Italy-based company Benevenuta S.p.A. invests in a 2,500-ton-machine from Farina featuring a kinetic energy recovering system (KERS)
At its site in Forno Canavese close to Turin, Italy, A. Benevenuta & C. S.p.A. produces hot-forged steel components for the automotive industry. The parts are used in suspension systems, transmissions, engines and brakes in passenger cars as well as tractors, trucks and earth moving machinery. The press force of the Benevenuta production lines ranges from 1,200 to 2,500 metric tons. Now, the company will add another 2,500 ton forging press from Farina, the Schuler affiliate.
“This is the second time that our customer has ordered a Farina press”, Schuler general manager Frank Klingemann points out. And Farina general manager Marco Gritti adds: “By investing in our kinetic energy recovering system (KERS), the customer will not only benefit from up to 40 percent less power demand, but also from increased output and reduced maintenance costs.”
With conventional hot forging presses, a large portion of the energy is converted into heat and dissipates into the environment by the flywheel during the clutch and braking process. With KERS, a switch on the auxiliary drive starts the cycle and takes the strain off the clutch, so that the total energy from the flywheel can be used for the forging process. Similarly, the energy released during the braking process is supplied to the flywheel. Among others, this results in a larger number of strokes per minute and less wear of clutch and break.
The forging dies are developed and manufactured in an own department of Benevenuta at Forno Canavese. At the other production site in Valperga, machining and assembly is done with innovative automated processes. The company was founded in Italy 130 years ago. In 1996 Benevenuta Argentina was set up as a manufacturer of shift forks for passenger cars transmissions. Today, the product range at the Cordoba site includes shift rails, shift lugs and complete subassemblies.