Demag Installs KBK Aluline System For VW Plant In Poland

Demag has installed a KBK Aluline system comprising 127 bridge cranes and other hoists at a VW plant in Września, Polandia.

The plant, which manufactures the latest generation of its VW Crafter is built on a property covering 220 hectares, and is the Volkswagen Group’s 121st factory. It is designed for an annual capacity of 100,000 light commercial vehicles and has generous workshops for the body line and vehicle assembly as well as a state-of-the-art paint line.

On vehicles such as the Crafter, everything is slightly heavier and larger than on a car production line. For this reason, the handling of parts plays a much larger role. Since commercial vehicles are usually made in lower quantities than for car volume models, but in larger numbers of variants, many steps in production cannot be fully automated.

The Demag technicians installed more than 6,000 metres of profile-section rails for cranes and crane runways. In total, they installed 127 crane bridges for single girder overhead cranes and double girder overhead cranes as well as a variety of hoists, manipulators (equipped with lifting columns, pivot arms and balancers) and tools.

For its hoist unit needs, Volkswagen chose the DC range of chain hoists, which are rated for load capacities between 125kg and 315kg and are used with two speeds or variable-speed control, depending on the application. The combination of Demag hoist units and Demag rail systems has already proved to be a good solution at other Volkswagen plants, which is why they are also used in Wrzesnia.

A few examples underline the range of possible applications for the KBK Aluline system in the Crafter production line. Vehicle bodies are transported by a conveyor system at continuous speeds through production. At one station, the cab and sliding doors are removed for pre-assembly on the door pre-assembly line. The 30kg batteries are also installed here. To do this, the worker uses a single-sided manipulator that has an operating range from 0 to 4,500 mm.

Manipulator yang masing-masing digantung dari dua rel juga digunakan untuk melepas pintu besar, yang beratnya mencapai 85kg. Rel dengan panjang total 238 meter dipasang di stasiun ini.

Di jalur pra-perakitan penggerak, rel terutama digunakan untuk menyediakan alat yang diperlukan bagi pekerja, seperti obeng daya pneumatik. Komponen berat atau besar perlu ditangani di kursi bangku dan jalur perakitan panel dasar kompartemen beban, sementara seringkali komponen yang berat, tetapi kompak seperti pegas daun dan peredam kejut harus ditempatkan secara tepat di jalur perakitan kendaraan.

Setiap langkah proses memiliki persyaratan penanganan yang berbeda. Hal yang sama berlaku untuk tingkat ketinggian yang berbeda dan jenis suspensi: jika diperlukan untuk mobilitas horizontal instalasi derek konvensional yang dilengkapi dengan kerekan rantai, suspensi yang memiliki sambungan artikulasi digunakan. Suspensi ergo yang kokoh yang dapat mengakomodasi gaya torsi dan kick-up digunakan untuk aplikasi dengan peralatan penanganan dan obeng daya teleskop.

Volkswagen chose Demag KBK Aluline system to be used throughout the assembly operation because besides its ergonomic aspects, the planners placed great emphasis on safety and serviceability. In addition, the easily assembled and versatile modular system can be extended or converted so the processes and material flow can be modified at any time.