A closed cell saves costs

Peter Klement develops and builds robot system with great success. The only problem he had, were the enclosures for his machines, since his own solutions were often too expensive for his customers  – until he found the standardized solution from häwa in Wain.

When Peter Klement designs a new grip-arm robot, he thinks about how a machine can perform a task with the utmost precision. Looking out of the window in his office in Neu-Ulm, he can see how the birds in the forest near the Danube adapt themselves with a precise plan to each season. “In our dynamic time it is most important to react, for example, to economic fluctuations with flexible work resources”, says the mechanical engineer. “It is essential to capture and implement a new task quickly and effectively, just as it happens instinctively in nature”. Therefore, his company “Klement Engineering” specialized among other things in robotic innovations, which also make the use of robotic systems interesting for small and medium-sized companies – from the optical position recognition through measuring, dynamic tracking up to specific grip-arm designs using 3D printing components. Although many experts in this sector think that the tendency is that people and robots will be working more and more often together on one project, Peter Klement is convinced that this sharing of labor is actually simply too expensive for many applications due to the risks and dangers that could arise from a machine. He stated that one of the biggest challenges in this sector was to look for a cost-efficient enclosure for these machines or, at least, to separate them from certain work areas by means of light grids without having to design and build an individual robot cell for each customer which will unnecessarily increase the non-recurring costs.

The engineer found the solution with the company häwa GmbH in Wain, which is situated only a few kilometers away from his office in Neu-Ulm. häwa is one of the largest supplier of electrical enclosures and control cabinets. häwa designed a patented, modular rack system, called “X-frame” which is consisting of sheet steel frames, offering maximum flexibility and numerous extension possibilities. Due to large cross-sections, the interior of the built-in struts offer a save and from the outside invisible installation of hoses, cables, lines, valves and other components. Even light curtains can be installed quickly and easily in the corner struts. With the “X-frame system” Peter Klement expressed he found the optimum solution for his problems. This system combines the advantages of standardized modules with the flexibility of large cable ducts in the struts. In other words, further machining or welding of frames is not necessary. Furthermore, the system offers the realization of easy and cost-efficient customized solutions at any time which is most important for his company, since he doesn't offer assembly line products. “häwa is a competent partner for all customized solutions and based on the experience over numerous projects, they can achieve quickly the optimum solution for me.” After receipt of the order, häwa creates a 3D drawing and after release, the cells are manufactured.

And so it is not surprising that the managing director of Klement Engineering will also rely on the new häwa product for his next projects. Although there are customer inquiries for solutions without enclosures, the obstacles for the CE documentation and the compliance with the machine guideline are usually so complex that the project will easily become too expensive.

„If a customer component is pointed or sharp, a human-robot collaboration is no longer an option," says Klement. „Except, you make a maximum effort to prevent this risk otherwise, which is usually uneconomical." Quite apart from that, the modern appealing design of the X-frame cells are real eye-catchers in every assembly hall.

Meanwhile, outside his office, along the river banks of the Danube, birds fly back and forth and build nests. Resistant homes, perfectly adapted with the utmost protection. A little bit like a X-frame cell.

About Klement Engineering
Peter Klement founded in 2009 an engineering office for design and development, which is today able to realize the complete construction of customized machines. Particularly in the robotic sector, the company developed fully automatic plants which can also be used by small to medium-sized companies.
This could be realized in particular by the partnership with Sebastian Reger from the compnay “Projetraum Reger”,who has been responsible for software programming, hardware development and e-planning since 2011. Further information is available at  www.klement-engineering.de

About X-frame
The modular system is the present standard for various product ranges, customized products and specific customer requirements. The X-frame system is flexible and can be adapted quickly and easily. All customer requirements, such as drilling, milling and control cabinet positioning, are already considered during the planning phase. Due to the open structure of the X-frame system, cable ducts are not required.