FOCUS ON PUNCHING
Examples of Groven + large architectural projects.
average project covers approximately 4,000m ² in cladding, with peaks of up to 35,000m ². An innovative project, of which Groven + is particularly proud, is the Port House in Antwerp( designed by the famous architect, Zaha Hadid).
“ These are projects with high architectural freedom, characterised by non-standard dimensions, shapes and colours. This is the type of project we want to focus on in the future,” explained Jeroen Van De Putte, Production Manager, Sheet Metal, Groven +.
For projects of this type, you need a high-performance engineering and project management team. Based on the architect’ s plans( often not even in 3D) the engineers create concepts, calculate stability, thermals and acoustics, and conduct feasibility studies. Project management monitors the project from then on. Groven + produces profiles and façade elements in-house and is responsible for installation and site monitoring.
Automated punching system
“ The production of components used to involve a lot of handling. The sheets were cut to the required size, using guillotine shears, and were then punched and bent sheet by sheet. It was a time-consuming and labourintensive process for our operators”, explained Van De Putte.
However, after the installation of an LVD Strippit PX 1530 punch press with an Extended Tool Magazine( ETM) and Flexible Automation for Punching( FA-P) last year, there are now one-third fewer manual operations. The punch press is also linked to a storage warehouse system with five towers, including 20 pallet positions per tower. The complete system runs on CADMAN ® software.
As the level of automation increases, so does the amount of work preparation. It all begins with the import of the CAD-file into LVD’ s CADMAN-SDI. The files are then accessible for CADMAN-B and-P, LVD’ s offline bending and punching software respectively, to ensure that( for punching) the sequences, nestings and tool selection can be optimised.
From there, the files are sent to the machine. When the operator starts a job, a signal is sent to the warehouse to pick up a
pallet of sheets. FA-P, the flexible load / unload system, loads the sheets and places the punched parts directly onto the correct pallet once the job is completed. They are then either sent on pallets to the two press brakes or returned to the warehouse.
The Strippit PX single-head punch press has 20 indexable tool stations. Although Groven + already had a wide range of options using multi-tools, it also decided on an ETM storage system for 40 additional stations.
“ ETM optimises the tool selection before the job is started to ensure that the PX has all the required tools. Tools not required by the machine are released, for example to be inspected on sharpness,” commented Stefaan Martens, Sales Manager, LVD.
FA-P- Flexible Automation for punching, advanced loading / unloading and picking / stacking.
Opting for automation
“ To continue our success, we need topnotch machinery. That’ s why we opted to purchase a fully automated punch press with automated storage from LVD. This replaced a standalone machine, without a storage facility, that had sheets delivered to it on a pallet. Everything was mixed up and organising the sheets was very labour-intensive. Now, we have a fully automated magazine with five towers and 100 pallet positions, with 50 pallets of 4 x 2 metres. The press punches sheets of 4 x 1.5 metres. We don’ t just use the storage warehouse for storing sheets, it’ s also where we keep punched parts,” confirmed Groven +.
“ Punched parts are stored in the warehouse on a 4 x 2 metre pallet. So, if we need to process them further, we can retrieve them using the loading table. During stocking or retrieving material, production is not interrupted. We work with sheets directly from the storage / warehouse facility. Several parts are nested per sheet and then processed‘ in one go’ by the punch press,” it continued.
All the parts are automatically unloaded, one at a time, onto the unloading table of the
Strippit PX with Flexible Automation( FA-P).
The Strippit PX
The Strippit PX from LVD can punch, bend, tap and form. Its single-head design features up to 200 tools with alltool rotation so that each tool has the flexibility to rotate a full 360 degrees and can be used at any angle anywhere on the sheet. The machine can form and bend materials up to 75mm and punch up to 6.35mm. It has a 20-ton capacity in 1250 x 2500mm or 1525 x 3050mm formats.
Combined with flexible automation and a power automation system, the machine’ s total installation length is 70 metres with an eight squaremetre customised sorting area. The machines hold up to 20 tools in a configuration that is fully indexable and t-style compatible. An ETM wheel warehouse magazine holds up to 40 tool combinations with easy access to the front. Robot tool-change time is 18 seconds. The PX features the same Touch P user interface as other LVD models.
“ All tools are freely rotatable which reduces the number of tools in the magazine as well as set-up time. This means low tool wear, resulting in lower material costs,” said LVD.
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