High-end contract manufacturing / single parts and small batches
Pitmatec manufactures lot size 1 automatically with CHECKitB4
Pitmatec combines Hermle automation, standardized workflows and CHECKitB4 into a digital run-in process for complex single parts.
PitMaTec Zerspanung GmbH
Task
Highly complex single parts and small batches had to be manufactured economically, automatically and with maximum process reliability.
Solution
CHECKitB4 virtually maps the Hermle machines and checks CAM programs as well as ShopMill programs created directly on the Siemens control before the real run.
Customer value
Safe unmanned manufacturing from lot size 1, less run-in effort, high machine availability and a fully digitally verified process chain.
Technical context
„CHECKitB4 has raised our manufacturing to a new level. Today we can manufacture parts unmanned that used to require a lot of run-in time.“
User report
Virtually planned, automatically manufactured
Pitmatec shows how a young family business manufactures lot size 1 and small batches economically with automation. From 2018 onwards, Detlef and David Pitan built the company consistently around high-end machining, structure and digital verification.
Quality instead of compromise
Pitmatec did not want to be a classic contract manufacturer that simply processes orders. From the beginning, the goal was to manufacture demanding components at a very high level and in an economical way. That is why the company invested early in Hermle technology with pallet automation.
Initial situation
Highly complex single parts and small batches had to be manufactured economically, automatically and with high process reliability. At the same time, Pitmatec works with CAM programs and with ShopMill programs created directly on the Siemens control. Both worlds must be checked reliably before the real machine run.
Standardization as the basis
A central success factor is the structuring of all processes. Pitmatec defined around 95 standard tools that can be used regardless of part and machine. This standardization shortens setup times and creates the basis for automated work.
Decision for CHECKitB4
Pitmatec first encountered CHECKitB4 at the Hermle open house in 2023. At the beginning of 2024, the advantages were evaluated together with Hermle and Pimpel. Shortly afterwards, Pitmatec invested in CHECKitB4 including digital models of the two Hermle machines.
Virtual run-in process
Since its introduction, CHECKitB4 has become a fixed part of work preparation. New parts are no longer run in on the real machine first. Instead, they are checked virtually beforehand with real machine configuration, tool library, clamping environment and machine logic.
CAM and control programming
At Pitmatec, programming is not done exclusively in the CAM system. Programs are also created directly on the Siemens control with ShopMill. CHECKitB4 makes it possible to run in these programs virtually and check adjustments without blocking the real machine.
Safety and efficiency
Collisions, inefficient toolpaths or geometric problems are detected early and corrected parallel to main production time. Complex parts can be transferred to the machine with far less uncertainty. In many cases, they are manufactured automatically and unmanned after digital verification.
Lot size 1 economically automated
For Pitmatec, CHECKitB4 is not a topic for the future but everyday practice. Structure, software and strategy make it possible to manufacture lot size 1 efficiently, reproducibly and economically with automation.
Result
With Hermle, Pimpel and CHECKitB4, Pitmatec has created a digital foundation. The virtual machine increases process reliability, machine availability and autonomy and creates room for training, planning and further automation steps.
