To increase production throughput, steel stockholder Schmolz + Bickenbach Stahlcenter (called Schmobi for short) in St Gallen, Switzerland has acquired a KASTOtec FC 4 automatic bandsawing centre.

The system has replaced two obsolete saws that could no longer cope with the continuously increasing demand for cut parts.
Thomas Plüss, communications officer at Schmobi says: “Our orders include large batches of more than 10,000 as well as single items. The demand on our saws is enormous. They are used continually throughout the day and some even run during the night time. We therefore need machines that process workpieces of different diameters quickly, cleanly and economically, and, above all, work reliably and without any errors.”
Schmobi uses three Kasto bandsaws for processing steel, cast iron and aluminium bars. The latest is the automatic, high-performance KASTOtec FC 4, which cuts a range of material cross sections including round, square and flat, as well as tubes and profiles.
KASTOtec FC 4 bandsaws use carbide blades, and the machine at Schmobi was supplied to Kasto Performance Cutting (KPC) specification in order to suppress vibration. The blades have a long service life and allow precision sawing to within ± 0.1 mm per 100 mm of cut length, at band speeds up to 180 m/min.
Kurt Thoma, sawmill group leader at Schmobi, says: “With the KASTOtec FC 4 we can saw different materials and diameters very economically. The minimum remnant length in automatic mode is about 35 mm, allowing us to use material efficiently and cost effectively.”
The KASTOtec FC 4 is loaded via a multi-bar magazine that is replenished from the store via an overhead crane and magnetic handling system.
For further information www.kasto.com