Automation of the sheet metal processing

R3Stav is a Czech company operating in the construction industry, specialising in the implementation of installations for industrial buildings such as flat roofs, skylights, polycarbonate walls or building coverings. Since 2015, it has completed almost a thousand implementations for industrial buildings on both the Czech and foreign markets.

With an increasing number of realisations and orders, the company decided to increase its own production capacity by equipping a new laser cutting machine from Eagle with an automation system from Baumalog. The implementation of the new laser in the production facility created the need to organise its operation and plan the material flow. Providing the right working conditions for the laser cutting machine made it possible to implement an automation system integrated with the cutting machine, which not only provided automatic operation of the processing machine table, but also organised the storage and material flow processes.

The laser automation system for cutting sheet metal with a maximum size of 3 x 1.5 m (Loader with storage system) is made up of three main components that enable to fully utilise the laser cutting machine’s production capacity: the semi-automated loading and unloading station, the TwinTower automated storage system and the Loader loading and unloading module.

The semi-automated loading and unloading station has three stops:

• underneath the storage column, where the shelf is picked for the lift which delivers the shelves to their respective locations,
• to the left of the storage column, from where the shelves are taken from the shelf,
• to the right of the storage column, where raw sheet metal is loaded onto the shelves.

The TwinTower automated storage system, which is 6.1 m high, has a total of 42 shelf locations for storing sheet metal up to 3 x 1.5 m in size and cut parts. The total load capacity of the TwinTower automated storage system is 126,000 kg. The compact design of the system allows large volumes of material to be stored close to the processing site in an area of only 37 sq m.

The link between the laser table and the storage area is the Loader, a loading and unloading module that transports the sheet from the storage column to the laser cutting table in less than one and a half minutes. Two modules are responsible for the smooth operation of the system. The loading module is equipped with a set of vacuum suction pads, while the unloading module is equipped with a two-part fork that automatically extends to pick up the cut parts or deposit them at their destination.

The automation of the laser cutting machine has optimised the loading and unloading process of the newly implemented machine. It has enabled the laser cutting machine’s total productivity to reach up to 90 per cent, assuming continuous operation (24/7). The implementation of automation has allowed full utilisation of the production capacity without the need to delegate a team to permanently operate the laser cutting table and transport the material using forklifts. At the same time, the entire system is located in a small area, saving valuable space for other elements of the production process.