
the Key for more Efficiency
Since 1991, Pfanzelt Maschinenbau offers a range of products and provides tailored solutions for users in forestry and beyond. To remain competitive while offering this diversity, the company invested in an automated new production hall. This has provided significant advantages for storage, logistics, cutting and other production processes. A key element of the new building is the cutting area, a fully automated solution of three MicroStep machines – a material handling system, a laser cutting machine and a plasma cutting machine combined with an automated storage facility.
The name Pfanzelt Maschinenbau is internationally recognized for forestry machines and municipal technology. With a product portfolio ranging from forestry winches to timber trailers and self-propelled machines, Pfanzelt offers customized solutions for professional and semi-professional users. "Our product range is [...] broad, which means we also have a very diverse target audience," explains Marketing Director Peter Voderholzer. "We are the only full-range supplier of forestry machinery in Europe and we've long since moved beyond forestry as our sole target group," he adds.
Automation as the key to more efficiency
The most visible sign of the modern machine park with a high degree of automation is a new production hall inaugurated in 2023. Spanning a 100 × 30 m space, partly two-story high, incoming and outgoing goods, pre-assembly, warehouse and part of the technology park were newly set up. "Initially, we lacked storage capacity. What emerged is a comprehensive logistics concept that can do much more than just process sheet metal. Automation has multiple drivers: a fascination with technology, a shrinking workforce and the necessity to remain competitive with our versatility," says Roland Sterk. Pfanzelt primarily processes sheets 10 or 12 mm thick. The range of parts varies from very small to 4.5 meters long and up to 0.5 tons in weight, often involving production of single units or small batch sizes.
More than just cutting sheet metal
The entry and endpoint of the new hall is a shelving system from Stopa: 18 m high, 2,679 storage spaces and a capacity of more than 8,000 t. This system supplies materials to press brakes, including a robotic bending cell, and notably supports the cutting area. The shelving system is linked to MicroStep’s MSLoad material handling system, which serves two MicroStep cutting machines and can also automatically return cut pieces to storage. Integrated into the cutting area is a 2D laser cutting machine from the MSF Pro series and a 3D plasma cutting machine from the MG series. While the CNC fiber laser is exclusively designed for sheet metal, the plasma cutting machine can also process pipes and features additional technologies for drilling, tapping and countersinking. Supporting peripherals like filtration systems and plasma or laser technology have been compactly placed on a platform above the laser.
Partnership with MicroStep: customized cutting automation
"The investment in the cutting area came about as part of the hall’s construction. There was always an interest in also being able to cut bevels. MicroStep has extensive experience and excellent references in this area. Previously, we prepared welding seams using a machining center and moved tons of material through the halls for this purpose. We have high-stress components where welding seams are extremely important," explains Roland Sterk. What started as a single machine with a beveling unit eventually became two cutting machines sharing a material handling system after consultations. "We wanted a single point of contact, including for software interfaces. We didn’t want a separate automation provider, plasma provider, and laser provider," emphasizes Sterk. This narrowed down the number of possible suppliers and MicroStep was chosen. The system has been in continuous operation since spring 2024. Machine operator Daniel Klaus oversees the cutting area and lets the machines do the work. The laser cutting machine primarily handles sheets 2 to 8 mm thick, while the plasma cutting machine processes material thicknesses from 10 to 30 mm. While Pfanzelt predominantly operates in a single-shift system, its automated area also runs on weekends.
"The main goal of the solution was to minimize manual handling of sheet metal, maintain an inventory of sheet metal and enable re-storage into the shelving system. We can now plan precisely when to cut what; visibility has significantly improved. And we can cut with fewer personnel," concludes Roland Sterk.
Automatic material handling system for sheets measuring 3,000 × 1,500 mm
The central component of automated cutting at Pfanzelt is the MSLoad material flow system: The automation solution has a modular design and is used for the automatic loading of raw material and unloading of cut parts. It can be used with laser and plasma cutting systems from MicroStep, which have an automatic shuttle table system. At Pfanzelt, the rack storage system transfers the material to be cut to a buffer station. A vacuum lifter is used to transport the sheet metal from the pick-up station to the shuttle table. With the fiber laser, the material to be cut is automatically transported into the cutting cabin of the fiber laser, processed in the cutting cabin and then automatically removed again. The unloading fork removes the cut parts and places them on the unloading station, from where they are returned to the storage rack. With the plasma cutting system, the raw material is picked up in the same way. MSLoad transports the sheet metal to the shuttle table there, where it is cut or drilled inside the soundproof housing and passed to the outside at the other end of the system. Unloading takes place manually here. In this way, the cutting systems can be continuously fed and operated. The automation system is designed for metal sheets measuring 3,000 × 1,500 mm.
2D laser cutting system MSF Pro
Pfanzelt uses the MSF Pro series for cutting thinner flat material. The high-speed solution for special laser cutting has a high degree of automation (including shuttle table, cleaning and calibration station, automatic nozzle change). The machine manufacturer opted for a version with the HIGHYAG BIMO-FSC 2D laser cutting head and an IPG YLS 4000 U fiber laser source with 4 kW cutting power. As with the MSLoad, the processing area of the automatic shuttle table system is 3,000 × 1,500 mm. A Teka AirCube filter system with 5.5 kW is used for extraction. Pfanzelt uses the laser cutting system for precise cutting of sheet metal with a thickness of 2 to 8 mm.
3D plasma cutting system from the MG series
A 3D plasma cutting system from the MG series is integrated as a second cutting solution for processing thicker materials. The plasma rotator for 3D bevel cutting, e. g. for weld seam preparation up to 50°, is integrated into the gantry cutting system. The patented ACTG automatic calibration unit ensures consistently high-precision results. The plasma source is a HiFocus 280i neo from Kjellberg with automatic gas console and Contour Cut Speed technology. To reduce the noise level, the cutting area was fitted with a soundproof housing.
Three zone shuttle table system for flat material
Th two-sided shuttle table system has been integrated into the plasma cutting system. This system has three movable support grids and thus enables maximum capacity utilization of the CNC cutting system. The overall system is divided into three zones for this purpose. Zone 1 serves as the loading zone and is connected to the MSLoad loading system. The movable support grids then move to the cutting area in zone 2 for further processing. After the cutting process, the parts are transported together with the support grid to zone 3 (loading and unloading zone). In zone 3, the operating personnel can manually remove the cut parts and load the cutting grid with new metal sheets. In this zone, manual loading of metal sheets up to a size of 4,000 × 2,000 mm is also possible. A vibrating chute is located under the cutting surface of the cutting table over the entire length. The vibrating conveyor system transports material residues and slag out of the cutting cabin.
Tube cutting device for 3D processing
In addition to sheet metal processing, the plasma cutting machine enables flexible pipe processing. Semi-finished products with a diameter of 30 to 500 mm and a length of 4,000 mm can be processed. The automatic pipe cutting device rotates the workpieces into the exact position during cutting.
Technology for drilling, countersinking and tapping
By integrating a fully automatic drilling spindle, Pfanzelt can drill holes, taps and countersinks in sheet metal. The drilling support used enables drill holes up to 40 mm in diameter and taps up to M30. A tool magazine with eight places enables a quick and automatic tool change.
(Source: MicroStep Europa GmbH)
Schlagworte
AutomationBevellingCuttingLaserSheet Metal