"The investment in our new punching centre aligns with our strategy to continuously optimise our machinery in order to enhance our productivity and strengthen our competitive edge," begins Thomas H. Agergaard, Head of Operations Steel Solutions:
"At the same time, we aimed for the punching centre to be more energy-efficient. Here too, the investment aligns with one of our strategic initiatives, namely our work on sustainability and reducing our CO2 emissions."
"Additionally, noise enclosures have been purchased for the punching centre, which significantly positively impacts the noise level in the production hall where the new machine is installed. We are the first at Prima Power to also have a noise enclosure for our stacker system."
Normally, only the punching centre's workbench has a noise enclosure. The two noise enclosures improve the working environment.
"All in all, the machine fits perfectly into our production mix. This benefits both current and new customers. We look forward to putting it into operation in February."
Higher uptime and at the same time more energy-efficient
"The new punching centre is Finnish-produced by Prima Power and will be a significant improvement over our current punching setup," says Jan V. Aarosiin, Technical Supporter:
"The new machine includes tables on both sides, allowing for continuous operation without interruptions for loading new sheet stacks or removing finished parts."
Therefore, the operator can prepare the next stack while the machine continues to produce. This results in a significant reduction in setup time compared to the old punching centre.
Further improvements include an extra flap in the table that directs the scrap grid down to shears, which cut the scrap grid into small pieces and eject them along with the other scrap.
"The machine no longer needs to stop while the scrap grid is removed. This is also positive in terms of the machine's uptime," elaborates Jan V. Aarosiin.
"The new punching centre uses an innovative approach to the punching process by implementing a punching stroke with a servo motor."
The simplified construction reduces the possibility of errors and maintenance costs. Moreover, the energy used to brake the piston is collected and reused, further improving the machine's energy efficiency.
30 tool stations
The old punching centre has 20 tool stations. This number has increased by 50% in the new one, which has 30 stations. Several of these tool stations are index stations, and together with rotating ram head functionality, RRH, the availability of rotating tools is increased.
This can also positively affect setup time, as more stations allow for having more tools available for multiple productions at the same time.
Additionally, the tools from the old punching centre can also be used in the new punching centre.
Photo / Operator Linton Sebastiampillai, Technical Supporter Jan V. Aarosiin, and Head of Operations Steel Solutions Thomas H. Agergaard.