The overall common goal is to take care of the soldiers in the best possible way, when KONSGBERG and RIVAL collaborate on the weapons station productions.
Top-shelf quality and delivery ability is a must in the defense industry and in RIVAL’s collaboration with German KMW.
A strong set-up forms the basis for completely new development opportunities for collaboration with one of the world’s leading robot manufacturer.
RIVAL’s customers in the defence industry place great demands on RIVAL’s employees and machines. Just now, RIVAL has signed a multi-year agreement with a customer to produce components to the armoured Stryker vehicle used in the American Defense.
RIVAL’s new 17 tons DMG MORI NTX 2500 machine works with extreme stability and precision. It works around the clock unmanned with the KUKA robot from QRS.
After several weeks of implementation, the DMG MORI machine and the KUKA robot from Quality Robot Systems (QRS) are now ready to produce critical and costly components with particularly high tolerances to the armoured Stryker vehicle. It happens during evenings and nights only monitored by one employee.
Four parts invent a new production set up
The preparatory work to the production of the components to the Stryker vehicle was initiated several month ago in an innovative collaboration between RIVAL, DMG MORI, the tool manufacturer Seco Tools and QRS. Previously, the components had to go through two turning and milling operations. Now, in the new setup with the DMG MORI machine and the KUKA robot, the entire production is carried out in one fixing. This reduces the time spent as well as the risk of errors.
Reduces the need of quality control
The DMG MORI machine is very special. Due to its weight and size as well as its build-in cooling system, the machine operates with extreme precision – even at many repetitions.
“Extreme precision is an essential element when we have to comply with demanding tolerances over a long production period,” foremann Glenn Scharling says. “Thus, it provides a great advantage in serial productions of complex components to the armoured Stryker and is supported by the machine’s ability to both turn and mill in one fixing.”
Significant streamlining of the production
With the new set-up, both RIVAL and DMG expect to be able to reduce the production time by half. “Since we can avoid having components waiting on pallets before the next operation, the production process is streamlined significantly,” Henrik Holvad says. “It also reduces the risk of errors and streamlines the process of control measuring tolerances in our Zeiss measurement machine. So, we can offer our customers in the defense industry a really good deal, which is also the reason why, we entered into this new agreement.”
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RIVAL ind på det norske marked
The Norwegian engine supplier Wartsila increasingly demand RIVAL’s skills in machining operations. This is primarily due to the creativity, skills and efficiency of RIVAL’s staff. A supply ship runs into a pier and has to dock at the Polish port of Szczecin.
Norway is notified and Wartsila’s office has to locate a new spare part as quickly as possible. Shortly after, an e-mail arrives in Benny Soerensen’s inbox at RIVAL with an order for a piston rod. “It had to be done in no time. It costs a lot of money to have a supply ship lying idle. At the same time as they sent the e-mail with the drawings, they shipped the raw material from Norway.
We received that on Tuesday,” says Mr Soerensen, who is the sales manager at RIVAL with responsibility for “difficult” tasks. Staff at RIVAL completed the job in 72 hours. On Friday morning, a special transport service could ship the spare part to Poland, where it was fitted to allow the ship back at sea.
Competitive Denmark
RIVAL is well on the way to conquer the Norwegian offshore market, which is short of companies offering machining operations. Danish companies are known for being flexible and innovative. The relocation of many manufacturing operations to countries with lower costs has forced Danish companies to do things differently.
“Our employees are very conscious of looking for the easiest way to solve a task. This allows us to compete on both time and price.
We have been forced to hange the way we operate because demand has changed. We tell our staff that it is all about the end – not the means – and that we count on our people to achieve the optimum result,” says Mr Soerensen, who has often experienced that Norwegian companies send the special material required for the manufacture of specific items to Denmark, whereupon RIVAL manufactures the item and returns it.
The shipping costs are high, but it shows how great the eed is. “In future, we will probably consider stocking the special stainless steel materials for the offshore industry so we can become even more competitive.”
Shared understanding behind the valuable exchange and sounding out of ideas
Machinery manufacturer Dan-Web Machinery A/S has collaborated with RIVAL for over ten years. The valuable collaboration is built on good chemistry, shared understanding and the profitable exchange and sounding out of ideas.
It is a Tuesday morning, and RIVAL employees have driven to Galten, to visit machinery manufacturer Dan-Web at its 10,000 m2 industrial facility. Dan-Web Machinery A/S develops and manufactures machinery and equipment for the manufacture of airlaid products, which are soft and absorbing nonwoven materials, which are included in products like diapers and sanitary towels. The company has over 39 years of experience and throughout its existence, it has focused extensively on innovative, quality solutions.
Excellent collaboration
I meet with two engineers, Kenn Brown Petersen and Morten Pouli-Rich from Dan-Web and project manager Benny Sørensen from RIVAL’s production engineering department. It is immediately apparent that there is good chemistry between the three men. RIVAL has now been an established partner for Dan-Web for over ten years, and there is room for small talk. However, the
talk is primarily about the actual joint project, where RIVAL is manufacturing parts for Dan-Web’s forming head, which shall be supplied on a new Forming Line to the USA.
Shared understanding
We take a walk around the production area together and the discussion becomes animated, while Kenn and Morten explain in an engaged manner about the machines and components we pass along the way. It is clearly apparent that RIVAL’s many years of collaboration with Dan-Web has meant they have built up a very good knowledge of their products, and the parties have a shared understanding of what Dan-Web wants the end result to be for their customers. “At RIVAL, it’s an important factor for us that when we provide proposals for the optimisation of the technical production of their products, that we have precisely this
thorough knowledge, and thus can bring input which is precisely spot on at Dan-Web and supports their line,” says Benny.
Valuable exchange and sounding out of ideas
The two Dan-Web designers also believe that it is a great advantage that RIVAL is very familiar with their products and company. “If we have a design or technical production challenge, and we assess that getting RIVAL’s input would be beneficial, they love to meet up, and meet up quickly to exchange and sound out ideas. We have often had visits by Glenn, Ole and Benny from RIVAL and received valuable ideas about how we can optimise a design,” says Kenn, while we look closer at several of the hammer mills being worked on in the production area. We halt next to several large rollers with a paper-like material, which is currently being beaten to single fibres in the hammer mill before being blown into the forming head and further processed for the final airlaid products.
Improvement proposal
“At the same time,” Morten adds. “We also find that without even being asked, RIVAL will come to us with proposals for improvements, if they for example in their production process, come across a design or tolerance that can be changed beneficially. We’re very open to their proposals, since we constantly work with the optimisation and improvement of our products. And because they know us so well, they know what direction we want to take the development process in.”
Thank you for today
The tour of production is about to finish, and Kenn, Morten and Benny agree, right at the end before Benny returns to RIVAL, to brief production on the details, which have been agreed on at Dan-Web Machinery A/S.