Operational challenges
Traditional production of sheet metal components often faces inefficiencies due to fragmented processes:
- Manual handling: the requirement to move semi-finished parts between isolated machines, leading to increased downtime and risks for the operator.
- Technological synchronization: complexity in coordinating machinery from different manufacturers (punching machines and folders) into a single fluid work cycle.
- Precision and repeatability: difficulty in maintaining millimetric tolerances on high volumes without the aid of manual positioning jigs.
The strategic solution
The infrastructure developed by Sistec AM is based on a robotic architecture that ensures maximum synergy between the involved technologies:
- End-to-end process: the system autonomously picks up sheet metal from a stack and delivers a finished part that has been punched, bent, and fitted with inserts.
- Multi-vendor integration: advanced coordination between a LAG Rainer punching machine and a Schröder panel bender, integrated through centralized robotic logistics.
- Intelligent handling: use of anthropomorphic robots for loading/unloading and extreme precision positioning during the bending and staking phases.
- Flexible automation: management software optimizes the entire cycle, making even small variable batch production efficient.
Results and value generated
The implementation of this smart manufacturing solution has achieved new standards of efficiency:
- Autonomous workflow and safety: full automation of material handling, eliminating heavy lifting for operators, and drastically reducing downtime.
- Flow optimization: elimination of bottlenecks thanks to a perfectly balanced work cycle between the punching and bending stations.
- Consistent quality: millimetric precision at every stage of processing due to constant and repeatable robotic control.
- Modularity and flexibility: ability of the system to adapt quickly to different product variants without structural modifications.
