FACE TO FACE
ISMR : Please take us through the new technologies that you are showcasing here at EuroBLECH ?
Ficep XBLADE .
CC : We are presenting two new solutions here at EuroBLECH in Hanover . One is our XBLADE gantry-type machine for milling long profiles ( typically structural steel profiles but also profiles for window frames , railways or square tubes / hexagonal shapes ). XBLADE is a multi-purpose machining centre with a five-axis universal head . The beauty here is that we don ’ t have to handle the parts ; it is the machine that moves on top of the parts for increased accuracy and positioning . The novelty that we are presenting at EuroBLECH is the cutting head that also features a circular saw , so compact cuts and multi-mitre cuts in any direction are possible . This is pretty revolutionary ; no other solution exists like this for structural steel today . We have received a lot of enquiries for it already .
The second new machine here is our KRONOS . This plasma-cutting machine can cut grating ( typically , not a full plate surface to be cut but gaps between grates / slats ) so this is a special solution that uses a welding wire to seal the gaps while it is plasma cutting . This means that a user can cut any shapes they wish on a grate without having to stop the plasma cutting process .
On our stand , the KRONOS has been coupled with a new Cartesian unloading device ( a gripper with magnets ) that can unload components that have been cut . We have integrated a new feature , a deburring tool . So , while we are doing the unloading , we are deburring the underside of the part and then sorting the pallets automatically . Basically , we are trying to cut out secondary operations , while we are moving the material .
KRONOS HP , SP & PC models are heavyduty gantry style thermal cutting systems engineered for steel fabricators who need to generate diverse plate parts from stock plates . The Ficep KRONOS integrates all the cutting , marking and drilling processes into one single operation to reduce material handling costs .
Ficep KRONOS technology .
The KRONOS machine on the Ficep stand at EuroBLECH 2024 .
ISMR : How did you handle the R & D process for these new technologies ?
CC : Our R & D process takes around a year but , in fact , we purchased new software tools that allow us to better integrate the different resources around a project . This enables us to co-design and collaborate in a more efficient way , cutting development time now down to six months .
All our machines are designed in a modular way so , for example , the same functionality heads , working units , frames etc . can be used across all our machine platforms . Modules have multi-platform interfaces so that we can create a higher volume for better industrialisation of products .
Ficep ’ s structural steel and plate showroom in the Ficep Academy .
ISMR December 2024 / January 2025 | ismr . net | 21