No scrap!
Further processing of punching waste in the Metal Forming Division
By processing high-quality raw materials, the Metal Forming Division not only saves CO2, but also reuses valuable sheet metal in the form of punching waste in the interests of the circular economy.
"Don't throw it away, you can still make something out of it!" - a common phrase among all craft enthusiasts. Leftover boxes quickly become a real treasure trove for repairs and handicrafts. The researchers in the Metal Forming Division at voestalpine thought that what is right on a small scale cannot be wrong on a large scale. The contents of their "leftover boxes": tons of valuable strip steel.
Production residues as a valuable resource
Up to 40% of a part's carbon footprint used to end up in the scrap bin. This is because the CO2 footprint of stamping waste is attributed to the finished part. Large stamping remnants can easily take up more space than the usable part itself. A solution had to be found.
Sufficiently sized stamping remnants can have a second career in the production of smaller parts, provided that the parts are accurately analyzed and measured and match current or potential production orders.
Harald Schwinghammer, Senior Manager R&D in Metal Forming Division at voestalpine
As stamping remnants not only come in different sizes and thicknesses, but also in different compositions, a system had to be developed that could cope with this diversity. The preliminary tests on more than 200 sheet metal samples proved the fundamental feasibility of the automated determination of steel grades.
Jana Pöpperlová, Senior Manager R&D in the Metal Forming Division of voestalpine
Technological solutions for further processing
Materials must therefore be precisely analyzed and accurately measured. Laser-based analysis equipment and electromagnetic methods are used to automatically determine steel grades. In addition, a system has been set up to pick up and process sheet metal pieces of different sizes and formats. The measurement results are stored in a cloud solution and compared with current production orders.
Multiple benefits and extended value chain
In the future, it will be possible to use low-emission or zero-emission blanks in the production of small parts. The logistics between producers and recyclers of stamping waste still need to be considered. A separate project is addressing the challenges of quality determination and information transfer that will give stamping waste a kind of digital passport. Reducing the CO2 impact of the primary component and producing CO2-neutral components from the scrap sheets makes the stamping scrap upgrade even more attractive - meaningful scrap boxes.
"Scrap" from the punching press is not useless waste, but a sought-after raw material in the recycling loop. The commissioning of the electric arc furnaces in Donawitz and Linz will further increase the demand for this material. In terms of the Group-wide calculation of material and emissions balances, it remains to be seen when the most economically and ecologically sensible option is to recycle punching waste.