07/15/2011

Maximum flexibility: Aveng Trident Steel in South Africa chooses Schuler blanking line

South African steel manufacturer Aveng Trident Steel has ordered a blanking line with servo press in monoblock construction from Schuler. The blanking line for the processing of steel is a perfect example of maximum plant flexibility and was put into operation this month at Aveng Trident Steel’s facility in Port Elizabeth.

Maximum plant flexibility and output performance are particularly important for the South African steel manufacturer, which is a member of the Aveng Group headquartered in Roodekop. The company specializes in structural and panel blanks for car manufacturers. As a major supplier on the South African market, Aveng Trident Steel has to be able to react flexibly to the needs of its customers. Schuler is renowned for processing steel into blanks with the quality required for car panels. Aveng Trident Steel therefore decided to order a highly flexible Schuler line which has already achieved significant output increases for other customers.

Flexibility is key

The Schuler line which Aveng Trident Steel ordered features an edge trimming device which chops up the residual strips but also offers the possibility to coil them up again. The edge trimming equipment is capable of trimming the coil edges by up to 130 mm on each side. This enables Aveng Trident Steel to flexibly trim coils to the desired width – a major benefit for the company, as this makes it independent of country-specific supply bottlenecks when purchasing certain coil widths.
In addition to the normal coil curvature, Schuler’s straightener with bowing option can also straighten edge and center curvature – a particular problem with inferior-quality coils. This means that the line can process an extremely wide variety of coil qualities – even cheaper materials – with the same high-quality results.
A further flexibility bonus is Schuler’s first-ever press with a slide adjustment of 550 mm. This allows customers to fit a wide variety of dies.
Downstream of the press, the stacker not only features the usual two stacking stations but an additional scrap stacking station, which can also stack varying blank sizes.
Due to the line’s high degree of flexibility, coupled with its high output performance and short changeover times, Schuler can make a significant contribution toward lowering unit part costs and raising the economic efficiency of stamping plants. The use of a monoblock press, which is already largely assembled by Schuler, also reduces installation time at the client’s facility.

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