South Africa’s leading trailer and side tipper manufacturer Afrit, has recently introduced the latest equipment and processes available into their manufacturing facility in Rosslyn, north of Pretoria, that will see the company realise substantial efficiency improvements and cost savings in their already technologically advanced capabilities.
“Last year we began implementing a five-year plan that has a vision to improve our production processes, quality and flow within the whole manufacturing environment at Afrit,” said Gerhard van der Walt, Continuous Improvement Manager at Afrit.
Afrit have introduced a 24-axis Yaskawa Motoman gallow gantry welding system, a gantry that is designed to provide reliable and accurate welding solutions for the production of very large components such as the bins
“These were the main drivers of this investment programme but it also became necessary for us to add capacity because of the growth that the company has experienced and to drive down production costs while at the same time getting clarity about our manufacturing performance,” added van der Walt.
“It’s one thing introducing and embracing high-end technology but it will have little impact if your production flows and data collection don’t meet the required standards. We are very cognisant of the digital age that we live in and the introduction of Industry 4.0 but that also becomes irrelevant if you don’t have the equipment and processes in place to seamlessly integrate with these manufacturing systems,” explained van der Walt.
Introduction of a 24-axis Yaskawa Motoman gallow gantry welding system
“A great example of this is the introduction of a 24-axis Yaskawa Motoman gallow gantry welding system, a gantry that is designed to provide reliable and accurate welding solutions for the production of very large components such as our bins. The two Yaskawa Motoman MH 2010 robots have a huge working area. The Z and Y beam travel paths (horizontal and vertical servo axis) are up to 3m and 3.5m, the travel length of the entire system is 24 metres and the support pillars are more than three metres high. We still refer to the system as a gantry even though the robots move along adjustable rails that are secured to the floor. As it is a modular robotic welding system it allows the robots to move along the bins and weld while the two end manipulators will rotate the bins when programmed to do so.”
“The two Yaskawa Motoman MH 2010 robots have been fitted with cameras so as to monitor and track the seam welding in real time.”
The two Yaskawa Motoman MH 2010 robots have a huge working area. The Z and Y beam travel paths (horizontal and vertical servo axis) are up to 3m and 3.5m
Delfoi Apexiz offline programming and simulation solution
“Incorporated into the system is a Delfoi Apexiz offline programming and simulation solution. Delfoi is a Finland-based company developing, marketing and supporting Industry 4.0 solutions worldwide and Apexiz is India based.”
“This software solution, which incorporates sensors and the vision system, transmits the data via Wi-Fi and this then allows the offline programming and simulation to take place remotely. According to our mechatronic engineers there has been significant benefits on the production side since the introduction of the solution. Our bins are more consistent and the repeatability of welding has improved significantly and as a result, we now have more time improving welding and other systems because of the time saved by not needing to do manual programming and touch ups on the programming.”
The entire Yaskawa Motoman gallow gantry welding system is 24 metres long and the support pillars are more than three metres high
“Features such as cloning, multi-layer, automatic axes optimisation, vision system integration, templates and weld databases allow us to increase productivity and we are sure that programming time will be reduced even further as we get more experienced.”
“Our engineers say that manual programming man work hours have been reduced by 80% and programming time reduced by 60%, from two weeks manual to four days offline, and we have increased our output of eight bins a day to between 16 and 20 bins a day.”
“This is real measurement of productivity increases, cost reductions and quality improvements.”
“Because the Yaskawa Motoman robotic welding system is modular in design we can process various size bins, as we refer to them as, for our side tippers. There are 25 variants of these bins that we have to accommodate, which shows the flexibility of the system.”
New factory
“Before we installed our other new metal processing equipment, we had to construct a new
12 500m² under roof factory to house the new equipment and also to allow us to move existing equipment into it to optimise the flow of processing material and the resultant processed components. The growth of Afrit has been impressive in recent years and as a result the planning of the manufacturing facilities has been a bit haphazard. During this growth period the company acquired three extra buildings adjacent to the original manufacturing building and together they now comprise about 45 000m² under roof. We now refer to the area as Afritville.”
The two Yaskawa Motoman MH 2010 robots have been fitted with cameras so as to monitor and track the seam welding in real time. Incorporated into the system is a Delfoi Apexiz offline programming and simulation solution. This software solution, which incorporates sensors and the vision system, transmits the data via Wi-Fi and this then allows the offline programming and simulation to take place remotely
“This new building links with one of the others and right now we are moving all our sheet metal and pipe processing equipment from these other buildings into the new one so that the complementing processes are kept in one area. This includes moving our six Bystronic flatbed lasers.”
NitraLife nitrogen filtration system
“As two of them are fiber lasers we have also taken the opportunity to pair them with nitrogen-producing generators from NitraLife. The Nitracut nitrogen filtration system filters nitrogen out of compressed air and the high quality nitrogen gas manufactured provides laser cutting machines with pure laser-cutting-quality nitrogen assist gas. The biggest reason behind buying the NitraLife system was the cost benefit behind the system. The break even period is short and the cost saving is big.”
New BLM LT 8.10 tube fiber laser
“A welcome addition to our machine pool in the new factory is a BLM LT 8.10 tube fiber laser. This fully automated 3D tube laser cutter is helping to optimise our production processes. For example, the smart software ensures that the machine can be controlled directly from the engineer’s desk so that no more error-sensitive manual operations need to be performed. Fixed predefined control points help achieve an efficient and virtually error-free production process.”
Gerhard van der Walt, Continuous Improvement Manager at Afrit
“The possibility of 3D cutting utilising a fiber laser source followed a path that included the development of a new ‘Tube Cutter’ focusing head, designed for the 3D cutting of tube. The new BLM LT 8.10 is able to cut tubes with diameters from 10 and 240mm with a weight up to 40kg/m and also processes round, square, triangular, I-beam and other special shapes.”
“This important expansion in capabilities meets the needs of the 3D machining that is particularly required in larger and thicker tubes that require bevels or weld preps.”
“Previously our tube work was done on one of our flatbed lasers, which was very time consuming, not because the machine was slow but because of the extra setups that needed to take place. The BLM LT 8.10 tube fiber laser is dedicated to tube cutting and it has now allowed us to increase the variety of cutting processes carried out on our tubes.”
“The machine capabilities allow us to manually load various sections on one side of the machine and on the other side it is setup to load up to four tons of tube up to 8.5m in length that is then fed automatically into the cutting process.”
The new BLM E-Turn 40 all-electric tube bender that can bend a variety of tube configurations including round, square, rectangular, flat-sided, oval and elliptical
The new BLM LT 8.10 tube fiber laser. The fully automated 3D tube laser cutter will help Afrit to optimise their production processes in this department
“More importantly it has freed up one of our Bystronic flatbed lasers so we now have spare capacity in this department while at the same time we have increased our quality and versatility.”
“We have also installed the nitrogen-producing Nitracut nitrogen generator from NitraLife on this machine.”
BLM E-Turn 40 all-electric tube bender
“We have also invested in a BLM E-Turn 40 all-electric tube bender that can bend a variety of tube configurations including round, square, rectangular, flat-sided, oval and elliptical. Tube, with an OD between 6mm and 40mm, can now be automatically loaded, bent and unloaded.”
“Precise control of its 15-axis movements that include left and right-hand bends is done via the VGP3D software and minimises operator involvement. The software also permits off-line programming for high degrees of both automation and production planning.”
The new BLM LT 8.10 is able to cut tubes with diameters from 10 and 240mm with a weight up to 40kg/m. The machine is setup to load up to four tons of tube up to 8.5m in length that is then fed automatically into the cutting process
The machine capabilities allow Afrit to manually load various sections on one side of the machine
“The accuracy and repeatability of these two machines was an important consideration for us. However, this has resulted in additional benefits such as reduced setup times, cost reductions per component and enhanced production capabilities in the next step, which is robotic welding of the components processed. The welding jig is now not put under pressure because of the variances in the components that we used to get.”
Design
“It also allows us to have a different approach to designing our tube components, of which we have 2 293 different variations just of the tube components that we process. Our 23 engineers in our R&D department are all trained on PTC’s CREO 3D product design software and they are delighted with the new developments in the processing departments.”
Bystronic Xpert 500/5100 press brake
“We have also installed our largest press brake that the company has invested in – a Bystronic Xpert 500/5100. The machine has a force of 500 tons, a bending length of
5 100mm and a throat of 500mm. It joins the other seven machines in the bending department and they have all been moved and installed in the new building.”
The machine capabilities allow Afrit to manually load various sections on one side of the machine
The new BLM LT 8.10 is able to cut tubes with diameters from 10 and 240mm with a weight up to 40kg/m. The machine is setup to load up to four tons of tube up to 8.5m in length that is then fed automatically into the cutting process
“Again, this investment was because we needed the extra capacity and with the latest technology you make other significant gains.”
Clarity about our manufacturing and process performance
“As I said in the beginning it is also important to us to get clarity about our manufacturing and process performance. We have researched various systems and we have now installed wireless machine monitoring system. Plug-and-play wireless kits were added to existing signal towers to monitor the status and output of machines, equipment and manual workstations. This data is transmitted wirelessly to a receiver connected to an SQL database. The software then compiles the data to produce simple visuals and comprehensive reports at the touch of a button.”
“This is all done via Wi-Fi and we are now able to monitor and measure our production processes in real time and make the adjustments where necessary. Visually you can improve your efficiencies, a must for any manufacturing company.”
Tube that has been processed on the new BLM LT 8.10 tube fiber laser
Afrit have also installed their largest press brake that the company has invested in – a Bystronic Xpert 500/5100. The machine has a force of 500 tons, a bending length of 5 100mm and a throat of 500mm
Afrit have installed the nitrogen-producing Nitracut nitrogen generator from NitraLife on the new BLM LT 8.10 tube fiber laser
“There are still plenty of changes to make but we have a five-year plan. We are one of the leading trailer manufacturers in South Africa with over 50 years of experience. The South African road transport industry has seen an increased demand for trailers and we (Afrit) therefore have to invest in highly sophisticated and advanced technology and streamline our processes to keep up with the industry.”
“All of this investment is gearing up to expected company growth, which will require increasing our staff complement, increasing efficiencies and quality and reducing manufacturing costs,” concluded van der Walt.
For further details contact Afrit on TEL 012 541 2123 or visit www.afrit.co.za
