At Volkswagen’s main production facility in Wolfsburg, a press blanking line with TwinServo technology from Schuler (www.schulergroup.com) is now in operation.

Replacing three older machines, it is being used to cut sheets of steel for the entire plant; these are later formed into engine bonnets, doors and roofs.

The new ‘Route 20’, as it is known internally, produces around 33,000 blanks a day — a 25% increase in production capacity.

In a performance test at the start of August, the system produced 52,000 blanks in 24hr — and there were 10 set-ups during this time (set-up can be performed in under 10min, the aim being to achieve SMED — Single Minute Exchange of Die).

Moreover, compared with previous systems, the 800-tonne TwinServo press at the heart of the line has a compact design that reduces the footprint by around 30%, making moving bolsters and dies far easier for operators.

With fully automatic coil loading, the strip can be rapidly replaced; moreover, it is fed into the blanking press at over 200m/min. The blanks are then de-stacked using Schuler’s ‘Stop2Drop’ process — and the status of the entire line can be permanently monitored.