Wherever there is high voltage, good insulation ensures that energy flows along fixed lines. Just like crash barriers on motorways, spacers keep the windings of transformers at a safe distance. Oil in the gaps cools the electric converters and ensures effective performance. Spacers used to be produced manually, which required a lot of time and effort. But now a new system from Straus GmbH has automated and accelerated the manufacturing process for continuous rolls. The standardised control cabinet SST from Festo has made a major contribution to the operation of the machine. Its simple and intuitive operating concept together with automatic detection of peripheral equipment enable quick and flexible commissioning.



From manual to automatic
Straus GmbH sees itself as a small-scale think tank in special machine construction, setting itself ambitious challenges ranging from product design and the creation of functional models to prototypes, small-series production and 3D printing. When developing the new production equipment for spacers for transformer windings, the company managed to transform a previously non-automated process into a reliable handling system. The new production method uses a press board rod to bond tensile and cover strips in several individual steps before winding them around a reel. The standardised control cabinet SST controls all pneumatic drives in the machine and picks up all cylinder positions and signals from the through-beam sensors in the material storage area.