Xcelerate at Debets Mechanical Support

Debets Mechanical Support is located in Meerssen, and produces milled and turned parts for the medical and measuring industries. They also do some assembly and engineering work. The company specialises in prototyping, mainly producing series of 1 to 200 units in size.

A year ago, Debets Mechanical Support was looking for an automation solution for their Hermle machine. When they were searching, they compared a number of companies and products. Their analysis showed that Xcelerate from Cellro was the best fit for their automation needs.

Debets Mechanical Support chose Xcelerate for its compact size and because it is easy to operate. Xcelerate’s main goal is product handling. Products are secured in the milling machine where they are processed with 5-axis machining. During machining, various holes are drilled and tapped. Once the units have been processed, Xcelerate removes the product from the machine and returns it before inserting the next one.

‘It was needed to bring a bit of peace to the work floor. There were a lot of recurring series. Xcelerate doesn’t take work away from professionals, but it makes sure that the professionals can use their time to really add value.’

Since Xcelerate comes with a floor scanner, the machine is safely accessible. The area around the robot is divided into two zones. If an operator steps into the first zone, the robot reduces its speed to 5%. If the employee moves closer, the Xcelerate goes into standby. This allows operators to be close to the CNC machine safely. Once the operator is done, the machine simply returns to operation without having to be set up again.

‘Our expectations were well and truly met. We get through a lot more spindle hours without people having to be on-site for longer.’ 

Thanks to Xcelerate and the new 5-axis machine, Debets Mechanical Support has almost doubled its production capacity in around 3 months.