Product category:
Pressbrakes and folding machines
News Release from: Bystronic UK | Subject: Advanced press brake - brake press
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 February 2007
Advanced press brake ensures SS part
quality
The pressure reference bending technology with dynamic crowning on a press brake (brake press) ensures that a fabricator can fulfil the highest demands for the production of stainless steel parts.
Foster Refrigerator is the UK's leading manufacturer of a wide range of award-winning commercial refrigeration equipment and systems for the foodservice, bakery and retail industries The company's innovative refrigeration product range includes blast chillers and freezers, refrigerated storage cabinets and counters, walk-in cold rooms, refrigeration systems, prep stations, ice makers, water coolers, temperature monitoring and refrigeration equipment specially developed for the professional baker
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 1 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The sheet metal division, headed up by production manager Roy Ebbs, uses a wide range of equipment including punch presses and press brakes.
Ebbs joined the company two years ago and found plans in place to update the sheet metal division starting with the press brakes (brake presses).
He commented: "One of my first tasks was to instigate and justify a new press brake in terms of accuracy and pay-back time.
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I was very familiar with the Bystronic Edwards Pearson range of press brakes having worked with them for many years and have always been impressed with the standard of equipment and the service and back-up provided by the company.
However, there were other suppliers to consider and so began a detailed selection process.
We visited a number of users as well the manufacturing units themselves and conducted various times studies." He said: "All the machines were similar in terms of speed, however Bystronic impressed us with their professional and knowledgeable demonstrations and we believed the company had the same ethos we have in terms of looking after the customer." At the beginning of 2006 Foster commissioned its first Bystronic PR6 DNC 100 tonf (1000kN) press brake.
The machine has an overall bed length of 4100mm with a distance of 3750mm between the frames and features a high precision 4-axis back gauge which allows all movements of the backgauge to be automatically set from the program.
The operator doesn't need to make any manual adjustments as the program is automatically set, further de-skilling the operation.
The upper beam movements are synchronised and very high speed.
Enlargement of daylight and stroke was specified to be an extra 100mm to allow longer tools to be used for folding deep boxes.
The pressure reference bending technology with dynamic crowning on the PR press brake ensures that Foster can fulfil the highest demands for the production of stainless steel parts.
The actual material thickness is measured and controlled by the machines integrated material sensing system (IMS).
Variations in thickness are corrected through new calculations of the bottom dead centre point during the bending process and results in highly accurate first time bends.
The position of the sheet is determined through precise pressure measurement and any necessary compensation to the bend angle automatically taken care of.
Corrections for deflection in the upper and lower beams is achieved using active hydraulic bed compensation, the automatic internal system built into the lower bed which produces the necessary crowning in conjunction with the PR system, deflects the bed and table to ensure the fold angle is consistent along its entire length.
Forming can take place anywhere along the bed which makes the PR press brake ideal for multi-tool set ups where more than one tool set-up is required.
In other words it allows Foster's to bend complex components in one handling.
A hydraulic upper tool clamping system together with a motorised tool magazine provides optimum tool change and reduced set-up times.
Tools can be slid directly from the motorised magazine into the machine This makes the machine highly suitable for small batch quantities through tool change times of seconds rather than parts of an hour.
The tool clamping system automatically self seats the upper tool when clamping is effected further reducing set up times and safe guarding against damaged tools.
Foster's also opted to have the machine equipped with the dynamic front bending aid option.
This aid provides support and lifting of thin gauge material and ensures that forming of the material is carried out in a controlled manner, especially where the long sides of the component extends out of the front of the machine, which would alternatively be 'whipped' upwards during the bending operation.
This allows one operator to form large panels without fear of "back bending" the material or the need to use two operators to lift the material.
By utilising the DNC control, the movement of the bending aid is synchronised with the actual bending process and the vertical movement of the H axis is automatically controlled.
The bending aid is located on a linear guide rail allowing lateral sideways movement and positioning of it anywhere along the working length of the machine.
Another benefit of the PR range is that any change in the machine caused by temperature changes, be it caused by running temperature or variations in ambient temperatures within the factory environment, are monitored using temperature sensors.
The penetration of the upper tool into the lower tool is automatically corrected so that no change of component angle occurs.
The machine also features a CNC controlled safe edge table which allows safe edges to be produced without tool changing and in one operation.
In addition AKAS motorized laser guards ensure the operator's safety but allow the machine to operate without the normal restrictions of conventional Light guard systems.
Cycle times are drastically reduced by not having light guards to be clear during the bending cycle The machine is equipped with ByBend application software which allows the import and export of data for the creation of bending programs.
Other benefits of ByBend include the following.
* CAD-CAM support along the complete process chain.
* Off-line programming.
* Automatic and manual bending sequence.
* 3D simulation.
* Collision control.
* Shortening/expansion of blank sizes.
* Automatic or manual calculation of the process data.
* Automatic generation of 2D geometry data, bending process data and set-up plans.
The machine features the Cybelec Modeva 2D 10in Windows XP based colour graphic system to control all bending functions.
The system is equipped with a 20000 product memory capacity and can be networked for off-line programming.
Ebbs said: "We were delighted with the machine".
"The repeatability and precision thanks to the crowning system is excellent and we can go back to a program a week later assured that the accuracy of the bend will be as consistent as it was before.
The machine itself and the software are easy to operate allowing anyone on the factory floor to operate the machine." Such was the success of the machine, coupled with the fact that Foster Refrigerator had an excellent year, the company ordered a second replica machine at the EuroBlech exhibition towards the end of last year.
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