Janker Vorrichtungsbau GmbH, a company based in Wörth an der Donau, Upper Palatinate, Germany, is engaged in bringing the products of the ski manufacturer Völkl into the correct form. In die and mould manufacturing, quality is the decisive aspect while customer satisfaction is regarded as the benchmark. For the machining of the aluminium moulds used for producing skis through compression moulding, Janker uses two large Mazak machining centers of the VTC series.
COMPANY HISTORY
Only at the age of 42, Ludwig Janker took the plunge and started his own business. He specialized in the production of devices of any kind and in the manufacture of individual and serial parts. Qualified as a blacksmith, Janker previously had worked as engineering technician for MTU in Munich for many years. In 1989, like many subcontractors, he first started his operations in his own garage that he had equipped with a used lathe and a used milling machine. Here, he machined parts for local manufacturers, e.g. welding parts for Sennebogen, a manufacturer of excavators and cranes, and individual parts for Krones, a manufacturer of systems for filling and packaging beverages and liquid food.
Furthermore, keeping in touch with his former colleagues at MTU helped him a lot. Business was going well, even so well that Janker soon could afford two Deckel FP5 machines and, in 1999, his first machining center – a Mazak VTC-530C.
“The difference in the machining quality of our workpieces was striking and even our customers recognized it at a glance. Not only were we highly praised for the parts produced on the Mazak machine but we could also land more orders. By the way, this first Mazak machine is still in use today and is producing with the same precision as in the beginning,”
Ludwig Janker
machine choice
In 1992, Janker GmbH moved to its own factory building and in 2002, the production area was doubled to 1,000 sqm. Already at that time, the company had a couple of employees, among them the capable production manager Walter Schütz, an engineering technician who joined the company in 1994.
In the subsequent years, three further Mazak machines were purchased, an FH 4800-type horizontal machining center with axis travels of 560/610/510 mm and 2-pallet changer, a Nexus 510C vertical machining center with X/Y/Z axis travels of 560/610/510 mm and an INTEGREX j-400, a multi-tasking machine that enables turning and milling operations to be performed on the same workpiece in one set-up. All of these machines are equipped with the easy-to-use MAZATROL control unit. They are used for the production of individual parts and small series ranging in size from 10 to 3,500 mm.
At the time, when mere contract manufacturing was supplemented by the die and mould making segment – among others due to the ski manufacturer Völkl – this segment gained more and more importance, making it clear that a larger machine had to be acquired. Once again, Mazak was the partner of choice: the machining center VTC-800/30SR with axis travels of X = 3,000 mm, Y = 800, and Z = 720 mm, 18,000 rpm spindle speed and a rapid traverse rate of 50 m/min was purchased in 2009. It has a top-mounted rotary table that enables 5-face machining in one set-up and thus increases the flexibility of the machine just as much as required by Janker.
“The rotary table [on the VTC-800/30SR] can be installed on the machine table and removed from it in no time and this enables us to work with highest flexibility irrespective of the machining task and the workpiece size,”
Matthias Janker, who took over as head of the company from his father in 2011
Since 2014, Janker has been using another VTC-800/30SR machine – the already existing rotary table can be mounted on the new machine as well. There couldn’t be more flexibility. With its much larger tool magazine boasting 155 pockets, the second machine meets even more machining requirements without having to be retooled. In die and mould making, the material predominantly machined is aluminum. To reach the required dimensional stability, the aluminum ski mould parts machined on the large VTC machines are clamped with vacuum fixtures during the machining process.
lOOKING FORWARD
It’s amazing to see the large volume of orders Janker GmbH is able to cope with today – with just eleven employees and seven Mazak machines. All machines are interlinked in a network. Via the network, a CAM system transfers the 3D models that have been created by the customers to the machines’ control programs and sends them to the machine ideally suited for the respective machining process.
In the post-processor, the machining processes and sequences are simulated and adapted to ensure efficient interference monitoring. Mazak control units and the MazaCam system are highly efficient and offer unequaled ease of operation. The MPP computer was set-up by Mazak. “Competent support is offered on all matters,” Matthias Janker says. “The service as well is really excellent. We cannot afford machine downtimes. Mazak’s service hotline is available when you need it. Spare parts can be ordered via the 24-hour service. In case you actually need a service technician on site, they will be there soon. We cannot even imagine how to manage without such a good service!”
In the light of the positive order situation, Janker was forced to think about automation in 2016 to enable the machines to be operated in unmanned operation. Automated machining not only saves already scarce staff resources but is more profitable on the whole and helps to avoid long delivery times. Considering constantly decreasing unit prices, this is a striking argument. Since 2017, a Mazak VARIAXIS i-700 with 12-pallet stocker and large tool magazine has been primarily used to manufacture large components such as hydraulic control blocks. Equipped with the Mazak Smooth CNC, the machine is most efficient and fit for the future. So Janker GmbH is ready to meet upcoming challenges.
“Mazak machines can cope with any machining task. We are machining a very large diversity of workpieces and materials. Even difficult-to-cut materials such as titanium and composite materials are no problem for us.”
Walter Schütz, Production Manager