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SPB Evolution UD folding machines from Schröder in use at Schlotterer

Proven machine in semi-automated continuous operation

Customer

Schlotterer Sonnenschutz Systeme GmbH is Austria‘s market leader for external sun shading. It owes its competitiveness not only to its innovative products and more than 600 qualified employees, but also to its modern, efficient production processes. If
a machine optimally fulfills its requirements, it can be purchased several times over, as the case of a folding machine shows. (www.schlotterer.com)

Success

When Schlotterer set up its second plant in Adnet in Salzburger Land in 2011, the external venetian blind division was massively expanded. This includes external venetian blinds with patented daylight deflection slats, blackout slats, particularly robust edge-folded slats or elegant flat slats. What all these external venetian blinds need are boxes in which they can be stowed and in which the mechanics are safely housed. The company‘s plant and maintenance technology department therefore set out to find
a solution and discovered that there was only one machine on the market that could handle the two millimeter thick aluminum sheets, the required four meter length and at least 300 mm clamping beam stroke: the SPB Evolution from the Schröder Group.

Second machine and process optimization

The motorized folding machine proved its worth, ever larger numbers of external venetian blind boxes were required and so a second machine of this type was purchased in 2013. This time, however, with a particularly convenient machine option, recognizable by the abbreviation UD in the product name: the up-and-down folding beam. The fact that the machine can also bend from top to bottom means that the sheet does not have to be turned for a counter-bend. This is particularly advantageous for large sheets, as the machine operator does not have to ask a colleague for help and there is no longer any risk of scratching anything during handling. “The up-and-down folding beam is a great relief and makes the machine more efficient,” says Josef Rehrl, who has been most involved with the Schröder machine in the plant and maintenance technology department at Schlotterer.

Special design

“The cooperation with Schröder is very good. Above all, we always have direct contact with the technicians who can help us, and they respond very quickly,” praises Josef Rehrl. Wolfgang Göllner, Head of Plant and Maintenance Technology, gives an example: “The folding process was already very smooth, but we wanted to avoid the employee having to walk around the machine each time to remove the finished bent box part or put it down somewhere. We spoke to Schröder, and a ‚special forward removal‘ was developed and supplied according to our ideas.” An electro-pneumatic unwinding table now transports the box blanks to the next workstation. At the spot-welding station, the side parts with the holder for the roller mechanism are attached before the finished
crates are sent for powder coating – Schlotterer offers a variety of individual color design options for visible crates.

Number three

At the end of 2023, Schlotterer decided to retire the first SPB Evolution after twelve years. The SPB Evolution UD previously used in series production will now take its place and be used for custom-made products and individual workpieces, while a new, even  better-equipped SPB Evolution UD has started continuous operation between sheet metal cutting and spot welding. “We have noticed that Schröder has further improved the machine,” says Josef Rehrl. “The new machine has an even stiffer folding beam, so we can work with less crowning.” The most striking new feature is the suction plate stop, which means that the bending process is now semi-automated. The sheet is struck once, the machine fixes the sheet with negative pressure on the movable suction plate stop and, in conjunction with the up-and-down folding beam, the folding program is run through without any further manual intervention. In two-shift operation, an average of 400 crates are produced per day. Wolfgang Göllner draws a positive conclusion: “With its innovative suction plate stop, its stability and precise control, the bidirectional folding beam and 650 mm upper beam stroke, the SPB Evolution UD is exactly the right folding machine for us. We are very satisfied with the machine and the service from Schröder.”

Machine in operation

SPB Evolution UD
  • Folding machine up to 3.0 mm sheet thickness
  • Working length 4,040 mm
  • Graphic control POS 3000 3D
  • Clamping beam stroke 650 mm
  • Up-and-Down folding beam
  • Motorized folding beam adjustment 200 mm
  • Suction plates in gauge table
  • Fully-automatic tool changer
  • Remote maintenance

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Images:

The_employee_at_the_swivel_bending_machine_calls_up_the_bending_program_by_scanning_the_barcode_on_the_sheet.
The_code_on_the_blanks_refers_to_the_order_and_the_sheet_properties._
The_plate_is_struck_once_on_the_SPB_Evolution_UD_with_suction_plate_stop._
The_machine_fixes_the_sheet_with_negative_pressure_on_the_movable_suction_plate_stop_and,_in_conjunction_with_the_up-and-down_bending_beam,_the_bending_program_is_run_through_without_further_manual_intervention._
Special_production:_an_electro-pneumatic_unwinding_table_takes_over_the_box_blanks._
As_the_person_responsible_for_digitization_at_Schlotterer,_Markus_Hagenhofer_has_created_an_end-to-end_digital_process_for_generating_the_data_for_cutting_and_bending_the_sheets_from_the_order_data.
Josef_Rehrl,_systems_and_maintenance_technician_at_Schlotterer_Sonnenschutz_Systeme_GmbH,_appreciates_the_new_features_of_the_Schröder_folding_machine.
Wolfgang_Göllner,_Head_of_Plant_and_Maintenance_Technology_at_Schlotterer_Sonnenschutz_Systeme_GmbH:_“We_are_very_satisfied_with_the_machine_and_the_service_from_Schröder.”
An_average_of_400_external_venetian_blind_boxes_are_produced_per_day_in_two-shift_operation.