„Open Heart Surgery“
For over a decade the scrap disposal system served the Gera plant well, then it itself was scrap. The burden for this old machinery was simply too high over the years. The ascending conveyor and distribution system had to be completely renewed. Meleghy Automotive selected GEPE-Technik GmbH as project partner. Within 12 days, the two companies were able to replace the scrap disposal system without interruption during ongoing operation, thanks to very close cooperation.
Every day, the plant conveys 90 tons of scrap via this belt conveyer system, which is distributed to various containers. The problem: if it does not run underneath, nothing can be disposed of from above. The renewal therefore had to be carried out without interrupting production. The company GEPE, the local companies and Meleghy Automotive Gera worked hand in hand over a period of 14 days. Thanks to consistent advance planning and deadline discipline, implementation was even achieved in 12 days. Our advantage: the press shop also has an aluminium waste disposal system, which took over the scrap disposal for the steel volume during the conversion.
In order to avoid the mixing of steel and aluminium scrap, an initial run-up was carried out in the aluminium production. By changing containers more frequently, the press shop was able to continue production continuously, even while the belts were being replaced.
Through a consistent and intensive cooperation between GEPE and Meleghy Automotive a smooth and successful implementation of the project could be guaranteed over the entire project time.
The experiences from the previous technology were integrated in the new machinery by new concepts and solutions. The improvement: due to the new design of the distributor scrap belt, it is no longer necessary to change the running direction, so that jamming of the scrap parts in the link belts and the guide mimic is avoided. In addition to a significant reduction in the susceptibility to faults, the plant is considerably easier to maintain. We expect the technological measures to significantly increase the overall system availability, which in turn will indirectly improve the production time in the press shop.
