Lübke Baumetal GmbH supplies a wide range of metal solutions for roofs and facades. Everything from your standard profiles to bespoke productions, nothing is too much for this company from Arnsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia.
For them, success rests on first-class products that come from a comprehensive consulting service combined with a fast distribution system.
The most complex step in the production of these precision pieces is the efficient bending of the profiles. That is why Lübke relies on not one, but three RAS folding machines for this: two GIGAbends and one XLTbend with up-down bending technology and a 45-degree upper beam.
Who are Lübke Baumetal?
This family business was founded in 1974 by Elia and Bernd Lübke and has remained in the family since with Martina Lübke-Hellweg managing. They are roof and facade specialists.
More importantly, they are experts in tailor-made solutions for all requirements. Customers range from wholesalers to property developers and private individuals.
They are able to offer these customers a range of stunning solutions for wall coverings and parapet sheets, as well as window sills, gravel stop strips, step protection profiles, roof drainage, chimney surrounds and much more.
Secrets to Success
Lübke Baumetal has a number of areas it pins its success on, not just its incredible line-up of folding machines.
- They are particularly proud of the comprehensive range of services which is backed up by a team of experts.
- This includes both sales and application engineers, who are able to advise customers on-site when it comes to design, material selection and static requirements.
- They also take measurements directly on the construction site and pass these product requirements on to the work preparation team, who then carry out the production planning.
This whole process gives the customers piece of mind and maximises efficiency with minimal room for error.
Sales manager Dirk Ebbefeld sums up the company philosophy clearly: “Give me the order, sit back and enjoy our service.”
Meet the machines
When it comes to bending, Lübke has relied on the folding machines from RAS for many years.
This love affair with RAS began in 2007 when the first GIGAbend bending machine with a working length of three meters was purchased. Another machine of the same model has been added to the machine park since 2012. At the beginning of 2021, a RAS XLTbend with a bending length of 4 meters and a sheet steel capacity of 2.5 mm was added to this already robust folding line-up.
Jan Rengshausen says: “We can absolutely rely on these machines, both in terms of reliability and bending quality.”
UpDown Folding
The employee responsible for the UpDown folding machine is Christian Hellweg. Using the Bendex software, he creates the bending processes for the drawn or imported profiles.
The software automatically calculates different bending sequences and suggests the best variant to the machine operator. Whenever possible, Christian Hellweg tries to apply the profiles from the stop-side.
For comfortable working, the stop fingers move backwards so that the blank can be inserted against the stop fingers in a way that is easy on the back. Suction cups then emerge from the table level and hold the sheet metal on the stop fingers for the subsequent bends.
When one side of the profile is finished, the suction cups pull the profile back to the operator so that he can easily and quickly turn it to the second side on the stop table and start the bending process again. Because the XLTbend can bend up and down, the operator does not have to flip the sheet when changing direction.
“We made a comparison with kick protection profiles and needed about 10 minutes for the classic bending of 10 parts. The same parts on the XLTbend were finished after 6.5 minutes. That is a decisive speed advantage of 35%!” says Jan Rengshausen.
“If the same profiles were between three and four meters long, we would need two machine operators with classic bending machines. This is not the case now.”
The perfect finish
Lübke mainly processes aluminium sheets between 1.5 and 3 millimetres in thickness. The surface of the bent parts must not show any scraping marks or cracks on the bent edges from the tools.
To avoid this, the XLTbend is equipped with radius tools in the upper beam and the lower beam. They have a 2 mm radius that protrudes beyond the bending line. The tools of the bending beam have a plastic insert on the top that completely prevents scratching.
In summary
Short delivery times, high product quality, responding to almost every customer request and a great deal of specialist knowledge about the design and manufacture of aluminium components and automatically welded corner profiles make Lübke baumetal GmbH a leader in roofs and facades and none of this would be possible without the RAS Machines that facilitate the process.
Their project list backs this up. “Our many references include the media center of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) or the headquarters of the PitStop vehicle repair company, which is currently under construction. The RAS XLTbend has played a decisive role in these successes,” says sales manager Dirk Ebbefeld.
Ready to talk RAS Machines?
Press and Shear are the UK experts for RAS Systems. We’re able to offer a complete line-up of machines with expert support and servicing. This means your business can run as efficiently as Lübke baumetal GmbH with huge efficiency increases and savings.
You can get in contact online now. You can also request a brochure, book a showroom visit or schedule a callback. We look forward to helping your business grow with RAS.
Source: RAS Reinhardt Maschinenbau GmbH
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