Page 10 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian

News Fronts
Facilities
Automated Slitting Line Headed to Steel Technologies
Steel and aluminum processor Steel Technologies LLC, Louisville, KY, has ordered a new fully automated slitting line from Fagor Arrasate, to be installed at its Portage, IN, facility. The line will be able to process steel and aluminum coils to 72 by 3⁄8 in., and includes Fagor’s FASTR slitter tooling robot. Also included: automatic robotic de-banding, to enable safe coil loading; automatic threading cycles, to minimize operator inter- vention; and fully automatic CNC separators throughout the tension and recoiling sections.
Fagor Arrasate recently opened a new technical service facility in Portage, 5 min. from the Steel Technologies site.
Bosch Rexroth to Expand
its Factory Automation Capabilities
Bosch Rexroth plans to expand its operations and move its linear and assembly technology manufacturing facility to a new location in Charlotte, NC, to meet increased demand for facto- ry-automation solutions. It plans to break ground on the new facility in mid-2023, with completion slated for summer 2024. The facility will boast a total footprint of 227,500 sq. ft., 25 percent larger than the firm’s current facility, and have addi- tional room for future expansion. Within the new space, approximately 200,000 sq. ft. will be dedicated to lean manu- facturing and logistics, with the remainder dedicated to a cus- tomer showroom and innovation center, training facilities, col- laboration space, office space and a flexible galleria that can be used for co-working space, dining, townhall meetings and other activities.
Automatic Feed Receives 3rd Leveler Order
from Canadian Metal Service Center
Automatic Feed Co. (AFCO), Napoleon, OH, has received an order for an eXtra Large Capacity (XLC) leveler from a southern- Ontario, Canada, service center and coil processor serving the automotive market. Capable of handling coil widths 84 in., the leveler—the service center’s third from AFCO—will be integrated with customer-owned equipment in the summer of 2023.
Designed to accommodate a variety of material strengths and thicknesses using different cassettes, the XLC leveler will include two cassettes, each with different work-roll diameters. Also included: an auto dual-cassette change table, which enables changeout in less than 4 min.; and an independent cas- sette-style pinch roll located at the exit end of the leveler, which consists of two full-width chromed rolls in a modular assembly for rapid and easy cassette replacement.
The leveler housing provides 140-ton capacity for work-roll penetration of material at the leveler entry and exit and is designed for a line running as fast as 90 m/min. AFCO’s Leveler Calculator is included, assisting operators in making the neces- sary leveler-setting changes based on the required coil correction.
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