Automotive supplier Hirschvogel says a completely new drive concept developed a year ago in conjunction with press manufacturer Schuler (
www.schulergroup.com/forging) ensures quieter operation, due to minimised vibrations.
Compared with previous presses at Hirschvogel, this faster-working press is the first one with a transverse shaft drive (instead of a longitudinal type); it also has two counter-rotating eccentric gears in the head of the press “to balance the mass forces for improved quietness and precision”.
The design also provides space for another forming step, which allows the production of more-complex forged parts. The transverse shaft drive also increases the ‘tilting rigidity’ of the press and minimises deflection of the two crankshafts.
With four powerful servo motors in the new press, the speed at which the upper die approaches and moves away from the workpiece can be adapted precisely to the forming process.
This allows ‘full throttle’ during forming, and slowing down when spraying and transporting the parts (to keep the temperature low on the active die, the contact time should be as short as possible without sacrificing the cooling and transport time).
Hirschvogel, which has 6,000 employees and is one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive forgings, says that the press runs very satisfactorily; it produced 376,000 tonnes of components last year.
The company currently has 12 Schuler presses.