What are Bull Block Machines?
The bull block machines are single block wire drawing lines. They are drawing machines with a single drawing step, one capstan and an individual die-holder.
The bull blocks are machines used for thick wire manufacturing, such as cold heading and ball bearing wires. The output of our bull block machines is used mainly in the automotive industry and plays a key role in fields such as construction machinery, heavy industry and robotics.
The global automotive market consisted of USD 2738387.98 million in 2021 and it is expected to reach USD 3272609.69 million by 2028, with a CAGR of 3.01%. The pandemic and lockdown stopped the growth of the industry, and the overcoming of pandemic is the main cause of the forecast spike in CAGR.
However, conclusions about automotive market growth should be drawn with caution due to some headwinds, such as car chip shortages, deteriorating purchasing power, the high price of petrol, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and strict lockdowns in China.
The common features of Horizontal Bull Block and Vertical Bull Block
Both the horizontal bull block machines and vertical bull block machines are zero slip type, and they are compatible with right- or left-hand coil winding.
Eddy current defect testers can be installed in-line.
They are equipped with an automatic pull-in dog which enables these machines to be operated safely and efficiently.
The bull blocks are produced in two versions, long point and short point, according to the length of the threading point.
MFL Group bull block machines give to our customers the possibility to produce shaped wire, a special wire utilized on a variety of applications.
Before the automatic clamping machine came to the market, this kind of machineries had an OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) score of approx. 25-30%, using 2 operators for the threading operations. With the advent of automatic clamping bull blocks the OEE reached 40-50% and using a single operator for the threading operations.
Our engineering team has brought the bull block performances to the next level, achieving an OEE score of 80-90%. This outstanding result was reached out thanks to the automatic coil handling system and to the automatic compacting and strapping system.
The bull blocks can be customized to match wire manufacturers’ requirements. At MFL GROUP we enhance designing and engineering to boost customization and anticipate Customer’s needs. With more than 10.000 combinations, we are the only OEM in the wire, rope and cable machines manufacturing market, moving from ETO (Engineer to Order) to CTO (Configure to Order) culture. Every personalization is highly valued and studied and it contributes to bounce up the level of configuration of our machines. By drastically reducing the percentage of engineered-to-order content, the risk of failure due to undocumented changes of the engineering specification.
The differences between Horizontal Bull Block and Vertical Bull Block
The Horizontal and Vertical adjectives indicate the capstan axes.
The horizontal bull block is typically used for a final wire diameter ranging from 13 to 50 mm, while the vertical is used for final wire of diameter from 4.5 mm to 32 mm.
MFL Group Bull Blocks portfolio
MFL Group offers the comprehensive range of bull block machines, both horizontal bull block machines and vertical bull block machines, with complete accessories, which are used in drawing or coiling cold heading and ball bearing. CSA series by Mario Frigerio brand and KHZ series by Koch brand are horizontal bull block machines and leaders in the wire and rope market. MD series is the the MFL Group vertical solution, produced under the Mario Frigerio brand.
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Sources:
“Automotive Market Size, Share, Growth, and Industry Growth, By Type (Passenger Vehicle and Commercial Vehicle), By Application (Personal Use, Municipal Use, and Business Use), Regional Forecast (2022-2028)”, Nov. 2022, Business Research INSIGHTS, www.businessresearchinsights.com
“Car Market Outlook: Recovery Postponed Again”, 20 July 2022, Oleksiy Soroka – Rico Luman, ING, https://think.ing.com/