Fagor Arrasate presents its new series of laser blanking lines at BlechExpo

Fagor Arrasate, a specialist in the design, manufacture and supply of deforming and forming machine tools, presented its latest developments in intelligent stamping systems at BlechExpo. On this occasion, the spotlight was on the new series of laser cutting blanking lines, a technology aimed at automotive manufacturers and service centers to increase their productivity and improve the flexibility of their production. In addition, the company showed its latest developments in hot stamping lines, transfer presses, high cadence lines, and presses with advanced connectivity for composite materials.

The development of the new laser cutting blanking line is of great importance for Fagor Arrasate because it allows it to establish itself as a world reference in the niche of blanking lines. The new technology can incorporate several laser heads of different power ranges adapted to the characteristics of the material to be processed (steel and non-ferrous metals, mainly stainless aluminum), and it offers multiple benefits for short production series, both for OEMs and TIER1 and TIER2 of the automotive sector, as well as service centers. The great novelty of this technology is that the conventional press is replaced by a system of laser heads that make the cut in place of the die. By avoiding the unproductive times of die replacement by reference change, a significant increase in productivity is achieved in addition to the flexibility of the system itself. Simply enter the new data into the PLC to have the system active again. This characteristic makes it the ideal equipment for small series productions with frequent rotations, as well as for the development and industrialization of new parts. In addition, due to the absence of presses and dies, this technology requires less investment, making the return on investment faster.

Another of the great advantages of this technology is that these lasers have no geometric limitations unlike dies, making it possible to obtain parts of more complex geometric shapes. The flexibility when setting the laser path allows a better use of the coil, reducing waste material.

Replacing the press with lasers also allows us to obtain more compact equipment, with less height, and that require less work for installation, as there is no pit. It also saves space by not requiring a place to store the different dies. The absence of a press also makes maintenance simpler and more economical.

These installations, as is customary in Fagor Arrasate, are delivered turnkey, thanks to its experience in the integration of all the elements of a line of these features.

At BlechExpo the company presented two ranges of laser blanking. The Premium range is designed to be able to feed a line of presses replacing the line front and the single head range which is more focused on the development and industrialization of new parts. The latter is a very competitive entry-level range that aims to make this technology accessible to smaller companies or plants that do not have the requirements and needs of the Premium range.

Together with a considerable increase in the overall productivity, the laser blanking technology presented by Fagor Arrasate achieves the same precision and cutting capacity requirements as conventional blanking lines. In fact, this system enables the processing of different steels, including ultra-high strength steels (UHSS), as well as aluminum. The cutting quality is also comparable to that of a press system, with tolerances suitable even for an industry as demanding as the automobile industry.

Wide range of technologies

Fagor Arrasate also presented its latest developments and most recent projects in forming and cutting technologies in which it has a leading position.

In this sense, the latest work carried out by the company on hot stamping lines (Press Hardening) stands out. In recent years, Fagor Arrasate has consolidated its position as a turnkey supplier to OEMs in the automotive sector and it has completed several projects with delivery times of less than one year. Recently it has delivered two projects for OEMs reference, as well as several hot stamping lines for TIER1 level companies. The guarantee of having the confidence of manufacturers of this size and the great experience accumulated in our own automation systems, both transfer and feeder, offer Fagor Arrasate important growth expectations in the hot stamping sector.

One of the most outstanding projects in this field is the turnkey hot stamping line recently supplied to a reference OEM. It is equipped with two parallel roller ovens, three fully programmable loading feeders and a solution that allows automatic or manual stacking. Three loading feeders and a powerful hydraulic unit are available for handling the die. This new equipment allows for the independent transfer of each of the pieces that leave the oven to the die. Thanks to these systems, the press reaches very high speeds.

Another of the technologies to which great emphasis was given was the try-out presses. These systems allow die makers to check the accuracy and effectiveness of their products, and even test them in pre-series parts for customer verification. Fagor Arrasate try-out presses, which can be hydraulic or mechanical and include servo technology, are configured turnkey to resemble the production presses of die-cutting customers and thus simulate the process needs of the target part.

As regards cutting and stacking systems with solutions for steel, aluminum or stainless steel, good examples were presented of levelers adapted to each material, electromagnetic stacking systems, energy-efficient vacuum, hybrid or flexible systems. The latter is Fagor Arrasate's own design that incorporates a universal self-adjusting tooling patented by the company. Fagor Arrasate has introduced the linear stacking robot and its patented automated flexible gripper system with total flexibility to change references, as only one manipulator is needed for all references. The system is synchronized with the Nesting software, developed by the company.

About Fagor Arrasate

Fagor Arrasate has the broadest product portfolio in the field of metal forming and provides its customers with in-depth knowledge of the sector as a result of more than 60 years of experience. It is a founding member of the MONDRAGON Corporation, one of the largest European industrial corporations, made up of 70,000 professionals.

The Group has 17 research centers, 6 production plants and 3 Service Hubs distributed internationally to ensure global supply and after-sales service. In addition, Fagor Arrasate has a production plant in China and a dozen centers located internationally to guarantee service and direct contact with its customers, particularly in the USA, Germany, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and China. Its catalog includes leading solutions in mechanical and hydraulic presses, complete stamping systems, transfer presses, robotic press lines, press hardening, forging; cross-cutting, longitudinal, combined and multi-format lines; tension leveling lines; special systems for forming metal parts, strip profiling, flexible profiling, equipment for cutting rotor-stator and dies, among many others.