SHEET METAL
Thick coil for the latest commercial vehicles
BPW Bergische Achsen KG produces parts from high-strength steel with up to twelve- millimeter gages using Schuler presses and thick coil lines
truck trailers and semi-trailers leave BPW’s main plant in Wiehl near Cologne, Germany, every year. The innovative mobility partner and system partner for the transport industry uses steel coil with gages of up to twelve millimeters – so-called thick coil – in its production. In order to produce such rigid parts from mostly high-strength materials, the family-run company has long relied on two 1,600-metric-ton presses, together with coil lines and levelers, supplied by Schuler. “The new production concept
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we introduced some years ago was a giant leap forward for us,” recalls Hartmut Schmidt, Director of Operations at BPW. “We previously used presses with forces of 400 to 630 metric tons. The challenge was to find an economic way of producing the parts and to integrate it into our production flow. The old
round one million brake shoes and half a million supports for the running gear of
machines weren’t able to achieve this with the necessary quality and output levels. In 2006, we
The basic material for such rigid parts is steel coil with gages of up to twelve millimeters – so-called thick coil.
26 IMT September 2015
therefore decided to set up a completely new press center. As a one-stop shop for both press and automation equipment, Schuler was an obvious front-runner.” This concept has also been embraced by BPW itself – as a system partner for vehicle manufacturers, the company can provide its customers with complete systems and extensive services, as well as individual components like brake shoes and supports, from a single source. The thick coil sector for such products in Germany and Europe is not exactly large: “Most suppliers produce for the automotive or domestic appliance industries where thick coil already starts at three to four millimeters,” says Schmidt. As a consequence,
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For the production of its running gear components, BPW relies on two 1,600-metric-ton presses, together with coil lines and levelers, supplied by Schuler.
equipment which can straighten, blank and form coil of up to twelve millimeters is quite rare: “I’m convinced that we’ve found a competent and reliable press manufacturer in Schuler.”
Joint development of leveler When using such thick materials, BPW attaches great importance to keeping waste to a minimum, as scrap costs for thick coil are correspondingly high. The possibility of nesting – i.e. placing numerous parts with the smallest possible gaps between them
Photo source: Schuler
Photo source: Schuler
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