New assembly hall for mega/giga deburring presses at abk Pressenbau
With the inauguration of its new assembly hall for mega/giga deburring presses, abk Pressenbau is sending a clear signal of innovation and the future. A particular highlight of the event was the live demonstration of the SP30/23-4-300 deburring press in fully automatic operation, including automatic tool change – an impressive display of technological excellence.
A milestone in the history of abk Pressenbau
The opening marks a significant milestone for the family-run company and was celebrated as part of the first abk Customer Day 2024. Customers, partners, employees and media representatives were invited to the two-day celebrations. The event kicked off with a get-together at the Event-Galerie Obernburg, which provided a space for discussion and networking.
On the main day, Managing Director Lisa Aulbach-Heinecke welcomed the guests alongside Managing Directors Andreas Kohlmann and Ulrich Krimm. In her speech, Aulbach-Heinecke emphasised the strategic importance of the new hall:
“With this assembly hall, we are creating the necessary infrastructure for the production of mega/giga deburring presses and setting another milestone in the history of abk Pressenbau.”
Modern infrastructure for mega/giga deburring presses
The new hall offers space for the assembly of up to four large, latest-generation presses. With a column clearance of three metres, a pressing force of 400 tonnes and a table size of 3,000 x 3,000 mm, abk is setting new standards. At the customer open day, four models of the new presses were unveiled, impressively demonstrating the technical advances.
A highlight was the live demonstration of the SP30/23-4-300 deburring press, presented by Lisa Aulbach-Heinecke. Guests were able to witness first-hand how a fully automatic tool change and subsequent operation were successfully carried out in just 15 minutes – a technological breakthrough in the field of megacasting.
Innovation and Growth
Following the live demonstration, Alexander Walde outlined the development history of the new generation of presses and provided an outlook on future projects. Whilst the SP30 models are already available as standard, the next generation of the MEGACASTING series is in the starting blocks, with production scheduled to begin in autumn 2025.
Aulbach-Heinecke emphasised the strategic focus on large structural components:
“Mega-/Gigacasting was a conscious decision for us. We have clearly focused on developing innovative solutions to the challenges involved in machining large components.”
Sustainability and social commitment
Sustainability is another key focus for abk. The company modernises older machines through a comprehensive retrofit programme, bringing them almost up to the standard of new systems. In August and September, abk was also able to meet the entire electricity demand of its production facilities using its own photovoltaic systems – an important contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions. Furthermore, abk is actively involved in the local community and donated over 30,000 euros to charitable projects and educational initiatives.
Technical presentations and networking
The programme of presentations at the Customer Day offered fascinating insights into current topics in the international die-casting industry. Experts such as Dirk Schmidtbleicher (Bühler AG) and Siegfried Heinrich (Schaufler Tooling) highlighted trends such as megacasting and emphasised the importance of the partnership with abk Pressenbau. Further presentations, including those by Patrick Decker (Römheld) and Dr Alexander Leonhard (Parker Hannifin), dealt with topics such as tool changeovers and condition monitoring. The presentation by Timm Weiss (Böhmer Maschinenbau) focused on automation in megacasting. The topic ‘Special features of deburring tools in megacasting’ was presented by Benjamin Horlebein (Aulbach Entgratungstechnik). Stefan Melzer from Sitema spoke about redundant ram safety devices in deburring presses.
Conclusion with a factory tour and evening event
Following the presentations, guests had the opportunity to tour the workshop of Aulbach Entgratungstechnik GmbH in Elsenfeld. Managing Director Benjamin Horlebein led the tour of the production facilities. The event concluded with a festive evening reception, during which Lisa Aulbach-Heinecke thanked the entire team for their outstanding commitment.
The successful inauguration and the success of the abk Customer Day 2024 underline the innovative strength and future viability of abk Pressenbau in a dynamic industry.