Fit for the future

For metalworking companies, space-saving storage systems and powerful saws are indispensable aids for storing and cutting sheet metal and long materials. Robots come into play when processes also need to run smoothly and unmanned. They ensure automated handling and take over the complete processing of the sawn sections.

Intralogistics is all about speed and flexibility – high cost pressure and international competition demand digitalized production. Storage, sawing and handling technology specialist Kasto knows the potential of smart logistics. The Achern-based company is known for its technologies for all processes in the warehouse, but also for the logistics and processing steps before and after. For example, band saws from the Kastotec series or the Kastovariospeed circular saw have become an integral part of everyday life for many metalworking companies. “Today, sawing means much more than simply cutting a piece of metal. It is an important step that is usually at the beginning of a process chain,” explains Sönke Krebber, member of the management team at Kasto.

Automatic palletizing and picking

The saw alone often no longer meets the requirements of metal processors. They have to produce small batch sizes, the processing including subsequent processes should be included in the package, while at the same time personnel costs must not increase. Companies are rethinking their approach and either planning a robot directly on the saw or retrofitting it. Kasto is ready for automated production and supports its customers with fully automated removal, post-processing and palletizing with a robot handling system.

As Team Leader Robotics, Volker Bühler is an expert in automated processing machines. He raves about his extremely flexible helpers: “With Kastosort, we have an elegant and efficient solution in our portfolio that offers the user a holistic concept.” The robot handling system loads and unloads machines and driverless transport systems, but also integrates deburring, chamfering, weighing, length measurement, marking, labeling, suction and chip cleaning.

The Kastosort system uses industrial robots from ABB and is based on decentralized, self-organized program logic. This means that no teach-in is required and the user does not have to program anything. The tireless colleague obtains all the information it needs by communicating with the company’s ERP system or the upstream and downstream machines. This ensures flexibility and enables all dimensions to be handled. Volker Bühler explains: “We cover an incredible variety – the robots can grip parts the size of a coin as well as very heavy bars without operator intervention.”

Individual concepts

Depending on the order, an optimum stacking pattern is calculated with the highest packing density in the storage bins. The robot is able to automatically adjust this stack neatly and tidily to the item being stored. Grippers and gripper concepts also promote packing density and process reliability. Kasto develops these gripping helpers individually – they can be vacuum suction cups, mechanical or magnetic grippers. The software and electrical design also come from the engineers in Achern. But the team around Volker Bühler also selects changing stations, pallet holders and systems for chip removal to suit the application.

The advantages of robot handling with Kastosort are convincing: The user works more economically, increases his machine utilization and the service life of his tools thanks to intelligent program sequences. If something is changed in the machining center, it can react flexibly. This improves competitiveness and allows employees to concentrate on more demanding tasks. “Investing in automation significantly reduces operating costs,” summarizes Volker Bühler. “A Kastosort system can pay for itself after just nine months compared to a manual system in three-shift operation.”

Successful in use

More than 100 users are already working with the Kastosort robot handling system. One of the customers wanted to automate several saws. An industrial robot now moves between the two saws on a linear axis. This is equipped with several interchangeable magnetic grippers to pick up the different workpieces from the material discharge of the sawing machines. The robot’s arm can lift up to 350 kilograms with ease. A total of 18 storage locations for pallets and containers are lined up along the linear axis. The position of the various load carriers is stored in the robot’s control system, enabling it to place each part precisely and gently in its designated place. Employees then transport the sawn sections to the next station by forklift or pallet truck.

Another user has an industrial robot connected to the saw, which automatically removes the finished sections from the machine’s work area with the help of various grippers, deburrs them and sorts them according to order. The parts are placed in cardboard and plastic boxes of different sizes specified by the customer, which are also provided by the machine. Kasto has developed a very special solution here: A container carousel with eight pallet spaces on which the robot can independently place and fill the respective boxes. The cardboard and plastic boxes, each in six different sizes, reach the robot’s work area via inclined roller conveyors.

The control system of the sawing center uses the order data to determine the container suitable for the respective workpieces, which the robot then places on the waiting pallet with the help of a suction cup. While the sections are being sawn and stacked, a printer simultaneously creates a shipping label for the current order. The robot also places this in the corresponding box using a suction cup. Once a pallet is completely filled, the carousel rotates one place further so that a new load carrier is available. The employees then use the pallet truck or forklift to transport the pallets with the pre-assembled goods to the dispatch area.

Everything from a single source

Both users are delighted with the positive changes that are evident in their production. And above all, the employees are delighted with the great relief provided by their new mechanical colleague. However, the Kastosort robot handling system is just one example of the high level of automation and processing expertise of Kasto’s engineers. With the integrated Kastosort Tower sorting solution, significantly more storage space is available in a smaller area. This fully automated system enables unmanned 24/7 operation.

Sönke Krebber adds: “Our individual products can be combined to form a complete system. This allows us to support the customer with their entire process chain and provide them with a one-stop solution for processing everything from the steel bar to the sawn section ready for collection in the box.”

Facts & Figures

The Kasto Group, based in Achern, Baden (Kasto Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG), specializes in sawing, storage and automation technology for long metal products and sheet metal. The company is the global market and technology leader for metal sawing machines, semi-automatic and automatic long goods and sheet metal storage systems, automatic handling equipment for metal bars, sheets and blanks, as well as the associated intelligent software.

With 180 years of experience, Kasto is one of the oldest family businesses in Europe. 170 patents, more than 140,000 sawing machines delivered all over the world and more than 2,300 automatic bearings installed testify to the company’s success. In addition to a branch plant in Schalkau, Thuringia, Kasto has subsidiaries in England, France, Singapore, China, Switzerland and the USA as well as sales and service partners in many other countries.

Web:
www.Kasto.com