Robotization in the production of cutting dies at Chespa

Chespa company made a unique purchase and invested in a modern area of cutting dies production that use robotics. The company is already thinking about further purchases and strives to automate work as much as possible. We talk with Roman Radomski- Member of the Management Board and the person who is responsible for this production area in Chespa Group, about the changes and significance of the new solution.

What’s new with you?

Roman Radomski: In recent years, as the Chespa Group, we have not focused on informing about new purchases concerning the expansion of production lines. This year, we have managed to do something that I feel goes beyond the sphere of normal activities in this area. We touch a modern area, called an Industry 4.0, which entered our production of cutting dies. We are one of the few companies in this part of Europe, or the world, that have this kind of solution. Automation combined with artificial intelligence is a huge step forward. We have invested in an ultramodern machine for the assembly of Stripping Stations and in the area of software to control this process.

Let’s start at the beginning. How is the production process carried out?

The basis is the data in the machine specifications and information obtained from the customer. After the CAD drawing of the tool is completed, the files are transferred to the server and downloaded to the individual production cells accordingly. Guidelines and specifications are used at each stage to improve the production process.

Thanks to this, we are able to realize the most unusual projects.

I understand that the new machine has revolutionized your production?

Of course, although we do not lack innovative machines and equipment. As an example from previous years: we have a laser, which is one of the most modern in our part of Europe. It is dedicated to rotary dies. On that laser we do all our rotary tools, and what distinguishes it from other our lasers is that it fixes the plywood itself (the operator must “put the plywood on”, position it, and the machine itself measures whether there was no mistake, fixes the plywood with screws), then it is laser burned and milled. The result of work is a burned and milled plywood shell, which can be directly assembled.

The pure revolution, however, is an innovative device that automates the assembly of upper stripping tools. The machine uses steel from a spool, according to the file mentioned earlier, cuts into individual elements, takes them and assembles them. The machine is also equipped with a special magazine, thanks to which it can mount steel ejector pins and plastic distance pins, which we use in tens of thousands.

What did you get thanks to this innovation?

We have an automated assembly system and have therefore risen to a higher level. In terms of technical and technological advancement, we have reached a level which, until recently, was unattainable and which, in this part of Europe, we only have in Chespa. As I mentioned, we have entered the field of Industry 4.0.

We have been investing in automation from the very beginning. Thanks to the new line we execute products with the quality well known to our customers. We are also able to make more complex products and improve our own production process – assembly of stripping units, minimize the risk of mistakes, which of course also affects the level of customer service.

What is the difference in terms of assembly time between the traditional production and your new purchase?

Of course, we have measured these differences and it doubled the speed off assembly. I would multiply it twice as much, because the use of the machine relieves the operator, who during this time can make other orders, so his work is more efficient. In addition, the machine performs the most complicated and time-consuming motives in an ergonomic way, and the level of its technological advancement increases the quality of manufactured tools.

Are you already thinking about further investments?

Constantly. We have improved the quality of our work and workflow, which does not change the fact that in order to develop, we still have to work intensively.  I’m sure we will continue to do that. We are still thinking about what processes can be improved. We are the leader when it comes to the production of cutting dies, so we are looking for new solutions and ideas for investments. We strive for full automation to reduce production time and minimize manual processes with the risk of human mistakes. We are looking for new solutions and we constantly talk about it with our suppliers.

Are you going to start an analogous solution to the assembly of cutting dies, i.e. to robotize the production?

Although it’s still a distant vision, I don’t want to deny the reality, because until recently robotics was an impossible barrier in stripping tool assembly, and today it’s a perfectly working solution. It’s a matter of finding a way to open the locked doors.

Thank you for the conversation!

Interviewed by: Mirosław Pawliński