Smart weightlifters
9 crane systems for acid-resistant battery box production
What have hospitals, mobile phone masts, power-plant server rooms and electrically powered vehicles all got in common? They all need secure containers for their batteries. AIB Kunstmann make them, and in the summer of 2019 the company opened up a new production plant at Most in the Czech Republic. The new line-up includes some 'smart' weightlifting equipment: Blumenbecker-made crane systems for extreme applications.
Taking a look inside the 3,000 square-metre production plant sited out in the open countryside near the Czech city of Most certainly gives you the impression that things are running smoothly, or rather 'squarely', for a truckload of six-by-two metre long steel sheets is just being delivered. These will be used to make acid-resistant battery boxes of the kind that are fitted to industrial trucks, forklifts, driverless transport systems and even cleaning machines. Numerous production steps are needed to turn the sheets into plastic-coated battery trays, and at the Most plant this is all part of an automated process.
Series production line for battery trays
"We have set up a high-tech production process at this plant that combines high quality with quantity output. We can produce up to 600 top-quality trays a day here“, explains Ralf Frigger, who was responsible for planning and commissioning the technical equipment and is temporarily in charge of the factory. With two plants in Germany and now this second facility in the Czech Republic, the AIB Kunstmann Group believes it is well placed to further consolidate and expand its position as the number one producer in Europe. "We have been on a growth path for a number of years now. Our suppliers have not been able to keep pace with us, and for this reason we took the decision to set up a factory in the Czech Republic where we can manufacture and coat the untreated trays for our series production operations ourselves“, says Frigger, who will soon be returning to concentrate fully on running the Brilon plant in Germany and acting as Group-wide quality control manager. This is now possible because: "All our acceptance tests have been successful and the global operating licence has been granted!“
» Blumenbecker is our guarantee of success. From engineering know-how and services through to personal commitment, it's all there. «
Complaints quota of zero percent
A company like AIB Kunstmann that can boast a complaints rate of zero percent sets itself and its business partners very high standards. This is all familiar territory for Blumenbecker. The industrial services provider has been working with AIB Kunstmann since 2014 and has been involved in extending, modernising and servicing crane systems as well as supplying the company with spare parts. And since 2018 this has also included the provision of new crane-based solutions for entire production plants. "Blumenbecker is our guarantee of success. From engineering know-how and services through to personal commitment, it's all there“, says Frigger in commendation. "That is why Blumenbecker was involved in the Most project right from the start.“
9 crane systems keep the production process moving
Michael Hamm, Blumenbecker's project manager, stands alongside Frigger in the new production shop. He and his team first set to work in early 2018 to develop solutions for all the crane-related operations. The result: nine crane systems covering incoming materials through to goods dispatch. They perform a variety of functions, such as unloading the trucks, stacking and retrieving the sheet materials, loading the production machines and transporting the workpieces. "Loading the plasma cutting machine with the six-by-two metre long and three millimetre thick sheets proved to be a real challenge“, recalls Hamm, who along with his design engineer Alexander Maier developed a double girder bridge crane with a magnetic gripper and slewing gear for this particular task. A special sway control system is fitted to prevent load swinging and allow the sheets to be positioned very precisely on the cutting table.
Sophisticated crane solution
for powder coating
The technical highlight of the production shop is the special crane in the power coating section. "After welding, the finished trays are heated to 300 °C before being given their PE coating in the powder bath“, says Frigger in explaining the industrial coating process. "As soon as the powder has fused on to the hot surface, the crane lifts the container away and frees the trays by twisting them and shaking off any excess powder.“ For this procedure the plant manager spent several hundred hours working with an engineer on the development of a set of tongs that can grasp and move up to eight trays simultaneously. And the design of the crane system, too, was in a class of its own. "This called for all our technical expertise“, says Hamm looking back, "for the crane had to move a large mass of material with pinpoint accuracy, lower it deep into the tank without swaying and then lift it up again well clear of the action. The tongs alone weigh some four tonnes. When the trays are loaded this can add up to another two tonnes in weight.“ What is special about this system is that the crane and tongs can be operated separately by remote control. The switchgear needed for this is mounted directly on to the unit in question. As Hamm points out, this saves on the need for long cable runs.
Suspense to the very end
Hamm and Frigger consulted closely with the development work and calculated and checked all the parameters many times over in order to be sure that everything worked. But there was to be no practical test or trial run. The individual components of the coating crane were simply too big for this. And so the suspense continued right to the very end. The various components were not pieced together until the final assembly stage in the spring of 2019. Then on 30th April the news came through: "The coating crane and all the other crane systems are working perfectly!“ A success that Hamm puts down to a great team effort by everyone involved. And one that AIB Kunstmann and Blumenbecker would like to repeat. There is still a lot of room for further expansion at the Most factory site and a doubling of production capacity is already being planned. However, the modernisation and expansion of the Brilon plant in Germany is first on the agenda for 2021. And this will also involve expertise and crane technology supplied by Blumenbecker.
