Take the guesswork out of CNC tube bending

Builder of CNC tube bending machines, BLM Group asks who needs a programmer when 3D graphical programming software takes away any need to use any 'guesswork' when programming.

According to BLM Group no one using a tube bending machines equipped with a PC-based control (or a Siemens 840DI CNC) and running VGP 3D software needs a programmer.

BLM said that learning is very easy to get the most from its proprietary visual graphical programming software.

Designed as a general purpose 'tool', VGP 3D software is installed as standard on machines such as the all-electric E-Turn right and left hand tube bender.

The software selects automatically the bending program parameters that will optimise cycle times while 'deskilling' the setting process.

The minimum control system requirement is as follows.

* A PC with 15in touch screen monitor running the Microsoft Windows operating system.

* A Pentium 111 processor with 256MB Random Access Memory.

* An 18 GB hard disk for program storage, part details and tool library.

Inputting the bend co-ordinates of a component can be done either at the machine or, through an Ethernet network, from a remote PC located in, say, the production control office.

Entering either XYZ (where X = distance between bends, Y = bend angle and Z = tube rotation/orientation) or Cartesian UVW co-ordinates allows the VGP 3D software to create a part program and to display simultaneously on the screen in real time the shortest and most efficient bending cycle.

This will highlight possible collision risks and any interference of the bent tube with the machine.

* Coping with 'risks' - should such a risk be identified, an alternative strategy is then proposed on screen (with the new cycle time shown in real time) and can be accepted by the operator with a 'soft touch' on the screen.

This collision avoidance route eliminates any likelihood of expensive machine downtime, tool damage and material wastage.

Alternatively, the operator can opt to change the bending program manually, with all data input and selection performed on the touch screen.

Any change to the bending program is initiated by 'dragging and dropping' an icon into the desired position on the screen.

BLM told manufacturingtalk that this is a simple, visual and intuitive method that makes editing of even complex programs - such as multi-stack bending with bend-on-bend, multi-radii, variable radius and left-/right-hand bending - easy, quick and, above all, safe.

Essentially, the VGP 3D software checks for 'real part feasibility' by creating an environment on screen that takes account of the 'actual' conditions on the nominated CNC tube bender to calculate a cycle time based on the use of virtual tooling.

This feasibility check gives an immediate cost and time saving because, of course, there is no need to design, produce and adjust prototype tooling.

And it provides the necessary reassurance without physically running the machine, with the pre-production calculation of the real time cycle time ensuring accurate component costing for quotation purposes.

Even when different tube bending machines are used, there is no need for bend trials, because the software takes account of the allocated machine's 3D dimensions and characteristics when compiling the most efficient bending cycle.

Completed bend programs can then be saved according to specific search keys while production-related data can be used to monitor machine performance in terms of downtime, set-up time and maintenance requirements.

* All main tube sections - VGP 3D software covers all of the main tube sections - round, square, rectangular, oval, elliptic and flat-oval - with automatic calculation of tube length.

And it enables the most complex of tube components to be completed in one cycle on the 12 axes of the E-Turn tube bender.

For example it allows this multi-tool stack tube machine to perform, in automatic cycle, the following.

* A combination of left and right hand bends.

* Conventional (drawn) and variable radius (push) bends.

* Multi-radius bends.

* Tight radius bends.

* Compound bends (i e, with little or no straight between bends).

With all the axes movements set automatically, a job change-over can be completed in 2-3 min, which means that short batch work can be managed as efficiently as high volume work.

Incidentally, as a further safety check, when a new bend program is selected the E-Turn automatically runs its 'safeguard' cycle.

This reduces all speeds and pressures to 20% to eliminate possible collision damage that might result from inadvertent setting or tooling errors.

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