INNOVATION IN MOTION - Strothmann

INNOVATION
IN MOTION
News, tips and trends for costumers and partners
Know-how in power engineering
and green technology
STROTHMANN goes beyond talking about power engineering
and green technology. The company has contributed expert
knowledge and implemented innovative concepts in these
industries for years.
With its extensive product portfolio STROTHMANN is excellently
positioned for future developments.
Read more about this topic in this issue of INNOVATION IN
MOTION.
Content
Innovation in Motion
– editorial Page 2
Bosch Rexroth:
Wind power on
RoundTrack ®
Page 3– 5
Vestas Blades:
Cutting edge wind
energy technology Page 6 – 7
Chery Automobile:
New press line
with FEEDERplus Page 8
Hörmann Automotive:
New robot and side
member concept Page 9
News Page 10

EDITORIAL
INNOVATION IN MOTION
This issue of INNOVATION IN MOTION
is all about a key future industry – energy.
Two featured applications will
show how leading wind turbine manufacturers
benefit from our RoundTrack ®
system, which opens up a wide range
of new possibilities. In its Witten factory,
Bosch Rexroth develops and builds
gearboxes for wind turbines. Thanks to
the RoundTrack ® , Bosch Rexroth was
able to restructure its work organization
and logistics, thus gaining a competitive
advantage. Vestas, a leading
international supplier of modern energy
solutions, also uses the RoundTrack ® in
its Lauchhammer (Germany) factory
for painting 44 m long rotor blades.
There are news from the field of press
automation, too: in the Far East, our
new FEEDERplus passed its first practical
test with top results. It supports the
chinese car manufacturer Chery
Automobile who has just commissioned
its new automatic press line for car
body blanks in Wuhu, China. Speaking
of cars: the German manufacturer
Hörmann Automotive has automated
its side member press with STROTH-
MANN robots. This IIM issue brings you
a preview of the project, followed by a
comprehensive report in the next issue.
“How do we continue to be innovative?”
– as meeting young engineers and raising
their interest in the challenges of
our everyday business is acutely important
for a highly innovative compa-
2
Michael Spiegel, STROTHMANN CEO
ny such as STROTHMANN, we asked
students of Paderborn University this
question and challenged them to solve
some intriguing problems. Read our
report about the research project at the
end of this issue.
I wish you an interesting and delightful
time with INNOVATION IN MOTION.
Michael Spiegel, CEO
Wind power on Round
The production of Rexroth gearboxes
for wind turbines in Bosch Rexroth's
Witten plant is based on
STROTHMANN's RoundTrack ® technology.
The innovative floor transport
system allows for assembly line-style
operation: when one assembly cycle is
finished, the gearboxes, which are
mounted on platforms, proceed to the
next station. Lothar Sossdorf, one of
the engineering managers responsible
for reorganizing the production line,
gave us a look behind the scenes and
explained how profoundly the changeover
to flow production affected production
processes.
Many wind turbines are based on
Rexroth's expertise. The company
exports its gearboxes internationally,
and is currently expanding its capacities
through new production sites: a plant in
IMPRINT
Publisher:
W. STROTHMANN GmbH
Organization:
Derek Clark, STROTHMANN
Editorial office:
gii die Presse-Agentur GmbH
Immanuelkirchstr. 12
10405 Berlin · Germany
P.O. Box 55 02 31
10372 Berlin
Fon +49 (0 ) 30 / 53 89 65-0
Fax +49 (0 ) 30 / 53 89 65-29
www.gii.de · info@gii.de
Production and Design:
Effect Communication
Gesellschaft für Marketing und
Werbung mbH
Carl-Miele-Str. 206
33332 Gütersloh · Germany
Fon +49 (0) 5241/2119514
Fax +49 (0) 5241/2119513
info@effect-com.de
www.effect-com.de

Tracks ®
Peking, for instance, has been supplying
the Asian market since September
2008, and a new plant in Nuremberg
will be put into operation this year. In
order to produce greater quantities, the
company decided to optimize production
processes at the main plant in
Witten by means of a changeover to a
flow production type similar to an
assembly line. “In machine building
applications, an assembly line can be
implemented through manual line production.
The only difference compared
with assembly line operation is that
workers in an assembly line finish no
more than three screws in one step,
while a production line has bigger work
units and employees may have assembly
times as long as several hours”,
explains Lothar Sossdorf, head of production
system design.
Bosch Rexroth gearboxes at an assembly station
Box assembly (before)
New production line (after)
Diagram of the box assembly (before) and the new production line (after)
ROUNDTRACK ®
3

ROUNDTRACK ®
Bartering tools and “stealing” components
The changeover from conventional box
assembly to flow production profoundly
shook up production processes. Up to
now, gearboxes were assembled in a
box. In this so-called “cluster assembly”,
employees had their materials,
tools and measuring and lifting systems
at one assembly station. If a tool was
missing, the worker would go to another
box to get it from there. In order
to increase the production output in this
system, the box assembly would have
to be considerably expanded. An example:
With a yearly output of 100 gear-
Well-defined work steps create transparency and enable know-how transfer
In order to implement the new production
line, the company needed to define
the required work steps for the gearbox
production. Logistics were specified as
a second step. The newly defined work
and logistics processes, which were
established by dedicated staff, create
transparent work steps, logistics and
material flow, thus enabling the company
to duplicate the concept for other
plants. “The RoundTrack ® merely serves
as the vehicle for production. More
importantly, we had to mentally face
the changeover to flow production”,
Gearbox manufacturing on RoundTrack ®
4
boxes, two gearboxes, which would
take up three stations, would have to
leave the plant every week. 30 stations
would be necessary for a yearly output
of 1,000 gear-boxes. “That would cause
a problem with our available space”,
says Sossdorf. Therefore, the company
came to the conclusion that cycle times
had to be minimized and material logistics
needed to be reorganized.
says Sossdorf. “The machines now
come to the employees who can fully
concentrate on their tasks”, explains
Derek Clark, head of sales and marketing
at STROTHMANN. After completing
the work step within the cycle time, the
gearboxes are transported to the next
station on platforms which rest on four
consoles in their idle state. “Since the
tasks are more manageable now, single
employees notice room for improvements
within their task areas, e.g. that
tools should be located closer to the
station”, says Sossdorf. The results of
Picture: Bosch Rexroth AG
single work steps are optimized, which
benefits the workers who feel responsible
for quality. A further advantage for
the company is that know-how is not
specific to single workers: if, for instance,
employees call in sick, a colleague
can take their place thanks to the
transparent work steps.
Picture: Bosch Rexroth AG

First place in the transport system category:
RoundTrack ® from STROTHMANN
“After deciding to switch to flow production,
we carried out a cost-benefit
analysis, comparing suppliers who
might technologically implement our
idea. Rejecting air cushion and wheelbased
transport methods, we chose the
RoundTrack ® which proved superior to
the alternatives in all respects”, says
Sossdorf. Since the narrow tracks are
laid in the hall floor without any
grooves, and protrude only 3 or 4.5 mm
from the ground, the surface loads are
smaller than in wheel-based transport
methods. Transportation with air cushion
vehicles can cause problems with
“We can now tweak the whole system”
It took just under one year from the
idea for the new transport system until
the first components left the production
line. “For the commissioning of the new
system, we aimed for the same output
as before the implementation of the
new production line.” It was worth the
effort: the flow production enabled the
company to discover errors and faulty
processes. The newly defined work
steps and material handling logistics
are the basis for all further improvements.
“All of a sudden, we could tweak
the whole system, correct errors, opti-
Gearboxes from
Witten
Rexroth provides wind turbine gearboxes
for plant outputs from 660 to
5,000 kW as well as pitch and yaw
gearboxes. The biggest gearboxes
manufactured in Witten have a 2.5 mW
output and weigh approximately 20 t.
brakes and cleanliness, which do not
occur in RoundTrack ® systems. The
round upper edge of the rail protrudes
only a few millimeters from the ground,
allowing persons or vehicles to pass
over the tracks without any risk of
accident. The floor rail system also
includes trolleys with ball bearing rollers,
whose “gothic arch”-shaped profile
ensures that contact with the rails is
limited to two small surface areas, thus
ensuring smooth running, minimal rolling
friction and excellent wear resistance.
mize processes and thus increase quality
and efficiency. It was all about creating
completely new processes”, says
Sossdorf. The new transport system
gives the Witten plant a great competitive
advantage, because the analysis of
all processes has created new knowhow.
The competitive edge over the
company's rivals cannot simply be
copied. “Even if we were to disclose all
defined production processes, competitors
would still have to analyze their
own work steps.”
RoundTrack ®
Company background Bosch Rexroth
ROUNDTRACK ®
Due to their circular cross-section,
RoundTracks ® eliminate the typical
disadvantages of conventional rail
systems, such as grooves that easily
get dirty and edges that are tripping
hazards during operation. The rails are
embedded in aluminum holding profiles
that are laid in the hall floor. The round,
grooveless upper edge of the rail protrudes
only 3 or 4.5 millimeters from
the ground. Persons or vehicles, e.g.
cleaning machines, can pass over the
tracks without any risk of accident.
RoundTracks ® are made from hardened
and polished steel – the wear-free
material easily withstands even a hammer
dropped on the tracks by mistake.
They allow for great flexibility in production
lines. RoundTrack ® modules are
designed to allow trolleys or assembly
platforms to reach any position via
turntables or crossing elements.
Pneumatic or hydraulic lifting modules
allow for simple manual or fully automated
directional changes.
Bosch Rexroth AG is an internationally leading expert for drive and control
technologies. The Rexroth brand provides customized drive and control solutions
for machines and plants to more than 500,000 customers. Bosch
Rexroth produces plant equipment and factory automation, mobile work
machines and renewable energy solutions. First established as The Drive &
Control Company, Bosch Rexroth manufactures and distributes components
and systems in more than 80 countries. The company, which is part of the
Bosch group, produced a 5.9 billion Euro turnover in 2008 and employed a
staff of 35,300. At the Witten plant, Rexroth develops, produces and distributes
gearboxes for mobile and stationary applications and all gearboxes for
modern wind turbines, ranging from innovative main gearboxes to precise yaw
drives and compact pitch drives for rotor blade adjustment. Witten, Bosch
Rexroth's international main plant for gearboxes, employs 1,200 workers.
Further gearbox production sites are Beijing and Nuremberg.
5

ROUNDTRACK ®
Vestas Blades for cutting-edge wind energy technology
Not too long ago, it took two workers to
manually paint a blade for Vestas wind
turbines. Nowadays, the blades are
automatically transported through the
paint shop on RoundTracks ® and treated
by a specially programmed paint
robot. This novel method is more environment-friendly
because it minimizes
the paint consumption and enables
immediate cleansing of the tools.
Moreover, a central exhaust now provides
for fresh air in the workshop.
Vestas Blades are employed offshore
and in desert fringes. “A single type
V90-3.0 MW wind turbine saves more
than 5,000 tons of CO2 emissions per
year,” says Vestas’ logistics manager
Bernd Noatnick. The company’s most
successful model, the V90-2.0 MW, is
optimally suited for low-turbulence
sites with low to medium wind speeds.
Vestas supplies the global market with
this specific model. From the East
German city Lauchhammer, they are
transported via the river Elbe to customers
in Europe and overseas.
Going near and far
Every four hours, somewhere in the
world a new wind turbine from Vestas
goes on the grid, and every four hours,
the Lauchhammer plant completes
another rotor blade for the turbines.
“We sell complete stations,” says
Noatnick. Employing a staff of 500, the
East German subsidiary, which has
been operating in Lauchhammer since
December 2008, is one of the major
employers in the region. The premises
which span 201,000 m 2 are located on
the site of a former coal mining area
and briquette factory. Here, Vestas currently
manufactures rotor blades for
type V90 wind turbines. The blades,
which measure 44 m, have a hub diameter
of 1.8 m and weigh 6.5 tons. At
maximum rpm, the tips of the blades
reach a speed of 300 km/h.
Vestas wind turbines have a characteristically
slender silhouette. “Designing
the turbines Vestas pays particular
attention to material efficiency. Vestas
towers rest on a steel structure. Our
primary aim is to make them very light
6
44 m long and weighing 6.5 tons, the blades can be pushed by two workers. The units are
automatically transported through the paint shop.
and lean,” says Noatnick. “Other manufacturers’
blades are more than twice as
heavy as ours. To make our blades light
and robust, we enforce them with carbon
and seal the surfaces with a twocomponent
system.” A blade set consists
of three blades which must be precisely
adjusted by means of a pitch
system because unbalances would
damage the turbine. Noatnick explains
that “the rotor blades must withstand
extreme stress for a set time. Their
intended operating life time is
20 years”.
Flow production optimizes
the painting process
The rotor blade is automatically transported
through the paint shop on trolleys
which run on tracks laid in the hall
floor. It is automatically cleaned and
treated by a paint robot. The blades are
painted with two paint components.
The paint robot automatically switches
the color at the right position.
“Minimizing paint consumption was a
demanding goal and a major reason for
introducing the RoundTrack ® floor rail
system. Thanks to this new technology,
we save paint and help preserve nature,”
says Noatnick. In the next step, the
painted blade is stored in the drying
chamber. Throughout the process,
standard-compliant ventilation is ensured.
“Work safety regulations also
required reorganization of the painting
process. Now, we no longer need workers
inside the paint shop during the
painting process,” Noatnick says.
“Safety comes first for us. The Round-
Track ® floor rail system greatly contributes
to a high level of work safety
throughout the factory. The tracks are
smoothly laid in the hall floor – that is
another advantage of the system.”
Transport trailer loaded with a Vestas blade –
ready for the long haul

Tracks ®
Peking, for instance, has been supplying
the Asian market since September
2008, and a new plant in Nuremberg
will be put into operation this year. In
order to produce greater quantities, the
company decided to optimize production
processes at the main plant in
Witten by means of a changeover to a
flow production type similar to an
assembly line. “In machine building
applications, an assembly line can be
implemented through manual line production.
The only difference compared
with assembly line operation is that
workers in an assembly line finish no
more than three screws in one step,
while a production line has bigger work
units and employees may have assembly
times as long as several hours”,
explains Lothar Sossdorf, head of production
system design.
Bosch Rexroth gearboxes at an assembly station
Box assembly (before)
New production line (after)
Diagram of the box assembly (before) and the new production line (after)
ROUNDTRACK ®
3

New Chery Automobile press line with FEEDERplus
Recently, Chery Automobile in Wuhu,
China, started up its new automatic
press line for car body blanks. Derek
Clark, STROTHMANN’s Head of Sales &
Marketing, and Wensheng Feng,
STROTHMANN manager in China,
discussed the practicality and flexibility
of the feeders in everyday production,
addressing press environment, motion
sequences, transport acceleration, and
their implementation in STROTHMANN
technologies. “For applications with
large parts, fast production lines, and
small or large gaps between the presses,
feeder automation is still an attractive
solution,” says Clark. The new
FEEDERplus, a linear robot system with
additional rotating axes which can
orient blanks during transfer, has already
attracted a great deal of attention in
many markets. “It tops even the conventional
six-axes-robot in press automation
applications, in terms of speed
as well as flexibility. We already proved
that in three Chery lines which use
either dual feeder technology or the
FEEDERplus,” says Feng.
PRESS ROOM AUTOMATION
Leap ahead through press
automation
Selling 300,000 compact cars and SUVs
annually, the car manufacturer Chery
has become the number one in the
Chinese car export business. “Such a
leap is impossible without automation.
That is why STROTHMANN is an important
partner for us and for future cooperation,”
says Zhao Hong De, deputy
chief engineer at Chery Automobile.
During the final inspection of the completely
automated press line,
Wensheng Feng and Zhao Hong De
were very satisfied and particularly
praised the machines’ high quality and
STROTHMANN’s pragmatism.
More on page 9
8

FEEDERplus
FEEDERplus is a linear robot system
which, in addition to its standard
linear axes, can perform rotary
motions in the b axis, the orienting
axis of the rotating arm. The horizontal
axes reach final velocities of
1 m/s (vx) and 5 m/s (vy). These
axes have a maximum acceleration
of 4.5 m/s 2 (ax) and 13 m/s 2 (ay).
Due to a laterally offset design, the
diagonal speed component can be
eliminated. During transfer, blanks
can be oriented along up to six axes.
The FEEDERplus is suitable for operation
in press gaps measuring at
least 6,500 mm and for maximum
loads of approx. 125 kg (part and
tooling). The system has a +/- 0.25 mm
repeating accuracy.
STROTHMANN’s new automation concept
for a 3,000 ton side member press
has been assembled in the customer’s
plant and is currently in the last stage
of commissioning. STROTHMANN has
designed and implemented both the
robot and the side member concept of
the press for Hörmann Automotive, an
automotive supplier. Three overhead
robots on each side load and unload the
parts and transport them within the
press. Individual configuration enables
each robot to work autonomously as
well as synchronously with every other
robot in the press. There will be a comprehensive
report about the facility in
the next INNOVATION IN MOTION
issue.
Axes of the FEEDERplus system
Hörmann Automotive: final stage of major project
PRESS ROOM AUTOMATION
Test stage robot automation of a 3,000 ton side member press for Hörmann Automotive at
STROTHMANN’s Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock plant.
9

NEWS
Quick link to future
engineers
In a 2008 workshop on materials research, technology,
and idea management and development, 15 students of
Paderborn University worked on a number of practical
challenges. The first question was: how can metallic or
non-ferromagnetic sheet metals be spread? One possible
answer is using air. “The students should explore possibilities
we may not yet be aware of”, says Derek Clark. To
demonstrate the second task, the handling expert used a
Group photo of Heinz Nixdorf Institute students
wildlife example: the students were assigned to find ways
to technically imitate the movements of an elephant’s
trunk to enable a robot arm to copy them. An elephant’s
trunk is flexible in all directions, maintains high power
while it is bent, and is characterized by very stable
motions. The third task focused energy efficiency: the aim
was to minimize the energy supplied to trolleys with extra
functions, or even to feed energy back into the grid. The
exciting workshop brought forth alternative approaches
and fresh impulses.
STROTHMANN employee
Astudillo saves lives with
stem cell donation
STROTHMANN technician Claudio Astudillo (40) has already
saved two people’s lives by donating stem cells: a 43year-old
man from Italy and a 17-year-old woman from
the USA. Blood stem cells are harvested through apheresis,
a process that takes several hours to separate the
blood components. The healthy stem cells are administered
to the patient as blood donations. Claudio Astudillo
registered as a volunteer following an appeal by the
German bone marrow donor databank society.
Real life hero:
Claudio Astudillo has saved two
people’s lives by donating stem
cells
W. Strothmann GmbH
Altenkamp 11 · D-33758 Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock · Fon: +49 (0) 52 07 / 91 22-0 · Fax: +49 (0) 52 07 / 91 22-96 2009
E-mail: info@strothmann.com · www.strothmann.com
A company of the Siempelkamp-Group July