Together with EHRT, copper processing at Siemens AG is making great strides towards automation

EHRT Maschinenbau GmbH has developed and implemented a new, state-of-the-art system for copper production at Siemens AG in Leipzig. EHRT Maschinenbau GmbH, based in Rheinbreitbach, is one of the leading specialist in bending and punching machines for copper processing and manufactures high-performance machines for small and medium-sized serial production.

The existing system for storing copper bars at Siemens AG Leipzig was outdated and difficult
while no longer meeting the company’s evolving and modern requirements.

EHRT offers Siemens AG the ideal solution for copper processing. The old system was replaced with a new, state-of-the-art Gantry and the EHRT Holecut Professional HC60 punching machine. The Gantry is a storage system with a specialized crane, which allows the punching machine to work autonomously. The storage and transfer of the metal rails is fully automated. The HC60 punching machine from EHRT’s Professional Line error-free even under extreme demands of production, and is highly robust. The significant advantage of this solution: The work process is fully automated with Gantry and punching machine working together as one system. “The ergonomics of the process are absolutely convincing,” production manager Michael Kiss confirms, as they require a significantly lower number of staff to attend to the machine. Even logistical processes, such as checking and monitoring stock levels, can be tracked conveniently from the office, thanks to digital networking. This makes the entire system efficient in terms of both time and money.

The implementation stage presented a number of special challenges for the EHRT team. The team was provided limited space in the production hall. In order to address this limitation, design engineers developed a special adaptation which allowed the system to be implemented precisely for the provided space.

To assemble and integrate the machines, a short production break was planned, to which the production had to be made up afterwards. “The EHRT team has done incredible work here,” said Kiss, praising the assembly technicians and engineers for completing the commissionin of the new system as well as the on-site instruction for Siemens staff in just two weeks. A further advantage of the new system is the fact that the operation of the new

After just a few weeks the Siemens team is extremely satisfied with the operation of the new EHRT system. “We now save about an hour of transport per shift, which works out to up to three hours of time in a regular work day. Even better: Expectations regarding production volumes are already being exceeded,” Kiss concludes.

Siemens would like to continue to cooperate in the advancement of automation and digitalisation. At present, the two companies are working on new software and IT solutions for copper production.