Nov 16 2009
A new class of tube bending applications is made possible by the launch of all-electric benders for handling tubing diameters of up to 175 mm (7 inches), from the machine innovator Unison. The company's newly-extended all-electric tube bending machinery range brings the enormous process flexibility and business advantages of software-controlled set-up and bending to a large range of heavy-duty applications. Machines from the Unison Breeze family can now generate bending torques as high as 165,000 Nm/121,698 pound feet.
Breeze 170 machines open up new application possibilities for aerospace and shipbuilding companies. The ability to accommodate 175 mm (7 inches) diameter tubing makes it particularly suitable for handling lightweight high-strength ducting manufactured from specialist materials. Fast, software-controlled set-up enables the Breeze 170 to handle batch sizes as small as one in a very efficient manner. The new large diameter capability is already being proven in the field, with one of the latest Unison machines recently entering service in an aerospace manufacturing facility, and a second machine currently being built to support naval shipbuilding.
"All-electric machines have become preferred over hydraulic actuation in tube bending applications involving precision shaping, exotic alloy materials, or small batch sizes," says Unison's CEO Alan Pickering. "Expanding the scope of all-electric machines to seven inch diameters provides the means for new classes of user to improve their production procedures and processes - allowing radical improvements in a large number of areas including machine set-up, the operator skills required, minimum batch sizes, post-bend testing operations, and the need to make sample bends on new material batches to understand the material's characteristics."
In addition to launching larger machines, Unison is releasing a new generation of its Unibend Control Software, which the company believes delivers the most versatile tube-bending capability available worldwide. Among many new software features are a brand new intuitive graphical user interface, and a simple bending simulation facility to help users develop collision-free programs for the most complex part shapes.
Unison's tube bending machines are available in North America exclusively from Horn Machine Tools. More information is available at: http://www.unisonltd.com/products.htm and http://www.hornmachinetools.com/
TUBE BENDING EXCELLENCE TOUR
At FABTECH, Unison is offering educational tours to users, to demonstrate how manufacturers can reap productivity benefits from the precision and flexibility of servomotor-controlled tube bending technology. The highly practical tours are provided without cost, and take users onto the manufacturing lines of a number of advanced users. The tours typically include visits to an aerospace components company and a manufacturer of commercial vehicles. The aerospace company employs all-electric benders to provide single-stage fabrication of extremely complex part shapes - often made using demanding materials such as titanium tubing, where any scrap is extremely expensive. For the automotive manufacturer, the key challenge is lowering the cost of parts production, while handing a wider range of tube sizes.