Bosch Rexroth-LiCON partnership increases output by 25%
The worldwide manufacturer, Bosch Rexroth, employs nearly 34,000 employees and generates around 8 billion dollars in annual sales. The manufacturing behemoth recently teamed up with LiCON -- a smaller company but also with an international footprint. Providing their own expertise, the two worked on a couple projects that resulted in improved cycle times on hydraulic valve housings.
The LiFLEX II 776 i³ twin-spindle machine with pallet changer was put into operation at the beginning of 2025.
A global supplier of drive and control technologies, Bosch Rexroth offers its customers hydraulics, electric drive and control technology, gear technology, and linear and assembly technology, including software and interfaces to the Internet of Things.
LiCON mt GmbH & Co. KG is a global supplier of modular machining centers. Its core products are horizontal machining centers, with single-spindle, twin-spindle and even four-spindles. Many of its customers from the automotive and other industries appreciate the company's turnkey solution approach. That is why LiCON develops, designs and builds fixtures, motor spindles and most of its machine components in-house.
In 2021, LiCON and Bosch Rexroth partnered to initiate a project that was implemented in Lohr, Germany. A twin spindle 5 axis double trunnion CNC machine was used for the project.
The CNC machine was tasked to manufacture hydraulic valve housings.
LiCON fluid cabinet with CytroPac hydraulic unit
The main requirement in the production of hydraulic valve housings is the accuracy of the control valve bore. To achieve this, the LiCON i³-technology was used to correct both motor spindles independently -- keeping the high spindle stiffness in all three axes (X, Y and Z).
Temperature sensors were used, in connection with the corresponding algorithms, to reduce the influence on the positioning accuracy of the motor spindles during the machining process, which lead to fast start-up times.
LiCON's LiFLEX system also scored points in terms of flexibility: Over a hundred different hydraulic valve variants, each with four workpieces per clamping, can be machined on the system.
The compact design of the twin-spindle machine reduced the space requirement while increasing output by 20 to 25% compared to the previous solution.
In addition, setup times were minimized, with changes accomplished easily on short notice during the project. This meant that adjustments and additions could quickly be implemented by Bosch Rexroth.
LiCON uses hydraulic valves from Bosch Rexroth.
"Even during the ramp-up phase, the LiCON service provided excellent support during commissioning," added Stefan Thesen, the internal overall project manager from the Technical Functions and Investment Planning department at Bosch Rexroth.
In addition to the machining center itself, the integration of the pilot cell, consisting of the LiCON machine and the Rexroth automation solution, into the i4.0 system was an important part of the project. Automation and data collection play a central role for the future of both companies. An important step in this direction has been taken with the intelligent networking of machines and processes using information and communication technology.
The precise LiFLEX II 766 i³ with double trunnion from 2021 has run efficiently for many years.
Constructive exchanges between the two companies then led to a follow-up project with two further manufacturing cells in 2024.
This time, the latest LiFLEX II 776 i³ PC B2, with even faster tool changing, minimized non-productive times and increased dynamics was used. Together with the process optimization, the cycle was further reduced again by about 25 seconds (10%) per component. The LiCON ECO Plus mode and the CytroPac hydraulic power unit developed by Rexroth are also part of the machine.
In both machines, LiCON relied on hydraulic valves from Bosch Rexroth, which in turn were manufactured on LiCON machining centers.
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