Automated metal handling

It provides unattended material flow through the facility, from storage of the raw stock to provision of the sawn sections for shipment. For Weser Stahl it means greater efficiency, higher productivity and more ergonomic working conditions. The installation has proved so successful that another automated warehouse is being planned for Weser Stahl's site in Plettenberg, also in Germany.

More than half of the items shipped are cut to size, a proportion that is rising. MD Dr Markus Krummenerl says: “It has led to increasing customisation. Our order numbers have been rising while batch sizes have been shrinking. This of course poses a big challenge to us in manufacturing and logistics.”

Previously, material had been transferred to the saws by an overhead crane – a laborious and not entirely hazard-free procedure involving bars and tubes weighing a tonne or more. After detailed calculations, Kasto determined that the optimal system to replace this process would be a fully automatic, cantilever arm storage system. 

Weser Stahl opted for a KASTOcenter varioplus 4. Measuring almost eight metres in height, the system provides 1,398 storage spaces for material up to seven metres in length. The compartments have a usable loading height of 50 to 430 mm and each can take a maximum of four tonnes of material. Bar is handled by a storage and retrieval machine (SRM) that moves at speeds of up to 60 m/min. Two KASTOvariospeed circular saws, also automatic, and one KASTOtec bandsaw are connected to the storage facility.

The stockholder holds about 20% of its inventory in the storage system. Sales manager Stieven Harder explained: “We know what kinds of pre-cut parts are most frequently requested and we give preference in storage to these materials.”

Bar stock is usually delivered by truck in bundles that are unloaded, unpacked and placed in storage via a transport cart. Selection of a suitable storage location is handled by the KASTOlogic warehouse management system, which optimises SRM travel to minimise access times.

Weser Stahl and Kasto have further plans for automation. They intend to introduce a Jungheinrich driverless transport system to connect the saws and remove pallets with stacked cut parts from the working area of the KASTOsort robot and take them to the dispatch warehouse. Kasto has already created the necessary peripheral equipment, such as the protective enclosures for the saws with a roller gate and optical sensors for trouble-free entry and exit by the automated guided vehicles.

For more information, visit www.kasto.com