Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Announce Cooperative Agreement To Build Customized Circular Mill
NEWBERG, Oregon and Seoul, South Korea. August 24, 2006 - Building on the continued demand for its tools in the global market, Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc., a strategic provider of comprehensive, on-site machining tools and custom solutions, announced a cooperative agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd, the world's largest shipbuilder.
The two companies signed a contract for Climax to develop a custom designed circular mill, based on the Climax PM6000 portable milling machine, to be used for a new construction project. As part of the cooperative agreement, Climax will train machinists at Hyundai Heavy Industries on the capabilities of the new milling machine. Climax is scheduled to complete the on-site training and commissioning during October 2006.
Hyundai Heavy Industries chose the Climax solution over other machine options because its machine specifications meet higher tolerances and milling capabilities. A further benefit is its ability to do the job in a shorter period of time. Under the terms of the agreement, the customized circular mill was delivered to Hyundai Heavy Industries in July 2006. Hyundai plans to place additional tool orders with Climax for other construction and repair work in the shipbuilding industry.
The customized circular mill utilizes the X-Axis bed and spindle assembly of the PM6000 Portable Mill, mounted to a precision ground rotary table. Custom engineering included modifications that allow this machine to face mill in a diameter range of 78.74 inches to 196.9 inches (2m to 5m). The circular mill offers a flatness tolerance within .002 inches (.05mm), which will enable operators to accurately mill the base ring diameter. It also features an ID mounting range from 78.74 inches to 90.55 inches (2m to 2.3m).
The Climax machine is counterweighted and capable of milling horizontally, vertically, or in any position in between. This flexibility gives the machine the versatility to be adapted to other milling projects in the future. Hyundai Heavy Industries plans to use this custom tool for a base ring application on-board a ship during primary construction and regularly scheduled maintenance.
"We chose to work with Climax because of the company's excellent reputation within the machine tools industry and our shared culture for high quality standards," said Cha Dong Mok, Deputy General Manager, Special Shipbuilding Division of Hyundai Heavy Industries. "When we look for partners, we look for companies that offer the highest degree of engineering skills, standards and superior quality assurance."
"Climax is proud of its recent cooperative agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries, and of our ability to support the needs of our international partners for powerful and precise portable machining tools, consulting and engineering services," said Climax CEO Geoff Gilmore, Ph.D., P.E. "Our years of experience in the machine tools industry and service to the shipbuilding industry gives our customers assurance that we will exceed their expectations for customized tools."
About PM6000, Three-Axis Mills
The PM6000 (http://cpmt.com/docs/pm/PM6000.pdf) is a highly versatile hydraulic milling system that can be specified with 72, 96, or 120 inches (1829, 2438 or 3048mm) of X-axis travel. High spindle torque produces metal removal rates of up to 4.5 cubic inches (73.8 cubic cm) per minute with the 10 HP hydraulic power unit. Its multi-position milling head enables it to mill in nearly any position. By adding axis pendants, milling functions can be controlled remotely.
About Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc.
Based in Oregon, Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. is a strategic world-class provider of comprehensive, on-site machining solutions. The company offers specialized engineering consulting services, customized training programs and a full line of portable machine tools enabling customers to efficiently perform on-site machining for applications in the shipbuilding, power generation, and service and engineering sectors. Climax Portable Machine Tools pioneered the portable machine tools concept. As the world's largest supplier of portable machine tools, it offers standard and custom-built solutions and serves the domestic and international markets through its own international offices and licensed representatives in 23 countries. More information about the company is available at www.cpmt.com
