PRISMA The WILD Group magazine

Transcription

1 PRISMA The WILD Group magazine Edition FOCUS ON OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY WILD invests 700,000 euros in precision manufacturing solar-semi service, maintenance, and training WILD Technologies custom-made fibre optic light guides

2 2 EDITORIAL OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY, AN ENGINE OF GROWTH Be it in microscopy, laser technology, photography, or even in everyday life, the omnipresent application of optics in combination with sensors, electronics, software, and precision mechanics presents us with true technological feats. WILD makes a significant contribution to the creation of some of these fascinating products. Optomechatronics is a field of technology in which WILD has been operating successfully for more than 40 years. During this time, our organisational separation into Optical Technology and Medical Technology has proven its worth, since it allows us to cater specifically to the needs of the market and to bring our strengths to bear. Even from a technological point of view, our dual-division organisation is able to adapt to the customers requirements in a more flexible manner. Our Technology Roadmap is the key to innovative technologies, since it plays a decisive role in the development and manufacturing of new products. In recent years, Optical Technology has made an essential contribution to the growth of the WILD Group. This latest issue of PRISMA gives an insight on how we accomplished this together with our customers, and delivers more exciting news from the Group. Ing. Stefan Werkl Head of Optical Technology at WILD GmbH CONTENT That extra edge. 3 All Inclusive. 4 New members. 6 Full-Service Partner. 7 Let there be light. 7 Flexible light

3 PRODUCTION 3 THAT EXTRA EDGE. For years, the demand for extremely precise machining of components has been on the rise. For this reason, WILD is investing 700,000 euros in precision manufacturing. Many of our customers are already testing the limits of what is technically feasible, so they want to manufacture with even greater precision in the future, explains Robert Lackner, Head of Mechanical Production at WILD. In order to achieve this, WILD expanded its lathing and machining centre in Völkermarkt, and recently invested in a state-of-the-art OKUMA precision lathe. The machine is equipped with counter-spindle technology and can operate with repeating accuracy in tolerance windows of under mm. In comparison: a human red blood cell measures only mm across. Such extreme precision is required, for instance, in steel components for microprocessor-controlled prosthetic limbs or aluminium parts for a high-tech camera used in ophthalmologic diagnosis. Multitasking features increase productivity Vibration absorption and both the dynamic and thermal stability of the precision lathe have a significant influence on machining precision. Therefore, the machine was installed on a specially vibration-insulated foundation separated from the rest of the hall floor. Moreover, it is equipped with a constant position monitoring system with a resolution of mm and an electronic temperature compensation function. Since the new precision lathe can also perform milling operations allowing it to fully process complex components, it guarantees a significant reduction in lead time.

4 4 IN-HOUSE ALL INCLUSIVE. The Optical Technology division is booming. An increasing number of companies are outsourcing the development processes of their high-end products to WILD. Besides the significant technical expertise, they above all appreciate the way the system partner applies the concept of simultaneous engineering in practice. When online maps service Bing delivers images in unprecedented detail and sharpness, sometimes the technology behind them may not come from the US, but from Völkermarkt in Austria. When energy experts can detect even the slightest defects in the insulation of buildings, it is thanks to the decades-long know-how of WILD Technologies. When steelworks rely on state-of-the-art appliances for a quick and most precise analysis of metals, our developers at Optical Technology must have put quite an effort into delivering them. Be it for makers of aerial cameras, the latest x-ray spectrometers, or thermographic cameras when there is demand for experienced specialists for developing complex optomechatronic systems, WILD is a well-organised, prudent partner at their side. Innovative pipetting system WILD Managing Director Dr. Josef Hackl can easily explain why the Optical Technology division has more than doubled in size in the last four years: Growth is not our primary objective, but the result of first-class work. Plenty of customers will attest this claim. One of them is Bruker Daltonics, a company operating in the field of instrumental analysis. WILD was recently commissioned by Bruker to take over serial production of an innovative, fully automated pipetting system. The contract includes project planning, manufacturing, assembly, final testing, and servicing. This pipetting system is used in an analysis workflow in which bacteria are identified on the basis of their molecular fingerprints. Specifically, the system positions µl volumes of specific reagents on the sample carriers which are subsequently analysed using mass spectrometry. The entire workflow, consisting of the new pipetting robot, mass spectrometer, software, and database, was developed for routine microbiological diagnostics in laboratories. It can identify pathogens significantly quicker than in the past, explains Dr. Martin Schürenberg, Development Project Manager at Bruker Daltonics. The machine thus relieves laboratory staff from the tedious pipetting work, and since pipetting is contactless, it significantly reduces the amount of waste produced in the lab. The entire process is monitored by sensors, which control reagent quality and reserves, pipetting volume, and air humidity. This guarantees constant conditions that allow for a high degree of comparability and traceability of the results.

5 5 Simultaneous Engineering During the development of this fully automated system, the customer and WILD applied the proven concept of simultaneous engineering, on which they had both cooperated on-site for quite some time. This face-toface cooperation is essential for us. After all, knowledge transfer does not take place merely through drawings, specifications, s and phone calls, but also through shared experiences and trustful cooperation, stresses the customer s project manager. The fact that the customer s developer team and the manufacturing team of WILD have known each other for many years also played a significant role in placing the order. For us, staff continuity is key to the successful development and production of complex high-tech products, explains the customer. Quick response times An increasingly vital requirement is speed. WILD manages to convert new ideas and models into prototypes in a very short time. This is particularly beneficial, especially during the on-site collaboration phase, says Stefan Werkl, Head of the Optical Technology Division. And this seems to be the general trend. We are realizing that companies often require more time for the development of complex products than initially announced. Several technical modifications are made prior to serial production. Despite this, the product launch must take place on time. It s a logistical Gordian knot that needs to be solved. This is where WILD has proven a reliable partner that has its process management seamlessly under control, Josef Hackl emphasises. Optical Technology: unprecedented growth Optical Technology division has seen sales double during the last four years Optical Technology sales reached 31 million euro in the business year : approx. 3.2 million euro will be invested in clean room technology and the enlargement of clean room areas for the production of laser assemblies and measuring microscopes.

6 6 The new trio (from left to right): Mathias Smrecnik, Stefan Pichler und Mario Pföstl IN-HOUSE NEW MEMBERS. They are committed, reliable, and genuine team players. Stefan Pichler, Mathias Smrecnik and Mario Pföstl have recently joined Sales and Project Management in Optical Technology. It s easy to explain a simple product. Yet the more complicated technical solutions become, the higher the requirements for sales staff. For this reason, WILD decided to assign a team of three specialists with customer support in Optical Technology. As of recently, Stefan Pichler, Mathias Smrecnik and Mario Pföstl have combined forces in managing the company s sales tasks, such as further improving customer relationships, expanding the company s role as a system supplier in existing segments, and gaining a foothold in new areas such as bioanalytics. Surely a lot of work ahead for the new trio in Optical Technology. Quite diversified We cooperate closely with our developers so as to be able to put ourselves in our customers place, stresses Project Manager Mario Pföstl. Broad technical knowledge is another requirement for this, since WILD s broad technology range is applied in completely different sectors. In addition, the optomechatronics specialist offers individual project solutions in all phases of the product lifecycle, from development and manufacturing to after sales service. We guarantee utmost transparency, flexibility, and stability in all these areas, says Project Manager Stefan Pichler. Moreover, we deliver added value to our customers by treating them as partners, adds Mario Pföstl, revealing his sales principle. Your contact stefan.pichler@wild.at mathias.smrecnik@wild.at mario.pfoestl@wild.at

7 AFTER SALES SERVICE FULL-SERVICE PARTNER. DEVELOPMENT LET THERE BE LIGHT. 7 solar-semi offers additional support to its customers with service, maintenance and training. Photonic presents a new LED source specially developed for life science and forensic microscopy applications. Especially in the technologically demanding semiconductor industry, continuous maintenance of complex machines is crucial in ensuring a smooth production process. For this reason, in early 2015 solar-semi increasingly began offering services in connection with its hardware and software products. As Thomas Huber, Head of the Service and Assembly Department of solar-semi GmbH explains, we offer our customers a customised and solution-oriented support so that they can focus on their core business while their systems are running smoothly and are kept state of the art. The range of services includes the implementation of mandatory maintenance intervals, the required service measures, as well as software and hardware updates and training courses. In recent years, the field of microscopy has seen a shift from halogen to LED systems for lighting, since the latter have proven longer-lasting and far more efficient. With F3000 CRI, Photonic has now launched a fibre-optic LED light source specifically developed for microscopy, which brings with it a whole series of compelling advantages. The system, suitable for both routine and high-end applications, stands out with its superior light quality and brightness, a colour temperature of 3,200 K, and energy savings of 70%. Since it offers a colour rendering index > 90 and an increased red component in the spectrum, similar colour tones are more easily distinguishable than with conventional LED sources. Therefore, F3000 CRI is ideally suitable for dental technology, forensics, life science, and industrial endoscopy. SAVE THE DATE Find out more about us and our products at the LASER World of PHOTONICS in Munich, Booth B from June Contact: office@photonic.at

8 8 PRODUCTION FLEXIBLE LIGHT. WILD Technologies manufactures customized fibre optic light guides. The company s two-arm gooseneck recently drew attention from a market leader in the optical and optoelectronics industry. Today s forensic experts work with comparison microscopes that can detect even the slightest discrepancies in microstructure, texture, and colour of the samples examined. The quality of the light is one of the defining factors in this process, since comparison microscopes must have two light sources with completely equal brightness. To accomplish this, one of the leading manufacturers in the optical and optoelectronics industry has recently been relying on know-how from WILD Technologies. WILD Technology manufactures fibre optic light guides that are rapidly spreading in an ever rising number of medical engineering and industrial applications, since they can guarantee the best possible light yield, greater flexibility, robustness, and reliability. A maximum of quality awareness in manufacturing is necessary to obtain these characteristics. Fibre optic light guides consist of several highly flexible fibres which are bundled at the ends and processed using abrasive methods. For several years, WILD Technologies has been specializing in this type of processing, that is the cutting, glueing, fine polishing and cleaning of fibre optic light guides. Year-long experience is important, because only high-quality workmanship in each processing step can guarantee the best possible transmission and diffusion of the light, as Managing Director Alexander Gleue emphasizes. In this new project, WILD Technologies impressed the customer by accomplishing a clean semicircular division of a two-arm gooseneck light guide. We managed to obtain an even distribution of the fibres in the left and the right semicircle without leaving a gap that is not filled with fibres, explains Alexander Gleue. This is the only way of guaranteeing that brightness and light distribution are identical in both arms.. Publishing information Owner and publisher: WILD GmbH, Wildstraße 4, 9100 Völkermarkt, T , Fax-DW 218, sales@wild.at Responsible for the contents: DI Dr. Josef Hackl, Wolfgang Warum Redaktion: WILD press office, Andrea Patterer & Sabine Salcher Layout & graphic design: STERNENKLAR GMBH Fotos: WILD GmbH, Photonic, solar-semi, Thinkstock Print: Print Connect GmbH