The first installation of the new Hotmatic HM 35 hotforming system took place at Neumayer Tekfor in Germany in February, according to Hatebur Metalforming Equipment Ltd, the equipment builder headquartered in Reinach, Switzerland. The system is remarkable for its maximum production speed of 180 forgings per minute.
According to Habetur, the HM 35 system has induction heating and four forming stations. It is designed to produce forged parts up to 75 mm in diam. It can hot form parts from bar stock ranging in diameter from 18 to 40 mm.
As reported on its website, Neumayer-Tekfor (www.neumayer-tekfor.com) employs more than 500 at its plants in Hausch and Schmlln, Germany, and produces some 170 million parts per year, mostly for the automotive industry.
The company has an American subsidiary, Tekfor USA, in Wooster, OH, which also produces parts for the automotive industry. The American operation (www.tekforusa.com) uses a 1,600-ton high-speed horizontal hot-forging press can to produce 25,000 high-quality steel parts per shift. A 2,700-ton vertical press with an NC-controlled transfer system forges automotive parts with even thinner walls and closer tolerances.