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Theben AG optimizes lighting solution at inspection workplaces

Service News Monday, March 5, 2012: Waldmann Lighting Ltd

Quality has top priority at Theben AG. The 100-percent final inspection of its products requires not only accuracy, but also suitable equipment, such as illuminated magnifiers. Beside providing sufficient magnification, these must satisfy all aspects of lighting quality and efficiency. That’s why the company opted for an LED lighting solution from Waldmann.

“Energy Saving Ideas”

Ever since the company’s founding, Theben products have been designed to reduce energy consumption. Already in 1921 its founder, Paul Schwenk, developed the socalled “Schwenk time switch”, which automatically switched off the light in a stairwell when it was no longer needed. Today its line of products, which has grown steadily ever since then under the motto "Energy Saving Ideas", helps save energy costs in many areas, reduce CO2 emissions and thus protect the climate. Theben AG is one of the world's leading manufacturers of time-switching devices, lighting and climate control systems as well as components for the KNX Gebäudesystemtechnik (Building System Technology) Association. The company has taken climate protection into consideration not only in solutions for its customers, but in solutions for its own facilities as well. These include very comprehensive measures, such as the installation of an environmentally friendly heat pump system for air conditioning in the production building, energy savings through occupancy detectors or the changeover to efficient lighting solutions. The inspection workplaces were thus equipped with TEVISIO LED magnifier luminaires from Waldmann. The long life of the LEDs, up to 50,000 h and more, eliminates servicing and the downtime associated with it. Compared to traditional magnifying lamps, the new lighting solution with its 48 multi-chip LEDs saves 40 percent energy at the same light output level.

Continuous improvement

The backdrop to the changeover to the new lamps was the continuous improvement process introduced in February 2011, explains Thomas Goes, CEO of Theben AG. "This gave our employees the opportunity to demand a better work environment as well as better processes and product improvements in order to achieve a more efficient production overall." One aspect of this was the lighting at workplaces, where the highly sensitive printed circuit boards are inspected. Preliminary automated testing at these workplaces was specified by the staff to ensure the high quality standards. Excellent vision here is a must in detecting and evaluating the tiniest defects or deviations. Re-soldering, when necessary, also requires high precision as well as other prerequisites such as optimal vision.

“The TEVISIO magnifier luminaire fulfills all our requirements when it comes to optimal lighting,” Goes continues. “The smallest defects on the delicate circuit boards can now be detected even more accurately thanks to the lamp’s Visualizer function.” This function permits separate switching of four light segments, which in turn creates texture-emphasizing effects that make even the subtlest differences stand out clearly.

Health promotion

Another criterion was ergonomics, as Thomas Goes further relates. “The motivation and health of our employees here at Theben is a major concern. We actively promote both through a number of different measures.” The new LED magnifier luminaire with its ergonomic design also contributes to this. Its optimum lighting quality, large magnifying glass with 153 mm-diameter field of view and magnifying strength of 3.5 diopters, markedly relieves the eyes of employees at work. What is more, the mechanical design is well adapted to the work processes. For example, the handle areas are ergonomically shaped. The mounting arm system can be adjusted to virtually any position via six rotation axes and locked in position if necessary. Even the 3D ball joint can be swiveled by 90 degrees in any direction. The built-in option of stepless dimming down to 10 percent of normal light intensity optimally accommodates the specific lighting needs of individual employees or a specific visual task.