Fagor Press Line Forms Delicate Surfaces

Home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool has ordered a complete Fagor Arrasate press line for producing doors for refrigerators. The line will process pre-painted material and stainless steel, both with very delicate surfaces, in thickness of 0.5mm. The line can be also adapted to produce parts in aluminium.

The high productivity line is said to be able to produce single doors in 12-second cycles. It is also able to manufacture several models with several sizes. In addition to this order, Johnson Controls, a German stamper, has ordered a monoblock press from Fagor Arrasate.

The press will have a capacity of 200 tons and a bolster size of 2,100 x 1,000mm. A coil feeding line will also be included.

BD Press Ideal For Hydroforming Applications

The Triform BD fluid cell hydroform press from Pryer has been featured at the Aging Aircraft 2009 Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The Triform 16in-5 (5000lb/in2) BD 5000kN (500tonf) press weighs less than 9000lb and can be installed and operational within one hour of delivery. The BD series allows the benefits of true hydroforming compared to using low-pressure rubber pad presses.

These include: accurately dimensional parts; equal distributed pressure over complete tool; scratch-free parts; less warpage and curl; reducing use of multiple hit auxiliary piece blocks; use of lighter, less expensive plastic and epoxy tooling; and eliminating hours of hand finishing labour. Designed with simplicity and performance in mind, the economical BD series presses are ideal for most hydroforming applications.

This frame design allows forming parts up to 16in wide x 48in length and longer. Longer parts, which in the past were formed on traditional 'tray-style hydroform presses', can now be hydroformed on a Triform Model BD. The same high-performance bladder technology found on the deep-draw Triform models is coupled with this design to offer true hydroforming at traditional rubber pad press prices.

Ford Buys Schuler Hydraulic Press

Schuler SMG has installed a hydraulic press at Ford's facility in Saarlouis, Germany, for forming car body parts. The line the hydraulic press replaced had teeth that often needed repairing, bringing production to a halt. As a consequence, the press force had to be reduced from 10MN to 8000kN. Manuel Pleitgen, project manager at Schuler SMG in Waghausel, said: 'The new more-powerful Schuler line has a press force of 22.5MN and can also process high-strength steels.' Ford uses these steels in floor panels for its Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy models.

The new press allows Ford to process these materials instead of outsourcing. The press was installed and put into operation in just 36 days. Robert Steier, from Ford's factory-planning division, said: 'The lead-off press is running trouble-free and was soon able to reach the required cycle time of eight seconds.' Up to twelve large parts can be produced per minute in highest deep draw quality.

In two-shift operation, the new hydraulic lead-off press supplies large body parts - such as roofs, side walls, floor panels and fenders - for the Ford models Focus and Focus C-Max, produced in Saarlouis. With its more powerful lead-off press, the plant can also produce panels for other German and European facilities and reduce capacity bottlenecks.

The press weighs 500 tonnes and is taller than 10 metres. It boasts a total press force of 22.5MN (2,250tonf). The die-clamping surface measures 4600 x 2500mm, the slide stroke 1950mm and the maximum drawing-depth is 350mm. The crown weighs 115 tonnes, the press bed 90 tonnes and the slide and blank holder 50 tonnes.