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As automotive manufacturers and component suppliers face increasing demands for machining accuracy, production flexibility, and operational efficiency, automated machine tools are becoming essential to maintaining consistent manufacturing quality.
German precision component manufacturer Kammerer Gewindetechnik, whose products serve industries including automotive engineering, has expanded its manufacturing capabilities with a WFL M30-G MILLTURN system equipped with robotic automation and an integrated storage tower.
The investment follows the company's experience with an M40 MILLTURN, installed in 2021, and reflects its commitment to producing high-precision ball screw nuts with consistent quality and reduced manual intervention.
Based in Hornberg, Germany, Kammerer specializes in precision threading technology and ball screw components. The company operates a dedicated automotive division and has adopted line-oriented production to improve material flow and manufacturing efficiency.
Achieving Tight Tolerances in Metalworking
One of Kammerer's principal manufacturing challenges is maintaining precise dimensional relationships between the thread pitch and deflection system of its ball screw nuts.
These components require tolerances as tight as ±0.015 mm across multiple features, making machine stability, repeatability, and process control particularly important.
The M30-G MILLTURN combines several machining operations within an integrated production sequence. The process begins with external contour machining, followed by drilling, thread cutting, pocket milling, and deburring.
Additional operations include machining the outer contour, preparing features for the deflection system, and drilling connection and lubrication holes.
The components are predominantly manufactured from 100CrMo7 steel, while certain applications use 1.4112 stainless steel.
Combining these operations within one machining system helps reduce separate handling requirements and supports consistent dimensional accuracy.
For automotive component manufacturers, such machining capabilities are relevant wherever complex metal parts require tight tolerances, reliable process control, and repeatable quality.
Robotic Automation Enables Extended Unattended Production
A major feature of Kammerer's new installation is its integrated automation system.
The M30-G MILLTURN is connected to a Kardex storage tower capable of accommodating up to 300 workpieces across 28 shelves. An articulated robot automatically removes finished components, transfers them to storage, and loads new workpieces for machining.
The system also incorporates automatic jaw changing on the main and counter spindles, allowing the machine to accommodate different workpiece dimensions.
This flexibility is particularly valuable because Kammerer typically produces ball screw nuts in small batches of approximately 10 to 15 components.
According to the company, the automated installation can manufacture components continuously from a batch size of one, supporting both customized orders and recurring production requirements.
The system has demonstrated autonomous operation for up to 21 hours, allowing machining to continue with limited operator involvement.
Automation also enables employees to supervise additional machines and manufacturing processes, improving the allocation of available production resources.
High Process Stability Reduces Scrap
The combination of machine stability, integrated machining operations, and robotic handling has delivered encouraging production results.
Kammerer reported that only six components were rejected among the first 600 parts manufactured on the M30-G MILLTURN, equivalent to a 1% scrap rate for that production sample.
For manufacturers handling precision metal components, reducing scrap is particularly important because rejected parts represent lost material, machining time, and production capacity.
The ability to maintain consistent machining quality during unattended operation also supports more predictable production scheduling.
Kammerer's experience illustrates how automated machining systems can help manufacturers balance production flexibility with stringent quality requirements.
CAD/CAM Integration Supports Complex Machining
Digital programming is another important element of Kammerer's manufacturing operations.
The company uses TopSolid CAD/CAM software with dedicated post-processors for its MILLTURN machines. WFL thread-cutting cycles and conventional measuring cycles are incorporated into the programming workflow.
This integration supports complex machining sequences while maintaining consistency between programmed operations and actual machine performance.
The company's precision ball screw drives are also used in WFL machine tools, including the M200 MILLTURN.
These components convert rotational movement into precise linear motion and are designed to support accurate axis positioning, high load capacity, and efficient movement.
Their performance is particularly important in machine tools where positioning accuracy directly affects milling, drilling, and other precision machining operations.
Implications for Automotive Component Manufacturing
Kammerer's investment highlights the role of multifunction machining and automation in modern precision metalworking.
For automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and precision component manufacturers, the ability to integrate turning, milling, drilling, thread machining, and automated workpiece handling can support more flexible manufacturing operations.
The installation also demonstrates how robotic automation can be applied to small-batch production rather than exclusively to high-volume manufacturing.
With increasing pressure to maintain quality while managing labor availability and production costs, automated machining systems offer manufacturers opportunities to improve equipment utilization and reduce manual handling.
Kammerer's experience with WFL MILLTURN technology provides a practical example of how precision engineering, CAD/CAM integration, and unattended machining can work together to support reliable metal component production.