Europe’s leading manufacturer of household appliances BSH standardizes pressing and joining processes in washing machine production using the mechatronic Smart Function Kit Pressing subsystem from Bosch Rexroth. This minimizes the time required from engineering to quality control and increases flexibility, stability, and transparency in the production network.
The BSH Group employs around 60,000 people and manufactures household appliances for well-known brands such as Bosch and Siemens. The mechatronic servo presses based on the Smart Function Kit Pressing increase efficiency, quality, and transparency in the production network. As an energy-efficient standard solution for pressing and joining tasks, they also replace pneumatic systems. The first task at the Spanish La Cartuja plant was to fix a critical seal between the drum shaft and the water container. The new servo press worked reliably from the very first minute with over 99 percent OK parts. This was followed by 21 more servo presses for similar tasks at different locations.
Easy implementation and quality control
Consistent digital design, configuration and ordering via Rexroth eTools ensures time savings in engineering. The pre-installed operating software of the Smart Function Kit Pressing shortens implementation with a commissioning wizard, graphical programming and prepared function blocks for simple line integration. The servo press receives current process parameters such as positions and forces automatically from the higher-level control. For user-friendly quality monitoring, the operating software’s web-based dashboard displays the force-displacement curve as well as the process result as OK/NOK rating. The process data is transferred to various systems, including the BSH Cloud, for analysis. The new transparency allows processes to be constantly improved and errors to be eliminated quickly.
Challenge
Improve assembly, energy efficiency, and quality control in washing machine manufacturing.
Solution
Multiple servo presses based on the Smart Function Kit Pressing with pre-installed operating software, including quality monitoring and transfer of process data.
Result
“With Smart Function Kit Pressing, we have been able to standardize important pressing and joining tasks at a global level in a future-proof manner, and achieve sustainable energy savings.” Maximilian Aßmuth, Laundry Care Industrial Engineering Team
