22 July 2024 Production Engineering Solutions pesmedia.com SAWING TECHNOLOGY Metal Bandsaws BEHRINGER Ltd +44 1296 668 259 [email protected] www.behringerltd.co.uk Cold Circular Saws Plate and Profile Machining FIT FOR FUTURE WITH BEHRINGER Complete supplier for sawing systems, steel plate and profile machining centres and automation-solutions. 17 production plants and 92 Drive Technology Centres in 56 countries (including a UK facility in Normanton). In 2023, the company amassed sales of €4.5bn. The challenge A major challenge for SEWEurodrive at its Graben-Neudorf production facility in Germany, was the demagnetisation and separation of 15 tonnes of steel bar stock bundles. This involves transporting 3m or 6m long tubes and bars with diameters ranging from 22 to 260mm to the saw, cutting them to size, and selecting segments for production. The goal is to accomplish this fully automatically and with minimal operator intervention. For Kasto this represents one of the largest orders in the company’s 180-year history. The solution During the planning and implementation of the new 4,000m² warehouse for the Graben-Neudorf facility, Kasto and SEW chose to combine a Unicompact honeycomb storage system with 5,140 storage spaces for cassettes weighing up to three tonnes with a KASTOcenter sawing centre containing 450 spaces for individual bars. The Unicompact is characterised by its optimum use of space. The two compact overhead gantry cranes (OGC) transport the material to the seven lengthwise installed outfeed stations KASTOpick split, where it is separated by lifting mechanisms and transferred to the infeed roller conveyor of the saw. All 5,140 cassettes are fitted with inclined floor bars to ensure the material is placed in a defined position. Three additional stations can be connected to the system if required. As steel can be magnetised through transportation and friction which can cause issues in subsequent production steps, Kasto has implemented a demagnetisation system in the incoming goods department. A crane unloads the entire bundle from the lorry onto a material buffer chain conveyor. Depending on the barcode specifications, the system stores the goods directly in the cart storage or transports the bundle into the bypass to the demagnetisation coil. The transport cassette moves through an alternating magnetic field which automatically demagnetises the material. The OGC then stores the treated steel in the Unicompact. Kasto sawing centres are a combination of buffer storage and CNC sawing machines. SEW uses the fully automated KASTOcenter varioplus 2 cantilever storage system where a computer-controlled OGC transports individual bars to the integrated saws. To save space, Kasto designed the sawing stations as tunnels directly into the shelf block of the Unicompact storage system. Eight fully automated KASTOvariospeed C 18 production circular saws cut through workpieces up to 180mm in diameter. Tubes and bars with larger cross-sections are cut into individual pieces by the fully hydraulic KASTOtec SC 4 high-performance automatic bandsaw. A KASTOsort robot handling system then sorts and stacks the cut pieces. The innovative AI solution independently selects grippers, containers and stacking patterns. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) then retrieve the boxes and transport them to their destination in production. Kasto’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) KASTOlogic, which also communicates with the SAP ERP system, ensures seamless material flow. Summary Thanks to its comprehensive design and planning, Kasto clearly impressed the drive specialist by carefully analysing SEW-Eurodrive’s specific requirements and integrating them into the customised endto-end solution. “Kasto customised the storage system and saws to meet our specific needs and this provides our new production facility at the Graben-Neudorf site with the right processed materials fully automatically,” enthuses Max Schmitt, group manager production systems project management at SEW-Eurodrive, who was involved in the project from the very beginning. “Only three to four people are needed to operate the entire system and at a time when there is a shortage of qualified personnel, this is a tremendous advantage,” he emphasises. Kasto in the UK In the UK, Kasto is wellrepresented. Kasto Limited’s showroom is currently based in Milton Keynes but not for much longer because it’s on the move to a new facility in Leicester. At the time of writing, no firm date has been set but it’s likely to take place in the next three months. Kasto Limited is headed up by managing director Emilio Lens who fronts an experienced team of highly skilled staff. Product wise, although storage solutions feature, it’s Kasto’s tried and trusted pedigree in sawing machines that takes the lion’s share of business in the UK, particularly for processing difficult materials such as harder steels and alloys where quality, accuracy and build quality are of paramount importance. “We’re very strong on technical sales and applicationsbased projects,” Mr Lens explains. “We’re certainly not the cheapest in the marketplace but it’s important to remember that behind us is a company with 180 years’ experience and we’re a wholly owned subsidiary. Our products are high quality, durable and technically advanced – all backed by exemplary levels of service and support.” In terms of Kasto’s customers in the UK, stockholders feature prominently as well as customers operating in demanding sectors such as oil and gas, and aerospace. On the subject of the move to Leicester, Mr Lens sees it as a very positive step. “The majority of our customers are located in the Midlands and North so geographically the move makes sound business sense,” he affirms. n Kasto www.kasto.com Kasto’s showroom at its Achern headquarters
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