Knauf Interfer installs new blanks cutting line

German steel distribution group Knauf Interfer has commissioned a new cutting line for tailored blanks at its Duisburg site.

Its Knauf Interfer Automotive Blanks unit produces engineered semi-finished products for the automotive industry, as well as other industries, at a volume of around 150,000 tonnes/year. They are mainly used to manufacture structural and crash parts that are used, for example, in the side-impact protection of electric vehicles, A- and B-pillars and other parts for vehicle construction.

The cutting machinery has been expanded to include one of Germany’s largest blanking lines, Kallanish hears from the group. The core unit is a high-performance press with a pressing force of 1,300 tonnes, so that even particularly large tools and components can be handled. It is able to pick up coils of up to 25 tonnes, in widths of 300-1,600mm. An adjacent levelling facility can straighten parts at up to 1,900 MPa.

With its high degree of automation, the blanking line is designed for three-shift operation. Its
nesting is computer-based and optimised on the basis of CAD data. The arrangement of the moulds significantly reduces the amount of scrap, the company notes.

The plant is in close proximity to the group’s service centres and cold rolling lines.

Christian Koehl Germany