de
en
filtering 5000 liters per minute
AGA Zerspanungstechnik Gera has set up a completely new production line with strong partners for the production of a large family of components. Lehmann-UMT from Pöhl was responsible for the cooling lubricant filtration and chip removal. Automation and flexibility were decisive premises.
As a supplier to the automotive industry, AGA also produces to a large extent for companies in the mechanical engineering, agricultural machinery and medical technology sectors. The Gera-based company, which is part of the Samag Group, manufactures 80 percent of its parts for the automotive industry: Drive components for major car manufacturers, shock absorber and chassis parts for automotive suppliers and e-mobility components. And mostly in large quantities. But how are these implemented? And how does AGA act when flexibility is required in the production of new parts?
Uniform and consistent
Large series are also the subject of an order that AGA received some time ago from a large German manufacturer of mechanical engineering components. In a multi-year order, milled parts from a family of parts are to be produced in series of millions.
Individual systems vs. central concept
As a specialist in cooling lubricant filtration and chip disposal, Lehmann-UMT was involved in the project. Based on many years of cooperation with Unitech, the specialist from Pöhl was asked to develop a coolant concept and 22 chip conveyors. The conditions prevailing in Gera resulted in several possible solutions. Two, to be precise. On the one hand, each machining center could have been supplied via a small individual filter unit. On the other hand, there were several arguments in favor of a central system. Thorough discussions followed. In the end, the space available in the hall tipped the scales in favor of a central solution. Especially as the space available would have required special individual systems, which would have made the lubricoolant supply to the machine scarce. In addition, the individual concept would have led to greater effort in handling the filter fleeces and would have tied up significantly more personnel.
Customized filter concept
Lehmann-UMT then created an initial layout of the central system, which quickly proved to be the final solution, based on the hall plan.
KSS management secured
"Like the compact filter module, we also built a 40 m3 custom tank for the project at AGA, which was equipped with four filter modules," reports Marcus Ludwig, Technical Sales Field Service at Lehmann-UMT. Apart from the size of the tank, the immersion depth was a challenge here. In the new concept, solid pumps reliably supply the pressure boosting stations as well as the machines. The more than 20 chip conveyors that Lehmann-UMT has attached to the vertical machining centers work with a media plate that provides the necessary power.
"Because there is always a certain amount of discharge with cooling lubrication with emulsion, we have also provided a dosing unit with which emulsion can be mixed automatically and the discharge from the main tank is refilled. The mixing ratio of the coolant is thus kept constant without manual intervention," continues Ludwig. "We have also installed a circulation pump that operates across the entire tank area. If the system is not in operation, this ensures that no anaerobic bacteria form." Keeping the coolant in order is particularly important for central systems. "That's why we have assigned an employee to manage it, who regularly checks parameters such as the concentration through to the pH value," reports Epperlein.
It is being manufactured
As large as the central system is, the time it took to implement it was ultimately short: "We completed the project in 16 weeks: from the first meeting on site to the freshly painted, fully assembled system," says Ludwig with pride. Production has been running in Gera since June. The majority of the processing machines have already been put into operation. Step by step, the last ones are being added, further part variants are being run in and approved by internal quality assurance and the end customer. Production at the site is established. The concept is working. "We are therefore very satisfied with the jointly developed solution. All components harmonize," emphasizes Epperlein. "The most important thing is that the parts are produced in the desired quality." Automated, remains to be added, in flexible, competitive contract manufacturing.
