The needs-based availability of raw materials as well as high system efficiency and fast throughput times are important key factors for fine blanking companies. Thanks to an optimized logistics service for fineblankable cold rolled steel strip up to 12.5 millimeters (0.492 inch) thick, Waelzholz guarantees a reliable supply even when demand fluctuates – a clear financial advantage for fineblanking customers.
Fine blanking grades: High level of availability thanks to smart logistics solutions
Fine blanking cold rolled steel strip – even with large cross-sections – is an economical alternative to machining steel derivatives. This process is frequently used in the automotive industry in particular, but also in other areas of industrial production. Waelzholz offers its customers high-quality fine blanking grades up to 12.5 millimeters (0.492 inch) thick, which enable tear-free cut edges thanks to uniform carbide formation and therefore fast, efficient, and sustainable further processing without reworking. Another factor that is crucial to the competitiveness of fine blanking companies is the availability of materials.
Smart material logistics ensure needs-based availability
Sales markets are increasingly volatile, which also has a corresponding impact on the procurement of raw materials. Waelzholz is responding to this with intelligent material logistics that enable the customer-oriented provision of its material solutions. “We have optimized our logistics processes for our fineblankable cold rolled steel strip as a result of our customers’ dynamic demand structures. To this end, we have brought our partners on the primary material side on board and fine-tuned the supply chain processes with them. Thanks to these close collaborations, we are able to make our materials available to the market with a high degree of flexibility through intelligent inventory management,” explains Daniel Kemper, Vice President Sales at Waelzholz in Hagen, Germany.
A special characteristic of Waelzholz’s fine blanking grades is the availability of thick wall thicknesses of up to 12.5 millimeters (0.492 inch). To achieve this, Waelzholz combines its process and systems expertise with permanent access to an extensive range of hot-rolled strip for these materials. This also means a high degree of availability for Waelzholz’s customers when it comes to these special, thick grades. As Kemper explains: “As a result, we can supply our customers around the world quickly and flexibly with high-quality fine blanking grades. This is how we create real added value.”
Materials fine-tuned to customer processes
In addition to delivery performance, the technological properties of the materials also play a major role in the profitability of fine blanking companies. This is because cutting conventional cold rolled steel strip would result in a considerable burr formation. The cutting burrs result in extensive reworking, the costs of which is often not easy to calculate. To ensure tear-free cut edges, the cold rolled steel strip requires a high and uniform degree of carbide formation. One of Waelzholz’s specialties is achieving a homogeneous microstructure across the entire cross-section of steel strip up to 12.5 millimeters thick. Daniel Zeidler, responsible for fine blanking grades, among other products, in Waelzholz Sales in Hagen, Germany, explains: “Burr-free cut edges result in savings for our customers in several respects: On the one hand, there is no need for time-consuming reworking. On the other hand, less scrap is produced, which reduces the amount of raw materials used. In this way, our customers can also make a small contribution to reducing their carbon footprint.”
The elimination of reworking also results in shorter lead times for customers in their own production facilities. According to Zeidler: “We adapt the material precisely to our customer’s individual process requirements. Our cold rolled steel strip is ready for our customers to use. This also has a positive effect on the throughput time in their own production.”
Waelzholz uses its extensive materials expertise to fine-tune the fine blanking grades and combines this with the latest know-how in fine blanking technology. Daniel Zeidler explains how this expertise is being continuously expanded: “We’re a founding member of the German ‘Fine Blanking Working Group’ (Arbeitskreis Feinschneiden) at RWTH Aachen University. This is where companies and experts in fine blanking technology carry out sophisticated joint research. In this way, we always have our finger on the pulse and incorporate our findings into customer projects.”
Contact partner
Sales
Daniel Zeidler
Tel.
+49 2331 964-2128
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