This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Entrevista a Carlos Barrero, de la oficina técnica de Mac-Model

“Today the norm is the urgent request and the technology has to help us to fulfil the terms”

Interview to Carlos Barrero, of the technical office of Mac-Model

Esther Güell15/04/2013

Founded in 1985, Mac-Model is a company that works for the sector of moulds, toolings, matrices and models of smelting for automotive sector, a sector that allows them cover almost 100% of his capacity of production. A familiar business that Carlos Barrero and his brother Juan carry with tenacity and with a formula that, until the moment, has given them his fruit: quality and rapidity of delivery. For this have an invaluable help, a park of machinery to the that in little more than year and half have incorporated two Gentiger, of the hand of Maquinser.

In the image, Carlos Barrero in front of the GT-105 that Mac-Model purchased to Maquinser does one year and half.

Although in the ‘good times' worked for sectors miscellaneous, nowadays his production directs mainly to the mould manufacturing for automotive sector. Equally, so much the prototypes like the matrices are for this sector. “90% of our production goes allocated to the automotive sector, that combine with the mould manufacturing for valvulería hydraulics. And although we have worked with a lot of materials, even wood, basically today only us devoted to the steel. Our customers are companies of smelting, those who to his time work for the manufacturers of trucks.

Growing, in spite of everything

“Have not noticed it, even have grown”. In periods where each day reads and hears a bad news, but two, related with the employment, oir to companies confirm his growth almost sounds to celestial music. However, we deceive us to us, at all is fruit of the chance and yes of the constant work and the research of new machines, technologies and resources that allow to fulfil with the exigencias of the customers. Today, when no longer it sells ‘all', it is necessary to win more than ever to the customer. Thus, when they decided to expand his park of machinery, and after valuing several possible machines, decanted by the mark Gentiger, advised by Maquinser. “In a year and little more have incorporated two machines and more personal. Today we are 11 people”, explains us Carlos.

Two machines that convinced them by the level of finishing that offer: “there are works that demand works very delicate and these machines allow us work with detail”.

But also played a paper imporante the commercial attention, in addition to the capacity, structural rigidity and precision of the own machine, what carried them to opt by these Gentiger. Specifically a GT-105 does year and half and a GT-175 more recently. “Maquinser Offers us a good sevicio and a fast answer and when we looked for new machines these convinced us in comparison with other similar regarding precision and capacity. We did not know them of before and it was through the departamentocomercial of Maquinser that offered them to us. Could see them in his installations and the true is that they finished us to convince”.

Mac-Model Occupies at present an industrial ship in the polygon of Bufalvent, in Manresa, where moved the year 2000.

“Are easy machines to use that they have not supposed us an effort to handle them. Besides, they go instrumented with control Siemens (although they can instrument with Heidenhain or Fanuc) that already knew, what facilitates the mechanised on foot of machine, in spite of that in Mac-Model work by means of CAD-CAM —draw the piece in 3D, program the mechanised in 3D and this program sends by network—.

After this experience, do not have problem in ‘repeating' with Gentiger and Maquinser, distributor with which work from does year and half thanks to the first model that purchased. But the experience up to now, and the service received, convince them to the hour to pose a new acquisition. “The human deal is important, and the capacity of the technicians value them a lot. It is well that the technician know of which speech and that contribute solutions, in addition to the speed of reaction in front of any adversity”.

Work for the sector automotive sector supposes to fulfil with a series of requirements and adapt to the way of work of the foundries with those who work. In Mac-Model know, besides, that the confidentiality and the ‘secret recipe' of each customer has to remain in the ‘darkness': “The majority of foundries work for the same groups, are Volvo, Ford, Seat, etc. with what guarantee the confidentiality of the pieces produced is an exigencia that have to fulfil. On the other hand, these companies demand high levels of quality so they audits us to certify that we can work for them, without having the norm ISO. For example, we have a certificate To of one of our customers”.

Detail of the interior of a Gentiger, a machine with base and column more rigid and dimensionadas that in the traditional machining centres of table in cross.

Gentiger Only manufactures machining centres allocated to the sector of the mould, models, matrices or mechanised of precision, with this attains a specialisation in this sector. It does not manufacture machining centres classical, that is to say, of table in cross, but all his manufactured are of type semi-portico or portico, in this way achieves a big precision and quality of finishing in the pieces.

Gentiger Endows to his machines of cabezales of Direct transmission (DDS), does not install cabezales with transmission to belts in any model. The base and column of the machine are much more rigid and dimensionadas that in the traditional machining centres of table in cross, dándo a greater stability and in definitva precision to the machines.

Gentiger Has of a wide range of models that adapt to the pieces of the customer, always keeping the same philosophy, estuctura of machine semi-portico or portico, big rigidity and high precision in the finishing.

Both models work with controls Siemens, although they also could endow with controls Heidenhain or Fanuc.

For when it says that it wants it?

Carlos Barrero explains us that the urgency today is his bread of each day. “Now it predominates the urgent ‘request'. To the not having stock, when it approves the realisation of a piece sue it with urgency, and this demands us a high equipación technical to be able to fulfil with the extremely adjusted terms with which work. And the Gentiger allow us this speed of execution”. The terms of delivery of Mac-Model, for example in toolings, are of 3 to 5 weeks, and even less according to the piece. “This is one of our ‘secrets' to keep the rhythm of work: quality and term of delivery”.

Mac-Model Works almost to 100% of our capacity. However, they do not close in front of the possibility to go in to work in other sectors ‘of future', although the true is that the sector of the automotive sector the ‘full ‘'. “It is to the that devote us from always and know to the dedillo. The same that the valvulería, where the customers also value us by our experience”. In this sense, recently have begun to work with an important group of matricería, for the sector of the automotive sector, that has trusted they by the terms of delivery and the quality of finishings.

In Mac-Model are specialists in the mould manufacturing, matrices, toolings and models for smelting especially for the sector of the automotive sector.