Sheet metal forming industry ready for digital transformation

By OEM Update Editorial May 7, 2020 4:01 pm IST

Leaders from the sheet metal forming industry talk about the challenges in being technology-driven in India and discuss ways to contribute to the growth rate of the industry.

The worldwide metal forming and machine tool markets represent various drivers and upcoming and trending opportunities presently existing in the industry. Metal forming plays a significant role in the production of various manufactured goods, right from the automobile industry to the component and equipment industry that demands intense precision across various industries.

The demand for high-technology machine tools has been increasing over a period of time. This is mostly met through imports. However, many foreign firms are establishing businesses in India through joint ventures and bringing latest technologies to Indian shores. Access to such technologies is expected to enhance the manufacturing capabilities of domestic manufacturers and give a boost to indigenous production.

Increased applications of sheet metal forming impact different industries

According to Niranjan R Manjrekar, General Manager – Indian Operations, LVD Strippit India, “Largely, sheet metal will remain a growing industry due to increase in demand from the infrastructure, locomotive, aerospace, and furniture segments. These are among the top driving sectors contributing to the growth forecast for the sheet metal forming segments. Moreover, I am expecting the growth for 2020 to be 7–8 percent and then gradually will have a major leap increasing to 18–20 percent by the end of 2025. The government’s initiative for smart cities along with other infrastructure development initiatives will also add up to the demand increase in the sheet metal forming sector. All the mentioned sectors will boost the manufacturing activity, creating a major need of equipping the factories with better machineries for optimised quality and throughput.”

Puneet Sharma, Country Head India, Salvagnini Machinery India Pvt. Ltd. says, “India’s sheet metal market is growing at 20–25 percent which is majorly due to the present government’s initiatives for the development and investment in infrastructure, railways, green energy, telecom, and textile machinery. A lot of sheet metal importers from Europe and the US are shifting from China to India, which is again key for the Indian sheet metal industry to gear up with adaptive technologies.”

Niraj Seth, President, Amada (India) Pvt. Ltd., feels, “Sheet metal forming application is found in almost all sectors now. Even wood is steadily being replaced by sheet metal, e.g., architecture, display racks, and home furniture.”

Adoption of laser and CAD/CAM in sheet metal by domestic manufacturers

“As per our study and observation, the Indian sheet metal forming sector is getting matured and knowledgeable in factory management, throughout optimisation, and maximum efficiency of equipment, and all these factors demand a more advanced manufacturing environment in terms of complete solutions and not only restricting to just a machine,” says Manjrekar.

In today’s scenario, customers are inclined towards the integrated solution of machine–automation–integrated software. With increased demand for greater accuracy, flexibility, and productivity, customers are inclined towards established manufacturing brands having vast experience as a technology partner.

Software has become a very essential aspect which helps companies in better planning and utilisation of plant and machineries and is very important to ensure timely commitment. High-power laser cutting machine with high dynamics are a hot topic in the industry considering ROI and production rate per square feet, as the space cost becomes 60–70 percent of the total investment.

Agreeing to the discussion, Seth says that fibre laser cutting technology has matured to a great extent.  Ability to cut ferrous and non-ferrous materials has helped to expand its application. Very high control of its beam parameters has expanded its use in welding application, too. Offline software makes it possible to eliminate virtual simulation, thus avoiding expensive trials.

Rakesh Agarwal, MD, Laser Technologies Limited explains further, “The demand for fibre laser cutting technology is growing very rapidly. Five years ago, we were selling 50–60 fibre laser cutting machines in India. Today, we are selling around 2,000 machines. So, it’s a multifold increase. And by 2025, I believe it will increase to 5,000 machines per year. So, there is a huge potential for this technology.”

The infrastructure sector is now considering usage of fibre laser cutting for metro coaches, construction equipment, scaffolding, etc. Moreover, manufacturing needs to be flexible, as products become obsolete in 6–8 months. So, manufacturers have to keep changing their products within this time frame. Laser cutting technology provides that kind of flexibility to them.

Challenges in adapting technical advancements

The sheet metal and metal cutting industry comprises more than 80 percent of the machine tool industry. To be more specific, sheet metal is the second half of the machine tool industry. With the changing trends in the machine tool industry in India, metal forming application has significantly increased in the country. In recent years, sheet metal works have been widely increasing across various industries, right from cutting, bending, punching and forming. With customer requirements of product quality and quantity increasing, many companies are gradually shifting to automated machines from conventional ones. In the automotive industry, there is a high level of automation for cutting, pressing, forming, and welding using automated hydraulic presses and robotics for welding.

Talking about the challenges, Manjrekar mentions a few challenges in the sheet metal forming sector as a seller. According to him, “Financing is the major hurdle stopping a buyer from procuring quality machines. In case of unavailability of funds for capital equipment, some buyers are forced to buy low-performance machines which make their life difficult and become a major obstacle in their growth path. We are trying to step in and are supporting buyers with different financing options from NBFCs and financing schemes.”

In today’s competitive and aggressive market, OEMs must be equipped with high-performance technology to act fast and encash the opportunity. New technologies always help industries to be one step ahead in the overall production and business cycle.

Whereas, Seth believes that the industry is open to explore the latest technologies without any restraint. He further adds, “The sheet metal fabrication industry per se doesn’t have any major challenges because India already has access to the technologies that are widely used by the global industries. To be more precise, challenges create demand, and with the current trends in the demand side, I feel that the Indian industry is capable to meet the demands.”

According to Agarwal, the growth trajectory of the sheet metal forming and steel industries has its own set of challenges. “I believe that India will take at least 5–10 years to match the world as we are yet to establish the required strong collaboration between the educational institutes and the industry, whereas in India, we do not have that kind of collaboration. We spend very less on R&D. That is a major setback for us, but this situation is getting improved due to government initiatives like Skill India and Make in India.”

Sharma, on the other hand, feels, “Success of businesses is proportional to the ability to adapt quickly to new scenarios which are no longer foreseeable. We must therefore be flexible and resilient, and be able to adapt to situations which we don’t know today. To do so, I think it is fundamental to choose the right way of manufacturing, where Salvagnini comes into play in giving solutions like Flex cell, FMS and new-generation bending technology to the Indian sheet metal industry.”

Financial aid required to improve production capacity

Seth talks about the requirement of financial assistance to boost the growth of the sheet metal forming sector. However, he doesn’t foresee the requirement of any regulatory assistance, but he emphasises on having additional financial assistance and exhorted to grow beyond the challenges. Ease of fund availability at a reasonable interest is required for the MSME sector to expand further in the country.

Agarwal is of the view that under “Make in India”, manufacturing of end products or consumer products like elevators, escalators, cars or construction equipment has gained impetus because they are becoming economical and cost-effective, which is suitable for MSMEs. “But manufacturing of machinery like laser or turning centres is also important and must be promoted. We do not have that kind of infrastructure ready to manufacture machines precisely and quickly. All the components required like laser source, cutting head or controller have to be sourced from abroad. But I believe that in the next 5–10 years we will catch up.”

Final note

The industry today needs smarter solutions like IoT and robotics. Nowadays, we want everything on our fingertips, and automation, robotics, IoT and Industry 4.0 are aiding that. These technologies help us manage business by sitting at one place and take our business globally. Manufacturing firms are continuously introducing innovative solutions and are adhering to the developments in the metal forming sector. Moreover, with the extended application of hydroforming, manufacturers are doing additional research on the new emerging technologies that can bring in more precision in the forming industry.

Quotes –

Niranjan R Manjrekar, General Manager – Indian Operations, LVD Strippit India

Largely, sheet metal will remain a growing industry due to increase in demand from the infrastructure, locomotive, aerospace, and furniture segments.

Puneet Sharma, Country Head India, Salvagnini Machinery India Pvt. Ltd

Success of businesses is proportional to the ability to adapt quickly to new scenarios which are no longer foreseeable.

Niraj Seth, President, Amada (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Challenges create demand, and with the current trends in the demand side, I feel that the Indian industry is capable to meet the demands.

Rakesh Agarwal, MD, Laser Technologies Limited

I believe that India will take at least 5–10 years to match the world as we are yet to establish the required strong collaboration between the educational institutes and the industry.