Since an automated pressworking cell was installed at a heating and ventilating equipment manufacturer, it says new the facility is 50 per cent faster than stand-alone turret punch presses.

A new Finn-Power automated pressworking cell has been installed at one of the Blackpool factories of heating and ventilating equipment manufacturer, Gilberts. Joint Managing Director, Willie Greenwood, comments that as sheet is always available to feed into the machine, the facility is 50 per cent faster than stand-alone turret punch presses of equivalent specification on site. Installed last summer (2001) by Press and Shear, UK agent for the Finnish press manufacturer, the 'A5 Express' cell incorporates a loading station that holds up to three tonnes of material.

A gantry-mounted gripper head delivers single zintec or stainless steel sheets up to 2,530 mm x 1,270 mm and from 0.7 to 2.0 mm thick to the adjacent press in a matter of seconds.

Says Greenwood : 'We operate two CNC turret presses without auto feed, but wanted to raise productivity without increasing overheads.

In addition, there are issues relating to Health and Safety, such as back pain and cut fingers when manually handling sheet.

Automation was the obvious answer so we researched the market for suitable products.

'We chose Finn-Power because the gantry was integrated with the machine rather than being an add-on, so there were no interfacing problems.

The cell was also good value for money, and in addition, I had worked with Press and Shear in a previous job and always found the after-sales service to be good.

'And so it has proved; the performance of the A5 Express with its fully adjustable, hydraulic stroke has been absolutely fantastic in terms of uptime, rate of production and quality of output, and the minimal back-up we have needed has been prompt and friendly.' Gilbert's air distribution, smoke and fire control products, almost exclusively for commercial buildings, require relatively simple sheet metalwork in their construction but are produced in an astonishingly large number of sizes and permutations.

One standard product line, for instance, is available in 1.9 million variants.

It is therefore essential to have flexibility of production, to which end the company's policy is to machine families of parts from a sheet, as pictured in photograph 2, for which this particular batch run was 60-off.

Production Manager, Ian Blackburn, advises that only about 10 per cent of throughput is accounted for by production of identical parts nested on a sheet, in which case they will be commonly used components and are produced in quantities of up to 3,000 at a time.

Comments Blackburn, 'Three tonnes of material on the input table gives us unattended running for more than six hours, so we try to run sequences of jobs that use the same material as much as we can.

The load station is then replenished by lift truck.

On the off-take side, the punched and nibbled sheets are stacked automatically beneath the exit conveyor, a section of which slides to one side from under the sheet.

They are then handled manually for the components to be de-tagged and removed by hand.' The majority of operations are punching and nibbling at speeds up to 600 hits per minute, while traversing at 100m/min contributes further to short machining times.

Some in-cycle forming is also carried out for producing such features as louvres and countersunk holes, plus some embossing for location purposes.

The turret on the Finn-Power is larger than on Gilberts' other presses and more extensive use of multi-tools increases the number of stations available to the point where the need for tool change is rare.

According to Blackburn, the company's products are being systematically redesigned to take advantage of the resulting production flexibility, reducing the need for second operations such as notching and guillotining.

'It allows us to make our products faster, better and more economically,' he said, 'and to set new standards for best practice in our industry.' Greenwood has been encouraged by his first move into automated pressworking and intends to phase in further cells when his other punch presses become due for replacement.

As there are a lot of long, straight machined sections on his products, he says he may well consider the Finn-Power 'Shear Genius' next time to take advantage of its fast right angle shear, which like the gantry is an integrated feature, not an add-on.

He was also impressed at the last metalworking 2002 exhibition in Birmingham with the Finnish company's linear motor laser-profiling machine, which attains cutting speeds of up to 20m/min.

'I always thought that laser machines were for intricate profiling, but very high speeds combined with the absence of tooling costs and lower capital outlay makes them much more attractive for our work,' he says.

'Punch press and laser technologies are converging and it makes sense to exploit the best features of both; we would also consider punch / laser combination machines the next time around.

Competitively priced, multi-tool holders suitable for CNC punch presses and a new 2.4.1 die system with increased grind life are now available.

A new range of competitively priced, multi-tool holders suitable for CNC punch presses and a new 2.4.1 die system with increased grind life are now available from Wilson Tool International of Swindon. The Multi-tool holders will allow the number of tools carried on a punch press to be significantly increased and the tool change and setting time reduced, which results in improved process flexibility and productivity. Central to the Wilson Tool programme is the launch of its competitively priced five and 10 station multi-tool holders, punches and dies providing a high level of versatility for Trumpf TC 2000R, TC 2020R, TC 5000R and TC 6000L punch presses.

As part of the expansion of the top-selling 2.4.1 (trademark) punch press tooling system which provides an unmatched, double the regrind life of traditional tooling, the availability of the 2.4.1 die incorporates the die holder, die blade and high precision spacers.

These will provide an increase in the regrind life to an unprecedented 2mm.

Users of the Wilson Multi-tools, which are available ex-stock, are totally interchangeable and have the advantage of a highly versatile tooling system which extends the tool capacity of the machine.

Punches and dies are cheaper than standard solid punches, setting time is reduced and the user gains from improved flexibility of the punching cycle.

Standard tool shapes including squares and rectangles are available with Wilson's patented Optima coating which extends tool life between regrinds by up to 500 per cent.

Round tools are Optima coated as standard.

With the Wilson guaranteed delivery, any stock tool ordered before 11.00 am is despatched, from what is believed to be the world's largest tool stock, the same day.

Special tool shapes are shipped within one to two days of drawing approval.

2*4*1 is very simple to set on the machine, guarantees punch alignment, eliminates the need to pre-set tools, and reduces tool change time, from three minutes to just 30 secs.

A totally new concept in punch press tooling has been developed by Wilson Tool International of Swindon for users of Trumpf, Pullmax, Boschert, Euromac and Omes turret punch presses. The new tooling designated 2*4*1(tm) is very simple to set on the machine, guarantees punch alignment, eliminates the need to pre-set tools, reduces tool change time, from, at best three minutes, to just 30 secs, and is able to provide an unmatched double the regrind life of the traditional 'Old Style' tools. The Wilson 2.4.1 tool range covers round, square, rectangular and standard shapes in both flat and 'whisper' designs.

It can also be specified with Wilson's patented Optima high performance coating which can extend tool life between regrinds by up to a further 500 per cent.

Now solely manufactured at the European headquarters in Swindon for export around the world, 2.4.1 has a regrind allowance of 6 mm providing further advantages of reduced tool inventory and replacement purchases with correspondingly increased productivity levels from the machine.

The 2.4.1 design allows direct insertion into the machine and utilises a built-in collar to eliminate any need for pre-set fixturing of the tool away from the machine.

The system also eliminates setting error which can occur with the 'Old Style' tooling because the Wilson development incorporates fixed angle positioning of the punch.

Also, during long production runs and heavy load conditions, the 2.4.1 design overcomes problems when the punch can move in the collar.

The new tooling is available on the standard 'next day' Wilson Tool International delivery service, while any specials are guaranteed within seven to 10 days of design approval.

Two advanced sheet metalworking facilities are nearing completion at the Springvale and Monkstown factories of FG Wilson, featuring six Finn-Power Shear Genius turret punch press cells.

Two advanced sheet metalworking facilities are nearing completion at the Springvale and Monkstown factories of FG Wilson, both sites being located within a few miles of Belfast city centre and a short drive from the company's diesel generator assembly plant in Larne, the largest in Europe. Among the latest equipment to be installed are six Finn-Power Shear Genius turret punch press cells. Valued at a total of £3.5 million, the Finnish hydraulic presses were supplied by sole UK agent Press and Shear Machinery, Tamworth.

In trials, they proved to be 20 per cent more productive for FG Wilson's type of work than the next best turret punch press or system, according to Martin Ross, CNC Production Manager at Monkstown.

Nearly all this advantage is directly attributable to the Finn-Power's built-in shear, which executes straight cuts in a fraction of the time it takes to nibble the edges conventionally with a tool in one of the turret stations.

One Shear Genius is installed in Monkstown whilst the other five are at the new Springvale plant.

The former is operated as a stand-alone cell whose materials handling requirements are met by lift trucks.

The latter machines, however, are linked to a Remmert automated material storage system, delivering blanks to the presses and punched sheets to press brakes and folding machines.

Driven by a kanban production system in Larne, a host computer generates work lists which the press operators pull down to their controls.

Such a high level of investment in a flexible sheet metalworking system was essential to keep pace with worldwide demand for emergency power.

The rebuilding of Kosovo and power rationing in Chile have led to additional orders.

Demand is also growing as the Caribbean prepares for this year's hurricane season and due to widespread fear of power loss at the turn of the Millennium.

Each Finn-Power SG6 cell is virtually identical, comprising an automated sheet loading station fed from the computer-controlled material store and a gantry-type feed mechanism which sequentially transfers sheets measuring up to 1,500 mm x 3,000 mm into the punching, forming and shearing machine.

On the opposite side is a sorting conveyor which automatically allows small punched components to drop selectively into various bins underneath.

Larger items are allowed to continue into a stacking system where similar parts are arranged together onto pallets ready for removal by lift truck.

Meanwhile, the shear cuts up the skeleton for removal by another conveyor to a scrap bin at the side of the machine, eliminating time-consuming handling and cutting of the scrap by the operator.

Smaller pieces of waste material punched from the sheet are routed to a separate bin.

The difference between the Shear Genius and other machines is explained by Martin Ross.

'Sheet metal components for many of our generators are typically the size of a table yet often have corner notches and just a few punched holes in addition to four long straight edges.

One part, for example, requires 50 hits to produce the features and conventionally needed 100 nibbling strokes to cut out the remainder of the periphery, which invariably had scallops and pinch marks.

Overall, I should say around 60 per cent of punch press time in our factories used to be taken up profiling straight lines.

'Using the 800 mm x 1,500 mm shearing blades mounted at 90 degrees to each other in a separate station on the SG6, this latter operation is carried out in just a few strokes and there is no material wastage.

Automatic blade gap adjustment ensures efficient shearing irrespective of the thickness of material being cut.

Another advantage is that all nested components have the punched features completed before the shear separates them, so they leave the working area together and continue their journey automatically by conveyor.

With other punch presses each part has to be removed by hand, extending the overall cycle time.

After that the skeleton needs to be cut up and discarded, adding further to the labour content of the operation.' Three years ago Mr Ross used the 'Sheet Metal Industries' annual punch press review to research more than 30 suppliers on the market, shortlisting three for production trials on a selection of more difficult generator components.

At that time, only one machine other than the Finn-Power had an integral right angle shear but the 2 mm capacity in steel was not high enough.

However the 4 mm capacity of the Shear Genius was ideal as up to 3 mm galvanised and uncoated mild steels account for 95 per cent of FG Wilson's punching work and there is spare power to ensure that the machines do not have to work to their full rated capacity.

Larger generator fuel tanks and bases, canopies and other components are machined from heavier gauge steel on existing punch presses, laser cutters and plasma machines at the Monkstown plant, which is also serviced by an automated storage and retrieval system.

Apart from the speed of cutting straight lines, another major issue at the time of machine evaluation was to ensure that the presses could deploy sufficient tools to produce all FG Wilson's parts without repeatedly having to exchange tools in the turret.

This has been achieved by maximising the use of multi-tools carrying either six medium size tools or 10 smaller tools and buying a sufficient number of machines so that each may be dedicated to one gauge of sheet.

This policy will be fully implemented when the other Finn-Power cells are installed, which incidentally will have the new, larger Finn-Power turret.

At the same time, a certain amount of presently subcontracted sheet metalwork for canopies will be brought in-house, helping to amortise the investment quickly.

Meanwhile, one of the Springvale presses is changed over periodically, a process which takes about half a day, to meet demand for generator bases and heavier gauge canopies made from 2.5 mm and 3.0 mm galvanised steel.

The other two machines are already dedicated to 1.2 mm, 1.6 mm, and 2.0 mm gauge material, producing guards, control boxes, cover plates and, on one machine, canopies as well.

An interesting comment made by Martin Ross was that, as FG Wilson is an OEM, its production department is able to, and does, influence generator designs to rationalise the number of punch press tools needed.

In contrast, subcontractors do not have that luxury as they are normally required to produce exactly what their customers ask for.

Joe Hanna, Production Manager at Springvale, commented: 'All our presses work hard, 24 hours a day, five days a week and at the weekends as well.

During one week at the end of June we punched 25,500 parts.

The higher level of business means that batch sizes are increasing; it is not unusual for us to produce 180 canopies in a week and even more of other parts.

It can sometimes take a whole shift to complete two jobs.' Cycle times vary from two to 15 minutes, according to component complexity, but in some cases cluster tooling is required to achieve these times.

Five of the eight auto indexing stations in each machine are equipped with multi-tools whilst the other three have tools for producing corner notches and radiused features.

Wilson turret tooling accounts for 90 per cent in use in Monkstown and Springvale.

Special tools are used to upform louvres and countersinks in many of the components, helped by the ability on all Finn-Power machines to program infinitely variable stroke lengths and speeds for each tool.

Product development is carried out in Larne and designs are networked from the Autocad system directly to the sheet metal factories where they are translated into DXF format.

This is recognised by Finn-Power's JETCAM SG system running on a PC which assists in program preparation including punching and forming operations, automatic nesting of parts to maximise sheet utilisation and operation of the right angle shear.

Up to 432 components (locking tabs) are punched from a single sheet although at the other end of the scale just one part, a canopy roof, may be produced.

Programs, of which there is currently a library of 2,500 at Springvale (increasing all the time as work is transferred from Monkstown) are downloaded to the machines by DNC link.

Power Link MMC is a further Finn-Power option which FG Wilson has adopted.

It is a high-speed data connection to the CNC system designed to simplify monitoring and identification of a machine fault.

If an error occurs, a unique code appears automatically on the screen of the CNC with full textual explanation of what the problem is and how it should be solved.

In addition, a schematic image is displayed of the relevant area of the machine.

Additionally, a full user manual for the punch press is included, so not only is the service manual on-line but also the operating instructions for machine, control and accessories.

A third function is NC file management.

As a result of these Shear Genius installations and a number of other Finn-Power machines operating across the Province, Press and Shear has now employed a resident engineer for Northern Ireland who lives 15 miles from Belfast.

FG Wilson was established in 1966 in an old textile mill in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

In the early 70s the company started to focus on the design and manufacture of diesel-powered generating sets, since which time the company has experienced spectacular growth.

A small, family run, general engineering firm has grown into a large, internationally renowned exporter with subsidiaries and dealers on every continent.

In June 1999, Caterpillar acquired 100 per cent equity in FG Wilson.

Caterpillar reports annual sales of over US$ 20 billion, with engines and generating sets accounting for over 20 per cent of turnover.

Today, FG Wilson is the largest diesel generating set manufacturer in Europe and third largest in the world, with annual sales of more than œ250 million.

It is one of the largest employers and exporters in Northern Ireland with 90 per cent of generating sets exported to over 170 countries.

The company lies comfortably within the UK's top 100 exporters and has won the prestigious Queen's Award for Export Achievement three times in the last decade.

FG Wilson manufacturing plants boast state of the art facilities and are among the most advanced in the world.

Since 1993, the group headquarters has been located in Larne, shipping in excess of 30,000 generating sets per year.

The high export volume is supported by two other plants in Northern Ireland, at Springvale and Monkstown, with extensive facilities for metal fabrication and the manufacture of control systems.

Robust, thick turret tooling style CNC punch presses, 200 and 300kN, offer a large turret capacity with a versatile mix of stations and the largest feed clearance in the industry.

LVD introduces the Verona Series of CNC turret punch presses offered in 200 and 300kN models (20 and 30 tonf). Verona turret punch presses are robust, full-featured machines designed for high production demands. These Thick turret tooling style punch presses offer a large turret capacity with a versatile mix of stations and the largest feed clearance in the industry.

Powerful control capabilities and programmable features make Verona punch presses easy to set up and operate.

Engineered for high productivity and long life, Verona punches materials up to 6.4mm with a maximum hit rate of 1000 hits/min at 1mm pitch.

A state-of-the-art positioning system combines heavy sheet carrying capacity with accurate motion control to produce a finished part accuracy of 0,10 mm with a repeatability of 0.05mm over the entire table.

Bridge frame construction provides accuracy and durability.

LVD's latest punch presses handle workpieces up to 1524 x 2500mm depending on model.

Larger workpieces are handled with clamp repositioning.

Smart Clamp, a standard feature, automatically determines exact clamp locations to provide the smallest possible no-punch zone.

* Advanced hydraulic ram technology - an advanced servo hydraulic press drive and easy-to-use interactive software optimize Verona's high-speed operation while reducing noise and shock.

Fully programmable stroke profiles and patented Smart Stroke feature maximize punching performance and provide flexibility for punching and forming applications.

Smart Stroke automatically optimizes the punch cycle by determining the hover height based on material thickness and distance between holes, maximizing productivity without operator or programmer intervention.

Up to 48-station turret capacity - Verona's large and versatile double-track turret provides flexibility and easy set- up.

Every station accepts shaped punches and dies, reducing set-up time.

A unique mix of turret stations provides exceptional capacity.

Verona 20 tonf models offer a 34-station configuration with four 88,9 mm auto-index stations.

The 30 tonf machines offer 48 stations with three 88.9mm auto-index stations and one fixed 88.9mm station or 114.30mm station.

The 114.30mm station is ideal for producing large louvers, special forms or using full-size parting tools.

Turret capacity can be increased with the addition of indexable Multi-Tools to expand the number of auto-indexable tools.

* Feed clearance of 25mm - Verona also provides enhanced forming capabilities with a full 25mm feed clearance between the upper and lower turret.

This generous feed clearance allows for the production of higher forms such as lances, louvers, embossments or card guides.

The punch press accommodates the latest in tooling technology for high-performance fabricating.

These capabilities further reduce set-up time, enhance productivity and promote long life with minimal maintenance costs.

Wheel tooling, including rollcut and rollform capabilities, permits quick and efficient cutting and/or forming of straight or curves shapes without nibbling.

Verona machines also employ part marking technology for part number or sheet marking requirements and can utilize tapping tools.

* Powerful PC-based control - Verona is equipped with a state-of-the-art, PC-based GE Fanuc 180i control that speeds set-up and delivers powerful features such as diagnostics, increased program storage capacity and networking.

Optional CADMAN programming software provides full support for all standard and advanced punching functions, including Auto-Index stations, Multi-Tools, standard and special punches, forming, embossing, tapping, stamping and wheel-style tools.

* Robotic pick-sort material handling system - material/part handling can be automated with the addition of an automatic sheet loading/unloading system and parts sorting device.

LVD's automatic load/unload system reduces manual worksheet handling and provides fast, efficient processing of materials up to 3.5mm thick.

Verona may be integrated with a robotic Pick-Sort material handling system.

The robotic system loads full size sheets and automatically retrieves and stacks individual punched parts with dimensions up to 1000 x 2000mm.

The Pick-Sort system converts the Verona into a freestanding, lights-out production cell.

* About LVD - LVD is a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of sheet metal/plate working machine tools and software solutions, including laser cutting systems, punch presses, press brakes, guillotine shears and automated flexible manufacturing systems, integrated and supported by its CADMAN PC-based Windows compatible software.