Rhodes Interform, the UK manufacturer of special-purpose hot and cold forming equipment for metals and composites, has completed the design, build, installation, and commissioning of a bespoke hot-forging production line for bending forklift truck forks at Cascade’s UK plant in Openshaw, Manchester.
This innovative solution replaced Cascade’s manually operated bending equipment with a fully automation cell, which has standardised product quality, increased manufacturing capacity and exceeded health and safety requirements.
The project involved Rhodes Interform producing two hydraulic presses – a 100-Tonne “Upset” press that compresses a section of material in an axial direction and a main 400-Tonne “Bend and Squeeze” press that forms the finished part profile. Robotic part transfer between the two presses and automatic tool transfer deliver a fully automated process, while HMI control systems mounted on the exterior of the guarding give operators access to thousands of stored recipes and operations.
A key engineering challenge was fitting the cell within a confined area of Cascade’s existing factory floor while retaining full ability to safely manipulate and position the product between presses. Rhodes Interform’s mechanical, electrical, software, and project engineering teams worked together on detailed design, feasibility studies, risk assessments and cost analysis, consulting the client throughout to keep the solution aligned with Cascade’s strategic objectives.
Following design sign-off, the line was manufactured and assembled in-house at the company’s Wakefield headquarters, where Cascade attended a Factory Acceptance Test. The equipment was then dismantled, transported and installed at Cascade’s premises by Rhodes Interform service engineers.
The company carried out CE marking for the complete line, with commissioning, Site Acceptance Testing and operator training undertaken jointly with the client.
The new solution allows Cascade the flexibility to manufacture a wide variety of products without the need for frequent tool changes. This will significantly streamline the production process, reduce downtime between jobs and enable faster transitions between different product types. As a result, overall efficiency has been improved, and manufacturing capacity has been increased. The company now has greater flexibility to support smaller production runs and a greater mix of products, helping Cascade to respond more effectively to changing customer demands, whilst maintaining consistent throughput and high levels of productivity.
“We set out to develop a new solution, as our bending process had become outdated. We chose to work with Rhodes Interform as the company has the skills and experience to be able to provide a turnkey solution, with technical support and installation capability, which helped drive the project through to completion at a cost that was in line with our budget. This has been a significant journey for both Cascade and Rhodes Interform.” said Jed Shaw, Fork Operations Manager for Cascade UK and Sweden.
He adds: “UK manufacturing faces a challenging market, with growing competition from overseas manufacturers. In this environment, the ability to produce small-batch, high-variety products efficiently is critical. The new bending process supports this need by reducing tool changeovers while maintaining operational efficiency.”
“Designing and manufacturing high-performance automated solutions is a major part of our business, generating major time and labour-saving benefits for our blue-chip customer base. This line offers accuracy, repeatability and programmable flexibility, with the added feature of process memory recall, and it is now proving itself in daily production for Cascade.” said Peter Anderton, Technical Director for Group Rhodes.
Rhodes Interform continues to provide Cascade with full service and maintenance cover for the machinery. The company also offers fully certified refurbishment services on any make and model of metalforming and composite press.
About Rhodes Interform
The company offers a wide range of hot and cold forming technologies for specialist metalforming applications across several industrial sectors. Rhodes Interform’s composite machinery is used to produce structural components for production road cars, as well as flight-critical components for a variety of aircraft. As well as manufacturing state-of-the-art presses, the company reconditions and upgrades its extensive range of existing machines at a fraction of the cost of buying new and undertakes refurbishment work on equipment of other makes. Rhodes Interform can also provide full PLC or CNC control system upgrades with software designed to meet individual customer requirements. All machinery is supported by a comprehensive aftermarket spares and service team maintaining the company’s equipment worldwide.
About Group Rhodes
Parent company Group Rhodes has a 200-year metalforming machinery history and has manufactured equipment for forming composite materials from as early as the 1930s. The group also operates divisions in the heavy ceramics and material handling sectors and has won Queen’s Awards for both Innovation and International Trade in recent years.
About Cascade
Cascade (UK) Limited is part of Cascade Corporation, a leading manufacturer of material handling products. Established in 1943, Cascade Corporation has evolved from a modest machine shop into a global leader in the manufacture of attachments, forks, masts and related technologies for lift trucks and AGVs.
Cascade (UK) Ltd. supplies lift truck attachments, stainless steel valves, and pipe fittings, and designs, manufactures, and supplies hydraulic attachments, with a product line covering a wide range of fork products for industrial and commercial use.
Visit the website cascadecorp.com.
