INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Ifm and Schuler agree digital co-operation

To monitor and improve quality in press shops through digitalisation, Ifm and Schuler Group have struck a co-operation agreement. The aim is to offer customers more transparency and increase efficiency in sheet metal forming.

Sheet metal forming presses are among the most important machines in all industries in which the processing of sheet metal takes place. The Schuler Group has 180 years of experience in forming technology and is the world’s market leader. Using digital solutions such as Track & Trace, Visual Die Protection or DigiSim, the company offers numerous tools that support digitalisation in press shops. Ifm SmartStamp expands this offering with a software tool that detects tilting, eccentricity and the resulting tilting moment on forming presses within milliseconds.

“If the ram tilts too far, the press guides are subject to excessive strain and will incur damage in the long term,” explains Christoph Schneider, vice president of product management applications at Ifm.

The tool protects the press from excessive wear and damage and helps to improve availability. SmartStamp is integrated into the Moneo IIoT platform, and now also into the Metris platform from Andritz, Schuler’s parent company.

“Thanks to combination with the data from our cloud-based digital solutions, customers benefit from interoperability and, consequently, even higher transparency in the press shop,” emphasises Rohitashwa Pant, chief digital officer of the Schuler Group.

The co-operation agreement provides for collaboration in sales. It is immaterial which system customers use when they start to digitalise. They can expand their digitalisation solution with the other system at any time.

More information www.schulergroup.com

Shorter cycle times and more efficiency

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

Advances in die clamping and changing

Roemheld presented various innovations designed to optimise set-up times on presses and punches at the Euroblech 2024 exhibition in Hanover last month. Notably, a new hollow piston cylinder that flexibly adapts to dies with clamping edges of different heights, made its trade fair debut.

The new hollow piston cylinder makes forming work easier, especially for contract manufacturers who use different, non-standard die-clamping edges. According to the manufacturer, the element is suitable for clamping edges with a difference in level of up to 30 mm. Users can set the desired height in increments of 1 mm. The new hollow piston cylinder offers clamping forces of 60 or 100 kN and is suitable for use with an operating pressure of up to 400 bar.

Among other new innovations at the show were Roemheld’s pull-push chain systems for loading presses and punches, which is intended for almost all application scenarios and dies up to 40 tonnes. It is suitable for installation either directly on the system or on a rail-bound transport system. Alternatively, for loading by crane, it is possible to integrate the system into a manually or electrically driven die-changing console.

The pull-push chain system is available as a complete solution in various standard versions and with different control variants. Since all components are designed to work together, the manufacturer promises a quick and simple “plug and play” installation.

A redesigned arch clamp for dies with straight clamping edges was also on display for the first time. The clamp suitable for dirty, hot environments up to 250°C on press beds and rams in sheet metal forming, die casting and forging applications.

More information www.roemheld.de/en

Cobots transform laser marking operations

Laser marking and engraving is critical for unique part identification (UID), compliance and branding. However, capacity constraints and labour shortage issues can create serious throughput challenges. To increase output and improve profit per part, forward-thinking manufacturers are transforming their laser marking operations with advanced robotic machine tending. Foba Laser Marking + Engraving now works with Flexxbotics and Universal Robots to help companies achieve high throughput and marking quality.

Laser marking is a critical stage of the product value stream in many manufacturing processes. Bottlenecks can cause serious delivery problems and mistakes can render the product unsellable. By introducing collaborative robot (cobot) automation with lean manufacturing principles, manufacturers can improve laser marking processes to maximise throughput, assure quality and reduce waste. 

“Connecting robotic machine tending with our Foba laser marking solution using Flexxbotics provides even greater ROI,” states Jeffrey Kniptash of Foba. “It enables autonomous process control to remove bottlenecks and deliver continuous operation.”

The solution can increase the machine-to-man ratio to 10:1 or more and run ‘lights out’ safely. Thus, manufacturers will benefit from additional capacity, high precision, optimal marking quality and improved profit margins, reports Foba Laser.

Flexxbotics includes communication with Foba’s integrated camera system for vision-based inspection, providing closed-loop feedback to the robot for autonomous process control. Foba’s three-stage laser marking process HELP (Holistic Enhanced Laser Process) – which includes part inspection prior to marking, automatic mark alignment and subsequent marking validation – co-ordinates with the robot’s actions. Flexxbotics utilises either the Intelligent Mark Positioning (IMP) or Point & Shoot (P&S) capabilities in the Foba equipment for precise alignment of the laser marker on the customer’s product, along with vision-assisted workflows for accuracy.

More information www.fobalaser.com

Siemens and Prima Power in collaboration

Siemens and Prima Power, an Italy-headquartered manufacturer of sheet metal working machinery and 3D laser cutting technology, have announced the result of an intensified collaboration that the companies say will redefine standards in the automotive manufacturing industry. The collaboration has led to the integration of Siemens’ leading numerical control system, Sinumerik One, into the latest model of Prima Power’s flagship 3D laser cutter, Laser Next.


The Laser Next 1530/2130 is the first Prima Power 3D laser cutter to feature Sinumerik One. This collaboration leverages Siemens’ control and digitalisation systems and over 40 years of Prima Power expertise in laser technology for automotive applications. The new version of the Laser Next five-axis laser cutter incorporates technologies that improve dynamic performance and productivity thanks to the flexible and high-performance multi-core architecture of Sinumerik One in combination with Prima Power’s proprietary algorithms.


The digital twin of Sinumerik One – Create My Virtual Machine – was a key element in Prima Power’s digital transformation, helping the company’s R&D department to simulate and test workflows in a completely virtual environment. This technology made it possible to engineer and optimise the machine even before the real-life prototype was made available, with significant shortening of machine’s time to market.


The digital twin of the Laser Next enables the creation of an accurate digital replica: the entire process eliminates the need for physical machining on the shop floor for certain activities. Furthermore, in Sinumerik One, it is possible to enable collision avoidance functionalities even in complex scenarios, involving cutting machines integrated with robotic solution.

The machine’s compatibility and integration capability have also seen significant enhancement.

More information www.primapower.com