State-of-the-art power-transmission machines serve as the automated gearboxes. They consist of a large number of interlocking components 
that can be driven by force and torque. There is a wide range of different types, and vehicle manufacturers require maximum performance and robustness in addition to low weight. Finally, the gearboxes must feature exceptionally smooth running and extremely little friction loss.

Gear manufacturers must be able to deliver different variants in changing quantities to the assembly line of the automotive companies at exactly the right time. This places high demands on manufacturing plants, processes and logistics. In 2018, gear manufacturer Voith signed off on the construction of a plant for the automated production of planetary gear carriers. The requirements set out in the specifications were very demanding: With an annual production of several thousand parts, multiple different component variants would need to be produced flexibly with only two clamping positions. It goes without saying that the requirements for precision, fault tolerance and process reliability were also high. “At first, this seemed to us to be quite radical, and at first glance it looked difficult to accomplish with the standard technologies and procedures,” recalls lead Project Engineer Matthias Gündel. “But with a good amount of engineering expertise, a development mentality and a close cooperation with Voith, we were able to take on this challenging project.”

The requirements set out in a specification can usually be implemented in different ways – but not all solutions are ultimately productive or even efficient. This is exactly where creative engineering knowledge and decades of experience in technology and processes come in to play. For years, Starrag has enjoyed an excellent reputation as a manufacturer of highly productive horizontal machining centres for cutting, turning and drilling workpieces. Chemnitz-based Heckert machines provide the leading solution for processing cubic workpieces, especially for applications in the transport industry, wind energy or precision machine construction.

“With this innovative production solution, we are able to halve the previous process time. While the plant is processing the component on both sides in less than ten minutes, the robot uses the bulk of this time to prepare the next workpiece,” emphasises Application Engineer Nico Lämmel proudly, who programmed the essential parts and finally set the plant in motion.

As the change from machine to machine and the associated re-clamping, installation of clamping devices, tools and sometimes even part cleaning processes that are typical in standard production are no longer necessary, the total throughput time is also drastically reduced. The chosen production solution offers an optimal flow of parts and therefore a small work in process (WIP) inventory. Intermediate storage of the components on dedicated free surfaces is therefore no longer necessary. “We know from experience that, depending on the organisation of process logistics and intralogistics, the production of a component series can take a long time until it is ready for assembly. With the new plant, we have been able to achieve this demonstrably faster,” says Nico Lämmel.

The extent to which users benefit from additional advantages can be seen by directly comparing the previous process and the new, integrated production process from Starrag: “Assuming an annual output of 50,000 parts per year, this plant is not only allowing us to cut the process time in half, but – depending on the application – the user can increase their productivity per unit area by up to two and a half times, reduce tool costs by around a quarter and reduce equipment costs by 50%,” said Marketing Manager Christian Queens. “It’s not every day that you get so many USPs from one product!”