FOCUS ON BENDING
“ This lighter gauge not only improves handling and reduces weight across the product range, but also significantly lowers transportation costs: lighter components mean easier logistics and cheaper freight,” explained Salvagnini.
Adding intelligence to bending
A close-up of the P-Robot bending operation.
which integrates production management with real-time ERP feedback for smooth, lean flow across operations.
The latest 2025 investment, a P-Robot, marks a new milestone in automation at Penn Elcom. The robotised bending cell combines a second P1 panel bender with a robot and a roller conveyor, enabling fully autonomous bending cycles from loading to unloading.“ Designed to handle kit or batch-one production with minimal operator input, the P-Robot boosts throughput and reduces handling time, while maintaining consistent quality and precision even on high-mix product lines,” Salvagnini told ISMR.
A system that learns and scales
According to Parda, Salvagnini’ s technology does more than speed up production; it enables smarter decisions.
“ We use the OPS software to dynamically assign work orders, track progress and balance loads between machines. It’ s not just about pushing parts through, it’ s about knowing exactly what’ s happening, when and why,” he explained.
This level of control and automation has delivered measurable results. Lead times were slashed, stock levels reversed from back order to immediate availability, and capacity doubled without hiring additional operators. Staff numbers in the assembly department dropped from eleven to four, while weekly output increased to over 20,000 parts.
Another key benefit has been the opportunity to reduce material thickness( what the team calls degauging) without compromising product performance. By leveraging advanced bending geometries, parts previously made in 1.2mm sheet can now be produced in 0.7mm, maintaining structural rigidity while cutting raw material costs.
A finished part from the P-Robot.
Press brake bending at Penn Elcom.
Penn Elcom’ s latest 2025 investment, a P-Robot robotised bending cell.
The journey didn’ t stop at panel bending. After witnessing the productivity of the P4 and P1, Penn Elcom turned its attention to press brakes. The company recently installed a B3. ATA press brake from Salvagnini, equipped with automatic tool adjusters for upper and lower tools.
“ We were doing 90 tool changes per week manually,” outlined Parda.“ Each one took 30 minutes. Do the maths: this machine paid for itself in set-up time alone.”
The B3 features scalable automation modules that allow masked-time tool changes for batch-one production. Integrated into the same software environment as the panel benders, it fits seamlessly within Penn Elcom’ s smart factory vision.
The human factor
For a company not built on traditional engineering expertise, the transition to smart manufacturing has been accessible and empowering. Many operators joined with no formal technical background, yet now confidently manage complex Salvagnini systems.
“ The human-machine interface is intuitive,” explained Angel Petrov, Production Coordinator, Penn Elcom.“ Because the systems behave consistently, training is efficient even for people who have never worked in bending before.”
The learning curve is short, but the impact is long-lasting. Operators quickly develop a sense of ownership and pride in running advanced machinery, often progressing from basic tasks
38 | ismr. net | ISMR December 2025 / January 2026