Foundry and Forge

Foundry and Forge

More robots

Introduction of new automation processes increases competitiveness of Component Production

he PKG – Foundry and Forge department supplies its semi-finished products not only to ŠKODA AUTO but also to the VW Group plants in Chemnitz and Salzgitter, as well as Audi in Györ. It wins these contracts through tenders that are announced by the Purchasing department and in which both the Group’s and external suppliers participate. “The Foundry and Forge have to reduce their production costs to maintain their price competitiveness. Their quicker and wider automation of their work activities significantly helps in this regard. Doing so also reduces the physical burden on their employees and eliminates the potential for human error”, clarifies Milan Adamec from the PKG/3 – Serie Planning. In the past two years, there has been an even sharper focus on productivity and ergonomics goals, and the employees have completed several important projects.

Automation in the production of EA211 cylinder blocks 

The finishing works after casting a semi-finished cylinder block used to include a great deal of strenuous manual work on the so-called finishing line. However, many of these activities have been eliminated. The deburring of the cylinder block’s outer surfaces takes place via contour milling with the controlled pressure of the finishing tool, which is clamped in the robot’s gripper. Automatic equipment has replaced the original manual sawing. The robots also help with the casting loading and unloading, while other robots palletise parts at the end of the line. Similarly, they help with the pre-machining of cylinder blocks on the machining line, to which parts are fed and palletised when they exit the line. They also ensure the sorting according to a code embossed on the casting. 

Innovations in Gearbox Production

Another automation project has been implemented by the Foundry regarding the production of gearboxes and MQ200 clutches. These are fully blasted after casting, which previously required the castings to be manually hung on their conveyor. The new blasting cell already features its robotic casting loading and subsequent palletising.

The forging cells were improved in the Forge and include continuous induction heaters of the input material (i.e. cut bar), which used to be manually inserted into them. Now, this activity has been replaced by vibrating hoppers with their automated material feeding into the heating working space. “Our projects do not end with this list; for the future, we are preparing steps that will provide both operations with a significantly greater chance of winning new orders within the entire VW Group”, says Adamec.  ED