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Global manufacturing economy pushes forward

Technology developments on display at EuroBLECH 2014 continue to deliver efficiencies that help metal fabricators stay competitive

Figure 1
Press brake tooling changeover can be quickened if the tooling never has to leave the press brake. Salvagnini introduced its Automatic Tool Adjuster option, in which the press brake tooling is slid into place for the next job, not removed and stored until the tooling is needed again.

As if the risk of being exposed to the Ebola virus on an airplane wasn’t enough, attendees flying into Hanover, Germany, for the EuroBLECH 2014 International Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibition had to contend with whispers of an impending European recession and an increasingly possible collapse of business. Well, five days of technology introductions and product demonstrations from more than 1,573 exihibitors from 38 countries changed the minds of anyone entertaining negative thoughts.

The global manufacturing community is not ready to retrench. In fact, while 59,600 attendees visited the tradeshow, relatively the same number as visited in 2012 according to show organizers, more international visitors walked the floors than before. This year 38 percent of the total attendance came from outside of Germany, compared to 34 percent at the 2012 event.

This international manufacturing event also coincided with the release of some positive economic news. The Purchasing Managers’ Index for the European region came in unexpectedly high, 50.7, in October. That was up from 50.3, according to London-based Markit. (Any value over 50 is considered to be a manufacturing economy in expansion.) Some economists had predicted a dip below 50.

Simultaneously the world has seen the U.S. dollar rise in value when compared to other currencies. Of course, this means that U.S. exports become more expensive, which should help European companies looking to bolster their sales. The trend may remain in place for some time, as U.S. Federal Reserve Banks have indicated that the Fed might be ready to increase interest rates to ward off any potential boost in inflation.

Like manufacturers in North America, their European counterparts are just optimistic enough to continue to push forward with investment plans. Perhaps it’s because they realize that new technology today often translates into new production efficiencies on the shop floor.

Bending Prowess

With the increased adoption rate of solid-state lasers that can cut metal parts at incredible speeds, fabricators have put more focus on the bending process as they have had to figure out a way to keep up with the laser cutting machines. Early advancements in bending automation centered on robotic arms that performed the actual material handling and bending, but the focus lately has been on tooling changes, which quietly eat up a good part of any press brake operator’s day.

Salvagnini introduced a new twist (see Figure 1) on press brake tooling management. Instead of maintaining a storage area on the side or in the rear of the press brake, the B3’s tooling is stored within the press brake itself, and it adjusts the positioning of the tools according to the next job.

Bill Bossard, president of Salvagnini America, said anyone familiar with the company’s panel benders or that technology in general shouldn’t be too surprised at the way the Italian company tackled the press brake tooling challenge. Like with panel benders, on which the tooling shifts in the toolholder to accommodate the current bending job, so does the tooling in the press brake. Salvagnini calls this an ATA—Automatic Tool Adjuster—option. For bending jobs involving flanges, the tooling is shifted to create gaps where the flanges can be bent upwards without coming into contact with the upper tooling.

In the lower die, the V-shaped groove automatically adjusts for the next job.

With the upper and lower tooling setting up for the next job, a press brake operator has to wait only a few seconds, according to Bossard. He described it as a tool change that can take place as the operator reaches for the next blank for bending.

Figure 2
The Xpert 40 electric press brake from Bystronic, which is designed to be moved easily in a shop, is available only to the European market right now, according to company officials.

Press brake tooling changeover can be challenging enough when working with lighter-gauge materials. The job becomes infinitely more complicated with heavy-duty tooling for working with plate.

Wila introduced its E2M® (“easy to move”) die changeout feature. A press brake operator only has to switch a cam slightly to engage roller bearings in the tooling that enable the heavy tools to be rolled right out of the holders. The lower die has bearings in the tool bottom, and the upper tools have bearings in the upper portion where they are locked into place. The feature is available for all tooling that weighs more than 27 pounds.

To help with the movement and storage of this type of heavy tooling, an E2M tool organizer is available. Instead of relying on multiple operators and a forklift to handle this heavy tooling, the organizer rolls right next to the press brake, where it can be aligned with the upper and lower toolholders on the press brake. The operator then just slides the tooling from the press brake into a holder in the organizer. To load the next round of tooling, the operator positions the organizer to align with the tooling that is to be loaded into the press brake.

“You can automate this, but it’s not always the best solution,” said Peter Timmerije, a Wila product specialist.

Electric-powered press brakes have been more widely available in recent years as fabricators have looked for more energy-efficient, quicker, and more precise bending machines. One of the forerunners in this equipment segment, SafanDarley, presented its new take on the technology for the first time at EuroBLECH.

The company’s newest generation of electric brakes employ a servo-electric drive with a double-pulley system. The new press brakes have a C-frame, a narrower press beam, and the ability to deliver greater tonnage per inch than previous generations. The brake is available with up to a 300-ton capacity.

On the lighter end of the spectrum, Bystronic unveiled its Xpert 40 electric press brake (see Figure 2) at the show. Robert St. Aubin, president of Bystronic Inc., said fabricators greatly influenced the design of the press brake, with the result being some innovative features.

One feature is storage for press brake tooling both within the operator’s reach and on the side of the brake. St. Aubin said it could accommodate tooling totaling 16 ft.

Another feature is the brake’s extra bottom weight. This acts as a counterbalance to the typically top-heavy portion of the press brake. This is especially important for those fabricators interested in moving the small press brake around the shop floor with a forklift. St. Aubin said it’s just a matter of aligning the forks with the corresponding holes in the press brake bottom, moving the equipment where it’s needed, and plugging the machine in.

Laser Cutting Developments

Fiber laser cutting for sheet metal made its worldwide debut at EuroBLECH back in 2008, so it makes sense that next-generation technology made its 2014 debut there as well.

Figure 3
The XFocus 2000 fiber laser from Kjellberg is a package that is designed to be hooked up to a cutting table and ready to provide a small or midsized shop with laser cutting capabilities.

Amada, working in conjunction with JDSU, introduced a direct-diode laser (DDL) that cut with 2 kW of power. It was incorporated into a laser cutting machine called the ExC.

The DDL power source, which differs from fiber lasers in that it doesn’t need an “active” fiber to assist in the creation of the laser light, has been used in the sheet processing industry for welding and heat-treating applications, but not for cutting because the quality of the light was not good enough. However, Amada and JDSU have worked together to develop a DDL beam that is suitable for cutting.

The cutting capabilities indicate a drastic improvement over traditional CO2 laser cutting technology, said Amada corporate officer Katsuhide Ito. (The new laser technology probably won’t be commercialized until later in 2015, he added.)

The real promise for the technology is its energy efficiency, Ito said during a EuroBLECH press conference. The DDL’s wall plug efficiency—or the optical power from electricity consumed—is around 40 percent to 45 percent, according to Amada officials. That is more than quadruple that of CO2 technology and almost 10 percent greater than fiber laser technology. The electrical requirement for the ExC machine running at the show was only 18 kVA.

On the other end of the laser cutting spectrum is the XFocus 2000 fiber laser from Kjellberg (see Figure 3). The plug-and-play system is designed to be connected to any table that accommodates plasma cutting. The power source, the laser cutting head, and the fiber-optic cable connectors are all included as part of the system.

The 2-kW fiber laser also comes with an integrated cutting database that simplifies laser cutting setup for its targeted audience, small and midsized shops that can’t afford a large fiber laser cutting machine. The database helps to set up gas pressures, height control, and cutting head focus position prior to cutting.

A Boschert punch/laser cutting machine was using the XFocus 2000 as its fiber laser power source at the show.

Other Fabricating Advancements

It’s not new to the European market, but the tigSpeed drive, from German welding company EWM, should catch the attention of fabricators in North America (see Figure 4). The gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process features a “dynamic” drive system, as it’s called by company officials, which feeds the consumable filler metal into the arc.

The wire feed, however, is not a straightforward, continuous feed. It works the wire in a forward-and-backward motion, which helps to produce a smaller heat-affected zone when compared to typical GTAW and improved weld characteristics, such as less distortion.

This automated feeding of the welding consumable allows the welder to focus on guiding the torch, not on manipulating a filler metal. Company officials said that a welder using this approach should be able to increase welding speeds and improve the quality of the welds.

Figure 4
EWM’s tigSpeed torch features automatic feeding of the welding consumable, allowing the welder to focus solely on guiding the torch in this gas tungsten arc welding process.

Because the technology is looked upon as being suitable for positional welding and for root passes on pipes, EWM is focusing its debut of the tigSpeed in the Texas region, where fabricators involved in oil and gas work will find this new approach to GTAW enticing.

Another aspect of fabricating that’s not new is material handling systems for blanking equipment. Swiss company ASTES4 has a unique take on it, however.

The company’s equipment handles the movement and the sorting of cut parts. The patented system consists of four Cartesian grippers that are mounted on a double gantry structure. A pair of grippers is mounted on each gantry, and each gripper can comprise a number of tooling combinations, such as all magnets, all vacuum holders, or some variation. The grippers can work individually to make the most of moving and sorting smaller parts, or work in concert to move larger and heavier parts.

Machine software makes the decisions related to which gripper tools are needed for pickup and placement of parts. However, these instructions can be modified through a simplified user interface.

“You have all of these fiber lasers, and they are cutting parts very quickly, but then you have to go back to the Middle Ages and sort the parts by hand,” said Fulvio Ferri, ASTES4’s business development manager.

That’s not the goal of modern metal fabricators. They want to keep their eye on the ball (see Figure 5) and keep moving forward, looking for new production efficiencies in an effort to better serve customers.

Figure 5
This soccer ball helped Jnius Design of Finland win an award from EuroBLECH show organizers for the most unusual product made from sheet metal. This particular futbol was on display in the Mate Precision Tooling booth.

About the Author
The Fabricator

Dan Davis

Editor-in-Chief

2135 Point Blvd.

Elgin, IL 60123

815-227-8281

Dan Davis is editor-in-chief of The Fabricator, the industry's most widely circulated metal fabricating magazine, and its sister publications, The Tube & Pipe Journal and The Welder. He has been with the publications since April 2002.