Capability has increased by 30%

THE WORK STEP BY STEP

“We started as soon as we got the order. We did risk analyses, took stock of the machine and ordered the right components and hardware to be well prepared and minimize downtime,” describes Rolf Andersson, sales representative at Jernbro.

They broke down the work into a detailed plan almost hour for hour – for what should be done and when.

“We had also scheduled extra time on Saturdays and Sundays in case anything unexpected happened, but we never needed to use this time.

The process started with Jernbro taking stock of the machine, then they ordered all the parts and started the design work in Skövde and on site in Trollhättan. A few months later the machine was shut down and the actual transformation began.

“During the first seven to eight days we dismantled, renovated and began the installation of all the new parts,” says Rolf Andersson.

During the project time, the working group from Parker visited Skövde and they saw how the work was progressing. Before the start, all staff involved from Parker attended courses in operation, service and maintenance on a similar control system.

“We started up carefully during the second week with an I/O test and systematically went through and verified the installation to get everything working again,” says Rolf Andersson.

“After the optimization, and some requests for changes including programming, they gradually began to manufacture the parts in the machine and already on the Monday in the fifth week we were ready to go.”

“After the renovation, the machine had a totally different capability. The quality was much better – we have that documented – and the control system and servomotor were running much more smoothly,” says Ronald Svärdh, production technician.

Other advantages are a shorter conversion time, the machine is easier to work with and precision is higher. Moreover, we have a better idea of the lifetime of the tool thanks to functions in the new control system and this means we can fully utilize the tools.

“Jernbro promised that capability would be the same or better after commissioning. Our follow-up shows that capability has increased by 30 per cent. They also promised an availability of 98 per cent and we are following that up now. So far, it looks good,” says Stefan Rydin at Parker.

He notes that the whole process took about four months from order to commissioning and both parties have been very pleased with the cooperation. They usually say that you save about 50 per cent with a total renovation compared to investing in a new machine, which Stefan Rydin thinks is a reasonable estimate.

”We expect to save around three million kronor with Jernbro’s rebuild, compared with investing in a new machine,” concludes Stefan Rydin.