Interview: Christof Droste, Hella Saturnus Slovenia

 The Slovenians are able to compete with the global competition in the delivery of technologically sophisticated mechanical presses, as it was proven once again in Spain, where we managed to beat the other providers of capital goods. Once again we have proved that the quality of products and services of many Slovenian companies match the level of renowned foreign manufacturers who have considerably more resources at their disposal. The Slovenian company Litostroj Ravne has recently successfully delivered a mechanical press to PSA, Peugeot – Citroën. The French automotive giant has ordered from the Slovenian manufacturer of industrial presses a new 14 000 kN linkdrive deep drawing press for their plant in north-eastern Spain. The press from Ravne will be the first in the line of four tandem presses. As the head press, it will take control over the remaining presses in the new line. 

 The goal of the international European project CleanER (cleaning renewable products) under the umbrella of the EraSME network is to research and merge the knowledge about cleaning technologies in the field of industrial product renewal. Renowned German companies BU-Drive, Herrmanns, Mela, MD Rebuilt, Klubert+Schmidt and a Slovenian company FerroČrtalič have decided to establish cooperation with the German Fraunhofer Institute, the University of Bayreuth and the LAKOS laboratory at the University of Ljubljana in the field of cleaning technology planning and use. Industrial product renewal is becoming one of the key industrial branches in the scope of sustainable development. 

 The 3th international conference on metrology and quality M&Q took place on 16. and 17. June 2011 in Bled. The conference was organized by the company LOTRIČ Metrology Labs d. o. o. from Selce with the support from the Metrology Institute of the Republic of Slovenia. The first day of the conference was dedicated to Industry and Metrology, and the second day to Cars and Metrology. In scope of the two-day event, the new Association for the Metrological Initiative of Slovenia was founded, and two golden leaf awards were presented for the most innovative idea in the field of measurements in the industry and road safety. 

 
The competitive battle among companies is getting increasingly fierce. Christof Droste, the general manager of Hella Saturnus Slovenia, confides us that innovative products are no longer the insurance for keeping the best market position – the products must be supported by equally innovative work processes and services. Our interviewee is also convinced that there can be no success without the development of both the employees and the general business environment. 

 One of the greatest difficulties in manufacturing plastic parts by injection moulding is product warping after the ejection. The article describes a method for removing the warping from the cover of a coffemaker pot based on inverse distortions in the mould using a simulation of injection moulding process.
One of the greatest difficulties in manufacturing plastic parts by injection moulding is product warping (distortion) after the ejection. The warping is a consequence of uneven shrinking. A uniform shrinking guarantees the proper product form, reduced by the amount of shrinkage. The product shrinking depends on the process parameters: injection temperature, mould temperature, time and magnitude of back pressure, injection speed… Andrej Glojek, Igor Žibert 

 The development in the field of micro tools has seen a rapid upswing in the recent years. Their use for processing the smallest components, such as micro dies, graphite electrodes and toothed wheels that, in turn, are used in the electronics industry and in the fields of medicine and dentistry; requires the highest degree of precision during production. In particular, the surface quality of the micro tools has a considerable influence on the service life and on the quality of the workpiece processed using these tools. The Helitronic Micro has a total of 6 CNC-controlled grinding axes