Offering around-the-clock running for machine tools producing heavier components, up to 4,000 kg, the Erowa LoadMaster Compact range provides exceptional reliability and robust operation. Each LoadMaster can cater for a variety of component sizes set to ideally match the spread of workpieces that customers’ machine shops have to tackle.
The LoadMaster Compact highlights how easy it is to load raw material billets, cast or forged components into the multitiered storage system ready for unattended milling and turning. Finish-machined parts can be removed via the ergonomic workstations or returned to the layered racking for retrieval when required.
Requiring very limited space requirement, its 360° swivel function allows any position in the magazine and on the machine tables to be accessed.
The magazines are of vertical design; the storage positions are arranged over two, three or four levels, saving on space and cost. Each level is optimally configured for typical workpiece sizes. The magazine modules can be combined in series. So, there are no limits on the number of units that can be connected, and the total rail length depends on the number of machines and their positioning.
With walk-in access or accessible via sliding doors, the set-up stations are integral components of the LoadMaster production lines. Versions are available with lifting unit, with rotating and tilting table or with indexing table. The set-up positions are also accessible via overhead crane.
Erowa’s ‘Pilot’ control software makes schedule control, tool and job management very straightforward. It assists the operator in the daily production flow, with clear displays of system status.
Mixed pallet sizes in a production line allow optimal use of the available space and for systems with different pallet sizes the ‘MultiFork’ gripper is an efficient alternative to changing individual grippers. The gripper width smoothly adapts to different pallet dimensions. Solid, robust technology for large workpieces.
For workshops where space is at a premium the Erowa Easy 800 provides a solution. Launched at EMO last year, the rationale for the Easy 800 is the efficient machining of larger components. Capable of deploying heavier workpieces on larger pallets but within a minimal footprint, the Easy 800 offers a significant increase in the size of the raw material or part finished components that can be accommodated, up to 850 mm diameter and up to 1,000 mm in height with six stations.
“The impetus from the manufacturing industry has been for larger, more complex machine tools and now these can be fully automated with the Easy 800,” explains UK agent REM Systems' managing director Ian Holbeche. “Using the Erowa ‘Flexible Manufacturing Concept’ (FMC) customers equipped with an automation system can typically increase productivity by a factor of five using various manufacturing technology, including die sinking EDM, multi axis milling and turning, as well as measurement and inspection.”
With Erowa technology, up to 8,760 hours per year can be extracted from any machine. As Holbeche points out: “Maximising the number of hours on your existing machine tools before you invest in your next machine can saving you time and money. Erowa has the ability to retrofit automation systems to existing standalone machine tools and even manufacturing cells, so the advantages and benefits are available to just about any manufacturing business.”
