Born for lights-out manufacturing

The S4 is the world-famous combined punching-shearing center, a legendary machine that has continued to evolve since 1978 and, now as then, guarantees maximum precision, minimum waste, and high efficiency. 

Product overview

The S4 punching-shearing center maximizes process efficiency: all the loading, punching, forming, separation and unloading operations are automatic, done by a single system that eliminates semi-finished parts, does not require manual intervention and assures extreme repeatability.

The integrated adaptive technologies make the system intelligent and able to automatically adapt to variations, eliminating waste and corrections, while guaranteeing high machining quality:

  • the centering control system measures the incoming sheet and adapts the program to the actual dimensions measured, if necessary;
  • the manipulator changes its dynamics according to the size and weight of the sheet, opening the pincers according to the percentage of sheet machined;
  • an automatic system checks the thermal expansion of the manipulator’s axes and compensates any variations, guaranteeing extreme positioning precision;
  • the shear automatically records the clearance and, depending on the thickness and the material, modulates the required force in-cycle.

Storage and automatic loading/unloading devices increase the autonomy of the system, regaining efficiency both in individual processing steps and throughout the production process. The wide range meets practically any layout or configuration requirements, adapting to the most diverse production strategies.

 Process efficiency
 Adaptive system
 Modular automation
  • Multi-press head

    The multi-press head has a die-structure that houses up to 96 tools needed for production. Each tool is actuated individually and is always available. The multi-press head guarantees high punch-die alignment precision, and thus machining quality, with reduced cycle times, eliminating in-cycle set-ups and the related waiting times.

  • Salvagnini tools

    With thirty years’ experience in tool design and production, Salvagnini oversees the whole manufacturing chain, from the control of the steels used to mechanical machining and assembly, with its own team of professionals. The range includes standard tools for punching, forming and separating, as well as parametric and special tools, designed and made for specific jobs or materials.

  • Accurate referencing, fast scrap-free processing

    The manipulator centers the sheet when machining begins. It has a maximum stroke of 3030 mm which allows sheets of up to 3048 mm to be machined without regripping, and has 9 pincers with independent opening, extending the possibility of machining nests without any holding scrap and reducing scrap by optimizing sheet metal use. It has a patented hand-over system that modulates the dynamics according to the weight of the sheet metal being processed.

  • Integrated shear: freedom of choice

    The shear is composed of two 500 mm blades, which are independent and orthogonal to each other, equipped with blankholders, for cutting any length. Installed next to the multi-press head, the shear is unique on the market, ensuring optimal, constant alignment and superior machining quality. It also ensures advantages in terms of process quality as, compared to separation by punch, it reduces the cycle time, does not erode the material, improves optimization and minimizes scrap.

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FACE

Intelligent design, intuitive and easy-to-use: FACE is the Salvagnini human-machine interface for the whole product range. 

Industry 4.0

Digital transformation and Industry 4.0 are key topics for staying competitive on the market. When adopted, they can implement and manage complex, integrated, highly automated high-performance systems, and can help to develop simple solutions that require no structural changes to the production layout, making the world of smart manufacturing much more accessible.

  • Modular, scalable automation for regaining efficiency

    Automation reduces the risk of loading and unloading becoming bottlenecks, and can help to reduce the impact of labor costs. The S4 loading/unloading connections meet all automation needs: from stand-alone operation, to automatic integration in flexible cells or automatic factories operating with lights out.

  • PD

    Automatic pack destacker.

  • MD

    For just-in-time production of kits or batch one. The single-sheet store-tower feeds and centers the sheet metal in masked time, and is available in configurations from 6 to 15 trays.

  • MV

    For just-in-time production of kits or batch one. The MV automatic multi-tower tray store can feed the S4 from a pack or with single sheets, if integrated with the SMD device.

  • IA

    Automatic table stacker.

  • MCU

    Device with two Cartesian manipulators for automatically picking up and stacking the parts once processing is complete.

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Intelligent system, constant quality

Practically everything you ever wanted to know about the S4 punching-shearing center, satisfactorily explained.

Technology
Productivity
Automation

For Salvagnini, punching is always a combined process of forming and separating parts, with the separation done either by shear or by laser. Part separation integrates the punching machine in a modern and efficient production flow, able to feed the workstations downstream, such as the panel bender.

In today’s production context, the role of the punching machine depends on the product: the parts to be produced, their geometries, the jobs planned, and the productivity required, are what determine the most suitable technological solution. In recent years, the laser has eroded part of the traditional punching market, but has not affected that of the Salvagnini S4 punching-shearing center, which, today as in the past, remains a competitive solution for companies looking for productivity, flexibility, reactivity and efficiency. The S4 performs all the part punching, forming and separation operations, destroying the skeleton to ensure that the parts flow progressively downstream: this eliminates the need for regripping and rapidly feeds the next production step.

Part geometries, increasingly small batch sizes, cutting quality and expected productivity are all factors that make the investment in an S4 more attractive than that in a traditional punching machine. High productivity is guaranteed because the S4 is a single work center, able to automatically produce finished parts without the need for regripping and/or re-tooling. It is the winning solution in production contexts in which lead times have to be minimized, because the integration of forming and separation processes drastically reduces throughput times. The S4 is the ideal solution in sectors requiring parametric jobs: more flexible than a laser, it drastically simplifies programming and reduces overall process times, from product design to production.

The S4 natively integrates the punching and separation operations and automatically manages the feeding, sorting and unloading cycles which, when possible, are performed in masked time. With the patented multi-press head, the tools are always available for nesting and multiple jobs, with no re-tooling in-cycle or manual intervention. The proprietary Punch&Cut algorithm optimizes the integrated shearing cuts for separating the single parts in the sheet in a fast, flexible and automatic sequence with no waiting times for unloading the part.

The multi-press head requires no re-tooling or tool changes in-cycle, reducing overall processing times. The multi-press head is a distinctive feature of the S4, comes in 5 models and can house up to 96 tools at the same time. It ensures high punch-die alignment precision, for high-quality machining. The head configuration proposed for each customer is designed to meet their specific production needs, and to minimize tool changes which, when required, are simple and very quick.

With conventional punching, productivity and flexibility depend on the number of tool changes in-cycle and the times for moving the sheet underneath the turret or single punch, and are influenced by the time required for the separation operations downstream. The S4, on the other hand, natively combines productivity and flexibility. Helping to maximize productivity are the multi-press head, which ensures that the tools are always available, the advanced manipulator cycles that modulate the dynamics and the integrated shear, which works in Punch&Cut mode. These unique solutions also improve the flexibility of the S4 as – whatever the geometries and materials being machined – they do not require re-tooling and can produce large batches, kits or batch one with equal ease. STREAMPUNCH, the programming software for generating the punching program, includes proprietary algorithms for optimizing nests and parts, while reducing scrap. STREAMPUNCH makes it easy to choose the best production strategy, and simplifies the programmer’s job with a user-friendly interface and interactive editing and simulation functions.

The S4 is a flow solution. In its basic configuration, it integrates feeding and unloading solutions that automate the production process and optimize each operation: at the infeed, a conveyor-centering device anticipates the loading of the sheet metal in masked time, positioning it correctly; at the outfeed, each part is automatically transferred to the next devices or the collection bins. 

In addition to solutions that optimize the efficiency of each operation, Salvagnini supplies automation and process software which, by suitably organizing the whole production flow, help to achieve greater autonomy for unmanned and lights-out jobs, reducing the impact of labor costs and the return-on-investment time.

The S4 is easy to configure and can work stand-alone, in-line, integrated into a flexible cell or for lights-out manufacturing. The loading/unloading solutions allow unmanned operations, enhancing the productivity of the punching-shearing center. The modularity of Salvagnini’s automation devices allows the production flow to be extended and/or modified, even after first installation. In addition to integrated automation, Salvagnini supplies a wide range of automatic loading/unloading and sorting devices which, coupled with a store, increase system autonomy and efficiency. These devices mean that different materials and thicknesses are always available for just-in-time jobs, minimizing waiting times for sheet metal feeding and reducing the risk of error or damage to the material resulting from human intervention.

The S4 is available in two sizes, for machining 3 or 4 meter sheets. Both models can be configured with one of the 5 heads available, with many customized loading/unloading automations. The model is chosen on the basis of an in-depth feasibility study. Salvagnini’s specialists help each customer to define the most suitable configuration for their production needs, evaluating a number of variables including the field of application, the production strategy and the production mix.

These challenges relate in particular to the recovery of autonomy and efficiency. Automating loading/unloading/sorting supports the high performance of the S4 and brings benefits to the whole manufacturing chain. Implementing simple, quick office software reduces the risk of turning programming into the bottleneck of production. Integrating ERP/MRP and process software for managing production automates the distribution of information, helping to create a lean, error-proof production environment.

Software

Industry has changed: flexibility and efficiency are fundamental requirements for managing increasingly smaller batches or rapid item turnover rate.  And developments in technology have in some way upset the balance between workloads, with increasingly fast systems which however need to be guided by more and more specific machine programs, the generation of which is increasingly time-consuming. This is why software is increasingly crucial to improving the efficiency of machinery.

STREAM is Salvagnini’s answer to the modern industrial context, a programming suite that improves reactivity and reduces costs, operating errors and process inefficiencies.

OPS is the Salvagnini modular production management software which optimizes the entire production process, exchanging real-time information between the machinery and the factory ERP/MRP.

Salvagnini’s IoT solution, increases the global efficiency of the punching machine. LINKS allows real-time monitoring of the machine’s performance and independent analysis.

Technical data

Model

S4Xe.30

S4Xe.40

Maximum sheet dimensions (mm)

3048 x 1650 

4064 x 1650

Maximum sheet diagonal (mm)

3466

4386

Minimum sheet dimensions (mm)

370 x 300

370 x 300

Maximum speed (m/min):
X axis

132 

132

Y axis

96

96

Speed with both axes moving simultaneously (m/min)

163

163

Maximum acceleration (m/s2):
X axis

30 

30 

Y axis

15 

15 

 

Punching

Shearing

Technology

Operating head

Simultaneous or independent X- and Y-axis cutting

Maximum material thickness (mm)

 

    Aluminum, UTS 265 N/mm2

5.0

5.0

    Steel, UTS 410 N/mm

3.5

3.5

    Stainless steel, UTS 610 N/mm2 

2.0

2.0

Minimum material thickness (mm)

0.5

0.5