Product development: Interdisciplinary and customer-oriented

The year is 2000 and the COLDmatic cold press series from Hatebur has been in existence for more than 20 years. Models such as the AKP 3-5, 4-5 or 5-5 are considered state of the art in the industry. They offer clever solutions for different customer needs and have various unique selling points that set them apart from comparable machines.

As was customary at the time, all functions were implemented mechanically and the presses were driven by a central electric motor. Hatebur is convinced that this technology cannot really be optimized any further. New approaches are needed for substantial improvements. The development team gets to work to launch the next evolutionary stage.

From 2003 to 2005, the development of the AKP 4-6 S represents a first, important evolutionary step. It has six forming stations, which allows the production of significantly more complex workpieces. In doing so, it is meeting a clear market need. Other key advances are also made: The AKP 4-6 S is the first Hatebur press with a mechanical-hydraulic linear infeed and a deposit station. Compared to the previous, purely mechanically operated roller feed system, the precision of the cut-offs and the weight of the workpieces increases considerably and the workpieces are gently deposited onto a discharge conveyor.

Product development with a sense of reality 

Up to 15 people are involved in the creation of the AKP 4-6 S, who work together in different constellations during the individual phases. This is an example of how product development works at Hatebur. Initially, the most important task is to develop a concept based on the idea of how the market’s requirements can be met from a technical point of view. The first functional assemblies are then created. At the same time, a committee continuously monitors compliance with the specified direction of travel. To further professionalize the development process, the new AKP is consistently implemented on the basis of a previously verified specification sheet.

However, potential customers understandably ask not only about the technical capabilities of a machine, but also about the price. It is therefore important to keep an eye on and control costs right from the start.

Understanding and fulfilling customer wishes

The first COLDmatic 4-5 ECO is delivered at the end of 2014. It is based on the needs of a long-standing customer who wants to continue working with Hatebur machines but has set a clear target price. This customer is prepared to break new ground and implement practical simplifications in order to keep to this target. Our development team succeeds in implementing the “reduce to the max” concept perfectly, thus ensuring long-term cooperation with the customer.

The COLDmatic 4-5 ECO illustrates how much the product development process has changed overall. It has become much more customer-centric. While the question many mechanical engineers often used to ask was: “What are we technically capable of?”, we are now responding very specifically to the needs of our customers and the market as a whole.

Decentralized drive technology revolutionizes process possibilities

In 2017, servo technology, which has already been tried and tested in simpler applications, is successfully transferred from the periphery to the absolute heart of a machine. In the test field at Hatebur, an AKP 3-5 is equipped with a decentrally driven transfer unit and this is further developed until it is ready for series production. This makes it possible to operate the technology in real-life conditions and to get machine operators and service technicians on board at an early stage in order to obtain feedback. The key advantage of servo technology is its flexibility: Whereas previously everything ran at the same speed, grippers and the transfer unit can now be controlled individually. Settings are therefore much more repeatable and easier to apply, as they are specified via the control system and saved in recipes.

In 2018, the COLDmatic CM 725 is launched on the market as a result of the extensive tests. It has an impressively simple and precise linear infeed and a flexible transfer system that cleverly expands the machine’s kinematic possibilities with the new servo technology. The machine is optimized in close cooperation with the first customer even before it is ready for the market.

Interdisciplinary collaboration picks up speed

The introduction of decentralized drive technology also means another major change in product development. In the past, machines were launched on the market that had been “thought through to the end”, with innovations only being made in small steps. The new control technology and progressive networking allow software-based adaptations without the need for major mechanical modifications to the hardware. This reduces time and costs not only for the design of new features, but also for their implementation in practice.

During the development of decentralized drive technology, cooperation between mechanical and electrical engineering also achieves a real breakthrough. This interdisciplinary interaction has already been in place for some time, but now it is finally being given the status it deserves. It becomes a key driver of innovation and thus one of Hatebur’s greatest strengths.

Direct drive for pressram function

The next milestone is to equip the CM 725 with a direct drive in 2018 and 2019. Instead of a mechanical flywheel, the power is now stored in an electrical capacitor. The new technology is used for the first time on a customer’s machine, which enables us to test the new kinematic possibilities during operation.

The new system can still be operated with the conventional pressram function. At the same time, we can unlock new features via the control software, which result in various advantages. For example, a higher output can be achieved at the same strain rate with the existing tool. Basically, the principle can be compared to a smartphone on which you can load functions provided individually in the same way as a new app.

One major advantage of software-based control is the large amount of production data that can be recorded and analyzed. This can be used to derive findings for future-oriented production and the development of new machines and features. The more systematically this is done, the greater the benefits for the operators of our machines.

Web-based application for machine settings 

In 2022, the online timing tool, which digitizes the process of kinematic process design, is launched. This tool makes it possible to draw the part geometries, move them within the corresponding forming stations and thus determine the time sequence for ideal production. The necessary tool design and machine setting data can be easily and comprehensibly derived from this.

The development of the online timing tool is based on the MVP principle. An Excel spreadsheet developed in-house serves as the basis for a minimal viable product (MVP). This combines all the necessary parameters for designing the interaction of the individual machine components. Once this table has been tested by our application developers and reliably delivers correct results, it is used to create a  widely usable, web-based application – which is made available to our customers as an MVP for practical testing in their environment.

In retrospect, the online timing tool was developed before the market was actually ready for it. Because as much as we at Hatebur now rely on market analyses and recognized customer needs, courage is sometimes also required for successful product development. Courage to believe in your own experience, in understanding how requirements change. And thus also the courage to sometimes listen to your gut feeling and push ahead with a product because you are convinced of it. The feedback on the online timing tool shows us that this has been successful in this case.

Latest news and outlook

We are currently working intensively on recording and storing the data that we can collect during ongoing production. An edge device is used for this purpose, which harnesses the enormous amounts of data at the boundary between digital processes and the physical environment.

The first machine with an edge device has now been delivered. The journey into a new era has begun and there will be numerous innovations in the coming years. The first step is to evaluate the data of a machine and thus recognize any need for action, for example because changes in a certain process are detected (preventive maintenance). The approach of deriving patterns from the data images of several machines of one type and predicting, for example, the typical service life of a component under certain conditions (predictive maintenance) goes much further.

As you can see, our developers are pursuing various projects with a relatively clear time horizon. At the same time, there are many areas in connection with big – or rather bigger – data where it is still difficult to predict what opportunities will arise in the future. A good reason for us to remain active and vigilant and to keep moving forward. And an equally good reason for you, our customers, to look to the future with us with excitement and confidence.