So as many of our customers know, we at Graebener® not only provide new machines, but also comprehensive retrofits - both of our own machines and of third-party machines. The most recent modernization was carried out on a 4-column press for internal high pressure forming at fischer Hydroforming GmbH in Menden.
On the hydroforming press, fischer mainly produces automotive components, e.g. for exhaust technology or air supply. Over the years, the PLC components and the machine's control-system had become outdated, resulting in some spare parts no longer being available.
The goals of the retrofit were
- a secure supply of spare parts
- better control quality
- energy savings
- a user-friendly and up-to-date user interface
We achieved all this and even more. Nowadays, the machine is equipped with
- a completely new PLC control system with integrated safety functionality
- an innovative and continuously developed axis controller based on Siemens
- a new press safety block for the ram
- new control valves for the 8 tool axes and 2 pressure intensifiers
- 2 new, energy-efficient motors for the hydraulic pump drives
- frequency converter for sequence-controlled power switching
- a new control cabinet
- our in-house visualization software PressPro®
- a connected existing automation system
The process can now be run much more precisely and consumes significantly less energy. This is ensured not only by the two more energy-efficient drives, but also by the frequency converters installed on them, which allow the speed and acceleration of the drives to be reduced depending on the situation when they are not required at full power. The integration and optimization of an additional control circuit for the hydraulic drives led to a further reduction in energy consumption.
Thanks to our in-house developed axis controller, the sampling rates are in the nanosecond range and the cycle times are less than 1ms.
The controller has been combined with our visualization software: PressPro® allows work-piece-specific program sequences and production cycles to be freely programmed, developed and optimized in prototyping. The software is always customized and allows the operators - depending on the password level - to generate programs by themselves, perform changes and optimize the parameter settings.
Also new: the tool axes can be freely assigned to the nests. This provides the customer with full flexibility and prevents long downtimes in case an axis or valve should fail in the future.
fischer is not only one of the global leading suppliers in the field of hydroforming, but also the technology leader in Germany. Efficient production plays a decisive role in securing this market lead. This includes not only the procurement of new machines, but also the ongoing endeavor to keep existing machines at the leading edge of technology.
Retrofits, in other words the modernization of existing machines, offer a cost-effective oppor-tunity to provide improved machines after a comprehensive inspection of the mechanical conditions.