Challenge

In order to achieve the high ambitions, the company needed to invest in cutting-edge technology and equipment. In addition, it needed to streamline all the processes to make the converting machines run efficiently with short flat bed die changes and minimal maintenance breaks. “To create the optimal production conditions, we needed to optimise and automate the storage process for our flat bed dies, so we contacted the Danish company, bcm transtech, which specialises in storage and handling solutions,” explains Jan Bolweg, Production Manager at Schur Pack. “We knew they had the know-how, experience and ability to make a fully automatic storage for our flat bed dies, so we believed they could come up with the optimal solution that would increase our factory’s efficiency and safety.”

Fully automatic flat bed die storage

bcm transtech designed, manufactured and installed a fully automatic flat bed die storage that consisted of a 35-meter-long and 7.5-meter-tall rack system, which stored a total of 1768 cassettes divided between 4 types of cassettes due to the varying flat bed die sizes in the folding carton industry. The cassettes can contain an entire production set of flat bed dies. They ensure safe, simple and efficient storage and transport of the flat bed die sets. Specifically, they protect the flat bed dies’ knives and rubber during storage and transport, while ensuring a free water flow through the storage in the event of fire.

“Our fully automatic flat bed die storages are the optimal way of handling flat bed dies, because one operator can run the entire storage from a computer station,” adds Torben Christiansen, CEO at bcm transtech. “The fully automatic crane transports the cassettes between the rack system and the transport trolleys that are situated in the built-in garage, while keeping track of each cassette through the bar code recognition system. When the transport trolleys are loaded, the operator can manually transport them between the built-in garage and the converting machines.”

Safe operation for both dies and rack system

When the operator collects the flatbed dies from the storage, they are well organized and kept safe in the bcm designed cassettes. When lifting the cassettes out of the storage, it is the responsibility of the operator to ensure they are not lifted too high, as they will then hit the next level and damage both the cassettes and the dies. The operator has the cameras on the crane to assist with this, which are especially useful with high storages where the operator can’t see the details from the floor. However, damages can easily be avoided by just normal operation. An alternative to this system, is to buy or up-grade to the next level of storage system, our semi-automatic version, the “bcm SmartStorage F2, T-type”. This storage system has software to automatically control location position and also automatic lifting and lowering of the cassettes. Read more here….(henvisning til SmartStorage lageret).  

Trolleys and logistics

When the cassettes with the dies are going to be brought to the converting machines, typically Bobst 1600, Bobst Mastercut 1,7 and 2,1 or any other flat bed die type, this is also very simple and easy. Bcm transtech has designed a range of standard trolleys to bring dies and printing plates to the converting machines for production and back again to the storage. The standard trolley for cassettes holds 3-4 cassettes and is brought into the storage by the operator. When retrieving the cassettes from the storage, the operator immediately just put the cassettes onto the trolley. The cassettes are also easy to take from the trolley and return into the storage system. The trolleys have wheel breaks for this task. Otherwise, the trolleys on wheels are very easy to push around in the factory by just one person.

Benefit of the bcm storage solution

It has been of great value to the customer to get the bcm storage installed. Not only are all dies very safely kept now, but they are also extremely good organized and easy to find. Especially the last point about the organization of the dies and finding them easily again has been of great value to this customer. Savings are always very difficult to count, as they are often indirect and related to many factors. But the clear answer on this case, as with many other of bcm’s customers is, that there is a lot of time and frustrations saved by implementing a bcm storage solution.