British small car formed on Schuler line

Göppingen/Swindon – In 2009, Schuler's first servo press line went into operation at BMW in Leipzig. In the meantime, ServoDirect technology has become the industry standard. For the subsidiary Mini, Schuler is now supplying another servo press line, which will form body parts for the small car at the production site in Swindon in the South of England.

The line, with a total press force of more than 10,000 metric tons, is 100 percent compatible with the existing lines, ensuring maximum flexibility. With a capacity of up to 18 strokes per minute, the necessary productivity is ensured and the ServoDirect technology guarantees the best possible quality of the sensitive outer skin parts made of steel and aluminum.

In front of the line, there is a blank loader, which feeds the individual sheet metal blanks. After the subsequent centring, the main forming of the blank takes place in the drawing station – a 2,500-metric-ton servo press. In the five subsequent stations, different cutting and forming processes are used to create up to four high-precision parts at the same time, step by step. The slide movements of all presses can be adapted individually for each part to the forming process, the die and the part transport.

In 2014, the third generation of the small car Mini was introduced to the market. Stamping parts and smaller assemblies are produced in Swindon, the engines in Hams Hall near Birmingham.

Source and photo: Schuler AG