Coldwater Machine’s automated tube/bar straightener learns part types without operator intervention

Image provided by Coldwater Machine Co.

Coldwater Machine, a Lincoln Electric Company, has announced the availability of its automated, servo-controlled tube and bar straightening system for carbon steel, stainless, aluminum, copper, and brass. It incorporates artificial intelligence that automatically adapts by learning different part types without requiring operator intervention.

Bundles of tubes are loaded onto a staging deck and then automatically fed to the straightening equipment. In the straightening process, the tube is rotated 360 degrees while sensors measure it at multiple data points along its length to create a profile. This data is sent to the programmable logic controller, where it is compared to the straightness specification to determine where it needs to be corrected.

A servo press, mounted to a servo-controlled rail, is positioned to the indicated location determined by the sensors and then bends the tube repeatedly over its length to bring it within tolerance. This process continues until the straightness requirements are achieved.