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| 15.10.2010 | An unconventional approach to high-tech |
| Anyone who drives through the picturesque pre-alpine landscape to Wessobrunn-Forst and Hans Schröder Maschinenbau GmbH can look forward to tight, twisting roads and a gently hilly landscape including little villages and pretty farmyards; cows and tractors on the streets can also make the journey a little longer. And then, all of a sudden, a futuristic building made of glittering high-grade steel, which is more reminiscent of the starship 'Enterprise' than the headquarters of a mid-sized machine manufacturer. There is a strategy behind this. General Manager Franz Schröder: "We didn't choose this architecture without good reason. Our company headquarters is a type of living exhibition: the interior features steel office furniture including lamps, lights, and window blinds and shades, and the outer area displays facade elements. All of these items were produced using Schröder and Schröder-Fasti swivel bending machines. This environment is intended to express our practice-oriented relationship with sheet metal and our interest in innovation; this is also meant to prove the diversity of our products." The pursuit of innovation For this reason, Schröder consciously decided against the "standard square" to produce an industrial building characterised by openness, which considers the curved lines of the Upper Bavarian pre-alpine nature surrounding it in its design. In this way, the positive and negative waves of stainless steel on the roof follow the curved forms of the surrounding terrain. Every individual detail corresponds with the declared pursuit of the highest quality, since according to Franz Schröder, "quality should start at our doors and continue until the completed machines are shipped." The pursuit of innovation, precision, and care for the materials is reflected in the swivel bending machines manufactured at this approximately 150-man strong family company, which together with Schröder-Fasti Technologie GmbH in Wermelskirchen includes as many as 220 employees. Franz Schröder: "to me, swivel bending is the technology of the future, today. The material yields along a fixed shape; to put it more precisely, over the optimal bending radius of the upper beam tool, where it has time to yield. Advantages of swivel bending For Franz Schröder, one large difference between die bending and swivel bending is the relative movement between the work piece and the tool: during die bending, basically both bending jaws move upwards, which often causes problems with larger pieces, and can even cause a whiplash effect. Swivel bending technology only moves the bending jaw with the tool doing the shaping upwards. The remaining work piece now lies fixed between the upper and lower beams on the rear support table and integrated positioning system. Another point is the damage caused to the surfaces, which is becoming more relevant nowadays. Both of these problems can be counted out during swivel bending. Even sheet thickness tolerances have much less influence on the precision of the work piece during swivel bending than die bending. In view of these advantages, the question no longer remains why forward-thinking companies now use swivel bending machines with their manufacturing. To ensure that the precision of all machine components is correct, Schröder dedicates a significant amount of investment and relies mostly on in-house production. But for Franz Schröder, the extremely high production depth of nearly 90 percent is not only the requirement of the highest level of quality and flexibility. This also hinders important know-how from being transmitted externally. For this reason, Mr. Schröder did not want to reveal too much about his production. Only this much: all basic components are subjected to a special treatment and processed using highly precise machines. The type of production is less interesting to the steel industry than the results produced by the machine. And these results need not fear drawing any comparison worldwide. This is proved by a range of machines that Schröder has delivered over the past few years that have set new standards in terms of bending angle precision, among other things. Franz Schröder: "a bending precision of 0° is not yet available, but we are presently not far off. One of our customers is able to produce 5 m long pieces with a bending precision of 0.1°." This may sound exaggerated, but it is absolutely relevant to step edges. At 30 bending steps, the machine approaches the piece 30 times and produces the same error each time. The most precise bending and shaping is possible Especially in case the most precise bending and shaping is required, Schröder Maschinenbau regularly accepts apparently impossible contracts. For example, a stainless steel container, which may not be described in more detail due to company secrets, which is bent on all four sides by the jaws and then laser welded. The challenge: the gap between the jaws may not be larger than 4/100 mm. "Although numerous "experts" were certain that this would not be possible, we accepted the challenge, and we were successful", cheers Franz Schröder, highlighting the innovative power of his company and the four systems that were purchased by the customer in the meantime. How this high level of precision is able to be achieved remains a secret beyond the statement "special controller technology featuring proprietary hard and software". But swivel bending machines by Schröder are not only highly precise, they are also very, very fast. This number has to be mentioned: 360 degrees per second, a record in terms of bending speed. Or to put it differently: in one half of a second, the bending frame produces a 90° angle and then retracts to the start position. This masterpiece was required for a high-production system used for serial manufacturing involving sheets with multiple bends. Franz Schröder: "the bending sequences play a large role in the serial production of parts involving multiple bends. Each hundredth of a second is important." The same system, which the customer has sworn to keep in strictest secrecy along with the products manufactured with it, is able to work with a second maximum value thanks to the newest linear motor technology: tools are changed at 3 g, i.e. 3-times the acceleration of the Earth, which makes non-productive time nearly negligible. This development rests on the knowledge that time may be won not only in bending sequence itself, but also during re-equipping from one piece to the next, which is why Schröder accelerated the changing of upper beam tools enormously. Franz Schröder can still remember exactly how this development began: "I visited this customer during the night shift and saw how he was producing mainly individual parts and very small series on ten die bending presses. During my visit, all ten machines were re-equipped at the same time, which took around 10 to 15 minutes per machine, but which can sometimes take up to a half an hour. These equipping times were a sort of thorn in the side of our customer, who had decided to go a completely new way with us." Large bending heights solved Many metal workers are still unaware of the bending heights that are currently able to be achieved via swivel bending. High boxes used to be the domain of mechanical press brakes. But since there are upper beam tools for swivel bending machines for bending heights up to 400 or even 500 mm and the opening stroke has been expanded to up to 1,000 mm, high boxes and cabinets may be produced easily with swivel bending machines, and the market is now characterised by swivel bending machines. Since in contrast to die bending, the large surfaces of the boxes lie cleanly on the support table, and only the jaw moves. Even very large components that would require two or even three employees or an extensive bending aid during folding are able to be produced without problems by a single employee using a swivel bending machine, and an automatic tool changing system makes the process extremely flexible. In order to complete projects like this, dedicated 'team player' Franz Schröder and his designers have continuously to discover new territory. Schröder's extensive know-how makes it one of the world's leading manufacturers in the swivel bending industry. More now than ever since Fasti – the ex competitor - was taken over and integrated with Schröder-Fasti Technologie GmbH some years ago, which has brought additional know-how into the company. This mutual know-how was also presented for the first time at the BlechExpo 2009 in the modular structured Evolution machine generation, the success of which was able to ward off the effects of the crisis by 30 to 40 percent, according to Franz Schröder. A machine geometry calculated with finite elements, state-of-the-art drive technology, and the revolutionary up-down bending technology enable up and down bending with only one bending frame, which opens new territory in swivel bending. Additional advantage: based on this generation of machines, the customer is able to increase the automation degree of the machine flexibly via a modular system, even up to a complete bending center. Depending on the requirements, the effective lengths, bending performance, and tool height may be selected, and options like a rotating upper beam, tool changer, manipulator, or loading and unloading stations may be featured from the start or added later. Combined advantages As Franz Schröder ensures, the Evolution generation "works with the same parameters as die bending presses and also offers all of the advantages of swivel bending machines. This new high-tech design with multiple possibilities enables us to offer not only an alternative to die bending presses, but also marked improvements to processing options, precision of repetition, flexibility, and automation, no matter whether partial or full automation, since the modular structure enables us to keep all of the options open." Anyone who has met Franz Schröder, a business man with heart and soul, knows that he won't simply rest on the laurels of this success. There's a good reason why he has a reputation at his company for wanting something new every day. However, "that's not entirely true. I want changes in the right direction every day. If we're able to change ourselves every day in a positive way, this adds up to a lot over the years." Let's see what changes we can expect from Schröder at EuroBLECH… | |
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| 01.09.2010 | Soccer City featuring profiles from Tyro |
| The World Championships in Football are over, and Spain earned its victory at Soccer City Stadium. The structural core of Africa's largest football stadium stood up to the test with flying colours, it features 94,700 seats, and the setting for this country's first World Championship in Football also hosted 14 other matches. Let's take a look at the steel-specific particulars of this stadium, since steel quite literally plays a central at Soccer City Stadium. The 43,000 m² large outer shell of this model stadium looks similar to a giant calabash (the traditional African food and drinking vessel) set upon an African braai. South African architects Boogertman Urban Edge & Partners designed this to appear according to an old tradition. But the rustic ochre, sienna, and brown tones of the facade, which consists of fibreC fibreglass concrete, has a modern structure of sheet metal mounting profiles. From mid January until mid July 2008, Valenta GmbH & Co KG worked with a Servo Power Bend bending machine by Schröder to produce the 200 mm and 3000 mm millimetre-long components from 2 and 3 millimetre-thick pieces of sheet metal. Since 1964, Valenta has counted as one of the world's premier addresses for metal construction, laser technology, sheet processing, and project management for demanding employers such as BMW, luxury dining, modern mountain and glacier rail systems, or the futuristic Dubai Airport. Fast, high-performance, and extremely precise The assembly profiles of Soccer City's facade were also a big challenge: "Since the production of these 100,000 special components had to be completed in six months, we needed a machine that would work fast, with high-performance, and extremely precise on our 3,200 mm workpieces", recalls engineer and general manager Josef Valenta. After mid February 2008, the finished steel profiles were shipped to South Africa and then assembled with the facade panels at our on-location field workshop, which were manufactured by Salzburg company Rieder Smart Elements beforehand in Bavarian Kolbermoor. Josef Valenta remembers that "this all worked without any problems. Since we needed to produce in Austria and assemble in South Africa, we required a high degree of precision and accurate repetition. We never would have been able to use "warped" pieces on-location.“ Ecological and economical The edge length of the total of 33,600 fibreC panels amounts to 1,200 x 1,800 mm. In our field workshop, we finished 2,100 modules featuring 16 panels each. These were mounted on the modernised support structure of the former First National Bank Stadium with Valenta mounting profiles. Ecological and economical advantages: fibreC fibreglass concrete is produced using 40 percent less energy than aluminium or fibre cement. Compared with HPL (High-Pressure Laminate), fibreC saves as much as 80 percent energy. Valentas purely economically oriented decision for a machine from Wessobrunn also has a background story: "Around 1971, when our company was still just a small construction and art metal workshop, my father purchased a plate shear and bending machine from Schröder featuring working lengths of 2,500 mm each. I myself worked a lot on these machines during my youth", smirks Josef Valenta. "Later, when we switched to bending presses and laser cutters, we sort of lost sight of the Schröder Company, until the question came up in October 2007 about which machines would be the best for our big Soccer City contract." Robotics-supported bending presses, sheet processing centres, and other options were discussed. In the end, all considerations led to a swivel bending machine from Wessobrunn, and follow-up contracts required the scratch-free bending of sensitive stainless steel sheets: "In November 2007, I approached Schröder for consulting and put together a machine with them. Since we needed to start bending as soon as January 2008, it was very helpful that the short ordering and delivery deadlines were able to be kept reliably", explains Josef Valenta. | |
| 17.02.2010 | Products for industrial arts |
| Yet to this day, this sheet-metal-processing specialist based in southern Germany presents itself as tradition-conscious in the best sense of the word: this mid-sized company remains under the management of the Schröder family – and, despite its growth with its industrial bending centres, has remained true to its individual customers in the trades. That is backed up by the numerous new and continued developments of the Schröder product line of construction and plant machines. Whether bending, cutting, flaring, rounding or pressing, whether manual, motorised or automated, whether fur use at the construction site, in the craft workshop or as a bending centre for industrial production: no later than the takeover of the FASTI plants in 2006, the Schröder Group offers to its customers a product range which is impressive in its scope and depth. Metal processing as a family passion Despite its size and international significance, the company has remained a mid-sized company with its down-to-earth personnel which emphasises close co-operation with customers. With Franz Schröder, the son of the company's founder Hans Schröder is the General Manager of the company; his wife Gerlinde Schröder manages the Schröder-FASTI Technologie GmbH in Wermelskirchen - and elsewhere, too, numerous family members hold positions as managers and employees. In the successful combination of the traditional with the modern, the Schröder Group represents the veritable characteristic ideal of the model for a German mechanical-engineering firm's success. With its innovative, computer-controlled bending centres, Schröder is a supplier to industrial operations the world over. Pieces of sheet metal which have been processed with Schröder machines can be found everywhere: from the tin can to the front of the football arena "Soccer City" in Johannesburg, South Africa, in which the major games of the upcoming FIFA World Cup will take place. Products for industrial arts Yet this company's roots lie in the durable, functional construction and shop machines for industrial arts. For instance, the manually-operated pivoting bending machine Schröder AK, known as a universal "workhorse", has been produced and applied since 1963, according to a method which has hardly changed to this day. In the modular series, a 3-meter version is also available. The Type ASK segment folding machine - unique on the market in terms of its functional concept - can be found in numerous small-scale operations and teaching shops. With these and other manual, pneumatics-aided or motorised machine series for industrial arts, Schröder has laid the foundation for its quality-based image and its good reputation for service. Also, there is constant continuing development taking place within this sector, whereby convenience and quality are constantly further increased. Many machines with special tinner tools now available Here, the sheet-metal-processing specialists contributed to the MAK V a new upper string board with enhanced bending expansion spaces. For this purpose, the new motorised nine-fold rear stop – operable via a simplified display on the POS 400 controls – was launched in late August and offers the user a high degree of flexibility along with the simplification of work processes. Combined with special tinner tools, the MAK V is the ideal compact machine for industrial-arts operations – with an unprecedentedly favourable price-performance ration for this market. For the long-standing manual pivoting bending machine Schröder AK, a pneumatic bending aid is now available to save energy during work. The tinner assembly with greater expansion space for the hollow foldover as well as enhanced stop fingers and removable overlay sheets for opposing bends are among the further innovations featured in the latest version of this classic machine. In the cutting process, the manually-operated Schröder HS is an ideal tool for material thicknesses up to 2 mm and lengths of up to 3 m. Now, in its current version, the HS now features a new working height, a manual compensator and an adjustable telescope chute for stacking cut PCBs. Both innovations minimise the number of manual steps involved in cutting – and with that, increase the degree of convenience. In the simple Schröder machine shears, the newly-engineered, front-adjustable manual rear stop featuring a digital display is evidence of Schröder's constant involvement in this segment. Also in the consistent implementation of work-safety measures for shears, Schröder has assumed the pioneering role by way of its exemplary rear-space guard. With that, when it comes to investments in equipment assemblies for industrial-arts operations, Schröder remains an important contact. The company has announced further innovations and enhancements for its construction and shop machines – as well as for the machines made by the former FASTI plant, which has operated under the name Schröder FASTI Technologie GmbH since the takeover. The Schröder family and the company's work force are well on their way to continuing their 60-year history. Meet the companies Hans Schröder Maschinenbau und Schröder Fasti Technologie at the trade fair "Dach und Holz 2010", in Hall 9, Booth 9.315/414! | |
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