New Krauss Maffei MX machine chosen for Ford’s Saarlouis plant in Germany

Krauss-Maffei GmbH of Munich Germany, installed a Krauss-Maffei MX 4000-24500 in September 2009, in Ford’s plant in Saarlouis, Germany, where it is producing bumpers for the passenger car models Focus, Focus ST, C-MAX and Kuga.

Krauss Maffei were selected over other manufacturers due to their excellent service in pre-series acceptance tests, their years of experience in manufacturing very large machines, and the compelling price/performance ratio of the machinery.

The system, painted to customer specifications rather than in the customary Krauss Maffei colours, is fitted with an IR 2100-1000 S/K industrial robot (Kuka KR 210 L100 K). To match the size of the machine, the robot has a payload of 100 kg and a working range of 3,900 mm. It places the plastic parts on a 2-belt conveyor where they are buffered for the 30-minute cooling period. The complete package from Krauss Maffei includes the safety housing, platforms and ladders which allow maintenance access to the injection unit and the clamp.

“It’s foreseeable that in future, automotive parts will become bigger and more complex with every model generation,” explains Serjoscha Skrabs, manager of the plastics plant and bumper painting at Ford in Saarlouis. “The big MX machine is an investment that will continue to pay off in terms of future production tasks,” he continues. Rainer Hoefner, divisional manager for the paint shop and plastics production, adds, “Regular benchmarking shows that running our own injection moulding operation in Saarlouis brings clear efficiency gains. This was the basis for our decision to invest in a big tonnage machine to add to our machine park.”