Product category:
Tubeworking: bending, cutting-off, profiling and end working
News Release from: BLM-Group UK | Subject: Adige TS72 tube cutting system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 07 August 2006
Tube cutting system offers fast size
change-over
Leading automotive exhaust manufacturer invested in an automatic tube-cutting system based on fast change-over of bar sizes and lengths, and a need to remove cut-to-length material quickly.
Continuous improvement is the language of world-class companies, says Andrew McCrae, manufacturing director of Bosal (UK), and it is a language that Bosal International understands better than most The Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of automotive exhaust systems, although it also manufactures other tube-based automotive products such as tow bars and roof bars as well as industrial products such as warehouse racking, precision tubing and irrigation systems
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 17 Jun 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The 45,600m2 Preston, Lancashire, UK plant has its own tube mill facility and is the second largest in the Group, employing 450 of the 6250-strong workforce.
In common with the other 31 manufacturing plants in the Automotive Division, Preston is involved in an on-going programme of expansion and change, and as part of the continuous improvement programme Andrew McCrae actively encourages everyone within his manufacturing team to become part of the decision-making process.
It is, he says, the best way for people to gain an understanding of what needs to be done, in terms of improving both the manufacturing process and the environment in which it is carried out, and why it is necessary to embrace change.
Further reading
Laser tube cutting done in a single cycle
An Adige automated laser tube cutting system can machine in one cycle virtually any shape, however complex, on the end of a tube or at any point along its length.
CNC tube bending machines are easy to program
Recent demonstrations of all-electric, CNC tube bending and forming machines showed how easily such machines can be set up and programmed.
Advanced laser cutting and forming of tube shown
Integrated tube processing systems enable users to improve labour productivity and component quality while simpler programming and fast production of prototype parts speeds product innovation.
ISO 9000-accredited Bosal (UK) was the first of the Group's European manufacturing plants to achieve the ISO 14001 environmental standard, and the impact is clearly evident in the workplace.
In addition to installing more efficient production equipment such as a new computer numerically controlled Adige TS72 tube cutting system, the emphasis is on providing the most effective and safe process route from the raw material used to produce precision tube to the dispatch of cut-to-length tube - for internal use or to external customers - and finished components to original equipment and aftermarket customers.
"We are in a very competitive industry," said McCrae, "So our focus on product quality and customer service is at the heart of Bosal's strategy of diversifying into value-added products rather than remaining solely as a tube manufacturer.
Here at Preston we moved first into cut-to-length tube supply and, more recently, into bespoke products based on bending and welding processes." The decision to invest in the new Adige TS72 tube cutting system, supplied by BLM Group UK, was based on the requirement to process increasing volumes of tube, a result, said McCrae, of continuing to win new contracts from a variety of customers.
"The sawing section, which originally functioned with second-hand machines, has to cope with the speed of production of tube; otherwise we would end up with large volumes of work-in-progress.
The flexibility that has resulted from the installation of this new automated saw is now a major factor in wining new business, because when you can guarantee a customer consistent delivery performance and quality you find that customer comes back time and time again." According to McCrae, the purchase and commissioning of the new TS72, which cuts tube in lengths up to 3m although that could be extended to 4.5m if required, involved a very short timescale that also encompassed training for the four-man operating team to allow for round-the-clock production.
"When looking to buy a new production saw, we were particularly interested in fast change-over of bar sizes and lengths, and we also needed to remove cut-to-length material quickly and easily.
We are extremely pleased with the end result and there has been a very positive response from the team, all of whom have found the new machine very easy to program." This is because the TS72's programming software selects for the operator the optimum working parameters from a comprehensive database covering blade speeds and feeds for different materials, saw blade selection and material feed.
The machine itself is capable of cutting four different programmable lengths from the same tube, while the cutting head construction with hardened and ground helical gears and automatic backlash compensation guarantees longer blade life, low noise levels and the optimum cut quality.
Bosal currently produces in excess of 91 million metres of thin-walled precision tube each year from its production sites in the UK, Belgium, France and South Africa, of which a large proportion is used within its own automotive plants.
For its part Bosal (UK) produces around 16 million metres of mainly round tube, although it also produces square, rectangular, flat oval, elliptical oval, triangular and special profiles.
Tubes are manufactured in various materials but mainly cold reduced and hot rolled mild steel in gauges from 0.8mm to 2.5mm and available in anti-corrosion pre-galvanised or aluminised finish.
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