Hidral-Mac, the largest manufacturer of hydraulic presses in Latin America, established a partnership with WEG for the supply of electrical control panels for all its lines of hydraulic presses. Hidral-Mac produces around 600 machines per year; these cater for practically all industrial segments, providing cutting, bending and forming of parts from keys to fans, refrigerators and cars.

Today, around 10% of Hidral-Mac machines have WEG panels. The goal is to reach 30% in the next six- months, and 100% within a year. “The electric control panel is the brain of the machine: it’s the panel that defines the operation and provides safety… and the standard of our serial machines now is WEG,” said Marcelo Lopes Névoa, Manager of the Electrical Department at Hidral-Mac

Hidral-Mac offers a range of presses from 5 up to 1,000 tons, in addition to special projects. The company has been using WEG motors and PLCs for over five years, but previously assembled its own panels in-house. However, this increased production costs and consumed valuable time that could be better used elsewhere. In 2008, through its Customized Starters Sales section, WEG came up with the idea of making a prototype of the complete Hidral-Mac panel. The product was developed from specifications provided by Hidral-Mac; it was then tested and approved. “The Customized Starters section was created specifically for the purpose of supplying solutions for customers’ machines,” said Manfred Peter Johann, Sales manager for WEG Automação.

According to Marcelo Névoa, WEG’s supply has made it possible to increase the quality and reliability of the panels. “They are delivered with excellent finishing, and are ready for operation with the guarantee of efficient after-sales service: we install them and just turn them on,” he said. In addition to the quality and reliability advantages, Hidral-Mac is also benefiting from a reduction of 20% in its production process, as a result of savings mainly in time and labor. “Our focus is to have the largest assembly line of hydraulic presses in the world. With the panels ready- assembled, we can concentrate on our main focus,” said Névoa.

What is a hydraulic press?

A hydraulic press is a mechanical tool which was important as a major contributor to the Industrial Revolution. Previously, the forming of rolled materials demanded that they were hammered, and that the final form was shaped manually using a wooden mallet and chisel. Similar results to hydraulic presses can be achieved - up to a point - with screw presses, but these have significant limitations, especially as to the pressure they can achieve. Such limitations are surpassed by the modern hydraulic press, with over 2,000 tons of pressure capacity.

Source: Wikipedia