High-quality bathroom furniture has been produced in Hochdorf for more than 40 years and has been marketed under the Talsee brand name since 2011. Around 80 employees manufacture to customer specifications with the aim of making each piece of furniture unique. The furniture is produced on modern CNC machines. In order to achieve a consistently high quality of individual customer requests, the production processes are organized according to batch size one and run within a tight time frame.

Talsee uses Corian, among other materials, for the bathroom furniture. The mineral-organic composite material is particularly durable and has a smooth, homogeneous surface. It can be milled, cut and joined seamlessly. This is why it is very popular in the sanitary sector. However, the extremely hard material places special demands on processing, as high cutting forces are required. Problems arose during the production of customer-specific washbasin tops and small parts made of Corian. With the clamping technology previously used, the workpieces had to be reground on a CNC machine after the miter cut. Vibrations had led to unwanted chatter marks, which could only be removed again at great expense of time. In order to avoid such additional work, those responsible looked for a suitable alternative.

Talsee is already successfully using clamping devices from Schmalz in other applications. Guido Bertschy, system consultant in field service at Schmalz Switzerland, took on the challenge. "I looked at the application on site and recommended aluminum block suction cups," he says. Schmalz offered a two-week test phase for fine-tuning. During this time, the project partners gathered important findings and worked out details of the customized suction cups. For example, the dimensions were adapted to the workpieces and a special friction lining was selected that would not damage the surface of the parts. "This test run was very informative for us and had a positive influence on our decision," explains Pirmin Meier, Head of Machines at Talsee.

The vacuum blocks developed by the Schmalz experts in Glatten consist of a solid aluminum body. A special sealing cord ensures a constantly high vacuum. The friction lining made of sandpaper or rubber greatly increases the absorption of lateral forces. The combination of sealing cord and friction lining enables reliable clamping - even of workpieces with structured surfaces.