Flexibility and competence at the service of micro-gears’ high precision
Established in 1987 as an automatic turning shop of small metal parts, in 2001 Anfabo decides standing out from the numerous local chain companies, taking over a firm specialized in micro-gears and so officially entering the market of high-precision gears. Since then, the growing specialization has allowed consolidating a more and more relevant ranking at the service of challenging sectors that impose high attention to both quality and service, since the design to the implementation of the finished product.
«We can provide our customers – Fabrizio Boeri, founder and owner together with his brother Andrea, underlines – with continuity and rapidity of supplies, in-house managing all machining processes: turning, gear cutting, grinding, broaching and assembly, all supported by an attentive quality control managed by our metrological room. We avail ourselves of machines, such as lathes and gear cutting machines, in the technological forefront, able to grant the high quality of the product that we offer».
Currently, the company relies on over 60 production machines, spread in the 4 departments of the headquarters at Caronno Pertusella (Varese, Italy), which take up an area of 5,000 sq. m. (of which around 3,000 sq. m. for manufacturing). We are speaking of an operational structure that today is developed in compliance with Industry 4.0 logics, with interconnected process technologies that allow producing gears that range from the mod. 0.15 to mod. 3, made of any material type (from bronze to all grades of steel, from aluminium to brass and plastic materials).
Ready to changes and to possible future scenarios
Aeronautics, automotive, medical, automation, handling and robotics are some of the sectors addressed by Anfabo, making competences, expertise and know-how available.
«Sectors –Boeri adds – to which we turn by staking on high added-value services, in addition to state-of-the-art processes and a larger and larger manufacturing capacity of excellent quality. Identifying reliable collaborators, competences, collaboration and management represents in fact the true challenge for the future. Keeping pace with technologies and staff training represents the real key factor to stand out and to grow in the incoming years. Our company is attentively monitoring the trend of the most congenial sectors for us, to be ready to changes and to possible future scenarios. The sectors that actually grant us high development prospects are aerospace and biomedical, the latter in particular evolution phase and with which we are proud of collaborating».
Therefore, the company proves to be very attentive to trends and innovations of sector and process that today characterize the manufacturing of components and small parts.
«In general –Boeri affirms– we do not register substantial modifications, for instance in the use and in the demand for materials, unless the more and more attentive product traceability and certification due to the quality aspect. For applications in the automotive and aeronautical sectors, we use innovative materials with excellent physical/chemical characteristics and with outstanding results on either finished products or on parts that must undergo a successive heat treatment. This material typology allows achieving excellent finishes, shorter manufacturing times and low wear of tools in comparison with traditional materials».
State-of-the-art process technologies
As already underlined, in the 4 departments (turning, gear cutting, grinding, assembly and control) making up Anfabo operation site, over 60 manufacturing machines are installed and produce 3.5 million parts yearly.
In the turning division, it is possible to execute also complex machining directly on the machine, for diameters from 3 to 150 mm. In the gear cutting department, company’s technological heart, they implement instead all gear typologies, from mod. 0.15 to mod. 3, using metal and synthetic materials in small and large batches, equipped with all machining processes.
«Moreover, we can also manufacture – Boeri adds – gears with the Skiving technique, particularly suitable on small-size modules where the tooth grinding becomes exacting with the use of grinding wheels».
The grinding department can execute with great flexibility grinding of internal diameters, external centre diameter grinding, grinding of centerless diameters in small and big batches. The finishing division is instead composed by: circular tank vibratory finishing machines, vibrating dryers, rotating sifters that allow the surface treatment using abrasive products for lapping, deburring and polishing; shot-peening machines; two furnaces for small thermal treatments.
In the assembly department each component is carefully checked by skilled staff assisted by quality control machines in-house studied according to manufacturing features, assessing that each aspect is in compliance with customers’ requests. Quality control also granted by a metrological room in conditioned environment, equipped with forefront tools, including a CNC 4-axis involute-meter.
«Due to the diversified and constantly upgraded machine fleet – Boeri states– we can supply an array of machining permitting to range successfully and to satisfy manifold sectors for the most various application fields. The challenge we will have to face next years will concern the maintenance of the high quality demanded, at the same time providing for new machining typologies requested. Without neglecting the aspect of constant training of our staff, creating and sharing common targets in the various manufacturing divisions».
Certified uncompromised quality
With the aim of researching the highest quality, process and product levels, in 2021 Anfabo achieved the ISO 9001:2015 certification, the latest release of the international standard for Management and Quality Systems.
«An outcome – Fabrizio Boeri ends – enabled also by the 4.0 management of all of our manufacturing processes. The main investments, always planned in the purchase of increasingly advanced and innovative machines, to assure a high quality that represents our absolute priority. Our technological purchase decisions are always oriented to high-performance advanced models, manufactured by leader brands on a world scale, almost always upon our precise specification. Currently, we are, for instance, the only Italian company equipped with a gear cutting machine purposely designed for the production of excellent-quality micro-toothing».
