Tiedt & Iden GmbH & Co. KG

Tiedt & Iden reduces throughput time for a wide range of parts

The north German glass and metal construction company Tiedt & Iden proves that tradition and innovation make a successful duo. For over 100 years, it has consistently attended to the wishes of its customers. Through wise investments, it has opened up new growth opportunities for the future time and again. The SBZ 628 pass-through centre is one example of such an investment.

Bargteheide, which is located about 30 kilometres north-east of Hamburg, is not a metropolis. Nevertheless, a lot of private and public customers from up to 200 kilometres away are attracted to the small town, or more precisely, to Tiedt & Iden, the glass and metal construction company. For good reason: the company, which was founded in 1913 as a glazing company, offers a product and service portfolio that has no equal.

Now in its fourth generation as a family-owned and operated company, it meets all the requirements of its customers at its 1,000 m2 facility: from the manufacture, supply, and installation of windows, doors, facades, and roofing, to additional painting and masonry work - all with high reliability and world-class quality. No wonder the business is booming. For this to continue in the future, it was necessary to expand the machinery.

Strategic step for future growth

Ever tighter delivery schedules were an issue for the company. "In some cases, customers even demand a record of existing machine equipment, which shows that we are able to fulfil orders in the required time", explains Franz Oliver Tiedt, who runs the business together with his father. All machines were working at full capacity due to the high order backlog. There was no room to respond quickly to unpredictable events, such as major projects where the company manufactures up to 600 window units.

However, just increasing the capacity was not enough for Tiedt. He wanted to make a strategic step into the future with this investment. "With the SBZ 628 pass-through centre, we have reached a new level of productivity, flexibility, and automation", says the entrepreneur. "Place the profile bars, let them pass through, and take down the finished parts. We found the concept behind the SBZ 628 to be very convincing." The ring module was especially impressive, which can machine profiles from all sides in any combination of angles between 0 and 360 degrees, and mills accurately to a tenth of a millimetre.

Tiedt: "We benefit from the machine in various ways. We can produce much faster, with more reliability and flexibility, while maintaining impeccable quality."

CEO: Franz Oliver Tiedt

Speed, quality, and process reliability

The SBZ 628 supports the glass and metal engineering company throughout its demanding workday. It supplements the existing main machine, SBZ 150, which still works accurately and reliably even after ten years - only with stationary profile bars, however. When the 5-axis centre was occupied, tasks such as sawing, drilling, or punching were run on three separate machines. SBZ 628, which is designed for one-man operation, now does it all in one go. Profiles must no longer be transported back and forth between the machines. This saves time and effort and protects the profile surfaces. "We can now manufacture a single-wing window in twelve minutes. That took 30-40 minutes previously. Orders that previously required six or seven days for the sawing alone, can now be completely finished in just three days", says Tiedt.

The high level of automation also increases process reliability, and helps to avoid waste. Clerical errors are a thing of the past. The PC-controlled SBZ 628 processes jobs as accurately as a Swiss watch.

Innovative rotary module, equipped with eight spindles

Flexibility makes conversions nearly superfluous

The enormous flexibility of the SBZ 628 also contributes to speed and productivity. Thanks to numerous machining options and adaptable clamping technology, it covers a wide range of tasks in the fields of windows, doors, and facades. Despite different profile types, conversions are the exception, not the rule. The pass-through centre processes profile bars vertically or horizontally, even in large diameters. The SBZ 628 performs milling and drilling tasks with its innovative rotary module, which is equipped with eight spindles. Only special cases, such as block windows, in which the frame covers the window sash, require a tool change. Apart from on-the-fly machining, Tiedt & Iden also uses stationary machining, for example for milling lock cases for doors. In such heavy-duty tasks, the combination clamping system ensures additional process reliability. The profile bar is redirected towards the integrated saw after machining. The max. 650 mm saw blade with stepless pivoting can approach the profile bar from three sides and perform a number of cuts.

The SBZ 628 is very compact, and it requires only a relatively small footprint. The machine's fast installation and elumatec's after sales service left a lasting impression on Tiedt: "It's great when people live their enthusiasm on the job. elumatec's support is exemplary." The initial training went smoothly.

Continuosly pivoting saw blade

Tiedt & Iden uses two different window calculation programs for the data flow to the machine. Machining data from these programs are imported into the profile machining software eluCad, where they are supplemented, if necessary, and sent to the SBZ 628, SBZ 150, or the double mitre saw DG 244. The operator does not need to program; they only need to enter machining data in input fields. "Working with eluCad was smooth and went really well", sums up Franz Oliver Tiedt, who received the profile processing software along with the SBZ 628.

The networked working environment provides an additional productivity boost. "You have to invest if you want to perform well. But good equipment, such as the products made by elumatec, always pays off", says the forward-looking entrepreneur, speaking from experience.

Tiedt & Iden GmbH & Co. KG
Rudolf-Diesel-Strasse 7
D-22941 Bargteheide
Phone: +49 (0) 45 32-71 16
Fax: +49 (0) 45 32-71 10
www.tiedt-iden.de