06 Aug Tarkmet has designed and manufactured a fully customised C press for its customer
Tarkmet has supplied its customer with a fully customised C-frame press with NC control. Because the objective was to speed up assembly, every possible stage related to pressing has been automated.
Harri Krook, designer at Tarkmet/Destec, explains that this is a unique machine.
“The press contains a great deal of automation and has been tailored precisely for our customer’s assembly process. Speed was also improved by increasing the pressing speed, which is as much as 80 mm a second, while ordinarily presses have a speed of about 10 mm a second.”
The press has two integrated cylinders
The biggest difference with other presses is the fact that this C press has two cylinders, one integrated inside the other. This enables two-step pressing. The development of the double cylinder solution required a great deal of effort because it needed to be integrated with the NC control system.
“The two cylinders made designing the control system extremely demanding because I haven’t seen a similar solution anywhere before. The pressing process is programmed using a touch screen, which makes series production easier. The controller can be loaded with various programmes, and the pressing force, depth and speed are all adjustable. Thanks to automation, every piece in a series will be identical.”
Krook explains that every pressing event is recorded in the press log file, which makes for top-class traceability. The press can also be operated manually.
A conveyor brings tools back to the user
The press has a revolving table with two positions for workpieces. While one piece is being pressed, the other can be assembled ready for the pressing stage.
“The press is also equipped with a conveyor that is under the revolving table. It brings the tools back to the user after the pressing stage. This means that the operator doesn’t have to waste time handling the tools. We also made the tools for the press so that they match it exactly.
Safety issues have also been carefully addressed in the design of the C press. It has plexiglass shields and light curtains that make sure the user is not inside the protected area. If the user is inside it, the press suspends work automatically.
Krook points out that Tarkmet is able to manufacture similar solutions also for other customers. Tarkmet has sold presses to companies in the Nordic and Arab countries and South Europe so far. The company has decades of experience in manufacturing presses.
“We are more than happy to manufacture similar presses for other customers too. We map the needs of every customer carefully and customise the presses to match their intended use,” Krook explains.
