High-Speed Automatic Sawing System

Jan. 20, 2018
Bimetallic and carbide blade options reduce tooling costs and make sawing operations more efficient.

The KASTOwin pro AC 5.6 sawing system from KASTO MASCHINENBAU is designed for a wide range of applications that require high-speed cutting of hard materials, including steel forging operations. The fully automatic saw is optimized for use with bimetallic and carbide blades, so the operators can reduce their tool costs and make sawing operations significantly faster and more efficient.

In tests for Werner Weitner, a German processor of automotive tooling and engineering steels, the KASTOwin pro achieved maximum cutting times of seven to eight minutes, or about half as long as the sawing systems it replaced.

The saw has been in operation at Werner Weitner for nearly a year, and is powered by an 11-kW frequency-controlled motor that delivers ample power for the use of carbide saw blades. “A major advantage for us is that we can switch between carbide and cheaper HSS steel blades at any time,” according to Florian Winhard, departmental manager for the Weitner sawing operation. The plant is processing not only difficult-to-machine materials, but also commercial-grade construction steels – “and with these we operate considerably more economically with high-speed steel blades,” he added.

The innovative feed system, which can be adjusted steplessly and with high precision by means of two ballscrew spindles, each with a servo drive, ensures optimal performance. The KASTOwin pro AC 5.6 also has a retraction unit on each side for lifting the band from the surface when the saw head moves back. This makes for particularly efficient, exact sawing and minimal tool wear.

The cutting range of the KASTOwin pro is 560 mm and the smallest dimension that can be cut is 25 x 25 mm. Werner Weitner uses the saw mainly for material diameters of 100 to 350 mm.

The shortest remnant piece length is extremely small, 10 mm for individual offcuts, and 35 mm for automatic operation, enabling the plant to minimize raw material waste.

The saw head has a heavy, torsionally rigid, welded structure, ensuring quiet operation and vibration-free operation.

Thanks to the powerful coolant pump and the large coolant tank, the saw blades are protected even with difficult-to-machine materials.

The fully automatic machine is equipped with the powerful EasyControl controller. It is simple to use and reduces idle times in automatic operation for maximum cutting performance. All parameters can be optimized to match the type of blade being used. Orders are input by means of a display, and the material to be sawn is placed manually or by means of an overhead crane on a roller track that feeds it to the machine. When finished, cut pieces are removed by hand and transported by forklift truck or lorry for further machining. “As a result of the reduced cutting times, the sawing process is considerably more efficient and we can process more orders in the same time,” according to Winhard.

Learn more at www.kasto.com