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Founded in 1964 by Sebastiano D’Addato, Nuova Ret has grown from a local supplier of standard punches and ejector pins into a specialised partner for customised punching solutions. Over three generations, the company has built deep expertise in metal stamping components, progressively expanding from standard punches and ejector pins into a broader range of elements for mould makers – including fixing and guiding elements, springs and gas springs.
Today Nuova Ret employs around three dozen people and achieves roughly half of its turnover with standard parts and half with specials. The company serves an international customer base: while its roots are in Italy, and especially the Lombardy region, Nuova Ret now partners closely with customers in Germany, Spain, France and Portugal, supplying punches in steel and carbide for high-speed stamping, thin blanking, deep drawing and sheet metal perforating applications.
The business is led by the second and third generation: Roberto, the current President and Managing Director of the company coadjuvated by his two sons, Marco and Andrea De Vincenti. Marco focuses on the commercial development of the company and long-term relationships with OEMs and toolmakers across Europe. Andrea leads production and technical projects on the shop floor, ensuring that investment in machinery and processes supports Nuova Ret’s promise of flexibility and fast delivery on customised punches. ANCA fits directly into that profile: a technology partner that can translate specific customer needs into practical, incremental innovations on the grinding line.
The manufacturing challenge: many variants, small batches
As Nuova Ret’s special punch business accelerated, the company’s manufacturing model changed. In addition to long runs of standard punches, they increasingly produced small lots – typically batches of five to ten pieces – of highly customised punches derived from customer drawings.
Nuova Ret structured production around two main streams: one line dedicated to standard punches and ejector pins, and a second line devoted to specials. On the special line, new punches are either produced from scratch or by modifying standard punches already in stock. The challenge was to maintain short lead times despite the high mix and very small batch sizes.
In practice, a large share of machine time was being consumed by changeovers – particularly when switching clamping arrangements between diameters and geometries. Headed punches added an extra layer of complexity, because their heads had to be protected and oriented correctly during clamping, making automation more difficult. For Nuova Ret to maintain and extend its competitive edge, they needed higher capacity, greater flexibility, and a way to automate the handling of headed punches without burdening operators with constant setup work.
Selection of steel and carbide punches manufactured by Nuova Ret for high‑speed stamping, thin blanking, deep drawing and perforating applications.
Co‑developing a dedicated solution through ANCA’s SAR process
To address this, Nuova Ret decided to expand the special punch line with an ANCA MX7 configured specifically for punch grinding and supported by a Special Application Request (SAR). At ANCA, an SAR is the structured process used to develop customer-specific machine configurations, automation functions and software options. A dedicated customer solutions team develops targeted auxiliary features and modifications that deliver clear, validated value in production.
Andrea De Vincenti describes the project as a genuine co-engineering effort. From the first discussions, his team worked closely with ANCA’s engineers, visiting ANCA technology centres to review concepts, see comparable applications and run practical tests on early ideas. Those visits, and the ongoing exchange with ANCA applications specialists and automation experts, allowed Nuova Ret to refine the requirements step by step – from basic capacity and flexibility needs down to details like how headed punches would be flipped and clamped, and how mixed small batches could be combined into longer automated runs.
Automation concept: flip station for headed punches
A central technical challenge was the fully automated handling of headed punches. These cannot simply be picked and loaded like straight cylindrical tools: the head must be correctly oriented and shielded, and the clamping position must be repeatable to ensure consistent grinding quality.
Custom flip station on the ANCA Robomate: headed punches are rotated and oriented for reliable, fully automated loading into the MX7.
The SAR therefore centred on an automation concept combining the MX7 with Robomate and a dedicated flip station. In production, punches are loaded onto the pallets head-up. The robot picks each blank from the pallet and transfers it to the flip station, where the part is rotated so that it can be clamped correctly. The robot then loads the punch into the chuck with the head inside the chuck, both protecting the head and defining a stable reference for grinding. After the grinding cycle, the sequence is reversed: the robot unloads the punch, returns it to the flip station to rotate back to a head-up orientation, and places it in the pallet as a finished part.
This apparently simple idea – the flip station – is what makes it possible to fully automate the complete cycle for headed punches, from blank to finished tool, even in very small batches, without manual intervention between operations.
Workholding flexibility with the GDS Shark
Alongside automation, workholding was the other decisive piece of the puzzle. Nuova Ret needed a clamping solution that would cover almost all of their punch diameters without constant changeovers. Together with partner company GDS, ANCA integrated the GDS Shark chuck system on the MX7.
The GDS Shark provides a wide clamping range – roughly from 2 mm up to 20 mm – in a single, high-precision chuck. During the loading cycle, the chuck's wide opening stroke allows the punch head to pass beyond the jaws, ensuring the head is housed inside the chuck while the jaws clamp the shank. For Nuova Ret this means that, for the vast majority of their punch portfolio, there is no need to change chucks or collets when switching between diameters.
Furthermore, GDS developed a special series of shortened jaws specifically for Nuova Ret. This custom hardware enables the system to automate the production of short-shank punches, a high-volume item for the company that would otherwise require manual loading. The Shark is therefore a key enabler of the project’s main objective: eliminating diameter-related setup time.
Andrea highlights this as one of the main outcomes of the joint development: the combination of the MX7, the Robomate with flip station and the GDS Shark created a system that is not just automated, but genuinely flexible in day-to-day use.
Headed punch being loaded head‑first into the GDS Shark chuck on the MX7 – the head is accomodated inside the chuck while the shank is ground.
From concept to everyday production
To maximise the benefit from the new hardware, Nuova Ret and ANCA’s applications team designed the process around ANCA’s multiprogram and multipallet capabilities. Punch types that share a clamping diameter – even if they differ in length or geometry – are grouped on pallets and in the job list. The MX7 then grinds these mixed batches automatically, moving from one program to the next as it works through the pallets.
When the system was first introduced, the MX7 was planned around a traditional daily shift. Over time, Nuova Ret has progressively increased the level of automation and now typically runs two to three shifts, depending on workload, with large parts of the second and third shift being unattended production. Operators prepare the machine during the main day shift, loading the pallets and setting up either for a single larger series or for multiple small batches combined into a long automated run. The machine then continues running with minimal supervision through the evening, overnight or across the weekend.
To extend the usable range and maintain accuracy on more demanding parts, the MX7 at Nuova Ret is also equipped with a tailstock and a pop-up steady. The tailstock allows the machine to be used in a between-centres configuration for longer punches, while the pop-up steady supports slender parts directly under the grinding point, reducing deflection and vibration. This ensures that even long, thin special punches can be ground to the required tolerances without sacrificing cycle time.
Technical engineer Claudio Innamorati using ANCA’s CIM3D software to simulate and verify punch grinding processes before production.
Operator perspective: advantages in handling small batches
For Nuova Ret’s engineers and operators, the value of the solution becomes clear in everyday use. Technical engineer Claudio Innamorati emphasises how the new line has changed the handling of small batches. Instead of spending a significant part of the day changing clamping devices, setting up for each new diameter and manually loading headed punches, operators now focus on preparing pallets and programs, while the MX7 and Robomate take over the repetitive work.
Claudio points out that this not only saves time, but also reduces the potential for human error when working under pressure to meet short lead times. The repeatability of the GDS Shark chuck and the reliability of the flip-station handling give confidence that parts will be ground consistently from batch to batch, even when dozens of different variants run in the same unattended cycle.
Incremental innovation aligned with Nuova Ret’s strengths
The Nuova Ret project is a clear example of how ANCA’s SAR approach turns specific customer challenges into incremental innovations on established platforms. By combining the MX7, a tailored automation concept with flip station, the GDS Shark workholding system and process know-how, ANCA and Nuova Ret have created a solution that fits tightly with the company’s core strengths: technical competence, responsiveness and the ability to deliver customised punches quickly to customers across Europe.
For Marco and Andrea De Vincenti, the new line is not just an isolated investment, but a step in a longer-term strategy: partnering with suppliers who understand their business model and are willing to co-develop solutions. For ANCA and GDS, it demonstrates how close collaboration with an ambitious punch manufacturer can drive practical, customer-oriented innovation – one SAR at a time.
From left to right: Andrea De Vincenti, Roberto De Vincenti, of Nuava Ret with Lorenzo Bianchi, Sales Manager ANCA, and Claudio Innamorati, celebrating the successful MX7 punch grinding.
13 April 2026