The technology enables extremely rational and cost-effective production of complexly designed components of various aluminium alloys (6000 and 7000).
By replacing conventional sheet metal with high-strength aluminium, component weight can be reduced by up to 40%, without forsaking strength. This also lays the foundation for increasing use of this type of material in cars, jets and other applications for reducing energy consumption and increasing safety.
“We have chosen AP&T as a partner for this innovation due to their long experience with the technology itself and their outstanding expertise in automation and press building. In addition, we are very pleased with the modular system which allows us to adapt line output to increases in required capacity.
"Finally, the servohydraulic press is a step forward in achieving energy efficient production to optimize the CO2 footprint of forming technologies,” said Hans-Peter Fischer, CEO of Fischer Group.
A complete, fully automatic high-strength aluminium hot forming production line from AP&T is planned to become commercially operational at fischer group’s facility in southern Germany’s Achern this summer.
The equipment includes AP&T's servohydraulic press, which enables high-precision forming control throughout the press cycle. The servohydraulic press is also considerably more energy efficient than conventional hydraulic presses.
“To start with, the line will be used for small and medium-sized manufacturing volumes, but thanks to the flexibility of our modular system of standard components, it will be possible to expand the line and scale up production at pace with demand,” says Christian Koroschetz, Chief Sales Officer at AP&T.
AP&T's solution for hot forming of high-strength aluminium has won a number of prestigious awards, including the Altair Enlighten Award and the SIQ Quality Innovation Award.
