Custom machining centre for unmanned production
Working faster, even unmanned, and reducing errors – two crucial aspects of today's manufacturing industry. At Robin Ducrot Métallerie, a metalworking company in Pourrain, near Auxerre (France), they therefore invested in a sawing and machining centre Ref.DEM ALU of Soenen Hendrik.
This allows all profiles to be processed on one machine and multiple operations can be carried out efficiently and productively in one pass.
With 30 employees and an in-house engineering department, the company "Robin Ducrot Métallerie" has a strong reputation in the design and production of metal elements: stairs, handrails, gates, windows, curtain walls and façade elements for the construction of buildings.
"Everything we do revolves around our customer service: the quality of our finished products, the reliability of delivery times, the flexibility to meet the demands of the market, etc. That is why we continue to invest in our facilities, people and machines," explains CEO Pascal Ducrot. "The machine park was recently expanded with a custom-made machining centre: an important step towards future growth. We didn't take any risks and compared different systems on the market. Eventually we met the people of Soenen Hendrik. We were immediately impressed by the quality and performance of their high-tech production lines for profile processing. Their direct and pragmatic way of working was also a decisive argument for us."
Fast and efficient
Whereas in the past several machines were needed, today at Robin Ducrot they can carry out all operations, such as sawing, milling, drilling, etc., in one pass. As soon as the operator places the profiles on the input table, they are recognised by the system, after which the requested operations are carried out automatically.
Cameras check the colour and contours of the profiles, so that any errors during production are excluded. Machine downtime is avoided at all times, as any tool breakage is immediately detected. This machining centre will therefore significantly increase speed and efficiency on the shop floor and further reduce the risk of errors.
Unmanned
The production line has been operational for about 2 months now. The management and operators of Robin Ducrot Métallerie are very satisfied. They are already noticing that, with this machine, the processing time is considerably shorter and the error rate is extremely minimal.
In addition, the system can run autonomously and unmanned for extended periods of time.
"Our operators place the profiles on the infeed table and can then be used at another post in the production process, for example during assembly. A working day also lasts longer, because just before closing time we can load a series of profiles, after which the machine continues to work even though everyone has already gone home. Our efficiency and productivity are increasing and we can guarantee our customers even better quality and faster delivery," Mr. Ramadier and Mr. Ducrot state unanimously. "At the end of December 2021, Jean-Marc and I met to start the project in concrete terms. This was followed by a visit to Soenen's factory in Belgium and we were able to share experiences with companies that are already using this machine. During the project, some aspects were adjusted and many tests were carried out before the machining centre was finally delivered to us and installed. Soenen Hendrik's support does not stop with the delivery and commissioning, because even today we can still go directly to the manufacturer with all our questions, without intermediaries."
