Since becoming a part of Niles-Simmons-Hegenscheidt NSH in 2016, RASOMA has served as the machine tools group’s center of competence for automation. Up to 200 meters of rack have to be installed in every gantry structure and up to 400 locating pins fitted. Our groundbreaking INIRA^® assembly solution enables time (and cost) savings in the order of several person-days – for instance, when a gantry system is equipped to move railway wheels measuring up to 1300 mm and with a mass of up to 1200 kg between different machining, balancing and testing stations. 

In order to mount racks to a machine bed when designing a gantry structure, they are normally clamped to a mounting base using several screw clamps and bolted tight. This clamping method requires considerable time and effort. INIRA^® clamping makes all of this much easier because the clamping device is integrated in the rack. After inserting and screwing in the hexagon socket screws, eccentric assembly sleeves are fitted onto the heads. When the rack is then clamped to the mounting base by tightening the assembly sleeves, it is absolutely parallel to the pinion-gearbox unit’s axis of motion. After tightening the screws, the assembly sleeves can be removed again and used for the next rack. This revolutionary concept cuts the time for assembly by up to 50 percent. The simple and effortless assembly process reduces physical strain, and INIRA^® clamping also opens up new design options depending on the application.

The racks used in WITTENSTEIN alpha’s linear systems are cut to a length of one meter at the factory. The INIRA^® adjusting tool permits precisely aligned rack transitions during the assembly process. The tool works with micron precision, meaning that the transitions between two rack segments can be adjusted extremely accurately and considerable time saved. The transitions are aligned so precisely that highest positioning accuracy is ensured along the whole axial movement path. 

“Pinning” – which was first described back in 1918 in DIN 1, the original German standard – prevents the rack from sliding at high loads. This could cause an alignment or pitch error at the transition between two racks, and ultimately result in the failure of the complete rack and pinion drive system. However, this former method was extremely time-consuming, mainly because precise bores had to be drilled and reamed through the rack. What’s more, large quantities of chips were generated in the process.

By contrast, INIRA^® pinning enables completely chipless pinning. The INIRA^® mounting pin is inserted in the fully assembled rack and driven into the pre-manufactured pin bore in the mounting base. The assembly sleeve and pin are turned in opposite directions with an Allen wrench until the sleeve engages in the pin bore. The assembly sleeve is first of all pushed in by hand up to the marking, which is approximately half-way along it, then driven in flush using a hammer.

No drilling, no reaming, no need to remove chips – for manufacturers like RASOMA, the time required for pinning can now be reduced from as much as 45 minutes to just one minute – a saving of almost 98 percent. Furthermore, INIRA^® pinning allows the necessary pin receptacles in the mounting base to be machined to fit exactly when manufacturing the machine bed. All of this results in enormous savings when the overall costs are compared. And in case of repair or retrofit, the rack can be exchanged quickly and economically.

More and more companies are convinced by INIRA^®
Thanks to INIRA^®, WITTENSTEIN has completely redefined established, decades-old methods for rack assembly. The added value in terms of the time and work involved as well as the ease and ergonomics of assembly and the lower costs speaks for itself.