Breton, technical partner of Renault Sport Formula One Team, invites you to watch the launch of R.S.17, the new car that will compete in the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship.
Today at 15:30 (14.30 UK).
Here you can follow the live streaming
Good show at all! Well, that’s all for today. Bye-bye Sergio Prior
The arrival of a Breton Eagle in SCA's workshop in Gessate (Milan) not only solved a host of operational problems, it also allowed the company to approach sectors and materials that were hitherto excluded. (From: Meccanica&Automazione)
SCA
Founded almost fifty years ago as specialised manufacturer of foundry moulds, SCA is currently headed by the third generation of the proprietor family and, in a sense, it's experiencing the third “revolution” or – more accurately – conscious evolution of its operating activities.
The company was incorporated in 1970 by Domenico Scalzo and is currently headed by his grandson assisted by the second generation of the family.
The Breton Eagle of SCA
Like many companies set up in the 1970s, the business started in cramped premises and worked with all kinds of industrial sectors: from moulds for motorcycle cylinder heads and interior light fixtures, to the initial production of parts for the Italian bottling industry. In fact, it was a customer in the bottling sector that provided the basis for SCA's first turning point. With the customer in question, which remains a point of reference for SCA, the company began a journey into the world of industrial automation that enabled it to build its technological expertise until becoming a qualified supplier of parts for bottling plants (glass and plastic).
Rather than resting on its laurels and running the risk of supplying a single customer, over the years SCA maintained or developed a series of opportunities in several sectors that differed widely from the automatic machinery field, until it gradually left its origins in foundry mould-making in the past.
Competing in multiple sectors
This direction change led SCA to work with numerous industrial sectors, especially those calling for the ability to work with different materials with high levels of precision and the maximum operational flexibility. From food and chemicals to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, the marine and aeronautical industry, and also construction of large size components for theatrical stage sets. These various different areas of activity called for the ability to work with a large range of different materials, which is why SCA's machining shop today is equipped with machines for plastics, metals, and even, marginally, woodworking machines. The diverse range of applications calls for specific machines for each material type, each capable of producing optimal results.
Alessio Restelli explains “Several years ago we decided to focus our investments on machine tools for metals and alloys. That's why we decided to purchase a large size machining centre for specific work processes on workpieces in aluminium and lightweight alloys. Unfortunately however, we soon discovered that the machine we had identified was unable to cope with the work in our production programme. We were looking for a machining centre with large working dimensions, capable of processing different materials and providing absolute reliability. Above all, we were seeking a definitive solution to the problems we had encountered. And the need was all the more pressing because we were very keen to enter new business sectors and consolidate our capital equipment”.
SCA found the answer by embarking on a series of analyses and checks, trawling through the information available on the various companies and products on the market.
“We soon realised that our requirements in terms of equipment and solutions were a very good fit with the machine tools produced by Breton which, thanks to its long experience in building machines for a range of materials from stone to metal, was the ideal candidate to provide the tranquillity we were looking for. This saw the start of a period of negotiation that went extremely smoothly, especially when we went to visit Breton at the company's headquarters, near Treviso".
Breton Eagle
A paradigm of rationality and organisational efficiency.” The final choice fell on the Eagle, a gantry-type machining centre offering exceptionally generous working dimensions: 4200 mm (X) x 3000 mm (Y) axis x 1500 mm (Z). We then requested that these characteristics be integrated with a separate lath so we could turn workpieces of up to two metres in length, using the Eagle head (shown in the attached photos) as a turning-milling device.
Restelli explains – “Our Eagle is not merely an extremely efficient machine able to produce work of the utmost quality and with exceptional dimensional precision, it also allowed us to benefit from the positive experience of working with the Breton team that were looking after our interests. Apart from absolute respect of precision and times, we were also impressed by the creation of a valuable collaborative relationship that was built on our combined efforts to find the best possible solution to our needs".
"For sure, the machine tool in question is extremely valuable, but the whole process was also accompanied by a truly exceptional the level of customer care and assistance. We quickly realised that the people at Breton were far more than expert engineers. In some cases the relationships we developed morphed beyond the professional realm and became more akin to actual friendship.
We started to perceive Breton's people as an integral part of our own team - a development that brought substantial value to the whole process. For companies working in our sector it's extremely important to be able to rely on a partner that allows us to focus on our core business, without having to lose sleep about possible breakdowns, problems, or the inability to achieve the quality levels we need. Setting aside the problems and focusing on the job means that we can relax and get on with what we do best. And that's just as important to us as the very air we breathe”.
Breton Eagle, range for resins, composites and alloys
Eagle is fully articulated range of travelling bridge gantry machining centres dedicated to the world of composite materials, resins and aluminium. These machining centres are perfect for fast, high precision 5-axis machining of 5 faces of the workpiece with a single set-up operation.
The various configurations of EAGLE machining centres for composite materials make it possible to perform even the most complex tasks with the maximum flexibility and operating efficiency, with working dimensions from 2,000x2,500x1,000 mm up to 10,500x5,000x2,500 mmand beyond.
The machine offers the maximum production flexibility thanks to the possibility of configuring the work area, which can be optimized for machining single parts or pendulum machining operations. Our job is further facilitated by the optimal visibility of the work area and the double front and rear access doors, allowing easy loading and unloading procedures, tooling set-up and monitoring of machining operations.
Would you like to find out more about the Breton Eagle? For INFO and inquiries write to mail@breton.it.
High-speed and developed to meet the needs of workshops that deal with materials such as resins, composites, aluminium and carbon, while guaranteeing dimensional accuracy. (From: Tecnologie Meccaniche)
Breton Eagle
In its history as a manufacturer of machine tools, Breton has always stood out for its care and quality in designing and manufacturing solutionsfor removing metal chips.
High accuracy combined with powers and torques capable of processing new materials have always been the strong points of the company from Castello di Godego (TV), to meet the needs of sectors such as aerospace, automotive and pattern making.
Breton Matrix 1000 Dynamic
For the best results, it has designed models like the Matrix machining centres, also used to process the lighter materials (aluminium, resins and composites), which still require fairly high accuracy and a good degree of chip removal.
However, Matrix is a model that, in some cases, could be overspecified for the real needs of these sectors in terms of power and accuracy and, as we know, users tend to prefer solutions that match their needs perfectly. Often the market offers lower-performance solutions with inadequate volumetric accuracies. Eagle is Breton’s solution to meet these expectations.
A new application sector
Breton Eagle, the 5-axis machining centre of the month
Breton decided to create a product that is not in direct competition with other manufacturers, nor of course with any of the machines that it was already manufacturing, but to enter a niche that requires good accuracy without the need for large investments.
Not all customers can afford (or need) a high-power machine nor an extremely accurate one. This requirement is typical of those making aluminiummoulds or carbon, composite or resin patterns and it became increasingly evident that there was a need to offer a product that could meet this demand. None of these applications requires very high accuracy, but they do need a higher accuracy than can be obtained with low-end machines. Therefore, Eagle is a high-speed, 5-axis machining centre for milling, drilling and trimmingmedium and large components made of composites, sandwich structures, light alloys, resins and plastics, all with good dimensional accuracy.
This machine is conceptually simpler and more economical than a Matrix, but at the same time, it is able to guarantee an accuracy that is higher than anything available in the lightweight material machining sector. Eagle is based on the manufacturing philosophy that has always distinguished Breton’s machines: vertical spindle, high-quality recirculating ball screws, axes drives with backlash recovery to ensure the desired accuracy, thermo-symmetric elements, symmetrical fork head and high-performance cooled motor spindles. From an economic point of view, Eagle requires a much lower investment than buying a Matrix (about 30% less, depending on the configuration). This is a significant amount for a single machine, but often users need several machining centres dedicated to these tasks, so the economic benefit is even more apparent. Modular construction
Eagle brings the construction philosophy of other Breton models: in fact, it is a gantry machine with high columns, balanced vertical axis and heads with a symmetrical structure so that thermal dilatation is always limited.
Not all workshops are equipped with air conditioning systems, and thermo-symmetric design reduces structural deformation and makes it easy to correct via software. Naturally, the points where heat is generated (like the head, A-axis and motor spindle) are cooled by a dedicated chiller to reduce heat transfer to other parts of the structure. Like most of the machines manufactured by Breton, Eagle is also a highly modular design. It is made entirely of electrowelded steel and is dimensioned using finite element analysis to reduce vibration and limit twisting. This choice allows it to meet the machine users’ need for modular dimensions, allowing Breton to customise the standard product easily to satisfy market demands. The machine is driven by brushless motors. The bridge on which the gantry moves has racks with two motors and pinions with backlash recovery, which offers a stroke of 2 m and higher thanks to the modularity of the rack solution. Depending on the choice of model, in the Y-axis, the stroke starts from 2.5 m and can reach up to 5 m. Finally, the Z-axis stroke is 1 m for the most compact model and reaches 2.5 m for the largest one.
The streamlined structure can also reach considerable speeds and accelerations: 70 m/min on the X- and Y-axes, 50 m/min on the Z-axis (all the linear axes are equipped with encoders) with accelerations of up to 4 m/s2, 12 rpm on the A-axis and 19 on the C-axis.
The motor spindles are partly inherited from the Matrix, while others have been specially developed to meet the specific needs of users of this type of machine. Breton’s entry-level model offers a torque of 52 Nm, 16,000 rpm, 25 kW of power and is lubricated with grease. This choice was dictated by the typical field of application, namely aerospace, where lubricant leaks onto the composite or carbon parts are strictly forbidden.
Alternatively, there are other spindles developed in co-design with Breton's partners, which offer up to 40 kW and air/oil lubrication. The machining head was developed to ensure the accuracy and performance required by this type of application sector: a solution that is compact, mechanically driven to achieve the desired performance without using the more expensive direct drive. It also has smaller pivots for improved penetration inside the workpiece, allowing it to perform all the required operations.
It is made from a cast iron block, a solution that effectively damps vibrations directly at the source. Equipped with brakes to work in 3+2 mode with locked axes, it ensures maximum rigidity even with challenging material removal. The machine received a positive reaction from the pattern makers who make rotational moulds, which typically require heavy aluminium removal. The same goes for pattern makers who make scale Ureol parts, resin products and other prototype components.
Power and control
A requirement related to machining composite materials is that sometimes the structure contains threaded inserts to be drilled or small titanium strips. Other solutions on the market are not able to cope with this kind of machining, which must therefore be carried out manually by an operator, with the problems of accuracy and productivity that this entails.
On the other hand, Eagle can even handle those workpieces that contain composites, aluminium and various inserts, completing the task directly in the machine.In the civil aerospace sector, Eagle is ideal for all the structural aluminium machining, interior structures, honeycomb panels, aramid fibres, aluminium and composites that required drilling and countersinking. Obviously, Eagle is also able to machine harder materials, taking into account that its performance will be lower than that of, for example, a Matrix. The choice, therefore, will be dictated by the predominant type of machining to be performed and the materials to be used. The accessories
Ultrasonic cutting head
In addition to the more traditional optionals, such as video cameras to monitor the machining area and tool magazines of various sizes, Breton has come up with a series of accessories dedicated to the specific application fields for which Eagle is intended.
An ultrasonic cutting head has been developed to prevent tearing or chipping the workpiece when machining composites. It can be managed like a common tool (in fact, it is housed in the magazine).
Also for composites and carbon parts, there is a countersinking control head. This is controlled automatically through simple templates in the numerical control and allows the effective hole position to be verified before countersinking. This procedure is essential, for example, with carbon aircraft doors because the carbon mould geometry is rarely exactly the same as the CAD model. So, the system carries out a check to establish the effective hole position on the workpiece (using mechanical or laser sensing) at three points to determine its exact coordinates before counterboring. With respect to a sensing cycle, the times, and therefore the costs, are reduced significantly.
The numerical controls that can be installed on the Eagle are the Siemens 840D sl and Heidenhain 640 iTNC, both with full software options. Moreover, at the customer’s request, it is possible to develop applications, cycles and specific interfaces that run on the numerical control to improve machine utilisation. Finally, there is an accessory with a 6th horizontal positioning axis, to perform turning that requires special workpiece positioning and complete accessibility in any situation. Safe and productive
Depending on the specific use, the user can choose whether to machine dry or using cooling lubricants, as the machine can do both. Breton has provided for the use of evacuator belts, extraction systems or both. Where there are laminated materials, for which it is necessary to mill the carbon and then thread the aluminium inserts, the carbon dust can be handled by the extraction system and the aluminium chips by the evacuator belts. Breton puts considerable effort into satisfying the Atex standard. When it comes to safety, especially in industrial systems, nobody wants to run into problems or “surprises”. The machine is therefore fully closed, with top bellows to avoid dust dispersion within the workplace. There are also extraction systems on the table and spindle nose.
When machining graphite, whose dust is extremely aggressive to both mechanical and electrical parts, Breton offers IP65 cabinets for the electrical panels or, alternatively, located at an appropriate distance from the point where the dust is created. Would you like to find out more about the Breton Eagle? For INFO and inquiries about this 5-axis machining centre write to mail@breton.it. Well, that’s all for today. Bye-bye
Aerospace, the industry continuously searching for innovative materials offering better performance and always looking for micrometrical accuracies.
Piaggio Aero Avanti Evo
An industry that needs someone who can promptly develop cutting edge production solutions which could be both competitive and immediately reliable.
That's why many major Aerospace players selected Breton as a partner, the Italian company manufacturing high-speed machining centres: continuous research and innovation are in its DNA.
From the most affordable machine configurations up to the large and complex automated manufacturing systems, Breton is always focused in providing its customers with the best ‘Return Of Investment’ solutions.
At their engineering and manufacturing headquarter in Northern Italy as well as in the other 6 service centers worldwide, a dedicated staff of experts is performing preventive part and process analysis in order to determine the most effective and efficient way of producing aerospace parts using a very wide mix of technologies including turning, milling, grinding or in-process probing.
Breton competences are ranging from the lightest composite materials up to the toughest special alloys and,doesn’t really matter if the application is around an aero-engine part or a large structure, their vertical gantries provide an answer even to the most specific demands.
HIGH DYNAMICS
There are multiple advantages offered by the architecture of the Breton machines (vertical trunnion tables, large overhead gantries and moving portals) such as reduced footprint, greater and comfortable accessibility, very high dynamics, thermo-symmetry and thermal stability combined to a user-friendly programming and a low maintenance requirement.
These benefits become even more evident when a single machine is capable of performing more than one task simultaneously in a perfect multitasking approach, a concept in which Breton is well-experienced.
As an example, in its ceaseless research for innovation, Breton has recently introduced two revolutionary technologies that open up new horizons for the machining of aero-applications.
COUNTERSINKING
The heart of one of these is a machining head that can drill and countersink not only faster but also more precisely than ever before. It can be installed on a variety of 5-axis machining centres, such as those of the BretonMatrix and BretonEagle families.
No special programing is required since automatically 3 accurate probes around the cutting tool come into contact with the surface of the workpiece to detect the real position in the space, directly adjusting the perpendicular direction to the surface and measuring the exact countersinking depth.
All in one shot. It's a unique solution, which has already been adopted by various aerostructure manufacturers who now supply components with a higher degree of accuracy in much faster lead times.
ULTRASONIC CUTTING
Another exciting innovation focuses on the accessories Breton has developed for ultrasonic cutting, ideal for machining core materials with aramid and aluminum honeycomb, for structural components which must be lighter than ever while maintaining their structural rigidity, produced at incredible speed.
Both technologies are automatically managed and are interchangeable with other conventional rotary cutting tools, performing a series of operations with just one machine thus reducing investments, production costs and times, while guaranteeing greater accuracy and more efficient productivity.
INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
Considering the important existing order backlog in several aerospace programs, the rump-up stage of many others and the extremely positive outlook for the future of the air transportation, there is no doubt that most of the international aerospace players need to increase productivity and be prepared for incoming growing demand.
In March 2015, Selway Machine Tool Co. became Breton’s new sales & service agency for the territories of California, Washington State, Oregon and Nevada.
Selwayis one of the largest providers of CNC machining centres of the West Coast, and works daily with the biggest aerospace, automotive, semiconductors, power generation, and general industries.
SELWAY MACHINE TOOL
With 110 employees; which includes 56 service and application engineers and 2 Siemens CNC specialists, Selway is giving a great support to Breton USA to expand their presence in the american market
WESTEC 2015
Selway will be joining the Breton Team in Los Angeles, CA for the Westec trade show, the West Coast’s premier manufacturing exhibition.
So, if you want to have access to advanced technologies, new products, applications, and especially meet the industry experts, save the date and join Breton USA from September 15-17, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, in California, booth #624!
In Paris, at Le Bourget, for the world most important aerospace event of the year, Bretonis there to grant its support and proximity to its valued Aerospace customers.
Breton stand is not only a meeting point where to enjoy a nice Italian espresso but is the place where to discover the latest development in machining technologies for composites and metals.
Come and see how Breton can improve your machining performances and provide you with the solutions for your today’s and tomorrow’s production challenges.
THOSE WHO LOOK A LITTLE HARDER FIND A LOT MORE
In a central position between the halls, next to the “Le Club” lounge, two steps away from the HALL 2 doors to not lose your favorite air displays, close to the CHALETS lines nearby your partners, that’s where the Breton booth is: HALL 2B - Booth DE2
For INFO and request write now to mail@breton.it. Well, that’s all for today. Bye-bye Sergio Prior
With over 40 years industry experience, Marandhave the right machine
to do the right job, and the right technology for the right situation. More than manufacturing, Marandspecialise in innovation and
creativity for precision tooling and support equipment for the aerospace
industry. Eighty per cent of Marand's products are exported internationally,
mainly on defence programs thanks to the accuracy of the Breton 5-axis machines, supplied and supported by Headland.
Watch Rohan Stocker, General Manager of Marand Precision Engineering
In Paris, at Le Bourget, for the world most important
aerospace event of the year, Breton is there to grant its support and proximity
to its valued Aerospace customers.
Breton stand is not only a meeting point where to enjoy a
nice Italian espresso but is the place where to discover the latest development
in machining technologies for composites and metals.
Come and see how Breton can improve your machining
performances and provide you with the solutions for your today’s and tomorrow’s
production challenges.
THOSE WHO LOOK A LITTLE HARDER FIND A LOT MORE
In a central position between the halls, next to the “Le
Club” lounge, two steps away from the HALL2 doors to not lose your favorite air
displays, close to the CHALETS lines nearby your partners, that’s where the Breton booth is: HALL 2B booth DE2.
Use the Paris Air Show's Mobile Application on your
smartphone and tablet to find your shortest way to the Breton meeting point.
DON’T WORRY, ASK BRETON
You are still missing your badge or you lost your
invitation, don’t worry, contact us and we will be happy to guest you.
The leader in the work centre field, throws down the gauntlet in the new fuel cell market. And the company tempts top archistars with maxi-gres for skyscrapers. TREVISO — The pinnacle of production, breaking new ground based on fifty years of experience, the fluorinated titanium dioxide is a powder which, when used as an electrolyte multiplies the output of batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, like those used in electric and hydrogen cars. So what's that got to do, I hear you say, with the story of Breton, the company from Castello di Godego, in the province of Treviso that took the marble and granite machinery sector by storm in the 70's when they invented engineered stone and an entirely new industrial sector with its high-speed work centres? Quite a lot, because innovation is in the DNA of this company, which in 2013 celebrates fifty years at the head of a group with a forecast turnover for 2013 of over 170 million euro, employing 700 people in 4 production units in Veneto («We've never delocalized - they say in the company - because you just can't beat Italian quality»). In the last 4 years this company has invested 58 million euro in the refurbishing of its works and machinery, the name of which (Bre-ton) is the abbreviation of two words (Brevetti Toncelli). Simply put, Breton’s goal is not just to build machines, but to offer something new. It's always been their goal, ever since the company was established by the founding father Marcello Toncelli, awarded the Order of Merit for Labour. He passed away ten years ago, but in Breton his spirit lives on, and he's fondly remembered; always curious to know more, poking his nose into the research centre with new ideas and encouragement. A story in a story, that of his life. Born in Piombino (Tuscany), at a young age he moved with his parents to Trentino when his father was sent to the mountains for health reasons. After the war he went to work down the mines in Belgium, and then moved back to Italy to work as an accountant in Bassano. Toncelli made his way in the years of the boom. He set up his own business, fitting parquet and marble floors. There were no machines to cut it, but that didn't stop him. «I'll make them», he said, and fifty years later, this same intuition has now led to titanium dioxide. «Breton was offered this opportunity purely by chance - says Luca Toncelli, the company chairman, and the second generation at the head of the company with his brother Dario -. A Russian customer told us of a scientist who couldn't find a sponsor to fund his work. We've been working on the project with Padua University for ten years now: we're currently building a pilot plant after having patented the process to produce electrolyte». This is the chemical component that converts hydrogen into electrical energy in fuel cells: the Breton roduct should mean a huge difference in terms of yield and make overheating a thing of the past. It may even pave the way with a cost-effective means of using hydrogen as an energy source.
«In two years - explains Toncelli - we'll be ready. In other words, we'll have to decide whether to sell the machinery for making the electrolyte, produce electrolyte ourselves, or start making fuel cells and batteries». Whatever the choice, it'll be something completely new compared to what the company’s done until now. Over the years they've made their name as a leader in the machinery sector, at first with marble and granite cutting and shaping machines (35% of the turnover), and in recent years they've added high-speed work centres to the line for machining materials ranging from steel to light alloys or engineered stone. These work centres have been the choice of customers such as Red Bull in Formula One, who bought four for moulding and building parts of their F1 car bodies, not to mention car makers Toyota and Volkswagen, or the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky, who chose these work centres for machining the tips of their blades, or Boeing who uses the work centres to produce the carbon fibre doors of its planes.
The company’s heart however lies in engineered stone, the patented technology that made Breton a household name the whole world over. From kitchen sinks to floors, wall tiles for indoor and outdoor compositions, this unique engineered material made of crushed quartz quarry fragments bonded together with resins or cement, commonly called engineered stone, has created not only a niche but a market of its own. An evolution over the last thirty years, from the 70's to today, an idea to create a product that matches the beauty of natural stone.
Some twenty or so companies have been established all over the world, with 60 plants employing over six thousand people, with more than fifty thousand working in ancillary industries. And the innovation of the stone and coverings never stops. For some it's true, there may well be a crisis, but Breton never looks back and has in fact just opened a new company called Lapitec in Vedelago, with a surface area of 100,000 m2. Here, they've installed their biggest and latest hi-tech plant for producing maxi-slabs of ceramic stone (3.4 x 1.5 m). The idea is to exploit a truly exceptional solution in the coverings sector for skyscrapers and major public works, but also for the furnishing sector, by putting this solution directly on the plate of the biggest names in architecture (and it's already a winner for archistar Philip Starck). An excellent opportunity, also for the first 25 employees who found work in this time of crisis: a number which could soon rise to 150.
Breton picks up the gauntlet, and once again comes up with something new. (Translation of article in the Corriere del VenetoSunday 17 February 2013)
