September 07, 2012

Sumitomo Heavy Industries Techno-Fort Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Niihama, Ehime prefecture, Japan; president: Kazuto Kaneshige; wholly owned by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd.; hereinafter “STF”) and Yamanaka Eng Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan; president: Masahito Yamanaka; hereinafter “Yamanaka Eng”) have developed a servomotor-driven forging press capable of 1,200 tons of pressure, and have set up the equipment at Yamanaka Eng’s Tokyo plant (located in the city of Sakura in Chiba prefecture, Japan). For a forging servopress, the equipment’s 1,200 tons of pressure is the largest ever put into practical use, and the innovative press features levels of high rigidity and high precision that place it beyond its competing products at other companies.

In the development of the servopress, STF was responsible for the press proper, while Yamanaka Eng handled the dies and peripheral mechanisms. The equipment was completed over a development period that lasted about 1.5 years. The combination of a servomotor-driven main slide and a high-precision, hydraulic servo unit makes possible a multiaxial motion with a total of 4 axes, and achieves high-precision molding.

One of the main characteristics of the servo mechanism is that its rate of pressure increase and its slide motion can be freely set to the level most suitable for a given application. STF developed the new press based on the machine forging press technology the company has cultivated in the field of warm forging, while Yamanaka Eng applied its technical expertise accumulated across over 50 years of experience in cold forging to the die design and peripheral mechanisms of the new press. In the future, the two companies will make joint use of the new press in their plans to develop new products, in particular forged components for automobiles. The technology is expected to contribute to the expansion of new orders by meeting the needs of users who demand products with high added value.


■ Characteristics of the servomotor driver
1) Rate of pressure increase and the slide motion are controllable, leading to improved formability
2) Easy maintenance due to lack of clutch or brakes
3) Uses the minimum required amount of power, and operates with reduced noise and vibrations