The Belgian company Winsol is pursuing ambitious expansion plans. Therefore, the specialist for premium sun protection invested in a more flexible, faster, and more efficient production. The aluminum profiles for the Red Dot Design Award-winning Pergola SO! and Pergola Z!P have been processed on an SBZ 140 from elumatec since the beginning of 2021.
High corrosion resistance, low weight and the many possibilities for customizing surfaces have meant that aluminum is also booming as a material in the construction sector. At the same time, more and more suppliers are entering the attractive market for aluminum patio roofs, pergolas, awnings, and garage doors. With 400 employees and three plants, the Winsol Group from Izegem is one of the established Belgian manufacturers in the sun protection sector. The company was founded in 1876 by carpenter Jules Windels for the production of wooden roller shutters. In 1993, the company began producing sectional doors, followed in 1996 by the decisive step: entry into aluminum construction. There are many reasons why the company is now able to increasingly serve markets outside Belgium. Three of them stand out: high quality, continuous optimization of production efficiency, and impressive innovative strength.
Hans Dejonckheere Plant Manager Helios Aalter, Winsol
and Vincent Vandevelde, Technical Sales Engineer Consultant Belgium elumatec
Copyright: elumatec AG, Mühlacker
Precision for award-winning Winsol products
For the Pergola SO! received the coveted Red Dot Design Award in 2019. It is characterized by an intelligent motor control. With the help of geolocation, the slats are automatically aligned according to the position of the sun. In 2020, the SolarFix vertical awning also received the Red Dot Design Award. And in 2021, the slat roofs Pergola Z!P and Z!P CUBE with retractable folding roof and many comfort functions such as Bluetooth speaker, LED lighting, side screen that can be used as a screen or infrared heating will even be awarded the excellence rating "Best of the Best".
The innovative premium products are a perfect door opener for attractive markets such as Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and France. To meet the growing demand, Winsol invested in a new SBZ 140 CNC machining center from elumatec at the beginning of 2021.
elumatec SBZ 140 profile machining center at Winsol
All operations, such as routing, drilling and tapping, are performed while the profile bar is stationary to protect the profile surfaces
More production efficiency
The 4-axis bar machining center, designed for the economical and efficient machining of aluminum as well as thin-walled steel profiles, enables milling, drilling and thread cutting while the profile bar is at rest in order to preserve the surface. The workpieces can be machined continuously from - 90° to + 90°.
A travelling tool magazine for up to eight tools ensures short tool change times as well as optimum machining cycles.
Machining with all tools at angles continuously adjustable from -90° to +90°
Optional: Stationary tool magazine (16x)
"It had to be fast," explains Vincent Vandevelde, technical-commercial consultant for Belgium at elumatec. In fact, it was possible to "unload" a just completed sample machine from the company headquarters, which was adapted to Winsol's needs and installed a few weeks after receipt of the order thanks to elumatec's extensive industry experience. The high market penetration and name recognition in Belgium did the rest to quickly build trust in the globally active expert for profile machining.
Continuous data transfer
"Individual production from batch size 1 is the norm in aluminum construction. Manufacturers who gear their machine technology to the greatest possible flexibility and production efficiency can score points here," continues Vandevelde. After all, in such a competitive business environment, speed, delivery reliability and a wide range of variants are real trump cards when it comes to winning new trade partners. Winsol partners can use a configurator to put together each pergola individually. In the next step, it is crucial how this individual data can be transferred to the machine without a lot of manual programming.
elucad software for a seamless data transfer from the configurator to the machine control system
elumatec brought its own eluCad software into play because it enables seamless data transfer from the configurator to the machine control system via a simple CSV import. elumatec also supported Winsol in creating the master programs for processing the different profile types.
Operating unit profile machining center SBZ 140
Preparation of Industry 4.0
From the point of view of the mechanical engineering company from Mühlacker in Swabia, programming software is only the first step towards digitization. The trend towards more automation and end-to-end networking is also tangible in industries that were once heavily influenced by craftsmanship. With the eluCad programming software, the eluCam control software and the eluCloud cloud solution for machine data acquisition and analysis, users can be provided with the right software tools at every stage of digitization - of this they are convinced in Mühlacker.
Hans Dejonckheere, Plant Manager sun shading, Winsol (Aalter/Belgium)
Hans Dejonckheere, plant manager for sun shading at Winsol, on the decision in favor of elumatec: "The good reputation in the machining of aluminum profiles, especially here in Belgium, has practically preceded elumatec.
SBZ 140 profile machining centre with laser scanner
More information about the company Winsol:
https://www.winsol.eu/nl/particulier/winsol-international
https://www.winsol.be/nl/node/12693/
