Quintus Technologies supplies high pressure fluid cell press to Germany’s RECARO Aircraft Seating

RECARO Aircraft Seating, one of the world’s leading aircraft seating manufacturers, has invested in a state-of-the-art Flexform fluid cell press from Quintus Technologies to support its growth in the aerospace market.

Replacing an aging rubber pad press, the Quintus high pressure press will occupy a central position at the RECARO Aircraft Seating headquarters in Schwaebisch Hall, Germany.

“This facility is the only one with in-house sheet metal parts fabrication within our global supply chain network,” states Joachim Ley, RECARO Executive Vice President Supply Chain. “We are facing a positive, but challenging, growth in production, hence in need of a modern, reliable, and cost-efficient production method.”

The new 800 bar (11,600-psi) Quintus fluid cell press, with a forming area of 700 x 1800 mm (27.6 x 73 inches), introduces several production efficiencies. The Flexform process utilizes a unique combination of a single rigid tool half, operating in conjunction with a flexible rubber diaphragm under uniform hydrostatic pressure, for parts forming. This design approach generates significant tool cost savings and shortens the time needed for tool production. It also eliminates several forming operations, intermediate heat treatments, and operator dependencies.

The advanced forming technology aligns well with RECARO’s strength to combine comfort and intelligent design with light weight to reduce aircraft fuel consumption across its entire seating portfolio, from economy to business class.

“Our press investment is the result of a careful technical and commercial evaluation of the best-in-class sheet metal production method,” Mr. Ley says. “In the end of the project, our choice of the Quintus press was actually quite straightforward. In addition to the equipment, the chosen supplier is also providing process know-how and training to our team, which was another important factor in our final decision.”

”We know equipment quality and technical functionality are requisite for our business success, but we are also working hard to make a difference for our customers in both day-to-day technical support and in the ongoing forming process dialogue,” observes Jan Söderström, CEO of Quintus Technologies.

“For RECARO, the added value of the high pressure fluid cell process is its capability for high volume sheet metal part fabrication, where the variety of parts is high but the volume of each is relatively low, and part quality is of the essence. We see the growth trend in the aerospace industry all over the globe and are very pleased to be chosen as a partner to our customers in this very competitive arena,” he concludes.