Sliding Systems Launches ULTIO At Motek, Stuttgart
Sliding Systems’ engineers have just returned from Motek International trade fair for automation in production and assembly. This is the first time we have showcased our full product range and it caused quite a stir. Needless to say that the ULTIO slides had a lot of attention.
Group Technical Director, Jon Lye, explains the concept of ULTIO ……
”ULTIO slides are similar in construction to other slides currently available from established European manufacturers. That is a nested slide constructed from rolled outer beam and cold drawn steel inner members.That’s where the similarities end……. ”
”Outdated production methods and hand fitting of the ball bearings has resulted in an expensive, niche product. Rolled steel slides from volume production lines are now available which comfortably support 300kgs at a much lower price point and the guarantee of consistent quality levels…… The end user is consistently chasing price downs and raising quality expectations……”
”So the concept of ULTIO was born. Heavy duty rolled and cold drawn steel/aluminium & stainless steel produced from a state of the art production line which is totally automated. Our group partners at Sliding Systems Asia already have a wealth of experience in volume slide production with an assembled team comprising of metallurgists, engineers and designers…..”
”ULTIO slides benefit from European sourced, professionally extruded sections. The entire range has stainless steel ball cages and bearings fitted as standard. The beam extensions are smooth and quiet due to exacting tolerances which leads to a more stable slide with minimal bearing migration……”
Many German engineers at Motek were certainly in agreement and keen to express their frustration at the high price points currently being demanded. Jon explained: ”The main reason for the frustration being the massive gulf in quality between the current options, which are cold drawn beams and professionally hardened sections. Whilst many end users prefer the better bearing fit provided by the hardening process, they often do not have the budget to roll the slides out on volume projects…….
With ULTIO slides we aim to not just bridge that gap, but do it at significantly lower price levels”
