Automatic Feed Company (AFCO) announces that it has received its fourth order for an XLC-HSS Leveler to be installed in North America during 2021. Three of these levelers are being supplied to Tier 1 automotive manufactures and the fourth leveler is being supplied to a North American Japanese automotive OEM. These levelers represent AFCO’s newest generation of cassette-style levelers designed to meet the demands of today’s automotive materials, including advanced and ultra-high-strength steel, tailor welded blanks, and surface critical steel and aluminum.
These orders are in addition to two other XLC-HSS levelers, installed in late 2020, which are up and running, successfully processing various types of steel and/or aluminum coils. Five of the six levelers are replacing old equipment in existing lines with one of those lines also undergoing an electrical upgrade. The sixth leveler being installed is part of a new 84” high speed blanking line.
One of the 2021 ordered levelers is for a new AFCO customer, who made the purchase based upon recommendations from a current customer who has already purchased multiple AFCO XLC-HSS levelers.
These cassette-style levelers feature removable cartridges that house the upper and lower work rolls, intermediate spiral grooved backup rolls and adjustable cam follower back-ups for optimal flatness across the width of the material. Cassette style levelers provide easy access for machine inspection, cleaning, and maintenance. In addition to processing a wide range of material types, the XLC-HSS levelers provide superior flatness for a wide range of material widths, thicknesses from 0.5mm to 6mm, and yield strengths up to 1280 MPa (for Steel). Each XLC-HSS levelers is designed to run in lines at speeds up to 90 mpm.
