PRODUCT REVIEWS
Cuts ‘ on the fly ’
There are approximately 300 Bradbury Orbital Servo Shears ( B . O . S . S . ™ ) installed globally .
“ Introduced in 1998 , we developed the B . O . S . S . ™ high-speed , closed-loop flying shear to increase shearing productivity – and there is no other piece of equipment like it . With its new features , the B . O . S . S . ™ provides high production rates with close-tolerance shearing . As an added feature , the shear can be equipped with notching or slitting - allowing it to be used for various applications . The intelligent drive and shear system allow the B . O . S . S . ™ to be close-coupled to a new or existing roll former . The orbital design provides fast , smooth production rates - the acceleration or deceleration of the line does not affect the cut . An operator can manually enter length and batch information at the control station , or the B . O . S . S . ™ can receive downloaded production information from a remote computer ,” explained Bradbury .
Dual acceleration arms and stable , heavyduty linear bearings produce are designed to produce accurate cut tolerances . Cut accuracy is consistent throughout the entire acceleration and deceleration range of the roll former . The smooth , hump-free operation aims to eliminate noise and possible strip damage and paint marking caused by roll feed / hump line pre-cut systems . A four-roll cluster of work rolls corrects both upbow and downbow in the strip .
“ The reverse knife blade design of the four-edge bowtie blade assembly turns any
burr up on the leading edge of the strip to help protect the sheet surface during the stacking operation . The B . O . S . S . ™ has no hydraulic functions , for easy maintenance with no mess . Using the hand-wheel and lead screw , adjusting and locking the entry squaring guide is easy and time-saving when changing strip width or position ,” added Bradbury .
Four cascade rollers form a large radius to guide the strip into the shear . The rollers eliminate set or cross break as the strip starts and stops over the rollers . The base is fabricated with heavy plate construction and equipped with lifting lugs for safe transport , accessible hold-down holes and levelling screws . Maintenance panels are hinged and safety interlocked electronically for quick access and operator safety .
With over 60 years of growth and innovation , The Bradbury Co ., Inc ., is a global specialist in the design and manufacture of rollforming and coil processing equipment . n
. bradburygroup . com
New 3D printer
TRUMPF recently unveiled the new series of its TruPrint 3000 3D-printing system . The medium-format machine uses powder-bedbased laser melting to produce parts with a diameter of up to 300 millimetres and a height of up to 400 millimetres . It can handle all weldable materials including steels , nickelbased alloys , titanium and aluminium .
“ We ’ ve improved key aspects of the TruPrint 3000 to tailor it even more closely to the quality requirements , certifications and production processes of various industries ,” said Klaus Parey , managing director of TRUMPF Additive Manufacturing . The new TruPrint 3000 can be equipped with a second laser that almost doubles its productivity . “ The multilaser option significantly reduces part costs – that ’ s how we help our customers make the move into mass production ,” explained Parey . Two 500- watt lasers scan the machine ’ s entire build chamber in parallel . This makes production much faster and more efficient , regardless of the number and geometries of the parts . With the Automatic Multilaser Alignment option , the system can automatically monitor the multi-laser scan fields during the build stage and calibrate them to each other . With each laser scanning a contour , said TRUMPF , the process does not lead to any kind of weld seams .
TRUMPF specialists have transformed the movement of inert gas through the TruPrint 3000 - the way in which it flows through the machine from back to front is now steadier
and more uniform . As well as boosting the quality of printed parts , this also allows the operator to remove excess powder from the part while it is still inside the machine . Previous models required the operator to take the part out and remove the powder at a separate station . The new machine is designed to process the powder in a shielded environment , using an inert gas to prevent the powder from becoming contaminated during the build . This is a major advantage for sensitive industries such as medical device manufacturing .
The new TruPrint 3000 also comes with a melt pool monitoring function . This safeguards the quality of the part during 3D printing by automatically monitoring meltpool emissions and other metrics during the process . Special sensors in the laser optics continuously monitor the melt pool . A special piece of software compares these readings to the figures for a reference workpiece
stored in its database and presents a graphical display of any deviations , such as a melt pool that is too cold or too hot . This gives machine operators the information they need to detect any errors and take whatever action may be necessary .
Different industries and components have different requirements , which is why TRUMPF offers flexible production solutions .
“ The new TruPrint 3000 lets us tailor the process chain to perfectly match each customer ’ s manufacturing process ,” concluded Parey .
The TruPrint 3000 also offers an exchangeable cylinder principle with external unpacking and depowdering stations . This has several advantages , allowing the machine to better meet the customer ’ s specific needs , respond to growing production volumes and keep downtime to a minimum by working in parallel with production . n
80 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR September 2021