that we can make the country where the automobile was born a country with a future”.

Accordingly, the visitors had plenty to talk about at the reception surrounded by the colorfully illuminated machines – the ideal opportunity to share a few words with the guest and the hosts.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche officially opened the new company restaurant, also used as a conference center.Trainees at work: Dr. Dieter Zetsche is visibly impressed by ARKU‘s young talent development.

An important visitor comes to ARKUDaimler CEO, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, visits Baden-Baden, Germany

can call up the saved data at any time. As a result, the EdgeBreaker® operates fully automatically after the initial configuration. The EdgeBreaker® is a powerful machine with a total drive performance of 25 kW.

Convince yourself!

The systems are available for testing and contract work at the expanded leveling and deburring centers in Baden-Baden (Germany), in Cincinnati, Ohio and in Kunshan (China).

Panels made of a various materials and manufactured using laser, plas-ma and autogenous gas cutting can be deburred and rounded on location in Cincinnati. The ARKU leveling and deburring centers worldwide are often the starting point for new acquisitions.

Companies which utilize the facility to its full potential, by taking on contract work, profit twice. ARKU can kill two birds with one stone by offering both leveling and deburring services. The close contact with customers provides feedback about important aspects for the ongoing optimization of the expan-ded machine portfolio.

Customers can convince themselves of the quality of the new development. You can send your own parts for tes-ting to ARKU Cincinnati or you can experience the ARKU deburring ma-chine on our deburring launch event, “OktoBurrfest 2015”. It will take place on October 8th in our leveling and deburring center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The results delivered by the EdgeBreaker® are impressive. The EdgeBreaker® effortlessly removes burrs several millimeters thick.

ARKU-Ticker OktoBurrfest 2015

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Have you always wanted to know how rotationally symmetrical parts are manufactured? Then watch our new video! The top priority of the short-design ARKU system: effectively saving material when punching round parts using the zigzag process. Click and watch it now at https://youtu.be/ORMFzV3cARM or scan the QR code.

Experienced leveling specialists at the ARKU leveling center in Cincinnati pass on their practical know-how. You can either send your team to ARKU for trai-ning with pratical work on three different leveling machines or ARKU can travel to you and uses your facilities for the training. Mr. Nicholas Miller is looking forward to receiving your requests on the two options for leveling training at: nicholas.miller@arku.com

Leveling training for users and operators New video: Press feed line with a zigzag process

Elkhart, Ind. May 2015 – Recreational vehicle (RV) builders in the U.S. Norco Industries, a key industry supplier, found that an important cut-to-length (CTL) line had reduced the productivity of its downstream processes. The company identified the strip leveler in the line as the weak link in its opera-tions. It added cost for rework, dama-ged tooling, scrap and forced buying product from outside suppliers. Replacing the manual leveler with a CoilMaster® 50 has since turned the CTL line into a speed demon.Norco Industries is a privately owned, diversified manufacturer of automo-tive-quality fabricated components, machined parts, tooling and services for the RV, transit, school bus, truck/van and medical markets. Typical products include seating systems, slideouts, trailer frames, chassis components and roof bows, as well as heavy duty lifting equipment. With the retiring baby-boomer gene-ration increasingly choosing dome-

stic travel, RVs have been selling well and driving business for suppliers like Norco. “This line processes up to

9-ga high-strength steel from coils a maximum of 34.625 inches wide. The strength of the material has increa-

sed to reduce vehicle weight, and initi-ally we slowed the line down to better achieve flatness. But the material was not as flat as our spec called for. “The flatness results of tested materi-al from ARKU machines, has convinced us to order a leveling machine”, added Larry Green, Continous Improvement Specialist at Norco. “After getting the order, we finished up the work and were able to install the CoilMaster® and threading unit just 10 days later,” said ARKU Technical Director Nicholas Miller. The refurbished machine has a leveling section with 21 rollers and can process material widths up to 43.4 inches wide, with a maximum yield of about 90ksi (ARKU supply U.S. equivalent). “On our very first production day, we processed all the steel needed for two shifts of work in just two and a half hours, and every part was correct.” Green concluded the interview.

www.norcoind.com

The transformation to an overachieverLeveler shortens cutting time by 70%

Norco now produces flatter cut sheets than its outside suppliers could, thanks to the new CoilMaster® leveler.

A flat-part dream come trueThe ARKU FlatMaster® 50 turns “potato chips” into good parts for BEGNEAUD Manufacturing

Lafayette, LA – BEGNEAUD Manu-facturing discovered that perforating stainless steel and aluminum with a new hydraulic punch tended to curl the parts, and required post-process leveling. The Lafayette, LA-based shop turned to the ARKU servo-hydraulic leveler FlatMaster® 50, which is uni-

quely designed for leveling and stress relieving metal parts. The FlatMaster®

easily handles the 0.03“ to 0.5“ thick stainless steel and aluminum pro-cessed at BEGNEAUD. The FlatMaster®

adjusts the leveling force instantly to compensate for parts with large cutouts and perforations, as well as

shapes such as triangles and circles.BEGNEAUD currently serves the oil & gas, medical, industrial water filtration and poultry processing industries, and as a combination job/contract shop, it needs the flexibility to process a va-riety of parts with tolerances as tight as 0.04 to 0.05”. According to company founder Don Begneaud, the shop has also started to do architectural work, and the FlatMaster® leaves no mar-ring, or discoloration on appearance-sensitive parts.

A “dream” come true

BEGNEAUD originally acquired the CNC press to punch stainless-steel parts for the oil & gas industry. “The perforated parts were curling up like potato chips,” said Begneaud. When Begneaud was looking to acquire a new laser cutting system he saw the FlatMaster® demonstrated with a TRUMPF laser cutting system at a trade show. “I was impressed with the leveler and dreamed of having one in our shop,” said Begneaud. “ I decided that the ARKU FlatMaster® was the

machine for us and so far it’s been a dream come true.”

Takes the stress out too

The shop discovered another ap-plication for the FlatMaster® 50 when a few batches of “bad metal” caused the stress to come out of laser-processed parts, distorting them. “The guys at ARKU recommended running the metal through the FlatMaster® prior to laser cutting to de-stress it because we’re running small, skinny parts.”

Scrap? What Scrap?

Before acquiring the FlatMaster®, BEGNEAUD was forced to outsource or refuse jobs outright based on flat-ness requirements. “We’re now able to accept jobs we couldn’t before and we’re controlling delivery times better because we have reliable processes that produce quality parts with almost no scrap,” said Begneaud. “

www.begno.com

Troy Franchebois operates the servo-hydraulic FlatMaster® 50 at Begneaud’s Lafayette, LA facility

Mertingen, Germany – What do you do when customers require more and more level parts but you are slowly run-ning out of space for machines? Peter Birkner, the Head of Technology and Sales at Südstahl GmbH, knows exactly the right answer: You purchase a new, state-of-the-art hydraulic leveler. “ARKU implemented our ideas confidently and exactly the way we needed with the PlateMaster® XL”, says Mr. Birkner. “The

new machine not only handles the work previously done by two systems, it also saves space. The entire production pro-cess is now more efficient.”

“Our preferred partner”

The company with 140 employees levels panels as well as laser-cut, plasma-cut and autogenous gas-cut parts made of steel and aluminum and up to 40 mm thick. In order to address the increasing demand, Südstahl has purchased a to-tal of three levelers over the years. One of these systems leveled approximately 90% of all parts. If it failed, the company would be unable to deliver on schedule.

For this reason, Südstahl needed a new system with higher reliability and out-put.In addition, the new leveler also nee-ded to level the parts faster and better, while being easy to operate. But above all it needed to be effectively safegu-arded against overloading. “ARKU has many years of experience, that was why it was our preferred partner”, explains Mr. Birkner.

The PlateMaster® XL has performed excellently since its installation. With servo-hydraulic leveling gap control, it ensures consistently high quality and rapid leveling with all types of parts. The hydraulic overload protection gua-rantees that the system works reliably and safely despite the high forces. In ad-dition, the system is especially easy to clean and the control system is intuitive.

“The PlateMaster® XL is an absolute powerhouse. We use this system to perfectly level parts up to 40 mm thick”, says Peter Birkner in closing.

www.suedstahl.de

Safe, fast and reliableService center eliminates a bottleneck with the PlateMaster® XL

In the U.S., it is called the “school of hard knocks,” and the real-world experience gained there is invalua-ble. Adrian Fleig, a co-op student/employee from ARKU Germany, is

the latest of several people to be gaining his early business experi-ence at our Cincinnati operation.

Adrian took the opportunity to spend one of his work periods in the U.S. where he has proven to be a prized staff member who would be welcomed back in the future. His assignments have included work in

customer plants, doing the electrical work on leveler rebuild, and sup-porting Germany with programming skills.Learning U.S. manufacturing culture

is also part of his job. “One of the interesting differences I notice is the heavy stress on safety equipment and clothing in the U.S.,” he said. “It is important to understand these differences when designing machi-nery for the international market. It has been invaluable for me and will equip me to be a better team mem-ber for ARKU as my career evolves.”

Selling is in his blood

Eric Cohen says he has selling in his blood, and as the newest salesman at ARKU Cincinnati, he has already proven it. Eric is a Cincinnati native, 25 years old. He came to ARKU after attending Miami University of Ohio, followed by nearly two years as a service engineer with Makino. A hobbyist mechanic all his life, Eric developed significant know-ledge and skills during a six-year enlistment with the U.S. Air Force, which he will complete in October. When he‘s not traveling North America for ARKU, his first love is riding motorcycles. His bike today is a 2014 Harley-Davidson V-Rod, known as a drag-strip ma-chine with street styling. Eric was attracted to ARKU for two primary reasons: a desire to sell technology that makes a real diffe-rence in fab shops, and the oppor-tunity to be an important player on a smaller team. “In North America,

shop practices are slow to change, and parts leveling is still a new con-cept,” he said. “I enjoy introducing improved processes to customers. They are often surprised at how flat, stress-relieved material is a game changer for downstream opera-tions.“ Feel free to contact Eric at eric.cohen@arku.com

Learning what school can‘t teach

Personality Eric Cohen

Imprint Masthead / Publisher: ARKU experts in leveling Masthead: Albert Reiss, CEO Coordination: Alexandra SchuldtDesign: Marschner+Kühn GmbH & Co. KG Composition: Rommel & Company Print: Kwik Kopy Printing

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Adrian Fleig admired the view from the Carew Tower in Cincinnati

The ARKU technical sales employee, Peter Eiswirt, (2nd from left) together with the Head of technology & sales and additionnal team members of the service center.