GENERAL NEWS
£ 400,000 high-speed press investment
A specialist in stamping , plating and the assembly of high precision parts is celebrating its 50th birthday in style after announcing a new £ 400,000 investment . Batten & Allen , which employs 120 people at its factory in Cirencester , UK , signed a deal at the MACH 2022 exhibition in the UK to purchase a new Bruderer high-speed press that can produce six million components every day . The company signalled its intentions to use the 28-tonne BSTA 280- 75B2 press to stamp precision parts for use in electrical applications across automotive , aerospace and consumer goods .
Fitted with a high-precision mechanical feeder , the machine offers a 750mm bed to accommodate complex press tools and comes with the latest control technology to provide benefits such as Automatic Ram Shut height adjustment at micro adjustments , while the press is under acceleration , and decelerated loads . This , said Bruderer , “ guarantees process stability and pinpoint reliability of the bottom dead centre ( BCD ) position , even at 1500 strokes per minute ”. This will be the 30th Bruderer press that Batten & Allen has ordered .
“ The components we make are extremely precise , often to a few microns . This means
Above : ( L-R ) Shawn Batten and Ian Mackinnon ( Batten & Allen ) with Adrian Haller ( Bruderer UK ).
we require a machine that could deliver that level of precision , time and time again – in fact , volumes can run into millions of parts every day . The BSTA 280-75B2 has been specified to our exact requirements , giving us the flexibility to be able to run pretty much every tool we own on it ,” explained Ian Mackinnon , who joined Batten & Allen as CEO four years ago .
Established in 1972 , Batten & Allen ’ s stamping capability means that it can offer small close pitch components with material thicknesses in the range of 10 microns thick to more heavy-duty single piece stampings of up to 2mm .
It exports 85 % of its turnover to customers across the automotive , aerospace , electronics and consumer goods sectors and , following a major surge in orders , is expecting sales to hit a record-breaking £ 20m at the end of this year .
“ Batten & Allen ’ s production facility is built on the power of our presses , dating back nearly 50 years , and involving the installation of more than 30 machines , ranging from 20 tonnes to 50 tonnes . The latest BSTA 280-75B2 can operate up to 1500 strokes per minute and the large press tool bed means it is extremely flexible and supports quick changeovers . It is also equipped with Ram Guidance exclusively at strip level , which helps eliminate displacement between the punch and lower die . The press will run continuously across three shifts and 24-hours per day ,” commented Adrian Haller , managing director of Bruderer UK .
Bruderer UK arranged its largest ever presence at MACH 2022 as it aimed to build on a record-breaking start to the year . n
www . bruderer . co . uk
www . batten-allen . com
New acquisition for LVD
LVD robotic solutions .
LVD Company nv has acquired the solutions business unit of KUKA Automatisering + Robotics nv in Houthalen-Helchteren , Belgium , to launch the new company , LVD Robotic Solutions bv .
“ LVD Robotic Solutions bv will significantly advance LVD ’ s expertise and market reach in robotics automation . The new entity will build on LVD ’ s experience with engineering robotic systems for sheet metalworking , centred on no robot teaching , high throughput and fast ‘ art to part ’,” explained LVD .
“ We will leverage the proficiency and capabilities of global automation leader , KUKA , to put robotised equipment within reach of manufacturers of all sizes and in a wide scope of industries beyond sheet metalworking . In addition , the new company will allow us to serve as a single-source provider of automation solutions for our customers ’ entire manufacturing business ,” it continued .
In 2019 , LVD acquired automation company , COMPAC ( Urbino , Italy ), to expand its automation portfolio with tower and warehouse systems . In establishing LVD Robotic Solutions , LVD follows a strategic roadmap to grow its product offering through development of more affordable automation solutions for a broader range of applications . This is to address an increasing global shortage of skilled labour , the need to automate the handling of heavier workpieces and materials to improve worker safety , the desire to reallocate labour to less repetitive , more value-adding processes and to fuel digital transformation and optimise manufacturing process flow .
Core areas of focus for LVD Robotic Solutions will include standardised robotic solutions for sheet metalworking based on LVD products , such as Dyna-Cell and Ulti-Form , using LVD ’ s programming system CADMAN ® - SIM , and robotic solutions for other industrial applications . These solutions could include part deburring ; metal coating ; automotive workpiece handling ; press linking ; windshield glue application ; production line part bin picking and end-of-line packaging solutions as well as a range of other industrial applications . With the acquisition , the engineering and project management staff of KUKA BENELUX become part of LVD Robotic Solutions . The robot sales and service portion of the KUKA BENELUX business is not part of the sale and
will remain a separate entity located in the Houthalen-Helchteren office , focusing on the expansion of transactional sales and service of KUKA robots to integrators and end customer , including LVD Robotic Solutions .
As part of the transaction , LVD acquires the KUKA BENELUX 7000-square metre Houthalen-Helchteren facility . LVD plans additional investment in the facility to further enhance operations and to establish a Centre of Excellence for robotics automation .
LVD is a leading manufacturer of sheet metalworking equipment including laser cutting systems , punch presses , press brakes , guillotine shears and automation systems , supported by its CADMAN ® software suite . n
www . lvdgroup . com
6 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR May 2022