Thermoplan converts wet side and setting station at Wienerberger plants in Malsch and Bad Neustadt

Winter before last (2010/2011), the setting installation at ­Wienerberger‘s Malsch facility was completely rebuilt, and a total of three unloaders/hand­over grabs were replaced with a robot. The grouping belt and setting gripper were replaced at the same time. In addition to markedly reducing the number of moving parts (= less maintenance required), the change even increased the throughput a little and improved product quality by reducing the lineup loads and times. Thermoplan not only did the mechanical engineering and installation work, but also replaced the S5 control system while retaining the control cubicles and cabling. The plant has now been running a full year for the fully satisfied customer (»1).

Then last winter (2011/2012), the Bad ­Neustadt facility‘s wet side for two presses was converted from turntable to robot. That scope also covered replacement of the adjusting and scrap bands, the pallet transfer belt and their segregation setup, and the existing pallet stores were expanded. ­Thermoplan supplied all the requisite physical equipment, including a brand-new low-voltage switchgear plant with cab­ling. The new S7 control system has an integrated plasticity control function for shaping (­Thermoplast) with controlled material flow and plasticity. The installation was commissioned in mid-February 2012 and is now running at 100% output (»2).

Both projects were approached with special attention to finding customerized solutions with close deference to the plant‘s maintenance needs. But then, that always applies just as well to Thermoplan‘s entire product array.

Naturally, both projects‘ reconstruction measures also included a machine-safety upgrade to state-of-the-art status.

Source Ziegelindustrie International