2009-11-30

Momento heat presses with the help of AP&T

Hot blank. The blanks are heated up by induction before being fed into the tool and formed into impact sockets.

When you manufacture the best impact sockets in the industry, you also want full control over all critical production steps. Swedish Momento needed greater capacity and wanted to prepare production for future products. The first step toward a successful future included bigger facilities and a new press cell with an AP&T press.

The impact sockets used in the assembly industry, power industry or by your car mechanic are in all likelihood manufactured in Momento's factory in Flen. The company was established in the early 1950s and manufactures impact sockets with a width across flats ranging from 3 to 300 millimeters. Memento knows what pros expect from a socket.

“When an assembly line in the automotive industry has to stop because a socket in a robot spindle is broken, it doesn't take long to understand that product quality is a deciding factor for our customers,” says Momento production manager Torbjörn Lund.

Great demand
With increased demand for Momento sockets, production capacity soon reached its limits – even though production continued around the clock. Capacity had to increase for the company to be able to offer fast and reliable deliveries.

“In addition to standard sockets, we also manufacture special sockets with just a few weeks of lead time. That's why we need security in the form of a little overcapacity,” explains Torbjörn Lund.

Momento also wanted the ability to form even larger impact sockets with the help of the heat pressing method the company uses for smaller sockets.

Heat pressing vital
An important benefit of the heat pressing, a type of forging method, is that the structure of the metal is maintained, which in turn generates a more durable socket. The solution was a completely new automated press cell with a hydraulic press from AP&T that is served by a six-axis robot with gripper. The blanks are heated in an induction oven and are fed into the press tool by a robot that also picks the hot socket out after forming.

“Heat pressing is the heart of socket production since this step is vital to the properties of the end product,” says Torbjörn Lund.

Power with precision
Heat pressing requires high press forces in combination with fine tolerances. The AP&T press has 630 tons of press force. Its combination of load-sensing hydraulics with servo hydraulics together with the other three hydraulic cylinders gives Momento the ability to achieve fine tolerances without complicated press tool solutions. It also enables them to heat press larger sockets.

Positive experiences deciding factor
AP&T is responsible for the press and its interface with the automation while Momento is responsible for automation, machine protection and CE marking. Momento already has a number of AP&T presses and has had a good partnership with the company since the early 1990s, which weighed heavily in the choice of supplier even though the decision was never a given.

“Naturally, we also evaluated other suppliers. But, AP&T's solution together with our positive experiences with the company's level of service was the deciding factor,” explains Torbjörn Lund.

More efficient production
The new press cell is the first production unit in a completely new hall that doubles Momento's production area. The intention is to not only be able to grow in the future but also move some existing equipment to make production flows more efficient. Socket manufacturing involves several production steps beyond heat pressing. After heat pressing, the socket undergoes lathing, hardening and surface treatment before it is ready for delivery. Making all steps of production flow more efficient gets the sockets to the customers even faster.

Information about the company: AP&T AB