FEATURE ON PRESSES AND COIL HANDLING

Andritz cut-to-length line set for Olympic Steel

International technology group Andritz has received an order from Olympic Steel to supply a cut-to-length line for its facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The new line will enhance the company’s production capabilities and efficiency. Commissioning is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Founded in 1954, Olympic Steel is a US metals service centre focused on the direct sale and value-added processing of: carbon and coated sheet, plate, and coil steel products; stainless steel sheet, plate, bar and coil; aluminium sheet, plate and coil; pipe, tube, bar, valves and fittings; tin plate and metal-intensive end-use products, including water treatment systems; commercial, residential and industrial venting and air filtration systems; Wright brand self-dumping hoppers; metal canopy components; and EZ-Dumper dump inserts.

The cut-to-length line has a coil capacity of 3.5 x 1525 mm wide x 27 tonnes and operates at 91 m per minute. It can handle yield strengths up to 5515 bar and process cold-rolled, pickled and oiled, stainless, and coated materials.

Key features of the new line include a heavy-duty precision leveller designed for increased separating loads, a split leveller drive system ensuring greater levelling performance, and a high-performance roll-feed system offering high accuracy and repeatability. The production shear has a capability of 60 cuts per minute, with sheet inspection following the shear.

Additional features include a reject stacking mode, an air float stacker and weigh scale, as well as a line safety fencing with gate interlocks per ANSI requirements. The electrical panels are UL-certified for safety and reliability.

This advanced equipment will ensure high performance, accuracy and repeatability in Olympic Steel’s operations. Andritz says the order underscores its proficiency and success in the metals processing industry.

More information www.andritz.com

Sutherland Gen2 Mark series shines at WIHG

Waldale Irwin Hodson Group (WIHG) is North America’s largest private manufacturer of licence plates, servicing 20 American states and Canadian provinces. The combined output of WIHG’s multiple factories results in 11 million plates printed per year in nearly 1000 different designs. The licence plate manufacturing process begins with massive coils of aluminium, which are fed into a press line that stamps out standard blanks of 6” x 12” rectangles with rounded corners. These blanks go on to a traditional embossing process. 

Sutherland Presses has been a manufacturing partner for WIHG since 1996. Jean Bourque, WIHG’s engineering manager for tooling, relies on Sutherland to meet the high standard of quality and efficiency that such a high volume of output demands: “I like it when I can deal with the owners directly. I also like that the presses are made with North American parts.” 

In March of 2016, one of WIHG’s factories was in need of a new press for its blank stamping line. Bourque knew that Sutherland was his best bet: “I didn’t do a lot of shopping around.”

Sutherland and WIHG agreed that the right press for the job was the next generation of the Mark series press.

The Gen 2 Mark series single-point gap-frame press exemplifies Sutherland’s commitment to innovation in metal forming, with numerous improvements made over the first generation. Featuring more steel in the C-section of the frame, angular deflection is reduced under full stamping loads, allowing for better performance in bottom coining, and permitting WIHG to form the letters of the plate with reliable high definition. Furthermore, the slide guides are designed with a taper wedge to assure long die life during production runs.

More information www.sutherlandpresses.com

Press hardening of large, complex components

Electrification, multi-part integration (MPI) and a higher share of recycled material: the shift in technology in the automotive industry is driving new developments. AP&T’s new press-hardening line, AP&T Skylines, has been developed to meet these challenges and lead the way to more effective, flexible and sustainable vehicle production.  

Skylines is a fully automated line that has been specially designed for effective press hardening of large and extra-large sheet metal and MPI, even in material with a high recycling rate.

To maximise production capacity for large-scale sheet metal with minimal energy consumption, AP&T Skylines has a flexible, vertical design that uses a modular and scalable solution. The line thus requires little floor space even though it includes energy-efficient servo presses, compact multi-layer furnaces, linear automation with Speedfeeders, and tools. Each modular section has been developed to meet customers’ specific needs and ensure long-term performance.

Says Magnus Baarman, managing director and CEO of AP&T: “Skylines is a result of our commitment to help customers meet both technical and environmental requirements. With Skylines, we provide them with a solution that combines sustainability and efficiency without compromising on performance.”

One of the most prominent features of AP&T Skylines is its compact and energy-efficient multi-layer furnace system. Unlike traditional roller hearth furnaces, this vertical system can handle significantly larger sheet metal and more complex components without being limited by the furnace’s dimensions. In addition, it offers significantly lower energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, which makes it a central part of a sustainable production process.

“With this flexible and scalable technology, we make it possible for manufacturers to meet both technical and environmental challenges,” concludes Baarman. 

More information www.aptgroup.com

World’s largest RTM press system revealed

Langzauner, a pioneer in advanced hydraulic press systems, has achieved a breakthrough in aerospace manufacturing technology through its collaboration with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). AMRC’s Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) is a major boost to aerospace R&D in the UK, providing a new innovation facility that will initially house Boeing’s research project to de-risk and develop high-rate sustainable structures.

At the heart of this innovation is Langzauner’s newly developed resin transfer moulding (RTM) press system, said to be the largest-of-its-kind globally for integral aero-structural parts. Using this state-of-the-art press system, the project aims to reduce large component process times by a factor of 10 – from approximately 40 hours to just four hours – while maintaining high quality standards.

Darren Wells, senior technical fellow for large composite structures at the University of Sheffield AMRC, says “When we created the specification for such a groundbreaking piece of equipment, we knew we’d set the bar very high in what was achievable. Langzauner’s solution not only meets all of our targets but exceeds in many of them meaning this press will be at the forefront of high-rate composite manufacturing research for years to come.”

The press system features a 10,500 x 3500 mm platen size and delivers high precision with adjustable pressing force up to 2400 T.

The system also offers: press force regulation accuracy of 0.1%; a sliding table system accommodating 180 T mould mass; plate parallelism control within hundredths of a millimetre; individual cylinder control with active parallelism management; and gap injection functionality with two-axis rotation capability. The system is fully integrated with IIoT capabilities, enabling data collection for artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in factory-scale process optimisation.

More information www.amrc.co.uk

Fully customised licence plate production line

With years of experience in the licence plate production line industry, HE-Machine is
committed to offering customised turnkey solutions to clients worldwide. A recent example
sees the precise collaboration of five machines: decoiler, straightener, automatic laminating
machine, servo feeder and gap-frame press. The implementation of this project has led to

the successfully optimisation of the production process, improving both efficiency and
product consistency.
The smooth unfolding of raw materials is crucial for the successful operation of a production
line. The HE-Machine decoiler handles various specifications of metal coils, ensuring stable
material unwinding.
Next, the straightener plays an essential role. Any bending or warping in the metal materials
during production can negatively impact the quality and accuracy of subsequent processes.
The straightener, designed for precision levelling, effectively eliminates these issues.
After straightening, the automatic laminating machine applies a protective film to the metal
surface, enhancing both durability and surface quality. The auto laminating process reduces
manual intervention, increasing production efficiency while ensuring uniform coating on
every licence plate.
As the production process moves forward, the servo feeder plays a crucial role in precisely
feeding the material into the next stage. Using a servo motor drive system, the servo feeder
ensures that the metal material is delivered accurately to the next process, ensuring smooth
progression in stamping, and other operations.
Finally, the gap-frame press provides the stamping force required for the production line.
Equipped with multiple mould sizes and a conveyor system, the press precisely performs the
stamping, minimising defects and ensuring the efficient production of high-quality licence
plates.
More information www.he-machine.com