Schuler and its affiliate Farina demonstrated what the companies say is the world’s largest mechanical forging line to an international group of 60 forging experts. A live video stream transmitted from the production site in Suello, Italy, highlighted the features of the 16,000-ton press, which has a stroke of 600 mm, in action. The press will be delivered to Germany’s thyssenkrupp Gerlach. Due to its Scotch Yoke design, the press has a total height of 14 meters – making it much smaller than conventional presses. This enables high off-center loads and a high number of strokes. From the outside, the GLF-type machine looks like a conventional press, including the flywheel, clutch and crown gear. However, the Scotch Yoke directly works in the slide, which is the reason for the compact design.

The press, which has a total weight of approximately 1,850 tons, further consists of a cast-steel-designed table and welded uprights. Because of the Scotch Yoke design, the press force of 16,000 tons provided by an 800-kW drive is available 500 mm to the right and left. 

During the live demonstration, the machine was running at its half speed of 16 strokes per minute. The online audience could see that the flywheel is installed exactly in the middle of the crown, which allows the press to be more precise in the forging process, according to Farina.