TPT May 2019

T E CHNOLOG Y

Process-reliable sawing, gripping, sor ting and stacking

performance is many times higher, which impacts significantly on machining times. Disposing of the higher volume of chips produced when sawing using carbide bandsaw blades re- quires a large-dimen- sioned chip conveyor. The feed grip- per ensures smooth transportation of cut sections, even when dealing with uneven

A STEEL distributor based in Baden- Württemberg, Germany, machines and processes round and rectangular pipe material using a process-reliable saw- robot combination from Behringer. The production schedule includes not only general orders involving small production runs, but also short pipe series. A layout comprising magazines, roller conveyors and pallet systems enables independent multiple-shift operation. Forming the core of the plant is a powerful HBM540A bandsawing machine. A chain magazine to the side of the roller conveyor accommodates a total of six pipes with a length of 14m and a diameter of 311mm. “This is sufficient to last through an eight-hour unmanned night shift,” explained Manfred Kellner from Behringer, who is responsible for project engineering the plant. The magazine is loaded by the hall crane and the separated pipes are transferred to the infeed roller conveyor by hydraulic lifting arms. A remnant store on the other side of the roller conveyor, opposite the chain magazine, accommodates shorter pipe offcuts. The HBM540A automatic bandsawing machine divides the long raw material into defined lengths. The plant is capable of economically and precisely sawing not only pipes but also solid material and profiles in a cutting range of 540mm for round stock or 630 x 540mm for flat stock using bimetal or carbide bandsaw blades. The concept and design of the HBM540A make it the carbide specialist among Behringer’s bandsaw portfolio, as the drive and all the relevant components have been adapted specifically for the use of carbide saw blades. Carbide blades provide an alternative to bimetal saw blades, particularly where time plays an important role. Their cutting

HBM540A automatic bandsawing machine

blasted by air jets and de-burred using brushes. At the end of the chain belt, the robot engages the cleaned pipe section. The measurement station is also arranged within the working area of the robot, which places the cleaned sawn pipe sections on a centring seat. A measurement head then travels over the cut sections to determine if they comply with the specified length tolerances and degree of evenness. The pipe sections are finally placed on a roller conveyor, on which there are pallets waiting to receive the sections. The roller conveyor is connected to a pallet store for 15 Europallets, which is capable of separating several stacked pallets and feeding them towards the system for the purposes of loading by robot. In a further area of the roller conveyor, up to four filled pallets can be collated and manually directed towards the discharge station, where they are strapped to enable secure removal of the pallets using a fork lift truck, and transported to the shipping station.

and bundled material or heavy forgings, as the fixed gripper jaw is moved by the material on the return stroke of the feed carriage. The gripper jaws adjust for optimum clamping of the material, and the feed gripper approaches to within a very close distance of the saw blade, allowing remnant lengths to be reduced by over 50 per cent. The gripper is mounted in linear guides and positioned by a frequency-controlled drive. On the outfeed side, the sawn pipe sections are deposited on a stable, powered roller conveyor fitted with a hydraulic lifting extension of around 1,200mm. While in a raised position, short sections such as offcuts and remnants drop into a container positioned below. A conveyor belt transports longer workpieces directly out of the machine area. Downstream from the dividing process, special serial parts are engaged by a robot. These are cleaned, checked and deposited on Europallets. The process of distributing the parts to the cleaning, measurement and stacking stations is also performed by the robot. It places the parts on an automatically clocked chain belt, which transports each pipe section to the cleaning station to be

Behringer GmbH – Germany Email: info@behringer.net Website: www.behringer.net

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MAY 2019