Automation
Automation
Automation is essential for competitive manufacturing in Western Europe.
Automation as an integral part of a project
Even the best mould is not good enough if you cannot use it for automated production. Removing a plastic product from the injection moulding machine and processing it further can be a labour-intensive step if this is not handled efficiently using robots.
To remove products from the machine and place them, for example, on a conveyor belt or directly into a box, De Beer Plastics has fitted all its injection moulding machines with universal and flexible linear robots. The development and construction of a specialised gripper for a product is incorporated directly into the moulding project.
Countries with high wages
Our production sites in the Netherlands and Germany are located in high-wage countries. These countries offer a wide range of advantages, such as a strategically advantageous location for logistics and the highest concentration of expertise in plastics and machinery among suppliers and staff. That is why De Beer Plastics is so proud of our production sites.
However, automating manual processes involved in injection moulding and packaging is an essential step in building competitive production lines. That is why we continue to invest in state-of-the-art robots for every injection moulding machine.
Buffering
As a supplier to OEM customers, our production lines need to be particularly flexible, as many of our machines have to be capable of manufacturing a wide variety of products. This means that full automation is often not cost-effective.
A good alternative is the ability to store products for extended periods on a conveyor belt or in special storage systems. This minimises the number of times staff have to remove products from the machine for packaging and keeps labour costs low.
Dark Factory
If automation is implemented successfully and reliably, it is possible to create what is known as a ‘dark factory’, where the lights can literally be left off because no staff need to be present.
Our site in Oud-Beijerland operates autonomously in the evenings, at night and at weekends, without staff being present. At this site, De Beer Plastics therefore manufactures only products that are suitable for this type of operation.
At De Beer Plastics’ other sites, we apply this principle to selected machines in order to optimise efficiency and minimise the human factor.
Moulding challenges into Reality
