„Dawn of a new era“

Erwin Müller GmbH: Spring specialist triples cycle rate and halves set-up times

Erwin Müller GmbH & Co. KG has entered the world of servo technology with a new GRM-NC stamping and forming machine – and has been able to triple throughput while simultaneously more than halving setup times. This will make the small spring specialist significantly more competitive, enable it to handle new customer projects successfully and, in this way, help it safeguard its own future.

Erwin Müller GmbH & Co. KG in Mössingen-Belsen is a very typical and relatively small mid-sized company that specializes in the manufacture of springs and bended products. And the challenges which have recently confronted the business are equally typical: “Our machine pool and, in particular, our 14 cam-controlled Bihler systems, on which we had been manufacturing successfully for decades, was simply no longer keeping pace with the times,” explains Managing Director Rolf Kümmerle. “Although we modernized the controller using the Bihler retrofit package, the setup times were very long at up to eight hours and the throughput was limited to the 4,000 to 6,000 range. This meant that we couldn’t respond to the demand for larger batch sizes and more complex components.”

A new era

That is why the company decided to acquire a new GRM-NC stamping and forming machine in the fall of 2023 and switch over from mechanical to servo-controlled machining technology. Kümmerle has no doubts: “The new GRM-NC is ushering in a completely new era for us and will significantly increase our competitiveness and performance. In this way, we will gain the flexibility that we need to handle larger order volumes and produce more complex parts. More specifically, we expect to be able to cut our setup times by more than half to an average of 2 to 4 hours and to triple throughput to 10,000 to 14,000 strokes.”

Trust that goes back decades

At July 2024, these improvements had not yet made themselves felt in practice because delivery of the system to Erwin Müller GmbH & Co. KG is not planned until September 2024. However, the spring manufacturer has no doubts: “We are confident that the new GRM-NC will meet all our expectations,” says the Managing Director. “After all, we have been working together with Bihler for decades and know that we can always rely on them. The company does exactly what it says it will do and, for us, that was another reason for choosing the system.”

The right decision

And, here as always, Bihler is not just a machine supplier but also assists with a huge amount of know-how and support. One outstanding example of this is the current training sessions being held in Halblech for Müller’s employees, including mechanical engineer Simon Kümmerle, the son of Rolf Kümmerle. The team on-site is being got ready for the Bihler NC technology and is also preparing to adapt the total of approximately 50 existing tools. “The entire workforce is totally enthusiastic about the new GRM-NC and is looking forward to experiencing servo-controlled production on it,” reports Kümmerle. “We are all convinced that we have made an important and decisive step into the future with Bihler – even though the new system represents a massive investment for us. However, ultimately, it will make us significantly more competitive, help us win over new customers and allow us to safeguard our future.”