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Global player in the leisure industry relies on erlcut gantry cutting system

Small quantities, large component variety, high quality requirements - the production of modern rides is extremely demanding. In order to make the manufacturing process more efficient, Mack Rides has decided to take responsibility for cutting the required parts themselves in the future. By investing in a fully enclosed erlcut gantry cutting system from ERL Automation, the company achieves maximum flexibility and consistently high component quality. The operating staff also benefits from the user-friendly system concept.

Since August 2018, erlcut has been cutting a wide variety of components that are used in the rides by Mack.

The family-owned company Mack Rides, based in Waldkirch near Freiburg, is a manufacturer of rides that are in demand worldwide. Founded in 1780 by Paul Mack, the company has developed from a carriage builder to one of the market leaders in the development and construction of rides. Even today, all attractions are individually manufactured in Waldkirch before they make their way to Asia, Europe, Australia or the USA.

The company has a very high vertical range of manufacture; the majority of the production steps take place in-house - from design and track production to the manufacture of the fibreglass plastic coverings and final vehicle assembly. One of the few exceptions was the cutting of sheet metal, which was previously bought in. But this, too, had to change in order to gain even more flexibility. Mack primarily needs components in small quantities and individual parts; the variety of components is enormous. "It was important to us that we can handle almost all cutting tasks with the system that we have," explains Günter Burger, technical director, authorized signatory and member of the management at Mack. At the same time, the future operating personnel should be optimally protected at all times from the sometimes high noise emissions during plasma cutting, which is why noise protection was also one of the central requirements. In terms of system handling, it had to be taken into account that the machine had to be able to be loaded and unloaded both by crane and by forklift.

ERL Automation GmbH developed a system concept that was convincing. The specialist for automated cutting solutions supplied a gantry cutting system erlcut e550 for sheet metal formats up to 1500 x 3000 mm. The machine is suitable for oxy-fuel and plasma cutting as well as for marking components. To protect employees from noise, it is located in a sound insulating cabin that can be easily loaded by crane and forklift through angled sliding doors.

 

Wide range of applications

The cutting system has three driven torch carriages: one with a plasma torch, one with an oxy-fuel torch and one with an embossing unit. A HiFocus 440i neo power source enables precise cuts of up to 40 mm during plasma cutting. Thanks to the Contour Cut technology, especially small holes in mild steel can be cut in the highest quality. For sheet thicknesses from 40 mm, the user has an oxyfuel torch at his disposal, which is particularly maintenance-friendly and reliable due to its external ignition and height control. As a rule, erlcut cutting systems are designed for sheet thicknesses up to a maximum of 200 mm. However, since even thicker sheets often have to be cut at Mack, the machinable sheet thickness range has been extended to up to 300 mm by design modifications.

In addition, the machine is equipped with the erlcut-sign needle matrix embossing system. This enables long-lasting marking, for example clear texts, lines or data matrix codes, to be made on the sheet surface. Mack uses this function mainly for the application of component data (batch number, etc.), which is particularly important for traceability. The embossing system works in a self-sufficient area of 100 x 150 mm without machine movement and, thanks to its high performance, can also be used without any problems with particularly hard steel such as StE 960.

 

Optimal protection against noise

Noise-induced hearing loss is the most common recognised occupational disease in Germany. Noise emissions of up to 110 db(A) can also occur during plasma cutting due to the high energy density and flow speeds, depending on the cutting task. These are well above the permissible trigger threshold of 80 dB(A) at which hearing protection measures must be taken according to occupational health and safety regulations. To protect its employees from unnecessary noise pollution, Mack decided to enclose the cutting system.

The erlcut is completely enclosed by the erlcut-silent sound insulating cabin. The sound pressure level to which the operating staff is exposed outside the cabin is more than 30 db(A) lower than would be the case without enclosing the cutting system. As a result, the permissible trigger threshold is undercut and the system operators can work comfortably.


The erlcut-silent sound insulating enclosure reduced noise emissions by more than 30 db(A).


Inside the cabin, the machine is positioned all around with a distance of around 500 mm to the walls, so that it is easily accessible from all sides. In addition, this means that there are no safety concerns when operating staff is in the cabin during lower-noise processes, such as oxy-fuel cutting. The sound insulating cabin is accessible from two sides. On the front side, it has two sliding doors that, thanks to their angled shape, allow loading and unloading from above by crane. The very flat and robust guide rails of the doors on the floor withstand even heavy loads, which is why the machine can also be loaded and unloaded by forklift without any problems. A door on the side is available for service purposes.

 

Everything at a glance

The sound enclosure reduces noise but restricts the operators? Not at all. The cutting system is equipped with the camera system erlcut-cam, so that despite complete enclosure, setting up the metal sheets can be done easily and precisely. A camera mounted next to the tool transmits a live image to the control system, which is located outside the cabin. This provides the operator with a vertical view of the sheet so that the edge of the sheet can be captured accurately and perpendicularly. In addition, the operator can follow the processes through several windows with anti-dazzle devices and always has an overview of everything that is happening.

The e*volution control system is mounted on a console that can be moved in the immediate vicinity, with plenty of storage space for wearing parts, tools or accompanying documents, for example, and can be operated intuitively thanks to a clearly structured user interface and an integrated process database. For component programming, the nesting software act/cut is used, which simplifies task management with numerous useful features. For example, Mack can also use the programming system to manage production orders, assign parts to individual orders and manage material stock (whole and cut sheet metal).

"With the erlcut, we are very well positioned for all cutting tasks that arise in the sheet metal sector. Basically, we can cut and mark all metallic materials that are electrically conductive up to 300 mm sheet thickness ourselves and at the same time offer our employees a comfortable workplace," Burger sums up.


About us

We are a manufacturer of gantry and robot cutting machines as well as special systems.


ERL Automation GmbH
Siemensstraße 12, 94405 Landau a.d. Isar

+49 9951 - 60 34 66 0
info@erl-cutting.com

iso zertifikat tüv austria

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