Aida Engineering is now selling its new BEX series presses as dedicated machines for forming metal separators for the bipolar plates used in fuel cells and electrolysers (water electrolysis devices). With a design based on the Aida high-rigidity, high-precision UL series, BEX series presses are intended for the high-precision forming of thin plates.

Fuel cells, used in fuel cell vehicles and home energy-use fuel cells, are power generation devices that extract the electricity generated by electrochemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen. Furthermore, the development of electrolysers is also progressing in preparation for a future hydrogen-based society. In turn, demand for the bipolar plates required for these devices is expected to increase.

Separators are critical components for bipolar plates, and they have narrow, tightly-spaced channels that allow hydrogen and oxygen to pass through them. Mass production is possible using cold-forming presses to form metal plates, such as stainless steel plates. High-precision product accuracy is required when forming metal separators, and there were many issues that arose because the designs of conventional presses made it difficult to achieve the needed product accuracy.

Aida participated in a bipolar plate subcommittee at a European research institute and studied the various elements required of presses in order to form metal separators. This led to the development of the BEX series.

Although BEX presses have a one-point design for accommodating centrally-concentrated forming loads at the centre of the press, they also provide a wide area to accommodate multi-stage forming. Rigidity is approximately two times better than Aida’s UL series presses.

More information www.aida.co.jp/en

Sutherland Presses says that one of its valued customers in Jalisco, Mexico, has achieved remarkable results with two of its 200-ton mechanical presses, setting a benchmark for reliability and performance. In just over two years, the presses have completed 30 million strokes, operating with minimal downtime.

Running 24 hours a day from Monday to Saturday, the machines achieve approximately 180,000 strokes daily. This performance has allowed Sutherland’s customer to meet its output targets on a consistent basis and confidently present production volumes to its own clients.

‍

A significant factor behind this success is continuous communication with the service team at Sutherland Presses and adherence to a rigorous preventive maintenance schedule. Certified technicians, armed with advanced diagnostic tools, deliver meticulous maintenance services that have already helped companies reduce their downtime by more than 40%.

Also integral to success has been the I-Press control and automation system. This system enhances operator guidance with over 130 monitored press faults and provides on-screen sequential steps for resolution, ensuring smooth operations. It offers expanded job memory capacity for storing over 200 jobs with alpha-numeric job names and remote connectivity for assistance and monitoring. High customisation and expandability options without costly chip replacements, along with upgrades unlocked directly from software, make it a useful tool.

I-Press also includes programmable cams, a die monitor I/O for detailed control configurations, tonnage monitoring to protect tooling, and on-screen fault diagnostics and troubleshooting for quick issue resolution.

More information www.sutherlandpresses.com

Raufoss Technology in Raufoss, Norway, manufactures link arms and other aluminum parts for the automotive industry. By having long-standing partner AP&T upgrade one of the company’s existing forging lines with a new, specially designed 2500 ton hydraulic press, not only have cycle times been reduced but the company can also manufacture larger parts than before. 

Some projects are simply more challenging than others, and in this case the challenge was twofold. The first challenge was the design and construction of the press. To be integrated into the existing line, the new press with its higher tonnage, had to be adapted to the physical limitations of the factory premises. Among these were the ceiling height and the size of the foundation, which required many special solutions.

Secondly, there was the matter of time. Raufoss Technology wanted the upgrade completed as quickly as possible. AP&T’s answer was a tight schedule in which everything needed to go according to plan to reach the finish line.

“We had a tight slot for installation, but AP&T did a good job, and everything was finished on time,” says Ole Ronny Heksum, project manager at Raufoss Technology.

One year after the order was signed, almost to the day, the machines and control system were finally in place.

Explains Mikael Karlsson, product manager of presses at AP&T: “We had to lift the press through the roof of the factory using a crane. Everything went smoothly and the entire installation, including the integration and commissioning, was completed in just 12 days.”

Adds Heksum: “After a period of adjustment, we can now manufacture parts with significantly higher pressing forces than previously, and at a higher production rate.” 

More information www.aptgroup.com