“The quality and precision of reinforcement processing, excellent communication with mbk, competent and prompt customer support with the resulting very minimal downtimes, as well as mbk’s in-house spare parts production,” explains Managing Director Andreas Böck, “are decisive advantages that will positively influence our everyday production in the future.”

Utilising precast concrete elements is highly efficient thanks to their great structural, energetic, economic and visual advantages. That is why their production must run just as efficiently in a factory and always deliver the same quality. This is assured, among other things, by mbk’s in-house laboratory and by the Materials Testing Office for Building Structures, Solid Construction Department, at the Technical University of Munich. With the DRA-M from mbk, all the prerequisites for the needed efficiency and quality are also in place. The Böck team of specialists can now respond quickly and flexibly to individual requests, both in terms of production technology and scheduling, and offer a one-stop supply of all prefabricated elements that may be required.

“A huge advantage of the new machine is its precision with bar lengths and double bends. This ensures consistently high reinforcement quality. Switching between hot and cold rolled material also works very well. The machine is also very robustly built, which we hope will give it a long service life. And what our employees like most about it is the clearly arranged control panel,” adds Andreas Böck enthusiastically.

The DRA-M ensures smooth workflow with its five straightening rotors for wire diameters from 6 to 14 mm (six rotors up to 16 mm wire diameter are optionally available), a production length of 500 to 8,500 mm (optionally available up to 14,000 mm) and a straightening speed that can be controlled up to140 m/min. The machine is equipped with motor-driven decoilers incorporating an adjustable decoiler attachment for an inside coil diameter of 370 to 900 mm and up to a max of 1,200 mm on the outside. The maximum coil weight is 3,000 kg, but this can also be increased to 5,000 kg as an option.

Other machine features include a more stable production process because of the synchronisation between wire reels, wire feed unit and rotor straightening unit, as well as high wear resistance thanks to straightening rotors with carbide straightening elements.

The double bender for producing Z bends (bending shape 4) at both wire ends is perfectly tailored to meet the needs of precast concrete experts. With 70,000 square metres of floors per year, this is an exceptionally useful option. After straightening and bending, a wire discharge unit on both sides allows wire to be discharged into the existing conveyor systems. The front discharge unit is utilised to supply the pallet circulation system with wires. The wire discharge unit on the rear side is used to supply material for the special tables. If required, spacers from the integrated sorting and feeding system can also be loaded onto the wires during the straightening process.

The machine is integrated into the customer’s specific master computer system (data transfer from the PC directly to the machine) via the control system LAN connection. This also permits a time-saving connection to the mbk service team for remote diagnosis. Last but not least, the DRA-M has been integrated into local conditions and a safety concept worked out and implemented for the overall system (wire straightening machine including existing conveying technologies and interfaces to other existing systems).

Once the machine is up and running, the highly qualified mbk team also makes sure that it stays that way in the future. “The cooperation with mbk has been and is very good. We have competent specialists as contact persons for all issues. Our concerns were addressed individually even at the planning phase so that we received a straightening and cutting system that was precisely adapted to our needs. During the installation stage, we had very well-trained and committed technicians at our disposal, so that downtime during the changeover process was kept to a minimum. They have so far reacted promptly and purposefully to our enquiries in ongoing operations as well.”

Precision, technical expertise, a wealth of ideas, high quality standards – all of this sets both Allgäu companies apart in equal measure. And these are the reasons why they will continue to play a leading role in manufacturing precast concrete elements in the future.