Friday, December 25, 2015

Massage Equipment and Supplies

This is the same with massaging. While the amateur massager can use their furniture and whatever oils they have on hand busbar machine suppliers, the professional has other needs. As there are different types of massage equi... This is the same with massaging. While the amateur massager can use their furniture and whatever oils they have on hand, the professional has other needs. As there are different types of massage equipment it is best to select the products that are commonly used.As your work experience expands and your customers begin to feel that they want other massage techniques you can begin buying many type of massage equipment hydraulic busbar machine. Until this time arrives you may want to invest in the massage equipment that you will need the most and ones that are acceptable with your clients.As most massages are performed while the client is lying full length or sitting you can look at buying a massage table. You can buy massage chairs as well if you think these will be of benefit to your clients. You will have to look for a well known and reputed company before you choose this piece of massage equipment.

Since massage tables are the staple massage equipment in massage therapy it is best if your massage table is of high quality. Some of the massage tables have the ability to move various sections of the table into higher and lower positions busbar punching. A few of these massage beds as they are also called have a face ring where the client can keep their face relaxed away from the massage.A massage chair is another type of massage equipment that you can buy if you have any clients that have expressed a need for this chair. In the chair you will notice the face ring is where the chair’s top head rest should be.

The client will sit facing the chair back so that you have access to the client’s neck, back and shoulders.While these are the main massage equipment items that you will need, you should invest in lots of towels of different sizes. These towels can be for various purposes. The main use should be for your clients to drape over their body during the message.As many clients may express a concern for hygiene you can buy massage table sheets. Having a stock of washable massage table sheets will allow you to maintain a high standard of hygiene.With all of these different types of massage equipment you are almost ready for your sessions in massage therapy to begin. The final items that you may want to invest in are essential aromatherapy oils. These oils have healing and therapeutic abilities that are excellent to use in conjunction with
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The leading factory for Chinese automotive electronics equipment

"Pilot car electronic equipment is not Huayang the slogan of the Beijing Autoes Show, as the pilot pioneer of automotive electronic equipment, Huayang Group in Tianzhu Hua Yang unremitting efforts, adhering to the enterprise's core purpose of "innovation, quality , professional, and expand investment in research and continuous innovation and reform efforts to expand and enrich the product line of automotive electronic equipment, and potential for the majority of car users to provide smarter, more convenient and richer function of automotive electronics products.
 "Pilot car electronic equipment is not Huayang the slogan of the Beijing Auto Show, as the pilot pioneer of automotive electronic equipment, Huayang Group in Tianzhu new Museum of the China International Exhibition Center to create 100 square meters of luxury booth, the main display their autonomy brand "FORYOU" "ADAYO industry and cutting-edge strength. It is reported that this exhibition, Bosch, BorgWarner, Denso and other foreign parts enterprises have appeared, while domestic-based vehicle computer to the vendor only Huayang, a good helper and Hangsheng three companies. Industry analysts have analyzed the "big but not strong" is an actual situation of the domestic auto industry and related fields bending cnc, Huayang Group adhere to independent innovation mode, and go "technology as the core of innovation as a means of national enterprises busbar machine suppliers, the development of road lines made significant technological breakthroughs in the automotive electronics, new material technology, many core areas, the local core technologies such as Blu-ray movement, automotive intelligent navigation, automobile tire monitoring system, vehicle networking, car driver assistance systems, etc., are determined to break Europe and the United States to curb this situation.

 Huayang automotive electronics equipped with a full line of products Beijing Auto Show poised to take off The Huayang Pavilion filling enchanting its significance in the "red makeup under their brands ADAYO big more" brand meaning, drag lining. This very contemporary "Big Red" show the VI standard color, and overall brand vision system designed by the world's top advertising and marketing consulting firm copper punching machine, one of the Interpublic company. More "the ADAYO brand Chinese transliteration, meaning" tolerance is a virtue, the more ancient super today, "contains the connotation is to achieve the goal of bigger and stronger the Huayang through quality, innovation, professional. One of the foundations to achieve this goal by continuing technological innovation to build more the subversion times and products that lead the industry trend.
 The exhibit's flagship car navigation products - the industry's first based on the Intel processor in-car navigation Huayang MG4906 domineering appearance. The product was first released in February this year, Main products: and , are with good quality.Guangzhou show, its machine wonderful in the hand extraordinary "sound" performance in voice control and gesture recognition, handwritten farewell marks the vehicle computer products to achieve the breakthrough of the technical leaps and bounds. In addition, Huayang will also display the heavy type of new industry's first Beidou GPS dual civilian vehicle navigation, the A8 platform to support the gyroscope precision universal machine, intelligent android operating system navigation. Article Tags: ,
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Friday, December 4, 2015

Exactly what is a CPAP Machine and what's it Employed for

CPAP machines, or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Machines, are generally known to as anti snoring machines. From the industry?s purported anti snoring cures busbar cutting machine, CPAP machines are the most typical and frequently thought is the best strategy to anti snoring. CPAP machines will also be accustomed to treat coronary heart (CAD) and heart failure. Furthermore, doctors use CPAP machines to deal with mixed anti snoring, that is a mixture of obstructive and central anti snoring busbar bending. Positive airway pressure is a technique of respiratory system ventilation. CPAP machines work by growing air pressure inside a patient?s throat to ensure that the airway doesn't collapse once the patient inhales. The individual wears whether mask or prongs that suit in to the nose. The mask or prongs are affixed to a hose, which is mounted on an air mattress pump that's typically located inside a situation lined with seem absorbing materials. You will find a couple of different versions bending machinery, for this, and changes can be created for comfort. Dealing with anti snoring is very important. CPAP machines happen to be extremely effective for severe and moderate anti snoring. Patients usually notice home loan business daytime drowsiness, and patients with coronary heart using CPAP for anti snoring are less inclined to have heart disease- the worst which being heart failure cnc bending machine. Bloodstream pressure is decreased throughout the evening along with the day, and patients may sleep with the evening undisturbed. To learn more trip to our website at
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Unibind XU138 Single Heater Binding Machine Review

Overview: For businesses that don't wish to punch and bind their books and documents, Unibind has got the solution - the feel of an ideal bound book without resorting to punching or placing. All that's needed for that Unibind XU138 product is to place the web pages to your spine or cover and put the document to the machine hydraulic busbar bending. The device will the relaxation, when you permit the document to awesome. There's forget about simple binding system available. The Unibind system also provides a lot of binding choices to customers who require to provide their reviews and documents a cutting-edge, unique feel and look busbar punching machine. Features: The Unibind XU138 gives customers a huge quantity of binding options, including hard covered presentations, photobooks, reviews with obvious or frosted front covers as well as personalized back and front covers. Having a maximum capacity of 36mm, you are able to bind just one document of 36mm copper pipe bender, or multiple documents that equal to a complete thickness of 36mm, providing you with the versatility of binding multiple small documents or thicker reviews, previously. The XU138 instantly senses the steel spine in Unibind covers or spines and triggers the heater whenever you put the spine or cover around the machine. Following the spine or cover continues to be put on the device, it'll then warmth the document for that appropriate period of time. When the heating happens the device will show you exactly whenever your document is completed, so that you can move it towards the cooling rack. Additionally, the Unibind XU138 may be used together with thermal binding covers or glue strips using a spare Unibind cover to activate the device. Restrictions: This versatile binders has numerous benefits, but additionally a couple of notable restrictions. For instance, The 36mm capacity (roughly 1-1/2") is big enough for many customers, but organizations that require to bind a lot of documents might want to select a binding machine with multiple heating models, permitting these to bind more documents at the same time. Regrettably, customers who require to bind just one document that's bigger than 36mm thick will have to think about a different binding style. The supplies for that UniBind binding system employ an very strong steel binding spine, supplying superior quality bind for the documents. However, the truth that the spine is steel implies that the documents won't open flat or cover, features generally provided with punch and bind binding systems. Finally, Unibind covers may be easily personalized with foil rubber stamping. This finishing technique can be quite impressive and very popular. However, offset printing of hard covers and spine printing take time and effort to complete, because the supplies are produced in Europe having a 10-12 week lead-time. If lead-occasions really are a problem, you might be better offered by an alternative choice and never the Unibind XU138. Construction: The Unibind XU138 is a mix of plastic and metal construction. Yet it's very durable and really should be sufficient for many organizations use. The heat tank with this machine is triggered with a magnet that picks up the metal within the spine and triggers the system, but could be fooled using a spare Unibind cover, permitting you to employ your Unibind system with thermal binding covers or glue strips. As durable because the Unibind XU138 machine might be, additionally, it includes a 12 months warranty, although it generally has very couple of problems. However, if the heat tank does have trouble, it will have to be fixed by Unibind, that could be rather bothersome to complete. Recommendation: This machine is perfectly sufficient for many customers and is a superb option for top end presentations and plans, which makes it popular for realtors, appraisers and ink jet printers. For top volume customers, however, a multi heater unit may well be a better option. Do bear in mind, however, that the multi heater unit doesn't offer any extra functionality, it just provides more capacity. But when capacity is what you're searching for, you might want to decide on a multi-heater unit. All-in-all, the Unibind XU138 is extremely-suggested for binding documents, reviews, presentations, plans bending machinery, photo books, yearbooks and much more.
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Industrial Machine Versus Domestic Machine For Clothing Modifications

Without a doubt a tale cnc busbar punching machine. After I opened up my first clothing alteration shop, I began by helping cover their a lent over locker from my sister in law, and my early small Elna machine. I recall an Asian gentlemen walking to the door of my shop and telling me ?You can?t do clothing modifications with that machine! You'll need a commercial machine!? Because the business increased, I acquired more domestic machines, so when I opened up my second shop, I put domestic machines in. Used to do purchase a semi industrial blind hemming machine, but I will tell you we'd a fantastic status for superior workmanship. We'd clients visiting us from sleep issues of Sydney. And So I had domestic sewing machines in most my shops, except one. That certain I put 2 industrials in however the shop was offered right after to individuals who supported industrial sewing machines. My personal favorite domestic machine may be the Janome My Stand out which isn?t costly and does exactly what I have to produce top quality clothing modifications copper busbar bending machine. Industrial sewing machines specified for for factory work. Particularly piece work. The machines were in rows and also the seamstresses using were sewing only one particular a part of a outfit, and the other person was sewing another area of the outfit. They're extremely fast, so for piece work they're excellent. I really locate them too quickly. Allow me to explain. Should i be re stitching the facing back onto an outfit once i took straps up, I'm only sewing a piece of say 2? or 5 centimetres. With my domestic machine I lock off at the start, sew the seam and lock off in the finish. By having an industrial machine, you need to slow it lower since it would sew too quickly, and also you wouldn?t obtain the machine sewing in to the seams since you need to. Individuals who use industrial machines, and also have exercised how you can stitch in by doing this I like. My hat chimes for you. Personally I possibly could never control the monster. Another reason I love domestic machines is always that they are able to do zig zag and lots of other kinds of stitches. Most industrial machines are only able to sew straight stitch. You will get industrials machines which do other stitching, why have a lot of machines when you are able get one. Another reason is always that the domestic machine comes with an arm onto it for stitching masturbator sleeves and hems effortlessly busbar cutting. The commercial machine includes a flat working surface to operate on. Which means you have to lay the material as flat as you possibly can to stitch properly. Using the domestic machine you are able to slip the hem within the arm from the machine and stitch around effortlessly. My step-by-step manuals is going to be regarding how to do clothing modifications in your domestic machine busbar bending. I'll also undergo what you ought to perform a change with similar workmanship which i carried out within my shops.
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Sunday, November 29, 2015

Guide on Starting A Vending Machine Business

Wanting to start your own vending machine business? Vending machine business is one of the few legitimate business that requires little time and

effort.  A vending machine business with a snack vending machine or other vending machine can be a great idea to kickoff a career in. Find out why.
   
  An individual who intends to initiate a vending machine business has wide range of options to choose form. One may easily obtain these vending

machines from various vending machine manufacturers and suppliers.

The machines which are sold on the two principles of electricity and motion come in the market in various sizes, shapes, colors as well as prices.

These vending machines serve various purposes based on the particular location where they are used. The most frequently used vending machines are

certainly soda vending machines, followed by snacks vending machines which are very famous at colleges, hospitals, bus stands and airports.

There are several vending machines readily available in the market which offer items like candies, foods, coffee etc. Popcorn machines are still

another type of vending machines which are also very popular. They are very easy when it comes to usage and also they may be personalized for products

like CDs, DVDs, consoles, computer games, disposable cameras and many more.

Now the most important question is that from where you may obtain these vending machines? The answer to this question is that you may easily get a

vending machine of any type from Vending Machine Suppliers. Nevertheless, if you are wishing to start a new business, you should know the most

frequently demanded items which can generate great profits for you. Once you decide on the product, the subsequent decision is about the kind of

vending machine, that is, an electric or an auto motion machine.

Now another very crucial decision is about the site or location where you would be going to install your vending machine. The particular location

should be clearly in your mind as soon as you prepare yourself to start a business. Then you have to convince the owners of that particular site about

vending the brighter prospects of a vending machine.

You should take confirmation about the vending machine, from the owners of the location in black and white. But remember that you should not make a

long term agreement as far as the location is concerned, since you are not sure whether or not your business will flourish there.

After you are almost ready to kick off a vending machine business, you will be presented a vending machine manual with all the guidelines related to

starting a vending machine. A manual is actually meant to make you understand and learn the basics of Vending Machine Business.

Buy Pfaff Sewing Machines for Your Needs

Are you going to get a new sewing machine in this season? If yes then you should be well acquainted with the machine. You should be clear in your mind about the kind of machine

you want to buy. This could be confusing if you don’t have prepared a chart for that. This is not an easy job. It is also that there is no specific brand for that. Your

compatibility with the machine is one of the first priorities. This should not be neglected. The second thing is the intention. What is your reason for buying a new sewing

machine is? You should not neglect it.
  
  The thing is sewing is not just a job. It is also used for the purpose of entertainment. Many people try it as some kind of hobby. Hence you should decide first what do you

intend it for? A good choice would be the Pfaff sewing machines. These are one of the earliest machines made by the human beings. The name is due to the inventor of this kind of

machine. There are certain facts about which you should be fully aware before buying a new Pfaff sewing machine. You must be familiar with the price variations in the sewing

machine market.

There are a lot of companies in this business and all of them claim to be the best. Not everyone of their product is the best. It is also true that not every machine suits with

every seamstress. It varies from person to person. Their price could be anything between $100 and it could up to $8000 as well. If you want to buy a sewing machine for

completion of your college projects then you should better hang up with cheaper one, which will help you, do your projects and also they could be very easy to operate. There are

a number of Pfaff machines available in the market, which will cater to your needs without any discretion.

Hence everyone can find their first choices in the market of the sewing machines. It is very enjoyable. Besides the company is very trusted and you could fully rely upon it. One

of the many advantages about the sewing machine is that you could learn many things with these machines. This is not one machine that you will outgrow very easily. It is very

durable in that sense. You can grow with this machine. There will be many advantages with this machine.

Monday, November 23, 2015

HTEC Education and Haas Value Help Kut-Rite Thrive

More than 20 years ago, Rick Sollars worked by day at Elkins Machine and Tool – a small manufacturer in Romulus, Michigan – and studied business and engineering by night at Henry Ford Community College (HFCC) in Dearborn, just a few miles from Detroit.

One semester at HFCC, young Sollars decided to take a specialized class in CNC machining taught by manufacturing technology instructor Ken Wright. His decision to take that class – a forerunner to what is now the Haas Technical Education Center (HTEC) program – would result in many years of business success.

Sollars is now a partner in KRMC LLC (known as Kut-Rite), which manufactures and distributes concrete grinding, polishing, vacuuming, and scarifying equipment and tooling. The company’s four-building, 60,000-square-foot manufacturing campus in Romulus includes Kut-Rite; Multi Machining Capabilities, the precision engineering arm of the corporation; and the Elkins shop where Sollars worked 20 years ago, which serves as a general machining plant.

“Back then,” Sollars says, “we weren’t using Haas equipment in the shop. We were using lesser machines on the factory floor, with poor results. But when we shopped jobs out, those companies often used Haas machines. So I thought I’d take the class at Henry Ford with Ken Wright. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. We ended up buying a used Haas machine from the college. In fact, it’s still being used today, and I still consider Ken Wright a very good friend.”

The HTEC connection continues to flourish

Wright is famous in CNC-training circles for his reality-based, no-nonsense approach to education, teaching students to work smarter and faster to keep ahead of the global industrial curve.

“To succeed in manufacturing,” Wright says, “the learning environment needs to match the conditions students will encounter on the job. The HTEC program does that,” he says, “by linking educational institutions – high schools, community colleges, technical colleges, and universities – with local Haas Factory Outlets (HFOs), to provide cutting-edge technical manufacturing education.”

The approach obviously benefitted Sollars. The old Haas machine that Elkins Machine and Tool acquired from HFCC two decades ago now has plenty of company on the reorganized Kut-Rite campus. The inventory of machines includes four Haas CNC lathes: an HL-2 with bar feed; two SL-20s, one with bar feeder and one with live tooling; and an SL-30 with bar feeder. It also includes six Haas CNC mills: three VF-1s, a VF-2, a VF-4 with pallet changer, and a Mini Mill. And more are on the way, says Sollars; he plans to add a TL-1 Toolroom Lathe, a VF-1, and a VF-2.

Why the Kut-Rite road always leads back to Haas

It was the upgrade to Haas equipment that enabled a then-fledgling manufacturing firm to grow rapidly at a time when many American companies, especially in Michigan, were closing. Instead of focusing on just tooling support, KRMC “saw an opportunity to diversify” a decade ago, and branched out to create its own successful line of concrete scarifying, grinding, and polishing machines, as well as industrial vacuums – all under the Kut-Rite logo.

The Kut-Rite/Haas success story comes down to four key factors: eliminating high outsourcing costs, streamlining production dynamics, reducing service time and costs, and always staying with the machinery that gives the best value.

“Expanding capabilities is always an issue here at Kut-Rite,” Sollars explains. “It’s all about value. We were outsourcing heavily – 30 percent – at high cost; but once we started buying our own Haas machines, we were able to bring that work back into our facility.” As a result, Kut-Rite’s revenues grew by 300 percent – from $3 million to $9 million.

“When you’re looking at our relationship with the Haas equipment, you also have to understand our own production dynamics,” Sollars continues. “We’re a smaller production shop – more West Coast Choppers than Ford Motor Co. assembly plant. We do custom work without all the large mass-production, so the affordability and reliability of Haas equipment really pays off for us.

“And we found that Haas’ service is just plain easier for us than other companies. Through the HFOs – and we’ve got one right down the road from us in Flat Rock – any problems we have with Haas machinery are solved in a less-expensive and faster way. That’s a huge issue with any manufacturer. Sometimes with other machine makers, something goes down and you wait days for the maintenance guys to fly in. You spend tons of money on them, you miss deadlines, and it costs you on many levels. Nobody wants large maintenance bills and a lot of downtime. Those types of things can cost us thousands of dollars at a time.”

But Sollars doesn’t wear blinders. Like any businessman, he and his organization are always looking for the most bang for their buck. He readily admits that, on many occasions, he’s looked at other companies and other equipment.

“But it seems like no matter what we do or where we look, we always keep coming back to Haas,” he says. “It’s all about reliability and cost. Haas machines do the job for us. And when problems come up, it’s easier with Haas. And remember, the number one word is always value.”

Ease of use becomes Kut-Rite’s business model

“Much of our partnership with Haas equipment,” Sollars points out, “was about ease of use, ease of maintenance, ease of control. As we moved forward as a company, we used that model ourselves. Our equipment and tooling are all about creating something that makes the job easier for the operator. How it cuts his labor costs or time. That’s what caught our eye when it came to Haas machinery, and we’ve followed that train of thought in our business model ever since.”

Profits skyrocket as quality improves

By combining ongoing education with high-tech Haas equipment – and expanding its product line – Kut-Rite’s sales have continued to skyrocket.

“I really think a lot of our success has to do with our machining processes,” Sollars admits. “We take the extra step that a lot of others don’t; we stop and make sure that the post-weld machining is done well. Of course, it’s easier to do, because we have the right equipment, and we can take the time to do so.”

The process is best exemplified by the machining of motor-mount plates for Kut-Rite’s grinders. It’s a “machine-weld-machine” process. The steel plates are machined at the joints, and then welded together. They are then put back on the machine for finish machining to the design specifications. The centerlines of the inner diameter and outer diameter have to match, to prevent runout and vibration.

The materials involved are thick-wall steel DOM (drawn over mandrel) tubing and 5/8-inch-thick sheet metal, which are rough-cut to size before machining. Although flat sheet metal is usually machined on a mill, Kut-Rite engineers found that machining the parts on a CNC lathe worked best, and the Haas lathes offer the precision to do the work at a much lower cost.

The overall quality is something that Bryon Bruington, now technical sales director for Kut-Rite, noticed when he first joined the company. “One of the first things I noticed was that our equipment runs so smooth and precise compared to others on the market,” he says. “I think all of this ties together. It comes down to the precision manufacturing equipment, and the quality control. The Haas machines enable us to create that type of product.”

Knowing the equipment and pushing the envelope

Radu Stingu, another former student of Ken Wright, and now the operations manager at Multi Machining Capabilities, agrees. He adds that the basis of making successful products at Kut-Rite is directly related to having a solid understanding of the equipment you are using to produce those products.

“The key to precision machining is being educated, and understanding the Haas equipment,” Stingu explains. “When you understand the equipment, you understand its capabilities, you understand its range. Therefore, you are more successful at whatever you attempt to create. We’ve had a lot of success with what we make, because we understand the equipment we are working on.”

Walking across the factory floor, Stingu finds an example of his philosophy. In front of him is a Haas VF-4 CNC mill with a pallet changer. Inside is the gearbox/rotary head of a Conquer30 concrete grinding machine. The 30-plus-inch heavy-steel bowl needs nine holes machined along the outside edge, and four larger holes drilled on the inner hub.

“It’s a wide bowl,” says Stingu. “We used a smaller machine to work on it, but we were shutting it down constantly to move and reset the bowl. Instead, we looked at this mill. We couldn’t use the pallet changer, because the bowl wouldn’t fit through the slider door. Instead, we opted to put the bowl directly into the machine through the front doors. Despite the fact that the bowl is slightly wider than the table, it still works best for us.

“If you know the machines well enough, you know their capabilities,” Stingu states. “You can push the envelope.”

All of this is part of the reason Sollars continues to send Kut-Rite employees back to the HTEC at HFCC – at the company’s cost.

New products: America-made with American partners

Unlike many other companies in the concrete grinding and polishing industry, Kut-Rite has concentrated on creating and manufacturing American-made products, while teaming with firms that do the same thing – like Haas.

“Very few companies are actually building stuff here,” Sollars says of the concrete grinding and polishing industry. “They are shipping it in. That’s not us. We do everything here, and it was important for us to team up with someone else who was building things here, too. And that was Haas.”

Impeccable Pedals

As cycling enthusiasts and industry insiders know, the past decade has proved to be an exciting, but sometimes rocky, ride for Switzerland’s most famous bicycle manufacturer, BMC. Originally founded by an ex-pat Englishman making bikes for the British brand Raleigh, the company was bought in 2001 by Swiss businessman Andy Rihs, who built an impressive new factory in Grenchen, near Bern, with the simple, unequivocal aim of creating a bike and a team capable of winning the Tour de France.

Victory eventually came in 2011 with Australian rider Cadel Evans, and since then, BMC’s reputation as a maker of the most desirable, technologically advanced bicycles has careered ahead. Now, as well as the team machines, the factory makes custom-designed and hand-finished carbon-framed bikes for pro and amateur racers and wealthy dilettantes.

At the other end of the price spectrum, BMC’s mainstream production frames are made in China and Taiwan, where permanently stationed, company-sanctioned engineers scrutinise quality before allowing bikes to be shipped back to Europe.

“When they arrive here, the bikes are 80 percent ready to ride,” says Martin K?nzig, BMC’s COO based in Grenchen. “We simply add the wheels and forks. It’s only the really high-end bikes – the ones with the options – that we make here in the impec factory from start to finish.”

And if the custom bikes themselves aren’t impressive enough, visitors to Grenchen can marvel at the multi-million-Euro, three-stage, carbon-tube manufacturing process, which dominates the impec factory and, claims Mr. K?nzig, is the only one of its kind in the world. At present, around 4 kilometres of carbon goes towards making every BMC impec frame.

“The seamless carbon tubes are the critical and distinctive components of a BMC impec bike. Our process starts with braiding, where each tube is robot loaded, then spun with four layers of carbon fibres over a silicon body.”

The robot reads what type of tube it is, loads the appropriate programme, and starts the process to apply the carbon fibre, taking around 7 minutes to complete operations, depending on tube length and complexity. The second process is resin injection, where the tube is moulded to shape and, as the name suggests, is injected with resin and set hard. Finally, the tubes are trimmed to size by a six-axis robot and a diamond saw. “We currently produce around 1300 bikes a year using this setup,” Mr. K?nzig says, “but we have capacity for more than 2500.”

Smaller and less obtrusive than the tube-making machines, but just as important in the manufacturing process, is the company’s single BMC VF-4SS Super Speed CNC machining centre, which arrived in 2010.

“The BMC is used to create jigs and fixtures, plastic components, and R&D or prototype parts for new bikes,” Mr. K?nzig explains. “In terms of the latter, we design components using 3D CAD, and then machine them on the BMC; we find it quicker and easier than using other technology, such as 3D printing. Plus, you get a part with true mechanical qualities that’s fit for testing in real-life situations.”

The BMC at BMC is also earmarked for future production duties, adds Mr. K?nzig. “For the next generation of product, one idea is to use the VF-4SS to mill frame tubes, to allow them to be located closer together. To implement this strategy in the most effective manner, we’re thinking we’ll need a second VF-4SS. Ultimately, the plan is to make a completely new bike using less parts than on the existing one.”

BMC rarely produces tubes with a conventional round cross section. “We don’t do this for reasons of technical advantage,” says Mr. K?nzig, “it’s more a design feature that reflects our brand. But, by doing so, we’ve made it hard to make the necessary tooling.” Which was the reason the company bought the BMC in the first place.

When the current production model was being developed in 2010, the engineers at BMC were under pressure to finish the prototyping and testing, and start manufacturing.

“One of our bottlenecks always seemed to be getting jig and tooling parts, on budget and on time, from external suppliers,” explains Mr. K?nzig. “We decided that the system was too expensive and too time consuming. One of our engineers had previously worked for a company who made mechanical parts. He was already experienced with BMC machines and was a big fan of them, so the decision to invest in the VF-4SS was easy. As well as using it for the fixtures and tooling, we also use it for a few of the smaller parts found on some models. We have also begun to mill plastic parts – the tube joints. After we made some technical design improvements, we changed the shapes a little. Instead of destroying and remaking our injection moulds, which would have been very expensive, we decided it was better to machine the parts using the BMC mill.”

The company’s high-specification race machines used in the Tour de France and other major events are also custom-built and finished in the Grenchen factory. The colour of the frame, for example, is changed to reflect the position of the rider: green for points leader (most consistent finisher), white with red polka dots for “King of the Mountains,” or yellow for overall race leader. Putting a value on bikes tailored for individual riders and customised for different events is nigh on impossible.

“Customers who buy the top-end bikes want something very special. For production bikes, our biggest market is Switzerland,” says Mr. K?nzig, “although we’ve made good gains recently in Germany and France, and sales are now picking up in Italy. The USA is also one of our growth markets, as is the UK. In all, we make around 45,000 production bikes a year. It’s not possible to compare BMC with a manufacturer such as Giant, for example; they make a couple of million bikes a year. But, if you look at the average price of their bikes, they’re addressing a different market. For the impec bikes, our customers can have race fit or performance fit (higher, safer, and looks better), while we have spread the use of Shimano Di2 electronic shifters across all our products. In fact, over all road bikes, we are now one of the biggest purchasers worldwide of the Di2 group sets.”

The growing global demand for bikes is important to BMC; but clearly, it’s the high-end, custom-built models that are turning what once was a small-time, relative unknown into one of the world’s most desirable cycling brands. Having flexible tools and manufacturing processes allows the company to experiment with product designs and innovations, and just as importantly, make the jigs and fixtures it needs for its new frames and components.

“The BMC VF-4SS has already proved itself to be a very important part of our operations,” concludes Martin K?nzig. “We’re currently only using it 70 to 80 percent of the time, and every day we find new things to do with it. It’s very easy to programme and operate, and it’s very reliable.”

Building race-winning teams and bicycles is largely about eliminating problems before they occur, which is undoubtedly what Andy Rihs had in mind when he created his “impeccable” factory. It’s no coincidence that for the factory’s only CNC machine tool, he chose a BMC.