Industries

Automotive

Kern Microtechnik 's CNC machining centers meet the extraordinarily high expectations and requirements of the automotive industry for the machines used in series production to the highest degree. Kern machines are characterized by meeting the highest quality standards as well as extreme process stability and reliability and are optimized for unmanned production 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Kern Machines are particularly suitable for the following requirements of the automotive industry:

• Short set-up times with modular programming for flexible production of entire families of parts
• Integrated measuring technology for best part reliability
• Ongoing process optimization in close cooperation with the customer-specific Continuous Improvement Process (CIP)
• Service is available when you need us

Dental Equipment

For dental products such as dental prostheses, precision machines are needed to mill a wide variety of workpieces in a short time from very hard materials such as titanium and ceramics. The dental prosthesis is often placed in the patient's mouth on the same day. Therefore, the demands on the reliability and flexibility of the required CNC machining centers are particularly high.
 

Kern Microtechnik has many years of experience with the special features of the dental technology sector. Kern machines can be used to machine a wide variety of very hard materials as well as to mill complicated geometric shapes quickly and precisely. Thanks to their good automation capability and short machining times, Kern machines offer the dental industry continuous precision in continuous operation.
 

All advantages for the dental industry at a glance:

• Best vibration damping allows long tool life
• Small compensating movements and reduced machining times with optimized kinematics
• 5-axis machining with easy access
• Reduced maintenance with smart chip management
• Best options for automation 

Medical Technology

Medical technology products such as precision components in surgical devices are made of high-quality and difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium, chrome-cobalt, stainless steel, ceramics or particularly resistant plastics (e.g. PEEK or polyacetol). Their easy hygienic cleaning is also particularly important. The quality requirements for the CNC machining centers used in automated production are very high.
Kern Microtechnik 's CNC machining centers provide machines that brilliantly meet all the criteria demanded by the medical industry in terms of outstanding surface quality and geometric accuracy.

All advantages for medical technology at a glance:

• Best vibration damping allows long tool life
• Low compensating movements and reduced machining times due to optimised kinematics
• 5-axis machining with easy access
• Reduced maintenance with smart chip management

Research and Development

Kern machines make a valuable contribution to cutting-edge scientific research in a large number of internationally renowned research institutes, e.g. in Europe, Asia, the USA, Brazil and South Africa. Whether on Kern machines on site or in Kern contract manufacturing - Kern Microtechnik is firmly established as a development partner for high-precision workpieces in a wide range of technologies and high-tech research areas:

All Kern machines have the following advantages in common for use in research and development:

• Highest precision with absolute positioning accuracy and perfect tempering
• High reliability and compliance of all industry standards guarantees low maintenance and service
• Research in satellite technology
• Nuclear fusion research (e.g. UK and USA)
• Neurosurgery
• Machining of difficult-to-machine materials (high-alloy steel, titanium, sandwich materials)
• CERN particle accelerator (CH)

High Frequency

Cell phones and the digital revolution have developed into one of the most dynamic technologies in a rapidly growing market. The key parts in this high-frequency technology are subject to extreme precision requirements. Nevertheless, they need to be manufactured in serial production.
 

With the Kern Pyramid Nano, it is possible to mass-produce these components (e.g. hollow waveguides), which are already the final product, in a process-safe manner.
 

The advantages of a Kern Pyramid Nano in high-frequency technology:

• Hydrostatic guides and drives on all axes
• Best reproducibility
• Highest running smoothness and surface quality
• High Z-stability in different speed ranges

Ceramics

Hardly any material is more suitable to work with than ceramics. Ceramics are extremely hard, have an extremely high consistency when it comes temperature and are resistant to most chemical impacts. Ceramics is the perfect material for many industries, aerospace and defense, high precision manufacturing and medical – just to name a few.

So far, ceramics was not used because machining was challenging and cost intensive. We changed this game for you. With our machines and corresponding tools, you can now work with ceramics as if it was a material like carbide, aluminum, or synthetic. As a result, you are now able to work with the best suited material, create forms which have not been possible before and cut your cost. Interested? Please let us know!

Micromechanics and Watch Industry

In micromechanics, i.e. the production of microscopically small parts, high-precision milled parts are required in large series. Our machines are optimized for the automated high-speed production of watch plates and movement parts as well as fibre optic connection elements, medical endoscope heads or turbine wheels in the sub-millimetre range.

The performance of the Kern high-precision machining centres was perfected from the very beginning in cooperation with a wide variety of watch manufacturers. Kern Machining centres have met the high demands of this industry in terms of complexity of (free-form) geometries, precision and surface quality for many years, setting a standard for many other machining options in microtechnology.

The advantages of Kern machines in microtechnology:

• Smart chip management can be used for the complete cleaning and recycling of valuable materials.
• μ-accurate probing enables greatest repeatability in processes with multiple clampings
• Highest process reliability ensures that quality is maintained and guarantees minimal rejects

Jewelry

The requirements for the automated production of high-quality jewellery are just as high as in the field of micromechanics/watches. Precision, surface quality and the possibility of manufacturing complex free-form geometries if possible in one single processs are decisive for the choice of the most suitable CNC machining system. Since extremely valuable precious metals such as gold or platinum are usually machined, smart chip management with 100 % recovery of the material is particularly important.
 

Kern machines fulfill these requirements in an outstanding manner. They are constantly being optimized in the course of close cooperation with renowned international watch and jewelry manufacturers. The quick-change plates patented by Kern Microtechnik enable tool changes and the machining of different items with changing machining strategies, even in unmanned operation over longer periods of time, which significantly increases efficiency.
 

The advantages of Kern machines in the jewelry industry:

• Intelligent chip management can be used for the complete cleaning and recycling of valuable materials
• Zero point clamping systems allow for the highest repeat accuracy

Mould Making

In microtechnology, the focus for manufacturers of forming tools, cutting tools and moulds is on the precise machining of very hard materials. All CNC machining centres from Kern Microtechnik are excellently suited for direct milling of e.g. hardened steels or even hard metal as well as for electrode milling of copper, tungsten copper and graphite.

Direct hard milling with Kern - Your advantages

• High surface quality thanks to HSC spindles with extremely smooth running, hydrostatic axes and perfect contouring control with TNC 7
• Milling of free-form surfaces with highest precision with μ-accurate axis movements and 5-axis simultaneous milling
• Very high absolute accuracy thanks to perfect calibration between tool and workpiece on all Kern machines
• Short set-up times for small batch sizes

Electrode milling with Kern - Your advantages

• Very high absolute accuracy as the basis for reliable EDM processes
• High surface quality thanks to HSC spindles with extremely smooth running, hydrostatic axes and perfect contouring control with TNC 7
• Very high repeatability, in particular due to perfect temperature management of each Kern machine, enables absolutely process-stable unmanned series production (in-house development)

More Industries

The great advantage of any Kern machine for precision manufacturing is its universal field of application. This is why Kern machines are used with great success in many other areas beyond the industries mentioned.

Whether different materials or geometries in quick succession or maximum precision for high quantities over long periods of time - our product and process development teams tailor every Kern machine to the customer's needs down to the last detail. At Kern Microtechnik, you will therefore always find the right partners to optimize your production in such a way that future requirements and technological leaps in your specific industry are taken into account right from the start.

Talk to our experienced development and sales engineers!
Together we will develop the best solution that meets your requirements and delivers a steep increase in efficiency.

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