A CUSTOMIZED TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRESSES
Courtesy of Publitec
Magazine Deformazione N.281 FEBRURY 2023
of Aldo Biasotto
Mecolpress has chosen to make use of the customized solution proposed by Siemens, SIMAHYD, to ensure high reliability and better control of the forging process. This solution is combined with Simatic controllers, allowing both control of the hydraulic valves and management of the variable speed pumps.
Mecolpress is a company specialized in the production of machines and systems for hot forging.
Its story begins in 1969 in the Brescia area: here, for over fifty years, the company has been innovating and developing ever new solution to remain competitive on the worldwide market. The heart of Mecolpress beats in Flero (Brescia) where the technologies are designed and manufactured in an industrial area of 30,000 square metres, 10,000 of which are covered by buildings. With a staff of around 60 people, to date Mecolpress has distributed around 2,000 presses to customers in 60 countries all over the world. The context in which the company operates is broad and differentiated . At the beginning it was only focused in the brass hot forging applications, in particular in the production of fittings, valves and fashion products.
Later on, it was expanded to the world of steel, aluminium and special alloys applications, both hot and cold, thus embracing further sectors: automotive, industrial, medical, sports up to watches. To remain competitive on a global scale and bring an innovative contribution to the metal forging market, where the scenarios for the future are increasingly challenging, Mecolpress needed to rely on a top-level partner for technological components.
Thus was born the collaboration with Siemens, in particular regarding the electrical and electronic supply to the company. The goals: to ensure a high reliability in the presses functioning and better control of the forging process.
The way to reach these goals: SIMAHYD. “Siemens offers new solutions regarding power and process control, on a large scale and for different applications. To be successful, you need to be innovative in making your customer competitive: the synergy between Mecolpress and Siemens allows to reach this goal” says Maurizio Razio, Electrical Engineering Manager of Mecolpress.
The advantages of an open and customized package
To pursue this goal, Mecolpress therefore made use of the customized SIMAHYD solution. It is about a custom-built application package, specifically designed for Simatic S7-1500 controllers, which allows the control of hydraulic axes thanks to software modules that extend the functionalities of the original technological objects in Siemens controllers. In this way, both a control of the hydraulic valves and a management of the variable speed pumps are obtained.
The high level of flexibility of applications in the hydraulic sector facilitates a quick and simple control implementation: this was the case of Mecolpress technologies. By applying this solution to the presses, thanks to this package it was possible to ensure the control of the proportional valves on which the seven hydraulic cylinders depend. “The advantages of SIMAHYD open package are many: it allows to make the modifications necessary for integration into the hydraulic circuits of the machines, preserving the existing control program and, to facilitate the axes set-up, it also includes the display part, also It can be integrated into the existing operator interface.
Furthermore, this application is characterized by controller type “fail-safe”, which facilitates an integrated management of the entire machine safety”, explains Sergio Mazzon, OEM Business Developer of Siemens Digital Industries in Italy. Thanks to this customized solution, it was therefore possible to quickly manage the hydraulic power axes, such as those present on the ME Next Generation series presses, reaching extremely high precision and repeatability.
A technologies portfolio for each customer
Today Mecolpress can offer a complete portfolio of technologies according to the application needs of the Customers: eccentric mechanical or screw presses, hydraulic presses, auxiliary presses. The benefits are many and related to both the presses and the complete forging lines: high production capacity with reduced cycle times; high efficiency thanks to the minimization of energy, raw and semi-finished material consumptions; product quality control by monitoring process parameters; complete automation of the production cycle thanks to the reduced intervention of the operator; technologies allowing quick tooling change between one product and another one, in order to manage small production batches too; compatibility with industry 4.0 and arrangement for predictive analysis systems for maintenance and processes; remote or in person assistance service and spare parts warehouse suitable for a prompt response in case of need.
Thanks to the experience gained and the particular attention to innovation, today Mecolpress is able to face the growing challenges of the market head-on. “Thanks to a reliable partner like Siemens, our technologies are perceived as improving and taken into consideration for investments in new industrial assets. The prospects for growth in turnover and market share are solid and demonstrated by the numbers of the last two years and by the orders portfolio acquired” says Danilo Fagnani, Sales Manager of Mecolpress.
Brass hot forging: from the mechanical technology to the hydraulic one with me series presses
Metals hot forging is a reliable and repeatable process which allows to obtain components with high mechanical properties, minimizing the raw materials consumption.
Over more than 50 years Mecolpress has been at the service of its Customers, providing the best forging technologies that allow to maximize the products quality and the related productivity.
Not always changing means improvement, but to improve you need to change
Mecolpress is committed every day to sharing experiences with its partners to follow a common path with the aim of overcoming the performance limits of existing production processes.
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent one, but the most responsive one to changes.
Exclusively from the merge of the complementary activities:
- Development of innovative technologies;
- From consolidated experience in the hot forged parts production, the way for barriers overcoming in the productive processes can be born;
- Increase of production capacity;
- Improvement of product quality;
- Reduction of raw material consumption;
- Reduction of energy consumption;
- Reduction of resources consumption (lubricants, cooling water,…).
The experience shown in this article is related to the brass hot forging
and more precisely to the passage from the mechanical to the hydraulic technology (Mecolpress ME Series). The product subject of the evaluation is the body of a sphere valve with dimension 1” and ½. Even if it may seem a standard and consolidated product, each customer has his own design and specific features.
Mecolpress has collaborated with an Italian industry-leader company to the production of the new die and to its industrialization. After two working days and proactive information sharing, by using our ME hydraulic press, we have reached:
- Production capacity more than doubled;
- Material consumption minimized of about 6.5% thanks to the flashfree forging;
- Improvement of the workability thanks to a more uniform internal conformation;
- Increase of product quality thanks to internal defects removal.
Even if at first sight a forged part may seem perfect, its integrity can be granted only from the internal analysis.
The material flow is unbalanced, the flowing speeds are not uniform, the material tends to detach from the die and to fill some areas before others (picture 1). When the flows meet each other again, they have such temperatures that they cannot be properly welded. The cold welding, indicated by the red circle, can cause problems during the machining phase, if it is included, even partially, in the surplus metal, or if during the assembly phase when the tightening torque of the front nut mechanically stresses the defected side.
Mecolpress hydraulic presses of ME Series, even without any previous simulation numerical analysis, allow to set the correct sequence of part forming according to the material flow dynamics.
Thanks to this precious pre-forming function a progressive modification of the penetrations of the 3 punches has been applied and this has leaded to the desired result: the repositioning of the defect in a marginal zone (picture 2).
Then simple modifications to punches shape were taken into consideration in order to totally eliminate the cold junction (picture 3).
Two really efficient working days, product industrialization with new dies and more than 5500 good parts in the boxes, ready for the machining tests! A thank goes to our Customer for the precious collaboration, a thank to our team for the availability and speed of action and a thank to our hydraulic ME press that tirelessly, once again, allows to overcome the production limits and to permit a great improvement!
Wait!!! And what about energetic consumptions?!?! We are collecting data… a little patience… in the next article you will be informed about everything!
Are you doubtful between mechanical press and hydraulic press?
Are you doubtful about the press to choose? Mechanical press or hydraulic press?
Ask to Mecolpress, you will have no more hesitations!
You have just got a new commission and you need a new press for hot forging. Are you sure that you can identify the press that best suits your needs?
Typical request
It often happens that a Customer, or potential one, comes to us with the part he desires to forge. Usually it’s about complex situations, very far from standard applications. That’s exactly why the Customer asks for our help and support.
If the Customer is not a newcomer in the forging world, he usually arrives in Mecolpress with clear and straight idea about the type of press he wants. But very often it happens that he will change his view after having the possibility to get in contact with our forging know-how!
You ask for a mechanical press but you need an hydraulic one!
For example, some weeks ago two different customers came to visit us bringing some sampling to be forged. They were sure to ask a quotation for a mechanical press, they realized instead that the right machine for their situation was a hydraulic one!
Both our customers had the chance to test new dies, only 4 hours were needed for the preparation and installation of the dies and to run some tests. Even though the furnace was not the best one for their kind of production, because it’s a furnace that Mecolpress uses for testing, the machine gave a flash-free part in only 4 hours, with a saving of about 30% of material and with a quality definitely superior than the one they could achieve using a mechanical press.
Moreover, it is important to take into consideration the limits of the mechanical press:
- Since the part is not balanced, the mechanical press should use all its possible force to forge it.
- Working in this way the risk to run into damages or machine breakdown becomes greater.
On the contrary, The ME hydraulic press can forge the part better. The forged parts which required more force used however less than 200 tons on a punch, therefore it consists of a forces distribution that is totally different compared to the traditional mechanical press.
Often the customer is skeptical towards the hydraulic press, but just because he is not familiar with it!
Find out more about the hydraulic presses
The hydraulic presses patented by Mecolpress are suitable for the hot forging of standard parts or special parts in brass and aluminum. The dies closure force is higher than the one of the traditional mechanical presses and the independent and controlled movements of the ram and of the extruders allow to hot forge also complex parts without flash.
These are oleodynamic presses provided with coring tools combinable till to a maximum of 5 punches (4 horizontal and one vertical) suitable for the hot forging of brass, aluminum, copper and other materials.
Compared to the traditional mechanical presses these presses have different advantages, including:
- Reduced vibrations and noises.
- No foundations are required.
- Higher flexibility: there are no mechanical connections between tooling and ram; this implicates that you can decide speed, force, position and movement sequence for each punch independently. The result is the possibility to decide how to let the material flow, this helps the part production with a better quality level.
- Ease of tooling: easy access to the forging area and automatic adjustment of punches strokes from the panel that cancels the mechanical adjustment on the spines (for example insertion of spacer).
- The press is easy and intuitive to be used even without a great experience in the forging field. Together with the machine a lifelong service via teleservice and phone assistance is provided.
Some practical examples about the choice for a hydraulic press.
- Hydraulic press ME150: this is a quite small machine and often we suggest it to who has no experience in the hot forging field.
- Hydraulic press ME 250: let’s get serious!
Example: are you undecided if you want to buy a 400t mechanical press or a ME250 hydraulic press?
If you have small and easily to force parts to be produced in huge quantities and in series maybe the choice of a mechanical press is the most suitable, but if you have a part that is lightly more complicated, probably you need an hydraulic one. In this case, we are sure that a test here in Mecolpress will remove any doubt!
- Hydraulic press ME from 450tons onwards: This press is more efficient, more cost-effective, it allows to save material, to increase the productivity, it is more convenient, more silent, no foundation pit is required and despite of what our competitors affirm, the energy consumption is not high. In fact, this consideration comes from the fact that just the installed power is taken into consideration.
Did you carry out a forging simulation and forging tests?
In order to choose the right press it is surely helpful to carry out a forging simulation, our technical office can support the customer during the process for choosing the machine with a software analysis of material flow, in order to carry out a sort of “virtual pre-acceptance” of the plant.
Once that the forging simulation is successfully over, then the next step is a real test in our factory. Indeed we have available machines devoted for the forging tests, this is a very important aspect for the customer that often gives him the possibility to invest in a more aware and motivated way. Touching the forged part doesn’t leave no room for doubt!
Being able to satisfy and fully understand the customer needs, to demonstrate and propose our most suitable solutions with concrete tests thanks to the machines and toolings we have available in Mecolpress for the forging tests is for us matter of pride.
Biography of our hot forging blog
At the beginning of 2017 Mecolpress decided to start a blog entirely devoted to the hot forging world.
We set for it 2 goals:
- Being a reference point for hot forging companies, above all if these are first-time forgers.
- Supporting the companies having a long hot forging experience but that want to optimize their process, to better use their presses and to find answers to the necessities they meet step by step.
We have realized, doing some internet researches that it is very difficult to gather information regarding the hot forging world.
On Google you can find anything, but you will barely find suggestions or detailed deepening on hot forging!
Frequently we happen to be contacted by beginner hot forging companies, or companies having inexpert or not particularly qualified personnel (for example you can read this article) and all of these want to have further information.
We are aware that it is not possible to become expert forgers or to learn a job from Google but it is equally true that in 2020 I have to find answers on the internet to my necessities and some deepening on the topic.
Who are we?
Mecolpress is a company specialized in the production and installation of hot forging presses for brass, aluminum, copper, titanium, steel and other alloys.
Mecolpress was established in 1969, therefore we have a long forging experience and knowledge.
In our production workshop we have persons extremely expert in brass hot forging, and recently we have inserted in our staff also a steel “technologist”, we have available a mechanic and electronic technical office completely internal and a highly appreciated customer-care service.
To date we have developed and installed more than 1.950 presses at more than 400 customers all over the world, used for the forging of brass, aluminum, copper, titanium and steel.
One of the features that our customers usually appreciate most is the after sales service: the great and guaranteed material availability is added to the expertise and solid knowledge of the machines. The efficient feedback of Mecolpress lies in the largeness of the areas dedicated to the storage of parts that can be requested by the customers (we have 2 devoted warehouses) and in the investments decided exactly in favour of the “warehouse”.
Why writing a blog regarding hot forging?
At this point we said “why not sharing part of our skills online? For example, with a company from South Africa that is wondering if it’s worth it to convert his production in a hot forging system?”
“And in addition, could all the expert forgers (Mecolpress customer or not) be interested to understand if there are improvements to apply to their production? The world has changed and even fields such as the hot forging one may seem as more “static” but, as a matter of fact, they are not. If you don’t stay up to date you will lose important commissions and the quality of your work won’t evolve!
Which kind of answers will you find on this blog?
With our blog we offer ideas and tips to improve each forging process. To manage the machines and the forging lines in the best way in order to obtain the best productivity, more flexibility and less maintenance.
The topics that according to us are easier to speak on are the technical ones, thanks to the experience acquired in 50 years of activity and to our numbers, but we try to maintain a character that can be easily understood also to the less experienced companies, remaining at disposal for further in-depth detailed explanation.
In the “Case Study” category you will find for example:
- How we could help a German customer of ours to win successfully a challenge, to forge a very complex set of parts that he didn’t dare to accept as an order.
- Is it possible to reduce the gate valves costs by forging without flash? It is possible by means of ME hydraulic presses.
- Is your screw press driving you crazy? You could have disregarded what for you is just a detail, but our experience taught us that it can make the difference!
We propose solutions to problems caused by a not optimal usage of the presses or screw presses, by the inexperience; these are requests that we collect from our after-sales department. We give voice to necessities that also for expertised hot forging companies sometime can appear as complex.
A challenge we can win for our customer means for us a great satisfaction!
Remote forging test
Case study: remote forging test for the acceptance of an entire line
A few weeks ago we carried out a forging test completely on-line.
Generally, it’s the customer who comes to Mecolpress site and follows all the agreed forging tests, the complete development of the necessary activities and the forging phases of the agreed parts.
For the customer this means in any case to travel, physically being absent for some days from the office and personal business, incurring more or less important costs … in conclusion facing challenges weighed down by the situation that has developed because of Covid-19.
In order to meet the need of our customer we have ensured that the forging test for the acceptance of the entire line, that has as cornerstone our ME350 hydraulic press, was carried out totally on-line.
Therefore, we proceeded this way:
- The customer installs a software indicated by Mecolpress for a safe and certificated VPN connection.
- In this way a connection between customer internet and the press located in Mecolpress is established.
- Now the customer can access directly the machine operator panel.
4. We installed 2 video cameras, reachable by means of ip-adress, running for the whole production duration. The customer can follow the video live from any PCs.
5. Always only inside the established VPN it is possible to access through browser to the two cameras that are always on during the entire forging phase.
6. A technical support representative in Mecolpress is always and in any case available by telephone.
7. All the procedures regarding the setup phase and in particular the die changing phase are visible.
8. All the videos and pictures are therefore strictly confidential and visible from a webcam only to the customer that can save videos, if he considers it appropriate, or taking some pictures, everything always with the maximum confidentiality.
Which have been the advantages for our customer?
The advantages resulting from this acceptance-from-remote procedure of an entire hot forging line are easily identifiable:
- Time-saving,
- Costs-saving,
- Possibility that more people can follow the forging test, comfortably in front of a PC.
New procedures for remote tests
These methods of digital implementations are fundamental, but we still believe that in the world of precision mechanics and capital goods, the aspect of customer consultation is crucial and that as a result the personal contact is still necessary to carry out efficient projects according to partnership optics with the customer and to a deep understanding of his necessities.
Anyway, it is important to offer to our customers the alternative of remote forging tests. The customer experience is however total: video connections, real time data extraction, possibility to access to the press panel.
This procedure can bring also to future developments, for example, let’s think about how it can be useful if it would be set up on the contrary: a Mecolpress technician could have all the useful tools for diagnosing a problem on a machine located in Australia and solve it immediately! Without taking the plane, without taking a long journey, without charging important costs to the customers, avoiding long machine stops.
Another company based in Brescia chooses Mecolpress hydraulic presses.
With regularity and continuity, Mecolpress gains new Italian customers, the hydraulic press is confirming to be the winning choice.
Case Study: How we acquired the latest customer from Brescia
We report the case of a new customer based in Brescia that we have just acquired, an interesting case study to understand which are the necessities of the companies working in the hot forging sector and how Mecolpress provides answers.
It is the case of a company established in the international market for the very high quality of its production, consisting mainly of mini valves, valves and fittings for the sanitary and heating sector. This company has its own brass hot forging department, developed to cover the 100% of the forged parts needs; the recourse to very few and highly selected external suppliers happens just in case of particular peak of volumes.
The presses equipment of this company consists of 5 machines, always full of work: 3 more traditional and “dated” (eccentric mechanical presses of the historic producer Rovetta, that now no longer exists) and two more recent little hydraulic presses of a particular type, proposed by an European producer.
Knowing better the company, now customer of us, we could appreciate right from the beginning some undisputed features:
- Advanced transfer machines;
- A working method focused on the precise and deep knowledge of all the productive processes;
- A forward-looking vision on the continuous training of all the personnel that is involved with the management regarding the strategic decisions and that creates a uniform a close-knit group;
- A quality department having knowledge, methodologies and instruments not only for the examination of the parts but also for the evaluation of the method used for their production.
During various meeting both at customer’s and Mecolpress site, we had the opportunity to present them our complete range of presses and in particular the functionalities of our hydraulic presses of ME series.
Mecolpress method
The customer wanted to test us, taking advantage of the Mecolpress strategy of having a selection of presses almost ready for delivery, for carrying out forging simulations with two parts of their production range on the specific press of their interest.
The result was that, thanks to the constructive collaboration of both teams (the customer and the Mecolpress ones), in just 9 weeks from the decision of beginning with the simulations, we could:
- Carry out the forging simulations of the two parts to be tested;
- Manufacture the related forging dies;
- Carry out forging tests with two dies (in manual and in automatic cycle, since Mecolpress has 2 high-performing push-type gas furnaces;
- Dismantle and demolish one of the old presses of the Customer;
- Deliver at customer site in Brescia a new ME150/4G62 hydraulic press, exactly the same one the customer saw and tried.
Why the company under consideration chose Mecolpress?
We thank the customer for the trust and for having tested us, and we are particularly proud that even they, as other customers, after having bought and used the hydraulic presses of our competitors, have chosen to purchase Mecolpress for the future.
The decisive points for this new positive result are in short:
- Mecolpress can offer to the customer not only any kind of new presses, but also exceptional expertise in the maintenance of old presses, of other manufacturers (in this case Rovetta).
- Mecolpress hydraulic presses, both for mechanical and construction project and for extremely developed software, offer to the user an incomparable ease and usage flexibility.
- Choosing Mecolpress, the possibility to conclude an investment in very short time, and to see it becoming rapidly productive; who wants to invest has no time to wait and must be helped to be competitive as soon as possible!
Would you too like to try a forging simulation?
Don’t waste your time,
test us!
The “possessed” screw press
Even when some machineries present complex problems and when it seems that no solutions are possible, Mecolpress thanks to the solid technical skills that have always characterized it, can solve the situation. A specific case is what happened to a customer of ours and to his malfunctioning screw press. Read all the article to discover the details.
Screw press criticalities
Not long ago we were contacted by an Italian company specialized in the production of spades, shovels and other gardening tools. They bought a second-hand screw press from a competitor of ours because they needed to automate the forging line for spades and shovels by means of robots. Unfortunately, immediately from the beginning, some problems of machine malfunctioning were observed.
Indeed, the screw press just after three or four working hours lost capacity of hit till to stop completely and in addiction it consumed excessively the leather belt that had to be replaced even three times per month.
It really seemed to be “possessed by demons” and even who sold the machine could not solve the problem in the first instance, even though the numerous technical interventions that were carried out.
Since they could not repair in no way the machine and thanks to the suggestions of other machines suppliers, the company decided therefore to refer to Mecolpress hoping to find a valid technical support.
Mecolpress intervention
After a first telephone contact, our technician intervened directly on the press and after a first mechanical analysis he decided to dismount the main screw looking for the possible defect inside the machine.
After a half working day our skilled technician could identify the problem: one of the bronze ring was built with a wrong tolerance and as a result it caused an increase of temperature in the screw. Therefore, the materials expanded and led to a complete stop of the machine.
Our competitors could not even suppose this problem, while our technician in just a working day could identify exactly the reason of the malfunctioning.
This case study has shown how much it is important to have available all the projects and all the technical specifications of the machines which you want to operate on. The bronze ring of the screw press was realized according to a superficial mechanical analysis and to an insufficient knowledge of the complete design of the machinery.
Mecolpress has proved to have the necessary skills and experience to evaluate when a detail can make the difference. Indeed, even some unimportant details can cover a fundamental role in the optimal functioning of a press.
Our company has revealed once again to be a reliable and expert partner you can refer to for complex and apparently insurmountable technical matter.
Gate valves hot forging: Mecolpress solution
Gate valves hot forging can present some criticalities. Mecolpress hydraulic presses could brilliantly overcome these, reducing production costs and consenting to obtain a forged part without flash.
Function and features of gate valves
The most commonly hot forged brass parts are the ones used for the liquids control.
The parts can be, for example:
- water meters bodies,
- ball valves,
- water and gas fittings,
- gate valves.
These latter ones have the function of fluid flow adjusting and stopping onto a tube and they fulfill it by controlling through an handwheel (or a motorized actuator) the interposition of a disc between the in- and out- sections of the valve. In order to better visualize their movement, you can image it like the closing of a gate slide in the middle of a tunnel.
Also depending on application typology, every manufacturer develops his own drawing for valves that are characterized by contours, dimensions and always different thicknesses.
The range of measures of the valve is very wide. These measures are usually defined in inches and are related to the useful section of fluid passage when the valve is totally open.
Also the working pressures, the valve control and the working environment determine the need to have valves with hose joints that are more or less distant from the valve center, with circular section neck valve o irregular hexagon section neck valve, with greater of minor neck height.
Hot forging by means of eccentrical mechanical press
Normally the hot forging of a gate valve is not very easy to realize, above all if you want to forge the part without possible defects, using little material (therefore with most possible depth of all the holes) or without flash as well.
The traditional forging with eccentric mechanical presses of gate valves requires a greater energy compared to the forging of ball valves having the same dimensions, and a punches stroke, in particular of one, much higher.
For example, for the realization of gate valves of 2 inches or more, eccentric mechanical presses of minimum 450 tons capacity and a forging tool (defined as bell tool) that allows the realization of holes of great diameter are normally used.
This technology has been valid and successfully used for many years, and Mecolpress as well proposes it to its customers through its SEO and SEO CVE CS presses series.
But there is also a much more efficient way for gate valves hot forging: the hydraulic press.
Forging by means of hydraulic press
Gate valves can be hot forged even by means of Mecolpress hydraulic press of ME series.
Our ME presses allow to forge these valves completely flashfree, with very high precision, without risk of defects due to the brass flow in the die.
Moreover, also the productivity is higher than the one allowed by traditional method with eccentric mechanical presses and bell tool.
An hydraulic Mecolpress press ME350-4G240, for example, can forge 2 inch gate valves flashfree, without the help of special tools, with a productivity of about 800 parts/hour.
Production optimization: a Case Study
Exactly for this application in January 2019 we supplied a hydraulic press ME350 to one of the most important valve manufacturers of Far East.
We started the collaboration with the customer by studying the “traditional” valve geometry and after the forging simulations carried out by our technical office, we could verify that some improvements connected to the shape were possible.
Indeed, the study showed that the thicknesses could be reduced and therefore it was possible to reduce the weight and the cost of the forged part. Moreover, our technicians considered useful to modify corners and corner rounding to ease the brass flow. These modifications grant a longer die duration.
Once the approval from the customer for the new geometry was obtained, we realized the die and then a sample of these valves that were sent to the customer both for dimensional checks and for mechanical machining tests.
All the tests gave successful outcome and now the customer is impatient to receive the hydraulic press and to start producing this with this new much more efficient method that will reduce considerably the necessary brass quantity to realize the hot forged valve.
Over the years Mecolpress has developed a considerable experience in gate valves hot forging field and for every valve shape, or brass alloys to be used, including, for example, brass without lead or anti-dezincification brass.
Optimize the production with Mecolpress training courses
Mecolpress makes available to its customers a training service against payment whose aim is to provide useful information to the staff in charge of the presses in order to use the machines in the best performing way and to optimize the production.
Read this article to discover how training could help a customer of ours to reduce of 50% the maintenance interventions.
The problems of customer Alfa
Time ago a customer of ours, that we will name Alfa, contacted us because of his interest in custom-made training courses for forging machines proposed by Mecolpress. The reasons why he decided to activate the course were several.
First of all, the company employees were not adequately trained and could not use the forging machines in the best way. This implicated a frequent request of assistance from Mecolpress by the customer, and even if our intervention was very prompt, the company had to face up to the interruption of the productive process and to the additional costs connected to the customer care service.
In addition, the company hired new young but still not-expert personnel, however definitely open to technologic innovations and able to use the informatic devices of production machineries.
By their side there was also experienced personnel, working in the company for many years, with greater familiarity with forging techniques, but with some difficulties to approach their selves to the new digital techniques. Persuading them to change method was not so easy, because the long experience matured during years with their procedures.
In closing, the Alfa customer has at his disposal a various set of machines including dated presses, trimming presses, mechanical presses and a new hydraulic press, just bought.
For all these reasons, our customer has felt the need to take advantage of a new custom-made training course that can teach to the operators how to use the machines in the most performing way and to obtain the maximum output with minimum effort.
Mecolpress training course
According to the needs expressed by our customers we have planned a custom-made training course that takes account of forging machines in the company and of the type of forged parts.
The course is structured as follows:
- Introduction to hot forging;
- Explanation of drawings and simulation program in support of parts to be forged;
- Parts forging in the factory with an entirely devoted machine;
- Answers to questions of the personnel, detailed studies and explanations on problems regarding the production.
In particular, during the course very relevant matters were debated, such as die and process preliminary analysis, setting of specific parameters, driven setting of the hydraulic presses for parts with flash and without flash and analysis of output with simulations.
Result of the course
Our customer was particularly satisfied with our custom-made training course because of the obtained result.
Indeed, the personnel could acquire an increased competence regarding hot forging, both generally and specific, related to the company production type.
Moreover, the course has contributed to reinforce the team spirit among employees, that is of high importance to create a working environment based on collaboration. Indeed, activities of this kind contribute the personnel to interact more, to better work as a team and also to better face with the daily difficulties.
After our training our customer has decreased drastically the number of service requests against payment. Indeed, the operators in charge of machines can now use better the presses with a lesser wear and they can carry out in autonomy some activities of ordinary maintenance, without the need of Mecolpress technicians.
For further information about Mecolpress training courses, please send an e-mail to: sales@mecolpress.com.
Mecolpress hydraulic presses solve problems
Choosing the hydraulic presses of ME series for brass hot forging not only gives a technical advantage, but it can also represent a competitive advantage for your Company for the responsiveness on the market and for the speed your Company can reacts with to the unexpected necessities of the market.
This is the case of a customer of ours, Italian, based in Brescia, brass forger as subcontractor supplier for many years, with an increasing success thanks to the long experience of both the Company management and of the people in charge of the productive departments, first and foremost the brass hot forging one.
Experience and availability anytime
For years, quietly, without overdoing, but with perseverance and professionalism, our customer could manage optimally the different situations of the group, between forging and mechanical machining. Even if he is always looking for the hardest, most technical and logistic challenging orders, he could gain his position of full respect in the panorama of subcontractors (that are many in our province).
And in order to keep a high level of service and to receive in return a high loyalty of the customers, sometimes it is necessary to be able to take important decisions, in a very short time.
It happened so: in mid-November 2018, 15 days after they ordered us a 450 tons continuous cycle mechanical eccentric press, our customer had a meeting with one of his most important German customers, a very well-known company in the heating sector and civil hydraulic plants, who put on the table a series of new parts, in a brass alloy they invented, for which no one had forging experience.
In short, a challenge for our customer:
“These are the new parts to produce, the sizes go from the small junction to the one that weights various kilos, and if you want the order you must be able to produce the whole range, and be ready to start in very short time”
The customer came to us asking indications on the forging technique for this alloy with high copper content, in order to know which press and which energies are necessaries, but also which furnace and which temperature would be necessary.
Our reaction was making available what we always have in our company, since we are always ready for these eventualities: hot forging presses, induction and gas heating furnaces, and obviously all the collaboration of our staff. We immediately organized some forging tests and realized first samples of the parts: thanks to Calipso system for process data collecting and analysis, our customer could understand which forces and temperatures are needed for forging this special copper alloy.
Last minute solution of Mecolpress
All this process has also led to understand that the new press just ordered by our customer would not be suitable for these products, that in order to be efficiently forged, need an accurate check of the material flow in the die.
The solution? Turning the order of an eccentric press at continuous cycle into a hydraulic press of ME series, that thanks to its construction technology and to a sophisticated software, permits a total programming of the forging process.
Moreover, at Mecolpress the hydraulic presses are available with very short delivery time, even starting from 4 weeks for some models. This happens because, with the market experience we have accumulated in years and after many sold presses, we are able to anticipate the customer’s needs and to have quite ready the presses we will sell in the future.
Then, our customer could go back to his German customer and confirm him that just in 3 months from the date of their first meeting, he would be able to satisfy him, with a new forging line, at high technology, dedicated to his product and able to grant the quality of the forged parts.
A won challenge for our customer, and a satisfaction for us for having helped him and to reinforce his imagine of supplier of very high reliability among his customers.
