up
grade
Newsletter for customers, employees and partners
volume 16, issue no. 31, December 2013
News
Successful
cooperation
LASCO designed and successfuly commissioned a forging roll with dynamic roller
gap adjustment for the requirements of the
Dutch spring manufacturer VDL Weweler
recently.
Extrusion presses
in demand
Users in Russia, China and India invest in
hydraulic extrusion presses type VPA in
response to their good order situation.
Know-how
Pre-forming and
forming with rolling
machines (Part 2)
LASCO develops innovative rolling methods
with high flexibility especially for small and
medium-sized batch quantities.
In der Praxis
MVO expands
service portfolio
MVO GmbH Metallverarbeitung Ostalb in
Schwäbisch Gmünd is entering into solid
forming with a LASCO screw press in
special design.
LASCO UMFORMTECHNIK
WERKZEUGMASCHINENFABRIK
29 June – 4
July | BERLIN
Editorial
Trends + Markets
Announcement: 21st IFC in Berlin in summer 2014
Germany is hosting the
international forging industry
Friedrich Herdan
Partner and
Chairman of the Board
Langenstein & Schemann GmbH
It is time to invest!
The probably most important
“Christmas present” from the European Central Bank to the economy
is the reduction of the key interest
rate to an all-time low of 0.25 %.
Never before has credit-taking for
investments been more favourable
all over Europe; never before has
it been less profitable to hold back
money reserves.
We have to seize this opportunity
pragmatically now – weighing the
benefits and the risks commercially and factually. The national
economies in Europe need growth
to be able to gain control of their
problems with national debts. This
applies to Germany, too! To get
business activities going, industry,
trade, commerce and the service
sector must be internationally
competitive.
The key measure for improving
one’s competitive position in industry is equipment investment. The
costs of machines and lines – and
thus the costs of their financing –
are not the only decisive factors.
LASCO in its role as technology
supplier has always seen its core
task in providing solutions which
are both forward-looking and
sustainably profitable for their customers with regard to amortization.
This is especially attractive in times
when investments hardly yield
profit and investment loans are on
an all-time low.
The 21st International Forging Congress (IFC) taking place in Berlin
from 29 June to 4 July 2014 is highly anticipated by the forging industry. LASCO is supporting the presentation of top-class technical
papers as well as excursions as ambassador-sponsor.
Held every three years since 1953, this conference of experts took place in the Federal
Republic of Germany last in 2002 – a total
of only four times in 60 years. The greater is
the pleasure that – after Cologne – Berlin will
now be able to host forming experts from all
over the world and show itself in a favourable
light. The renowned event will be organised
by the European association for the forging
industry EUROFORGE (Hagen). President
José Yugedo wrote in his invitation: „The IFC
brings together all key players of the international forging world.” Moreover it provides the
ideal platform for understanding latest trends,
information on latest developments in forging
technology, benchmarking with competitors
and market leaders, discussions and networking on an international level.
The six-day event will be focussing on the
presentation of technical papers, excursions
to best practice users at home and abroad
as well as company presentations. As one
of the leading technology suppliers to the
international forging industry LASCO is also
going to present advanced solutions and new
technical developments on its stand. LASCO’s
importance as initiator and innovator in this
line of industry not least becomes obvious
by the excursion programme of the IFC:
A large number of the companies inviting
for a visit to their presentation forums use
forming solutions and automation technology from LASCO. These are e.g. the German
companies Daimler, Hammerwerk Fridingen,
Hirschvogel, Schmiedag, Schmiedetechnik
Plettenberg and Mahle as well as Alcorta
(Spain), Raymond Barré, Ateliers des Janves
and Forges de Courcelles (France), Wirsbo
(Sweden) and Parsan and Kanca (Turkey).
User industries, manufacturers of machinery
and equipment, science, politics and trade
associations make up the ambitious programme contributing introductory speeches,
presentations and keynotes.
It is time to invest!
With warmest wishes for the
Holiday Season and the New Year –
may it bring along the way health,
happiness and success to all our
business partners, friends and staff
at LASCO and their families.
Yours
Friedrich Herdan
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Energy-efficient solutions are in
the focus of LASCO‘s presentations
at the IFC. Photo: Deep-drawing
press TZP 315 with state-of-the-art
hydraulic servo direct drive.
News
LASCO developed RCW 630 So as
main forming unit
LASCO and the Dutch spring
manufacturer VDL Weweler have
cooperated in the development
of an RCW 630 So for optimizing the production of air suspensions.
Since 2001 VDL Weweler has been part of the
VDL Groep whose company culture is characterised by the principle „Strength through
cooperation”. The development of the RCW
630 So demanded the cooperation of the
machine manufacturer and the user to meet
the growing requirements of the market with
regard to repeatable quality of truck springs.
Reassured by first simulation results both
companies took the risk of venturing into new
territory with regard to processes and machine
technology.
The result is the forging roll RCW 630 So for
the near-net-shape and economical production
of springs. The new features of the LASCO
Trailing arm, produced by VDL Weweler.
RCW 630 So are two synchronous hydraulic
cylinders for the highly dynamic changing of
the roller gap during the rolling process.
This allows a very flexible and variable rolling
of contours with simple standard tools.
The springs to be rolled are manipulated by
two industrial robots with special grippers.
The movements of the robots are synchronised
via the servo roller drives.
The new forging roll is operated in VDL Weweler’s new plant in Apeldoorn (Ecofactory). The
official opening of the new production facility
took place on 29 November 2013.
In 1924 the company started as a wholesale
business in Apeldoorn dealing in replacement
parts for heavy vehicles. In 1948 the production of mechanical springs was taken up. Later
VDL Weweler pioneered in introducing air
suspensions. VDL Weweler develops, produces
and sells modern suspension systems for
trailers, trucks and buses all by itself. Another
business sector is the development of axle
lifts, parabolic springs and special axles.
Hydraulic extrusion presses for India, Russia and China
Optimum cycle times
In the last few months LASCO
succeeded in obtaining orders
for three hydraulic extrusion
presses VPA 1250.
The line for the automotive supplier GNA in
India is currently being commissioned. The
forging line for OAO Serovski Mechanitscheski
Zavod, Russia, will be despatched before
the end of the year. The third press will be
shipped to China in the middle of 2014.
Acceptance of the VPA 1250 for GNA: Ranbir
Singh, GNA President and COO (second from left)
with LASCO executives Gernot Losert, Friedrich
Herdan, Lothar Bauersachs and Dr.-Ing. Stefan
Erxleben.
All three lines are automated. Die lubrication
devices and upstream pressure water installations complement the fully automatic forging
lines. Three stations in series allow deliberate combination of the traditional extrusion
operations of backward and forward extrusion.
Optionally piercing of the slug can be carried
out in the third station.
Optimum cycle times and tool life of the
hydraulic presses are reached by means of the
powerful drives attaining pressing speeds of
up to 150 mm/s. The 1250 ton press for the
customer GNA Axles was the first of this type
to be equipped with the modern energy-saving
hydraulic LASCO servo direct drive.
GNA Axles is a leading manufacturer of drive
components, rear axle shafts, gear shafts,
axles and axle tubes. The company has two
production sites in India with a total of 2500
employees. Among its customers are OEMs
and suppliers to the automotive industry as
well as the agricultural machinery, aviation
and mechanical engineering industries.
OAO Serovski Mechanitscheski Zavod produces tools and equipment for oil production
and mining machinery as well as geological
exploration at its plant in Serov (Swerdlow
area). Electrical appliances and equipment
complement its product portfolio for customers in Russia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and China.
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Know-how
Pre-forming and forming with rolling machines (Pa
Innovative, flexible rolling m
in practice
With the forging and cross wedge rolls presented
in the first part of our feature, initial and also
finished products can be manufactured with high
productivity.
With the forging and cross wedge rolls presented in the first part of our feature, initial
and also finished products can be manufactured with high productivity.
Depending on the process and the size of the
roll, cycle times between 2.5 s and 15 s
can be reached. The lifetime of the tools,
which can be re-adjusted several times, is up
to 500,000 parts. This means that the tool
costs per part are low.
Common feature of the three rolling methods
described here is the product-independent
tool geometry created by the programmecontrolled, synchronized movement of the
machine axes.
For a product change it is mostly sufficient
to call up the corresponding CNC programme.
No further change-over procedures are required. This allows high flexibility with regard
to modified part geometries, also in case of
small numbers of pieces and batch sizes. Tool
costs are rather of minor importance.
Longitudinal roll
RCW630So with dynamic
roller gap adjustment
A roll of this type (picture 1) delivered by
LASCO some months ago (cf. article p. 3)
is used for rolling rectangular steel billets at
both ends in a particular contour.
The basic construction of this special longitudinal roll largely corresponds to traditional
forging rolls. The dynamic roller gap adjustment, however, is effected by means of two
hydraulic cylinders, each of which is coupled
with one of the two roller bearings of the up-
Picture 1: RCW 630 So with dynamic roller gap adjustment
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per roller. The diameter of the roller bodies is
630 mm, the max. rolling force is 2000 kN.
The tasks of the manipulator are fulfilled by a
specially adapted and programmed industrial
robot.
To guarantee the required repeatability of the
roller gap of ± 0.1 mm at a rolling speed of
500 mm/s and a roller gap adjusting speed
of 100 mm/s it was necessary to design the
hydraulic system as special servo-hydraulics
with accumulator.
Two standard tools are arranged on the roller
bodies next to each other, i.e. one contourless flat tool and one tool with a grooveshaped contour. During the rolling cycle the
roller gap adjustment is carried out synchronously with the rotation of the rollers.
The programme-controlled rolling out of the
contour stored in the control from the rectangular profile without changing the width of the
profile significantly was a special challenge.
Spreading, which cannot be avoided during
flat rolling in a profileless tool, is compensated by a precedent or subsequent edge
rolling process. Depending on the required
tolerances, flat and edge rolling is repeated
several times.
Know-how
art 2)
methods
Skew rolls
The production of seamless tubes is carried
out by skew rolls. On principle this happens
in three steps:
• Punching
• Elongation (stretching)
• Reducing (finish-rolling).
The LASCO skew roll was recently supplied
to a manufacturer of seamless tubes. Picture
2 is a 3D view of the compact roll frame with
Picture 4: Axial feed cross roll AVQ
Axial feed cross rolls
Picture 2: Roll frame of an STW 2500
working rollers and adjustment drives (red).
The two roller axes are skewed against each
other by a 7° angle – the right axis literally
towards the top, the left one towards the
bottom. This angle of inclination causes the
axial feed.
Within the scope of a joint research project
coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute in
Chemnitz, LASCO developed and built the
prototype of an axial feed cross roll suitable
for industrial purposes. The testing of this
prototype at the Fraunhofer Institute has been
largely completed so that we can already
report on the results.
An additional offset of the axes perpendicularly to the skew level allows the adjustment
of the entry angle independently of the
contour of the working roller. In the roller gap
the billet is held in position by an upper and
a lower supporting roller. The upper supporting roller is adjustable in height.
Skew and offset of the roller axes require
relatively long shafts between the actual roll
and the drives.
The punch drive with the punch bearing is
located between the two shafts. For loading
purposes the punch is retracted. The prepunched billet is fed to the punch with its
opening. Then the punch pushes it between
the two rollers as it advances.
addition, particular attention is paid to the
suitability of this method for high-temperature materials like titanium and nickel-based
alloys.
First trials with a titanium material (TiAl6V4)
resulted in a diameter reduction of 42 %
in two passes (cycles). A max. reduction of
33 % was achieved with nickel-based alloys
(NIMONIC 80 A).
More substantial diameter reductions may be
achieved by additional passes. The surface
of the work-piece can be improved by lower
radial feed and lower advance during the last
pass.
Picture 3: Schematic view of the AVQ
Picture 3 shows the schematic structure of
the axial feed cross roll. The two roller tools
are driven via frequency controlled motors.
Radial and axial feed of the work-piece are
effected via hydraulic cylinders. The machine
is controlled by a PLC with integrated CNC
control.
Trials with steel materials offer similar possibilities of diameter reduction as they are
known from cross wedge rolling. In these
trials the known process window of reduction (16 % ≤ εd ≤ 58 %) could be extended
downwards. Even with a diameter reduction of
2.5 % no surface defects occurred.
Billets in a diameter range between 30
mm and 60 mm and lengths of up to 600
mm can be rolled. The tests are aimed at
exploring the limits of this rolling method. In
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Internal
Spotlights
LASCO continued to increase efforts in
its vocational training that are already
above avarage: With the new apprentices who started their vocational
training in September their overall
number has increased by 10% to
55. On 1 September 2013 18 young
people started their apprenticeship at
LASCO in eight qualified jobs. Most
popular are the technical jobs of
industrial mechanics, cutting machine
operators, mechatronic and electronics technicians. In addition there are
three commercial trainees as well as
two trainees as IT clerks. Furthermore
another training contract for an integrated degree programme in business
administration (Bachelor of Arts &
industrial clerk) was concluded.
Cause for joy was Christian Staude’s examination
performance who finished
his vocational training as
mechatronic technician at
Christian
LASCO in summer with
grade 1.3 as best gradu- Staude
ate of the trainee programme in the
district of the Chamber of Commerce
in Coburg. He won special recognition
from the District Government of Upper
Franconia. Anton Staudigl, head of
the vocational School in Coburg, his
deputy Rolf Sander and form teacher
Roland Dier presented a certificate
and a cash prize. LASCO, where
Staude did his apprenticeship, honoured this outstanding final exam with
an additional bonus of 1,000 EUR.
10 years with LASCO
Benedikt Büchner
Georg Pfeuffer Daniel Resch Stefan Trier
01.09.2013
01.09.2013
01.09.2013
01.09.2013
25 years with LASCO
Erika Bansemir
Renate Malsch Michael Paulus
01.09.2013
01.09.2013
01.09.2013
40 years with LASCO
Reiner Puff Lothar Schubert
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01.09.2013
01.09.2013
From left: Gernot Losert (Managing Director), Michael Paulus, Erika Bansemir, Lothar Schubert, Renate Malsch,
Thomas Koppitz (Works Council Chairman), Reiner Puff and Lothar Bauersachs (Managing Director).
LASCO thanks staff members for
performance and loyalty
LASCO appreciates performance
and loyalty of five members of
staff who have been working for
the company for many years.
the responsibility for the dispatch of LASCO
machines in flawless condition. The technical
acceptance of large-volume welding constructions and castings at suppliers’ premises
complements his responsible tasks.
In an official ceremony the managing directors
Gernot Losert and Lothar Bauersachs appreciated the job anniversaries of Reiner Puff
and Lothar Schubert (both 40 years) as well
as those of Erika Bansemir, Renate Malsch
and Michael Paulus (25 years). As recognition for their commitment they were awarded
anniversary certificates, loyalty bonuses and
decorations of the Board of Trustees of Bavarian Employers as well as honorary certificates
of the Chamber of Commerce.
Erika Bansemir joined LASCO 25 years ago as
a payroll clerk. As early as 1996 she was appointed group manager for personnel matters
of the industrial employees. From the beginning Ms Bansemir was in charge of payroll
accounting and all administrative tasks in this
field. In addition she is responsible for the
travel department and always provides helpful
assistance to all LASCO employees who are
away on business.
Reiner Puff passed his apprenticeship as
machine fitter at LASCO and has then been
working at high capacity boring mills for
cutting. In 1977 he qualified as foreman in
metalworking. He broadened his knowledge
by a basic course in probability calculation
methods (REFA) for work studies and additional further education at the Chamber of
Commerce in Coburg. His commitment and
expert knowledge contributes to the excellent
reputation of LASCO.
Lothar Schubert also passed his apprenticeship as machine fitter at LASCO and then
worked as a cutting mechanic in the company
– initially at the first CNC-controlled milling machine from 1986 among others. After
comprehensive further education in the field
of quality management he has been working as quality control inspector and shared
Renate Malsch has been in charge of the
company canteen for 25 years and has found
her calling in this task. She perfectly caters
for staff and business partners alike. Before
joining LASCO Ms Malsch was already working
at LASCO for an external catering company.
When LASCO decided to have a canteen of its
own, she switched companies and started to
manage it.
Michael Paulus joined LASCO as an apprentice 25 years ago and passed his exam as
industrial clerk „with special credit” given
by the government of Upper Franconia. Until
2010 he worked in the shipping department
and had to make sure that machines and lines
reached their destinations world-wide on time
and in impeccable condition. Since then he
has been caring for the trouble-free access to
material and machine components in warehouse logistics.
Internal
Physics taught differently: school students from the
grammar school Albertinum in Coburg watching
the effect of energy at a LASCO screw press. In the
picture (back row from left): Siegmar Schnabel,
General Executive Manager, and Rainer Kissing,
Head of Vocational Training, from the Chamber
of Commerce Coburg, Gernot Losert, Managing
Director LASCO, Friedrich Herdan, President of the
Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Board
Langenstein & Schemann, Jochen Günnel, Deputy
Sales Manager as well as Mathias Taubmann,
graduate physicist (front) (both LASCO).
LASCO promotes projects in Coburg
From theory into practice
Grammar school students get intensive knowledge of mathematics
and physics. Often, however, do they realise only late what concrete
problems they can solve with such knowledge. New projects in
Coburg, in which LASCO is playing a leading role, are aiming at encouraging the early application of theoretical knowledge in practice.
Junior engineer pass 2.0
This project is a cooperation of leading industrial enterprises in the area with the grammar
school Ernestinum, the University of Applied
Sciences and the Chamber of Commerce in
Coburg. The pilot project provided eleven
technically-minded school students of the
ninth form the opportunity to gain practical technical experience where know-how
flows into products in demand world-wide.
The companies Brose Fahrzeugteile, LASCO
Umformtechnik, Waldrich Coburg and Kaeser
Fairs + Dates
IMTEX
Bangalore, India
23.01. – 28.01.2014
Hannover Messe
Hanover, Germany
07.04. – 11.04.2014
Kompressoren give access to their vocational
training centres and their apprentices pass on
practical knowledge to the school students.
The Institute for Sensor and Actuator Technologies at the University of Applied Sciences
is also involved.
The aim of the project is to enable young
people to produce a work-piece themselves.
In this case it was a desk clock with temperature display and mobile holder that required
technical knowledge and craftsmanship such
as designing, cutting and soldering. At the
Chamber of Commerce the school students
learnt about costing of the work-piece as well
as marketing possibilities. According to Vice
President Prof. Dr. Krahl from the University
of Applied Sciences this project also offers the
opportunity to get more familiar with the tasks
of a graduate engineer.
Physics taught at school
meets mechanical engineering
14 school students from the grammar school
Albertinum in Coburg recently got first-hand
insight in production processes of a modern
mechanical engineering company. Within the
scope of their school subject physics they
organized a workshop at LASCO, in which
they calculated the potential and kinetic
energy taking the example of a screw press
with direct drive. The effects of the calculated
forming energy could then be seen during the
flattening of copper with a screw press.
„This project perfectly complements other
measures for choosing a career”, said
Friedrich Herdan, Chairman of the Board
Langenstein & Schemann and President of
the Chamber of Commerce. He emphasized
the importance of such projects for school
students with regard to the sustainable
development of skilled labour for the region.
He continued that the integrated degree
programme with the opportunity to study
mechanical engineering afterwards should be
promoted more intensively.
Metalloobrabotka
Moscow, Russia
16.06. – 20.06.2014
IFC (Int. Forging Congress)
Berlin, Germany
29.06. – 04.07.2014
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Volume 16, issue no. 31 – December 2013
Herausgeber: LASCO Umformtechnik GmbH
Hahnweg 139 - 96450 Coburg
Chefredaktion: Dr.-Ing. Stefan Erxleben
Fotos: LASCO Umformtechnik, MVO GmbH
Metallverarbeitung Ostalb, IHK zu Coburg,
Georg Weber.
Schools, university and industry in Coburg are jointly introducing school students to practice. LASCO is
one of the founder members of the initiative at the company headquarters in Coburg.
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7
In practice
Interview
New start in solid forming at MVO
Dr.-Ing. Niels Vieweg
Managing Director
MVO GmbH Metallverarbeitung Ostalb,
Schwäbisch Gmünd (Germany)
Promising
up grade: Dr. Vieweg, what are the
advantages the new LASCO screw press SPR
1250 So offers to MVO?
Dr.-Ing. Niels Vieweg: Due to our highprecision forging process with tolerances in
the range of one thousandth we need a press
with high repeatability. The LASCO screw
press SPR 1250 So fulfils these requirements,
as this press type has shown a tolerance of
less than one percent in all speeds.
up grade: The term „So” in the type
designation stands for „special design”. How
important was it for you to be able to order
special features?
Vieweg: Very positive effects resulted from
the fact that LASCO is able to offer – and
also realise – complete solutions which range
from automation solutions to the tailor-made
engineering of machines. Without wanting
to reveal details relevant for competition we
can say that a so-called „wide body” press
was realised in close constructive cooperation
between LASCO and MVO which led to the
optimisation of the forging process.
Additional know-how
MVO GmbH Metallverarbeitung Ostalb in Schwäbisch Gmünd is one
of the world’s leading manufacturers of components for automobile
steering systems. Now warm solid forming has also been taken up in
production with a LASCO screw press SPR 1250 So. The enterprise
will not be on unknown territory, however.
In 2011 MVO GmbH was merged with
Bishop Steering Technology GmbH (Cologne/
Germany) within the Georgsmarienhütte
(GMH) group after the GMH holding had
taken over the Australian Bishop group. Thus
MVO is now profiting from Bishop’s know-how
particularly in forging. Bishop has been using
specially optimised LASCO screw presses
for its patented hot forging process for the
production of steering racks.
MVO produces high-quality components for
the steering and undercarriage sectors. The
MVO portfolio includes semi-finished steering
racks, pre-finished racks as well as gear
shafts and common-rail components.
Thus forging complements MVO’s procedural
expertise now, which helps MVO to expand
its vertical range of manufacture and to
consolidate its competitive position. The
1250 ton screw press from LASCO is used for
the production of steering racks and designed
for continuous operation in 3 shifts of 8 hours
each on 300 days a year.
up grade: With this unit MVO took up
hot solid forming. Were there many initial
difficulties in practice?
Vieweg: With the acquisition of the Australian
company Bishop, the market leader in
developing the warm forging of steering
racks for the automotive industry, we could
draw on almost 20 years’ experience with
LASCO screw presses. Of course, there were
certain initial difficulties – as with any other
project of that scale. These were, however,
countered at once and highly efficiently.
Cooperation has developed so well that MVO
is having large-scale tools of up to 12 tons
manufactured by LASCO meanwhile.
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LASCO SPR 1250 So – since April
2012 successful in continuous
operation at MVO GmbH
With the „Bishop method” peeled and
washed round material is partially heated
up to approx. 780°C in an induction heating
system. An industrial robot takes over the
billet at the transfer point of the heating
system and deposits it into the patented
forging die. The complete toothing of the
y-shaped steering rack is manufactured in one
stroke by the closing of several die parts.
The forming process is the key operation
in production, as the tooth profile is not
machined anymore.
LASCO precision screw presses are driven by
special reversible motors which are directly
connected to the flywheel. The use of a
frequency converter not only provides highest
energy efficiency (energy recovery), but also
allows stepless high-precision control of the
forming energy between 1% and 100% of the
nominal capacity. The SPR 1250 So specially
optimised for the process requirements
of MVO is equipped with handling and die
lubrication robots as well as tool changing
systems.