Recently, Warmflow Engineering Co Ltd in Lisbon completed the installation of an impressive fully automatic Prima Power sheet metal processing system, which provides a complete light-off production system for the components used in the company’s household heating equipment series.
Established in 1968, Warmflow is the leading oil-fired boiler manufacturer in Northern Ireland, with more than 50 years of home heating experience in the UK, Ireland and other parts of the world.
However, its engineering department dedicated to subcontracting work has many requirements, providing a series of design, manufacturing and manufacturing solutions-mainly sheet metal-and serving a series of demanding and diverse industries. The department has passed the AS 9100 certification and holds the ASME-Section H manufacturing pressure vessel certification.
Warmflow needs to be able to produce 24 hours a day to increase production capacity and efficiency. System automation is also needed to help control labor costs and reduce reliance on highly skilled individual machine operators who are increasingly difficult to recruit. In order to design and implement a suitable solution, the company turned to Prima Power.
The system includes two fully automatic machines, a Combi Genius 1530 and a Shear Genius 1530, both of which are connected to the Night Train Genius material storage and distribution system, creating a highly productive and dynamic Prima Power flexible manufacturing system that can Full operation is automated with minimal manual intervention.
Combi Genius 1530 has a material board capacity of 1,500 mm x 3,000 mm and a maximum thickness capacity of 8 mm. It is the latest Prima Power combined punch and laser machine with a multi-station tool turret-capable of performing various tasks from punching to punching Engraving, roll forming, countersinking, tapping and indexable forming are carried out by using single and multi-tools.
Completely driven by servos, combined with a high-performance fiber laser system directly on the machine, high-speed laser cutting is used as an integral part of the process.
The ability to perform stamping, forming, and laser cutting activities on the same machine greatly improves process flexibility and speed, while eliminating the need for additional material handling between two separate machines.
For Warmflow, Combi Genius 1530 is equipped with Prima Power’s smart punch system. By rotating the punch to the position required by the required punch tool, the system allows multiple use in a fixed, non-indexable turret position. tool.
With indexable multi-tools, the hammer can further increase the tool selection speed by combining with the rotation of the indexing tool. Through this process, the number of single tools that can be used in the machine has increased significantly, allowing Warmflow to choose a 20-station turret equipped with various fixed and indexing stations, as well as multiple multi-tool units. Therefore, the machine is always equipped with the right tools for the parts to be processed.
The Combi Genius 1530 on Warmflow also has a dynamic performance package that can provide a punch force of 300kN and increase the rotation speed of shafts and indexing tools, as well as a hit rate of 1,000 holes per minute. Laser cutting is done with a 3kW fiber laser system, which is completely manufactured by Prima Electro, a sister company of Prima, and operated by the company’s own cutting head and optical system.
Prima Power LSR loading and stacking robots complement this high-performance and flexible machine for automatic loading and unloading of materials. LSR uses a series of shuttles for the stacking of raw materials delivered through the Night Train system, the removal of the material skeleton, and the finished parts picked up by the robot from the machine, which are stacked on the worktable in order during processing.
Combining the Night Train system and Prima Power’s own Tulus processing software, the software obtains material procedures and production requirements from Warmflow’s ERP system. The machine can run in fully automatic, light-off mode, and has completely reliable, accurate, and repeatable performance .
In addition, connected to the production line is Shear Genius 1530, which is Combi Genius’s brother combination machine, which can provide high-performance stamping and forming, combined with a servo-electric right-angle shearing machine, which can separate parts quickly and accurately.
Intelligent Ram and Dynamic Performance Pack are also installed on the machine, providing the same performance advantages as Combi Genius. Then, Shear Genius is equipped with a 1,000mm x 1,500mm servo-electric right-angle shearing machine, which can separate the finished parts quickly and accurately.
Shear Genius’s automation is achieved through the LD1530 loading equipment, which selects raw material boards from the waiting stack and delivers them from the night train system. The LD1530 uses a series of heavy-duty programmable suction cups to pick up the plates and uses additional equipment to ensure the correct separation and verification of the plate thickness before placing it in the clamping area of the machine. The loading device is also equipped with a PSR picking and stacking robot system for taking out and stacking various processed parts from the machine.
All Prima Power mechanical automation systems are designed and programmed to minimize interference with machine processing. The new material plates are selected and verified by the loading equipment, and then taken to the machine loading area, where they wait to be ready for quick placement when the machine unloads the final processed parts and skeleton. The unloading device works in the same way.
The core of the system is a modular and scalable Prima Power Night Train Genius material storage solution, with more than 170 material boxes installed, each with a paper capacity of 1,500 mm x 3,000 mm and a load capacity of up to 3,000 kg.
Programming and controlling this advanced installation is an easy-to-use but powerful Prima Power software suite, including the NC Express e3 Combi Premium system for importing part models and designs, part drawing, drawing nesting and post-processing functions.
Information from all Prima Power machines’ integrated Industry 4.0 functions is processed by Tulus software, providing Warmflow with all necessary data on machine performance and production status. Tulus GUI software also has a machine interface function, allowing direct control of the machine, settings and tool management through an intuitive and easy-to-operate touch screen system.
Warmflow manufacturing engineer Stewart McLaughlin has no doubt that Prima Power can deliver the project. “We have established a long-term cooperative relationship with Prima Power and have worked with them for many years as a partner. This gives us confidence in the equipment, performance, and continuous service and support we provide,” he said.
“In addition, the technology and functions on the new machine and the ability to integrate them into a fully automated, multi-process system to meet our requirements is of course a key factor.
“Technical support and backup are also very important. Prima Power has very close on-site engineering support, able to respond quickly when needed, while providing maintenance support and remote care, all of which are essential for a continuously operating system like this one. important.
“Due to its 24/7 operation capability, the new system significantly increases production capacity. New technologies and functions on the machine also increase the efficiency and flexibility of handling various component designs. Thanks to new functions, such as the laser on the Combi Genius Cutting function and product quality have also been improved.
“In general, this is a very positive experience, built on an already strong relationship. Putting such an advanced new production line into operation and adapting to new capabilities will certainly bring new challenges, but Prima Power has been effective quickly. All these challenges have been addressed and overcome.”
Barry Rooney, General Manager of Prima Power UK, agrees: “This project is a major investment and requires careful planning to ensure that all Warmflow production requirements and capacity requirements-current and future-are met.
“Like many of our projects, we conducted a detailed analysis of the part design, materials, volume, and process options, as well as the physical elements related to the machine layout and the building to be installed.
“This then develops into the final configuration, and once an agreement is reached, it will be manufactured and installed according to a detailed plan to put the machine into production, conduct training, and ensure that the system runs exactly as required.
“Overall, this allows us to determine the most suitable process technology-stamping/shearing and stamping/laser-as well as the specific configuration of these technologies and the automation required for their output.
“We also considered Warmflow’s material size and type range to specify the storage system and the architectural constraints it fits into, which in turn affected the final overall specifications,” he concluded.
Post time: Oct-08-2021