Visit to Wire 2012 Exhibition, Dusseldorf

We visited the bi-annual Wire & Tube exhibition which was held in March 2012 in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Hall 15 housed the large display of fastener machinery and associated suppliers.  This exhibition prides itself in being the most important of its type in Europe.

On the Nedschroef stand, they were featuring the latest generation of high speed multi-station cold forging machines.  The machine pictured below is the Nedform 6-die cold former.

The machine was set up to produce both the washer and the spline shaft which are illustrated in the pictures below.

The parts are complicated enough to produce yet the time witnessed to change from the one to the other was less than 5 minutes – truly amazing!  This speed of change is made possible by the computer and electronic controls featured on this machine.

A number of new manufacturing ideas were noted and contacts were made, which will ensure that our production capability is at the top of its class.