New tube / pipe tooling service
PRODUCT REVIEWS
Unison Ltd , a UK manufacturer of tube and pipe bending machinery , has launched a new bend tooling service designed to make it simple and straightforward for businesses to receive the consumable tooling they require , when they need it .
The result of a £ 500,000 investment to date , with a further £ 250,000 spend planned by Christmas 2023 , at the heart of the service is a new tooling manufacturing centre at Unison ’ s Scarborough ( UK ) headquarters . From here , fully tailored tooling agreements are prepared and around one hundred thousand pounds worth of tooling , including mandrel balls and wiper dies , is held in stock .
“ We ’ ve been aware of a gap in the consumable bend tooling market for some time ,” said Unison sales applications engineer , Luke Gibson . “ As such , we wanted to extend our already extensive tooling service to provide even greater convenience to Unison customers , while also giving users of other makes of tube-bending machines rapid access to our consumable and long-life products . Equipped with the latest manufacturing technologies , our new tooling centre allows us to do just that .”
By holding pre-agreed stocks of consumable tooling on behalf of its customers , Unison ensures much faster delivery times than for tooling that is made to order . Unison ’ s consumable tooling agreements enable customers to minimise the volume of tooling that they would typically keep on-site and benefit from the associated cost savings .
On-demand , next day and scheduled deliveries eliminate the risk of a tooling shortage that can stop production and provide the opportunity to standardise tooling across different manufacturing sites . As part of the service , Unison also offers volume discounts and the convenience of easy budgeting through regular payment plans .
“ Regardless of a customer ’ s consumable bend tool requirements , we ’ ll create an agreement that meets their needs perfectly ,” added Luke Gibson . “ No matter where they ’ re based , we ’ ll hold ample stocks of the bend tools they frequently require at one of our UK , USA or partner facilities around the world , for dispatch as and when they ’ re needed .”
As well as aluminium bronze consumable bend tooling , Unison also produces longlife precision tooling for challenging toolmanipulation applications . It can also customise tool mounts so that new tooling can be used with existing machines , while quick-change collets and mandrels and barcoded tooling further streamline the tubemanipulation process to help businesses save time and money .
Unison Ltd recently acquired UK-based wire and small tube-bending machinery maker , Pneuform , for an undisclosed sum . Pneuform ’ s range includes rotary head models , flat rotary line bending machines and enamelled wirebending machines . It paves the way for the company to also become a provider of machinery to the international wire-bending and coil-forming sectors . n
www
. unisonltd . com
Sheet metal vacuum handling solutions
At this November ’ s Blechexpo in Stuttgart , AERO-LIFT Vakuumtechnik GmbH showcased its latest handling technology solutions for sheet metal and other materials . The company was founded in 1992 .
The AERO-ADVANCE sheet metal vacuum lifter from AERO-LIFT .
In addition to its AERO-BASIC and AERO- ADVANCE sheet-metal lifting devices , AERO-LIFT also offers systems for swivelling and rotating sheet and plate materials . Mains-independent devices , such as the AERO-INDEPEND and AERO-SELECT ( some of them are forkliftcompatible ), are part of the broad product portfolio of the southern German company .
“ In addition to a particularly robust design and maximum durability , our lifting devices score with low operating costs and flexibility of the modular base system . The innovative and intuitive FORCE-LIFT tube lifter was demonstrated at Blechexpo , as were our flexible crane solutions ,” the manufacturer told ISMR .
AERO-LIFT Vakuumtechnik GmbH has been in the vacuum handling technology field for over 30 years . The family business was founded in Geislingen-Binsdorf / Baden-Württemberg , Germany , where the company ’ s headquarters are still located . It supplies tube lifters ; vacuum lifters ; area grippers for automation technology ; components , crane systems and services .
“ A wide variety of customers from construction and trades ; automotive ; chemicals ; food ; energy ; logistics ; metalworking and woodworking sectors benefit from our broad expertise and Swabian inventive spirit . Transported material is protected by vacuum cups during lifting and moving , a great advantage compared to conventional gripping and transport systems ,” concluded the company . n
www . aero-lift . de / en
ISMR November 2023 | ismr . net | 89