Page 33 - MetalForming November 2015

mo Presse (Vittorio Veneto, Italy) launched Sangiacomo Presses Ameri- cas in 2014, based in Huntsville, AL. By the end of 2015, the company expects to be fully operational in Huntsville.
Andy and I met with area represen- tative Tobias Prataviera for an update on the firm’s press technology, and for a tour of its nearby customer, job-shop stamper/fabricator Costam Hi-Tech S.r.l. SanGiacomo manufactures mechanical C-frame presses from 10- to 450-ton capacity, and straightside models from as little as 50 tons (popu- lar for precision work for specialty manufacturers such as watchmakers) to large 500-ton models used through- out the European automotive supply chain.
“Our presses are unique in that they all come with adjustable stroke, adjustable manually or automatical- ly,” says Prataviera. “This allows stam- pers to adjust the stroke to fit the appli- cation and the tool, which reduces tool and punch wear and optimizes cycle time.”
A glimpse at the firm’s catalog shows, for example, that a 500-ton straightside press offers automatic stroke adjustable from 0.9 to 9.8 in., and a 50-ton model offers a manually adjustable stroke of 0.5 to 4.3 in.
“Such flexibility,” says Prataviera, “allows a stamper to adapt the press for a variety of metalforming applica- tions—blanking, stamping, forming and drawing.”
In addition to conventional stamp- ing applications, Prataviera notes that the firm’s presses find great accept- ance throughout Europe for rollform- ing applications, performing pre- punching operations, and for fabricating metal closures. And, as noted, its smaller straigthtsides have become popular among companies serving the watchmaking industry, where special press features have been developed and implemented by San- Giacomo to meet that industry’s unique needs.
“For example, says Prataviera, “we’ve engineered special part-ejection sys-
tems for these precision applications.” Aside from specialty markets such as rollforming and watchmaking, it’s the big Tier One automotive suppliers throughout Europe (supplying Audi, BMW, Porsche, etc.) that keep the press
orders coming for SanGiacomo.
A quick trip up the road from San- Giacomo led us to job-shop stam- per/fabricator Costam Hi-Tech S.r.l., in San Quirino, where we toured with chief of production and part owner Cervesato Graziano. The star of the tour was a 500-ton SanGiacomo straightside press tended by a pair of robots. We spied the robot-tended press, installed in April 2014, stamping 2.5-mm-thick steel parts for textile-
Costam Hi-Tech employs this 500-ton robot-tended
press—with visual-inspec- tion station between
(see the lightbox)—to stamp parts weighing as much as 10 kg. Shown
are large parts stamped for equipment used in
textile production.
manufacturing equipment. The robots index parts in and out of a two- station die. Between die stations, the robots move stamped parts in and out of a visual-inspection station. Here, a lightbox allows a robotically actuated camera to check part dimensions and hole locations. The robot then moves approved in-process parts back into the die for a second hit.
“Two operators once tended this press,” says Graziano. “However, the blanks weigh as much as 8 kg (17.6 lb.) apiece, and finished parts weigh as much as 4.5 kg (10 lb.). The operators quickly became tired moving such heavy workpieces. With the robots, we can run more quickly and consistently, typically producing 110 finished parts/hr.
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