PRODUCT REVIEWS
The UpDownCenter 2 at FiMAB. Folding from a single sheet.
Sheet metal specialist, FiMAB, has made its RAS UpDownCenter 2 a central element of its production of electrical enclosure cabinets. It uses the semi-automatic bending centre to manufacture precision panels and boxes.
The machine features bending lengths of up to 4,060mm, box heights of up to 600mm and a bending capacity of 4mm mild steel. The UpDownCenter 2 is operated from the gauging side, while long or high flanges can be removed from the folding beam side, when required, for ergonomic handling and material flow.
“ A 66 % reduction in bending time, 22 % faster welding processes and bend markfree visible surfaces clearly demonstrate the benefits. Single-piece manufacturing, automatic set-up and precise step bending for medical technology applications enable economical batch size one production, while maintaining quality,” RAS told ISMR.
Electrical enclosure cabinets
Now in its second generation, family-owned FiMAB in Germany has grown steadily since its foundation and today employs around 30 people( including several apprentices). Developing skilled young professionals remains a cornerstone of FiMAB’ s long-term strategy.
A metal cabinet.
Metal folding for electrical enclosures
“ Preserving what works while embracing new ideas perfectly reflects who we are,” said Markus Fiedler, Managing Director, FiMAB. Investing in the RAS UpDownCenter 2 was the next step in bringing this philosophy to the shop floor.
Around one quarter of FiMAB’ s annual turnover comes from electrical enclosure manufacturing. The company manufactures steel and stainless-steel enclosure cabinets for customers in the special-purpose machinery and mechanical engineering industries, where dimensional accuracy and repeatability are critical.
“ Our customers require enclosure cabinets in a wide variety of sizes and configurations. Producing this level of product variety economically is one of the biggest challenges in manufacturing,” explained Markus Fiedler.
Orders are generated through an online configurator and transferred directly into production via digital interfaces. CNC programs for laser cutting and metal folding are generated automatically and made immediately available on the shop floor. This seamless digital workflow makes economical batch size one production possible.
“ Previously, enclosure cabinets were produced on a press brake, requiring multiple parts, manual sheet turning, extensive set-up work and numerous weld seams. Press brake bending also left visible bend marks on the surface. For high-quality enclosure cabinets with visible surfaces, this was a significant quality disadvantage. Side panels had to be welded separately and precisely aligned, resulting in additional production time and increasing the risk of assembly errors,” outlined RAS.
FiMAB chose the RAS UpDownCenter 2 because it enables the production of deep electrical enclosure cabinets from a single sheet blank.
“ Our key requirement was the ability to manufacture deep cabinets from a single blank. That reduces weld seams and eliminates potential sources of error,” confirmed Thomas Ohngemach, Production Manager, FiMAB.
“ Metal folding produces bend mark-free surfaces, reducing rework and improving the appearance of finished enclosures. The UpDownCenter 2 processes sheet thicknesses from 0.5- 3.0mm. Largeformat panels and deep enclosures benefit particularly from the technology. UpDown
70 | ismr. net | ISMR September 2026