Applications Library > Automotive

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Automation of a press tandem line consisting of 4 single presses for the manufacture of large surface automobile parts with a max. blank size of 4300mm x 2000mm. Direct transfer of parts from press to press with a distance of 7,2m without intermediate storage. Press line in permanent stroke mode (without stop at TDC) with up to 12 strokes per minute. Read more ...

Major tier 1 Japanese stamping company located in Mansfield, Ohio, USA, was awarded a contract to provide door sash stampings for an automobile manufacturer located in Marysville, Ohio, USA. The Tier-one manufacturer was looking to reduce the manual handling of finished parts and part racks. Read more ...

Tier 1 automotive supplier was awarded the process to manufacture perimeter Frames for both a full size pickup truck and a SUV in North America. A total of 67 different parts are being produced within 55 different sets of dies making up the total stamping procedure. Read more ...

Tier 1 Automotive supplier located in South Central U.S. needed to gear up production of 67 new stampings from 55 new dies to produce SUV and truck frame parts and assemblies. Among these parts two of them require more then 300 in. of bolster to process. Read more ...

The steering knuckles were to be produced automatically on two automatic lathes and the process continuously monitored by a subsequent measuring station. The parts weigh up to 25 kg. Read more ...

Major automotive tier 1 supplier located in Melbourne/Australia was awarded to supply structural stampings and welded assemblies for Toyota in Australia. The parts for both of these tasks will processed and stamped by a 1500 Ton 6,100 x 2,400 transfer press. Read more ...

Caterpillar manufactures the gear rings used in its crawlers and excavators. The manufacture of gear rings was to be automated all the way from blank to finished product. The production steps to be integrated are two Liebherr gear hobblers, a Rausch deburring machine and a Laborex washing station as well as the feeding and removal processes via RDL Engineering conveyor belts. All the processing steps will be automated via GÜDEL linear portals. Read more ...

Loading and unloading of various machine tools in a versatile production. The objective was line cycle times of 135 seconds and maximum machine idle times (parts exchange through portal) of 25 seconds. Various fastening scenarios were required for various workpiece types. Automotive-level user friendliness and safety requirements. Read more ...

Conical gearwheels with an outside diameter of 250 mm - 650 mm are to be handled within a processing centre with a gear-cutting machine, deburring machine and a washing machine. Intermediate storage is required between machining and gear cutting. In the gear-cutting process, the play between the workpiece and the system is 0.03 mm. The layout had to have the smallest footprint possible. Read more ...

Up to now, heavy crankshafts (up to 250 kg) had to be manually loaded into machine tools. The manual loading time was very long. The task was to improve the loading process and to handle numerous different crankshafts. Read more ...

Linking geometer and welding stations for the Sprinter NCV3 bodyshells at a major small trucks manufacturer plant. Paneling for the left and right sides. Entire linking process with KUKA robots, skid transport technology and lifting stations. The maximum load to be moved was 1200 kg. The system is designed to produce 30 parts/hour. Read more ...

Concept for a versatile, fully automated production line for crankshafts. GÜDEL?s task is to link all the processing centres, buffers and transfer technology. The planning for car and truck crankshafts in just one physical production line with changing workpiece dimensions is the greatest challenge here. Read more ...