FOCUS ON PUNCHING
In its historic production hall , Cimbria Heid manufactures trieur machines for sorting seed and grain .
Eifel region . After moving to Lower Austria , he began developing machine tools and sorting machines for grain . In 1989 , Danish company Cimbria took over Heid Agrartechnik .
Cimbria is a global specialist in the industrial processing , handling and storage of grain and seed as well as animal feed , foodstuffs and other bulk products . It works closely with its customers to develop bespoke machines and complete turnkey solutions . The group has four production sites and around 900 employees , some 140 of whom work at its site in Austria .
Nikolaus Heid designed the punching machine back in 1894 . Since then , the company has continously upgraded its technology .
“ We had to confront the reality that , eventually , it would no longer be viable ”, explained Patrick Jansen , Director of Manufacturing , Cimbria . He plans to decommission two of the old punching machines by the end of 2024 .
“ Of course , this is tinged with sadness ,” he continued . “ The machines are part of Heid ’ s industrial history . But after 130 years , we also have to think about new technologies and the increase in efficiency that they bring .”
A technical challenge
Heid Agrartechnik has been part of Danish company Cimbria since 1989 . The punching machines are among the company ’ s core technologies .
“ They process the metal sheets for a trieur , a machine that later sorts the grain or seed . That has always been one of our core competencies ,” said Patrick Jansen .
The trieur sorts the required grains from unwanted grains . The sheets are later shaped into cylinders that rotate around a chute . The
After 130 years , the old punching machine will be retired at the end of 2024 ( replaced by the TruPunch 5000 ).
The TruPunch 5000 is not only replacing the historical machine , but also consolidating tasks that were previously handled by seven different machines .
indentations in the tray , known as ‘ pockets ’, hold the selected grain and transport it upwards , where it then drops onto the chute . Grains that do not fit into the indentations fall back out of the cylinder .
The indentations pose two challenges ; their shape and the number of them on the surface . Different depths are required , depending upon the desired grain size , ranging from the smallest indentations for clover seeds to 28mm holes for sunflower
seeds . Not only is the mould round , but it also takes on a teardrop shape depending upon the goods to be sorted . Additionally , a separate mould is needed for each shape .
“ You can press a pocket relatively quickly and easily ,” explained Austrian plant manager , Günther Schwarz . “ However , pressing so many pockets onto a 2m-long sheet presents a technical challenge .”
In summer 2021 , Patrick Jansen and Günther Schwarz began looking for
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