ISMR March 2024 | Page 47

FOCUS ON SURFACE FINISHING

“ The inquiry came to me via our website ,” recalled Raphael Goldbach , who is responsible for sales in Poland for ARKU .
During a visit to Baden-Baden , Strzelecki and his colleague Piotr Niżyński , head of maintenance at Instytut Mechaniki , wanted to carry out levelling tests . However , when he was on a visit to ARKU , the production coordinator discovered another type of machine : the EdgeBreaker ® series for deburring sheet metal components .
“ We saw what the EdgeBreaker ® could do and then turned the procurement into a project ,” confirmed Strzelecki .
Instytut Mechaniki not only ordered a levelling machine but also an EdgeBreaker ® 4000 deburring machine .
Part processing with the FlatMaster ® 55
A FlatMaster ® 55 has been working in the job shop ’ s production department for four years now . The precision levellers in this series are suitable for levelling punched , laser and flame-cut parts . The FlatMaster ® 55 model can handle a wide range of material thicknesses of between 0.6 and 16mm . The passage width can reach up to 1650mm .
“ The machine has servo-hydraulic levelling gap control and hydraulic overload protection to protect the drive and levelling unit . This allows us to achieve reliable and reproducible results ,” explained Goldbach .
The employees generally process all sheetmetal parts made of steel and stainless steel that are not too thick or too wide for the roller leveller . “ This applies to around 70 per cent of our parts ,” explained Strzelecki .
Before levelling , the sheets are cut with laser or plasma and deburred on an EdgeBreaker ®.
“ After levelling , we either already have a finished product or the parts are sent for bending and possibly welding ,” added Niżyński .
The EdgeBreaker ® 4000 proved so successful that Instytut Mechaniki ordered an EdgeBreaker ® 2000 just two years later . The two machines are basically intended for different tasks . The EdgeBreaker ® 4000 is designed for removing thick burrs after flame cutting . The machine processes these thick primary burrs with a heavy-duty grinding drum . A further unit with transverse brushes then removes the smaller secondary burr and rounds the edges at the same time . Processing the thick metal parts on both sides in a single pass , confirmed ARKU , saves over 50 per cent of the time compared to machines that work only singlesided .
Parts levelled with the FlatMaster ® 55 are not only straight , but also free of residual stresses . This makes them easier to weld .
Working with the deburring machine , instead of angle grinders , makes life much easier for the employees at Instytut Mechaniki .
The FlatMaster ® 55 handles the levelling of most parts at Instytut Mechaniki .
The sheet edges are still sharp and contain burrs after cutting ( left ). After processing with the EdgeBreaker ®, they are burr-free and cleanly rounded .
ISMR March 2024 | ismr . net | 47