Special Machine Design & Build
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At ACB, we design and manufacture a wide range of Cold Forming machines to meet the diverse needs of our customers, while ensuring consistently high quality standards. From small structural parts produced on our Elastoforming presses to large and complex structural components formed on our Stretch Forming presses, our solutions cover the full spectrum of industrial forming applications.
Cold Stretch Forming presses
What is Cold Stretch Forming
Cold Stretch Forming is a process for shaping metal alloys at room temperature that guarantees high precision and quality. At Aries Industries, we have developed unique expertise in this technology, particularly through our mastery of pre-stretching. This key step involves stretching the sheet metal or profile beyond its elastic limit before wrapping it over the tooling, thereby providing homogeneous deformation and limiting springback.
The result: perfectly conforming metal parts, without wrinkles or risk of buckling.
Cold Stretch Forming makes it possible to produce complex parts with exceptional dimensional accuracy, while optimizing repeatability and reducing assembly operations. Our expertise, acquired over several decades, has enabled us to deliver more than 300 machines worldwide, ranging from 20T to 2500T, and to produce a wide portfolio of references for various demanding sectors.
What sets us apart is our integrated approach. We support our customers at every stage: process simulation, tool design and manufacture, programming, industrialization, production and after sales. By combining press manufacturing activities and process expertise within the same group, we offer a comprehensive service that is unique in the world, guaranteeing total control of the process and optimal performance.
Materials
Industries
Applications in the aerospace industry
Aircraft primary structural parts
Cold Stretch Forming enables the precise and durable manufacture of primary structural components that are essential to the strength of the aircraft. We produce fuselage panels, nose and tail sections, leading edges, and center panels, among other components.
Dynamic structural parts
With many years of experience, we also manufacture dynamic structural components, including rotor blades shield for helicopters. We are able to develop these critical components with the strength, precision, and reliability required to meet our customer’s most stringent requirements.
Application in the space industry
The Cold Stretch Forming process is more and more involved in the production of petal a key-component of dome used in the structure of legacy and new spaceship.
Specific grades of aluminum or of high-strength and hardness stainless steel are used for this application which requires even higher machine performances.
Our Cold Stretch Forming machines
At Aries Industries, we have designed a complete range of Cold Stretch Forming presses capable of meeting all industrial needs, from small and narrow leading edges to large fuselage panels. Each machine is designed to offer precision, safety, and productivity, while incorporating the latest innovations in numerical control and simulation.
Combined with our OPSYS 3 control system and our in-house simulation software, our presses guarantee a rapid transition from design to industrialization, with optimal repeatability and easy integration into your workshops providing a optimum time-to-market to our customer.
Transversal Stretch Forming presses
FET
FET presses, available from 2×150 to 2×1,250 tons stretching capacity, are designed for the transverse forming of complex parts up to ≈ 6,5×6 m. Equipped with eight independent numerically controlled axes, they enable precise and repeatable forming, perfectly suited to leading edges or fuselage panels. Their architecture, based on the relative movement between movable jaw blocks and fixed tool, eliminates holes in the frame, thereby enhancing operator safety. Compact and easy to integrate with automated systems, they are a high-productivity solution for mass production.
T
T-type presses, with stretching capacities ranging from 2×200 to 2×750 tons, are based on the same principle as FET presses but feature a rising table that performs the forming movement. Equipped with six independent axes, they also guarantee precision and repeatability for parts such as center fuselage panels and leading edges. Their man-height design enhances operator safety while facilitating intervention and part inspection.
FETM
FETM presses, with stretching capacities ranging from 2×300 to 2×800 tons, combine the advantages of FET and T presses. With 10 independent axes, these presses enable the forming of particularly complex parts while maximizing safety and ergonomics for the operator. Their architecture is based on the relative movement between the jaws, table, and tool, ensuring compactness and efficiency. These machines are ideal for demanding applications requiring both productivity and flexibility.
Longitudinal Stretch Forming presses
FEL
FEL presses, with stretching capacities ranging from 2×150 to 2×800 tons, are specially designed for the longitudinal forming of large double-curvature sheet metal parts with dimensions up to ≈ 3× 15 m. Thanks to their 8 independent CNC-controlled axes and a design with a fixed table, it is the curvable jaw line that provide the movement, offering reliability and precision for the production of fuselage panels.
L
The L series, with stretching capacities ranging from 2×350 to 2×900 tons, follows the principles of the FEL including curvable jaw line but with a rising table that performs the movement. These compact, automatable presses also enable the forming of large longitudinal parts such as fuselage panels. Their high level of repeatability and ease of integration make them ideal for recurring industrial needs.
Combined Longitudinal & Transversal presses
VTL
The VTL series, covering stretching capacities from 2×125 to 2×750 tons, combines the flexibility of longitudinal and transverse presses. Convertible from an L to a T configuration thanks to a strongback system, they can produce a wide variety of parts which dimensions up to 4×12m: complex double-curvature fuselage panels, cockpit contours, leading edges and even parts requiring reverse forming. With up to 38 independent axes, rotating die table or 3 die tables, and a tangency tracking system, they offer unique versatility and significantly reduce setup times.
Profile Stretch Forming presses
FEV – V
FEV presses, available from 2×20 to 2×150 tons of stretching capacity, are designed for forming profiles and extrusion parts. Equipped with two powerful arms, they can precisely shape fuselage frames or stringers, wagon roof hoop, truck fenders…. With 4 to 8 independent axes, they offer a high level of productivity and flexibility, enhanced by quick tool changers and advanced simulation software.
Hot and Cold Straightener
These specialized machines round out our range with solutions dedicated to profile, extrusion and plate stretching and straightening. Although less common, they provide a tailored response to the very specific needs of certain programs and can be adapted either for cold (aluminum, stainless steel part) or hot straightening (titanium parts).
Dynamic Structural Stretch Forming presses
BTT & BTP
These specialized presses are dedicated to the production of helicopter blades shields (main rotor or tail rotor) and winglet leading edge. Different materials as aluminum, stainless steel or even commercially pure titanium alloys can be managed using this process. Although they meet very specific needs, they illustrate our ability to provide solutions tailored to the most critical parts.
Elastoforming presses
What is Elastoforming
Materials
Industries
Applications in the aerospace industry
Aircraft reinforcement and connection parts
Our expertise covers the production of reinforcement and connecting parts, such as stiffeners and other connecting elements that ensure the overall mechanical integrity of aeronautical structures.
Our presses
Our EMC (Elastoforming presses) are available from 3,500 to 20,000 tons. Equipped with cost-efficient multi-layer pads, our machines allow fast pad replacement directly by the operator in only a few minutes, significantly reducing maintenance downtime and ensuring high machine availability.
The presses are also engineered for optimal ergonomics and ease of use. Their flat tables, free from obstacles, allow tools to be loaded quickly with a simple sliding movement, while access from both main sides facilitates handling and production operations.
In addition, our machines can be equipped with a second table to further increase productivity and reduce cycle times by enabling parallel preparation and unloading operations. They can also be integrated into fully automated production lines, including carousel systems, for continuous flow manufacturing and maximum throughput efficiency.
Our others expertises
About
Aries Industries
With decades of expertise in metal forming solutions, Aries Industries is a global leader in HF/SPF Aerospace parts and metal-forming presses for aerospace, defense, and industrial applications.Trusted by leading OEMs worldwide, our solutions support the most demanding applications, from blisk production and critical structural components to small connecting parts.