Erkodent manufactures products for dental technology, dentistry and foot orthopaedics. It all began with a dental practice in Pfalzgrafenweiler near Freudenstadt, for which Erich Kopp was granted a license in 1954. Based on his practical experience, he soon began to develop his own instruments to make treatment easier for him and his patients. This grew into Erkodent Erich Kopp GmbH, which, according to the company, is now one of the world market leaders in dental thermoforming technology. In 1980, the company founder established a second mainstay with foot orthopaedics. Today, this accounts for around ten percent of turnover. Around 80 employees in Pfalzgrafenweiler develop, manufacture and package pressure and vacuum devices for thermoforming on a production area of around 8,000 square meters. Dental technicians use them to shape individual impression trays, molded parts for temporary restorations and bleaching trays. Corresponding accessories and materials such as foils, silicones and waxes are also part of the range, as are protectors for athletes and protrusion splints for sleep-related breathing disorders.

Testing is followed by loading
"When a vacuum thermoforming unit reaches the end of the assembly line, it is first tested and then securely packed for shipping," explains Andreas Weiß, responsible for process optimization at Erkodent. Together with the operating instructions and padding material, a finished package weighs between 15 and 25 kilograms - and the trend is rising. "The package was then positioned by hand on a pallet so that the serial number is always visible," says Weiß, describing the part of the packaging process that he wanted to improve. "We pack twelve to fifteen thermoforming appliances per day. Stacking them on the pallet by hand without a lifting aid was a real strain on our backs and arms," recalls Helmut Seeger. He has been working at Erkodent for five years and works together with six other colleagues at the various assembly and packaging stations.

No room for crane and co?
In search of an ergonomic solution, Weiß turned to J. Schmalz GmbH. "We already have vacuum lifters from Glatten in use at several workstations and we are impressed with them," he emphasizes. The long-standing contact, the positive experiences and the close proximity - there are only 15 kilometers between the two company headquarters - were decisive for the project managers to turn to Schmalz again. Their idea was to install a suspension crane system including a vacuum lifter. "A common solution, but one that we couldn't implement for space reasons," explains Weiß. Even if the system had still fitted between the existing ventilation and media shafts, there would have been no room for the suspension crane once the air conditioning system was installed. "We discussed the problem with Schmalz at Motek 2018 and discovered that the modular flat jib made of aluminum was the ideal concept for us," recalls Andreas Weiß.

The aluminum flat jib is based on the construction kit for slewing jib cranes. The flat-designed solution reduces the overall height of the jib by up to 96 millimetres compared to the conventional steel construction. Measured against a standard aluminum jib, lifting equipment can even be suspended up to 340 millimeters higher with the same overall height of the crane. "Thanks to the extra-flat boom, the crane fits under the ventilation shafts and media routes and still leaves enough working space for the tube lifter," says Weiß. But it wasn't just the low height that was convincing: the modular aluminum construction was cheaper for Erkodent and could also be set up more quickly. Instead of being attached to the ceiling, the column-mounted slewing jib crane with its four-meter-long jib is securely mounted on the floor using a base plate. "This makes us even more flexible because we can theoretically also use the crane at a different assembly site," adds the process manager.

Intuitive operation
The crane solution has been in use since February 2019. Erkodent has also attached the JumboFlex 50 vacuum tube lifter with quadruple suction pad to the flat jib to provide ideal support for its employees. They can use it to pick up cartons weighing up to 50 kilograms and lift, lower and release them intuitively using the central one-finger control. Stacking based on the serial numbers is also easy thanks to the endlessly rotating handle. "Where our employees used to have to use their full physical strength, today one hand is practically enough," summarizes Weiß aptly. "The reduction in workload is clearly noticeable. My colleagues and I are fitter and simply feel healthier," confirms Helmut Seeger.