Record visitors to Tebis Open House

On June 29 – 30, 2017, Tebis held its 14th Open House at the company headquarters in Martinsried, Germany, with a record number of visitors. Over the two days, about 600 German and international visitors exhibited great interest in the many booths and high-profile practical presentations about process optimisation.

Tebis AG board member Bernhard Rindfleisch greeted the visitors and was very pleased with the increasing popularity of the Open House. This year's event was centered on designing more efficient customer processes. Another focal point was automation. The visitors were also able to learn about current and future software developments and Tebis's service competence. A varied evening entertainment program featuring magic and comedy provided time for networking and exchanging ideas. The thoroughly positive atmosphere reflected the visitor consensus of opinion that the Tebis Open House was an all-around success.

Current and future software developments

The concept of this year's Tebis Open House divided the booths into industry-specific process solutions and functional applications. Both of these proved highly attractive for visitors. At the Tebis booths, visitors were invited to learn about many current software functions as well as future developments. A special highlight was the significant performance improvements announced for Release 5. These include faster NC calculation and improved response times in general operations such as opening files, starting simulations or navigating the Job Manager. The laser hardening and laser weld cladding software add-ons are also new but already available. Laser hardening is ideally suited for hardening highly stressed surfaces in a limited local area without reworking. Laser weld cladding can be used to repair minor damage and manufacturing defects, or to make small design changes. In the CAD area, Tebis also presented hybrid technology with parameterized surface and solid design in initial applications. The improvements in the current Release 4 drew great visitor interest. These include 5-axis technology for machining standard geometries such as pockets: The tool tilt angle can be optimally controlled for the specific situation and improved NC programming now shortens machining times.

Exciting practical presentations

In addition to the new software developments, the highly varied lecture program with presentations from German and international guest presenters drew many attendees. In their presentations, Tebis customers such as Odyssey Inc. (USA), Ford-Werke GmbH (Cologne, Germany), Karl Walter Formen- und Kokillenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Modell- und Formenbau M.Reuss GmbH, Modelleria Brambilla S.p.a. (Italy) and Socem Group (Portugal) reported on the benefits of using Tebis in design, die manufacturing processes and the aerospace industry, discussed specific process solutions such as digital manufacturing and described the implementation of process improvements and associated concepts.

The program was kicked off by Falk Visarius, head of Technology Design Models at Porsche AG. He presented the design model process at Porsche, which has relied on Tebis since 2000. Tebis is used there in a highly dynamic and creative environment for reverse engineering and surface design, free-form surfaces and geometries documenting revision status, data analysis, and feedback. Visarius emphasized that the geometric reliability of the data and the resulting models constitute a true quality feature in the design process.

In his presentation, Diedrich Diedrichsen, managing director of Heinz Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG, explained how process improvements such as in the small-parts process are successfully and sustainably implemented. After a comprehensive analysis of potential by Tebis Consulting, implementing a Tebis add-on enabled faster preparation of small parts and the introduction of template technology and parallel setup. The measures introduced by the implementation significantly improve the processes: 77% faster data processing, 70% greater parallel setup and 80%lower employee effort in machining. Diedrichsen cites well-thought-out analysis of the actual situation from an objective perspective, definition of realistic and specific goals and stringent project management that relies on understandability and inclusion of employees as the reasons for the success.

Focus on customer processes

Strong process chains depend on a continuous exchange with technology partners and users, which is why the booths focused on this. The booths featured partners, such as F. Zimmermann GmbH, Fooke GmbH, Hufschmied Zerspanungssysteme GmbH and Deckel Maho Seebach GmbH, presenting technical CAD/CAM processes that have already been successfully implemented with Tebis Software and Services in the target industries of mold manufacturing, die manufacturing, model manufacturing and mechanical engineering. The collaboration with Prima Power, one of the leading manufacturers in the area of laser trimming, represents a special example. The machine and software are sold as a product package in the context of a premium partnership.

Tebis process specialists also answered many questions regarding technical and organizational process optimization. Many visitors learned how professional process consulting and implementation can help them achieve greater efficiency, reliability and quality in manufacturing. Tebis Consulting has just been recognized as a Top Consultant for 2017 and now ranks among the best consultants for medium-sized companies in Germany. The consultants presented a new portfolio that has recently been supplemented with management consulting. Our goal here is to prepare the company for the future by working with them to develop a sustainable vision, reasonable concepts for the future and specific corporate objectives. The company can remain competitive by equipping itself with the right strategy and realistic concepts. Tebis Consulting also supports process optimization and implementation of the specific measures.

After the long day, visitors were able to wind down during the festive evening program. Networking and the exchange of ideas continued until late in the night in relaxed discussions. A double for German comedian Horst Schlämmer engaged the visitors in more whimsical discussions, providing great amusement. Magician Philo Kotnik also bewitched his spectators with astounding sleight-of-hand, mental prowess and baffling illusions.