EROWA Report - HANZA

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REPORT - HANZA

Perfect symbiosis Software, robot, machine - in South Sweden's Årjäng, this trifecta constitutes a perfect symbiosis, wich automation has been given great value. And EROWA has been part of it since 2004.

Hanza Mechanics Årjäng is a production plant of the HANZA Group. This group operates six m ­ anufacturing clusters, which in turn are spread among 15 factories in Sweden, Finland, Germany, the Baltics, Central Europe and China. HANZA's customers include leading corpo­rations such as 3M, ABB, GE, John Deere, SAAB and Siemens. Within only a few years, the firm has grown into a globally operating company with now almost 2,000 ­employees.

Manufacturing clusters In Årjäng itself, complex turbine parts and other components made of particularly tough materials are produced, heat shields being a case in point. HANZA Mechanics Årjäng is the Group's most modern plant for chip-removing mach§ining and precision mechanics and has been awarded the AS 9100 aerospace certificate. The factory is part of the Swedish manufacturing cluster. The cluster concept is the basis of HANZA's overall strategy. Various production technologies are united in one location, for instance machining, electronics, steel sheet processing,

wire harness and complex assembly. Thanks to the elimination of complex supply chains, HANZA is able to offer its customers sustainable solutions and long-term relationship with regard to lead times, efficiency and competitiveness. At the same time, the environmental impact is reduced through shorter transport routes and fewer logistics. In addition, carefully planned investment programs ensure that production units are always equipped with the latest technologies and machines.

EROWA in Årjäng Customers of HANZA Mechanics Årjäng can be found in a wide variety of industries, but most come from the energy sector. The company machines workpieces whose sizes range from 20×20×20mm to 300×300×300mm, typically in batch sizes of up to 100 parts with demanding geometries, strict quality requirements and machining tolerances in the range of only a few thousands of a millimeter. And it is precisely for this reason that automation is particularly valuable here."In 2004, we made the trailblazing decision to use EROWA's UPC 320×320mm workpiece tooling system on all the machines," says Ola Svensson, Site Manager at HANZA Sweden. From 2006 onwards, we started to automate our EDM centers with EROWA robots." Various models are in use, according to requirements. "Our latest investment is an EROWA Robot Dynamic

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REPORT - HANZA

150L. It serves two SODICK AG60L EDM centers and a MITUTOYO coordinate measuring machine," Ola Svensson explains further. Thanks to the previously introduced tooling system, the workpiece carriers are changed from machine to machine with precision. The new production cell has a magazine capacity for 300 ITS electrode holders and 50 UPC 320×320mm pallets.

needed to program parts was considerably shortened. It is also very gratifying that the datum points can already be planned at the design stage. Accordingly, an extension with an additional SODICK machine is in the pipeline. In this respect, we at least benefit from the fact that SODICK and EROWA have been cooperating for many years." If the success of this cell is further confirmed, HANZA intends to continue with automation: "A similar step is being planned in the milling department, where we want to upgrade the existing cell with a milling machine for electrodes, a washing station and an additional EDM center."

A considerable amount of time saved To minimize the risk of errors in manual electrode changes, the measuring machine was also integrated into the process after installation. Ola Svensson is very satisfied: "This cell does not only serve the introduction of new technologies since our EDM centers are reaching a certain age," he explains. "Our aim is that the new production cell works around the clock with the highest degree of reliability with one shift of operators." "The integrated EROWA process control system also provides valuable support and makes it easier for our operators to process orders and keep an overview of the cell; and not least, the time

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