Tube bender measures with laser to oust scrap

Claimed to be one of the highest-specification tube bending machines ever built, the machine's electronically-actuated bending axes are controlled by a laser measurement system.

At UBER Precision Manufacturing in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA, Unison has commissioned what it said is one of the highest-specification tube bending machines the company has ever built.

To ensure that tubing is bent without scrap, a laser measurement system controls the machine's electronically-actuated bending axes.

Unison said that the technology overcomes the common problem caused by variances in the 'spring back' characteristics of materials.

Unison told manufacturingtalk that the machine repeatedly bends small batches of tubular parts to accuracies of a 0.1 deg or better.

* Minimising 'time-to-market' - at a time when much of the USA's traditional manufacturing base is migrating to lower-wage economies, UBER saw an opportunity for US-based bent tube product supply.

The Unison machine is a key element of UBER's competitive strategy, which provides a highly automated design-to-manufacture methodology that minimises time to market.

Director of R and D at UBER, Jeff Boggess, said that dealing with overseas sub-contractors is not always as beneficial as it's made out to be.

He explained: "There can be many issues to overcome when bringing products to market, introducing delays, quality issues and cost increases.

We take the time on the front end of a project to closely define job requirements, verify designs before production, and run test parts to compare back to the original design".

Boggess opined: "With proper planning, and good communications, you can do the job right first time".

* Multi-stack machine - the Unison tube bender is a multi-stack machine for bending tubing diameters up to 4in (100mm).

UBER's other machinery investments include two advanced 4kW laser cutting machines with 3D capability, of which one is dedicated to tubing.

The company has also invested extensively in software infrastructure.

It can accept design files produced by virtually any CAD software.

Verification tools are used help avoid problems before parts actually enter production, including collision detection algorithms for the automated production machinery.

ERP software is employed to streamline processes.

"Flexibility of production was a critical goal for UBER.

It had to be able to manufacture perfect products even in batch sizes down to one or two," said Alan Pickering of Unison.

He said that speed of tool changeovers and reconfiguration, and accuracy and repeatability were critical characteristics, which are handled by providing a large multi-stack system that can accommodate tools for perhaps three different jobs, plus the laser control system".

He said it is: "A unique product that effectively assures no-scrap bending.

And today, if you're dealing with exotic alloys, this can save thousands upon thousands of pounds".

* laser measurement - Unison's laser measurement module overcomes the common problem of variances in the spring back characteristics of materials from different metal production batches with minor differences in grain and temper.

The module is intended for manufacturers of precision and high-value tubular parts.

The non-contact optical measurement system measures bend angles by monitoring changes in the reflection distance of two laser beams.

In operation, it takes a reference measurement from the straight edge of the tubing.

Then, after the bend is made, the system automatically commands the clamping die to move away, allowing the material to spring to its natural position, and takes a second measurement, from which the actual bend angle is calculated.

Any difference to the programmed bend is displayed, along with a simple selection button that commands the machine to automatically re-grip the tube and apply an additional force to achieve the required angle.

The system automatically calculates the required adjustment, allowing for the actual spring back characteristics of the tubing material from the first bend.

It ensures that angles can be fabricated first time to very high accuracies, said Unison.

Unison originally developed the measurement system to support a defense equipment contractor that produces precision tubular parts in single or very small batches just-in-time, and often from exotic alloys, supporting ship production.

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