In June 2021, luxury automaker Porsche (Stuttgart, Germany) and Schuler (Göppingen, Germany) began operation of a fully connected press shop in Halle, Germany. This Smart Press Shop features a state-of-the-art laser blanking line from Schuler equipped with two cutting heads for processing strip material with a width of up to 1880 mm. Blanking lines with lasers do not require expensive and heavy blanking dies, which is why they are particularly suitable for the production of new parts or small batch sizes with frequent product changes.
The continuously moving coil material is processed into blanks at high laser cutting speeds. A high output is achieved because of tooling-free scrap separation. Sensitive metals, such as aluminum, can also be processed due to a controlled materials feed.
The Laser Blanking Line is the ideal solution for this Smart Press Shop, which focuses on the production of aluminum outer skin parts in small batch sizes. By recording various measured values of the system as well as the coil material and by smart marking of the blank, the 20-strokes-per-minute line supplies the blanks for the subsequent 20-strokes-per-minute servo press line that forms the point of departure for a “Track and Trace” system.