The Technic Valley, Part II
§ 900 Precision shops with 2-14 axis turn/mills located in an area 1/10th the size of Rhode Island!
§ Min. wage = 3x higher than ours
§ Homes = 4 - 6x more expensive than ours
§ Cost of living = 3x higher
§ Compete worldwide: Technology, Methods, Training
In our previous newsletter we talked about the history and creation of the Technic Valley. In response to some questions we received, we will expound more on this amazing region.
Where is it? The Technic Vally, aka the Arve Valley
(Vallée Del’Arve), is located between Geneva and Mont-Blanc in the French Alps.
It is ideally situated on main
European motorways, near Switzerland and Italy. See map to the
left.
Why is it called the Technic Valley? One might never guess when viewing this picturesque valley that it is the world’s capital of bar machining. The Technic (Arve) Valley is called home by over 900 precision shops. Together those businesses generate an anuual turnover of 3.3 billion in precision parts. All of these precision shops are located in a 24 square mile area (an area 1/10th the size of Rhode Island).
Any why are we so captivated with this ‘Cinderella’ story of the machine tool industry? Because the multi-axis center preferred by the Technic Valley leaders is none other than EUROTECH. That’s right – this area which represents the highest concentration of machine tool companies in the world prides themselves on having the most advanced in multi-axis centers and houses over 800 Eurotech multi-axis centers.
How do they compete worldwide? In no way can the
companies in the Arve Valley be considered Old World in their thinking. They
fund an advanced engineering center, the CTDEC. With more than 100 employees,
it supplies the industry with specialist services and the development of
production techniques. It also trains new professionals and scouts out new
industrial trends. Not only do they have the latest in Eurotech’s multi-axis
centers, they also have grinding machines and metrology instruments to meet any
and all demands from customers. Today,
their business is in the auto, medical, defense, aerospace, and electrical
industry.
TECHNIC VALLEY TIPS,
brought
to you by Joe & Jeff from the Arve Valley
Technic
Valley is the recognized vanguards of machining and the highest concentration
of companies in the world for the machine tool industry. The tips that help the
TECHNIC VALLEYstay efficient, competitive, and profitable
Tip #2 = TOP Barfeed
Eurotech Elite 545SL-Y with Top Barfeed (Kayenne model).
Your changeover time goes from 45 min. to less than 2 min…
no channel guides and no spindle liners.
Visit the Topbarfeed Website to see the technology in action:
www.Topbarfeed.com
¬ No channel guides
¬ No spindle liners
¬ Under one min changeover times
The Top bar feed offers zero second change-over time, zero additional costs for extra channel guides or blocks, automatic PLC adjustable guide channels that adjust to the bar stock diameter.
Fully automated Top barfeeders have been designed bearing in mind the requisites of silent running, reliability, rigidity, and rapid change-over time. The bar feed is able to pass from a maximum to a minimum bar diameter within a very short time, with no need for keys simply by digiting the bar diameter on the PLC.
See Part 3 for more Technic Valley Machining Secrets