Advanced Technology Needs Market Awareness

Q: What challenges do Mexican metal-mechanic companies face in relation to cutting tools?
A: Users of cutting tools tend to face issues regarding the consistency of their cutting processes. While tools should theoretically work the same when replaced, the material characteristics of both the tool and the component being manufactured are not always the same. HAIMER technology ensures the tool delivers consistent results without compromising its structure. Our balancing solutions counter the vibrations during the cutting process, thus increasing the tool’s useful lifetime.
Q: What companies can take advantage of HAIMER México’s solutions?
A: Our ideal client is any company that employs CNC machining equipment and engages in metal-mechanic manufacturing. Within the automotive industry, we focus on clients that produce large volumes on a daily basis and look for highly stable and consistent processes. Companies continuously aim to improve their processes and boost efficiency and productivity and they normally approach us when they face a problem in delivering the right quality. Having said that, HAIMER’s technology still needs greater promotion within this market. Only a small percent of our clients have a solid knowledge of HAIMER’s technology, the rest know the products superficially and are not fully aware of the advantages that we can deliver for their processes.
Q: How easily can a company that is starting to migrate to automated processes implement HAIMER solutions?
A: We have seen that even small Mexican shops are prone to buy better quality machinery. As companies adopt more advanced solutions, they start to take greater care of their processes to extract the greatest advantage from them. While we have Tier 1 clients, Tier 2s and 3s are key for our operations. HAIMER México’s business is more directly oriented to lower tiers in the automotive supply chain. SMEs tend to respond well to our technology unlike large companies with decision-making processes that involve several steps. When a client understands the advantages of our technology, it looks for the time and space to invest in HAIMER’s solutions regardless of its size.
Q: Who has the final say on whether a manufacturing machine will equip HAIMER balancing and clamping technology?
A: In Mexico, final users make the choice in most cases because they buy the machine they need and its accessories separately. In some circumstances, final users tell machine builders the component they need to produce and their goal regarding production times. In those cases, machine builders develop the engineering necessary to produce the part and decide whether to equip HAIMER cutting tools, clamps and balancing equipment thus delivering an integral, tailor-made solution. This is not that common, however, because that scheme is costly and end users prefer to buy the machine and accessories separately and engineer the solution themselves.
Q: What is HAIMER’s participation in Mexico’s clamping market?
A: There are various types of clamping alternatives in the market. HAIMER focuses on thermal clamping and still holds a small market share in that segment in Mexico. Clients tend to use mechanical clamping technology that works by loosening and tightening nuts because it is inexpensive. However, mechanical clamping is not as precise as thermal clamping because of variations in the strength of operators. Thermal clamping uses a special kind of steel that expands when applying heat through electric induction. Tools are then placed in the clamp’s brackets and remain tightly sealed when controlled temperatures are applied and steel contracts. The force of a thermal clamp, on the contrary, is constant and four times higher than a mechanical solution. Thermal brackets are also more precise when tools are rotating during the machining process, which reduces wear on the tool. HAIMER guarantees 30,000 tool changes before needing to replace the bracket of a thermal clamp.