Jul 06, 2023 
Scheugenpflug, part of the Atlas Copco Group, is stepping up the pace to retain its position as the market leader in the face of international competition. This specialist company in automated dispensing is meeting the ever-present demand for shorter throughput times and once again bringing innovative ideas and solutions to the market. With its system solution consisting of a new high-speed linear-axis material handling system and high-performance dispensing unit, the subsidiary of global player Atlas Copco has achieved a four-fold increase in speed. Atlas Copco also sets itself high targets for CO2 savings throughout its product portfolio. Customers and partners of Atlas Copco have been the first in the world to experience technology models and new systems at TechDays at the headquarters of Scheugenpflug, part of Atlas Copco, in Neustadt/Donau, Bavaria.
Increasing speed in all areas is the number one topic in industry because the world is changing, and the rate of change is increasing. And that goes for customers of Scheugenpflug, the expert in automated dispensing solutions in the Atlas Copco Group. Performance, improved cycle times (the time between accepting an order and handing over the product to the customer) and above all speed in combination with sustainability are challenges those customers have to face. Atlas Copco is aware of these challenges, which is why the slogan for this year’s in-house TechDays fair at the Scheugenpflug business line was “The Speed to Exceed – We’re setting the pace – sustainably.”
Premiers at Scheugenpflug
Customers were the first in the world to experience a completely new technology model for high-speed linear axes. An axis acceleration nine times that of the Earth enables a significantly lower cycle time per component to be achieved. The time for live potting of a customer component has been reduced from 40 seconds to just 9, in other words less than a quarter of the time.
Atlas Copco's Industrial Assembly Solutions (IAS) division develops technologies and solutions aimed at optimising production processes in the electronics and automotive industries, combining automation and sustainability.
The IDDA.Seal Cell, for example, applies material with high precision, thereby guaranteeing protection against corrosion – and it does so faster, with less material waste and therefore more sustainably. Speed is also a factor in the Tightening Cell, which combines several technologies in a single system. Processes that previously had to be completed one after the other are now automated.
“Speed is non-negotiable. Our customers and partners are our focus. We want to meet their expectations. And we will do so", said Olaf Leonhardt, President of IAS. “Scheugenpflug, part of the Atlas Copco Group, has picked up the pace.”
Innovations in inline inspection systems also impressed the visitors. RTVision.3d ensures that beads of adhesives or sealants can be accurately dispensed even if the components are not accurately positioned, eliminating the need for complex and cost-intensive component fixing.
Two versions of the new PailFeed product line were presented. Visitors to TechDays were impressed not only by the recently launched PailFeed 803 but also by the brand-new prototype 903 with a vacuum chamber. Designed for highly productive environments using abrasive materials, PailFeed 903 reduces material losses by over 70 percent.
A dynamic combination
Since 2020, Scheugenpflug has been part of the Atlas Copco Group, a global industrial group based in Sweden. As well as presenting innovative solutions from the Atlas Copco Group, the electronics potting specialist conducted workshops to give participants the opportunity for direct interaction. Participants were able to engage in in-depth discussions on performance and sustainability in material handling as well as inline inspection as a way to save space and cycle time. The workshop units on the rheological effects of adhesives and the factors for successful and sustainable bonding contained valuable know-how for speeding up the production process.
“I greatly appreciated this year's TechDays format – the guided tours and workshops gave me an excellent insight into all the exhibits and solutions. It is always great to see the equipment in action. My favorite today was the live inline inspection,” said Heinz Neuner, Process Technology Development Electronics at ZF Friedrichshafen. “The bandwidth of technologies presented thanks to the connection with Atlas Copco obviously had enormous added value for us visitors.”
There will soon be three times more physical space than before for these technologies because the site in Neustadt/Donau is currently the scene of intensive construction work. The new Atlas Copco Electronics Competence Center will be opened in 2024. At Scheugenpflug’s next TechDays the theme will once again be innovation for greater speed.
