| Clean solution |
KBK crane by Demag supports clean-room assembly
Equipped for clean-room applications, Demag Cranes & Components has modified a double-girder overhead travelling crane from the KBK crane construction kit in such a way that the Swiss company Högg AG is able to build complete sub-assemblies under clean-room conditions with this clean solution. In this way, Demag proves once more that the KBK system is suitable for universal applications.
Established in 1905 and turned into a stock company in 1973, Högg AG is specialised in sophisticated mechanical manufacturing processes. Including engineering and system responsibility. The company, which operates all over Europe, is based in Lichtensteig in the Swiss canton St. Gallen. Here, the company plans and produces prototypes, one-off parts and series parts as well as complete system components for its customers. Its core expertise includes profile engineering and CNC machining.
Högg decided to enter the realm of clean-room production in the summer of 2004. Parallel to this premiere, the company invested in two double-girder overhead travelling cranes from Demag Cranes & Components, consisting of modules from the KBK crane construction kit. One of the cranes is used direct in the clean room for the assembly of components, of which some are very voluminous and heavy. Demag utilised the KBK II profile section for the crane and its track, which is approximately 30 metres in length. The span measures some five metres. The load is picked up by a DKES chain hoist fitted with a single hook. The customer decided in favour of a cable-connected control pendant for the controls.
As a service provider, Högg assembles complete sub-assemblies under clean-room conditions, above all products for the semi-conductor industry and for customers in the vacuum and solar engineering sectors. The requirements for this are ideal. The air in the 200 square metre clean room is at least 100 times cleaner than in an office. The clean room at Högg corresponds to Class 10.000.
The permissible values for particle contamination are specified by the international ISO 14644 standard. Högg meets these requirements, for example, by multiple filtering of the air and ventilating the room with overpressure. In addition, the workers wear clothing appropriate for the application. Furthermore, the clean room can only be entered via adhesive foot mats and an air lock.
Demag Cranes & Components provided the crane that operates in the clean room with the corresponding equipment. The modifications include clean-room grade paint, enclosed chain systems and encapsulated electrical components.
The average weight of the components to be handled is between one and five kilograms. However, parts weighing up to 1,000 kilograms frequently have to be handled, too. In contrast, the full load capacity of two tonnes is rarely needed. Without the crane, Högg would be unable to move or assemble the parts. And forklift trucks cannot be used due to the abrasion of their wheels and the contamination emanating from their hydraulic units, in any case.
The components to be assembled are delivered by the relevant customers to a preliminary air lock, where they are unpacked. Högg produces some of the parts itself and cleans them in special installations, before they are transported through the preliminary air lock into the clean room. The air is also exchanged in the lock, where constant clean-room conditions do not prevail. Here, heavy parts are handled by the second double-girder overhead travelling crane, which is also made from KBK II profile sections and provides a load capacity of two tonnes.
The KBK system developed by Demag Cranes & Components can be used to build a wide variety of cranes and suspension monorails from only a few standard modules, regardless of whether they are used for a simple suspension monorail or for complex material flow solutions. The profile sections of the crane construction kit are available in steel and aluminium. KBK cranes utilise the free space beneath the ceiling, thus leaving floor space free for production and assembly.
Högg selected Demag Cranes & Components as the supplier as the company already operates cranes from the manufacturer and is highly satisfied with them. And because the solution represented good value for money. Furthermore, Demag was one of the small number suppliers who are even able to offer installations suitable for clean-room applications.
The cranes operate with an availability rate of almost 100 per cent. A maintenance contract, which Högg concluded with the Swiss Demag subsidiary Demag Cranes & Components AG, Dietlikon, ensures the high level of availability. The contract covers some 40 cranes. In most cases, they are KBK cranes with a load capacity of one tonne.
About Demag Cranes & Components
Demag Cranes & Components GmbHbased in Wetter/ Ruhr is a subsidiary of Demag Cranes AG and a supplier of industrial cranes and crane components for material flow, logistics and industrial drive applications. Services, such as spare parts, maintenance and refurbishment services, are another key element of the Group’s business activities. With more than 650,000 “Demag” brand electric cranes and hoists for industrial applications in operation, the company has the largest installed base worldwide and operates in 20 countries with some 4,900 employees.
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Contact:
Corporate Communications
Demag Cranes & Components
Mr Christoph Kreutzenbeck
Tel. +49 (0) 2335 / 92-7333
