Industrial gas springs Stromsholmen

INDUSTRIAL GAS SPRINGS

Stromsholmen is a global leader in the design and manufacture of industrial gas springs with a clear focus on the automotive industry. Industry Europe looks at its latest innovative products and plans to move into new market sectors.

Stromsholmen was founded in Tranas, Sweden in 1876 and over the years has been responsible for the development of many ground-breaking engineering products. However in 1983 its pioneering development of the gas spring for press tool applications exceeded all previous engineering achievements. At a stroke, it became the world leader in gas spring technology and its brand, ‘Kaller’, is synonymous with exceptional quality and reliability. Since that time, the company has focused exclusively on the development and introduction of new and advanced gas spring products in close cooperation with its customers.

The company is present across every continent and its distributors and dealers stock the full range of Kaller products worldwide, whilst at the same time guaranteeing just-in-time deliveries and on-the-spot service. Its headquarters are based in Sweden and from there its full range of products is manufactured for its markets worldwide.

Stromsholmen AB is a member of the Barnes Group, a US corporation with more than 5000 employees. This strong financial resource continues to guarantee the company’s place at the forefront of its specialised business sector.

Innovation and service

Many years of innovative development has resulted in a range of products that have established an international reputation for quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness. All the company’s products are life- cycle tested to withstand two million cycles and provide built-in safety features that exceed the relevant requirements laid down by TUV, SA and DRIR regulators.

Gas springs offer a clear advantage over mechanical springs and provide particularly effective solutions where high force and compact dimensions are required. This explains why Stromsholmen’s branded ‘Kaller’ gas springs can be found in the world’s leading makes of automobiles, as well as in dump trucks, waste compressors and industrial robots. Kaller gas springs provide full load on contact without the need to pre-load. Other advantages over mechanical coil springs are that they offer greater tonnage per diameter and as a result can replace the work of several mechanical coil springs. In addition, gas spring output force can be easily and simply adjusted.

Gas springs are utilised in 90 per cent of all press tool applications for the tool and die market worldwide. Of these, over 80 per cent go into specialised tools for automotive industry components. The balance is used in the white goods industry and in a wide range of steel formulation products. “Our advanced gas springs guarantee to achieve more force in less space than other products, thus saving costs and minimising waste. In addition, this is combined with the exceptional safety factor that we build into each and every product,” said a company spokesperson.

“We take pride in everything we do including the dedication to our customers through our global distribution and services network as well as with our comprehensive service directory. We are also environmentally aware and some years ago moved from

Stenbergs

Since 1919, Stenbergs has provided the Swedish engineering industry with leading machine tools technology and is today the exclusive dealer of Okuma CNC machines for the Swedish market.

Stenberg’s most important task is to develop its customers productivity and profitability through a long lasting working relationship. Stenberg’s offerings shall always contain innovative solutions based on the latest technology together with an outstanding service, knowhow and experience.

Stenbergs and Strömsholmen have worked together since the 1980’s where Stenbergs was the first company to introduce robotized and automated cells with CNC machines to Strömsholmen. The collaboration has continued and the companies have jointly developed different types of machine configurations with focus on complete solutions with all required functions integrated in robot cells. As an example, brush grinding and air blowing of details are made in the robot cells serving the CNC machines.

The latest machine, an Okuma LT3000, is served with a ‘flexible and easy-to- handle’ vision-guided robot cell. The automation solution enables a quick set-up of new products and it will be easy to add more functions like washing and measuring to the cell in the future.

hard chrome piston rods to chrome-free products whilst maintaining the highest quality standards in reliability and longevity of the product’s life cycle.”

Stromsholmen continuously introduces new products or improves on existing ranges. In September this year (2013), for example, it launched a new extremely compact and powerful piston rod sealed gas spring series, the KALLER Compact Xtreme CX. With its compact build height and cylinder diameters, the CX gas spring can reach extreme initial forces, ranging from 5100 N to 19,200 N with stroke lengths up to 80mm.

Highly automated production and testing

Stromsholmen has continuously invested in state-of-the-art production technologies to keep it ahead of its competitors and be able to offer economies of scale to its customers. The company’s machining resources are a customer’s guarantee of consistent quality. Furthermore, Kaller gas springs are designed, manufactured and tested according to PED 97/23/EC for two million full cycles. This testing procedure is done at the highest allowed charging pressure and running temperature and applies to all specified mounting methods. The Kaller unique ‘Flex Guide’ system absorbs lateral piston rod movements and reduces friction as well as lowering the operating temperature. This in turn prolongs service life and allows the use of a higher number of piston strokes per minute.

Kaller has also developed a unique ‘over-stroke’ protection system that significantly adds to the reliability and safety of its products. The cylinder wall is designed to deform in a predetermined way, thus venting the internal gas pressure in a controlled manner. In addition the company has also designed an over-load protection system which has an integral safety stop feature and an over-pressure protection system, which is designed to efficiently vent excessive gas pressure.

Continuing global expansion

Stromsholmen is continuing to invest in the emerging markets of the world, in particular Asia. The company spokesperson added, “We are always looking to acquire companies that subscribe to the same high standards as we do and provide us with the synergies required for strong growth. However, we expect to continue to grow organically with much of our growth coming from the Asian markets and in particular China.

“We also plan to expand our business by entering into new market segments, a good example of which is our success in the large, earth moving sector where the need for heavy duty gas springs is a growing requirement. In addition, we are involved in designing products for military vehicles such as tanks and personnel carriers as well as for heavy construction equipment. We can make a difference because of our in-depth knowledge of vehicle dynamics and knowhow gained in the automotive industry.” n