BVB UG reference projects

Project: Surface treatment of thin rolled glass with lubricant during the rolling process

The objective of the project was to use lubricants to enhance the properties of glass - strength, chemical resistance - without, as normally the case to date - the use of glass finishing processes involving considerable energy consumption such as thermal tempering and elaborate coatings.

The result of the project is a spray system which enables the lubricant to be applied exactly as needed. Substantial improvement in the physical properties of the glass are achieved along with energy savings, therefore resulting in a major reduction in the costs of producing treated flat glass.

For the preparation of the performance specifications, various pilot studies and analyses, the development, design engineering and production of a pilot plant, and various tests and improvements, FICKERT + WINTERLING received EUR 140,000 in financial support funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi).

Project: Development of a new generation of multi-purpose gantry-type machining centres with a fixed bridge and tool magazine changer with articulated robot

The newly developed system represents an addition to matec Maschinenbau GmbH's moving column design principle with a machine system with a fixed gantry bridge which permits the inclusion of an automatic workpiece changeover system for larger workpieces as an option. The system developed by matec is not a workpiece-specific system - instead the complete table is transferred in and out via a station. With no restriction on the number of tables that can be docked onto the station, machining takes place more or less parallel to setting up (clamping). This makes it possible to machine parts effectively and economically even when it is just a single part, including large parts or parts requiring considerable setting up work. Since this system is also capable of being extended with a moving/insertable round table, the machine can also be used as a turning and milling gantry-type machining centre for large parts. It therefore now makes turning operations possible for the machining of large parts, eliminating the time-consuming job of moving large workpieces to a separate vertical lathe. This can result in time savings of up to 50% compared to the previous way of working. Being fixed, the fixed column eliminates the disadvantages of the gantry design in terms of motion dynamics, in turn bringing substantial advantages for machining performance, contour accuracy and surface quality.
Tool magazine changer:
The user is provided with a flexible tool management system.
The magazine used on the gantry-type machining centre can hold up to 256 different tools, and since it is of modular design, the capacity can be expanded as much as required. The optional expansion of the gantry-type machining centre with a second machining carriage equipped with a different tool mount enables the tool magazine to be operated with two completely different tool mounts (e.g. ISO40 and ISO50 at the same time). All that is needed is for the robot to change the gripper jaws. Tool changeover times of 5 seconds can be achieved and the robot supplies the tool while each operation is in progress.

The control system is capable of detecting broken tools and loading the machine with replacement tools automatically. The available storage capacity means there is sufficient space for making replacement tools available. The tool data management system is integrated in the controller for the machine tool and the space management system of the robot controller. There are no internal tool memories. The machine has vastly improved dynamics of motion, resulting in much shorter machining times and a significant improvement in the quality of the surface finish for finish-machining. The newly developed gantry-type machining centre with fixed bridge has a changing table station. While production is running on the machine, workpieces can be clamped on other changing tables outside the machine at the same time. These are swapped over in sequence automatically after the work on the workpiece in the machine has been completed. The operating time of the machine increases with the number of changing tables accordingly and therefore enables the desired scheduling of the production processes to be extended beyond the normal working time. The external tool magazine developed by matec is also designed with this large range of users in mind as well. It is designed for tool and mould making, commission machining and large-scale production, and makes tools, fixtures or even workpieces available automatically.

Project: Development of an automatic sheet gluer

The goal was to develop an automated sheet gluer for the production of lay-flat book blocks (e.g. for the production of high-quality photo albums).

The process of gluing folded sheets was automated in a single process. Different materials, material thicknesses and formats can be processed - photo paper, digital paper and offset paper, either mixed or separately. Processing is on the basis of cold gluing. A process was developed which enables book blocks to be produced of the highest quality in the shortest of times.

The new sheet gluer is a good seller.