Over the past year, "new quality productive forces" has become a buzzword. Accelerating their formation has become the concrete direction for innovation-driven growth in the real economy, and moving faster to lead the era is a question every company faces. With an increasingly complex domestic and international environment and fierce competition across industries, automotive parts makers in metal forming automation must build high-efficiency, high-quality, low-noise and low-energy automatic stamping lines. Qicheng built its first six-axis robot synchronized stamping line for a tier-one automotive supplier, achieving strong returns in efficiency, energy savings, labor cost and equipment life.
The line links five presses (1600T+1000T+800T+800T+800T). Qicheng supplied the destacking and sheet-separation system, vision centering, seven ABB six-axis robots (six IRB6660 and one IRB6700), the QuickStamp robot stamping software package, end effectors, line-end conveyors, safety guarding, press synchronization control, robot master control, video monitoring and a digital production management system. It is a complete turnkey automatic stamping line used mainly for new energy vehicle parts.
What sets this line apart is its operating mode. Previous robot lines ran presses in intermittent mode, where the press pauses at top dead center and the clutch and brake act frequently. As manufacturing demands rose, Qicheng delivered a six-axis robot line in continuous mode, where the press does not pause at top dead center and the clutch and brake do not act frequently. Continuous operation effectively lowers energy consumption, extends clutch and die life and raises output, while placing much higher demands on automation.
Through years of R&D, field practice and program control, Qicheng achieved the highly demanding six-axis robot synchronization and press continuous-mode control systems, with output reaching up to 13 parts per minute when dies, parts and press slide stroke meet the conditions. This reaches an industry-leading level and changes the previous reliance on single-arm manipulators and linear seven-axis synchronized lines, greatly reducing equipment investment. It is Qicheng's first six-axis synchronized line to produce parts.
Compared with intermittent mode, the line raises average output by about 15%. In intermittent mode the press runs 18 slide strokes; in continuous mode it stays within 13. At the same output, continuous mode uses a much lower slide speed and needs no clutch braking during normal production, cutting press energy use by 15%-20%. Fewer slide strokes mean less impact on dies, about 6% lower average shop noise and 20% longer die life. Press clutch maintenance intervals extend significantly, cutting maintenance cost by more than RMB 150,000 a year. Continuous mode also reduces die impact and press vibration, effectively preventing loosened screws and connectors on dies and presses. This delivers real cost savings and stronger competitiveness for customers.