From shavers to washing machines
Since the very outset, Bihler technology and household equipment have been linked inseparably. Components produced on Bihler production systems can be found in many areas of our daily life. In electric shavers, the oscillating head ensures shaving without injury.
In washing machines, damping elements guarantee that the washing machine does not start to bounce during the spin cycle. Energy-saving lamps illuminate our living space and outlets provide power for all electrical appliances.
Switched on!
Light switches
Light switches are not only used to switch indoor lighting on and off but are now fullyfledged designer products whose switch and frame elements are crafted to blend perfectly into the user’s particular habitat concept. Nevertheless, the true strength of any switch is to be found in its complex inner workings. These comprise a number of contact parts, a retaining spring, a box terminal, fixing screws and the housing. If the switch element is to function reliably then it is essential that all the components are manufactured in high quality and assembled without error.
These high production requirements can be optimally fulfilled by a BIMERIC BM 3000 used in combination with a RM 40 – in an end-to-end, fully automated manufacturing process. The BM 3000 starts by manufacturing three of the contact parts, including the stamping, bending and resistance welding of the silver contact wire. At the same time, the RM 40 produces the stainless-steel retaining springs. These parts are fed on the strip to the BM 3000 and are simply mounted in the corresponding contact parts at the machine. The injection-molded switch housings are then fed to the BM 3000, which separates the fully assembled metal parts and mounts the individual assemblies in the switch housing. This solution operates at a process speed of 65 finished switch elements per minute.
Securely protected
Protective contact
The protective contact (Schuko) in sockets plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of electrical equipment. It does this by grounding the equipment, that is to say connecting it to Earth. This grounding is essential in order to drain off dangerous voltages in the event of a fault or short-circuit and prevent users from being exposed to electric shocks. The two top ends of the ground connector can be seen as shiny metal lugs positioned ahead of the actual electrical contacts in the socket. When a plug is inserted, these protective contacts first come up against the corresponding grounding points in the plug. This early connection ensures that the housing of a faulty device is grounded before any electricity is able to flow.
A Multicenter MC 82 is the ideal choice for the manufacture of the six-part ground connector. First of all, the connector and the box are stamped and bended on the machine. The two metal lugs, which are also known as fingers, and the retaining spring and plastic release toggle are then fed in and assembled. During the manufacturing process, a conveyor belt transports the ground connector over both machine faces. The component is then separated and passed on to a measuring cell that uses a cycle-synchronized camera to check that the products are completely free from any defects.
Sharp blades
Razor blades
Even safety razors, particularly the blades, contain a wealth of Bihler technology. For their production, individual magazines with 4,000 pre-ground, flat blades each are fed to the RM 40K mechanical stamping and forming machine. The machine then isolates the separate blades and cuts the side contours, creates the bend and sharpens the blades.
The highly efficient machine and tool concept ensures optimal handling of the individual blades. At the same time, the smallest possible bending angle for the extremely hard material can be achieved.
Securely anchored
Anchor bolts
Anchor bolts are the go-to solution whenever it is necessary to fix particularly heavy loads to concrete or stone surfaces. To fit them in place, it is simply necessary to drive the highstrength steel bolts into a suitable hole and make sure they are flush on the component that is to be secured. The anchor is then tensioned using the nut. The vital element is the integrated expansion sleeve at the bottom end of the bolt: As the tensioning screw or cone is screwed in, the sleeve expands until it is tight against the wall of the hole, thereby ensuring that the component is securely anchored.
One ideal solution for manufacturing these complex, multi-part anchor bolts is a BIMERIC BM 4500 servo production and assembly system, for example. The system feeds the bolt in, aligns it and mounts the fed-in sleeve on it. The sleeve is then inspected, the red ring that stops it from turning together with the bolt is mounted and the washer and nut are also fed in and mounted. Finally, the correct number of finished anchor bolts are placed in packaging units and removed from the process. This solution is particularly advantageous due to the high quality and speed of the joining and assembly technology. Throughput of between 80 and 120 parts per minute is possible depending on the size of the bolt.
Opening rooms
Window fittings
Windows and doors create open spaces and offer protection at the same time. The fittings and hinges as the interface between inside and outside are especially important. They ensure that windows and doors open and close properly even after many years of use. Today, every window contains a healthy portion of Bihler technology. Material-efficient manufacturing solutions for window fittings are our specialty. For instance, for corner guides, belt rollers, spring tapes or window locks.
In the case of a control plate for adjusting the window lock mechanism, the customer saves 75% material with the Bihler manufacturing solution on a Multicenter MC 120 compared to using progressive equipment, and tool life is five times longer. By compressing the material during the Bihler production process, the final assembly also offers significantly better mechanical properties.
Taking the weight
Snow guards
Snow guards make sure that snow and ice stay on the roof rather than causing snow slides. The snow guards are rather like hooks, which are fitted over the entire surface of the roof, and can be attached to virtually any type of roof tile. All the snow guards have an identical triangular element that restrains the snow, but their length, the drilling pattern and bending will vary depending on how they are secured and on the construction of the roof.
The COMBITEC CC1 Forming Center is ideal for manufacturing the sizable stamped and formed metal parts, as its high press and bending forces were specially conceived to produce long, large precision parts. As well as the high production speed of up to 60 parts per minute, the Forming Center also scores through short setup times when changing the variant being manufactured.
Reliable power supplier
Socket for concealed installation
Sockets are becoming ever more important in every field of work and daily life. Ultimately, it is not only necessary to power conventional energy consumers such as lamps, vacuum cleaners or electric shavers, but also to constantly recharge all the more recent devices such as smartphones, notebooks and tablets. The employed sockets are highly complex components consisting of many individual parts. These include, for example, the base plate, the connecting terminals, the casing, screws and plug contacts. All these parts must be manufactured and assembled to a high level of precision, not least in order to be able to reliably guarantee the safety of the electrical circuit.
The socket pictured here, which is designed for concealed installation, is manufactured on a BIMERIC servo production and assembly system. The system is perfectly configured to manufacture this complex assembly in full in one end-to-end operating process. During this process, all the individual components are not only machined precisely and efficiently but, at the same time, are also assembled to form the finished final product. The BIMERIC ensures maximum process stability and reliability during the operation. The complete system is intuitively controlled using the VariControl controller.
Optimum control
Kick-over spring contact
Starting a washing machine sets a complex process in motion that involves a wide variety of components. One of the key components is the pressure switch. Its kick-over spring contact controls the water level in the drum and ensures that the water is warm at the right time. To do this, the pressure switch opens and closes circuits that switch a solenoid valve and the heating element on or off. Production of the kick-over contacts involves forming, welding, riveting, feeding and assembling.
In practice, the entire process is carried out by a BIMERIC servo production and assembly system. It manufactures the complex assembly at 100 to 120 parts per minute at a single station, with the machine and the process being controlled from a central unit. The five welding points are also controlled and monitored by a central welding controller. Additional reliability and 100 percent component quality are ensured by integrated test stations and seamless process monitoring. At the same time, the system boasts optimum accessibility and short changeover and setup times.
b.inside - manufacturing examples
Safely powered
Triple socket outlet / Switzerland
Whether you want to listen to the radio, switch on the shaver or enjoy a cup of freshly made coffee: The sockets that supply these devices with electricity can be found everywhere - like the pictured triple socket outlet from Switzerland. Its inner workings conceal a sophisticated interaction of very different parts: from the metal baseplate through a range of plug contacts and on to the casing.
The solution for the complex production of this assembly consisting of 19 parts is provided by the Bihler BIMERIC BM 3000 servo production and assembly system. This end-to-end system starts by manufacturing the spring clips before then stamping out the baseplates and welding the spring clips to them. The assembly is then inserted in the casing, the intermediate plate is placed in position and the plug contacts, which are produced in parallel, are attached. In this way, 15 ready-to-use triple socket outlets leave the production line every minute.
For more info on flexible production of sockets and light switches, click here.
A small button with a big impact
NEMA switch
Switches such as the North American NEMA designs have a plastic body below the switch or button itself which contains numerous stamped and bended metal parts. Bihler of America Inc. has been manufacturing every aspect of these components for more than 35 years in end-to-end, fully automated production lines which perform all the required operations from the raw materials stage through to the packaged finished product. A Bihler GRM 80 stamping and forming machine and a BZ 2 processing center are used to produce the necessary stamped and bended parts.
The systems are equipped with all the required process modules for welding, thread cutting, screw insertion, feeding, testing and marking. The process also involves a number of special machines, which have been developed and constructed inhouse by BoA and are connected to the Bihler machines. All the required plastic parts are also manufactured by BoA on Arburg injection molding machines. Each of the lines outputs complete packaging units at the rate of 120 switches per minute. The fully automated manufacturing process ensures optimum efficiency and vertical integration, in particular because all the systems are connected to one another via a sophisticated pallet system.
