apra-plast sees itself as a solution provider for housings, cladding and parts of all kinds. The systems with which the company manufactures its products are just as individual as the products themselves. Special know-how is therefore also required here. This is why the company has relied on MiniTec as a partner and special machine manufacturer for many years - including for a semi-automatic groove milling system.

There are always new approaches for new systems, as there are no off-the-shelf machines for the special requirements, he says. “We have a very individual production method and therefore the machines and tools are almost all in-house developments or special parts.”

The housing for the control system naturally came from the apra group - specifically from apra-Gerätebau, as it was a metal control cabinet. The control element for entering the key data and travel paths was supplied by apra-plast itself. After acceptance at the MiniTec factory, the machine was delivered. According to Könen, the system was stable right from the start: “Apart from a few fine adjustments, everything was fine straight away, and it is still running successfully today, after around five years.”

Numerous improvements
As part of the introduction of the new system, set-up times were optimized and there were also improvements in the area of chip extraction. Könen explains further improvements: “Today we can use a larger part cross-section and thicker material can also be processed. The old system could process material up to 3 mm, now we can go up to 8 mm. The old system was also completely manual. Today, everything can be entered electronically, which ensures greater precision and also significantly minimizes set-up times.”