Comfortably bedded on traceable slatted frames
Bachmann prints labels on smallest spaces
Sleep is an elixir for regeneration. Under mattresses, top-notch slatted frames support physical and mental freshness. Bachmann Schlafsysteme has been developing and manufacturing them for more than 70 years.
Many purchase items, semi-finished and finished parts must be labeled explicitly. Printers MACH 4S and MACH1 by cab do this reliably, standing upright at a workstation or assembled upside down to metal panels.
Neumarkt St. Veit, Upper Bavaria
CNC machines saw and grind plywood in the factory hall. There is drilling, assembling and labeling, packing into boxes and loading onto trucks. The sleeping systems primarily aim for customers in the furniture industry, commercial vehicle and caravan manufacturers and wholesalers. “We develop and produce according to the needs of the respective target group,” says CEO Christian Bachmann: “We provide solid standard products, ergonomic ones of top quality and special ones designed for vehicles or box-spring beds. If requested, we prepare disassembled, folded or rollable for optimized shipping.” Bachmann Schlafsysteme offers adjustable slatted frames operated by a motor with metal fittings and double drives, as well as flat design. Aluminum frames for camper vans with pop-up roofs add to the comprehensive range of products.
Labeled without exception
Labeling is the basis for transparency along the entire process chain. Included are purchase items that arrive in the warehouse, as well as manufacture of semifinished parts and finished products and their delivery. 5,000 spaces for stocking raw materials on-site enable security and flexibility, and the ability to deliver at any time.
Variable data requested
Harald Steinbach (pictured left) is the person in charge of the company‘s ICT infrastructure. Individuality is a major issue with regard to label printing. More than 200 label designs are in use. Buying labels ready-printed on rolls and keeping them in stock are no longer sufficient: “Our customers and sales partners,” says Mr. Steinbach, “have the most diverse requests in terms of labeling their finished products.” In addition to standard information such as the name of a manufacturer and date of production, variable print data are required. This is such data on a label that relates specifically to an individual item and makes it explicitly assignable at all times. Article numbers, order numbers, batch or commission numbers are examples.
- Harald Steinbach appreciates dialogue face to face with cab contact Markus Baum: “He visits our facility as a field worker. We do not get this from other manufacturers.”
- Individual slatted frames to batch size 1: There is manufacturing in many manual steps.
Linux capability a selling point
In 2009, Mr. Steinbach was looking for a printer suitable for printing shipping labels. It had to be rugged, as where wood is chopped, splinters fall. The print had to remain legible during the processing, inspection, stocking and transport of a good. The loading of Bachmann sleeping systems is based on barcode verification. Every item leaving the facility is registered by scan. From a technical point of view, the printer must connect directly to the existing ERP system. This runs on a database that performs exclusively under the Linux operating system. The label printer must therefore be able to correspond with Linux.
While on search, Mr. Steinbach became aware of cab. Contact was made. cab evaluated all demands and transferred them to the specifications of its label printers. cab suggested the MACH 4 thermal transfer model for tearing printed labels off a plate. Roll retainers with different labels as wide as 116 millimeters can be exchanged as required. In 2017, the successor MACH 4S followed on MACH 4.
- Labeling, directly onto a product or a packaging
Manufacture follow-up project
The next project involved labels be applied during the final assembly of slatted frames to make semi-finished and finished parts traceable. It is essential to ensure that customers receive correct products. More than 30 workstations each received a terminal with a screen to display work steps to the employees. Each workstation requires a printer. Mr. Steinbach told cab “what we have in mind in particular, what requirements we have.”
The printer should be compact to take as little floor space as possible. It should also be mountable upside down. Every workstation should provide the same type of printer. Standardized configuration should make it possible to replace a unit quickly in the event of a defect.
- More than woodworking: Bachmann provides development, engineering, series supply, logistics
Small, but impressive
21 centimeters wide and less than 19 centimeters high, the MACH1 is the smallest cab label printer. It weighs less than three kilograms. To access the unit, its cover can be opened to the top. Labels and the ribbon are inserted from above respectively the front. The design fits for use wherever little or – like assembly upside down on a metal plate – no floor space is available. Small labels as wide as 112 millimeters can be printed.
MACH1 is operated via control buttons and a LED display. Printed labels can be torn off by employees or be provided on the peel-off plate already separated from the liner. While a label that has just been printed is stuck onto an item, MACH1 is already printing the next one and makes this available as well.
Reasons for selecting cab
When asked about the cooperation with cab, Mr. Steinbach emphasizes “reliable and sophisticated printing systems that integrate effortlessly to our processes.” But it is not just products. Also short information paths are valued. “Especially during the project with MACH1 in manufacture,” says Mr. Steinbach, “we often had questions and got in touch with the cab support unit by phone. Mr. Foehner, who deserves special mention here, assisted rapidly, friendly and helpful. We greatly appreciate this immense know-how.”
“Bachmann Schlafsysteme stands for high sleeping comfort, delivery on time and certified quality,” says Christian Bachmann: “We are a strategic and reliable partner with the individual strength of a medium-sized owner-managed company.”
The mechanical engineer Günther Bachmann founded a wire mattress production in 1949. Years later, the focus shifted to slatted frames. Today, the entire area in Neumarkt St. Veit includes 12,000 m². Nearly 150 employees achieve a maximum daily capacity of 2,000 slatted frames. The company is a leading supplier for renowned manufacturers in various industries.
July 2024