FEATURE ON PRESSES AND COIL HANDLING

NIBE increases capacity with new press line

Heat pump manufacturer NIBE plans to increase the production of water heater components at its Markaryd, Sweden facility following the order for a new press line solution from AP&T.

“The demand for energy-efficient systems for heating and hot water production is growing steadily all over the world, and we continue to see a strong demand for our products,” says Henrik Broström, production technical group manager for sheet metal and welding at NIBE Energy Systems.“We’re now investing in new manufacturing capacity to future-proof the volumes we will need. The new production line from AP&T will manufacture stainless steel water heater ends and be an important complement to our existing lines.”

Stefan Persson, project manager at NIBE Energy Systems, adds: “In addition to manufacturing more units, the new line also ensures a stable production process with high repeat accuracy and availability.”

Together, NIBE and AP&T discussed and evaluated a number of different options before the final concept took shape.

“Our ambition was to develop a process solution optimised for NIBE’s specific needs and conditions that provides clear customer values,” explains Dan Barvö, key account manager at AP&T.“The line needed to be energy efficient, take up little floor space and be able to perform several steps with a few machines and tools.”

In the autumn of 2022, AP&T presented a fully developed proposal that met all of NIBE’s needs: a compact, energy-efficient, fully automated production line with a 500 tonne press for deep drawing, a smaller modular press, linear robots and tooling. Line commissioning will take place in 2024.
For further information www.aptgroup.com

Hydraulic presses suit engineering workshops

Machine Mart says that its range of Clarke Hydraulic Presses are ideal for engineering workshops. Eight models are available with pressing capacity ranging from 4 to 50 tonnes.

The best-selling Clarke CSA10BB 10 tonne hydraulic bench press is first choice when users need to tackle smaller pressing jobs, such as repairing small motors or removing and installing gears or bearings. Simple to use and effective, the Clarke CSA10BB requires minimal effort from the user to achieve fast, accurate pressing operations. The press comes with a hydraulic pump, ram with pressure gauge and connecting house. A seven-piece adaptor kit is available separately.

Moving up in capacity, the Clarke CSA20F 20 tonne hydraulic press relies on its heavy-duty welded-frame construction. According to Machine Mart, this press has smooth hydraulic action that ensures the positive and precise application of power to the workpiece for greater control and accuracy.Its 20 tonne capacity and 189mm ram travel also work together to make the CSA20F suitable for larger workpieces.

At the top end of the range is the Clarke CSA50 FPB 50 tonne hydraulic floor press. This standing shop press is suited to professional workshops and comes fitted with a large pressure gauge thatfacilitates accurate and easy reading when applying pressure. Smooth hydraulic action again ensures positive and precise power application, while the model also features both hand and foot operation, as well as a ratchet winch for adjusting the bed height. The CSA50 comes complete with hydraulic pump, ram, hoses, pressure gauge and V blocks. A protective polycarbonate screen is available to buy separately.
For further information www.machinemart.co.uk

Striking a hammer blow for metal recycling

Footprint Tools, a UK manufacturer of traditional hand tools, is at the heart of a research project that could see Sheffield spark a recycling revolution in industrial forging. The move has the potential to unlock a step-change in the manufacture of safety-critical components for the aerospace, defence and energy sectors using machining waste and state-of-the-art linear hammer technology.

The Sheffield-based business with 12 employees and two robots can trace its roots back to the 1760s, but has its eyes fixed firmly on the future. Footprint Tools recently unveiled the latest addition to its Admiral Works shopfloor: a £1.4m state-of-the-art Schuler precision linear forge, the only one of its kind in the UK and one of only three in Europe.

As the centrepiece of an R&D partnership between the small family firm and two research institutions – the Henry Royce Institute (Royce) and the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland Group – the equipment will help consolidate Sheffield and the UK’s lead in advanced forging manufacture.

Following a packed gathering of the AFRC’s Forging and Forming Forum, where the R&D venture was announced, Royce Professor Martin Jackson said he was delighted that the servo technology hammer, initially destined for Manchester, had found a home in Sheffield, the hub of the UK’s forging and forming industry: “This raises forging technology to a completely new level. Our job at Royce and the AFRC is to take the knowledge we unlock from this R&D collaboration and roll it out to forging companies across the country, especially in the use of recycled machining waste such as titanium.”
For further information www.bit.ly/44R55PL

Process monitoring for press-hardening lines

When metal manufacturer AP&T needed an automated solution to monitor the heat distribution during the shaping and pressing of vehicle parts, it turned to Termisk Systemteknik. The answer was a non-contact temperature monitoring solution using thermal imaging cameras from Teledyne FLIR.

AP&T needed a solution to measure and monitor sheet materials before and after pressing. It is necessary to guarantee even heat distribution from the furnace before pressing the sheets, an exact placement of the sheets, and to ensure that there are no hot spots after the sheets cool in the press tool. Failing to meet any of these three conditions means the safety-relevant components will not reach their required mechanical properties.

Termisk designed an Infrared Press Hardening Analysis (IPHA) vision system that can measure the three main factors affecting sheet pressing quality: temperature before and after pressing, and sheet placement in the press. Using Teledyne FLIR thermal imaging cameras mounted to the sides of press machines, the IPHA system 1/3 measures the temperature of metal sheets using the Teledyne FLIR A70 smart sensor camera or Teledyne FLIR A615 camera, depending on the required image quality.

The set-up ensures accurate measurement of the temperature for the whole surface area of the 3D-shaped sheet. Once pieces are inside the press, the press-line controller system signals to IPHA to take an image and analyse it. With the positioning and temperature determined as OK, the system sends a signal back to the press line to proceed. Similarly, it then measures the sheet temperature and inspects heat distribution after pressing and cooling. The high-resolution thermal images make it quick and easy to identify hot spots and measure the areas where the material has not reached the correct temperatures.
For further information www.flir.co.uk

Enerpac Cube Jacks ease tight installation of presses

Faced with installing two 16-tonne presses, one on top of the other, with just 30mm headroom, French equipment installer Bovis Group used Enerpac cube jacks to successfully complete the work. By combining Enerpac SCJ-50 cube jacks with load-holding, wooden cribbing and jacking blocks, it was possible to lift and accurately position the presses were within the space available.

Bovis Group’s centres in Poitiers and Trinstal Equipements collaborated on this high-precision handling project for a manufacturer of electronics and advanced materials. The technical challenge was the space constraint. Using 3D modelling software, it was possible to develop a lifting scenario based on progressive jacking of the upper press to within 30mm of the factory ceiling. From this position, it lowered onto the second press to complete the press assembly.

For the vertical lift of the upper press, the Bovis team used four Enerpac SCJ-50 cube jacks connected to a split flow pump, providing synchronised movement of all four jacks. After the initial lift, Bovis supported the press using wooden cribbing and positioned the cube jacks on jacking blocks to repeat the lift. Once the upper press was at the correct height, Bovis used a 30 tonne hydraulic mover to move the lower press into position beneath the upper press.

“This was a very precise operation and demonstrated the lifting accuracy we can achieve with the Enerpac cube jacks,” says Jérôme Lebrequier, industrial project manager at Bovis Group.“Thanks to our meticulous planning, and the ease of using the cube jacks, we were able to complete the installation of both presses on the same day.”
For further information www.enerpac.com