Flexibility for small series

Small series and their demand for flexibility

From a production point of view, large batch sizes are often easier and more economical to implement than small series. But what is to be done if components are only required in small quantities? Then flexibility is required.

Our customer, Fried Kunststofftechnik GmbH, based in Urbach, explicitly declares itself to be a manufacturer of high-quality plastic series with the greatest possible flexibility – small and very large series, in large quantities and also in small ones.

Of course, there is no room here for established standard solutions. Not even in the painting line consisting of 10 manual painting booths with different ready-to-paint, freshly mixed 2K colors. That’s why Fried approached us with the request for flexible stirring stations.

Our challenges: container variants, viscosity and time limits

Containers in three different sizes should be able to be safely picked up and stirred on one stirring station each. There was an additional problem: the media to be stirred were in some cases extremely highly viscous structured paints. On top of that, there was a time limit: the stirring process was allowed to last between 1.5 and 3 minutes. Not a second longer.

The solution: flexible rapid stirring stations with a special substructure

Mixing tests with the most extreme material (Mankiewicz ALEXIT textured paint) showed that our drive eco-Drive 1800 combined with two hollow body impellers eco-Disc provided the required thorough mixing in 1.5 minutes.

Based on these results, four high-speed agitating stations (tripod agitators with lifting device) were set up. Our eco-Quick quick-change system for agitator shafts is used to change containers as quickly as possible. This means that the agitator shaft and impeller can be replaced in a matter of seconds with just one movement.

The special substructure accommodates 5 liter plastic buckets, 10 liter plastic buckets and 15 liter metal buckets/hobbocks. The secure hold of the various containers is monitored by a mechanism on the container fixation. Mounted floating on the wall, dripping paint drains into catch basins. A flap had to be dispensed with for reasons of space. Instead, we constructed a viewing port with a sliding panel.