The Hymer brand stands for top quality and motorhomes for the premium segment and when it comes to sheet metal processing for vehicle production, this long-standing company calls on state-of-the-art technology from AMADA. The systems, which are sourced from a single supplier, ensure outstanding component quality, increase the level of inhouse production and generate value-added
Motorhome and camper van touring has been extremely popular for quite some time and the levels of demand reported by Hymer GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Waldsee, Germany, have been correspondingly high. This long-established company is a market leader and one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of motorhomes. “One factor in our success is the fact that our motorhomes target the premium segment and embody outstanding quality, from the chassis on to the accessories and right through to the interior fittings,” explains Udo Dittrich, Head of Preproduction at Hymer. “However, the fact that we are able to produce very many of the components we use in-house is also crucial. We manufacture the majority of the components we need ourselves and are therefore independent of suppliers, which had a very positive effect during the Covid-19 pandemic,” adds Christian Borgenheimer, Project Manager Industrial Engineer at Hymer.
AMADA for all metal components
Die hohen Ansprüche an Top-Qualität und Fertigungstiefe setzt Hymer natürlich auch im Bereich der Blechbearbeitung um. Hier arbeitet der Marktführer seit über 20 Jahren mit AMADA-Technologien und verfügt mittlerweile über vier Abkantpressen und zwei Stanz-Laser-Kombinationsmaschinen. Hergestellt werden damit sämtliche Metallbauteile im und am Wohnmobil, von der Fahrgestellkonsole über die Trittstufenhalterung bis hin zu Möbelwinkeln und Edelstahl-Kühlschrankblenden. „Generelle Pluspunkte der AMADA-Anlagen sind für uns die einfache Bedienbarkeit der Maschinen, die hohe Kompatibilität zu unseren bestehenden Werkzeugen und natürlich auch der Service und Support, den AMADA bietet“, erläutert der Metallverarbeitungsleiter Winfried Saal. „Unser Maschinenpark stammt mit AMADA von einem Anbieter und damit aus einer Hand. Das trägt ebenfalls zu hoher Produktivität und Wertschöpfung bei“, so Udo Dittrich.Hymer’s exacting requirements for top-quality and in-house production also naturally apply to its sheet metal processing activities. In this area, the market leader has been working with AMADA technology for over 20 years and now possesses four press brakes and two punch-laser combination machines. These are used to manufacture all the metal components in and around the motorhomes – whether in the form of chassis brackets, step supports, furniture brackets or stainless steel refrigerator trim. “Generally speaking, for us the positives of AMADA’s machines lie in their ease-of-use, the high level of compatibility with our existing tools and, of course, the service and support offered by AMADA,” explains Head of Metal Processing, Winfried Saal. “Because we have sourced our machine pool from AMADA, everything comes from a single supplier. This also leads to high productivity and value-added,” continues Dittrich.
Eliminating unnecessary work
One of the two main ways sheet metal is processed at Hymer is through the combined punching and laser-cutting of steel and aluminum sheets in thicknesses of up to 4 mm. The company has performed this work on an AMADA LC-2515C1AJ since 2017 and on an AMADA EML-2515AJ since 2019. “The most important factors for us were the high speed, the high manufacturing quality and the efficiency of the systems during production. Many operations are unnecessary, for example welding on a nut, because we can now produce the corresponding retaining mechanism using an AMADA nozzle tool and a screw tap in a single step. This not only saves material and energy but, above all, a whole lot of time, especially because the corresponding tool is always present in the turret ready for use without us having to change anything,” stresses Saal. The automatic nozzle changer that is installed in the AMADA EML-2515AJ as standard brings about similar benefits in terms of efficiency.
Setups take just minutes
The second area of metal processing that is common at Hymer is bending. Since 2018, this work has been carried out at an AMADA HFE3i, as well as at one AMADA HG-1003ATC press brake that was acquired in 2017 and a second that followed it in 2023. These machines are used to produce approximately 70 percent of all the metal components at Hymer. The greatest benefit offered by the AMADA HG-1003ATC press brakes in practical use is due to the automatic tool changer ATC. This cuts the effort and time involved in machine setups from, in many cases, 30 minutes to under two minutes and is particularly valuable for complex tool setups.“Overall, fully-automated setups have allowed us to reduce our setup times by 40 percent,” reports Borgenheimer. “What is more, it makes our work a lot more convenient and, most importantly, more reliable. And, last but not least, the risk of human error is all but eliminated. The operator simply scans the barcode, starts the setup program and is ready to begin production. All in all, therefore, our two AMADA HG-1003ATC press brakes are extremely cost-efficient systems.”
Production without downtimes
Hymer GmbH rates production on the AMADA systems equally positively: Borgenheimer, Dittrich and Saal all agree: “We are very happy with our AMADA machine pool and in particular with our most recent investments. They provide the necessary manufacturing efficiency as well as a high level of machine availability. This means that production is not interrupted by any downtimes, in particular thanks to the ready availability of spare parts. That is why we will continue our partnership with AMADA and believe that it has great potential for the future.”
Images: Hymer GmbH & Co. KG, Udo Schönewald
