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Keller Laser AG

www.kellerlaser.ch

From laser cutting, bending via welding and powder coating to assembly and much more – the family-owned company Keller Laser AG from Trimmis in Switzerland covers the entire sheet metal processing chain. Founded in 1995 with one laser machine and one member of staff, Keller Laser now employs around 100 personnel for a very extensive range of machinery.

Industry

Sheet metal processing

Number of employees

100

Location

Trimmis (Switzerland)

Auxiliary processes are eliminated

TRUMPF plays a significant role as a customer as well as a supplier for the Swiss sheet metal processor Keller Laser AG. The partnership and mutual trust have strengthened over decades. As a test customer of the full-service laser machine TruLaser Center 7030, the Strategic Managing Director Stefanie Schwarz-Keller and her team were successfully convinced by all the opportunities offered by automation.

Challenges

Keller Laser AG produces sheet metal parts as well as complete assemblies for machine construction, railway vehicle manufacturing and systems engineering. The process reliability as well as part quality are some of the greatest challenges for the company, particularly for complex and delicate parts which run through the machine in large series. For this reason the company was looking for a machine that kept downtime caused by collisions with overturning parts as well as programming effort as low as possible. Keller became a test customer for the TruLaser Center 7030.

I watched the machine at work and was simply speechless when I realised the range of all it could do.

Stefanie Schwarz-Keller

Strategic Managing Director

Solutions

When Stefanie Schwarz-Keller experienced the machine in operation for the first time, she was impressed with the perfect interaction of hardware and software. She was also convinced by the variety of processes that the machine could do for her staff. Laborious procedures such as knocking parts out of the scrap skeleton and sorting them onto pallets are now a thing of the past. The safe, automated part removal process reduces the workload for Keller Laser significantly, reducing the number of process steps and saving time. For example, auxiliary processes such as post-processing caused by microjoints are eliminated. This not only makes work easier for the employees and speeds up production sequences, part quality is also increased. The risk of scratches is reduced as parts are sorted with suction cups.

Implementation

Before the TruLaser Center 7030 was integrated in the production at Keller Laser, employees of the company had the opportunity to become acquainted with the equipment at TRUMPF in Grüsch. This meant that the company's staff could familiarise themselves with the system and start production immediately after commissioning in their own production hall. The machine is supplied with raw materials via a store connected at the back. After the cutting process and removal of small parts via SmartGate, up to 180 freely positionable SmartLift pins lift cut parts out of the scrap skeleton from below. At the same time, the SortMaster Speed presses against it from above with its suction plates, ensuring precise linear guidance when the parts are lifted out. The optimum positions of the pins and suction cups are also calculated automatically.

Forecast

Thanks to the TruLaser Center 7030, several process steps could be reduced or completely eliminated. The company now has its eye on all other auxiliary processes in order to make the entire production more efficient in future. The numerous innovations and automation processes of the TruLaser Center 7030 give Stefanie Schwarz-Keller and her staff a lot of useful food for thought.

Find out more about our TruLaser Center 7030

The full-service machine for your laser production combines all laser cutting processes in a single machine for the first time. The advantage for you is a drastic reduction in your throughput time and processing costs. As a result, you get the maximum profitability out of your laser machining process.

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