The sharply rising demand for non-fossil heating systems has not hurt the company Lucht LHZ, a well-known German manufacturer of electric heating systems, either. Over the past 3 years, the company even doubled its sales. To meet the growing market demand, the company recently automated its sheet metal production with automatic loading of the punching machine and a bending cell from the Italian manufacturer Euromac. 'Besides the quantum leap in numbers that we have achieved with this, it is above all the higher consistent quality that the bending cell delivers compared to non-automated production,' says managing director Uwe Lucht.
Air LHZ is an innovative manufacturer of sustainable and emission-free electric heating technology. The brand is also known outside Germany as a manufacturer of efficient, reliable and high-quality electric radiators. Their globally patented Magmatic element is the heart of the product and has never been matched by the competition. 'Partly reinforced by the energy crisis, we see the demand for e-heating continuing to grow, but are severely restricted in our growth opportunities by a shortage of personnel. For us the reason to automate part of the sheet metal production' explains the director of the eponymous family business.
Euromac is an Italian machine manufacturer specialized in the development and construction of punching machines, press brakes, horizontal bending machines and automation systems, operating in 63 countries. Euromac aims to make sheet metal production as efficient and flexible as possible through the development of automation solutions.
In order to be able to produce larger quantities with the same number of staff in two shifts, the plan was to automate both punching and bending production. 'The first step was to expand our existing Euromac standalone punch press with automatic loading. For this purpose, this manufacturer offers a compact loading system that can be plug&play to all their punch presses. Because the loading system is placed on the left side of the work table, the punching machine always remains accessible for manual sheet insertion. With the loading system for 3 x 1,5 m sheet, we now also use the punching machine unmanned in the 3rd shift," explains Uwe Licht.
Euromac offers for automation of press brakes, compact and flexible bending cells with user-friendly programming at a favorable price-performance ratio. 'From our experience with the Euromac punch press and the 20-year cooperation with our supplier, we learned that it's not just about the machine, but about the whole picture, such as the service and short lines of communication,' continued Uwe Lucht. 'We therefore had every confidence in a successful cooperation and, based on the first successful tests, immediately ordered the delivery.'
Uwe Lucht: 'The Euromac FXbend Cell that we have been using for over a year now is suitable for sheet metal runs up to 2,500 x 600 mm that are finished into fully bent end products by a Kuka KR60 robot. We use the bending cell for the large quantities, while we process the small series on the stand alone press brakes and swing benders. The biggest advantage is that the bending cell continues to produce unmanned during the night (3rd shift).'
'Deployment of a robot was new for our employees. Before that, 4 employees went to Kuka and Euromac for training. After two weeks we were already able to run production independently. This is partly due to the easy-to-use FX Cell 3D software with which we program the complete cell offline. We have to change the tools manually per product, but the software tells us which tools should be placed where.'
"All in all, the investment in punching and bending automation has already yielded a quantum jump in numbers within a few months, more than fulfilling our desire for capacity expansion. Another important gain is that the products are now of consistently high quality thanks to the use of the robot. From commissioning onwards, everything went perfectly. I am particularly impressed by Euromac's speed, flexibility and service. The customer comes first with them. Next step is to connect the punching and bending cell with a sorting device," concludes Uwe Lucht.