In sheet metal processing, ever greater flexibility of blanks is required for complex applications. Even with changing sheet thicknesses, demanding materials often have to be cut precisely and quickly. However, processing with separate cut-to-length and slitting lines is time-consuming and can only be carried out in several steps.

For this reason, Burghardt + Schmidt GmbH has developed multi-blanking systems that combine both work steps in a single run. As a result, even changing cut sizes can be carried out efficiently and with the highest quality in-house – without additional logistics costs. The systems enable a speed of up to 100 m/min with plug-in limits of over 1000 N/mm² and material strengths of over 1500 N/mm². Thanks to inspection measures, the new multi-blanking lines are particularly suitable for sensitive material surfaces such as stainless steel and aluminium strips.
“In order to avoid delays caused by external suppliers, many of our customers demand the integration of slitting shears into their cut-to-length lines in order to carry out a further work step in-house,” reports Thomas Baral, managing director of Burghardt + Schmidt. “Therefore, we have used the synergy effects of individual companies in the B+S group to develop flexible systems for these high-quality requirements.”
The B+S group multi-blanking lines combine a cut-to-length line with a slitting line and are designed for sheets with a material width of up to 2500 mm and a material thickness of 0.1 to 6.0 mm.
“Before the first cut, the coil is levelled and cut into longitudinal strips,” explains Baral. “These strips are then cut crosswise, resulting in up to five sheet blanks per segment in the desired length.”
For further information www.b-s-germany.de

Bilsing Automation GmbH, a supplier of automated tooling for press rooms and body shops, has implemented a digital transformation strategy across its design and build processes, helping customers achieve error-free launches in a shorter timeframe and improving the overall customer experience.

To achieve this outcome, Bilsing is leveraging automated product knowledge templates (PKTs), 3D visualisation and AR/VR technologies.
Applying PKTs to product development means Bilsing designers can capture corporate knowledge and standardise information within 3D engineering templates. These templates can then be re-used so that less time is spent on repetitive tasks and reinventing the wheel, and more time innovating. For Bilsing, this has enabled it to reduce product complexity, lower overall development costs and increase customer responsiveness. In studies comparing traditional methodologies by seasoned designers with novice designers using standardised templates, design time was reduced from 48 minutes to only two minutes – a 95% improvement.
From an assembly standpoint, the company has integrated AR/VR technologies into its processes using a HoloLens and employing a Human Interface Mate (HIM) that acts as a guide during the build process. By using AR, any items with IoT technology enable Bilsing technicians to get information from the company’s ERP system. The ERP provides immediate access to the object’s specification, inventory, location and lead time, as well as instructions and manuals.
Because AR is capable of overlaying the required part on to the component that the technician may pick up, it allows technicians to quickly discern whether they have the correct part by shape and designated number. A smart sensor validates execution and warns the operator as soon as a wrong procedure is in process. This functionality increases the worker’s efficiency, while reducing any potential for poor work quality.
For further information www.bilsing-automation.com

A UK manufacturer of pressings and assemblies has signalled its intentions to be a world leader in lightweight components by investing in a new process.

SDE Technology, which prior to a recent rebrand was known as Salop Design and Engineering, is the first company in Europe to hold a production licence for Hot Form Quench (HFQ), a hot-forming process that produces high-strength aluminium parts for use in the automotive, aerospace and renewable energy sectors.
This new technology gives designers the freedom to create parts that offer significant weight savings, yet still deliver higher structural strength, with improved formability in 6000 and 7000 series alloys, which cannot be formed cold. In some instances, the process can also reduce multiple part counts to just one.
The initial investment of £1m in 2019 enables the laser profiling of HFQ blanks, with a multi-million pound investment scheduled to be in place at the company’s Shrewsbury facility over the next 18 months.
“This is a real game changer for our business and industry as a whole,” says Richard Homden, CEO of SDE Technology. “Thanks to HFQ we can now offer new and existing customers a lightweight solution for
making complex parts in one pressing, reducing weight, time to manufacture and cost in the process.
“HFQ was developed by Impression Technologies (ITL), who industrialised research by Birmingham University and Imperial College London,” he adds. “You simply cannot form this high-strength aluminium in any other way, unless you use a super plastic forming [SPF] process. Even then, SPF makes one part every
15 to 20 minutes, whereas the cycle time for our technology is one part every 15 to 20 seconds. That is a design and manufacturing dream.”
For further information https://www.sde.technology/

Earlier this year, the Japan-headquartered Unipres group, which supplies many of the world’s major automotive manufacturers with pressed car body parts, took delivery of two complete press hardening lines from AP&T. The first of the two lines began operations at Unipres’s UK manufacturing centre in Sunderland at the beginning of 2020, while the second line was delivered to the group’s French plant in Biache Saint Vaast in March.

“AP&T’s reliable technology, extensive experience of press hardening and ability to provide quick service are some of the most important reasons underlying our decision to collaborate with them,” says senior vice president of the Unipres Advanced Engineering Development Centre, Ryoji Maeda.
AP&T technical sales manager Peter Robisch adds: “We were naturally delighted to be entrusted with producing complete solutions that meet Unipres’s high demands for short cycle times and extensive automation. Both of the lines have advanced technology. For example, all of the tooling and gripper changes are fully automated. The lines are also equipped with sophisticated press monitoring, which ensures a consistently high level of quality for the manufactured parts.”
AP&T’s business model – ‘One Responsible Partner’ – which entails the company taking full responsibility for all of the production equipment and having all of the required expertise in-house, also played an important role in the procurement. A further vital aspect was AP&T’s global operations, which allow the company to offer service and spare parts supply wherever customers operate.
To date, AP&T has delivered and installed over 120 press hardening lines all over the world.
For further information www.aptgroup.com

Black Country based Worcester Presses is celebrating 10 years of supplying hydraulic presses in the UK by hitting a major sales milestone. Worcester Presses, which employs 14 people at its works in Dudley, has recently installed its 50th hydraulic press into PAB (Coventry) to help cope with an increase in orders from the automotive and aerospace sectors.

A Yeh Chiun 300 tonne H-frame hydraulic press has arrived at PAB (Coventry) that is capable of delivering the accuracy crucial in producing pressings and metal grills for supercars and a host of Aston Martin models. Praised for its flexibility and power, the machine’s relatively small footprint is a major benefit, while the latest control software means programs can be stored and recalled quickly.
“The YCT-300 Worcester hydraulic press is a great addition to our capability and is directly involved in the added-value work we complete for a number of car manufacturers and some sub-frame components for aerospace,” says Mark Brazier, CEO of PAB (Coventry).
The installation marks Worcester Presses’ best-ever year of hydraulic press sales, with this type of machine now accounting for 20% of the firm’s £2.2m turnover.
Brazier adds: “We’ve been very impressed with the machine’s versatility and the fact we can quickly set it up to take on new and diverse jobs. Tool life is also very good. We’ve been working with Worcester Presses since an engineering show five years ago and have always received great support, from understanding our desired application and then matching it to the right machine. The service and maintenance packages are also first class.”
For further information www.worcesterpresses.co.uk