Maximizing efficiency and space in metalworking with automated sawing and storage
Factory-floor real estate is always at a premium. Manufacturers are always looking to expand operations and distribution facilities. According to CBRE Research’s 2022 U.S. Industrial & Logistics Occupier Survey, which included more than 100 industrial participants, 64% expected to expand their total warehouse footprint in the United States over the next three years.
Almost a quarter of the respondents were in manufacturing, building materials and construction. Couple this with a lingering lack of skilled workers, and the situation worsens. For metalworking companies, the ability to combine and automate sawing and storage processes would be keenly valuable.
According to the CBRE survey, most companies are improving wages and the work experience for employees, but even more important is the revelation that automation continues to gain traction to counteract the worker shortage.
A space-saving, fully automated sawing and storage system from KASTO is designed to enable manufacturers to automate in the tightest of spaces. "This concept is a world first for unstaffed processing," says Sönke Krebber, KASTO board member and husband of the great great great granddaughter of Karl Stolzer, who founded the sawing and storage company in Achern almost 180 years ago. "Up until now, the saw storage system has just fed the bar stock for processing. Now, the saw can feed the storage system.” The sawed parts are stocked on the other side of the process.
Smart combination
Quick processes
The KASTOsort tower does not just save space, but it is also smart: the ProControl control system is designed to ensure fast, error-free work processes and smooth interaction of the components. The KASTOlogic mobile app can be used to manage storage. The user can record the goods seamlessly and see where the material is at any time.
Of course, KASTO also adapts the new concept to the customers' specific needs. “We are currently working on the integration of the KASTOtec automatic bandsaw machines and transport with an automated guided vehicle (AGV),” explains Krebber. “Our aim is for as many metalworkers as possible to benefit from the new, fully automatic all-around solution and use the space they have available in the best and most productive way possible."