An Iranian appliance manufacturer required a production line for forming front-loading washing machine cabinets and attaching their connecting plates and reinforcement brackets. The project involved galvanized color-coated or pre-coated steel sheets, making protection of the finished surface a specific requirement during bending and positioning.

IDO Technology configured the line around cabinet U-bending and rivet-free clinching. One U-Bending Machine and one Connecting Plate Clinching Machine handle cabinet forming and connecting plate attachment, while separate Upper and Lower Bracket Clinching Tooling provide manually operated stations for the reinforcement brackets.

The cabinet and its connecting and reinforcing parts require different positioning and joining operations. The line assigns dedicated equipment to each task.

The U-Bending Machine locates and clamps the cabinet sheet before forming it into a U-shaped cabinet. The formed cabinet is then positioned in the Connecting Plate Clinching Machine, which clinches both sides of the connecting plate simultaneously.

Upper and lower reinforcement brackets are attached at separate stations using suspended clinching tools. The operator positions the cabinet and bracket, then completes the joints through successive single-point clinching operations.

This configuration combines machine-controlled forming and connecting plate clinching with manually guided bracket attachment. Loading and unloading remain manual, with a specified staffing requirement of five operators.

For coated cabinet sheets, the tooling must hold the workpiece in position while protecting the surface at the contact points. The project therefore specified special materials and polished surfaces for components in contact with the painted sheet.

These contact surfaces form part of the cabinet positioning and bending arrangements. Their purpose is to help prevent scratching as the sheet is located, clamped and formed. Finished cabinet dimensions must also meet the tolerances defined in the product drawings.

The design requirements included consideration of future cabinet variants with side panel widths of 350–570 mm after U-bending. This range was a design compatibility requirement for future production expansion.

The equipment uses model-specific positioning arrangements to address these changes. On the U-Bending Machine, positioning blocks can be adjusted through designated mounting holes. The Connecting Plate Clinching Machine requires a matching set of contoured positioning blocks for each additional cabinet model.

The specified changeover time is less than 30 minutes per machine. Model compatibility therefore needs to be assessed together with the cabinet drawings and the required positioning tooling.

For equipment details, visit the Washing Machine Cabinet Bending and Clinching Line product page. To evaluate a similar project, provide IDO Technology with your cabinet and bracket drawings, sheet material and thickness, model range, target cycle time and available factory layout.