FACE TO FACE amongst press shops ; it enables identical highvolume products to be produced economically .
Strategic and technical focus
Laser cutting from coil .
Laser cutting from coil
One highlight from the coil line area of ARKU ’ s booth was laser cutting from coil , a
Image : TRUMPF Group . project in collaboration with sheet metal giant , TRUMPF . It is sold under the name ‘ TruLaser 8000 Coil Edition ’. The coil lines feed material to punching or forming presses and roll-forming systems .
“ Our coil-line projects have , in the past , been primarily automotive-driven and optimised for high output . We have now made these lines more flexible and customised with our partner , TRUMPF ,” explained Gottfried Sihler .
“ The laser-cutting-from-coil process enables sheet metal processors to flexibly produce even medium-batch sizes from coil . This results in much less waste when cutting parts compared to laser cutting from standard blanks . By eliminating the format limits , sheetmetal parts can be nested more efficiently . This enables material savings of up to 30 % for large parts ,” ARKU explained .
In the ARKU leveller on the coil line , rollers plastically deform the sheet metal with the bend becoming smaller and smaller towards the outlet . The size of the levelling rollers ultimately determines which material can be levelled on the machine .
“ The advantages for users are higher productivity due to the elimination of blankchanging times , lower material costs and less material waste . TRUMPF has calculated that the purchase prices for coil material are around 15 per cent lower than for comparable blanks . In addition , material utilisation is improved by 20 per cent thanks to optimal nesting ,” confirmed ARKU .
With increasing laser speeds and more frequent changes of material types and thicknesses , laser cutting from coil is becoming feasible for even medium batch sizes . Coil processing is well established
Gottfried Sihler next to the new EdgeBreaker ® 3000 NEXT deburring machine .
ISMR watched part deburring on the new EdgeBreaker ® 3000 NEXT machine .
ARKU ’ s new levelling centre at Spartanburg , Greenville , North Carolina , USA .
Image : TRUMPF Group .
ARKU ’ s new Chairman of the Management Board , Gottfried Sihler , also shared his development strategy with ISMR .
“ We are hoping that the German market , which has been struggling , will register a turnaround by the middle of 2025 . In the meantime , our intention is to further internationalise our business i . e . develop more sales and service power in other regions of the world ,” he outlined .
“ We aim to localise further i . e . increasing our presence in regions where we are not yet fully present . We will increase our footprint and sales power in those regions which are still growing . Will we fully change our product portfolio ? No , I don ’ t think so . It will be more of an evolutionary approach because sheet metal is still the core of our business . We will not change that . However , we will make it as easy as possible for any of our customers to have ARKU as the central access point for their machinery ,” he continued .
Andreas Hellriegel agreed with this outlook , adding : “ We are the only European surfacefinishing specialist with a direct company presence ( our own service and sales staff ) in the United States and China . We aim to further expand our presence in the United Sates , adding to our base in Cincinnati with a second site in Spartanburg ( Greenville , North Carolina ) later this year . It will be a combined levelling and demonstration centre . That should help us to offer contract levelling , faster service times and a sales force that is closer to the customer .”
Pinpointing market trends
Both Gottfried Sihler and Andreas Hellriegel pinpointed key trends in global sheet metal markets .
“ The market is shifting . Some of our
54 | ismr . net | ISMR November 2024