WIROP has been providing a complete range of products and services for the wire rope fabrication sector. In 2014, the company achieves remarkable results: introducing a new concept swaging machine with automatic die changing system, taking part in the drafting of Chinese swaging standards, expansion of manufacturing facilities to meet rising demands of Wirop products.
Part of the WIROP team along with their 1000T C-frame hydraulic swaging machine at OSEA 2014
A new concept: die conveying and changing system for swaging machine
The die conveying part is attached to the swaging machine to facilitate easy die changing. In OSEA 2014, Wirop has this concept system for exhibition for the first time. Doron Lu, Deputy Manager of Wirop, remarks, “One of the most difficult things in working with the swaging machine is changing the die, which easily weighs several hundred kg. With this concept system, settings can be done on the HMI screen, a particular die can be retrieved from the rack automatically, and conveyed next to the die holder. The only job for the operator is to push the die into place. Conventionally, the operator needs to retrieve the die from the storage rack and loads it onto a cart and transports it to the swaging machine. When the die is too heavy, a forklift or hoist is used to lift and put the die into place, which can be sometimes dangerous. With our concept system, we design an organized way to store the dies, with dies of different sizes placed in a logical way. The core idea is to put it systematically. Our concept system provides our customers a new way of thinking. Many people may come up with such ideas, but we take a step forward and build this concept system that actually works.”
C-frame swaging machine, convenient to use and reliable
At OSEA2014, the die changing system is attached to Wirop’s 1000T C-frame hydraulic swaging machine. The C-frame swaging machine’s highest capacity model is 1300T, other offerings include 80T, 150T, 300T, 600T and 1000T. “C-frame swaging machines are easy to work with. These series of machines are designed completely by 3D software, the structure has a modern look, and has reduced amount of raw materials used. But the reduced use of material is not for reducing our production costs. A weighty machine is not convenient for installation for our customers. We reduce the weight of the machines while strengthen their structures.”
Doron Lu says, “Wirop’s machines are reliable and seldom malfunctions. When there is needs to change parts, all the parts have a part number and it is not hard to change them. When our customers expand their facilities they may upgrade or buy new swaging machines. The most popular model is the 600T C-frame swaging machine. Many of Wirop’s machines that are manufactured in the 1980’s are still in use. For example, Makkee International owns a Wirop swaging machine that is more than 25 years old. With the highly competitive pricing of Wirop’s swaging machines, and the reliability and long working life of the machines, our machines are sold to customers all over the world in 84 countries or regions.”
Taking part in the drafting of the Chinese lifting sling swaging standards
The lifting and rigging sector in China, although growing fast in the last few decades, did not have an industry standards that are put into practice. This may be a concern for the safety of the products. For the swaging of wire rope slings, Doron Lu says there is no standards for manufacturing press machines, but there are standards on how to swage. The most commonly used standards are the EU standards. Wirop has been participated in the drafting of the Chinese standards, and those standards are put into practice since Jan 1, 2015.
Doron Lu believes the new Chinese Standards are relatively modern standards, which includes sections on aluminum ferrules, stainless steel ferrules and steel sleeves. The EU standards cover much on aluminum ferrules, and also on stainless steel sleeves, but there is little coverage on steel sleeves. Indeed, there is no standards from the US or Japan. Remarkably, the stainless steel and aluminum ferrules standards in the new Chinese standards come from Wirop’s own standards.
Expanding manufacturing facilities, raising service standards.
Eight years ago, Wirop has expanded its Kaohsiung factory. However, in recent years, orders are in the upward trends and most of the orders are for large machines, the manufacturing facilities gradually cannot meet the demands.
In 2014, Wirop expands again its manufacturing facilities, and these new areas will operate in May, 2015. Some departments of the company will move the office to the new plant, and will provide even better services to the customers. With enlarged manufacturing areas, the production lines are streamlined and are more efficient. These will shorten the delivery time for Wirop’s products. Moreover, Wirop now maintains inventory of aluminum ferrules of more than 800 tonnes, thus the company can meet demands for orders in large volumes. The new enlarged facilities of Wirop will certainly path a widely road for Wirop’s future.
This article is published on LRW Magazine vol19, 2015.
