2010-01-18

AP&T automated for flexible production: Stand-alone presses transformed into four-press line at C&K Johansen

Four became one. The four stand-alone presses at C&K Johansen in Horsens were grouped into a single four-press line that improved quality and increased productivity.

At deep-drawing expert C&K Johansen in the Danish town of Horsens, flexible production is key to being able to quickly provide service to customers, who come from a number of different production industries. Previously, the majority of production usually entailed manual operation of stand-alone press cells. But, when the company partnered with AP&T and set its sights on the future, many new possibilities for automated production came into view.

C&K Johansen has been a well-respected name in deep drawing for over 40 years and AP&T has been delivering sheet metal forming equipment to the company almost as long. Flexibility has always been an important aspect, with cycle time taking a back seat for the company since they work with small and medium-size series. For this reason, manual press operation was the right way to go.

“In the end, it's our customers who decide what we need to produce. So, it's important not to chain ourselves down with an automated solution that limits us,” says C&K Johansen President Peter Møller.

Many operations
But, when the company updated its machinery with two new manually-operated hydraulic presses from AP&T, they chose a new route. It was not uncommon to have 10-15 operations per part and the large amount of manual handling became a problem when it was hard to find skilled operators who could handle operations in many customer assignments. AP&T then suggested combining the two new presses with one of the existing hydraulic presses to form an automated press line that both increased quality and reduced handling cost per manufactured part.

Flexible mix
The press line had to provide a flexible production solution that made it possible to mix automated handling with manual operation if so desired. Three AP&T SpeedFeeder press robots were added to serve the three presses. Later, a fourth press was added to the line, which now can produce products with over 10 operations, including various installations, right from coil.

Faster with fewer operators
“The advantages are obvious. We only need one operator for four presses and the production rate is three to four times faster than with manual handling, if you count intermediate storage,” says Peter Møller. “This has a big impact on manufacturing cost and, in the end, the ability of our customers to become more competitive.”

For example, today, C&K Johansen has a total of seven hydraulic presses with different levels of clamping capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes. With the AP&T automations that have been installed in the production, this is the equivalent of approximately 19 manually-operated hydraulic presses.

Different layout
An important challenge was to physically find room for the press line in C&K Johansen's production plant. AP&T came up with the idea of arranging the four presses in a U shape. In addition to saving room, it also provides a better overview. Most importantly, the press line is now more flexible.

“The configuration is very flexible and enables us to manufacture a part with, for example, automatic handling in presses one and two, while presses three and four are operated manually if the customer's product require such,” states Peter Møller.

Long partnership
It was not by chance that AP&T was entrusted to further develop the production environment of C&K Johansen. Positive experiences from many years of working with AP&T were the deciding factor.
“We've seen many suppliers in C&K Johansen's 100-year history. Our experience is that AP&T's solutions are the best and also generate the lowest costs in the long run. Thanks to our long-term relationship, they know our business and what we need,” says Peter Møller.

Information about the company: AP&T AB