Pneumatic Engineering - totally logical!

Machined metal parts usually require surface treatment before further processing or assembly. In the case of automotive parts, this should take place directly in the material flow and in the work cycle of the upstream and downstream machines. Usually only a few different parts have to be treated within a production line, and the tasks of the treatment plants are narrowly defined. Although there is a wide range of machines and systems that serve these purposes, the automotive industry often uses transfer systems developed and manufactured to customer specifications in its parts production lines.

Individual component treatment machines.

Customer-specific systems for cleaning, coating and deburring as well as the conveying of turned and milled parts are one of the specialities of the special machine manufacturer Schaufler Engineering GmbH based in Klosterneuburg, Austria. The owner-managed company focuses on machines whose complex movements are predominantly performed pneumatically. Their function is largely independent of the surrounding line and they do not require data or software interfaces to it.

"Usually, a transfer line comprises the trades of numerous machine and plant manufacturers. It is therefore important not to have to operate too many interfaces. Developing completed, purely mechanical-pneumatic machines enables us to deliver fully tested units and thus limit the time required for assembly and commissioning."

Michael Albich, fluid designer at Schaufler Engineering

Pneumatics for fast movements

A representative example of this is a transfer system that removes chips and coolant/lubricant residues from freshly milled truck cylinder heads fully automatically using a process medium. "After pre-cleaning by means of an upstream air brush (Air Knife), the cylinder head reaches the 1,200 mm long, 1,500 mm wide and 1,000 mm high process chamber," is how Michael Albich describes the operating principle of the system. "There, it is processed with process medium from a linearly moving loading unit. What is special about this is that the movement of the loading unit is not always uniform, but can be programmed in such a way that more heavily soiled or inaccessible areas are coated for longer.

Schaufler Engineering in Klosterneuburg develops and produces special machines for integration into production lines such as this parts cleaning module.

Schaufler Engineering also designed the conveyor system on which the cylinder heads pass through the plant. It is equipped with a stopper that prevents the workpiece from moving on. Due to the high weight of the cylinder heads, the belt is also stopped. Both the Air Knife and the stopper and bulkheads, which close the process chamber on both sides, are pneumatically actuated. Only the ball screw drive of the loading unit is driven by an electric motor. "We prefer pneumatic drives for fast movements not only because of the lower costs," says Michael Albich. "Our many years of experience with pneumatic drive components enable us to solve even sensitive movements reliably and reliably in this way.

Fluid design with function

In addition to experience, the pneumatic specialists at Schaufler are also helped by the right CAE software. Michael Albich has been using EPLAN Fluid for many years. As a leading engineering tool, the software enables automated project planning and documentation of fluid engineering systems according to current standards such as ISO 1219. The decisive factors for his preference of EPLAN Fluid over alternative solutions are the function integration and manufacturer independence of the CAE software. "The software tools of the pneumatic suppliers are actually customer loyalty programs that force the use of the products of these manufacturers, and with mechanical CAD software only drawings can be made, but the function cannot be checked," explains Michael Albich. "In contrast, fluid design with EPLAN Fluid is not limited to graphics, but includes all logic functions.

For pneumatic engineering, the developers at Schaufler Engineering use the software EPLAN Fluid.

Automated Engineering

With easy handling, numerous test functions and standards support, EPLAN Fluid accelerates design. Not only does fluid-specific engineering and the creation of documentation take place automatically. The CAE software also offers numerous other automation options.

EPLAN Fluid allows you to integrate more than 260,000 products from leading pneumatics manufacturers, whose fluid, mechanical and, if available, electrical properties can be downloaded from the EPLAN Data Portal. "In order to always remain manufacturer-independent, we deliberately do not use this offer, but create all parts with their fluid properties in EPLAN Fluid and store them in the macro library for reuse," explains Michael Albich. "Since the components and assemblies only have to be provided with the appropriate parameters for the specific application, this automates and accelerates the fluid design considerably". Thus, the fluid design of the special machine could be successfully completed within a few days.

Specialized yet integrated

Via the EPLAN platform, fluid-specific engineering for pneumatics, hydraulics, lubrication and cooling can be combined with all other engineering disciplines. The special machine developers at Schaufler Engineering work purely pneumatically and do not carry out electrical planning. They therefore use the stand-alone version of EPLAN Fluid, for which EPLAN Electric P8 is not required.

"Nevertheless, the interaction between electrical engineering and pneumatics is important for us, as we work closely with customers and external electrical planners who usually use EPLAN Electric P8," explains Michael Albich. "This capability of the CAE software also allows both sides to work in parallel and thus to pursue system-oriented mechatronic development. This is not only faster due to the parallelization of tasks, but also less error-prone and thus leads unerringly to optimal results.

About Schaufler Engineering:

The 12 employees of Schaufler Engineering GmbH in Klosterneuburg, founded in 2017, deal with special mechanical engineering and automation technology, primarily for customers in the automotive and supplier industry. The company specializes in submachines with integrated hydraulics or pneumatics that can be integrated into production lines without software interfaces.