"In addition to a stainless steel trolley that can be used very flexibly, can be loaded with disposable material for specific applications and supports the current technology shift toward more disposable material made of plastic, we placed product design at the top of the list as a means of differentiating ourselves in the market," emphasized Thomas Paust, Global Director of Integrated Solutions at Sartorius Stedim Biotech. Of course, design and functionality must not be mutually exclusive. Along with an ergonomic and descriptive design, the whole thing also had to be cost-effective to manufacture from stainless steel. This is where the experts at Hubl Edelstahltechnik came in, having already manufactured a specially designed food scale for the Göttingen-based company. With a great deal of experience as well as design and production know-how, the company from Vaihingen/Enz has established itself as a specialist for stainless steel sheet processing and is gladly called upon when it comes to stainless steel products of the highest quality for the very highest requirements. Customers are renowned manufacturers in the clean room, pharmaceutical, solar and food industries.
Design and manufacturing set no limits.
This is also how the challenges in the FlexAct project were successfully tackled. There are hardly any identical parts and almost no symmetries in the stainless steel trolley, but instead there are sophisticated curves as well as flattened corners, etc. The stainless steel parts and profiles have no parallels, instead there are protruding surfaces and edges. Sliding elements such as the capsule holder, which are loosely suspended and take up and continue the trolley's curvature, meant further demanding manufacturing steps. The mounted system rail horizontally on the front of the unit accommodates accessories such as lights, containers or mounting support rods. The very wide range of accessory suppliers is taken into account here. Ultimately, with free supplier selection, the trolley should be able to be specially equipped for each process.
The appearance of the trolley is unusual for the observer, because there are no symmetries, no recognizable axes. "Everything seems round and crooked and, in terms of production technology, very complex at first glance," says production manager Rolf Reiner of Hubl Edelstahltechnik, describing the manufacturer's view. Designer Sebastian Maier from the Corpus C design office explains why: "The intention was to deliberately avoid the appearance that this was a 'serving trolley' like in a clinic." Paint finishes in dark gray and yellow harmoniously complement the stainless steel surfaces. "However, the fact that the asymmetry and every curve is also owed to the function only becomes apparent upon closer examination of the processes," adds Thomas Paust. The fact that Hubl always pays close attention to the processes of its clients and their customers is both the cause and the result of its success. The stainless steel sheet processor can look back on an impressive company history. What began nearly 35 years ago with the manufacture of range hoods has become a development partner that designs solutions in stainless steel, creates the shape and mass-produces the product.
Design, engineering and manufacturing like ping-pong.
Maier was very enthusiastic after visiting the company: "We were pleasantly surprised to see that there were no fundamental manufacturing limits at Hubl Edelstahltechnik. Everything seemed possible in stainless steel." A lively exchange and good cooperation then followed in the development of the trolley. Hubl design manager Bernhard Strauß sees it the same way: "The process was like ping-pong. The designers threw an idea into the room and we responded with a constructive implementation in stainless steel." At Hubl, on the other hand, the designer and production manager constantly exchanged ideas. "What was wanted in terms of design and feasible in terms of construction is not always easy to manufacture," Reiner recalls, "especially when costs also have to be taken into account."
"Functionality and flexibility should be very high with the FlexAct®. It must be possible to implement different arrangements just as it must be possible to handle different liquids," explains Maier. The designers from Fürth accompanied the entire product development from the idea to the final implementation. After the requirements were defined, there were different conceptual approaches that were developed in parallel and checked and evaluated for handling, ergonomics, workflow and process optimization. Thus, depending on the process but also on the spatial environment, customers have different arrangements. While some build their process chain from left to right, others arrange it from right to left. If, for example, the pump moves from left to right, the filter cartridge holder must be able to switch to the opposite side accordingly. In addition, in order to be able to attach necessary accessories such as lights, containers, mounting support rods, etc. from different suppliers in accordance with process necessities and customer requirements, a holding system was required.
Clean room certificates for special product quality.
Thanks to state-of-the-art design and manufacturing processes based on many years of experience in working with stainless steel, Hubl Edelstahltechnik scored points with Sartorius. At Hubl, a great deal of emphasis is always placed on investing in production, and so it is a central component in the company with an almost 100 percent vertical range of manufacture. In addition, the highest demands are placed on the processing machines. An excellent machine park ensures that constructive solutions also result in outstanding products. Working with the stainless steel types 1.4301, 1.4016, 1.4404 and 1.4571, which are often referred to as V2A and V4A, requires a great deal of experience and often special processes in order to cut, shape or polish them in such a way as to ensure cleanroom quality.
In May 2010, the stainless steel sheet processor already received cleanroom certificates from the Fraunhofer Institute IPA in Stuttgart for two series products. With these seals of quality, awarded for the first time to a sheet metal processor, Hubl Edelstahltechnik offers products for use in the chip and pharmaceutical industries whose quality meets GMP, FDA and EHEDG requirements.
Looking at the stainless steel trolley, viewers and users are pleased to see an ergonomically and functionally designed, beautifully shaped product whose manufacture does not exceed the budgeted cost. "We believe we are well on the way to being able to place our products even better on the market in the future thanks to the design and form language combined with highly functional ergonomics. The fact that Hubl Edelstahltechnik has set us practically no limits in terms of design and production means that we can continue to plan along this path," says Paust, looking ahead. And the designers are also highly satisfied: "Hubl implemented our ideas almost without compromise and showed great flexibility in manufacturing technology. As a result, almost 99 percent of our ideas were realized. A pleasing exception in everyday working life, where we often have to live with compromises," Maier concludes.
Stainless steel technology in perfection
Hubl Edelstahltechnik is a system supplier in high-quality sheet metal processing. With comprehensive know-how in product development, industrial design and production-related constructions as well as their implementation in terms of production technology, the sheet metal specialists are called upon by customers when it comes to housings and cladding made of stainless steel sheet in prototype construction, pre-series and small series.
The versatile demands placed on the stainless steel experts in this regard are also reflected in the industry structure of their customers. The Hubl Edelstahltechnik team supplies the most demanding industries such as pharmaceutical, medical and laboratory technology, biotechnology, clean room and food technology, the packaging industry as well as mechanical engineering and semiconductors.
