Applications Library

In high-voltage applications welded aluminium pipes are used for gas insulated switchgear. In pressure resistant piping systems high currents are being switched under SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) inert gas.
To prevent electric breakdown, the junctions of the gas-filled piping have to be smooth. Such a pipe consists of a cylindrical centre section with cast aluminium flanges welded on on both sides. To meet the requirements, the weldseams between centre section and flanges have to be flattened.
The workpieces range from 200 to 500mm in diameter and measure up to 7000mm in length. Read more ...

A special material supplier to the Aerospace Industry had to transfer heavy duty frames loaded with aluminium sheets having a total weight of 1,000kgs between four process tanks. The first tank was filled with a liquid salt solution heated to 650°C, the second tank was a quench tank to bring the temperature of the material down quickly. The third tank is a rinse tank and the fourth tank was a drier. The overall process cycle time was quite long at 10 minutes, but it was important to transfer the frame from the salt solution into the quench tank in less than 9.6 seconds,meaning that the system needed to move at 2 metres per second.There were also height issues to overcome. Read more ...

British Nuclear Group are involved in the current de-commissioning programme throughout Britain, for the early Magnox Nuclear Power Stations.
The challenges faced by BNG are many and varied and they need to deploy automated systems into areas where human activity for extended periods would not be desired.
A particular application of emptying old storage areas of waste material required some form of overhead handling system that could deploy a standard Manipulator to collect the waste from the large storage tanks. Read more ...

The robot arm loads the press with sometimes hot rawlings.
After the pressing procedure, the formed parts are removed from the press and palletized. Read more ...

To automatically rack stamped body panels of both Class “A” and Class “B” surfaces. The panels are produced at speeds up to 14 SPM and must be loaded into shipping racks for movement to assembly plants. This presented ergonomic and production challenges with manual operation as the size and weight of the parts makes it difficult for operators handling and racking them. Some of the parts get rotated during the racking process. To keep within production requirements, there needed to be 8 separate load/unload stations so while some are being loaded, others can be unloaded with a fork truck. Read more ...

Multi-layer plastic sheets are extruded and must be stacked on pallets for movement to other areas of the plant. This can present ergonomic challenges with a manual operation as some of the sheets get flipped over during the stacking process. Since this is a continuous extrusion process, there needs to be 2 separate load/unload stations, so while one is being loaded, the other can be unloaded with a fork truck. This allows production to be maintained during the unload process. Read more ...

Develop and provide the Project Partner with a cost effective, Flexible Lightweight Accurate Platform (F.L.A.P.) for the drilling of Aerospace components on new Commercial Aircraft. Read more ...

This machine was designed for cutting sheet metal or other sheets of hard material in accurate yet flexible shapes for automotive or construction industry suppliers. Read more ...

Robotic automatic welding is a proven way to improve quality while reducing cycle time. Vast working envelopes can be covered when robots are coupled with gantry systems to tackle the largest parts were long welds abound. The best performance is accomplished while welding 'in position', namely using the torch pointing down in order to take advantage of gravity. When parts are large and heavy, this task becomes challenging. Read more ...

GUDEL partner Schenck Rotec manufactures balancing equipment. This application balances large drive axels for heavy trucks. The balancing process requires welding with weld guns weighing 135kg each. The weld guns needs to be positioned in a fast and accurate manner during the balancing process. Read more ...

The Swiss post initiated a project in 2005 named "REMA" (reengineering mail processing). The project was about the complete automation of the letter mail in three mail distribution centers These three distribution centers will now take over the work of the current 16 sub centers. The targeted degree of automation in these letter distribution centers is unique worldwide and will serve as a standard for other post services far into the future.

GÜDEL's tasks were divided into four areas.

1. Unloading the letter containers from the collective containers off the trucks and feeding them into the sorting system.
2. Loading the sorted letter containers onto the collective container to be transported to the various post offices.
3. Layer-wise depalletizing of letter containers from Euro palettes (special bulk mail for companies)
4. Handling of empty containers for storage

A leading manufacturer of construction machinery is assembling construction machinery in Belgium for which components will also be produced locally. In the production line for piston rods for large hydraulic cylinders, aluminium palettes weighing in total of up to 1500kg have to be transported. Piston rods in various states of production are on these palettes. The palettes do not only have to be transported, but also placed in intermediate storage to assure an optimal production efficiency. Several operators from various operating panels should have access to the storage to transport the palettes to the tooling machines. Read more ...

Major North American Automotive Manufacturer's required automating the marriage of the body and frame assemblies. As the last stage before rolling the vehicle off the assembly line, this has very high corporate visibility relative to the bottom line. Therefore accuracy, reliability and durability were key considerations in selecting the proper equipment for the job at hand. There are currently three installations running successfully in North America automobile plants. Read more ...

A contract stamper located in Ohio U.S.A. wanted the flexibility to run a multitude of parts either via. coil or blank. Read more ...

With the inmould-method thermoplastic foils are laid into the injection mould before injecting the plastics which results in a decal that is firmly bonded with the material and protected against external influences. Read more ...

Robotic welding of locomotive engine housing with requirements for high precision, heavy weight capacity, large range of motion, and extended center of gravity.
Part weight 1500 lbs.
Range of #1 axis +95 to -45 degrees
Range of #2 axis 360 degrees Read more ...

Manufacturer focusing on router trimming mud flaps for the automotive/truck aftermarket required ability to produce larger parts and increase production. Serving a broad range of industries, they also work with wood and foam and wanted the capability to mill these and other materials via an automated robotic system. Read more ...

The Scaffolding Frames were currently manufactured on an ageing machine. The customer needed to reduce his machine downtime, reduce the production cycle time and have a machine delivered in a very short lead time.
The machine had to be extremely flexible to enable the production of a wide range of scaffolding frames Read more ...

Large parts that require manual racking have historically been the bottleneck on large press lines. So much so, they can actually dictate the speed by which production is run. The customer had a major problem with material handling congestion and ergonomic issues for the operators as they picked up parts from flat conveyor surfaces. The first goal of this program was to allow parts to be processed at more stations, while allowing fork truck traffic to flow smoothly. This was accomplished by dividing the exiting parts into additional racking stations and fanning out the turn tables to avoid material handling congestion. The second part of this goal was achieved by presenting the parts to the operators ergonomically to reduce the potential for injury. Read more ...

Application of a mechanical transfer system on a dual slide press for the production of automobile parts. Increasing the production performance by 50% to 12 strokes per minute in continuous mode operation at a travel in operating direction of 2700 mm. The overall length of the transfer unit is 17700 mm Read more ...