FOCUS ON HANDLING
The ability to change over to new material quickly allows small batch sizes to be processed efficiently
Below and lower left : Six gravity feed roller conveyors deliver different sizes of plastic and cardboard boxes to the sawing centre . The robot handles selected sizes of box , according to the order data , into a wooden pallet on a carousel and fills them with cut parts .
In the two automated KASTO sawing centres , all process steps are now carried out without any operator intervention , from feeding the raw material from the store to sorting and stacking the cut pieces . The ability to change over to new material quickly allows small batch sizes to be processed efficiently .
“ The automatic supply of material by the gantry crane of a UNICOMPACT warehouse directly to the saws eliminates operator fatigue and the risk of injury , bearing in mind that stock is up to six metres long and very heavy ,” explained KASTO .
Sawing in focus
EHG originally commissioned the first of its two sawing centres in the year 2000 . This system was expanded in 2019 .
“ After about 20 years of service , the circular saw in our original sawing centre had reached the end of its service life and required replacement , so we purchased a new KASTOvariospeed , high-performance model . At the same time , we decided to invest in additional automation to make our processes even more efficient and unsurprisingly KASTO , as a preferred supplier , was chosen for the project ,” Christian Rüf told ISMR .
He explained that an industrial robot was added to automatically remove the cut pieces from the working area of the saw , using a variety of interchangeable grippers . It then deburrs the parts and sorts them according to the customer order , placing them in six different sizes of cardboard or plastic boxes that arrive via individual inclined roller conveyors . Empty boxes , chosen based on the order data , are placed by the robot with the help of a suction device into a wooden pallet before the robot starts to fill them with parts .
While the sections are being cut and stacked , a printer creates a delivery note for the order and the robot places it in the pallet using the suction device . Once a pallet
is filled , the floor-level carousel on which it sits ( consisting of eight stations on a rounded rectangular track ) indexes to make the next load carrier available . The pallet with the completed order is transported by forklift or hand pallet truck to the shipping department and later returned . A buffer of up to eight pallets on the carousel enables the sawing centre to run autonomously over an extended period , for example overnight .
The sawing centre ’ s control system is connected to EHG ’ s warehouse management system via an interface created specifically for the purpose .
“ It allows us to generate and process orders fully automatically . We benefit from controlled and managed material flow , with little human intervention required throughout the process , from incoming order to outgoing goods ,” outlined Christian Rüf .
Increased access
This automation solution impressed EHG to such an extent that , in 2020 , the stockholder upgraded a second sawing centre purchased in 2007 with similar new technology .
“ The primary reason was that we wanted to expand our existing high-bay storage system and , at the same time , create an additional order picking hall . The new sawing cell is integrated into our facilities in such a way that it can independently access stock from two
This second sawing centre has also been equipped with a handling robot , gravity feed conveyors and a pallet carousel