Schuler supplies hydraulic press line to Renault

Schuler, Canton, Mich., has announced the installation of a hydraulic press line with automation at Renault Trucks. The line can produce 22 parts/min. and achieve speeds of up to 11 SPM with bed-slide surfaces of 13.5 by 8 ft. Schuler also supplied a hydraulic lead press with 2,000 metric tons of press force and three hydraulic follow-up presses with 1,000 metric tons of force each as part of the press line, as well as the blank loader and other automation equipment.

The blank loader separates the individual blanks from each other with the aid of fanning magnets so the robot picks up a single blank from the pile to place on the conveyor belt. In the subsequent optical centering station, individual blanks are captured on camera and coordinates are sent to the loading robot. The latter then places the blanks centrally and in the correct position into the die of the lead press, making it ready for deep drawing. The parts then are given their final shape in the follow-up presses. Crossbar robots transport the parts from station to station before they are laid on one of the exit conveyors.

Renault Trucks can use both the existing dies of an older press line and specially developed dies for the production of the new truck cabins. With the aid of an automatic changing system, machine operators can exchange the complete press die set and robot tooling in less than 5 min. More than 80 different die sets are used on the line.