First complete press line now in operation in Europe
Since the company’s Press Automation business unit was created in 1999, it has seen success across a number of regions including: China, Korea, and the US, where a large number of contracts have been secured. Now, the unit has carried out its first European project, a complete press line for FAGOR, a well-known press manufacturer in the Spanish Basque country.
In this prestigious project the customer’s existing press lines, which have an output of seven to eight parts per minute, have been enhanced with a state of the art Güdel installation. The task of delivering this pressing plant for one of the largest car manufacturers involved the resources and expertise of the entire Güdel Press Automation unit.
The Front-of-Line (FOL) equipment supplied consists of two blank carriages with scissor-lift tables, fanners with automatic magnet adjustment, a high-speed double-axis gantry for de-stacking the sheets plus an input conveyor, output conveyor, and centering unit for each.
Güdel supplied seven roboSpeed systems, designed for a maximum output of 15 strokes per minute (15 SPM) to transfer parts between a total of six FAGOR presses – one servo press and five mechanical presses, The End of Line (EOL) scope of supply consists of a shuttle and a double-axis gantry, which places the finished parts ergonomically on a belt conveyor. To ensure that changeover times are kept as short as possible, the entire automation system uses automatic tool change devices. Ahead of the installation at the end customer’s premises, three Güdel roboSpeed systems and two presses were installed as part of an in-house trade fair held by FAGOR. A number of interested parties including various decision makers at well-known automotive manufacturers and suppliers visited to view these systems.
One of the challenges during the installation phase with the end customer was that part of an old existing press line failed. This meant that the new press line with Güdel automation, which was still being commissioned, had to rise to the challenge of producing parts early in order to safeguard production.
The project as a whole also covered all commissioning and training for the customer’s engineers. Working as a team the 10-strong international project group also required inter-cultural skills, with meetings often held in three languages. The project team had members from several countries, both on the customer’s side, and internally at Güdel. Various employees from Güdel Mexico, Güdel Spain and Güdel Switzerland were all part of the team.
