Productivity supplier with a full range of services

The process design lays the foundation for the costs incurred for a component. Key framework conditions are cycle time and process reliability. While MAPAL has had the necessary tool expertise for a long time, elements were not yet in place for full-service packages: MAPAL was unable to go into depth in areas such as clamping fixtures, programming and process acceptance – until now.

By acquiring the Italian company X-Pro, that gap has been filled in the past year. MAPAL is now in a position to profoundly assist customers with component industrialisation at an early stage using feasibility studies and optimum planning of machining steps and thus achieve the required cycle times and quality specifications without fail. 

“The aim is an efficient and stable manufacturing process”, says Stephan Köstler, Global Head of Machines and Services at MAPAL. He adds: “As early as the conceptualisation phase, clamping fixtures are designed to meet requirements for quality and process reliability – tailored to the stresses and strains involved in the machining process. A simulated and optimised NC program ensures that all machining steps can be achieved collision-free before the first component has even been produced. The installation and commissioning of the process under real conditions on the production line with proof of process capability is the final step.” 

Projects have already been successfully implemented using the new capabilities, where MAPAL took full responsibility and was able to fully fulfil customer expectations within eight to twelve weeks.

This holistic approach also shapes tool management – a service concept that goes far beyond the mere supply of tools. At its heart is the continuous optimisation of machining processes and the entire tool cycle, from procurement, storage and pre-setting all the way through to reconditioning. In the machining processes themselves, the use of the latest tool technology ensures gains in productivity. MAPAL focuses on digital processes, standardised workflows and close collaboration with production here. The full integration of the cloud-based platform c-Com into the MAPAL Group in 2025 underlines this approach: data, tools and processes are brought together in one system – transparent, secure and available worldwide. Customers benefit from permanently high tool availability, optimised inventories and inhouse logistics that are vastly more efficient. At the same time, the central database enables a sound analysis of consumption, costs and performance – in real time and across production facilities.

MAPAL sees tool management not as an additional service, but as an integral aspect of modern manufacturing. With over 100 ongoing projects worldwide, a main centre of competence in Aalen and decades of machining experience, MAPAL is a strong partner for companies looking to boost their productivity beyond the start of production.
 

Productivity as a Service (PRODaaS) enables even greater digital integration into customers’ processes, which includes connecting to live data from the machine tool. An initial research project was successfully completed last year, and now there is an even further-reaching sequel. “With PRODaaS, the aim was to allow the experiences with productivity gains made in ongoing series production to flow back in a structured way, in order to get much closer to the ideal point in the initial component design”, reflects Stephan Köstler. To achieve this, a digital assistant continuously evaluated data from the machine environment and made specific suggestions for potential optimisations. 

The new PRODaaS@SCALE project goes a step further into a more automated future. Köstler: “With PRODaaS@SCALE, the assistant becomes a self-regulating system. It incorporates experience gained in application directly into the process design.” In this research project, the use of AI is meant to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Even during the planning stage, significantly better settings for the machining processes are expected with AI systems with individual customer-specific training than would be the case without this feedback curve. 
 

Die Umsetzung richtet sich an der Initiative Manufacturing-X von Wirtschaft, Politik und Wissenschaft und deren Leuchtturmprojekten aus. „Viele Digitalisierungsprojekte sind in den vergangenen zehn Jahren nicht über die Pilotphase hinausgekommen“, so Stephan Köstler. „Die Herausforderung bestand darin, die gemeinsame Nutzung von Daten zu skalieren.“ 

Bei PRODaaS@SCALE ist der Aufbau von neuen Dateninfrastrukturen der Schlüssel, um eine gemeinsame Datennutzung ohne Gefährdung der Datensouveränität sicherzustellen. Projektpartner sind die Firma Zoller, die mit Messtechnik und Werkzeugdiagnose einen wesentlichen Beitrag leistet, sowie Walter Formenbau als Pilotkunde. Neu ist auch der Ansatz, mit dem Holzbearbeitungsmaschinenhersteller Weinig als Projektpartner eine Übertragung und Nutzung dieser Systematik in die Holzbearbeitungsindustrie zu avisieren. Wie schon im PRODaaS-Forschungsprojekt übernimmt auch in der skalierten Version MAPAL die Aufgabe des Konsortialführers.

Mit seinem erweiterten Angebot positioniert sich MAPAL als führender Anbieter zukunftsorientierter Fertigungslösungen. Zukunftsthemen wie künstliche Intelligenz und digitale Integration steigern die Produktivität und Effizienz der Kunden. Mit Turnkey-Lösungen und der Integration von c-Com werden Produktionsprozesse optimiert und kontinuierliche Produktivitätsgewinne erzielt. So ist MAPAL bestens gerüstet, um den Anforderungen der modernen Fertigungsindustrie gerecht zu werden und seinen Kunden maßgeschneiderte, innovative Lösungen zu bieten.