Short-stroke press increases production line, prototyping flexibility

Langzauner Perfect (Lambrechten, Austria) is exhibiting its multiprocess-capable short-stroke press concept, designed for research applications in the forming and production of composite parts in Kaiserslautern, Germany. It is well suited for customers in the aerospace, automotive and sports industries.

The short-stroke press features highly reactive parallelism and short control loops. The former means that it is possible to have direct influence on material properties, while the latter enables optimal reaction times during the pressing process. Operating rates of 800 mm/s reduce cycle times and maximize process speeds. Full press force is said to be reached in less than 1s. Parallelism accuracy of 0.007 mm (7 µm) is achievable.

An innovative infrared oven reduces energy consumption. It is mounted directly behind the press with a heating element surface area of 2 × (3,250 × 2,250 mm), and can be used to heat flat, semi-formed thermoplastic elements sized up to 3,000 × 2,000 mm. In combination with a rapidly reacting linear unit, quick and reliable transport of semi-finished fiber-reinforced composite articles into the press is ensured. The press has a clamping area of 2,000 × 3,000 mm.

With the help of the press control system, Langzauner says it is possible to individually activate up to 30 zones of the infrared heating panel. This results in a significant reduction in energy consumption and zone control from 0-100% per heat field, and thus direct attunement to material thickness.

The short-stroke press, with its high-frequency control loop, optimizes processes data with LZ perfectDATA. The system enables data registration in real time (less than 4 ms), and is capable of processing 500,000 datapoints and more. It also provides smart energy management through the control and monitoring of infrared heat fields and active status monitoring. LZ perfectDATA is web-based and compatible with all operating systems and can be extended to multiple devices along the whole process chain.