Hands-on experience with auxiliaries in the WITTMANN showroom in Wolkersdorf
13.04.2018
The production plant in Wolkersdorf near Vienna, to which the Bulk Material Handling Department of the WITTMANN Group moved in October 2015, houses not only the sheet metal processing and powder coating equipment, but also the various assembly lines for single and central material loaders, compact dryers and central material dryers, as well as blenders. The facility also includes a spacious warehouse and, as a special attraction, a showroom with about 270 m² exhibition floor space dedicated entirely to bulk material handling systems for up-to-date presentation of the entire product portfolio at any time.
As soon as the company building comes into view on arrival at the premises of the WITTMANN Group in Wolkersdorf near Vienna, the viewer’s eyes are immediately caught by the distinctive, large glazed exterior of the showroom.
In this showroom, the entire range of bulk material auxiliaries from WITTMANN has been installed for training purposes. Here, visitors can inspect a great variety of individual appliances and test their functionalities and performance. Whether the objects of interest are small material loaders or central material transport and drying systems – every possible aspect of materials handling can be demonstrated here, including various intelligent solutions for central conveying control systems. In this area, major emphasis is also placed on the demonstrating and discussing special mechanisms in individual appliances. For example, one of these detail solutions of general interest to visitors is the pneumatic material discharge shut off valve of the FEEDMAX material loaders. Comprehensive information can also be gathered about various drying methods, whether based on the 2-cartridge principle or on a segmented wheel – the latter is the central piece of the ATON dry air dryer from WITTMANN. GRAVIMAX gravimetric blenders are available for visitors to try out the self-explanatory parameter setting system and to experience the high-precision operation of these appliances. And the structure and mechanisms of the appliances are explained as well, for instance by a detailed description of the functionality of the WITTMANN material dryers.
Central systems play an important role in materials handling at WITTMANN. Consequently, a complete system is available for training purposes in Wolkersdorf. Its characteristics are identical with those of a system actually operating in a real production plant, demonstrating the material flow from the material source (e.g. a mobile container) to the drying system, and from there via a RFID-coded CODEMAX coupling station to the consumer.
Even those questions concerning the use of bulk material auxiliaries which are normally regarded as rather marginal often come more to the fore and become clearer following a tour of the showroom in Wolkersdorf. Here, visitors can gather first experience with the control functions intended to minimize errors – such as coded material sources, to prevent errors when material containers are exchanged, or to stop unauthorized persons from handling the material. And the functionality of a frequency-controlled drying system can be studied as well on the system installed on site, which activates an additional auxiliary dryer when required or deactivates it as soon as the additional drying capacity is no longer needed.