News

Novocherkassk, 20 February 2019. EPM-Novocherkassk Electrode Plant (hereinafter "EPM-NEP", member of EPM Group) received the first batch of equipment for the new Nipple Centre: a horizontal two-column band saw with automatic loading and unloading and a product supply system based on industrial robot. 

Graphite band saw features high reliability, precision and fineness of cutting. This high-precision equipment will help to increase the performance by several times.

New-generation 500 kg capacity cargo handling robot features a compact design, improved performance, unique product gripping design, and increased working space.

The robot system will consist of the equipment from global brands, including ROMI machines and robot manipulators, the latter being used for high-precision operations by international companies such as Apple, Boeing, Toyota, General Motors, BMW, Ford, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and many others.

The modern robotic Nipple Centre will make it possible to perform mechanical processing of the electrodes at a higher level, and increase the accuracy of the geometrical sizes of the nipples by 5 times up to 0.02 mm.

Evgeny Churikov, Managing Director of EPM-NEP JSC, noted: "The Nipple Centre for manufacturing of products, using the latest technologies, will completely replace the two existing lines and will ensure the quality control of the nipples to micron accuracy. Processing time of each nipple in the new center will take from one to five minutes."

Modern robot Nipple Centre of EPM-NEP JSC is planned for start-up in the second quarter of 2019. This will be the next stage of extensive work on the technical re-equipment of the plant.