SEW-Eurodrive, a manufacturer and supplier of electric motors, gear units, gear motors and associated automation, has installed an advanced storage and sawing system. The system is now in place within a new high-bay warehouse integrated into a recently extended 62,000 m² production facility in Graben-Neudorf, southwest Germany. Both the automated store and sawing equipment were supplied by Kasto.

The order placed by SEW was one of the largest ever received by Kasto in its 180-year history. Within the 4000 m² warehouse is a Unicompact honeycomb storage system with 5140 cassettes offering a load capacity of 3 tonne, as well as an integrated KASTOcenter sawing centre with 450 locations for tube or bar.

Kasto’s Unicompact offers high-density 3D storage in a compact footprint to maximise the use of space. An overhead gantry crane at SEW-Eurodrive transports material to seven KASTOpick split outfeed stations, where lifting mechanisms separate and transfer the material to the infeed roller conveyors of the saws.

Eight automated KASTOvariospeed C 18 production circular saws process stock up to 180 mm in diameter. The heavy-duty, CNC production saws cut solid material – as well as tubes and profiles – to length.

The Kasto sawing centre comprises buffer storage for material and a KASTOtec SC 4 bandsaw with infinitely variable cutting speed. Stock that includes tool steel and challenging materials such as titanium and nickel alloys from 22 to 260 mm in diameter is cut into individual pieces. A KASTOsort robot handling system sorts and stacks the cut pieces. The solution independently selects grippers, containers and stacking patterns, while automated guided vehicles retrieve the boxes of cut pieces and transport them to their destinations in production.

A KASTOlogic warehouse management system (WMS) ensures seamless flow of material throughout the facility.

More information www.kasto.com