for a custom trolley system. This
bending process uses special tooling
- provided as part of the package by
Unison - to deliberately collapse part of
the tubing as it bends. This technique
provides great structural strength that
serves to make Crisp Clean’s trolleys
extremely robust. The key piece of this
particular frame is a rectangular shape,
made from a single square profile tube
with four 90-degree bends, plus 12
holes on all four sides for subsequent
assembly. Crisp Clean used to make this part using
two separate machines - bender and piercer - in
seven separate bending and piercing stages. The
new bender now makes the same part in a single
automatic cycle, almost tripling the speed of
production.
company’s business.
“With this acquisition, we were looking for a
machine that could replace an old hydraulic
bender, but also help us to evolve our
manufacturing process to be much leaner and
more flexible,” says Dave Hudsmith, Engineering
Manager for Crisp Clean Services. “Unison’s
in-depth engineering support came up with a
versatile multi-function solution that multiplies
productivity, but additionally gives us new forming
capability that we are now exploiting to create
more aesthetic and ergonomic shapes.”
Further major gains come from the software-based
set-up of the new Unison machine, thanks to its
all-electric architecture with servomotor-controlled
bending and movement. Crisp Clean’s old
machines are all hydraulically-powered, and can
only be set up for each production batch by skilled
staff. The new machine can be configured for the
next batch simply by loading a program, greatly
reducing the time required - as well as the operator
skill levels.
“Virtually every machine that Unison makes is
customized in some way, from a custom feature
to a comprehensive automated cell”, adds
Unison’s Steve Haddrell. “We try hard to analyze
our customers’ processes and to design flexible
solutions, and this project is an excellent example
of what can be achieved. We’re proud to be helping
this leading UK OEM to make a capital investment
that is having a positive impact across its business from design to manufacturing.”
This flexibility is helping Crisp Clean to re-shape
its production process. One of the first gains has
been a substantial reduction in batch sizes. This has
major benefits for Crisp Clean: it reduces the need
for storage and this in turn is helping the company
to adopt a much leaner build-to-demand process.
The roll forming capability of the Unison bender
is also particularly attractive for Crisp Clean. The
company’s design engineers can now combine
traditional tube bending with roll forming - all in
a single automatic cycle. This provides enormous
flexibility to design and efficiently fabricate
complex frame shapes for standard cleaning trolley
products - or customer-specific trolley designs
which represent a significant element of the
www.unisonltd.com
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TN MAY 2016