In order to monitor and improve the quality in press shops through digitalisation, ifm and the Schuler Group have now concluded a cooperation agreement. Their aim is to offer customers more transparency and increase efficiency in sheet metal forming.

Sheet metal forming presses are among the most important machines in all industries in which sheet metal is processed. The Schuler Group has 180 years of experience in forming technology and is the world’s market leader. Using digital solutions such as Track & Trace, Visual Die Protection or DigiSim®, the company offers numerous tools that support digitalisation in press shops ifm SmartStamp expands this offering with a software tool that detects tilting, eccentricity and the resulting tilting moment on forming presses within milliseconds.

“If the ram is tilted too far, the press guides are subjected to excessive strain and will be damaged in the long term,” says Christoph Schneider, Vice President Product Management Applications at ifm. The tool protects the press from excessive wear and damage, and helps to improve availability. SmartStamp is seamlessly integrated into the moneo IIoT platform – and now also into the Metris platform from ANDRITZ, Schuler’s parent company. “Thanks to combination with the data from our cloud-based Digital Solutions, customers benefit from interoperability and consequently even higher transparency in the press shop,” emphasises Rohitashwa Pant, Chief Digital Officer of the Schuler Group.

The cooperation agreement now signed provides for collaboration in sales. Customers can only benefit from the use of ifm’s SmartStamp and Schuler’s Digital Solutions. It is immaterial which system customers use when they start to digitalise. They can expand their digitalisation solution with the other system at any time. “In this way we can offer all customers the optimum solution for press shop digitalisation,” says Florian Siebert, Senior Manager Systems and IIoT at ifm.