Tool Shop
Tool Shop
Hemming machines for Body Shops
on a grand scale New portal milling centre produces larger parts
Parameters of the new machine
The machine’s clamping surface measures 5 × 3.5 metres
The traverse rate reaches 40 metres per minute
It can accelerate by 3.4 metres per second
It reaches a maximum of 20,000 revs per minute
Its capacity is 7,800 hours a year
n the Tool Shop, the innovation that has already replaced the inadequate FSQ 100 and 125 milling machines is mainly used to produce hemming machine components. These components are used to assemble panel parts: doors, bonnets and boot lids. Hemming produces a firm mechanical connection between the inner structural weldment and the external surface pressing.
“The previous machines were no longer able to meet the current technological machining standards and could hardly make parts with the quality required”, is how Jan Kamenský, who is in charge of the machinery development in the Tool Shop, describes the situation before the change. The new CNC centre is several times bigger than its predecessors and makes it possible to machine even large parts of hemming machines or parts for the preparation of side panels. “Previously, we managed to make only the parts of side doors. Other larger parts, such as the bonnet or the boot lid, had to be done amid difficulties in external cooperation,” adds Jiří Kejmar from the technical preparation of jig production.
The new machine enables us to increase productivity by up to 45 percent compared with the previous technology. In terms of money, the benefit is around EUR 250,000 a year. The machine is also a boon to our employees, who can now make a workpiece in one go without having to turn it or move it on the tool bench, which was a very demanding task in the past on both a technical and a physical scale. The machine also has one of the most modern CNC types to improve the comfort of operation and control. The equipment is complemented by several industrial cameras that make it possible to monitor the process directly on the control panel. “This is a crucial investment of the Tool Shop to enable us to maintain and develop our technological know-how in milling. It can help us to supply hemming machines not only to the ŠKODA AUTO body shops but also other sites of the VW Group”, concludes Kamenský. Štěpán Vorlíček
20
The number of shifts the machine can handle
4
It is operated by four employees (one per shift)
2,350,000
The total investment in euros
250
It is placed on a foundation (reinforced-concrete cube) of 14 × 10 × 1.8 m. (approx. 250 m3)