Higher product quality, reduced risk of injury, simpler component assembly, longer service life and an attractive appearance – deburring gives sheet metal parts “the finishing touch” and is therefore a decisive process step for the highest demands in sheet metal processing. This applies not only, but especially to companies that manufacture components for demanding sectors such as the pharmaceutical and research industries, such as T&M Vertrieb OHG from Alt-Mölln. Deeren specializes in high-quality and customized stainless steel sample storage systems with the highest quality standards.
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Chest and cabinet racks, cabinet inserts with drawers and more – T&M Vertrieb OHG has been a reliable partner for all questions relating to sample storage in laboratories since 2005. Kay Thierfeldt and Tobias Mahn founded T&M as a pure sales company, but soon after started their own production of high-quality stainless steel storage systems in Alt-Mölln. Standard designs are just as much a part of their portfolio as customized products. Today, the experts from the far north have a reputation in the industry for always finding a solution, even when others fail.
“Our guiding principle is: ‘There’s no such thing as impossible’. And we get everything done 99 percent of the time. But if that wasn’t the case, we would honestly admit it. However, I don’t think that has ever happened,” adds Ka y Thierfeldt, Managing Director of T&M Vertrieb OHG, with a grin. T&M’s recipe for success lies in the combination of its employees’ know-how, the use of cutting-edge technology and the highest quality standards. Kay Thierfeldt comments: “We are a pure manufacturing company. This means that we have no assembly line production and we always invest in the latest technology wherever possible, such as a laser cutting machine from Trumpf, which has opened up another new field of activity for us. To ensure that our employees – there are now 15 of them – can make optimum use of the machines, they receive intensive training and are sent on further training courses.”
Another decisive factor is the uncompromising choice of materials: “Our storage systems are used in a wide variety of freezer rooms and have to withstand temperatures of up to 75 to 80 °C, sometimes even as low as -150 °C. This is why we only use stainless steel thin sheet (14301). That’s why we only use thin stainless steel sheet (14301) in thicknesses of 0.5 and 0.8 mm,” continues Kay Thierfeldt.
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Deburring as a crucial process step
Flawless sheet metal parts without sharp edges and burrs are an absolute must in order to meet the high quality standards of the industry and T&M and to minimize the risk of injury during further processing and to the end user. This makes deburring a decisive process step. T&M uses an SBM-M 1500 from Lissmac for deburring. The deburring machine is ideal for flexibly rounding sharp edges and deburring sheet metal parts. Internal and external contours are processed from above and below in a single operation – this ensures high process efficiency.
“Despite cutting-edge technology on the machine side, the deburring results did not meet our quality requirements. That’s why we turned to the deburring experts at Boeck on a recommendation. And it was a good fit right from the start – both technically and personally. We were impressed right from the start,” says Andre Pielka, Production Manager at T&M Vertrieb OHG. The team of experts led by the two engineers Marc and Jochen Böck specializes in tailor-made tools for sheet metal processing – from slag removal and pre-grinding to deburring, rounding and oxide removal through to surface finishing. Self-developed machines with a high degree of automation and structured high-performance processes ensure the highest quality and short delivery times. But perhaps the most important component of Boeck’s manufacturing strategy is its passion for technology. This is how convincing tool solutions are created.
Matched deburring blocks for the special application
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Marc Böck, Managing Director of Boeck GmbH: “The big challenge with T&M was the very thin stainless steel sheets. With sheet thicknesses of 0.5 mm and 0.8 mm, you don’t have a large contact surface on the edge. In order to achieve the desired edge rounding, relatively hard tools should be used that only yield slightly and are not very flexible. The perfect application for our Quick deburring blocks in the Blue Edition.”
The Boeck deburring blocks are suitable tools for deburring machines with power belts – including the Lissmac SBM-M 1500. The standard version, which is also used by T&M, is considered a classic for removing light primary and secondary burrs and for rounding the edges of sheet metal. The quick mounting ensures fast tool changes. Marc Böck explains: “We developed the system to reduce set-up times and wear on the four power belts to a minimum. The system consists of the power belt, the blue base support blocks, which are bolted to the power belt, and the red deburring blocks. Thanks to the quick-release system, the deburring blocks can be clicked in and out of the base bodies quickly and easily.”
The deburring blocks in the Blue Edition have an abrasive cloth with zirconium corundum. As a result, they are relatively rigid and have a high removal rate. This makes it the right solution for T&M when deburring and edge rounding thin stainless steel sheets.
In addition to the “Blue Edition”, Boeck also offers other types of abrasive cloth: The “Brown Edition” is a universal talent for all types of sheet metal. The “Grey Edition” is the right choice for a fine grinding pattern combined with high cutting ability. The “Green Edition” adapts very well to the 176 contours and exerts little pressure.
The high stability and quality of the Boeck tools convinced the experts at T&M. Andre Pielka, Production Manager at T&M Vertrieb OHG, emphasizes the high level of satisfaction with the results: “Processing the thin stainless steel sheets is special and demanding. The Boeck tools enable us to deburr them continuously, smoothly and reliably. Virtually no post-processing is necessary. We are very satisfied with the results.”
The special service plus: process consulting included
Boeck is more than just a simple tool supplier: T& M was also able to experience this enthusiastically on its own sheet metal part and received advice and process optimization at the same time. “The development of our customized deburring tools is application-oriented, based on the deburring requirements of our customers, but we also carry out basic tests. This allows us to continuously maintain and deepen our knowledge of the influencing variables and their five interactions within the sheet metal deburring process chain. Of course, our customers also benefit from this,” says Marc Böck. “We were therefore able to recommend that T&M optimize the Lissmac machine with a frequency converter. The frequency inverter enables a slower sanding process and therefore significantly improves the results of edge rounding.”
The collaboration with Boeck enabled T&M to optimize the deburring results and perfect the processes. “Thanks to the new frequency inverter in conjunction with the Boeck deburring blocks, we were able to completely eliminate our initial problems with the deburring results. We are now getting top results with our Lissmac machine, which we would certainly not have achieved without the help of Marc Böck in particular. It doesn’t really get any better than this,” says Andre Pielka enthusiastically. Kay Thierfeldt adds: “The cooperation with Boeck is very friendly and completely unproblematic. When we call, they help us immediately. Even if it has to be done quickly, it’s not an issue.”