In manufacturing, maximum productivity is the top priority. Time is an important factor here. The rule is: the faster, the better, especially when it comes to transport times. This is also the case in the plants of Robert Bosch GmbH.

In the production of control units, the high-tech company relied on an automated production line with a magnetic transport system to move components from one processing station to the next. To achieve higher output in this system through faster cycle times, Bosch aimed to speed up the travel of the workpiece mover, 20 to 40 of which travel on a production line. To achieve this, the weight of the mover, which glides along the transport paths with the workpieces, had to be reduced by 30 %.

The design experts at FIT rethought the mover, transforming it from a multi-part, milled version into a one-piece lightweight version that can be manufactured additively. Read more in our detailed product use case.

The following use case from cigarette production shows that even small components can be essential for the reliable running of manufacturing processes.

In the production of filter cigarettes, the so-called "infeed finger" is an essential factor for productivity, because it transports and forms the so-called filter rope into a round and endless strand. If problems occur in this process, the machine comes to a standstill.

Hauni therefore developed infeed fingers with highly complex internal structures. These structures, which can only be manufactured additively, ensure error-free strand formation and thus avoid machine downtimes. For manufacturing, Hauni counts on FIT's reliable production capabilities.

Would you like to learn more about this or similar projects?

A track network is exposed to many things, especially train traffic. It exerts high dynamic forces on the track, which consists of rail, ties and ballast, deforms and returns to its original position as an elastic system. But not in the long term. That is why the track network must be regularly maintained. For this purpose, tamping machines from Plasser & Theurer in Linz are used. The tamping machine that levels, lifts, straightens and tamps the track bed is as individual as the track network.

As part of the new development of a tamping unit, large castings were urgently needed. The test stand was reserved, time was pressing. But where to get affordable castings in small quantities quickly? Due to high tooling costs and long delivery times, it's actually impossible. The good news is: nothing is impossible, because additive manufacturing offers a solution for this as well.

Within just a few weeks, FIT welded up five assembly- and test-ready prototypes of swivel bearings and pickle arms. Total weight: 500 kg. WAAM, a 5-axis arc buildup welding process that uses wire as the starting material, was used.

The delivery was made in time for the test. Plasser & Theurer was particularly satisfied with the quality of the components supplied, which successfully passed the test.

Would you like to know in more detail how FIT solved this problem? Then we look forward to hearing from you!