Automotive between innovation and luxury.
Fontana Group Automotive division is a centre of constant research and innovation where engineering and dies construction activities and car bodies production ones are coupled with feasibility studies of extremely challenging shapes for the luxury niche market segment.
The Group is expanding and developing within the German automotive market, a technologically innovative environment, where the Company has gained exclusive technical know-how of material processing.
Innovation is precisely the characterising feature of Fontana Group, which has always invested in the most advanced technologies becoming over time, a point of reference for some of the most prestigious car manufacturers worldwide.
Leader in international partnerships.
Since its inception, Fontana Group has been renowned primarily as an international leader in die construction then in the production of aluminium car bodies.
The advent of the new Millennium, saw an exclusive partnership stipulated with Ferrari, the luxury status symbol of Italian quality and style worldwide, which chose Fontana Group to produce all of its Gran Turismo car bodies.
Dies.
Precision in every detail.
We, in Fontana Group, love precision. Each die is constructed according to a sequence of industry-proven processes accompanied by sound technical know-how, in order to deliver finished products of highest quality.
Our team is responsible for every single step, from the initial concept, to the finished product including development of the product range, stamping methodologies, die design and construction.
For Customer projects only Fontana’s most innovative technologies are used. A case in point, the Engineering division team works with the most advanced CAD/CAE systems (including CATIA, NX and TEBIS) and FEM-design software (Autoform and Pamstamp) for die design.
Following the Customer’s technical data specifications, the Engineering team elaborates the design for each custom die part. During this phase and thanks to the application of CATIA V5 and NX softwares, the team can optimise production times and the manufacturing process of subsequent steps.
The designed dies consist of die buttons, punches and die pressure pads all made of different types of cast iron and stell, depending on the effort required for stamping and on the type of press where the die is installed. Utilising the technical software program designed by the CAM department, high-speed milling machines mill the die parts so they are perfectly formed.
Before assembly, our high-precision measurement machines evaluate each part for geometric and aesthetic precision with reference to the mathematical value given it during the virtual process. We verify any deviation from the original design and technical specifications and check that each part complies with the projected material spring back tolerance of 0,2 mm before sending it to the assembly phase.
The assembly of stamped parts utilises both manual and automated technologies involving innovative automatic assembly robots.
We take meticulous care to manually finish the details of each stamped and assembled part so as to preserve the craftsmanship that has always gone hand-in-hand with the cutting-edge technologies that characterise every Fontana Group manufacturing process. If our Customers manufacture and assemble their own body car parts, the same stamping machines Fontana uses to shape its own dies, faithfully reproduce the customers’ machines. This way, mass-production conditions can be simulated to ensure the perfection of the dies before starting their production at the car manufacturers’ plants.
Car bodies.
Car bodies, the dress of luxury cars.
There are 5 departments to the Car body Production division: 3 production ones; Stamping, Laser cutting and Assembly and 1 department each for Geometric and Aesthetic control.
These departments coexist and cooperate with one another just like in a tailoring atelier. The final result is the outfit, or body if you will, sported by some of the most coveted luxury cars, and ready to fitted on supercars in our Customers’ assembly lines.
The stamping department stamps deep-drawability aluminium sheets in various steps ; they are then subject to rigorous geometric and aesthetic controls by the Dimensional Control and the ICP Quality departments.
Next, our three-dimensional cutting laser forms the stamped aluminium sheets into precise profiles to give them shape and refine details.
The Assembly department completes the final car body part kit and sends it directly to the Customer’s production lines for mounting on the frame of their various car models.
Depending on the size of the parts, the assembly is either manual or done by robots. In the latter case, Fontana Group uses advanced seven-axis robots for the welding, riveting and glue application processes.
No product manufactured by Fontana Group is ever delivered to Customers without first sending it for a thorough check by the Quality Control department whose skilled body shop workers carry out a careful manual inspection.
All parts are also subject to simulation of car body spray painting effect carried out in areas of the plant with special lighting systems.
Fontana Blow.
Fontana Blow division.
Fontana Blow (F-BLOW) is the Fontana Group division that applies its exclusive Blow Forming Technology to create aluminium parts which otherwise would not be feasible to make with common technologies.
Developed internally by Fontana R&D department, F-BLOW produces parts with unique features for the automotive sector and not only: from the boldest bonnet air intake vents to exaggerated multiple style door design lines, to entire body sides 3000x1600x600 mm in size produced in a one-step operation with up to 150% greater deep drawability with respect to cold stamping.
F-BLOW is a non-conventional technology for outside-the-box design solutions.
Fontana Blow has unique skills at the service of the most ambitious and challenging shapes.
