FOCUS ON TUBE FORMING
Increasing infrastructure development , energy sector expansion ( growth in oil , gas and renewable energy projects ) and production / development in the automotive and aerospace sectors will also boost the need for tubing solutions . Supply chain disruptions , however ( due to geopolitical tensions , natural disasters or pandemics ) could also impact the availability of raw materials and delay production timelines .
In this article , we highlight a selection of some of the latest global tube and pipe processing innovations , including cutting and bending ( but not rolling ). They have been listed in alphabetical order ( A-H ), with Part Two of this article ( alphabetical listings H-Z ) appearing in the April issue of ISMR .
Tube and pipe processing
ACCURL ’ s laser tube cutting machines are 2D and 3D laser cutting systems for tubes , pipes and profiles from 12mm to 610mm ( 0.5 ” to 24 ”) in diameter and up to 18m ( 60 ”) in length . Fully automatic loading and unloading requires less effort , resulting in greater productivity during operation .
Known for over 40 years for its cutting optimisation expertise , AKYAPAK Machinery offers profile bending and tube cutting systems , as well as drilling-cutting machines . Its portfolio includes plate / profile rolling and tube bending machines . Its ABM product line , using servo motors , produces curves for tubes of 1 ” ( 25mm ), 1-1 / 2 ” ( 38mm ), 2 ” ( 50mm ) and 3 ” ( 80mm ) diameter with varying lengths and are designed specifically for industrial sectors such as automotive , furniture , HVAC and oil and gas . Multi-Stack operation enables bending in a wide range of angles while rolling .
Its new HARE system has the capability to process H , L , ( - ), U , square and rectangular
Alma 3D / Tube software . profiles in a single pass . Using robotic arm technology , it is designed to minimise manual intervention and reduce production costs while enhancing cutting quality . It can reach all four sides of the material . It delivers comprehensive cutting , including the underside , with no need to rotate the part .
Alma is a leading CAD / CAM software developer for sheet metalworking , 2D / 3D / tube cutting and robotics .
Almacam 3D / Tube software is dedicated to the programming of all 3D cutting machines and robots . The software pilots all tube and profile cutting installations : 3- , 4- or 5-axis machines with one or more mandrels , robotised cells for tube and profile cutting . It covers all the programming process steps : CAD import or modelling of tubes and profiles ; management of manufacturing orders ; automatic nesting of tubes or profiles ; creation and automatic scheduling of trajectories and generation of ISO codes .
AMOB tube bending technology .
The AMADA Group is one of the world ’ s leading manufacturers of sheet metalworking machines . Founded in 1946 in Japan , AMADA has been present in Europe for more than 50 years .
Its ENSIS-RI laser tube cutting machine can perform flat , tube , channel and angle profile processing on a single machine . The fibre laser tube cutting machine , ENSIS-RI , can process round , square and rectangular tubes as well as channel and angle profiles . ENSIS technology for laser beam control and the Rotary Index system for tube cutting are combined in one machine for an extensive range of production requirements .
It is easy to switch from flat sheet to tube mode , according to AMADA . Automation on the machine is handled via the STRI module ( tube ) for the AS LUL , makes it possible to maximize the profitability of an ENSIS-RI for higher volume sheet cutting production . It allows fully automated flat sheet processing , combined with existing tube mode production . The support table helps with the loading and unloading of tubes . The flat sheet cutting mode is managed by the AS LUL . The tower takes care of automatic loading and unloading of sheets to the AMADA laser , and stores raw material and micro-jointed sheets .
AMADA ’ s VPSS 4ie Tube software solution automatically nests profiles ( tube , channel and angle profiles ).
Portuguese manufacturer , AMOB , recently launched a new tube bending machine — the CH 350 CNC . Optimised for tubes from Ø114.3mm up to Ø355mm , it can process bending radii of up to 1000mm .
“ The carriage positioner is designed to handle tubes and profiles weighing hundreds of kilos while maintaining the same levels of precision as smaller machines . Fully electric axes on the machine , controlled by servo motors , ensure the perfect positioning each
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