30 July 2024 Production Engineering Solutions pesmedia.com AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS Automation has long been a growing trend in manufacturing and if anything, demand is growing as companies in the sector struggle with issues such as rising wage costs, difficulty recruiting skilled workers, and increased demand for flexible or reduced working hours. This development, along with the efficiencies it provides for its customers, is the main impetus for sheetmetal equipment specialist Amada investing considerable time, money and effort into expanding its European automation facility in Bennäs, Finland. The company has spent nearly two years and around €12 million doubling the footprint of the site from 10,800m² to more than 19,500m² as well as investing in robotic welding systems and a state-of-the-art powder coating paint line. An expert legacy You may ask why the Amada Group (headquartered in Japan) ended up having its primary European automation manufacturing facility in Bennäs – by anyone’s reckoning somewhat far north on the continent, and a place where the sun never sets during the summer months? The answer is simple, Amada Automation Europe (AAE) was once a company named LKI Käldman established by Finnish engineer Leif Käldman in 1979. After developing a programmable back gauge for press brakes, Mr Käldman began to specialise in designing and manufacturing automated loading/unloading systems for sheetmetal punching and laser cutting machines, and more exclusively from 1995, Amada machines. The relationship between the two companies continued to grow over the next 25 years until in 2020, the Amada Group became a 100% shareholder in LKI, changing its name to Amada Automation Europe. Since then, the site has continued to design, develop and manufacture 95% of the automation and storage systems linked to Amada lasers and punching machines destined for the European market. The regions of Asia and the USA have their own dedicated automation divisions. So why is it that Amada has invested so heavily in this aspect of its business in recent years? On the European continent, particularly in markets such as Italy, Spain and Scandinavia, approximately 60% of Amada sheetmetal processing machines are sold with some sort of automated loading system. These range from single and compact pallet loading and unloading machines and part pickers to storage towers and twin tower systems capable of running entire factories during lights out manufacturing. Amada has also developed what it calls Blank to Bend systems that incorporate punches or laser/punching combination machines with storage racks connected by an automated loader linked to a press brake with an automatic tool changer (ATC) and tended by a robot that loads and unloads blanks before and after bending. With such a high degree of adaptation, these systems can be a considerable manufacturing challenge. Large towers and storage systems are complex, with intricate drives, electronics and suction part picking systems. They also need to be highly reliable to enable prolonged production without manual intervention. Additionally, most of Amada’s automation systems built at Bennäs are based on modular designs to allow for numerous loading and unloading configurations for customers, sometimes with restricted floor space. Greener manufacturing The new facility is not only larger in size; it has also been built to be a carbon neutral. It is powered by 100% renewable energy and any excess heat used in its manufacturing processes is recirculated to heat the building – vital in a landscape that can reach -30ºC in the winter. Solar panels on the roof also provide power during the hours of daylight, which can be fed back into Finland’s national grid if not required. “We have very specialised expertise here at AAE which has been built up over many years,” explains Greg Seymour, managing director of Amada Automation Europe. “We have doubled the footprint of the facility and there is space to expand further because we anticipate the need for that in the future. It also alleviates the bottlenecks that we had such as the old painting and welding lines and has created a more spacious and safer working environment for our staff.” The new powder coating line is a fully automated process that includes a robotic blasting cell to prepare the steel frames and other parts, a robotised powder coating bay, and curing oven. It allows AAE to powder coat everything from smaller components to complete frames in one continual process. A move away from the previous wet painting process, it has eliminated hazardous paint solvents, and results in a higher standard of coating finish. The line also employs a virtual Amada has nearly doubled the site of its automation manufacturing plant in Bennäs, Finland The new robotic welding cell has saved 10 hours of welding time on large tower frames Amada Group representative director, president Takaaki Yamanashi (left) and representative director, chairman Tsutomu Isobe unveiling the opening plaque at Amada Automation Europe’s new facility in Finland The robotic powder coating line includes a blasting cell to prepare parts, a robotised coating bay, and curing oven The fine road ahead for Amada Automation Sheetmetal technology specialist Amada has expanded its European automation manufacturing plant in Finland to meet the growing demand for these systems. Ed Hill attended the opening ceremony to discover more about the facility and how it will benefit the company and its customers. PES Report Ed Hill
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