Discover Mecolpress
“𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀”:
Discovering Mecolpress: a journey through backstage pictures.
With some pictures “caught here and there” and with some related comments we will try to let you know more about our Company.
We will drive you to the discovery of Mecolpress world, about our constant dedication to growth and innovation of hot forging technologies, and how we work hard to guarantee you the best reliability and Customer Care service of all over the world.
Our aim is to use a point of view that is not “stick” or simply related to the ordinary catalogue pictures; we will use the reportage style showing aspects that are usually hidden, but that, according to us, can reveal interesting and valuable peculiarities.
A path that tends to highlight, to reveal that behind the machines, technology and mechanism there are women, men that thanks to their ideas and passion constantly contribute to develop new solutions for the evolution of our products and services.
This is a way to show a “human” aspect of Industry, made not only of aseptic engineering but also of ability, expertise, experience of people who lives daily the company, the productive workshop and the administration/management offices.
Pictures revealing a soul made of personal skill, methods rich in creativity that can be found also in the details of the productive process.
It is also through these initiatives that companies can share aspects, information and pictures that tangibly contribute to the growth and strengthening of the relationship between companies.
This was a little extract of “Discover Mecolpress” pictures, if you want to see further pictures, please follow the campaign we launched on our social media channels in December 2021 and that it still continues.
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BORN WITH HOT FORGING OF BRASS, ENLARGING TO ALUMINIUM AND STEEL: THE VISION OF MECOLPRESS
Read the Corriere della Sera special dedicated to the metallurgical industry. This article talks about the vision of Mecolpress as a supplier and manufacturer of hot forging machinery. Click here:
METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY THE EXCELLENCE OF MADE IN ITALY
BORN WITH HOT FORGING OF BRASS, ENLARGING TO ALUMINIUM AND STEEL: THE VISION OF MECOLPRESS
… as undisputed leader in the production of hot forging presses for brass components, in recent years we added the focus on technologies for steel and aluminum applications.
MECOLPRESS AT MECSPE 2021
THE EXCELLENCE OF TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO INDUSTRY
It has been the most important event dedicated to innovations for the manufacturing industry and it counts 19 editions.
The fair will be held in Bologna from 23 to 25 November.
MECSPE, the main event in Italy on innovative technologies for manufacturing 4.0 industry promoted by Senaf, joins this outlook of restart and business confidence by following its commitment to support this sector and representing itself for 19 editions of over 2,300 exhibitors and trade associations.
This year’s appointment, rescheduled at BolognaFiere, from 23 to 25 November 2021, will have as its main theme “digitalization, training and sustainability”, subjects that visitors will be able to explore through 13 synergistic salons divided by thematic areas, demonstration of talent, commitment and creativity of Italian Companies.
A field, the industrial one, has always been supported by MECSPE which promotes fruitful collaborations between the various players in the supply chain, sharing visions and projects with them, as demonstrated by the historic partnerships with Confartigianato Meccanica and CNA Produzione.
At MECSPE 2021 we will exhibit the FPN 220 Turbo HS screw press.
This is the best evidence of the outstanding performances of the OSTERWALDER screw presses, part of by Mecolpress family from more than 20 years.
These screw presses are particularly suitable for processes where high precision\tight tolerances of forged components are required, for example in the production of gears. They are suitable for hot forging of steel parts, but also of all other materials.
The TURBO version allows to reach higher speed, increasing productivity from 20% to 40%.
Augmented Reality, the press just a click away
In addition to the FPN Turbo screw press, it will be possible to view two other technologies thanks to the Augmented Reality: the ME Hydraulic and the Heavy Mechanical Forging Presses.
This technology allows to add the multimedia virtual information to the actual view that is captured by the camera of mobile device, smartphone and/or tablet, enriching the surrounding viewing with additional digital contents.
Get your free admission ticket
To facilitate the visit and access safely, it is advisable to register to get the free admission ticket.
You can request it by simply filling out this form:
ForEMOst!
ForEMOst!
EMO is the worldwide exhibition of the machine tool, held in Italy and Germany, and that this year will take place in Milan at Fiera Milano Rho from the 4th to the 9th of October.
All the main international players of the manufacturing sector will take part in EMO MILANO 2021; so far there are more than 30 countries represented, covering all the segments that make up the world of the metalworking machines.
Undisputed leader in the trade fairs panorama, EMO represents the whole metalworking world in the best way, showing the best of vision and innovation.
Metal forming and metal cutting machine tools, robots, enabling technologies and automation, solutions for interconnected and digital factories, additive manufacturing will be among the key players of EMO MILANO 2021.
The exhibit is held in the entire Fieramilano Rho Exhibition centre, that can be easily reached with any transport means.
To guarantee visitors and exhibitors the participation in total safety in the exhibition, Fiera Milano Group has developed a Protocol for the safe conduct of trade fairs, in full compliance with the health rules and protocols issued at national level.
MECOLPRESS will participate with a “revolution” of the exhibition concept
Augmented Reality, the press just a click away
This technology allows to overlap multimedia information to the reality framed by the camera of mobile device, smartphone and/or tablet, enriching the surrounding viewing with additional digital contents.
A very powerful mean in the company communication field, and in this regard, the Augmented Reality has a strong impact on the customer experience, because it transforms the way in which companies interact with their customers.
In the trade fairs the Augmented Reality results to be very useful, both for the exhibitors and for the visitors who will be able to live a visual experience at 360-degrees.
Two will be the presses, chosen from the production range of MECOLPRESS, that will give birth to this innovative space of virtual reality, that will offer the possibility to see and to experience the functionalities of the represented machines.
We are waiting for you Hall 5 – Stand B29
Get your free admission ticket
To facilitate the visit and access safely, it is advisable to register to get the free admission ticket.
You can request it by simply filling out this form:
MECOLPRESS: THIRD GENERATION TO GROW AND IMPROVE EVEN MORE
Read the special “Giornale di Brescia” dedicated to Mecolpress, click here:
Mecolpress Special Edition June 4th
The technology and the strategies to win the challenge
Click on image for the English version of the article:
The change is a constant in our lives and for Mecolpress, for more than 50 years, it is seen as an opportunity.
That’s how that the best projects and products are born and developed.
Shape the Future!
#MECOLPRESSCHRISTMAS2020
Usually in Mecolpress, to celebrate Christmas, we express each other good wishes with two special events: a dine-out evening that allows us to share special moments, stories and anecdotes, and a toast in production on the last day of work accompanied by the speech of our president.
This year obviously it will not be possible to do any of this, so what?!?!
What can we say about 2020 coming to an end?
Certainly the year we are leaving behind is a year that we will remember because of Covid that has not spared any country in the world.
If we are to talk only about the Mecolpress reality, we can now consider ourselves lucky in terms of health. And also from a work point of view the year is ending without major deviations from the previous year even if we had foreseen a very aggressive budget that aimed to different results, we can say that the current situation caused by Covid has not put us in particular difficulties as may have happened for other types of companies or other production sectors.
This year it was not possible to carry out some technical interventions in some countries, all the trade fairs to which we were registered could not take place, and we had to postpone visits to our mainly foreign customers.
But we’ve all learned to use more digital tools, which allow us to meet remotely.
We have even tested entire forging lines remotely, and more and more customers have chosen to use our calipso software for forging control.
But above all we had the opportunity to verify with pleasure and satisfaction, that our customers from all over the world (some even newly acquired!) have renewed their confidence despite the physical distance.
What interesting news we have implemented internally in 2020?
Speaking instead of the Mecolpress reality inside we can say that we have finished most of the works planned in the new Shed 5, specifically the most interesting thing we implemented was the purchase and starting up of a powerful induction oven. This oven is for our exclusive internal use and allows us to perform forging tests not only for brass and aluminum pieces, but also for steel pieces. Steel in fact needs higher temperatures than other materials. Thanks to the work that our technical engineer specialized in hot steel forging is doing, we are investing a lot in the production of machines for this material.
We realize more and more that for the customer to have the proof, to see the piece to must be forged, concretely made by a machine that we always have available to carry out forging tests, is very important!
Often customers come to us who have to make even complex pieces, with many doubts and perplexities. It is of great satisfaction for us to show them how the Mecolpress press that we recommend to them, after study by our technical office that also uses a forging simulation, can make their piece with higher quality requirements. And it’s that added quid that has often allowed us to make a difference.
What we expect in 2021?
The spread of Covid-19 obviously weighs on any forecast or programming. But we hope to reschedule many businesses that have been postponed in 2020. We are currently investigating global markets to assess how much customers will be able to invest in the coming months.
However, we are full of preparation and positivity, our sales force is working to propose solutions suitable for needs that may be changing.
And above all we are on the piece!
Mecolpress Best Wishes
Since it is not possible to exchange greetings as usual, we just have to do them online, but with our hearts. We sincerely hope you can spend a serene Festivities, this is the wish we address as well to our employees and their families, our customers and collaborators.
Because Mecolpress is made by all of you, of people who work every day, collaborate, give us confidence and make Mecolpress not only a company but a large family.
In this regard we ask you to share with us selfies, a wish, a phrase, or a toast … to share the wishes with us, DISTANT BUT UNITED:
Post your message on the social networks and mention @mecolpress
Insert the hashtag #MecolpressChristmas2020 #WeAreOnThePiece
Our social channels:
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.
HOT FORGING PRESSES INTERVIEW WITH MECOLPRESS
Company manufacturing hot forging presses.
We report an interview of the digital magazine Easy Engineering of 28 April 2020.
Established in 1969, MECOLPRESS was founded as a manufacturing company of mechanical presses for brass components hot forging. Up to today, Mecolpress has developed and installed more than 1.950 presses, at over 400 customers all around the world, used for forging brass, aluminum, copper, titanium, steel. The current production site in Flero, in the highly productive area of Brescia, takes up a 30.000 square meters surface, 10.400 of them are covered and employees 55 people, reaching a turnover in 2018 of 11.5 million Euro.
In 2019, in occasion of EMO exhibition in Hannover, Mecolpress officially presented the new series of continuous and discontinuous cycle eccentric presses, the HEAVY series.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
MECOLPRESS: At the beginning all efforts were concentrated on brass hot forging field; in the time, also through the acquisition of the historical brands Osterwalder and Dellavia in the screw presses section, the variety of machines that we design and produce is now so wide and complete to satisfy the most different requirements of the customers: for each specific material, shape and quantity to be forged, we are in the position to offer the most suitable solution.
Mecolpress is today the only company among the manufacturers of presses for the hot forging of brass, aluminum steel, copper, titanium, with a so complete production program.
Our present production program consists of:
- TDS: direct drive with electrical servomotor;
- Dellavia and Osterwalder: Traditional disc friction.
PG Knuckle joint presses
for calibration and coining of parts.
Presse Meccaniche Eccentriche
- SOV and SEO/F: for the vertical hot forging;
- SEO and HEAVY: for forging with horizontal cores, in single or continuous cycle.
for forging brass and aluminum parts without flash.
- PO: single station;
- S: multiple station, rotary table with hydraulic motor;
- E: multiple station, rotary table with electric motor.
In addition, Mecolpress is particularly active in after-sales service. The heart and pride of Mecolpress is its large spare parts warehouse, which is able to supply accessories or spare parts for machines produced fifty years ago. For this reason, in addition to the sale of machinery, there is a wide activity related to the service and supply of accessories (such as tools, arms, spare parts, etc..).
E.E: What’s the news for 2020 about new products?
MECOLPRESS: At the end of 2019 Mecolpress presented at EMO fair in Havvore a brand-new series of eccentric presses, named HEAVY, which defines a new standard for the hot forging of brass.
A machine concept that offer highest durability and reliability together with an innovative software system that allows the maximum control on the process and the a very easy operation.
E.E: What are the ranges of traded products?
MECOLPRESS: As a manufacturer with an own wide range of products, the additional equipment that we simply trade is limited to ancillary machines, to offer complete forging lines (delivering a finished part from the input of a raw material bar) to those customer that prefer to have a turn-key plant from one source.
Typical traded machines are: billets heating furnaces, forging dies, sand blasting machines.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
MECOLPRESS: Since our machines are dedicated to a very wide panorama of applications (from house building to automotive, from gas control to biomedical) there are always new developments in these sectors.
This is for us very stimulating because we are constantly involved in the design of new solution, to support our customers with the most suitable equipment to manufacture parts that are chancing in the shapes, in the alloys and in the technical requirements.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
MECOLPRESS: In the past our customers were mainly subcontractors, producing many different kinds of parts for the most differentiated OEMs. We see now more and more companies that are interested in bringing back into their own activity the hot forging process, to have full control over the entire production line. And also, the subcontractors that still exists, are increasing in size, in capability, and in specialization: they are requested to be much more accurate, reliable, more flexible and fast in changing production and technologies.
For these reasons, the machines that both our customer types (the subcontractors and the OEMs) need, are machines that can easily switch from one application to the next, and that can record and control really in depth every aspect of the production process. The user is therefore becoming more an engineer, that study and program the process in advance and then let the machine run autonomously, instead of an operator that has to stay full time at the machine, checking and adjusting the settings.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
MECOLPRESS: As above indicated, one of the most innovative products that we offer today is the new range of Heavy presses.
In parallel to this, we are widening the offer for the ME hydraulic presses which are designed to forge net shape parts. These machines are extremely versatile, can communicate in two directions with the company ERP software to exchange production data, recipes, preventive maintenance information. And are also able to automatically detect a non-conforming product and separate it from the good ones. This makes the ME forging presses a fully automatic system, that does not require operators to work but also does not need regular presence of quality control staff to check periodically the output.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2020?
MECOLPRESS: At the end of 2019 we planned a very aggressive budget of sales for the 2020, and supported it with several activities and strategies, from the participation to many international shows, to the production of machines for stock, to grant to our customer very fast deliveries.
Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 virus spreading, many commercial activities had to be reprogrammed or postponed. We are now investigating the world markets to assess what will be the customers’ propensity to invest for the remaining months of this year. We are very optimistic that we will in any case be able to reach most of our targets also thank to the availability of machines in our workshop, which is allowing us to complete deliveries in this year of machines ordered in the second and third quarter.
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!
STEEL HOT FORGING: THE WORD TO OUR EXPERT
We interviewed Luca Di Donato, Mecolpress specialist for steel hot forging.
Steel is a far different material from brass, for this reason Mecolpress has decided to increase its team with a devoted figure, to whom we have addressed some questions.
Let's talk about steel hot forging
What is your role in Mecolpress?
The role I currently play in the company context is project engineer manager specialized in steel hot forging and non-ferrous alloys (except brass).
Specifically, I mainly deal with the identification and definition of the hot plastic deformation process that is technically and economically most suitable for the production of semi-finished steel components but also aluminium and special nickel and Titanium alloys.
What kind of experience do you have in steel hot forging sector?
The gained background in the specific sector derives from many years of work experience acquired in the company field, initially as a designer and then as technical and operational director of companies located in Italy and abroad.
Which application sectors do usually use steel hot forging presses?
Presses for steel hot forging are widely used in many application sectors such as automotive, aeronautics, agriculture, construction, chemical, petrochemical and industrial sector in general.
Which type of machine is most suitable for steel forging? (mechanical presses, hydraulic presses, screw presses?)
From a metallurgical point of view, steel can be forged using every type of press, since the types of steel in general are little affected by the presses deformation speed as some aluminium alloys and the super alloys of Titanium and Nickel are affected.
Therefore, there are other parameters that influence the choice, in fact the geometry, the geometric and dimensional tolerances can certainly guide the choice on a mechanical press rather than on a screw press, but also on a hydraulic press.
Compared to brass, which are the distinctive traits of steel?
From the process point of view and therefore from the point of view of the relative presses, the first aspect that is typical for steel is certainly the forging temperature which is around 1200 ° C.
The other equally important feature is the steel deformability which is far more difficult than the one of the brass. The resistance to hot plastic deformation of steel forces the adoption of simpler geometries, the adoption of presses with increased capacity in terms of forces, moreover, pre-forming processes are often used.
According to your experience, which are the recurring critical issues that you could observe in the forging of this material?
As previously highlighted, steel is forged at high temperature, therefore possible overheating can be created in areas that are particularly subject to deformation, the involved forces are important and as a result the energy and disposition can approach the limit and cause no geometric conformity on the piece.
In the end, steel cannot be easily deformed and therefore it requires a specific study to understand which preforming processes are better to adopt in order to avoid cracks / folds of material.
Always according to your experience, when we want to choose the most suitable machine, what should we absolutely consider?
Obviously the geometry of the forged product to be obtained, together with the imposed geometric and dimensional tolerances, strongly influences the choice of the best process, first of all the type of press but also all the machines necessary to compose the line, from the cutting, heating, and preforming process up to the possible calibration of hot / cold forging.
Mecolpress, through the specific skills acquired in fifty years of working history and thanks to its professionalism, is able to support the customer from the very first stages of defining the most suitable geometry for the choice of the forging up to the realization of the line, also fully automated, turnkey.
What do you think that can really make the difference in a “guessed” press?
The heart of the production line in its entirety is the PRESS which has been designed to respect specific characteristics, as a result “guessing” the type of press is absolutely important, but it is equally essential to consider who designed and built it, in this regard the presses produced by Mecolpress are considered to be among the best on the market, both in terms of technological content and in terms of rigidity and reliability.
If you want further information regarding the topic “Steel hot forging”, we invite you to consult the U.NI.S.A. Italian National Union of Steel Forgers, of which we are aggregate members.