Chinese construction sector investment generates order for Schuler forging presses

Mller Weingarten, a subsidiary of the Schuler Group, Canton, Mich., is installing two forging presses and automation equipment at Shandong Shantui Construction, a construction machine manufacturer in Jinging, China. The manufacturer will use the machines to modernize and expand its production of crawler tracks and support rollers for construction vehicles in preparation for China's expanding construction market.

According to Germany Trade and Invest, the foreign trade and inward investment agency of the Federal Republic of Germany, China is channeling some $220 billion into the building sector; over $11 billion into expanding the country's railway network, $39 billion for road construction, and $70 billion for hydroelectric power, environmental projects, and public facilities.

The lines will be used to manufacture chain links and deflection rollers for the crawler tracks.

One press line, with a force of 3,500 tons and a maximum of 40 SPM, will form steel blanks into chain links in five stations under one slide. The press includes a mechanical slide and bed ejector, as well as a slug feeder for the automatic feeding of blanks from the induction heater into the press. Inside the press, a servo transfer system handles the automatic transport of parts to the various forming stations. A cooling and lubricating system is integrated into the press to cool and lubricate the dies. It is moved automatically into the die area via the slide after each press stroke.

The second press line will produce the track support rollers. The screw press, with a screw diameter of 18 in., delivers an increased press force of up to 3,600 tons. The direct-drive system with AC motor provides up to 16 SPM. The line also includes two robots for feeding the steel blanks into the press and for removing the formed rollers from out of the press and transferring them to the deburring press. The press is equipped with a hydraulic slide and bed ejector, while the peripheral equipment of the screw press includes a robot with a die cooling and lubricating device.