Equipment for Wheel Manufacturing Industry
Precision Through Automation
Being the premier wheel equipment manufacturer – with continuity from Berkeley-Davis, Federal Machine, Swift-Ohio and Hess Industries, Inc. – Aii can provide wheel manufacturers the equipment and support for any application, such as: automotive, construction, agriculture, and ATV/off-road vehicles. Solutions for problems, ranging from one machine to a complete line, can be provided by Aii’s staff. Aii also provides the capability to remanufacture your existing wheel equipment. Aii can design and manufacture a wide variety of equipment for wheel and rim products.
New Product! First-of-its-Kind!
Automated High Speed Electric Roll Former
This Wheel Rim Roll Forming machine is our new, fully electric servo drive technology that showcases just a small sample of what Aii is capable of. This technology enables much faster, cleaner, more precise wheel forming over the traditional hydraulic powered systems. It's a first-of-its-kind that we're aware of. As far as we know there has never been an all servo electric motor roll forming machine of this size. Everyone here at Aii has had some involvement with it and we are very proud of this team.
Automation International, Inc. has helped hundreds of customers with their manufacturing needs from a single machine to a complete Automated Wheel Rim Line which could include De-coil/cut-to-length equipment with optional edge condition rolls that are then sheared to the pre-programmed length. They are then sent to a Stacker/De-Stacker system. Coiling Machines form coiled hoops from flat strips which are then sent on to the Resistance Welder. These Heavy-duty Resistance Welding Machines can be provided with A.C. flash, D.C. flash, or D.C. butt welding processes. Most are hydraulically operated and the welding is accomplished using our own State-of-the-Art AssurancePlus® Welding Control System built right here at Aii. Wheel Rim-forming & Wheel Profiling Equipment, Spin/Flow forming Equipment, and Rim-Wheel Assembly Equipment along with dedicated automation or robotic automation systems are all available and custom-built to the customer's needs right here in Danville, Illinois.
We are always looking for ways to make our machines better, faster, more energy efficient and cost effective. The equipment being showcased in this video takes this industry a step forward when it comes to faster, cleaner, energy saving, precision and it uses less floor space. It is also automated so less man-hours are needed.
PREPARATION LINE
Wheel Production Preparation Line
De-coil / Cut-to-length lines provide for the uncoiling of large sheets of steel. Equipment can be provided with either mandrel type or cradle type de-coilers. From the de-coiler, the material is guided to a straightener or leveler to remove the coil set. Optional edge conditioning rolls can be provided to condition the slit edges along the width of the coil material. Finally, a hydraulic shear is provided for cutting the material into cut strips of pre-programmed length. As the strips are sheared they are transferred to a stacker/destacker system.
Coiling machines provide for the forming of coiled hoops from flat strips. A rotary part marking system is integrated in the coiler at the infeed section of the machine. The coiled hoops are produced with a short "flat" section on both sides of the gap allowing the weld to be produced with flat clamping/welding dies.
Welding machines can be provided with A.C. flash, D.C. flash, or D.C. butt welding process. The machines are heavy-duty supporting all of the clamping and welding loads associated with the welding process. The machines are hydraulically operated and the welding is accomplished utilizing our state-of-the-art AssurancePlus® Welding Control System.
Welding transformers/power supplies can be configured for 1-phase A.C. transformers, 3-phase D.C. power supplies, or 3-phase MFDC power supplies. Weld dressing operations are provided for the weld trimming and weld planishing along with the edge nip trimming and re-rounding of the coiled hoop.
RIM FORMING / PROFILING
Wheel Rim-forming & Wheel Profiling Equipment
The profiling system includes a series of machines either manually attended or linked by automation to provide for the automatic transfer from machine to machine.
The Flare Press is a horizontal machine with automatic load/unload system used in high production lines and performs the initial flaring of the coiled and welded hoop to start the rim profiling operation.
Following the flaring operation, the rim band enters the first of typically three roll forming machines where the rim band is roll formed in a progressive manner to its intended rim shape.
The Expander Press is a horizontal machine with automatic load/unload system to size the finished rim.
Following the profiling operations, the rim can then be passed through a flange edge conditioning machine to produce a radius onto the edges of the profiled rim.
The finished rim is then passed through a leak testing system to determine that the weld zone is void of any detectable leaks.
The formed and sized rim is then transferred into a rim valve hole machine.
SPIN/FLOW FORMING
Flow-Spin-Forming Equipment
Automation International manufactures Spin/Flow forming equipment for all of your needs. Aii is a leader in the development and manufacturing of CNC machine tools for chip-less metal forming. Our expertise extends to virtually all workable metals and industries. We offer a wide range of machine tools on which many products can be manufactured.
WHEEL ASSEMBLY
Rim-Wheel Assembly Equipment
Rim-to-Disc:
The wheel welding operation includes two basic processes - the assembly press where a disc is assembled to the profiled rim and the assembly welder where the disc is attached to the rim by welding. The equipment can be configured in several different ways ranging from manual to fully automatic. The welding systems can be configured with single or multiple torches to accommodate the productivity requirements. Systems can be provided with dedicated automation or robotic automation arrangements.