{"id":13797,"date":"2025-03-03T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T08:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/?p=13797"},"modified":"2025-04-24T07:45:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T05:45:34","slug":"folding-machine-from-schroeder-at-hupfeld-schloeffel-metallbau-gmbh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/success-story-en\/folding-machine-from-schroeder-at-hupfeld-schloeffel-metallbau-gmbh\/","title":{"rendered":"Folding machine from Schr\u00f6der at Hupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel Metallbau GmbH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Increased productivity with easier operation<\/h1>\n

Folding machine from Schr\u00f6der at Hupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel Metallbau GmbH<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Customer<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Hupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel Metallbau GmbH in Berkatal, Hesse, manufactures fa\u00e7ades, windows, doors and special constructions as well as fire and smoke protection elements made of aluminum. These are supplied and installed\u00a0 throughout Germany for everything from smaller buildings to large prestigious structures. For large orders, it is crucial to produce the construction elements from 2 to 3 mm thick aluminum sheets as efficiently as possible.
\nHupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel GmbH\u2018s initial aim was to make it easier for employees to process large sheet formats. (www.hupfeld-schloeffel.de<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Success<\/strong><\/h5>\n

With the acquisition of an EVO Center from the Schr\u00f6der Group, the company, which specializes in aluminium construction elements, also increased its capacities, technical capabilities and productivity. Managing Directors Bettina Schl\u00f6ffel, Eduard Schl\u00f6ffel and Dennis Schindewolf became aware of a folding machine at a partner company one day. \u201cWe sometimes work with very large sheet metal formats and it was immediately clear to us that a folding machine would be much more user-friendly than a press brake for these formats,\u201d recalls Dennis Schindewolf.<\/p>\n

The managing directors of the 140-strong family business then visited the headquarters of the Schr\u00f6der Group in Wessobrunn-Forst, Bavaria, the manufacturer of the machine they had seen, and sought advice. They were disturbed by the fact that highly qualified employees had previously been blocked from assisting with bending while a colleague struggled to position huge sheets in the bending press. On a folding machine, a single person can do the same job without any effort – especially if the possibilities of partial automation are used, which were presented to the management team at Schr\u00f6der.<\/p>\n

High degree of automation <\/strong><\/h5>\n

The EVO Center was chosen. The machine is a development from the Evolution series. These are largely automated high-performance machines that the Schr\u00f6der Group mainly supplies to industrial customers. The EVO Center,\u00a0 which has permanently changed the way Hupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel works, has a working length of 4040 mm and can bend steel sheets up to 3 mm thick with high precision. The clamping beam stroke of 850 mm and tools up to 400 mm high provide sufficient space for the production of boxes. Changeover of the machine is fully automatic. The tool changing system for clamping beam tools on the EVO Center consists of two asynchronously movable tool changers, each with a gripper unit. Servo convertercontrolled drives, motorized folding beam adjustment and central crowning stand for precision and two innovative equipment features ensure that all bends on one side are carried out fully automatically: The sheet only has to be positioned once and is taken over by the suction plate stop. Thanks to the Up-and-Down folding beam, folds and counter-folds can now be bent without having to turn the sheet.<\/p>\n

Proven in praxis
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The folding machine has met all expectations in terms of ergonomics, but also in terms of efficiency. \u201cIt\u2018s now more a case of cutting becoming a bottleneck,\u201d says Marcel R\u00f6hr. The master metalworker is responsible for work\u00a0 preparation and machine control in sheet metal production. He cites examples of the benefits of the semi-automated folding machine: \u201cThe advantages in operation are clear, for example, with the narrow, high boxes for sun\u00a0 protection. The sheet metal blanks measuring up to 4000 \u00d7 1000 mm, from which they are manufactured, are easy to handle on the EVO Center – on a press brake, on the other hand, it is laborious work for two people, made even more difficult by the high tools, which have to be specially equipped with a lifting device due to their great weight.\u201d The overhead crane in the factory hall is currently still used to transport large sheets to the folding machine. There are plans to purchase a separate crane with a suction plate.<\/p>\n

Another example of the reduced effort required with the folding machine are cassettes for a large construction project in northern Hesse. A narrow U is bent at the bottom and a 43-degree angle at the top. What is produced in one step on the folding machine would have to be produced in two steps with one tool change on the press brake. Speaking of tool changes: \u201cThe automatic tool changer is a blessing, because large facades do not mean that we only bend large series of identical cassettes. For the above-mentioned project in North Hesse, for example, we need many different lengths,\u201d R\u00f6hr points out.<\/p>\n

Mechanical folding of Alucobond<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some processes have only become possible since the acquisition of the folding machine, such as the mechanical folding of Alucobond. At Hupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel, these aluminum composite panels are also folded. For this purpose, a groove is milled where an edge is required, so that only one aluminum layer remains of the two 0.5 mm thin aluminum sheets and the mineral core. Previously, this edge was created manually – now the panels that have been folded in this way are simply placed on the Schr\u00f6der machine.<\/p>\n

New possibilities thanks to radius bending<\/strong><\/p>\n

During a visit, a Schr\u00f6der Group employee was able to surprise the customer. \u201cWhen we learned about step-by-step radius bending, we were thrilled,\u201d recalls Marcel R\u00f6hr. \u201cThis technology has expanded our range. For example, we now produce window sills with a round drip edge.\u201d The \u201cRadius Step Bending\u201d function is a proven component of the control software developed by Schr\u00f6der itself. Here, curves are created by the upper beam pressing the sheet metal in any number of fine steps against an angle created with the folding beam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EVO Center not only makes our work easier, it has also increased our production capacity. We can take on projects such as a current 7000 square meter fa\u00e7ade for a TV station without hesitation,\u201d says Dennis Schindewolf and Marcel R\u00f6hr praises: \u201dIf we have any problems with the machine, we simply call Schr\u00f6der. We immediately reach a competent contact person there who quickly has a solution for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Machine in use
\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n
EVO Center<\/strong><\/h5>\n
    \n
  • Folding machine up to 3.0 mm sheet thickness (400 N\/mm\u00b2)<\/li>\n
  • 4040 mm working length<\/li>\n
  • Clamping beam stroke 850 mm<\/li>\n
  • Graphic control POS 3000 3D<\/li>\n
  • Fully automatic tool changer with hydraulic tool clamping<\/li>\n
  • Up-and-Down folding beam<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Increased productivity with easier operation Folding machine from Schr\u00f6der at Hupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel Metallbau GmbH Customer Hupfeld & Schl\u00f6ffel Metallbau GmbH in Berkatal, Hesse, manufactures fa\u00e7ades, [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-story-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13797"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13805,"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13797\/revisions\/13805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schroedergroup.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}