The result of the search: a 660-ton mechanical press, a Komatsu E2G600 two-point straightside model with a 61 by 168-in. bolster, 36.2-in. shut height and 19.7-in. stroke, capable of cycling at up to 40 strokes/min. It’s equipped with a Formtek coil line delivering 48-in. coil-width capacity and rated for 45,000-psi mild steel to 0.187 in. thick (0.312 in. material thickness at 10 in. wide). Maximum coil OD: 60 in.
“We have a history with Formtek,” Cannavo says, “and try to standardize on suppliers where we can. With this line, like our others, we put a lot of thought and time into developing the specs we’re looking for. This time we looked closely at maximum coil weight and wanted to be able to run 20,000-lb. coils to allow longer runs between coil changes. That makes us more efficient in how we bring in and store our materials. And, we went with a line capable of feeding coil to 48 in. wide to help us improve efficiency and provide more flexibility with the tools we can run.”
Coil-Line Specs
Other key coil-line specs: 50 ft./min. maximum line speed; Formtek’s ServoMax extra-high-capacity electronic roll feed, with two 6-in.-dia. feed rolls, pneumatic feed-roll lift and end-of-stock detector; 500-job memory; single-stroke and feed-and-fire operational modes; double-sided pneumatic threading table; powered stock straightener with five straightening rolls, two powered exit pinch rolls and four powered entry coil-breaker rolls; and a consolidated control package for managing the straightener, threading tables and stock reel.
CWP’s consolidated control package features a full-color touchscreen HMI, diagnostic display screens, on-screen step-by-step thread-up instructions, on-screen lubrication schedule, on-screen parts diagrams and an “auto-ready” feature for thread-up, along with digital roll-position readout for the straightener head. The line also features a fully hydraulic holddown peeler system, stock reel with spring-applied air-release drag brake and coil-loading car with hydraulic overload protection.
Expected to be up and running in December 2023, the new press line immediately will take over a handful jobs currently running in other work centers, in addition to new work specifically targeted for that press. These jobs, and other new customers, Cannavo adds, have been “tightening their standards when it comes to quality requirements, and we’ve also been investing in our quality department to meet their needs.”
Those investments in the quality department include an Excel Micro-Vu automated, camera-based gantry-style measuring system that employs programmable optical and digital zoom functions (12:1 zoom lens capable of 926X magnification) to enable its high-resolution digital camera to capture intricate geometry on parts ranging to 2.5 m long. The most recently added piece of equipment to join the quality lab: a second portable CMM capable of laser-scanning parts to 14 ft. long.
“We added that second portable CMM in July 2023 (joining a smaller unit with 9-ft. working volume) to take on longer parts,” says Cannavo. “It’s much more efficient and easier to use when scanning some of our longer parts than when using the smaller arm.” MF
View Glossary of Metalforming Terms
See also: Formtek-ME, Komatsu America Industries, LLC Press Technology Division
Technologies: Stamping Presses