Lindbäcks Bygg AB – a company in the industrial production of house modules for multi-family houses – has equipped its modern plant in Piteå, northern Sweden, with a long-distance transport system. A main supplier of the transport solution is Nord Drivesystems.
The 322 m long and 96 m wide manufacturing hall of the “super factory” has a production and logistics area of 31,000 square meters and was designed in a way that matches all processes. Digitalisation and automation solutions had a key role here. The aim: a leaner production and therefore an efficiency increase. 40 square metres of flat modules are to be manufactured every half hour. That is 1,600 apartments per year and places high demands on operational safety.
Gear Units and Motors from the Drive Specialist
A material train supplies materials for roofs and walls at the different workstations. Nail machines deliver pre-nailed panels and long conveyor belts successively feed the future house modules. The drive and control devices of all these transport solutions, machines and assembly lines collect their power from a large number of geared motors and frequency inverters – of which almost 70 percent come from the North German drive specialist Nord Drivesystems.
Low operating costs
The drive system of the conveyor system move goods at great distances with low operating costs and energy-saving functions. A simple installation using industrial plug connectors ensures a quick and faultless installation whilst, at the same time, an easy replacement. “Each movement must be performed with maximum safety and reliability. Therefore, we have a large range of mechanical, electrical and electronic drive technology – from energy-efficient geared motors right up to matching drive electronics, decentralised or in the control cabinet,” emphasises Thobias Sundström, account manager at Nord Drivesystems.
Optimised transport of material
The material supply train not only provides smooth deliveries to the various mounting stations, but also reduces the number of trucks in the factory, thereby increasing safety. The supply train also helps to streamline the packing work at the logistics department. The carriages follow a certain timetable and are loaded with exactly the material that the respective assembly station needs. Since the material train is very long, the carriages have been equipped with a positioning system. This function of the Nord Drivesystems’ drive electronics helps at the unloading and loading stations: It serves the driver to know exactly where the trailer is.
Environmentally friendly and Sustainability
The “super factory” does not only support an automated and lean production to create a leading and modern industrial house production. At least as important is to create a production facility that is as environmentally and sustainably as possible. Therefore, the new factory has solar panels on the roof, which account for a large part of the annual electricity requirement.
Source: Nord Drivesystems
