German storage and sawing equipment manufacturer KASTO has upgraded a pair of sawing cells at the Dornbirn centre of Austrian steel stockholder and distribution company EHG Stahlzentrum. All parts of the systems, from raw material supply to handling of containers and pallets of finished goods, have been integrated and automated.
Efficiency in the processing of orders and in logistics is part of the success of EHG’s business model. About 620,000 orders are handled each year, primarily in small batches of less than ten items. Christian Rüf, head of logistics systems and processes: “It poses quite a challenge. We are often under enormous time pressure, as in some cases we only have one to two hours to complete an order.”
To alleviate the problem, EHG utilises advanced storage and processing technology. The Dornbirn site has eight automatic high-bay storage systems, 40 stand-alone automatic bandsaws and circular sawing machines and two sawing centres integrated with high-bay storage so that they receive material automatically. It is these systems that have been upgraded with robotic handling and sorting.
For many years the stockholder has relied on products and expertise from German firm KASTO in Achern, whose UK subsidiary in Milton Keynes provides a similar range of services. They encompass automated storage systems for long stock and plate, machines for sawing the materials, robotic and other handling solutions and the requisite software, all from a single source.
Mr Rüf: “Our high-bay storage systems are all from KASTO. They include four UNICOMPACT honeycomb systems for storage of bars, tubes and profiles, as well as another for holding sheet metal. In addition, 27 KASTO automatic saws are in operation in Dornbirn, ranging from production circular saws to heavy-duty block and plate bandsaws.”
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 a new material quickly allows small batch sizes to be processed efficiently. 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.
Upgraded sawing centres
EHG originally commissioned the first of its two sawing centres in the year 2000. This system was expanded in 2019. Mr Rüf: “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.”
He explained that an industrial robot was added to remove automatically 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 box 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. The ability to have a buffer of up to eight pallets on the carousel allows 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. Mr Rüf: “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.”
KASTO’s 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. Mr Rüf: “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 storage areas.”
It is equipped with a high-performance automatic circular sawing machine KASTOgripspeed C 10, designed for fast, precise cutting of various grades of steel. This second sawing centre has also been equipped with a handling robot, gravity feed conveyors and a pallet carousel.
Mr Rüf: “Having one company manufacture and supply all this storage, sawing and handling equipment gives us the advantage of a single point of contact in case we have any questions or concerns.
“If a system should malfunction, KASTO engineers can connect via a remote maintenance link and quickly provide assistance to avoid expensive downtime. However, this is rarely needed.
“The sawing cells are extremely reliable and easy to operate. They are a true asset to our company, enabling us to complete our work faster, better and more efficiently.”
About EHG Stahlzentrum
Holding a stock of around 45,000 tonnes, EHG offers a range of goods including more than 15,000 items of steel and other metals in over 140 grades and countless dimensions. It makes the facility one of the largest in Europe and ensures a high degree of availability.
Being able to provide a wide range of services is just as important to EHG as holding a large variety of stock. Christian Rüf: “We don’t think in terms of products, but rather in terms of solutions. It means that we supply directly to our customers’ production facilities items already cut-to-size and just in time.”
The service encompasses a broad geographical area, not just Austria, Germany and Switzerland but also Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania. The company network comprises ten sites employing about 360 employees serving around 6,000 customers. Nine in 10 deliveries are shipped from the headquarters in Dornbirn, either by a freight forwarder or using the company’s own vehicle fleet.
