Schuler’s new Intra Trans transfer system transports parts by carriages mounted on the transfer rails within the press rather than through the press window, allowing the full width of the window to be used for material feeding so larger parts can be produced on the same press.
The Intra Trans can be retro-fitted on existing presses and each carriage of the Intra Trans can be moved individually, allowing a variety of distances between stations. Materials can also be fed from both sides, enabling the central joining of parts.
Schuler has also introduced a new blanking line combining laser methods with continuous coil feeding. The line can be used to produce a variety of blank shapes and blank contours can be optimised while production is running. Schuler points out that laser blanking lines obviate investment in dies, as well as the production time lost in changing them, making them suitable for frequent product changes. One of the new lines has been installed at ALS, based in Dormagen, Germany.