Bosch Rexroth, global supply and total connecting capablility

Bosch Rexroth, global supply and total connecting capability

The week from 28th May to 1st June 2007 was dedicated by Bosch to “Pneumatica”.
Meetings with the specialized press and experts of the sector took place at the company
premises of Cernusco sul Naviglio (near Milan), where they explained to the audience the
concepts of “global supply and total connecting capability, a subject, which this German multinational enterprise is very fond of

Each company has one’s idea of innovation, and, in the latest years, this has become a real “tour de force” for lots of people.
There are actually two kinds of innovation. On the one hand, there is the so-called “radical innovation”, that is something new and important, something that can change the existing balances, and on the other hand, there is what we call “incremental innovation”, that can be found in everyday life.
The latter consists in small innovations, which are not really technological, but that, if they are employed in the production processing or service sectors and are used to the customer’s benefit, can determine considerable competitive advantages.
Giorgio Ferrandino, responsible for Bosch Rexroth’s Pneumatica Business Unit, opened the meetings by pointing out how customers can get a competitive advantage, if a structure enables them to quickly develop innovations.

GLOBAL SUPPLY

Carlo Castagnola, responsible for the regional structure of Bosch Rexroth in Bologna, was set the task to explain in detail the concept of GLOBAL SUPPLY.
“Pneumatics, Hydraulics, Mechanics and Electronics represent the main product lines, thanks to which a wide range of components has been created. These components are normally to be found together in various machines, quite apart from their final application and are developed in such a way that they can be linked one another.
Rexroth has been adopting the concept of global supply since the 70s (when the company’s name was Mannesmann Rexroth, and it no longer belonged to Bosch Automation).
The customer used to give us the structure of his machine, and we used to supply him with all he needed for its handling. This was possible because we were able to provide a comprehensive project, including linear, pneumatic handling and control.
It often happened, however, that every manufacturer used to equip himself in order to be able to assemble these 3 products, that he used to purchase from 3 different suppliers, with some disadvantages and difficulties. When I talked to the managers of these machine manufacturing companies, I realized that they were very interested to have a single contact person.
Therefore, our concept of global supply aims at establishing a partnership with the manufacturer, with whom we can develop practical applications and whom we can supply with global “turn-key” solutions”, says Mr. Castagnola, who has become the head of a structure employing about 30 people. These collaborators have an overall view of the three divisions, which enables them to study and suggest customized solutions with unquestionable benefits (from a technological, financial and logistic view-point).
On the other hand, owing to the merger of Bosch and Rexroth, the plan of action had already been drawn up, and if we had not exploited the know-how and the expertise of these two industrial giants, who in July 2001 established a new multinational company, we would not have been very clever, indeed.”
Mr. Castagnola’s words highlight that Bosch Rexroth are ready to communicate with manufacturers in order to understand, together with them, how it is possible to revolutionize the way to design and build a machine, a way, which seems to be still rather obsolete.

Total Connecting Capability

Ing. Giovanni Salini, responsible for the Technical -Pneumatic Division, gave a practical explanation of how the concept of global supply can be applied through the “Total Connecting Capability”, that is a method used by Bosch Rexroth to link all their technologies on the same machine.
“Bosch Rexroth is the only company in the world capable of offering a complete range of products suitable for various controlling and driving techniques.
Communication, connecting capability and integration are the key concepts, on which we base the development of our products.
Bosch Rexroth want to be a partner for their own customers and, therefore, the technologies, we offer, cannot be merely for the purpose, but
they are an integrant part of a single controlling system, through which we can communicate.
Industrial automation has always been based on a quick and easy way of communication through standard structures, which have been simplified without losing their efficiency”, says Ing. Salini.
In order to link the various automation components, Bosch Rexroth have been officially adopting since the beginning of 2007 Sercos III, as a single communication code. Sercos III is based on Ethernet and is developed by a consortium, to which the major worldwide companies of the automation sector belong, and, therefore, it is an open and shared technology.
If you adopt this code of communication, you will be able to link all parts of an automation system, starting from the supervision via Internet, which is also a code of communication based on Ethernet. “Ethernet codes for industrial automation have been developed to meet the market demand “in real time” and, taking advantage of standard technologies also means to have economical benefits, in addition to a quick way of communication.
Bosch Rexroth’s policy aims at linking, without any problem, the different technologies belonging to their own sphere of competences in order to ensure the so-called “global supply””, concludes Ing. Salini.
Another feature of this multinational German company is to focus on special sectors: Automation, Food & Packaging, Printing & Paper.
For each one of these sectors Bosch Rexroth have a specific controlling system. We want to analyse them with the aid of the persons in charge.

AUTOMATION DIVISION
FABIO PIAZZA,
PERSON IN CHARGE
FOR THE DIVISION

“Automation is mainly applied to linear transportation systems and to working areas, where it is necessary to collect and move components to assemble them onto the machine.
As sophisticated automation systems are often unnecessary, the heads of Bosch’s Divisions, who have realized this, are committing themselves, with the support of regional centres, in studying the best solutions enabling customers to meet the market demand by taking advantage of the wide product range available.
The heads of Bosch’s Divisions, who have a general view of the situation, aim at identifying what technologies can be incorporated into each application in order to define with the customer the most suitable solution being then undertaken by each business unit to develop automation.
Of course, different experiences are shared by the various branches, that Bosch has established all over the world so as to globally take advantage of the solutions developed by local companies.
Today Bosch is offering more and more specific automation solutions for the pneumatics sector. It combines them with its total connecting capability, thus fully meeting the demand for a global supply”.
FOOD & PACKAGING
DIVISION
ALESSANDRO BREGOLIN,
PERSON IN CHARGE
FOR THE DIVISION

“When we talk about food and packaging, we have to draw some distinctions. In the food sector, end-users usually prefer turn-key plants to simplify production processes and to be able to pass on responsibilities to the technicians in charge. This trend is related to standardization of the products, that the end-user required from the manufacturer in order to optimize costs (storage, overhaul and spare parts). Marketing departments are trying their best to meet end-users’demands by studying peculiar and odd strategies, aiming at upgrading plant format changeover systems and so on.
For example, as far as packaging for liquids is concerned, there is a tendency to work in aseptic environments, where the air is filtered and are no microbacteria.
Aiming at energy saving and environmental protection, biodegradable packaging materials coming from maize have been recently introduced. Also the demand for higher production speeds, which are necessary to develop prompt and automatic format changeover systems, is growing.
Considering the current strict juridical-bureaucratic and technological requirements, Bosch Rexroth, thanks to their vast and consolidated expertise in the sector, can offer a wide range of dedicated products, including both simple and sophisticated items. The company’s technicians are ready to work directly with the customers, since they are supported by a worldwide network of experts, who interact and consult one another in order to develop suitable solutions for all the company branches.
It often happens that the range of dedicated products is insufficient to meet all needs, because requirements are different and often beyond the standards. Bosch is forced to change its offering to propose customized solutions”.
Then Ing. Bregolin gave the example of a salami processing line, working in aseptic environment without contaminations. He explained how various components by Bosch have been incorporated into these machines, and how they have been made suitable for coming in touch with food or, anyway, for running in food areas (that is where they come directly or indirectly in touch with aliments).

PRINTING & PAPER
DIVISION
LUIGI LOCATELLI
PERSON IN CHARGE
FOR THE DIVISION

Paper, Printing and Converting are sectors, with which Bosch Rexroth have been made themselves acquainted for years.
Luigi Locatelli’s report was focused on the various products being manufactured in a paper mill: paper, cardboard, tissue and non-woven.
“Starting from a cardboard reel, we obtain a packaging product (corrugated board, boxes, packages) by using plants (the so-called converting plants), which, of course, are quite different from those being employed to produce cardboard. With the same paper mill machines we also manufacture printing paper, that will be processed with other kinds of machines.
In Italy we are specialized in the manufacture of rotogravure and flexo presses, while the best offset presses are built in Germany and Japan.
There are machines suitable for printing on tissue and non-woven. These machines are quite different from the above-mentioned ones, since they can produce inline tissue-papers or napkins with a single passage and at very high speeds. Starting from the reel, they can process the material by carrying out printing, folding, embossing and other operations with a thrust automation system, but using standard components.
Although all the production plants used in the Printing & Paper Division usually process the same or similar materials, the finished products have quite different characteristics in order to meet various market needs. For this reason, the machines will have different technical features, especially as far as pneumatic driving gears are concerned.
After producing corrugated board reels, the next operation is carried out by papermaking plants, which convert the material into a package, a box, a special container etc. by using different working processes according to the final use required.
All these are called converting operations, which means that starting from the initial product, you can convert it, for example, into a package by means of a special working process, that changes the initial shape and creates the final box.
These machines are the most versatile and variable equipment existing in the paper and printing sector. As a matter of fact, while paper mill machines and tissue making machines have never changed any of their features, converting machines are only apparently similar. They are actually all substantially different.
If you have to laminate or rewind tissue-paper, you will not use the same plant being employed to laminate paper with a polyethylene layer.
With the aid of the experts in charge of each division, Bosch is aiming at offering the customer a special know-how enabling him to work in different fields.
One the paper working processes (printing, lamination, rewinding) are over, you enter the sphere of packaging. (At this point, Luigi Locatelli should return the ball to his colleague responsible for the Food & Packaging Division).
“In the printing sector there is also a subdivision that is not related to paper”, he continues. “I am talking about the sector of plastic flexible films produced in reels, a sector which is used for packaging, although it refers to printing. The film reels can be processed like paper reels and are destined to the printing sector, where they are printed with rotogravure or flexo presses. Then they are transferred to the converting department, where they are laminated with other materials. Finally, they are cut to create, for example, common snack papers, coffee packs and so on. All these operations can be performed inline by a single plant, or separately by different machines.
Once these big reels have been developed, they should be transferred to the packaging division, where the real package is made”. But, as mentioned above, the latter working process will be carried out in a different division.
In 2006 Bosch Rexroth engaged themselves in the field of rotogravure in particular, where the demand for pneumatics is very high, whereas paper mills still prefer oleodynamic machines, owing to the fact that pneumatic plants have big dimensions and are very heavy.
Then Locatelli gave the example of a rotogravure press equipped with two inline laminators. The driving gears by Bosch Rexroth used on this press consisted of a set of cylinders for the pneumatic separation of the printing cylinder, low friction cylinders, air treatment units, high precision pressure adjuster in the central control panel as well as pressure converters controlling the high sensitivity cylinders for the printing pressure and for the laminating component pressure.
In the printing division Bosch Rexroth use standard components, since in this sector little space is required, and no difficult handling operations are necessary.
Nevertheless, special elements are sometimes required, like for example a pressure cylinder being incorporated in the rotogravure press, when a sheet of paper or a film, passing through the printing roller and the pressure roller, have to be put under pressure.
In this case, the cylinder, which can have different diameters, gets in touch with the pressure roller, which is generally coated with rubber, and it takes different positions. For printing reasons, when the contact pressure rollers are positioning or when there is a machine downtime due to a paper or film breakage, the pressure roller should not
deviate too much from the printing cylinder to avoid useless paper waste, when you restart the machine and before the pressure rollers can approach all colour elements. Considering the length of the plants, hundreds of meters of material would be wasted.
In order to meet the market demand, some years ago Bosch Rexroth developed a solution enabling the pressure cylinder to perform of deviation of 3,4,5 mm, according to the need. At this point, the cylinder will wait for the next processing stage and, in the meantime, it will remain very close to the printing cylinder. This position will enable it to get in touch again and very quickly with the
printing cylinder and to restart printing, thus minimizing material waste. These pneumatic cylinders by Bosch are incorporated in the press. Rotogravure presses are equipped with 2 pneumatic cylinders for each colour element.
Another possible application consists of compact cylinders being used for short handling operations, which are carried out in small spaces, for example when a doctor-blade has to be assembled onto the press. These compact cylinders are all built according to the ISO 21 287 regulation, and consequently, the manufacturers, who will also have to conform to the same rule, will be able to ensure a consistent product to the customer, who, on his turn, can purchase this component from any supplier without any problem.
Luigi Locatelli’s speech concluded the first day dedicated to “Pneumatics Weeks 2007”. On this occasion, Bosch Rexroth wanted to explain, through theoretical and practical examples, their idea of global supply, as well as to point out that they are ready to meet machine manufacturers to face these issues together with them.