December, 2024- Building custom machines can call for a custom material handling system. That was the case with General Kinematics Corp. (GK).
Established 64 years ago and headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, GK manufactures custom vibratory equipment for feeding, screening, conveying, cooling and grinding. “Pretty much anything that vibrates,” says Benjamin Kearns, plant manager. “We build them from the size of your house to the size of your table. Everything is custom, so we don’t build the same machine twice.”
The company employs more than 300 people who work a single shift at its 250,000-sq.-ft . facility, which was expanded by 50,000 sq. ft . last year, he notes. GK has sales and distribution facilities around the globe, but all manufacturing is performed at its headquarters location.
General Kinematics’ magnetic material handling system is primarily used to lift A36 steel.
The challenge for GK when constantly cutting different sizes of parts from different sizes of nests is that workers spent a considerable amount of time unloading parts from its three plasma cutting tables, Kearns says. Aft er examining throughput, the company found that more than half the time was consumed unloading parts, with just about 30 percent spent cutting the steel.
In addition, unloading parts was a manual process, requiring workers to climb up and o machines and walk across the tables’ steel slats to gather them, he says. “We were fortunate to not have any mishaps. I’m surprised nobody fell in and hurt themselves.”
Loren Shedbalkar, a GK laser table operator, positions the magnetic lifter.
The Magswitch material handling system has 120 permanent magnets, which use electric power to shut them off, so if power is lost, the magnets continue to hold parts.
When a part was too large or heavy to move by hand, a 2-sq.-ft . magnet hooked to a crane was used for lifting, Kearns says. The vast majority of the workpieces are Grade A36 steel, with the remainder being Hardox, AR and other hardened steel plate.
Seeking a solution to unload parts faster so its cutting machines have more uptime, GK researched several manufacturers of material handling systems, Kearns says, and selected Superior, Colorado headquartered Magswitch Technologies based on a recommendation from a vendor and after seeing one of its magnetic material handling systems at a trade show.
Boosting throughput was a major motivator in switching from unloading parts manually, but not the primary one. “That’s really why we went with this is to eliminate people from ever having to climb up on the table again.”
CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUNICATION
The design process for the magnetic material handling system began with GK providing a couple of programs for the types of parts they produce and then continuing with conversations between teams at both companies to iron out the particulars, he explains. “We knew what we needed, but we weren’t 100 percent sure of what the fine details were.”
After about a 16-week design and build process, Magswitch delivered the system this past summer. It measures 8 ft . by 20 ft. and has a 26,000-lb. capacity. Magswitch designed the magnetic lift er to lift parts larger than a 3-in. circle, which Kearns says cover 99 percent of the parts GK produces.
Along with the lifter, Kearns says GK purchased a fiber laser cutting machine, which is the machine that the parts handler primarily services. “We wrapped it all up into one big capital plan for the laser and magnet together.”
Once a nest of parts is cut, the parts handling system, which is craned over to the cutting table, comes down and picks up the entire nest, parts and skeleton. It is then transported to an unload table, where parts are separated and sorted. The parts are then identified with a part number and other information, placed on a pallet and sent to the t up and welding yards where GK builds its machines.
Compared to the manual method, the magnetic lift er enables workers to clear the entire table and sort a nest of parts o to the side while the next plate is being processed, Kearns says. Previously, workers could only put the next plate on a machine to cut it once all the finished parts were removed.
CLEARING THE TABLE
Manually unloading a typical nest of parts takes about 15 minutes to two hours. With Magswitch’s parts handling system, the table can be cleared in 60 to 90 seconds. Kearns estimates that utilization on the laser would be 30 percent less without the lifter.
The system has 24 banks and five permanent magnets per bank. Those 120 magnets use electric power to shut them o, so if power is lost, the magnets continue to hold parts, Kearns explains. “That’s something that really kind of sold us on it is just the safety side. If something was to go wrong, it can’t demagnetize.”
In addition, each bank of magnets is on a separate circuit, he continues. “Even if there was a malfunction, I wouldn’t lose the entire thing but only four or five magnets.”
Before GK’s custom parts handling system arrived, Magswitch provided a demo unit for GK to try and evaluate, Kearns says, as well as a smaller unit with an 11,000-lb. capacity. “We ended up buying that one as well.”
Because GK was tight for time, and there were delays in oversea shipments of magnets and logistic snarls caused by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, he says there was no ramp-up period prior to direct delivery of the material handling system to GK. After the system was tested, GK was up and running within four hours of its arrival.
Kearns adds that Magswitch technicians stayed three to four days to ensure that there were no issues and trained all potential operators. About 10 workers received training, which consumed less than an hour, and five or six workers use the new lift equipment regularly.
The magnetic lifter measures 8 ft. by 20 ft. and has a capacity of 26,000 lbs.
Maintenance is minimal, he says, requiring workers to brush o shavings and mill scale from the magnets and bottom of the system. “It doesn’t carry magnetism once it’s shut o , so it doesn’t really build up shavings too often.” A repair, however, was needed after the system was incorrectly set down and pinched a cable, Kearns says. Magswitch arrived the next day and had it back up and running in one day. “Their service was excellent. My guys, there’re always good at pushing everything to its limits, finding its breaking point.”
General Kinematics Corp., 815/455-3222, http://generalkinematics.com/
Magswitch Technologies, 303/468-0662, http://magswitch.com/