CPT International 4/2019

COMPANY
are working on the interiors of machines
in a more advanced state. An enormous,
almost finished, cold-chamber
die-casting plant can be seen at the
front of the hall. The four horizontal
pillars on which the tool moves – and,
during operation, closes the mold cavity
for every shot and reopens it for removal
– now each have the dimensions of
streetlamps and a silvery sheen. Elsewhere
in the hall, components of clamping
units, base frames, as well as injection
& pouring units are being put
together to form modules. Hydraulic
hoses in various designs – which the
men in the Frech overalls collect centrally
for installation in the numerous
machine types – hang on a Kanban
frame. Production follows a clear plan:
one die-casting machine is constructed
here in a three-day cycle – from putting
together the individual modules, to
acceptance and preparation for
dispatch.
The order books are currently full
and, according to Dr. Ioannidis, the
company is well equipped to deal with
any economic developments. But why
has this Swabian specialist in die-casting
equipment been so successful?
A die-casting plant is lifted into
an enormous spraying chamber
for coating.
Louis Braun (left), Market Development
and Sales, Cold-Chamber
Die-Casting Machines with
Norman Klare, Manager of
Sales, Services and After-Sales.
Innovation is the key to success
The machine constructor has shaped
die-casting technology in recent decades
with a steady stream of fresh innovations:
it launched the first fully electric
zinc die-casting machine in 1999.
“Both the clamping and the casting
axles were electric,” recalls Louis Braun,
who is responsible at Frech for market
development and sales of cold-chamber
die-casting machines. The problem with
the extremely energy-efficient plants,
however, was the price (which was,
naturally, higher) so the machine ultimately
failed to assert itself. The first
hybrid plant with an electric casting
axle and a hydraulic clamping axle was
placed on the market in 2006. The system
is rapid, powerful, quiet and economical.
There are also, however, technologies
that Frech, unlike its competitors,
is not involved in. One example is the
two-plate clamping unit of cold-chamber
die-casting machines, where the
clamping system is locked hydraulically
with cylinders instead of with a mechanical
toggle lever. “We have always
used three-plate technology to provide
a stable and easy-to-maintain clamping
unit. Die casting is subject to extreme
process conditions. A toggle lever, such
as that used with three-plate technology,
is more robust in such situations
than a pressure box – which is highly
maintenance-intensive,” explains
Braun.
One of the company’s biggest innovations,
however, is yet to come: the
aluminum hot-chamber die-casting
machine. Up to now, aluminum could
only be cast using the cold-chamber
process due to its metallurgical properties.
This should change in the foreseeable
future. “Feeding of the molten
metal in the cold-chamber process takes
place via an external container. Then
the liquid aluminum melt is emptied
into a press chamber before shooting,”
explains Braun. With the hot-chamber
system, on the other hand, the pouring
flasks are integrated in the plant – with
advantages for economic efficiency and
casting quality: considerably less re-melt
material, significantly lower energy
consumption with shorter cycle times.
The hot-chamber plant for aluminum,
exhibited as a study for the first time at
GIFA in 2011, has now almost reached
technical maturity.
Time to tinker about
That this technological breakthrough is
nearing completion 70 years after the
company was founded is also the result
of Frech’s commitment to intensive
research. More than seven percent of
sales proceeds flow into research and
development. Universities and institutes,
such as Aalen University, Kassel University,
RWTH Aachen University, and
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