The 40-tonne counter-blow hammer press, the company’s largest single investment for almost 40 years, will have the equivalent power of a 20,000-tonne hydraulic press, enabling the production of precision forgings of up to 250kg, depending on the material. The power and automation capabilities of the DG40 Bêché mean Mettis will also be able to forge some large components faster and more cost-efficiently than many other forging companies.
The total Plattern or bolster footprint of the hammer is 2m in length by 1.3m in width, allowing Mettis to produce even larger forgings than before. The company now has over 60 forging units and the highly-skilled teams are experts at working with a diverse range of materials including aluminium, titanium, steel alloys and more.
The DG40 Bêché formed a multi-million-pound project and its installation was an extensive operation. The press weighs the equivalent of over 200 cars so Mettis had to invest heavily in foundations as well as supporting facilities.
Jeremy Cieslik, chief operating officer, said: “With this new power comes greater capability and capacity to open new platforms to exceed our future customer needs. Applying this, along with our agility, responsiveness and innovation, to new products and processes gives us a total production system game changer.”
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