At Liebherr-Ettlingen GmbH, the Reman competence centre of the Liebherr Group, precise individual identification of used parts is an important building block of business activity. The factory specializes in the remanufacturing of used drive components such as engines, gearboxes and hydraulic components. They are overhauled, repaired or assembled with exchange components or assemblies from parts in stock.
Every day, apart from other components, up to seven worn-out diesel engines of excavators, wheel loaders, mobile cranes or other construction vehicles are delivered to the yard in Ettlingen. Mechanics dismantle them and the recyclable items are washed, stripped, de-rusted, then diagnosed, provided with the correct identification number and finally stored systematically in a high-bay warehouse.
By now, the parts of the returned and dismantled components have to be identified using drawings and manual measurements, and this has been very time-consuming. “This means up to 100 parts or more per engine, which need to be identified” explains Andreas Just. With over 600 engine variants in the portfolio, the number of different individual parts is enormous. Although the mechanics recognise some of them at a glance, in many cases however, they have to examine the design drawings very closely and to compare each detail. “It sometimes takes four to five minutes,” explained Just, “especially for pipes with different bends and lengths or for complex parts with different bores.” This requires looking very carefully and measuring to avoid any confusion, because otherwise the part does not fit when assembling an exchange engine. This is exhausting, excruciating work because any part incorrectly stored with the wrong identification number can lead to delays in assembly and endanger rapid processing times.
This had long been a source of frustration for Andreas Just. He, therefore, looked specifically for an optical detection solution. And he found one in the Smart Klaus of the company Optimum datamanagement solutions GmbH from Karlsruhe (Germany). He immediately saw that the Smart Klaus drastically reduces throughput times - by more than 50 percent -, increases productivity, provides security in identification and frees up time for highly skilled work.
At Liebherr-Ettlingen GmbH, the Reman competence centre of the Liebherr Group, precise individual identification of used parts is an important building block of business activity. The factory specializes in the remanufacturing of used drive components such as engines, gearboxes and hydraulic components. They are overhauled, repaired or assembled with exchange components or assemblies from parts in stock.
Every day, apart from other components, up to seven worn-out diesel engines of excavators, wheel loaders, mobile cranes or other construction vehicles are delivered to the yard in Ettlingen. Mechanics dismantle them and the recyclable items are washed, stripped, de-rusted, then diagnosed, provided with the correct identification number and finally stored systematically in a high-bay warehouse.
By now, the parts of the returned and dismantled components have to be identified using drawings and manual measurements, and this has been very time-consuming. “This means up to 100 parts or more per engine, which need to be identified” explains Andreas Just. With over 600 engine variants in the portfolio, the number of different individual parts is enormous. Although the mechanics recognise some of them at a glance, in many cases however, they have to examine the design drawings very closely and to compare each detail. “It sometimes takes four to five minutes,” explained Just, “especially for pipes with different bends and lengths or for complex parts with different bores.” This requires looking very carefully and measuring to avoid any confusion, because otherwise the part does not fit when assembling an exchange engine. This is exhausting, excruciating work because any part incorrectly stored with the wrong identification number can lead to delays in assembly and endanger rapid processing times.
This had long been a source of frustration for Andreas Just. He, therefore, looked specifically for an optical detection solution. And he found one in the Smart Klaus of the company Optimum datamanagement solutions GmbH from Karlsruhe (Germany). He immediately saw that the Smart Klaus drastically reduces throughput times - by more than 50 percent -, increases productivity, provides security in identification and frees up time for highly skilled work.
