SPL Spindles – Engineering Excellence for the Most Demanding Applications
From Saxony to the World – A Company That Has Grown Along With Its Challenges
SPL Spindle and Precision Bearings GmbH is an innovative company in Saxony’s machine tool industry. What began in 1992 as an engineering firm providing design services has, over the course of three decades, evolved into a full-fledged spindle manufacturer with its own product line, its own facility, and a global spindle service network.
The path to this point was marked by technical consistency. As early as 1995, SPL GmbH was founded with a licensing agreement to develop spindle units with hydrodynamic bearings. This was followed by roller-bearing spindles, hydrostatic grinding spindles, motor spindles for turning centers, and finally high-frequency motor spindles for grinding machines—each stage of development a logical step, driven by real manufacturing requirements.
Anyone familiar with SPL knows this: Here, we don’t develop products just because they sell well. We develop what is technically needed—and we do so with a depth and dedication that is not common in the spindle industry.
Main spindles for grinding, turning, and milling—plus what others don’t offer
SPL’s product range covers the key areas of machining and goes well beyond the traditional standard catalog. At its core, the company manufactures grinding spindles, turning spindles, and milling spindles as motorized spindles in various designs and power classes—tailored to the requirements of modern machine tools and machining centers.
Particularly noteworthy is the company’s focus on niche areas that many competitors do not serve: hydrodynamic and hydrostatic spindles for exceptionally smooth operation in specialized applications, custom motors for specific drive tasks, and a comprehensive range of dressing technology, including dressing machines, mounting mandrels, dressing spindles, and CNC dressers. The portfolio is complemented by test bench technology, which SPL has been developing since 2000 for high-performance bearings in engine test benches.
Hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, and test bench technology – where precision requires special bearings
SPL’s most distinctive technical selling point lies in its expertise in fluid-bearing spindle systems. While most spindle manufacturers offer only roller-bearing solutions, SPL develops and manufactures both hydrodynamically and hydrostatically supported spindles—technologies that are in demand wherever roller bearings reach their limits: at extreme speeds, under the highest requirements for concentricity and damping performance, or in high-precision machining.
This expertise also pays off in test bench technology. SPL develops sophisticated test bench mountings and complex test bench systems that are tailored to specific requirements—ranging from simple high-speed mountings to complete mechatronic systems for development and production test benches.
Kern GmbH – Your partner for SPL spindle services
Repairing high-quality spindle systems requires a technical understanding of each manufacturer’s specific design, particularly when it comes to structurally complex solutions such as SPL’s fluid-bearing spindles. Kern GmbH’s expertise is based on over 14,000 spindle repairs across more than 2,800 different spindle types. We understand the requirements of SPL systems and perform maintenance work professionally.
Our goal is to minimize your machine downtime. We analyze the condition of your components and quickly restore them to their original performance.
