With the acquisition of the Italian company Hydromec S.r.l., SMS group is now expanding its product range in the forging press sector. Hydromec is a highly successful international player in the field of forging presses and ring rolling machines for steel, and will therefore strengthen the competitiveness of SMS group in these markets. Moreover, Hydromec has a long-term expertise in the hot forming sector of brass and aluminium. Founded in 1980 by Francesco Meschini and along with three other associates, Hydromec entered the market with the innovative design of a closed die forging press attracting new customers who immediately acknowledged the benefits of this press. Innovations in this field are continuously introduced and customers were impressed by the presses of the latest generation featuring highly advanced technological solutions. More than 500 units are installed worldwide and some customers even have several Hydromec machines in operation confirming long-term trust in the press maker. The typical products made with Hydromec presses are ball valves, gate valves, water meters and fittings for sanitary, heating and gas industries.
Hydromec mechanical presses are available in a range from 200-ton to 1,000-ton capacity, that can be equipped with one or more subpresses:
- HPE 4-ram horizontal forging subpress
- HPI adjustable 4-ram horizontal forging subpress
- HPM vertical+solid forging subpress
- HPV vertical bell-type forging subpres
Highly effective mechanical presses
The traditional HF model has already been on the market since 1980, while the design has been updated continuously over the years with the aim to have an always reliable and successful model available, maintaining the standard transmission with crankshaft. Along with HF presses, the new HF-CDS press was designed and presented to the public in 2015, featuring brandnew technology, such as a new transmission system, a kinematic drive with clutch, a flywheel and a planetary reduction gear in only one unit. Its progressive die cushion doubles the force of the die closing device ensuring high energy for deep-drawn components and flashless forgings.
Hydraulic presses for more sophisticated parts
When the market requests started to change and several companies began to think about differentiating their products with the intention to beat the strong competition in their field, the press makers have also been challenged. In 2012, Hydromec hydraulic presses of the HFH type were launched for the production of standard and special components of brass and aluminium. Hydromec’s long-time experiences in the hydraulic steel press sector were used to develop the new hydraulic system with high-level technological solutions adapted for the requirements of brass and aluminium forging. Very huge and complex pieces can be forged with this new press, whereby forces and strokes of each ram can be programmed independently and electronically, increasing the types of shapes that can be produced and making flashless forging easier.
The right solution for any customer
The typical end-user for this market segment varies according to its production sector. Italian companies usually work with many contractors ordering both large and small lot sizes of forged parts. In this case, customers look for quick die changes and high production rates to respond timely to incoming orders.
Certainly, trends differ around the world: customers forge items also for their own production, whereby the quantity is proportional to the number of sold finished parts. Consequently, turnkey plants may be offered in cooperation with renowned external suppliers to include stand-alone machines such as saws to cut bars in billets, billet graphite coating systems or gas/induction furnaces for billet heating, which are directly connected to the press by means of a chain conveyor. One last operation can be realized either by means of manual trimming presses or automatic lines with optical detection (both made by Hydromec) to eliminate burrs, should forging of flashless pieces be impossible due to shape or dimension. These plants represent a useful complement of Hydromec to non-ferrous continuous casters of SMS group installed upstream of the forging process. Through the integration of Hydromec into the worldwide sales network of SMS group bringing together customer contacts in non-ferrous markets Hydromec is going to expand its already strong Italian and European market position in China and America.