Schuster mechanical engineering

With the aim of shortening changeover times and thus reducing costs, Schuster Maschinenbau opted for a customized system consisting of a cam-controlled changer and chain magazine from WASSERMANN TECHNOLOGIE GmbH

As a medium-sized company with 100 employees and an annual turnover of around 30 million euros, Schuster Maschinenbau supplies manufacturers from sectors such as the automotive industry, electric motor construction and medical technology with solutions for turning, drilling, milling, gear cutting and grinding vertically mounted workpieces. Schuster develops and manufactures complete solutions in combinations of accompanying processes, from bin-picking of raw parts to machining, measuring and cleaning, through to packaging and palletizing of series components. As part of the production process, Schuster has observed the increasing relevance of non-productive times, which are caused by the spindle tool change, among other things.

“During an initial meeting at an in-house exhibition organized by our cooperation partner Wütschner Industrietechnik, our employees were able to successfully demonstrate the potential for optimizing tool changes to those responsible at Schuster Maschinenbau,” recalls Stefan Krönung, Sales Manager at WASSERMANN TECHNOLOGIE GmbH. “This was followed a few days later by the inquiry and finally the order for the now completed project.”

As a solution to the problem of inefficient tool changing addressed by Schuster Maschinenbau, WASSERMANN opted for a tool changing system for installation in machining cells within the production line. The system, supplied in two versions, a left-hand and a right-hand version, consists of a cam-controlled changer with patented positive locking of thedouble gripper, a chain magazine with 60 C6 tool positions (35 m/min chain speed) and a manual loading plate, which enables the tools in the system to be inserted and removed during machining.

The composition of the system is based on standard components from the WASSERMANN portfolio in the field of tool automation. The modular system, which has grown over several decades of experience in machine tool construction, enables individual solutions with only minor adjustments to the standard components. In this specific case, the diameter of the gripper arm and the chain contour, among other things, were adapted in order to be able to produce a reliably functioning system that makes optimum use of the installation space provided by the customer. All in all, this was a completely independent project, beyond classic series production, in which WASSERMANN TECHNOLOGIE was able to cover all project-relevant tasks from project planning, design, production and months to on-site training at the customer’s premises as a full-service provider.

In retrospect, both sides regard the completed project as a success, characterized by cooperation on an equal footing and the smooth running of all relevant project phases.

“The rapid availability and high level of technical expertise have made it possible for us, together with Wassermann, to build our customer a machine that will enable productive manufacturing in Germany for years to come.” Stefan Sporer, project manager at Schuster.

Following completion of the project, Schuster Maschinenbau has already received another inquiry. In a follow-up project, a changing system for double the number of tools is to be realized. In a first step, WASSERMANN presented three alternative concepts, which were characterized by different designs of the required chain magazine. Schuster Maschinenbau opted for a second chain positioned in the X-direction based on the space requirements of the complete system.

“The project with Schuster Maschinenbau clearly demonstrates how we use existing resources and our many years of expertise to develop quick, efficient and economical solutions for our customers’ individual requirements,” emphasizes Sebastian Wassermann, Managing Partner of WASSERMANN TECHNOLOGIE GmbH.