CEWE fully automates book-cover buffering with a Cellgo system
How CEWE decoupled book-cover production for hardcover photo books with a Cellgo system: 333 bins that turn over completely about every three hours, seamlessly integrated into an existing production line.
In conversation: Julian Riesselmann, project lead at CEWE, and Dr. Finn Buttgereit, managing director of Cellgo, on selection, integration and day-to-day operation. German audio with German subtitles.
Show video transcript (English translation)
The conversation is in German. This is a lightly edited English translation.
Finn Buttgereit: CEWE photo books uses a Cellgo system to automate its processes, and that is what we are going to look at now. CEWE is a big brand that anyone buying photo books or photo products will know. How did the collaboration between CEWE and Cellgo come about, and what was your customer journey with Cellgo like?
Julian Riesselmann: Fundamentally, we needed an automated storage system. At the start we approached around 20 suppliers with a solution that I would describe as anything but off the shelf. Cellgo stood out for me because I clearly had the feeling that they were willing to take our wishes and ideas on board and find a solution together. That was the decisive advantage for me, and the point where I said: we are going down this road with Cellgo.
Finn Buttgereit: From Cellgo's point of view the individual adaptations were possible thanks to the modular system. During the project some requirements changed again. What was that experience like, and how did the collaboration work?
Julian Riesselmann: We went into the whole topic with a rough concept, so it was clear to me that something would probably still change over the course of the project. Honestly, a bit more changed than expected. Fortunately the modular system made it possible to implement every wish we had. As an example: three weeks before commissioning we had to adjust the height of the store again, and that was solved within two days. That is the kind of experience where the strengths of the flexibility really show.
Finn Buttgereit: The store is now in productive operation. How is it working for you, what has your experience been?
Julian Riesselmann: I can describe our experience as a thumbs up, positive. As with any machine, in my view, there were one or two points at the start that we had to fine-tune together, but that too worked very quickly: short lines of communication, good collaboration, so that we now have a system behind us that is doing a good job.
Finn Buttgereit: A Cellgo system with a few hundred bins that turns over every three hours. Julian, what is it used for here?
Julian Riesselmann: We use the store to buffer the book covers we need for our hardcover production. That means we have a machine that produces book covers upstream of the store, and we have integrated the store fully automatically, so that we can store our book covers in the buffer and retrieve them again after a number of hours. The system here is not a classic store with a single in/out station, but a flow-through system: in on one side, out on the other.
Finn Buttgereit: Why is that, what were the reasons?
Julian Riesselmann: We have an upstream machine where, before commissioning, we removed the book covers by hand. Our goal was to create a fully automated line consisting of book cover production, a buffer magazine and fully automated retrieval. So we thought about how to achieve that. Together with our in-house machine engineering at CEWE we developed a gripper mechanism that loads the storage magazine automatically, and on the other side a software solution that triggers automatic retrieval. That way we really achieved a nicely automated end-to-end process together in the solution.
Finn Buttgereit: How did the collaboration go, especially the integration with the cobot that loads and unloads the system?
Julian Riesselmann: As I said, that is our in-house CEWE machine engineering, which is not based at our site, so there is a certain distance. We therefore made sure to set up a small project team together with Cellgo that was responsible for the implementation. And that worked perfectly from day one.
Finn Buttgereit: The Cellgo installation here at CEWE was a typical brownfield application. Take us through it briefly: what were the constraints here, and why did the decision go to Cellgo?
Julian Riesselmann: Constraint number one for us is always floor space, which is very limited. So it was a huge advantage that Cellgo, with its flexibility in dimensioning from two by two metres up to very large, can deliver anything, which allowed us to integrate it perfectly into the space we had. On top of that, the ceiling height here is only around three metres.
Finn Buttgereit: So if I order a CEWE photo book in Germany today, it goes through this system?
Julian Riesselmann: Exactly.
CompanyCEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA
CountryGermany
IndustryPhoto industry
ApplicationProduction buffer store
Project typeBrownfield
Challenge
Little space, live production, need for automation
CEWE produces hardcover photo books in high volumes. The book covers come off an upstream machine and have to be buffered before further processing. Before the project this step was manual: covers were taken out by hand.
The goal was a continuous automated line from buffer magazine to fully automatic retrieval. The constraints, however, were demanding:
Limited floor space
Only about three metres of ceiling height in an existing hall
A system that has to fit into existing machines, cobots and software
Requirement specification only firmed up during the project
„We initially approached around 20 suppliers with a solution that is by no means off the shelf. Cellgo stood out for me because I clearly felt they were willing to take on our wishes and ideas and find a solution together.“
Production buffer store
CEWE implementing a Cellgo flow-through buffer to replace manual removal of book covers from the conveyor.
The Cellgo solution
A made-to-measure flow-through buffer, integrated into the existing line
Cellgo delivered a storage system dimensioned precisely to the available floor space and height. The system has two ends. Here is how it works:
On one side, the finished book covers are taken from the conveyor belt and stored automatically by cobots. When the ERP system requests a lot of covers, it is brought to the retrieval station on the other side, where CEWE's cobot picks it up automatically.
Interfaces (APIs) programmed as part of the project, through which the Cellgo system communicates with CEWE's cobots and ERP
Euro containers customised to meet the cobots' requirements
Full integration into the existing automation technology
A small joint CEWE and Cellgo project team for the implementation
„Three weeks before commissioning we had to change the height of the store once more, and that was solved within two days. That shows the strength of the flexibility.“
Flow-through buffer
The Cellgo storage system with 333 Euro containers to buffer bookcovers automatically in a tight footprint.
Technical details
The system at CEWE at a glance
Bins
333 Euro containers, adapted for cobot access
Workstations
Two automated workstations
Integrated technology
2 cobots with grippers from CEWE's in-house machine engineering, CEWE ERP
Stored goods
Book covers for hardcover photo books
Operation
Fully automated buffer store in production rhythm
Installation
Brownfield, about 3 m ceiling height, dimensioned to the available floor space
Result
A buffer that turns over every three hours
Fully automated instead of manual
From cover production through the buffer to retrieval, the line runs without manual intervention.
333 bins, roughly 3-hour turnover
The entire stock is exchanged about every three hours. A buffer that breathes with the production rhythm.
A precise fit in a brownfield site
Despite limited floor space and three metres of ceiling height, the system was integrated into the existing hall.
The store is in productive operation today. Ordering a CEWE photo book? There is a good chance its cover has passed through exactly this system.
„I can rate our experience as a clear thumbs up. Very short lines of communication and good collaboration, so that we now have a system behind us that serves us really well.“
