Automation complements manual work
Zeulenroda Dyeing Department
98% of the process steps have already been completed: Zeulenroda’s Dyeing Department is on the finishing straight of a big project. In the previous months, all dyeing machines have been converted to automatic operation to be able to cover increased demand in the areas of phlebology and lymphology. Safety in the dyeing process is also a reason for the change.
Up to now, colleagues have been weighing chemicals and dyes by hand, transporting them to the dyeing machines, and setting the programs individually. This will now be carried out by a sophisticated system, as Mihail Buzatu, Project Manager and Compression Stockings Production Manager, explains: “We have installed central software that communicates with two automatic dosing systems, three servers, and 17 dyeing system controls in real time. The requested quantity of chemicals and dyes therefore reaches the dyeing machines at defined times.”
More and more stockings had to be dyed because of increased demand. The dyeing process therefore had to be expanded. But it has been hard to find textile finishers. Mihail Buzatu therefore felt that automation was the next logical step. Furthermore, the system is very accurate, increasing quality and process stability. Colleagues no longer come in contact with dyes and chemicals every day, which significantly improves safety. Production costs can be reduced, thanks to the high degree of automation. But there is still enough work for textile finishers. They receive additional training for the new system, they load and unload the machines, monitor them, and take care of orders.
Now, a total of 130 patterns must be run, i.e. the entire dyeing process in the new system in different variations. Quality Management and Quality Approval Management are currently checking meticulously whether everything is running as desired. After all, as with all Bauerfeind products and processes, quality has to be 100% perfect.
