Mastering Complex Shapes Down to a One Hundredth of a Millimetre – Yet Another Challenge for Delta Neo
In 2005, a potential client approached Delta Neo about making necessary equipment as well as producing several million pairs of highly technical parts from metal wire to be used in connectors for the automotive industry.
These parts have a complex shape, are small in size (wire with 0.6 mm sides and a maximum length of 12 mm) and include several bends. They are made from a tin-coated wire with a square cross-section – not an easy thing to procure because it is very unusual.
These pieces – and this is the tricky part – must come to pyramid-shaped ends, with a precise shape down to a one hundredth of a millimetre that cannot bear even a single burr.
This made for extreme specifications, with a quality demanded that goes over and above the usual standards.
Simultaneously achieving the ‘tortured’ shape of these pieces and the very particular finishing requirement for their ends could only be achieved via cold working of the raw material.
Although such a part shape – especially the end piece – combining deformation, cutting without tearing and extremely small size had not previously been developed in-house, the engineering department was eager to tackle the problem head on. They decided to design an entirely new piece of equipment for one of the multiple-slide presses on the production floor. These machines are highly adaptable and offer a number of design possibilities.
Ultimately, this machine is composed of a juxtaposition of almost 150 individual tools, intertwined according to very precise mechanical kinematics, all of which are housed in a main unit measuring approximately 300 cm³.
Based on the kinematics envisaged by our engineers/technicians, each of these 150 tools must come into play ‘in the right place’ and ‘at the right time’ to ensure the wire is deformed correctly and to produce all the final shapes required. A true symphony of motion!
After several months of development and tweaking, mass production started in December 2005 and, to date, we have produced more than 275 million of these parts for our client, to their complete satisfaction.
Delta Neo excels in a wide range of technical fields of expertise, with the ability to expertly combine them to provide what is often an innovative solution to the client.