On 2 December, Berkoa held the professional conference ‘BERKOA 360°: Live Rotary Friction Welding’, organised in collaboration with our technology partner Lortek, at our facilities in Elgoibar. The event was very well received, with around 40 professionals from different industrial sectors attending to learn first-hand about our rotary friction welding technology.
During the event, we carried out live demonstrations with different materials: aluminium and copper, high-speed steel with F114 and a repair process, which aroused great interest among the attendees. We also showed other Berkoa machines in operation, such as a TD-800 vertical lathe for the agricultural sector and a drill bit sharpener for the tool sector, allowing visitors to see parts produced in real time and check the precision and quality of our equipment.
Our speakers shared their knowledge and experiences. Andoni García-Abad, Managing Director of Berkoa, spoke about the SoldAvanza machine, a rotary friction welding test bench available at their facilities, and explained how this technology allows different materials to be joined and improves traceability and process control. Antonio Monaco, Senior Researcher at the Joining Technologies Research Centre, and Jonatan Rodríguez, Senior Researcher at the Digitalisation Technologies Research Centre, both from Lortek, explored the technical aspects and challenges of joining materials using this technology.
Imanol Montero, Head of Heat Treatment and Friction Welding Engineering at GKN Driveline Zumaia, presented the success story of the five Berkoa machines used at their facilities, highlighting how parameter control and traceability allow them to optimise production: ‘We are very happy with the reliability and precision of the machines manufactured by Berkoa and the technology of the BLSC 4.0 registered controller,’ he said. He also highlighted the subcontracting service provided by SoldAvanza for the manufacture of parts for the automotive sector, which complies with strict quality standards.
The event also included networking opportunities, with coffee and lunch, and was attended by the Mayor of Elgoibar, Maialen Gurrutxaga, who emphasised the importance of companies like ours in the municipality’s industrial fabric. Representatives from industrial associations such as HEGAN and BPTD also attended.
With this event, we reinforced our goal of bringing rotary friction welding technology to industry professionals, demonstrating the capabilities of our machines live.
