FIUKA and Nidec Minster, Together into the Electric Future

With more than 75 years of innovation and growth in manufacturing, Fischer & Kaufmann (FIUKA) is expanding its capabilities, targeting the emerging market of electric motors for e-cars.

For several years now, FIUKA has been using state-of-the-art servo press technology, some with high press forces, to form complex components.

FIUKA has thus established a good reputation as a forming specialist for the cold forming of demanding automotive parts.

“Looking to the future, we want to move forward,” said Tobias Heutger, Managing Director with technical responsibility at FIUKA.

To prepare for the future of electric vehicles, FIUKA recently installed a successfully-commissioned Nidec Minster EV-350 high-speed press.

This EV Press is used to stamp ultra-thin electrical laminations for electric vehicle motors.

The Minster EV press series offers a large bed length to accommodate the increasingly complex dies with integrated functions in the future, such as stacking, bonding and welding.

A high precision tool is required for the thin electrical lamination due to the smallest cutting gap tolerance.

Thanks to extreme bending stiffness, coupled with high-precision hydrostatic/hydrodynamic slideways, this precision can be achieved effortlessly even with 3.70 meters long dies.

These features are the ones that make Minster EV presses an industry leader for superior part accuracy even at high production speeds, with low die wear.

FIUKA employs 420 people at its headquarters in Finnentrop, Sauerland (about 90 kilometers east of Cologne). The company operates another plant with approximately 100 employees in Poland.

FIUKA is distinguished by its ability to adapt to changing trends in the automotive industry.

“Change is nothing new for us, we have already proven many times that we deal with the future and accept almost any challenge, so we can continue to offer competitive systems to European car manufacturers in the future,” said Managing Partner, Jürgen Bischopink.

While the stamping of electrical laminations is a completely new application for FIUKA, Jürgen Bischopink explains that other components for electric vehicles have already been in production for some time.

Since 2018, FIUKA has been producing housings for electric motors, which are needed for cooling, and special mention should be made of the laser hardening, integrated into the ongoing process directly after cold forming, without any further post-processing.

These components are installed in vehicles with hybrid drives and represent the link between the electric motor and the transmission.

In addition, FIUKA already produces many stamped parts that are required for an electrically powered vehicle.

The Nidec Minster EV press installed at FIUKA uses high-speed feeders and intelligent automation and monitoring systems from Nidec SYS.

SYS and Minster are part of the Nidec Press & Automation (NP&A) group of companies.

By combining expertise and experience, as well as the resources of industry leaders in metal forming, Nidec Press & Automation has created a solution: ‘One source, a world of resources,’ for both machinery, services and technology.

The “One Source Solution“ was a key factor in the decision to choose Nidec Minster,  says Tobias Heutger.

“Nidec Group’s experience in the world of electric motor production is impressive, which is precisely why the Minster EV press was equipped with important features right from the start,” he said.

A new market, with new technology and a manageable risk, was the maxim for the decision to go with the Nidec Minster EV press.

Nidec Press & Automation is represented in all relevant markets with a globally established customer service network.

It was also important for FIUKA to have access to the German-based NP&A Service Group, a SERVICE subsidiary that has been in existence for more than 25 years.

Field service, spare parts supply and technical support are provided from the German location.

For more information about Fischer & Kaufmann (FIUKA) and its capabilities, visit the company online at www.fiuka.de.