BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, which includes well-known household appliance brands such as Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau and Neff, uses simus systems’ classmate PLAN software to plan and calculate all components and assemblies in its Traunreut tool shop. This has halved the working time per routing, optimized quality and seamlessly digitalized the process.
Household appliances have been manufactured in Traunreut near Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria since 1949 – and by BSH Hausgeräte GmbH since 1967. Today, around 1.4 million stoves, ovens and hobs leave the largest site in Germany every year, employing around 3,000 people. In toolmaking, around 80 employees contribute to the efficient development of sheet metal components and assemblies. This is where progressive tools for small sheet metal parts, large transfer tools for presses up to 8,000 kN and parts for devices for internal special machine construction are produced. “Around half of the new tools are also produced internationally for sites in Spain, Turkey and Poland,” reports Stefan Huber, production planner and key user at BSH. “However, the focus is on the Traunreut site, where the toolmaking department, as a guarantor of stability for series production, also carries out rapid-response repairs and preventive maintenance on cutting and injection molding tools.”
BSH develops and manufactures stoves, ovens and hobs as well as the necessary tools near Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria.
“Employees’ knowledge and procedures have influenced the timelines and prices. With more standardization, we wanted to achieve results that were independent of individuals and greater accuracy.”
Stefan Huber, Production Planner and Key User at BSH
Even if the average tool costs in the industry are only a single-digit percentage of the manufacturing costs, they are often in the six-figure range per piece. Meticulous work planning with time calculation and costing is therefore critical to success for sustainable, resource-conserving and efficient toolmaking.
When a software tool used for this purpose was discontinued, BSH also wanted to improve processes with a new solution. “Employees’ knowledge and procedures have influenced the timelines and prices”, says Stefan Huber. “With more standardization, we wanted to achieve results that were independent of individuals and greater accuracy.” In addition, a new solution needed to integrate better with the 3D CAD/CAM system NX and the ERP system from SAP in order to reduce manual work and waiting times.
The selection team therefore evaluated the classmate PLAN software from simus systems alongside the successor to the existing solution. The program, which focuses on production processes in mechanical engineering, analyses 3D models, recognizes the work sequences and automatically assigns them to the existing production equipment. It also shows set-up and production times for each work step and calculates the costs according to individual specifications. In addition, classmate PLAN integrates seamlessly into existing IT solutions. “After a preliminary project and an internal benefit analysis, we decided to introduce classmate PLAN”, recalls Mario Leutner, who led the project as a system engineer. “This involved the decision to dimension all new NX models and the old stock with PMI (Product Manufacturing Information) and to introduce drawing-free designs in the process. This also resulted in significant simplifications and synergies with classmate PLAN.” The preliminary project had already led to an adjustment of the initially very different functional and requirement specifications and created a clear distribution of tasks.
“After a preliminary project and an internal benefit analysis, we decided to introduce classmate PLAN. This involved the decision to dimension all new NX models and the old stock with PMI (Product Manufacturing Information) and to introduce drawing-free designs in the process. This also resulted in significant simplifications and synergies with classmate PLAN.”
Mario Leutner, System Engineer and Project Manager at BSH
“Our routings include many different operations – from turning, 3- and 5-axis milling, eroding and hardening to laser cutting and bending of sheet metal parts, laser sintering and welding through to pre-testing and coating. We process a wide variety of materials, from aluminum to tool steel.”
Once the implementation basics such as the SAP interface and the technology databases had been created, the implementation project was divided into four phases. Around 100 different components that had already been provided with PMI were selected. They represented all the expected work sequences and variants. “Our routings include many different operations – from turning, 3- and 5-axis milling, eroding and hardening to laser cutting and bending of sheet metal parts, laser sintering and welding through to pre-testing and coating. We process a wide variety of materials, from aluminum to tool steel”, reports Stefan Huber. The results were presented and discussed in weekly online conferences with simus systems.
In the first phase, all operations should be assigned to the correct machines in the correct sequence.
In the second phase, long texts were to be assigned to the work sequences to provide information on the special features of automatically recognized milling, grinding, cut and sink eroding, coating and hardening.
In the third phase, the processing times for the calculation were refined. “simus systems provided standard values for many machining operations such as milling,” recalls Stefan Huber. “Where we were able to use these, we saved a lot of time.” On the other hand, cut eroding posed particular challenges: “It depends on the material and the number of cuts, the taper and the surfaces,” says Stefan Huber. “For the holes, simus classmate recognizes the required tolerances and relevant contours based on the colors assigned to surfaces in NX.” In the end, all machining processes, including die-sinking, bending and laser cutting, were correctly recognized and linked to realistic time specifications and costs.
In the final step, individual routings were combined into overall routings in order to take assembly times into account. A project plan of this kind comprises around 500 machine hours and around 100 hours for pre-testing and assembly, for example, and is then automatically transferred in full to SAP via an interface. “As a special feature, we combine identical parts according to certain specifications in order to optimize set-up times, for example,” reports Stefan Huber.
Routings are particularly extensive in toolmaking – with classmate PLAN they are created automatically.
The PMI from NX were a prerequisite for this: classmate PLAN utilizes all information.
After around one and a half years, everything was done: “We were able to successfully complete the project with the excellent support of simus systems”, explains system engineer Mario Leutner. However, the transition into practice followed the models that already contained PMI. “During the careful transition, we were able to make further fine adjustments in parallel,” says Stefan Huber. “Since then, we have carried out enhancements with simus systems every year.”
Since the beginning of 2025, every CAD model now comes with PMI, so that all routings are created and calculated exclusively with classmate PLAN. So far, the three production planners have been able to create routings and changes for over 10,000 components. “The system has been very well received and works extremely well,” summarizes Huber.
“In a performance test using representative sample tools, we determined that we were able to halve the working time per component. In addition, the high performance of the system eliminates waiting times, for example when transferring to SAP”, explains Stefan Huber. In many areas, the end-to-end processes provide additional benefits: “We can now transfer frequently required standard parts for the warehouse directly to SAP, which we previously had to enter manually,” says Stefan Huber. But the company is not resting on its laurels: “From September, we will be working with simus systems to also take material and hardening costs into account. Then we will know exactly what each individual part or an entire assembly costs.”
“In a performance test using representative sample tools, we determined that we were able to halve the working time per component. In addition, the high performance of the system eliminates waiting times, for example when transferring to SAP.”
