The future of e-mobility

Medebach. What does modern mechanical and system engineering have to do with sustainable mobility? In short: Without it, no electric-drive car would make it onto the road. The awarding of a major order from GF Casting Solutions in Werdohl to Paul Köster GmbH is the best example of this. The special machine experts from Medebach manufactured a state-of-the-art production system with intelligent software and a high degree of automation for the solution provider of lightweight components in the mobility sector. No fewer than four different housings for Audi-brand drive units in the e-mobility sector are processed in this system and checked for leaks. It was a challenging project with an order volume of around 10 million euros from the Sauerland for the Sauerland, that was successfully implemented and is delivering very good results.

High degree of automation

The requirements profile for this special machine was enormous. It not only takes up a complete production hall in Werdohl, but also accomplishes very different steps in processing, cleaning, assembly and leak testing, especially for each of the four housings. This smooth interaction requires the use of modern software and intelligent control technology, which not only ensures the best possible quality by means of high process reliability, but also creates the prerequisites for independently checking the processing steps to detect possible errors and avoid them in advance. “This project was an exciting challenge for our experts, who successfully implemented and bore responsibility for all project steps from conception to commissioning of the system. It was against this backdrop that the overall concept of the system had to be flexibly adapted to the customer’s wishes in the ongoing production process. In this way, we have found solutions to integrate both the desired expansion of production capacities and the machining of certain housings into the production line,” says Christopher Köster, a member of the sales team at Paul Köster GmbH.

Software and control technology is increasingly important

A decisive factor in the production of this system was the high degree of automation. Despite the size of the system and its complex purposes, the employees of GF Casting Solutions in Werdohl only need to perform the loading and monitoring, as well as a few other preparatory tasks. Coordinated via the control technology, all other steps in the machining of the four housing types are performed, among other things, by 14 robots that interact with the system’s individual machines. The processing steps are controlled by 3D cameras. In their function as the “eye” of the system, they examine whether the production steps have been implemented correctly and with the desired quality.

“Both for the customer and thus for us as machine and system manufacturers, modern control technology and software have become an essential element and criterion in the overall concept for optimizing process reliability. Therefore, today’s special mechanical engineering not only impresses with clever mechanical solutions, but also becomes a factor of our customers’ success thanks to the right software,” says Sebastian Biber, Technical Director in the Software Division at Paul Köster GmbH.

Another indispensable factor of success is the expertise of the special mechanical engineering company’s workforce from the Hanseatic city. “A lot of work and expertise has gone into this system. This makes it all the more wonderful when this intensive commitment of our entire team bears fruit and the impressive system is ultimately able to perform its complex tasks to the customer’s satisfaction. That is something we are all very proud of,” emphasizes Christopher Köster. This project is also a good example of “the innovativeness of local companies in the Sauerland, which, as successful employers, strengthen the region as a whole and offer skilled workers and young professionals good prospects for the future.”

And sometimes they also create the conditions for the mobility of the future to put its horsepower to the road.

Would you like to learn more about this technically demanding project? Click here to read the detailed reference project.