The quality standards of Deutsche Bahn (DB) – the German national railway – for finishing thermally cut plate parts, can hardly be reliably achieved manually. The required finishing quality, reproducibility, and process reliability exceed what is economically feasible with manual labour. For Salzgitter Mannesmann Stahlhandel, one thing was clear: without automation, these requirements cannot be sustained in the long term.
With Teqram’s EasyDebur and EasyGrinder robot solutions, the post-processing of cut parts is now fully automated. This ensures a reliable process and consistent top quality, guaranteeing compliance with the DB standards.
High volume, highest quality requirements
With four oxy-fuel and plasma cutting machines, Salzgitter Mannesmann Stahlhandel produces steel plate components with thicknesses ranging from 5 to 250 mm. A significant portion of these parts is intended for applications with particularly high quality requirements, including bridge constructions that fall under the Deutsche Bahn standard.
This standard requires fully deslagged cutting edges, rounded edges, and a reproducible finish quality that, in some cases, exceeds DIN EN 1090. At the same time, the parts vary greatly in geometry, quantities, and required processing steps.
Best of both worlds
This combination of high volume and high quality demands made a single-solution approach impossible. This led to the conscious choice for two complementary automation solutions: the EasyDebur for economical series production and the EasyGrinder for complex, quality-critical parts.
Teqram EasyDebur: Automated deslagging and edge rounding for consistent quality
With the introduction of the Teqram EasyDebur solution, Salzgitter Mannesmann Stahlhandel has further automated its existing Lissmac installations. The two machines are now used in an automated setup for double-sided deslagging and edge rounding. The decisive advantage: consistently high and reproducible quality, independent of the shift or operator.
Especially for high-volume series, the EasyDebur offers an economical and reliable solution. Additionally, manual effort is significantly reduced, which has a direct positive effect on cost structure, lead times, and working conditions.
Teqram EasyGrinder: Robotic grinding for the highest quality
For particularly demanding parts, Salzgitter purposely selected the Teqram EasyGrinder. The EasyGrinder is deployed when the lead-in of the cut, the oxide layer on the narrow sides, or the hardened heat-affected zone needs to be removed, or when a larger edge radius is required.
“The robotic grinding system handles all these tasks reliably and with consistently high quality – tasks that are not only time-consuming when done manually, but also hardly reproducible,” emphasizes Andreas Medzich, Branch Manager at Salzgitter Hannover.
"With the EasyGrinder grinding robot, a finishing quality can be achieved that is hard to imagine manually. Furthermore, one EasyGrinder replaces up to three employees while simultaneously increasing process reliability."
In combination with the EasyDebur system, a continuous, automated post-processing workflow is created that optimally covers both standard and high-end parts.
Fast installation, ready for the future
“The setup was handled very professionally and was surprisingly fast,” Medzich reports.
"After just one week, both installations were running in regular production."
In the long term, the EasyGrinder offers additional potential: in the future, weld edge preparation (bevelling) and marking are also to be performed automatically – a logical step toward maximum process reliability and efficiency.
Salzgitter Mannesmann Stahlhandel: Competence in steel, precision in cutting
As a leading steel trader with its own plants and locations throughout Germany, Salzgitter Mannesmann Stahlhandel guarantees high availability and short delivery times. In addition to oxy-fuel and plasma cutting, this system partner offers an extensive range of processed steel products.
Teqram: Intelligent automation for an efficient metal industry
Teqram develops and implements innovative automation solutions for the metalworking industry. With systems like the EasyGrinder and EasyDebur, Teqram helps companies automate manual processes. This not only ensures consistent, high quality but also increases productivity in a sustainable way.
More information on salzgitter-mannesmann-stahlhandel.de and teqram.com.
