Millimeter-precise removal with a lifting gantry: Bringing in a drop-center milling machine at TRUMPF

Effortlessly done with experience: The SCHOLPP fitters really needed to keep a steady hand for this job for ELHA-MASCHINENBAU Liemke KG. A new drop-center machining center with a total weight of 90 metric tons needed to be brought into the TRUMPF factory building at its site in Haguenau, France. As well as having the heavy weight to contend with, the successful positioning of the machining center was also crucially dependent on the precise positioning of 40 ground anchors in the foundation pit. The challenge was taken on by an experienced lifting gantry operator.

ELHA-MASCHINENBAU from Hövelhof near Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia develops and produces drilling centers, milling centers and transfer centers for the high-production machining of metal parts. SCHOLPP has successfully completed multiple installation projects for ELHA over recent years. This time, a new drop-center machining center, a milling machine with a total weight of approx. 90 metric tons, needed to be brought in at the TRUMPF factory in Haguenau. ELHA delivered the milling center in three components: the stand weighing 25 metric tons, the table (substructure) weighing 35 metric tons and the cross-table weighing 30 metric tons. The largest component was the table (substructure), with a length of almost 7 meters, a width of 4.2 meters and a height of 1.6 meters. The stand measured 5.2 meters (L) x 3.6 meters (W) x 4.0 meters (H) and the cross-table measured 5.5 meters (L) x 3.0 meters (W) x 1.0 meter (H).

40-point precision landing when positioning with the lifting gantry

The five-man SCHOLPP installation team took 14 days to complete the project, including all of the preliminary work such as the assembly of the TG 320 four-post hydraulic lifting gantry. This was the key piece of equipment in the transport chain for this project, the execution of which was split into three key steps. The first step involved unloading the table (the heaviest component) off the truck and transporting it to the factory dispatch hall using indoor cranes. At the junction to the production hall, the component was set down onto a Robot 40 self-driving heavy-duty transport trolley for transfer to the lifting gantry. The lifting gantry then transferred it to the pit and set it down in the final installation position. The utmost care was now required: 35 metric tons needed to be precisely positioned on 40 fixing anchors. This was equivalent to threading 40 pieces of yarn through 40 sewing needles at the same time, and was a job for one of the most experienced lifting gantry operators on the SCHOLPP team. After carrying out a final check of the dimensions, Axel Giera took hold of the lifting gantry control unit and lowered the milling table: a 40-point precision landing.

Client praises the excellent maneuvering by the SCHOLPP team

The precise adjustment and setting down of the table (also referred to as the substructure or machine bed) using a hydraulic lifting gantry is a maneuver that only very few fitters can carry out with this level of reliability. Excellent work, as clients ELHA and TRUMPF acknowledged: no drawn-out maneuvering and no endless up and down using the trial and error method; instead, the work was performed effortlessly, with specialist expertise and drawing on personal experience. The second step of the project involved the lateral transport and positioning of the cross-table onto the substructure. This was carried out in the same way and with the same equipment. The third and final step involved bringing in the X stand. The stand was unloaded in front of the dispatch hall using the truck-mounted crane and was then placed directly onto the Robot 40 heavy-duty transport trolley for transfer. The lifting gantry then positioned the stand within the system. The EHLA team was then immediately able to carry out the mechanical and electrical installation work as well as the preparation for commissioning.