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

HEP secures new lease with BAE Systems

Humber Enterprise Park (HEP) has secured a new 10-year lease agreement with BAE Systems, which will maintain its 500,000 sq ft centre for digital engineering excellence on the strategic site. The global defence and aerospace company leases office, warehouse and R&D space at HEP. Notably, the renewal of the lease coincides with BAE Systems’ recent recruitment announcement for potential 100 new roles, adding to the existing 700 BAE Systems employees already working at the site.BAE Systems has a heritage at HEP that stretches back over a century to 1916.
For further information www.humberenterprisepark.co.uk