Sheet metal storage machines

Bar & Sheet Storage

Sheet Metal Storage

KASTO is a world leader in the manufacture of automated storage systems for long stock and sheet. Our storage solutions can be supplied in isolation or linked to sawing machines, or indeed to other machine tools such as lathes and sheet metal profilers. An extensive variety of systems is offered, allowing each solution to be tailored accurately to the customer's needs and budget.

The rationale is to use the height of a building to maximise the amount of material that may be stocked within a given footprint, resulting in efficient material storage and optimal space utilisation. Standardised modules form the basis of the systems, allowing a high degree of customisation at economic prices.

KASTO acts, depending on application and requirement, either as a supplier of components and sub-systems or as a turnkey contractor responsible for an entire process, from analysis through design and installation to service back-up.

STORAGE AND HANDLING OF SHEET METAL

With around 1,250 automated systems in use worldwide at stockholders and manufacturing companies, either for storage or combined storage and sawing of long stock (bar, tube, profile), the German company KASTO diversified in 2005 into the manufacture of storage systems for sheet metal and plate.

The entire internal logistics of sheet metal is catered for, from semi-automatic, compact storage systems up to high-performance storage centres including handling units and conveyors for automatic supply of sheet metal to processing machines such as turret punch presses, laser profilers, plasma cutting centres and water jet cutting machines.

COMPACT LIFT

Compact Lift is a simple, semi-automatic sheet storage system for small, medium and large format sheet. Capacity of the gantry crane is 3 t, sheet being stored either on pallets or on cantilever arms. Ergonomic, simple operating elements promote safety and ease of use.

TOWER STORAGE SYSTEMS

Tower Storage Systems are also compact, designed as a single or double tower to store relatively small quantities, and may be used as a buffer in flexible manufacturing systems. The towers have a large storage to footprint ratio to heights of 20 metres. Up to 100 storage locations accept loads totalling up to 5 t. Flat and bar products as well as pallets can be handled and stored in addition to sheet.

Up to 30 automatic picks per hour results in highly productive material supply to machine tools or dispatch. Longitudinal or lateral stations with carts can be installed for handling, as well as an unpacking or commissioning table.

STACKING CRADLE SYSTEMS

Using a company's own craneage, KASTO's manual and automatic Stacking Cradle Systems are best suited to storing medium to large quantities. Using a spreader beam, several cradles can be restacked at the same time. The systems are ideal for bulky goods with storage lengths of up to 24 metres. Further characteristics are easy access and simple operation. Stacking cradle systems can be up to eight metres high and contain approximately 1,000 storage locations.

GANTRY STORAGE SYSTEMS

Gantry Storage Systems, due to their flexible arrangement and the design of the storage, are suitable for small to medium size industrial facilities. The gantry design, with an operating crane moving over the top of the store, allows easy and economic extension when capacity needs to be increased quickly. System heights of three to eight metres are possible and almost any number of levels may be specified. Maximum load per cassette is 3 t and 24 picks per cycle per hour are achievable.

UNIFLEX

The UNIFLEX Longitudinal Storage System is designed as a single- or double-sided facility starting with around 200 single-deep storage locations for pallets of all sheet sizes. These systems can be built either as a rack-supported silo-construction up to 25 metres high with roof and wall cladding, or as a stand-alone storage unit in an existing building. The optional KASTO random access principle speeds order processing.

UNICOMPACT

UNICOMPACT Honeycomb System storage is mainly used in steel and metal distribution centres as well as for water jet or laser processing of large sheets. The characteristics of these automatic, high-performance cassette systems are high storage density, synchronous vertical and horizontal movement of the gantry crane and optimised, intelligent storage according to whether the stock is fast, medium or slow moving.

Cassette removal and replacement of the previously picked cassette is carried out in one sequence for efficient handling and stock can be output to various discharge points or commissioning tables to serve multiple sheet processing stations. Double-deep storage of cassettes is an option, according to storage density and speed of pick required.

These systems are built to heights of between four and 26 metres and for cassettes with a capacity of up to eight tones each. The storage volume is between 500 and 4,000 cassettes. Due to highly dynamic drives for operating the gantry crane, up to 60 cycles per hour are possible. Optionally, weighing devices can be integrated into the gantry crane or the workstations.

The UNICOMPACT's host computer can be interfaced with the in-house developed inventory control computer, KASTOlvr, as can any other upstream, enterprise-wide logistics system. On request, specific CNC processing machines for sheet metal can be supplied with order data via the inventory control computer, allowing fully automatic order processing.

KASTO supplies different solutions for automating sheet metal handling. The highlight is an automatic material commissioning system, with which sheet up to 360 kg in various formats can be processed. The commissioning system adjusts automatically to sheet size, material and quality, handling sheet steel of thickness from 0.5 to 20 mm and non-ferrous sheet from 0.5 to 30 mm thick. Up to five sheets can be commissioned per minute.