Maximum precision in plastic components

Since its founding in 1961, the company Borscheid+Wenig GmbH is dedicated to the machining of rubber. Since 1985, the company also operates in the area of the molding by injection and produces for the industry. Its product range covers from components for refrigerators and washing machines for the home appliance industry to supply products for the automotive sector. To date, the company Borscheid+Wenig GmbH has in use 40 moulding machines by injection of the Sumitomo Demag type (represented in Spain by Mecman). "Until the year 2009 our production had only linear robots." "The increase in orders, the variety of components and the complexity of the process has required the re-equipment of our facilities with industrial robots", explains Carlo Wenig, technical manager of Borscheid+Wenig GmbH. our company today has nine facilities with Kuka jointed-arm robots. -SAR Elektronik GmbH, located in Gunzenhausen and collaborating company of Kuka, we found a reliable partner who has advised and assisted during the phases of the project - continues Carlo Wenig.

The three-dimensional characteristics and the variety of variants of the new components of plastic for vehicles off-road Porsche and Volkswagen makes production much more demanding than its predecessors. These challenges were the decisive criterion for the management decision to use for the first time in the year 2009-assisted injection moulding machines-arm robots. -It by hand would have been impossible - tells Johannes Spatz, Borscheid+Wenig engineer. The process in the first installation begins with the placement of two caps in the mold of injection and the quick withdrawal of the article directly from the ejectors. With the piece in the claw of download, the robot from Kuka KR 60 L30-4KS Speed console moves with utmost precision to every one of the fixed peripheral devices and thus complete articles with up to eight threaded bolts. The next step, introduces a twist of pressure that must have successfully passed quality control. Then the piece is placed on a conveyor belt and the process starts again.

Linear robots were not sufficient to deal with the increase in the number of parts to be manufactured. -Without Automation, we would have been many fewer parts last year - points Johannes Spatz. Kuka robots are especially used for the production of components made from two materials. -The criteria that prompted us to carry out the conversion were the considerable reduction of time in which the mold is open, the extreme accuracy of positioning, the stiffness to change from 1 cavity to cavity 2, as well as the anti-corrosion firm and fluid - describes Carlo Wenig-. Compared with the linear technique, fewer bugs are produced in facilities, setup times are minimal, there are no maintenance intervals and wear on tools is less. The number of defective parts has also declined significantly - continues Carlo Wenig. The company Borscheid + Wenig committed not only by optimized weight, range and speed console robots, but also by the standardized options offered by Kuka, as the media unit. It is installed on the shaft A3, following their movements, and addresses for the exchange of pneumatic and electrical signals in the claw. Compared to a linear robot, models of console can be installed in lower ships and require a smaller installation area.

The wide variety of parts that occur requires the use of different claws. -Meet the new requirements was for a linear, limited by its Cartesian, very difficult - system robot explains Christian Müller, head of injection molding applications in Borscheid+Wenig GmbH-. The costs of equipment were enormous and employees had to deal with change the linear robot gripper.

SAR, the partner company of Kuka, is to install the full periphery for the jointed-arm robot, as well as making available the claws in a kind of station where they hope to be picked up and applied in the process. Six-axis robot placed claw that no longer needed and, with the help of a code, looking for another of the available six this season. -From the beginning, our employees showed great initiative in working on the new machines and already have the necessary skills to maintain and install the grip - proud Johannes Spatz has.

The robot's console on small machines

After the successful automation of the machine of molding by injection of 650 t of clamping force, Borscheid+Wenig GmbH decided to also automate a small machine of 150 tonnes of clamping force and two components (soft and hard) using a six-axis robot. The used robot was a small console model, the KR 6 KS. The process includes the precise and oblique insertion of two metal rings in a position of flexible definition.

The companies dedicated to molding by injection have strong competitors worldwide. Borscheid+Wenig GmbH will also go in the future for Kuka robots: there is a new project in planning. He has been the order of other three robots from console to SAR GmbH, whose commissioning is scheduled for the beginning of the summer of 2011. -Our plastic parts are complex and must be produced in large batches and variants. That is why we decided on Kuka robots. Without the flexibility of the Kuka robots, the implementation would not be neither cost-effective nor qualitative - says Christian Müller.

Until the end of 2011 is expected to train in facilities to almost all the specialized staff of Borscheid+Wenig. Believes Carlo Wenig: our goal is to have the best employees. And this is also true for our robots. Our colleagues the robots work, like us, to create added value. And the figures, data and facts say it all.