all photos: Kern Microtechnik GmbHB01a,b_Kern_LouwersHaniqueHappy together about the success to be achieved with the ductile cutting mode and the Kern Micro HD (left to right): Ronald Braam Production Engineer, Berend-Jan Grimmerink Engineer, Jan van Dingenen Senior Production Engineer and John Seuntiëns Programmer.
Dutch high-precision manufacturer LouwersHanique relies on technology from Kern Microtechnik GmbH
Machining ceramics with µm precision is a challenge that only few companies take on. LouwersHanique has been doing this for decades. And once again, the precision manufacturer has raised the bar of the high-precision machining of brittle materials to a new level. The use of the ductile cutting mode developed by Kern Microtechnik in combination with the high-end machining center Kern Micro HD made all the difference.
In 2012 the CEOs of “Louwers Glastechniek” and “Pulles & Hanique” decided to bundle their know-how and merged as LouwersHanique BV. Known as specialists for processing technical glass, quartz crystal, and technical ceramics the newly founded company started with 70 employees. Meanwhile the successful company has roughly 185 employees and produces demanding parts for customers in many different industries such as semiconductor, MedTech and the analytical market.
Since its founding, LouwersHanique has continuously been growing. Senior Production Engineer, Jan van Dingenen is optimistic when it comes to the future: “We are working very closely together with innovative companies that operate in high-tech markets such as semiconductors. Above all, our extensive knowledge of processing particularly demanding materials is required”.
The main focus of the Dutch specialists is on manufacturing high-end mechatronic assemblies such as end effectors, mirror blocks, isolators, sensor parts and ceramic housings. “We take pride in manufacturing high-quality parts, often mission critical, to be integrated in high-tech systems that make us a valuable partner for our customers”, explains van Dingenen.
Ceramics has unique advantages
LouwersHanique provides support from the conceptualization and development stage all the way up to serial production. Aside from their deep knowledge they can make use of extensive technical resources to create novel products like hermetic feedthroughs, 3D printed glass products and micromachined SIC parts. The highly automated state-of the-art CNC machining technology is combined with advanced inspection, metrology and cleaning solutions. This is the only way to ensure consistently flawless quality.
LouwersHanique is specialized in machining ceramics. “The equipment of our customers is often being used in demanding environments”, specifies van Dingenen. The single parts and assemblies can be exposed to strong abrasive forces, liquids, gases or vacuum and sometimes in combination with extreme temperatures. “In this case ceramics have a unique advantage compared to metals or synthetic materials. Silicon carbide, for example, can be exposed to temperatures of more than 1200 °C (2192 °F) without losing its chemical integrity and structure”, explains the engineer. In addition, ceramic materials only emit minimal gas, are highly rigid, and have a very low coefficient of thermal expansion.
Manufacturing is extremely demanding
All these advantages are facing primarily one disadvantage. The highly precise manufacturing of ceramics, and especially sintered ceramics, is very demanding. The risks of damages such as cracks, fractures and similar issues is high. “Of course, this is not accepted by any customer”, shares van Dingenen. At the same time, demands for accuracies and surface quality have been going up considerably over the past years, describes the engineer: “Today, our customers are demanding tolerances of up to 1 µm and surface flatness of less than 2 µm on a diameter of 150 mm. At the same time, with some ceramic parts, we need to achieve a surface quality of less than Ra = 0,2 µm"
Until recently, these demands posed challenges for the manufacturing experts at LouwersHanique. Meanwhile, they no longer do. In 2023 the team of Jan van Dingenen contacted Kern Sales’ Managers Didier Gony and John Snijders, from the Dutch Kern branch and business representative, Encoma B.V respectively. “Both of them promptly provided us with highly valuable information.”, shares the engineer. “Furthermore, they swiftly arranged a visit to Kern‘s headquarter in Eschenlohe”.
Here, the Dutch experts, had the possibility to extensively test the manufacturing of their material. According to the engineer, the results clearly exceeded their expectations: “When we saw what can be achieved with the ductile cutting mode, which was developed by Kern, we knew that we found the perfect solution for the demands of our customers”.
Perfect solution: Ductile Cutting and Kern Micro HD
LouwersHanique traditionally used to rely primarily on grinding and lapping for ceramics. With the ductile cutting mode, even the hardest ceramics can now be milled. This means: special PCD milling tools with geometrically defined cutting edges, allow the extremely brittle material to be removed with floating chips. “We achieve outstanding surface qualities with minimal roughness, so that little or no polishing is required, even in critical areas. This allows us to increase our efficiency and satisfy even the most demanding customers”.
For the highly precise manufacturing of LouwersHanique's ceramic parts, in addition to the ductile cutting mode developed by Kern, an extremely process-stable machine is required. High rigidity, and smooth running, a fast-rotating spindle, and resistance to ceramic dust, are basics. All these features can be found in the Kern Micro HD. The smart axis arrangement protects the mechanics from abrasive dust, and the micro-gap hydrostatics ensure a very high rigidity.
The strong 15 kW high-speed spindle of the high-end five-axes machining center reaches up to 42.000 min-1. This way, jig grinding is an easy task for the Kern Micro HD. Enabling both grinding with pins and ductile milling with PKD tools to be performed in a single clamping.For the Senior Production Engineer, Jan van Dingenen, the decision to invest in Kern, was the right choice. Besides the outstanding technology, he strongly emphasizes with the good cooperation of all involved parties, especially with the CEO of Encoma, John Snijders: “He supported us through the buying process and was on site when the Kern Micro HD was installed. Everything went very smooth and we are very happy to be a member of the Kern family now”.