Always in perfect rhythm - rotary indexing machine ensures quality
Every component comes from a single source in this assembly unit built by DEPRAG
The rear doors of the goods lorry clank shut and the engine purrs. A consignment of carefully packed components for a new assembly system is leaving the DEPRAG factory in Amberg. Behind it lie 14 weeks of work - from the date of the order to acceptance - and it is now on its way to the customer. Systems engineer Markus Solfrank loves his “constantly exciting” job. And as the brand new assembly system leaves the factory gates, his satisfaction in having done a good job is tinged with a little sadness.
It will take another six hours for the client’s service personnel to assemble the compact rotary indexing machine - it measures less than four metres in every dimension - and put it into operation. Once complete, the semi-automatic assembly unit will start assembling high quality door fittings. “In a cycle time of under ten seconds it joins the door hinges, monitors them for quality and sends them on, ready for packing”, said Markus Solfrank, as he explained how the new assembly unit operates. The medium-sized enterprise placed the order for a sum in the lower orders of six figures so that, with the improved production facilities, the firm’s high quality demands would be assured.
From the many discussions he has held with his customers, Jürgen Hierold, Sales Manager at DEPRAG knows: “It is not just the big companies that are concerned with optimising their production facilities and ensuring the required long-term, consistent quality for their products. It is also worthwhile for medium-sized operations to acquire a self-sufficient assembly unit.” Markus Solfrank added: “As systems engineers, our task is to find the best solution for every assembly job. As we do so, the major issues for our customer are the price-performance ratio, a rapid planning and implementation service, as well as the use of tried and tested technology.”
The assembly system that has just been completed will be used to fasten high-quality door fittings, check the finished components and move them on to the next step of production. A worker places the pre-assembled components into the unit and the automatic assembly unit does the rest. Screwdriving and feed technology, the control unit and the robotics have been brought together into a single solution. “This project was absolutely up our street”, beamed Markus Solfrank, as Jürgen Hierold added, smiling: “If the term ‘one-stop-shop’ hadn’t already existed, I would have said that it was coined especially for DEPRAG”. Because every key skill practised at the mechanical engineering company based in the Oberpfalz region of Germany is reflected in this assembly system.
