The AP&T servohydraulic deep drawing press line acquired for production at Meconet’s Äänekoski factory in 2022 is the most significant machine investment in the company’s history. This machine, delivered by Fredko, is also the first of its kind in Finland.
Factory Manager Jarmo Räisänen, Deep Drawing Business Director Miikka Riittinen and Fredko Oy’s Managing Director Pasi Pitkänen by Finland’s first AP&T servohydraulic deep drawing press line.
– Automation of part handling is one of the key opportunities for cost savings in serial production. The automation of our new AP&T deep drawing press is at the forefront of development in its field, says Räisänen, outlining future visions.
Meconet’s history is exceptional in Finnish business life, as the company’s roots go all the way back to 1896, when Viktor Wilhelm Holmberg founded V.W. Holmberg Oy. This means the company has accumulated experience across three centuries. After various phases, the company has operated under the name Meconet since 2001. Today, Meconet operates through six units in four different countries: Finland, Estonia, Sweden and Germany.
Meconet also has long traditions in Äänekoski, where the company has modern 8,500 m² production facilities completed in 2020. The Äänekoski unit has become a center of expertise for deep drawing technology and employs around one hundred professionals. In total, Meconet employs approximately 450 people.
Meconet’s Äänekoski factory is a contract manufacturer for major international customers. Indirectly, around 90 percent of its products end up in export markets. – Here, we use deep drawing and further processing technologies mainly for sheet materials under 3 mm thick. Our customer relationships are typically long-term, and innovation cooperation with customers plays a central role, says Miikka Riittinen, Deep Drawing Business Director.
– Support for the customer during the product development phase plays an important role. Our aim is to manufacture deep-drawn products that are simply challenging. For example, one deep-drawn product has replaced 27 separate parts that were previously joined together,” Riittinen says.
Factory Manager Jarmo Räisänen explains the possibilities offered by deep drawing: – Deep drawing makes it possible to reduce material thickness, thereby lowering CO2 emissions. By integrating functions, shapes can be created that reduce, for example, the need for welding.
Employee numbers have tripled with robotization
– The first deep-drawn product here in Äänekoski, an oil can, was manufactured as early as 1911, so we have accumulated more than one hundred years of deep drawing expertise. We have also been successful in recruitment — we have a truly skilled team here, and employment relationships with us have traditionally been long. Expertise has also been built up on the office side, including automation expertise, as well as in production. We continuously aim to strengthen our capabilities so that we can meet the growing and demanding challenges of our customer base, Räisänen summarizes the company’s competence. He continues: – Automation is also one answer to the labor challenge. Automation attracts new professionals, because through automation, people gain access to interesting roles. Since we acquired our first robot, the number of production employees has almost tripled, and we currently already have 10 robots in our production, Räisänen says.
– With our expertise, and by investing in both production facilities and technologies, we have managed well through even the challenging times of recent years, and even in these times we have achieved growth. We have also found new customers, for example in Central Europe, Riittinen says.
– We have a clear strategy to continue growing profitably. Our visions already extend ten years ahead so that we can remain at the forefront of development, Räisänen says, describing future plans.
More versatile and larger products with modern AP&T technology
Meconet has several AP&T machines in its production. – Our good experiences with AP&T played a major role when acquiring the new equipment, as did the good cooperation with the factory and with Fredko, the machine importer. When weighing up machine choices, we considered several different alternatives. In addition to our good AP&T experiences, the technological solutions and the proximity of the factory in our neighboring country Sweden, where we visited in advance, were important factors, Räisänen summarizes the reasons behind the machine selection.
– The ramp-up of the machine into our production went surprisingly smoothly with support from Fredko and the AP&T factory, as well as proactive training, Räisänen says appreciatively.
With the modern, fully automatic, servo-controlled deep drawing press installed in the new Deep Forming Technology Center in Äänekoski, Meconet can efficiently manufacture larger and more complex sheet metal products than before.
The system consists of a 1,600 tonne servohydraulic ODEN deep drawing press supplied by the Swedish company AP&T, with two moving die tables measuring 3,000 x 2,200 mm. The DST loading unit feeds the pre-cut blank into the press and, when required, the blank is automatically lubricated with a Maxi-Lube unit. The fast SpeedFeeders developed by AP&T load the lubricated blanks into the press and remove the deep-drawn parts from the forming tool either onto a discharge conveyor or stack them into bundles. The servo control of the hydraulic press enables the following benefits:
Minimizing material use and CO2 emissions
Materials account for a large share of total production costs and environmental impact. For this reason, minimizing material waste is essential. With servo control, material can be utilized more efficiently, which naturally is also reflected in reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
Dimensional accuracy and reduced dimensional variation
The dimensional accuracy of sheet metal parts is essential in many products. Thanks to the unique servo control, the new deep drawing press can produce sheet metal parts with even higher dimensional accuracy. The use of more dimensionally accurate parts is often an absolute requirement for the efficient automation of subsequent assembly stages. According to Meconet’s experience, automatic assembly systems often set strict requirements for dimensional variation in the product.
Stronger products
Thanks to the precise programmability of the new deep drawing press, it is possible to use thinner and, on the other hand, stronger steel and aluminium materials. In the servo-controlled forming process, Meconet can make more efficient use than before of material work hardening and the strength achieved through product design. This makes it possible to produce products that are lighter and at the same time stronger. The high press force of the machine also enables the forming of thicker materials than before.
More versatile shapes and larger products competitively
Precise servo control enables the deep drawing press to manufacture versatile product shapes with good visual quality. At the same time, Meconet can use larger blanks and also enable the use of thicker materials. The new technology also provides the opportunity to manufacture products with fewer tools, which can create significant savings in tool investments.
The large size and automation of the deep drawing press line bring other advantages as well, because the system can be used to manufacture even larger sheet metal products. This enables, for example, the manufacture of roof and floor structures for mobile machinery. In addition, the press can form unified, seamless assemblies — in a single draw. The structure of the product has a significant impact on the production cost. By combining functions and reducing the number of parts in the product – without compromising functionality – more competitive production can be achieved.
– Automation of part handling is one of the key opportunities for cost savings in serial production. The automation of our new AP&T deep drawing press is at the forefront of development in its field. Sheet blanks and finished deep-drawn parts can be handled automatically. This enables us to use deep drawing technology competitively in larger series, Räisänen estimates.
– AP&T has enabled us not only to manufacture larger products, in the size class of 2 m x 2 m and one meter deep, but also to automate production in the smaller 1 m x 1 m size class. The advantages of servo technology are also clearly illustrated by the fact that our old deep drawing machine, which is half the size, consumes many times more energy compared with the servo-controlled hydraulic AP&T machine, Riittinen explains.
– Demand for larger products and volumes has grown. With the new AP&T machine, we can meet these criteria as well as manufacture even more challenging parts. Our owners want to invest in the latest technology and to remain at the forefront of deep drawing technology as we continue our century-long journey among the leading players in the field. The acquisition of the AP&T machine is one answer to maintaining and strengthening our position. We have spent one hundred years learning deep drawing, and now, with AP&T, we are learning how deep drawing is done with servo technology, Räisänen reflects.
Fredko and AP&T have shared a journey for more than four decades
Fredko has represented AP&T in Finland for more than four decades, while at the same time providing local customer service support ranging from quick repairs to scheduled maintenance and spare parts deliveries. The AP&T Group, which is over 60 years old, was formed when the well-known Swedish press brands Lagan and Tranemo and the tooling and automation manufacturer VIBAB merged in 1989. This marked the beginning of strong internationalization, and today AP&T is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of deep drawing presses, particularly in the forming of high-strength materials and the production of heat exchanger plates. In total, more than eighty hydraulic presses and lines have been delivered to Finland under the Lagan, Tranemo or AP&T brands.
