1) Becherer Möbelwerkstätten Innenausbau GmbH, Elzach
www.becherer.com
"Sophisticated furniture functionality” adequately sums up the approach taken by the Becherer joinery. Sound quality and individual furniture design with sophisticated functional features are the company’s trademarks. Included in its portfolio are supply parts and complete furniture ranges for public and commercial building projects and office furniture manufacturers. Becherer scores with a portfolio of products which other manufacturers tend to let fall by the wayside. All the main machines it uses for CNC processing, sanding and lacquering are configured for a working depth of 1,600 mm. The processing centre is capable of edge banding up to a height of 100mm using PU adhesive.
è The solution: The HOMAG BAZ 322 with 5-axis spindle and TBA feeder
Benedikt Becherer, what made you opt for a solution with automation?
We were repeatedly faced with a situation where we were unable to respond to enquiries for small-scale series because of our inability to produce them economically. This prompted us to consider investing in a solution which could be used for the majority of its core time as a highly flexible machine for one-off parts with manual feed, but which also offered facility for series production during breaks, in the evenings or at weekends. One thing was clear: we certainly could not consider concentrating just on series production, and restricting our activity to manual production would mean excluding a good number of orders. We decided to invest in the TBA feeder – for us, this provided the ideal way to address both these envisaged fields of application.
What has been your experience with the system?
The 5-axis spindle, the large 72-slot tool changer and the PU edge bander for edges up to 100 mm in height have opened up practically unlimited scope. The parts are machine-ready, if required with finish sanded edges.
We used to deploy the feeder for handling a wide range of different objects, such as large quantities of displays for shopfitting applications or tabletops. Last week our principal operator was on holiday, and so we used it for automated processing of a larger-scale series.
Orders involving the feeder do not come out of the blue. To get the message across to customers about our capability in this area, we have produced a new image video and posted to our website (www.becherer.com). I have to be able to respond quickly when it comes to capacity planning too, meaning that it is not possible to simply work through orders in chronological sequence. Instead, we have to look forward and use the lunch hours or evenings to fit in the production of suitable parts.
Would you make the same decision again?
We have now been operating the system for around 6 months. This investment has allowed us to generate new orders. With an added investment of less than 20%, we are now able to use the machine for highly flexible one-off production jobs in the nine core production hours and then for small-scale series jobs during three additional hours after closing time – so this is an equation that certainly adds up in our favour!
2) Walter Bosch GmbH, Rühlingstetten
http://www.wabo.de
This is another company which focuses on all kinds of public and commercial building furnishing projects. Its range includes both hotels with between 6 and 600 rooms and also supply parts for the office furniture industry which are delivered direct to the assembly belt – in as little as four hours if the need arises.
è The solution: The BAZ 722 with TBP linear gantry feeder, 5-axis spindle and automatic positioning table
Norbert Bosch, what made you opt for a solution with automation?
When we decided to supplement our somewhat ageing CNC processing centre with the addition of a new system, we were actually in no doubt right from the start that we would need a solution involving automation. Alongside single one-off items, sometimes series of between 500 and 1,000 parts also occur – which in the past we have always processed manually. By expanding our processing scope to include a 5-axis spindle, part measurement, integrated waste disposal and part cleaning as well as an automatic positioning table, it was obvious that the processes we used to carry out in a number of steps on other machines could now be covered by a single plant – so the “fodder” was already there.
What has been your experience with the system?
The figures speak for themselves. Of 10,000 parts processed on the machine, 6,000 were run using the feeder. We had not envisaged originally that operation would be quite this simple. Because of the auxiliary devices for waste disposal and part cleaning, there are now no longer any interim waiting periods: The plant works away quite independently. As a result, we have no problem at all in leaving the plant to produce another 30 table tops taking just 12 minutes processing time each after 5 o’clock in the evening, or larger series on a Saturday.
Would you make the same decision again?
All I will say is: 50 % higher capacity for 20% higher investment with lower staffing input and improved quality: An unqualified yes!
3) W. Ruhsi GmbH, Rheinau-Rheinbischofsheim
http://www.ruhsi.de
The company Ruhsi manufactures predominantly tabletops in a wide range of models as a supplier to the office furniture and commercial building sector, and also furniture for projects and product presentations. Its “normal” delivery periods are between 2 and 4 weeks, although it has been known to deliver on occasion within as little as 4 hours.
è The solution: The BAZ 722 with LIGMATECH robot feed and automatic positioning table
Michael Neuburger, what made you opt for a solution with automation?
The investment was originally conceived as a solution to replace a plant which was already equipped with a feeder. As a supplier, we are under a lot of time and cost pressure – which meant that an automated solution was the obvious way forward. We needed a system which would allow us to process batch sizes as low as 1 in mixed stacks with a high level of process reliability. At the same time, we already had a robot installed working with a throughfeed plant which had proven very successful. Over an active working life of seven years, we experienced hardly any problems and all we used were electricity, compressed air and grease. The kinematics of the robot allowed additional functions such as position measurement and correction to be integrated with extreme ease. We were happy to accept the minimal added outlay taken against the overall investment.
What has been your experience with the system?
The highly positive experience we had gathered with our existing set-up was repeated with unqualified success. The robot meets all the criteria you would expect for standard industrial component manufacture in high piece numbers – extremely high availability and very good operational reliability coupled with sensor technology. To date we have not experienced a single positioning error. We are able to operate the plant unmanned. The machine operator can leave the plant operating on its own for an hour without any problems to discuss new product or processing ideas or see to other tasks. Operating the robot has not presented any problems. We have no involvement with the programming, as this is integrated directly into the system control.
Would you make the same decision again?
Looking at any future investment decisions we will most certainly be opting for automation with robots. We are currently in the process of installing a new throughfeed system where the feeding and stacking processes are also solved using robots.
Infobox 1-3
One task, different requirements – implemented using CNC processing centres and feeding systems from HOMAG and LIGMATECH. HOMAG offers three fundamentally different automation solutions to meet different requirement profiles:
• The TBA feeder – automation on a low investment budget
The TBA feeder can be added onto any B200/300 CNC processing centre. As it is docked onto the machine’s X drive, it requires no separate drive system of its own. The plant remains fully capable of manual operation at any time. The TBA is ideally suited for applications involving predominantly manual work, where the automatic feed facility is required primarily during extended operating hours, whether at break times or in the evenings. Operation is simple: Integration into the machine’s control system and programming using woodWOP.
• The TBP line gantry feeder– automation for gantry processing centres
Because they permit lengths of up to 15 metres, linear gantries are the ideal solution for automating large-scale gantry processing centres. With maximum part weights of up to 150 kg, several stacking locations, different gripper systems and integrated cleaning facilities, the gantry feeder makes for a universally applicable solution coupled with high productivity. The lateral arrangement of the stacking locations means that the CNC processing centre remains fully manually operable. Operation is simple: Integration into the machine’s control system and programming using woodWOP.
• Robot handling systems – automation with six axes
This robot’s particular strength is its unhindered 6-axis movement. Its capability is brought to bear wherever additional functions are called for, such as varying layer patterns, integration of alignment and flipping stations or integral position measurement and correction. Operation is simple: Direct integration into the plant control system and no need for prior programming experience.
New variant
• Robot handling systems – automation with six axes
LIGMATECH is the specialist within the HOMAG Group for highly flexible one-stop solutions. Its experience stems from countless completed robot handling systems from the cutting stage through to packaging and assembly. The strength of this robot lies in its unhindered 6-axis movement. Its capability is brought to bear wherever additional functions are called for, such as varying layer patterns, integration of alignment and flipping stations or integral position measurement and correction. Operation is simple: Direct integration into the plant control system requiring only the workpiece parameters – no prior robot programming experience is required.