Berufskolleg Beckum: Unparalleled networking of the training workshop.

2024/02/26   |   Beckum   |   Germany

The vocational college in Beckum is currently training 2500 young people and young adults in various fields. Thanks to individual support that corresponds to the personal abilities, wishes and needs of the pupils and students, the school is valued in the district of Warendorf and beyond as a center of excellence and an important economic factor. After all, the more than 140 teachers here are teaching the professionals of the future.

"Future" is the right keyword — especially in the wood technology training workshop. This is where modern machines from HOMAG are used, in addition to apps and digital assistants. Everything from A to Z: From the digital job folder, productionManager, to intelliDivide Cutting cutting optimization and edge management with the Edgeband Management Set. Daniel Schulze Zumloh, a teacher for technicians and aspiring carpenters, has integrated the apps and digital assistants into the process together with workshop manager Sven Huesmann: Starting with CAD design, through the individual work steps, to final assembly. This means that from the very beginning, young carpenters learn how practical consistent data is in the workshop.  

A school being equipped in this way is still unusual at the moment, but there are reasons for equipping it like this. Stephan König, head of the Technology Department at the college, explains exactly what these are: 

"Young people are investing a lot to come to Beckum. Some commute up to 70 kilometers. That's why we're committed to delivering up-to-date content." 

In comparison with both other educational institutions and many companies, the vocational college in Beckum is far ahead when it comes to end-to-end production data. This is ensured by the use of digital solutions, which, as confirmed by pupils, students and Daniel Schulze Zumloh, are "child's play and easy to use."

From work preparation to assembly

Daniel Schulze Zumloh, a teacher for technicians and aspiring carpenters, has integrated the apps and digital assistants into the process together with workshop manager Sven Huesmann: Starting with CAD design, through the individual work steps, to final assembly. The school is not just using woodWOP 7 — it is also expected to switch to version 8.1 in the near future as well as using the entire range of HOMAG apps. As soon as the students have finished their workpiece in the CAD program, they send the data to the school cloud. This means that aspiring professionals can also access their work from home. The web-based HOMAG apps score highly thanks to the ease of access using a browser. At the same time, the design data is imported to the intelliDivide Cutting cutting optimization program. There, the users select their cutting patterns based on production time, handling or material consumption and depending on the project. The cutting patterns then go to the vertical panel saws equipped with the HOMAG CUBE. As a result of the space available, there are no HOMAG panel dividing saws, but this isn't a problem: The cutting assistant (Cutting Production Set) also works perfectly with other saws, and the students simply work through the cutting pattern using a tablet. "Networking the entire workshop was relatively easy, as was the operation. One of the reasons is that we are not bound to HOMAG machines. This is a huge advantage," says Daniel Schulze Zumloh. Once the panels have been cut, the single parts are provided with an individual label, on which all the important information can be found.

Oversee the order status. Manage the material.

Jobs are created and managed in productionManager. The digital job folder automatically accesses all data from the other apps that are in use. The students create the panel and edge material according to a uniform nomenclature in the materialManager, the app for material management. This information is also automatically made available in productionManager.

This integration facilitates the work steps during both work preparation and production, because the edge and panel material can be easily accessed during production. The students call up the data directly on the HOMAG machine or using the tablet. Material management is extremely simple, confirms workshop manager Sven Huesmann. The edge material can not only be quickly placed in and removed from storage with a click, but the offcut length is also calculated and automatically reported back to the apps in the work preparation.

However, it is not only the material consumption that is reported, but also all other work steps in production. To do this, Daniel Schulze Zumloh created feedback workstations in productionManager. In concrete terms, this means that the processing progress of the components in production is automatically reported and is visible in the digital job folder in real time.

This feedback can be provided in various ways. At the vocational college in Beckum, the panel dividing saw automatically reports the processing progress of the components; the user does not have to perform any manual intermediate steps. On the CNC machine, the edge banding machine, in the assembly area and during final acceptance, feedback is sent to the digital job folder via a tablet or scanner.

Continuous feedback means that the order status in the digital job folder can be viewed in real time at all times — literally. Berufskolleg Beckum has even expanded the solution and installed a projector in the assembly area, which projects the progress directly onto the wall. The teachers find it great that even if you stop in the middle of a project, you can immediately see where you are with the job, thanks to the "beautiful color outline" and the real-time feedback from the processing steps.

Another highlight in the school workshop is a special cabinet for managing the edgebands. The Edgeband Management Set is integrated in this. The edgebands are stored horizontally behind doors, protected from UV rays and dust. Now, you might ask yourself how the user knows were edgebands are located if they are hidden behind doors. It's very simple: The Edgeband Management Set includes storage position control via LED light strip if desired. Sven Huesmann has assigned the individual LED light spots to particular edge storage positions. He or the student can quickly scan QR codes attached to the front of the doors, and the LEDs indicate the storage location of the corresponding edgeband.

As we are already on the subject, Berufskolleg Beckum is far ahead in comparison with other educational institutions, but also in comparison with many companies, when it comes to end-to-end production data. This is ensured by the digital solutions, which are "child's play and easy to use," as confirmed by pupils, students and Stephan König. Collaboration with HOMAG is similarly simple: "We feel perfectly supported by HOMAG," the department head continues. We can therefore look forward to seeing which subjects will be initiated in Beckum in the near future.