AP&T, which has worked with press hardening technology since the beginning of the 2000s, was entrusted with supplying an ultra-modern press hardening line to MA Polska’s facility in Tychy, southern Poland.

The line was deployed in spring 2018. Not only was it the first of its kind for MA, it was also the 100th press hardening line that AP&T had installed at that point. In other words, the installation was a milestone for both companies.
MA’s new line is a complete, turnkey state-of-the-art solution, and is equipped with AP&T’s proprietary system for in-line process monitoring, which means parts can be manufactured with a consistently high level of quality in a carefully controlled process with short cycle times. As a result, the car industry’s CQI9 quality standard can also be effectively fulfilled.
“MA understood the opportunities afforded by our technology early on, which has made co-operation very invigorating,” says AP&T product manager Lennart Johansson. “It is always especially gratifying when both parties aim high and are able to reach common goals.”
The headquarters of MA are in Rivoli, Turin, Italy, and the company has been a major manufacturer of cold-formed sheet metal parts for the global automotive industry since the 1970s. A few years ago the company decided to begin manufacturing press hardened components as well, which thanks to the combination of low weight and high strength, are increasingly being selected for use in modern passenger cars.
For further information www.aptgroup.com

S-HTF series ball screws from NSK are for the first time enabling powder-press manufacturer Osterwalder AG to employ servo-electric drives on its larger machines, rather than conventional hydraulic drives.

As a result, new systems such as the Osterwalder OPP 2000 multi-level machine with 2000 kN press force, use around 80% less energy than hydraulic counterparts of equivalent power output. In addition, pressed parts are produced with significantly higher dimensional accuracy, which reduces the amount of reworking and substantially lowers process and material costs.
Lyss, Switzerland-based Osterwalder offers a wide range of machines, and with the CA-SP and CA-HM electric powder presses introduced around five years ago, brought to market a completely new type of drive technology. Direct Drive Technology (DDT), as it is known, comprises servo-electric motors and NSK ball screws, and thus replaced the hitherto dominant hydraulic drives in this field of application.
The DDT drive principle has proven itself over the past five years, initially for press forces up to 160 kN, and then up to 640 kN. As a result, it was only logical for Osterwalder to take the next step and equip its larger presses with this drive technology. However, the HTF series from NSK and comparable ball screws from other manufacturers reach their limits here with regard to nominal service life.
As part of its ongoing development programme, NSK had in the meantime developed its S-HTF ball screw series, which would prove extremely timely for Osterwalder. S-HTF ball screws offer a higher dynamic load capacity with the same dimensions, thus delivering a service life that is significantly extended.
Endurance tests performed in the NSK laboratory showed that the TF technology used in the ball screws of the S-HTF series results in triple the service life, as well as a 30% higher dynamic load capacity.
For further information www.nskeurope.com

Roemheld’s newly developed block cylinder S (‘strong’) is purposed designed for use in forming technology, including punching machines. This sturdy and compact cylinder is a further development of the established Roemheld block cylinder.

The block cylinder S is hydraulically double-acting and universally applicable for all linear movements with high force requirements. According to Roemheld, the cylinder can withstand high mechanical and thermal loads, and is suitable for operating pressures up to 500 bar and operating temperatures up to 200°C. Versions up to 250°C are also available on request.
Block cylinder S shows its strengths where high loads and side loads are to be expected, such as on punching, pressing, trimming, bending and stamping machines, as well as in joining and press-in devices. All designs are equipped with piston and rod guide rings, which absorb side loads between the moving components. The rod guide rings also prevent direct metal contact between the piston and cylinder housing, minimising mechanical wear. Importantly, the operating pressure of block cylinder S must be limited to 250 bar for these applications because of very high loads during punching.
As a result of numerous variants and small dimensions, block cylinder S can also be used for a range of other applications, such as operating core pullers and sliders in mould tools. The cylinder can also be deployed in fully automatic production systems with short cycle times thanks to its high load capacity. Inductive stroke end controls are provided for optional position monitoring.
A total of five sizes with piston diameters from 32 to 80 mm, and four stroke lengths from 25 to 100 mm, are available. If required, the standard stroke can be shortened by 5 to 29 mm by means of a shrink-fit distance bushing. Piston variants with internal or external thread
can be supplied.
For further information www.roemheld.co.uk

According to a new report by Persistence Market Research, the global coil-fed punching and cutting machine market is projected to witness significant growth owing to modular automation solutions.

In addition, coil-fed punching and cutting machines answer the rising need for the reduction of scrap and high productivity, and notable opportunities in electronics and consumer goods applications.
The global coil-fed punching and cutting machine market was pegged at US$ 66.1m in the year 2018, but is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8.5% during the period of 2019 to 2029.
Demand for coil-fed punching and cutting machines has been driven by swelling investments in sectors such as automotive, consumer goods and electronics. Further, the replacement of punching and cutting machines with coil-fed equivalents for reducing material loss is expected to drive growth of the latter. The market is significantly led by a few multinational players, with the top seven players accounting for more than 80% of global market share. Manufacturers of
coil-fed punching and cutting machines are mostly based in Italy, the US, China, Japan and Germany.
The global coil-fed punching and cutting machine arena is a low-volume, high-value market and, due to its high capital investment, has not grown as per its industrial potential. In the past three to five years, end users in developing economies have depended mostly on standard sheet metal punching and cutting machines. During the forecast period, it is expected that the global coil-fed punching and cutting machine market will experience significant growth in installation in developing economies, due to factors such as reducing labour and raw material costs.
For further information www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Coil processing line requirements are ever more demanding on account of the increasing use of modern materials. High-strength aluminium – highly resilient and flexible – is opening up entirely new possibilities in industries like automotive and aerospace, but it is extremely hard to process.

Especially in sheet processing and assembly, precision and cut quality matter if manufacturers want to avoid failed batches. However, much of the machinery introduced over the years lacks the capability to cut modern materials with enough precision due to customer requirements for thickness and width in the geometrics of the slit strip. This factor is why Bremen, Germany-based Manfred JC Niemann Zentrale KG has added a new Burghardt + Schmidt wide-material slitting line to its machine fleet. The new line is designed to process particularly wide aluminium coils of 800 to 2100 mm. And thanks to high-precision shears and a circumferential setting mechanism on the coiler, the line can also set an outer diameter of 1850 mm efficiently and accurately.
“Depending on the thickness of the material, the yield strength is 20 to 580 N/mm², while tensile strength is 65 to 600 N/mm², so it’s especially demanding having to cut them to custom sizes,” says managing director Jörn Niemann. “Hence, the company went looking for a machine designed for wide coils, opting for a wide-material slitting line from Burghardt + Schmidt.”
At the heart of the new line is the Twin CNC slitting shear, with a pre-tensioned precision roller bearing and zero backlash linear guide designed for accurate and, above all, stable positioning. The installed blades are 400 mm in diameter and are assembled together with rubber-bonded spacers. Slitting shears feature a push-off plate to guarantee rapid retooling with the four-arm tool change system outside the line.
For further information https://b-s-germany.de/