Enerpac Cube Jacks ease tight installation of presses

Faced with installing two 16-tonne presses, one on top of the other, with just 30mm headroom, French equipment installer Bovis Group used Enerpac cube jacks to successfully complete the work. By combining Enerpac SCJ-50 cube jacks with load-holding, wooden cribbing and jacking blocks, it was possible to lift and accurately position the presses were within the space available.

Bovis Group’s centres in Poitiers and Trinstal Equipements collaborated on this high-precision handling project for a manufacturer of electronics and advanced materials. The technical challenge was the space constraint. Using 3D modelling software, it was possible to develop a lifting scenario based on progressive jacking of the upper press to within 30mm of the factory ceiling. From this position, it lowered onto the second press to complete the press assembly.

For the vertical lift of the upper press, the Bovis team used four Enerpac SCJ-50 cube jacks connected to a split flow pump, providing synchronised movement of all four jacks. After the initial lift, Bovis supported the press using wooden cribbing and positioned the cube jacks on jacking blocks to repeat the lift. Once the upper press was at the correct height, Bovis used a 30 tonne hydraulic mover to move the lower press into position beneath the upper press.

“This was a very precise operation and demonstrated the lifting accuracy we can achieve with the Enerpac cube jacks,” says Jérôme Lebrequier, industrial project manager at Bovis Group.“Thanks to our meticulous planning, and the ease of using the cube jacks, we were able to complete the installation of both presses on the same day.”
For further information www.enerpac.com

Siderforgerossi Group renews its production capacities

For more than 50 years, the old counterblow hammer from Bêché –now a Schuler brand – has been faithfully performing its duties at the Siderforgerossi Group. But now the time has come for a renewal at the Busano Canavese production site near Turin: in the future, a Schuler DG50h counterblow hammer will take up residence to produce large steel and aluminium forgings for the oil and gas, automotive, mining, and aerospace industries.

“We’re very pleased that our customer has once again awarded the contract to Schuler,” says managing director Frank Klingemann. “Air-powered counterblow hammers are characterised by high availability, as can be seen from the long service life of the predecessor model.”

As the drive components are not in the vibration range, there is low downtime and maintenance,and thus a high degree of utilisation, reports Schuler. The pneumatic drive also allows a high number of consecutive strokes without any drop in stroke frequency – in the case of the DG50h, up to 36 per minute. Notably, the energy-efficient expansion of the drive medium during the impact stroke results in an almost unchanged working capacity of 500 kilojoules at different die heights up to a maximum of 900 mm. Commissioning of the system weighing 355 tonnes will take place later this year.

The scope of supply also includes an intuitive control system, which Schuler has developed specifically for work-bound forging units. Functions include various impact programs, monitoring of impact energy, part thickness and temperature, and documentation of die and production data. Access to the operating instructions is also possible, as is remote maintenance and connection to the customer’s network.
For further information www.schulergroup.com/en

MACH 2024 headline sponsor confirmed

Lloyds Bank has confirmed its headline sponsorship of MACH 2024 (Birmingham NEC, 15-19 April), the sixth time the bank done so. Commenting on the new deal, James Selka (photo, right),CEO at the Manufacturing Technologies Association, the organiser of MACH 2024, says:“Manufacturing is the heartbeat of the UK economy and growing a resilient manufacturing industry has never been more important. Lloyds Bank is an ideal partner for MACH as we share common goals and commitments, including sustainability across the sector.”

Dave Atkinson (photo, left), UK head of manufacturing at Lloyds Bank, adds: “Making the transition to net zero represents a significant growth opportunity for the UK economy, particularly for the manufacturing sector. However, we must invest in technology and skills to support such an ambitious change. Lloyds Bank is delighted to again sponsor MACH, the UK’s national showcase for the best in next-generation manufacturing technologies.”
For further information www.machexhibition.com

Precision press will advance innovation and sustainability

Taking advantage of new export opportunities has seen a Middlesex manufacturer invest more than £300,000 in a new high-speed precision stamping press line.Eden Ltd, a specialist in optical air-blown fibre and cables fittings for the global telecommunication industry, renewed a 35-year working relationship with Bruderer UK to place the order for the BSTA 180-36B press, fitted with the latest high-speed precision servo feeder.

The machine is already delivering greater accuracies, with Bruderer UK’s quick lift-ram technology – that dynamically adjusts bottom dead centre position whilst in operation – meaning the business can guarantee process stability and part quality to customers regardless of the volumes required.

“A pre-owned Bruderer BSTA 30 was one of the first machines I bought when I started the business back in 1993,” explained Dave Hawkins, chairman of Eden.“It’s given us tremendous service and reliability, so when we were looking to advance our press shops technology to make parts ten times quicker to compete with Far East competition, there was only one investment I was going to make and the new Bruderer press is going to be fantastic for us.”

He continues: “We’ve seen demand increase significantly since lockdown, as we’re one of the few companies worldwide that control all elements of manufacturing in-house. We haveinvested some £1.5m over the past 18 months, culminating in the acquisition of the high-speed precision press.”

The Bruderer UK technical team worked with Eden to spec the BSTA 180-36B to its exact requirements, adding a high-speed precision BSV75 servo feeder (including automatic material thickness adjustment) and other options to help accelerate tool development, tool changeovers and the efficiency of the whole process.
For further information www.bruderer.co.uk

Mazak to makedebut at EMAF in Portugal

Yamazaki Mazak is to make its first appearance at May’s EMAF trade show in a further sign of the company’s strengthening commitment to its Portuguese customers.Mazak’s EMAF debut, which will take place between 31 May and 3 June 2023 in Porto, will showcase two machines: the CV5-500 5-axis machining centre and the QTE 300 MSY SG turning centre.Mazak’s direct sales channel in Portugal, based in Porto, has been operating since May 2020 and has quickly grown to include 11 employees working in sales, service, training and application support roles. Mazak has more than 360 machines installed in Portugal.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk