04/16/2007
Schuler benefits from trend to near-net-shape production of complex parts and wins contracts from GKN and Kotani
When it comes to the manufacturing of complex parts, solid forming offers significant benefits with regard to both quality and productivity. The production of near-net-shape quality, in particular, greatly reduces effort and cost as it cuts out many of the subsequent shape-cutting stages. The world-wide rise in demand for non-cutting forming equipment is also benefiting Schuler.Schuler has recently been awarded contracts for a total of four MME 2-2000 multi-station presses with eccentric drive. In late 2006 Schuler already installed a press line for shaft parts at Kotani, Japan’s largest independent forging company. In early 2007 the company launched operation on a further Schuler line at its facility in Gliwice, Poland. The Gliwice plant is a joint venture between Kotani and two other Japanese companies.
Schuler received two further orders for MME 2-2000 forging lines from the GKN Group, the global market leader in constant velocity jointed (CVJ) sideshafts for the automotive industry. The warm forging lines with a press force of 20,000 kN are used in the company’s plants in Brazil and China. The order comprises the 5-station forging lines with NC transfer systems as well as the complete die technology and tool-changing systems.
Quality and precision are key selection criteria
Quality and precision were the key criteria for both Kotani and GKN in their choice of Schuler equipment. And while GKN already has several Schuler presses in operation, the Kotani systems were the first which Schuler had installed for a Japanese forging company in 15 years.The technical basis for all four systems is the MME2 press range, which has proved to be a highly flexible system for the production of high-quality parts and boasts long die service lives. High part quality is guaranteed above all by the line’s steep kinematic gradients and special 8-track slide jib. This ensures short pressure dwell times and reduces the heat input into the die. In turn, this makes it possible to already produce even complex functional surfaces in near-net-shape quality without the die material becoming brittle or burning out.
The presses of the MME2 range are available with various nominal press capacities between 6,300 and 40,000 kN and can be used for both cold and warm forming, as well as for precision forging. The large die area makes it possible to produce complex parts with up to six die stations. The system is rounded out by an extensive range of transfer and tool-changing systems, as well as press peripherals.
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