Home Parts Production Systems Testing Services InfoSheets Who We Are Contact Us Services Interlaken offers a wide array of services, from helping you decipher the best method to form a part, to selecting the right material, to designing a system. We’re here to partner with you long-term, to support your continued growth and success. We will lead you through initial observations, discovery, innovation review, proof of principle, best option, and production readiness to bring your design from concept to reality. Concept Consulting Product Design FEA Simulation Materials Selection Tool Design Prototyping and Development Project Management Troubleshooting On-Site Support Part Sales System Upgrades Maintenance Programs Concept Consulting ITC starts with a product design consultation. We work with you to identify needs, wants, and expectations. Then comes metal formability testing, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), tooling design, and prototyping. Next is the creation of the tooling. From here, ITC will make the parts for you or complete the design and building of your hydraulic hydroforming press. This includes a fluid pressure intensification system. Once you’re up and running, the partnership continues with project management, training, and service and support. ITC people possess the skills and abilities to help you achieve your goals. We’ll work with you as a partner, encouraging you to lean on us. We’ll build your design, and we’re eager to go deeper. ITC engineers will develop, test, analyze, build samples, and create tailored products. At the same time we’ll search for a better and more cost effective way to solve the problem. We won’t just listen; we’ll hear you and advise you. The optimum solution may be unexpected or just hidden around the corner. We’re here to help you uncover it. Product Design Bring us your original idea, print or model and we will evaluate it for the process capability of tube hydroforming, HEATform™ (Hot Metal Gas Forming) or another process that makes the most sense. ITC will make suggestions for part geometry, make those changes in the part model, and then share those recommendations with you. The goal is a design for better flow and reduced cost. We’ll also lay out the limitations so you have complete clarity as we begin down the road to partnership. Whether it’s a complete print or a drawing on a cocktail napkin, we’ll help you see what reality will look like. FEA Simulation ITC’s path to success is built on Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation. FEA is used as a one-step simulation for feasibility assessment. We’ll determine the plausibility of using a particular material, wall thickness, and part geometry. We’ll learn and develop an understanding of the material behavior, strain states, and thinning. At this point we can make recommendations on possible changes to part geometry to best utilize the hydroforming process. It’s all about ensuring that your part does what it needs to do. Materials Selection To help you choose the right material, Interlaken will evaluate the requirements of the transformation. We’ll look at the length of line of the blank compared to the final length of line of the part. This includes the diameter of the tube at the beginning compared to the diameter of the part shape upon completion. Length of line is used because the final shape is not always a circle. The transformational change in a room temperature or elevated temperature process is still limited to certain material properties. ITC will help you pick the material that has the better forming properties and the structural elements necessary for your application. Tool Design At this point, ITC will look at the required process steps needed to take your part from blank to final shape and will do the design work to create the tooling necessary to make it happen. Be it a preform, a bend, a crush, or a final-hydroform, we will design tooling and forming dies for each step to produce your final part. Don’t worry if you have little or no knowledge of tooling. ITC does and we’re here to help you succeed. Prototyping and Development Now it’s time to take all that we’ve learned about the transition from blank to final part, and do it in the physical world. ITC takes the designs, models, FEA output, and the process development and turns it into real tools. We’ll develop the forming recipe, use your chosen material, and make the part. This is a prototype. The learning process continues as we try to verify all that was revealed in FEA. Did the part preform correctly? Was it the correct pressure and feed profile? We’ll run iterations until we’ve proven our theory and your part is successfully being produced. Project Management Successful system projects require open and close communications between the customer, ITC and all subcontractors. ITC will assign a Project Manager to coordinate design, engineering and manufacture of our equipment and services with the customer. Project management consists of those activities required to monitor the project, coordinate activities within the project scope, and provide effective communication between the customer, ITC and other equipment vendors. Hardware and Software direct remote troubleshooting Interlaken is on-duty, supporting you when you call with system questions or issues. All ITC systems come equipped with TeamViewer software, allowing us to log in remotely to diagnose and solve possible dilemmas. All systems are password protected, insuring that the customer makes the request and gives approval before an ITC technician receives access. With this ability, we are able to remotely cycle the machine, investigate possible hardware problems, change software parameters if necessary, and a high percentage of the time, find a solution to your issue. On-site critical support If you contact Interlaken with a problem that prevents your system from functioning properly, we’re committed to helping you get back to work. We’ll start by investigating the symptoms and if necessary, we’ll turn to the mechanical, electrical, or software engineers who designed it. If you need help obtaining or installing critical parts, we can do so and give you a realistic timeline when the job will be complete. As a long-term partner, if the issue requires an ITC technician on-site, we will be there within 48 hours to help you successfully get the system back on-line. Part Sales Support for valued Interlaken customers continues by satisfying all your system part needs. ITC will identify critical parts that you may wish to keep in stock, procure replacement parts from our inventory, or work with suppliers to keep you apprised of part lead times. As the manufacturer of your system, look to ITC to know exactly what parts you need and the fastest way to get them to your facility. System hardware and software upgrades One of the goals of Interlaken Technology is to continually enhance the experience for our customers. As a company with Technology in our name, we will be on the leading edge. Hardware and software advancements and needs, have led ITC to expand its partnership with B&R Automation. Customer feedback has driven the following solutions: ● An operator friendly, intuitive interface that is simpler for both the research and production environments. ● Highly configurable software that allows users to freely program, tune, limit, and configure axis routines. ● Data capture feature that allows the capture of any variable in the system at real-time speeds. ● Security portal allowing several levels of access. Beginning in third quarter 2016, ITC is replacing its software platform with a bold new look, utilizing B&R’s development environment of ARwin and Mapp technologies. The PC and PLC will be replaced with a B&R Automation PC 910. It will serve both roles. A Bus Controller will provide the communication between the PC and the Slices, or individual control modules. There is also a power supply. The monitor will be replaced by a 17” touchscreen monitor and arm or an industrial touchscreen monitor within a control panel enclosure with the PC mounted inside the box. New keyboard/mouse. The hardware integration into the existing system will be seamless. The system is scalable, allowing for the easy addition of more Slices for increased customization. All components have been selected with maximum reliability in mind. These components have been designed specifically for use in industrial environments, can withstand high ambient temperatures, and have guaranteed long-term availability. ITC’s commitment to green design and process reduction, and a history of dedicated customer service, will result in lower costs and a competitive position in the marketplace. Annual maintenance programs Interlaken Technology Company believes in the value of our relationship with you, our customer. The ITC Team builds on that relationship by getting to know your advanced metal testing and forming needs for long-term success. By offering services such as annual maintenance and licensing options, ITC is able to form an approach that is customized to your business model. These options include: Annual Maintenance Options We rely on partnerships and long-term relationships. We work with exclusive technology to form impossible shapes and achieve extreme part consistency. We’ll make it, or we’ll help you make it. Industries Served: Automotive Aerospace Plumbing & HVAC Off-Road OEM Power Sports Medical Devices Steel Aluminum Oil & Gas Education Research Centers Memberships: Contact Us PHONE: +1 952 856 4210 8175 Century Blvd. Chaska, MN 55318 USA Veteran Owned Business Website by Zenternship