NEW FAMILY OF FAST FEED MILLING CUTTERS CARRYING TANGENTIALLY CLAMPED RHOMBIC INSERTS
ISCAR is introducing a new family of high feed shell mill cutters carrying tangentially clamped rhombic inserts with 4 cutting edges. The new cutters have been designed for roughing operations of cavity and pocket milling in the die & mould industry and for general engineering.
The FFV D…-R-VN07 tools are available in shell mill configurations in a diameter range of 40 to 100 mm and can be applied up to 1.5 mm depth of cut.
Featuring a 16˚ lead angle, R2.8 mm programming radius, strong dovetailed insert clamping, and ramp down and side plunging capability, the tools enable high metal removal rate due to the small entrance angle, which allows high table feed at shallow depths of cut. Coolant holes are directed effectively to the cutting zone and a new polished coating for smooth chip flow and protection against corrosion and wear.
The new tangentially clamped FF VNMT… inserts are available with two types of cutting geometries for optimal machining of a large variety of engineering materials: “ER” for general applications and “ETR” with reinforced cutting edges for interrupted cut and unfavourable conditions. The main application field is rough- and -semi-finish milling of sculptured surfaces and steep profiles, including up-and down-ramping.
For more information, please contact ISCAR South Africa (PTY) LTD – Tel: 011 997-2700.
A serrated cutting edge of HELI3MILL inserts enables high-performance milling of non-ferrous materials.
In milling applications, 90° cutters are perhaps the most common tools. These versatile tools are used for milling square shoulders, slots, face operations bound by shoulders, edges, pockets, and cavities. Face mills perform machining by ramping and turn-milling. These 90°cutters prevail in the product range of tool manufacturers that produce general-purpose mills whether indexable, solid, or brazed.
In selecting 90°milling cutters, there are several factors to be examined such as the material to be machined, the removal of stock, required accuracy, surface finish, stability, and the characteristics of the machine tool in use. These factors influence the cutter type, cutting geometry, tool configuration, and more. The same factors are also the key points for choosing a cutter design on behalf of a tool manufacturer intended for its production processes. For example, solid mills provide ultimate machining accuracy while an indexable tool concept enables machining under heavy loads and provides additional cost-effectiveness per cutting edge. The cutting geometry of solid and brazed mills becomes complete only after grinding. In indexable mills, the shape of a sintered insert is the key contributing factor to achieve optimal tool geometry.
A quantum leap was achieved in the world of metalworking during the early 1990’s with the introduction of the ISCAR HELIMILL – a family of 90° milling tools that introduced helical shaped edged inserts. A highly effective edge was generated by the intersection of the insert’s top (rake) face and the helical insert side (relief) surface. This milestone geometric design formed a constant positive rake and a constant relief along the length of the insert’s cutting edge. The ground-breaking feature caused a significant reduction in power consumption and ensured a very smooth cut. ISCAR’s HELIMILL concept heralded a new design approach and benchmarked indexable milling by anchoring the geometry of an insert at the forefront of milling technology.
A polygon comprises the shape of inserts in 90° milling cutters. These inserts may be rectangular, square, parallelogram, rhombic, triangular or trigon (broken triangle). The shape of an insert determines the number of indexable cutting edges. There are additional important insert features, which relate to the insert’s shape. A square or triangular insert features greater width compared to a rectangular insert shape. Increasing the insert width facilitates a larger central hole and enables using greater clamping screw sizes to improve the securing function of an insert. However, increasing the insert width limits the minimal diameter of a milling cutter and requires larger chip gullets, which reduce the strength of the cutter body. This is just one factor to consider when designing 90° milling cutters with indexable inserts. At the same time, there are other contributing elements such as the mounting method (radial, tangential), range of corner radii, a wiper flat, chip splitting functions, and more. It is imperative to consider the type of material being processed and the type of milling operation for which the cutter is designed.
A parallelogram shape provides an optimally harmonious combination of the cutting-edge length, varied corner radii, ramping-down capabilities, and additional parameters of the cutting geometry and insert strength. This explains why the parallelogram shape remains common. A significant disadvantage of the shape is the number of cutting edges – limited by two in a traditional design configuration. A double-sided, reversible insert concept seems to be the simple way to increase the number of edges on an insert more effectively. There are additional attributes to think about when considering a double-sided insert configuration. Additional limitations affect the relief angle and increase the axial rake of a milling cutter after the inserts are assembled on the tool body.
The examples mentioned must be considered when developing indexable milling cutters. The careful study of contributing factors and understanding the relationship between the intricately engineered elements can lead to a winning tool solution. To provide a wide array of solutions for 90° milling cutting tool manufacturers develop multiple cutter shapes and innovative single- and double-sided indexable inserts.
With the many forms and shapes of cutters in the tool market, the creation of new geometries has become an obsolete task. ISCAR’s NEOLOGIQ campaign has given birth to unique innovative milling solutions in aim to conquer new quests for fast and productive milling solutions.
The combination of a square profile with specially shaped rake and side faces is a design feature of cost-effective NEODO S890 inserts.
ISCAR’s prolific R&D design engineers invented the new NEODO S890 milling cutters designed for rough, semi-finishing, face and square shoulder milling operations primarily for steel and cast iron. The 90° cutter design places cost-effectiveness and productivity at its forefront, intended for milling under unfavourable conditions. The tool utilizes a strong-structured double-sided insert. The insert features a square profile, while the top, bottom and side face of the insert are specially shaped by ISCAR’s unique pressing technology. This provides 8 helical right-hand cutting edges, 4 from the top and 4 from the bottom. When mounted on the cutter, the insert guarantees positive radial and negative axial tool rake angles, which promise smooth cutting and reduced power consumption for milling under diverse machining conditions and interrupted cuts. A dovetail profile of the insert pocket enables very rigid clamping that substantially increases cutter stiffness. The insert has a built-in wiper flat to improve surface finish. A new look on a square insert profile in combination with the advantages of pressing technologies has resulted in effective and economical solutions for face milling, particularly for machining close to shoulders where work holding constraints exist.
The double-sided 90° HELIDO Trigon tool was derived from a trigon shape.
A double positive cutting geometry characterizes HELIDO Trigon milling cutters that carry double-sided inserts of a “broken-triangle” profile.
The insert configuration provides 6 indexable cutting edges and ensures higher tooth density for increased feed rate and maximized productivity. The tools have a double-positive cutting geometry: positive axial and radial rake angles. These attributes contribute to lower power consumption and allow rough milling applications on machines with limited power. The versatile HELIDO Trigon tools are suitable for milling shoulders, slots, side plunging and ramping by use of helical interpolation. The main advantage of these tools is the combination of 90° profile accuracy, productivity, and cost efficiency.
Efficient milling of aluminium alloys and other non-ferrous materials (ISO N group of application) requires a sharp cutting edge and a polished rake face. The chip-splitting capability of a cutting edge is an additional tool to improve performance. The serrated edge geometry of the single-sided triangular HELI3MILL inserts, which have proven themselves as real workhorses in 90° milling, are cost-effective tools.
Given case studies convincingly confirm the conclusion that the possibilities for improving 90° indexable milling cutters are not exhausted. A fresh right-angle on the cutter design will lead to an attractive solution, even when considering the redundancy in developing new insert geometries.
A serrated cutting edge of HELI3MILL inserts enables high-performance milling of non-ferrous materials.
For more information, please contact ISCAR South Africa (PTY) LTD – Tel: 011 997-2700.
A Micro 90 coolant-driven high-speed compact spindle ensures extremely high rotating velocities.
“Where Innovation Never Stops!” is the slogan that appears on the walls of the production facilities at ISCAR headquarters and has been synonymous with the company for several decades.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not interrupt the innovation process, and between 2020 and 2021, ISCAR introduced the NEOLOGIQ marketing campaign comprised of advanced cutting tools and tooling solutions for modern metalworking. The significant changes in manufacturing, such as intensive digitizing, the shift to electric drive in the automotive industry, and growing precise workpiece fabrication, have emerged new demands for cutting tools. Notwithstanding, the accelerated pace of changes sharpens the demands and requires more ISCAR NEOLOGIQ products that answer to modern age machining. “Machining with No Boundaries” is the NEOLOGIQ mindset.
Holemaking news
CHAM-IQ-DRILL, the family of assembled drills that mount exchangeable carbide heads, is now upgraded with new heads in the diameter range of 33-40 mm. These heads can be mounted on any drill possessing the appropriate pocket size. The main feature of the new heads is a multifunctional cutting geometry, which enables effective drilling of various engineering materials such as steel, stainless steel, heat-resistant special alloys, and titanium (ISO P, M, and S groups of application) assuring hole precision within IT10-IT9 accuracy grades. ISCAR’s customers will benefit from using the new heads which guarantee to maintain less stock of tools for machining diverse materials.
3-flute LOGIQ3CHAM drills provide nearly flat bottom holes.
The ISCAR LOGIQ-3-CHAM is also based on the concept of exchangeable carbide heads with 3 flutes for improved productivity and is now supplemented by new carbide heads for achieving a nearly flat bottom hole. Flat bottom holes are necessary for screw head sockets, spring seats, washer ports, etc. The heads ensure drilling up to an 8-hole depth-to-diameter ratio without a pre-hole. The new design facilitates generating holes with a nearly flat bottom by use of a single pass. The heads are mounted on existing LOGIQ-3-CHAM tools that significantly expand the application range of the family and reduce inventory costs.
So, how do you increase the drilling depth? Use a longer drill?
MODUDRILL is a family of modular drills with replaceable carbide heads that carry indexable inserts and provide an alternative solution. Mounting an exchangeable extension holder on a drill body increases the drilling depth by an additional 200 mm when machining holes in a diameter range of 33-40 mm.
In high-speed reaming, a combination of a carbide reaming head with a rolling device in one single tool results in a short operational time for achieving accurate hole diameter along with a mirror-like surface finish.
Key aspects in turning
A NEOSWISS turning tool carries a quick-change head with indexable insert.
A modular tool concept is the way to reach high versatility. NEOSWISS, a new tool system with quick-change heads, follows this concept. There are different types of heads for indexable inserts. The system is suitable for turning, parting, grooving, and threading applications. By use of a unique high-clamping-force mechanism, the heads are mounted on a toolholder. The mechanism provides an accurate cutting edge position each time and utilizes high position repeatability. The system intended mainly for Swiss-type machines enables removing heads and replacing inserts within the tight confines of CNC machining centers.
ISCAR has developed a new lever dual lock securing mechanism for improved clamping rigidity intended for ISO turning inserts. The new design, referred to as the COMBI-D-LOCK family, combines the advantages of two conventional clamping methods by the use of a lever and a top clamp. An insert is locked in two directions from the top and the bottom. This provides better stability and rigidity, and in comparison, to the conventional lever improves tool life and increases productivity.
LOGIQ-F-GRIP features a new highly advanced tool family for parting solutions. The central component of the family is a robust tool block that mounts a 4-pocket adapter. There are cases when the rib, a reinforcement element of the block, interferes and prevents clamping the block on typical turret positions. NEOLOGIQ overcomes this problem by providing additional blocks with the rib placed on the alternative side of the block. The revolutionary LOGIQ-F-GRIP parting system was designed to achieve extra stability and vibration-resistant high productivity parting and grooving operations. The highly engineered LOGIQFGRIP is an assembled tool block that comprises a unique durable holder and a high-stiffness quad blade with pockets for mounting inserts.
Innovations in milling
NEODO S890 is a family of 90° indexable face mills for rough and semi-finishing operations. The mills mount durable square double-sided inserts with 8 cutting edges. NEODO S890 facilitates face and square shoulder milling while providing an additional option for milling close to shoulders where there are workpiece or work holding fixture constraints. ISCAR customers have requested additional corner radii and tool diameters, therefore, this tool family was expanded with additional pressed-to-size inserts with a 0.8 mm corner radius and cutters in diameters 32 and 25 mm including endmill design configurations.
A 90-degrees NEODO S890 face mill.
A durable double-sided round insert is now available. The combination of an innovative pocket design and a special peripheral shape of the insert provides reliable insert clamping and fail-proof insert indexing. Depending on the depth of cut, there are up to 6 insert indexes on each side (up to 12 indexes total). When indexing, there is no need to remove the insert clamping screw. The main application of the new cutters is for rough and semi-finish milling complex surfaces, especially in die and mold, power generation, and aerospace parts.
The range of solid carbide endmills has been expanded by adding new tool diameters and corner radii.
Upgrading toolholders
A Micro 90 coolant-driven high-speed compact spindle ensures extremely high rotating velocities.
ISCAR SPINJET, a family of coolant-driven high-speed compact spindles for small diameter tools, intended to upgrade existing machines to high-speed performers, is now supplemented with Micro 90 intended for miniature rotating tools in milling, drilling, countersinking, thread milling, engraving, chamfering and deburring operations. Micro 90, made of a solid titanium shell and assembled from only six parts, enables rotating velocities that range from 35000 to 53000 rpm while the main machine spindle remains idle.
The chuck thickness is a factor that limits the working space of a tool. This factor often causes increasing the tool overhang to reach a machined surface. A novelty in X-STREAM, a family of thermal shrink toolholders, is a series of slim design chucks to eliminate such a restriction. The new chucks follow ISCAR’s coolant jet channel technology providing direct coolant supply to the tool cutting edge.
Changes in metalworking technology place new demands on cutting tools. To meet these demands, cutting tool manufacturers develop new products to assure increased performance. The industries’ response to the products sprouts new requirements.
ISCAR’s NEOLOGIQ campaign is based on new tools that were developed in accordance with customers’ input. You can expect more NEOLOGIQ sequels to assure advanced machining in the new era of metalworking.
For more information, please contact ISCAR South Africa (PTY) LTD – Tel: 011 997-2700.
Rapid industrial developments during recent years continue to set tough challenges. Because industry has changed, flexibility and efficiency are crucial requirements for managing increasingly smaller batches, rapid item turnover rate and tight lead times. And it is precisely in this context that automation is attracting more and more attention.
Automation according to Salvagnini
Salvagnini has been designing, producing and selling flexible systems for sheet metal working for over fifty years, and flexible automation has always been part of the company’s DNA. Flexible automation means transforming packs of sheet metal into a wide variety of products, in a lean environment and with no intervention by the operator, in a progressive production process, using proprietary punching, cutting, bending and panel bending technology. Automation therefore has an impact on three successive levels:
The first level is that of the individual production phase, which horizontally exploits the potential of extremely high-performing, autonomous and intelligent systems.
The second level is that of activities with low added value, which typically occur upstream and downstream of these individual systems, with preparatory and/or connection functions.
The third level is that of the process which, where appropriately organized, benefits exponentially from the sum of advantages offered by the previous two levels.
In practice, the result of an automated, organized process can exceed the sum of the benefits obtained in each individual activity and by eliminating any redundant intermediate activities. How? Let’s take a detailed look at the production process.
Optimizing individual production phases
We have already mentioned the progressive shift from a make-to-stock strategy, with large batches, towards a lean, make-to-order, just-in-time strategy based on medium and small batches and an increasingly variable production mix. The industrial scenario is moving increasingly towards a substantial reduction in work-in-progress, eliminating the intermediate storage of semi-finished parts.
To respond to this variability and uncertainty, the market is looking more and more to flexible production systems. While being competitive today does not merely mean having fast single part production, the challenge lies in production efficiency, the ability to move from one production code to the next with the shortest re-tooling time, whatever the geometric and mechanical characteristics of the metal sheet and the type and number of jobs. Flexible systems are a decisive factor for managing production today, but also for improving quality and reducing lead times and scrap.
All Salvagnini solutions are designed to increase the efficiency of the specific production phase. There is no need to remind anyone that, since 1977, the year in which Guido Salvagnini designed and produced the first P4 – Salvagnini has been a byword for panel bending. The panel bender is the machine which more than any other represents the spirit of the Group, precisely because it combines cutting-edge technology with productivity, autonomy, and flexibility.
With universal bending tools, the panel bender requires no re-tooling, and machines the whole range of thicknesses and materials, adapting automatically to the size and geometry of the part to be produced, in cycle, without machine downtimes or manual re-tooling. The panel bender adapts completely autonomously even to the varying mechanical and geometrical characteristics of the sheet metal being machined, as well as to the external environment. Similar characteristics also define the other Salvagnini technologies:
The laser requires no adjustments, thanks to the single-optic cutting head, the process sensors and a number of artificial vision systems.
The combined punching/shearing and punching/laser machines are equipped with a multi-press head that can hold up to 96 tools always available for use.
The press brake automatically adapts re-tooling and tool management according to what needs to be produced, with its ATA, MVM and AU-TO devices, thus extending its flexibility and autonomy.
Eliminating activities with low added value
Considering that our production capacity corresponds with the sum of work and waste, the second level at which automation impacts production is that of its ability to reduce, if not fully eliminate, redundant activities or those with low added value which typically occur upstream and downstream of individual systems for preparing, feeding and connecting.
Automatic cutting, forming and panel bending systems have become extremely quick and productive, shifting the problem of efficiency to the loading and unloading phases which, increasingly often, risk becoming authentic bottlenecks. In production contexts marked by low volumes and rapid production changeovers, connecting automatic loading/unloading devices to the systems is a winning strategy for recovering efficiency.
Salvagnini responds to this need with a wide, modular range of automations, able to configure each system differently to meet different production needs.
Automatic loading/unloading and sorting devices, coupled to a store, which are an enabling factor for increasing the autonomy and efficiency of individual systems.
Automatic loading devices ensure that the machine is fed at a frequency consistent with the production speed.
Robotized unloading devices, which ensure that the panel bender is immediately available for the next job after completing the previous one, eliminating waiting times but also recovering efficiency in subsequent phases of the process which benefit from the precision offered by automatic bending and robotized stacking.
Intermediate automation devices that minimize and balance material transfer times from one workstation to the next.
Software solutions facilitating the production process even without large physical devices, lowering the entry barrier into the world of smart manufacturing.
Process management and optimization
Extending the vision to managing and optimizing the process as a whole, obliges us to talk of digital transformation and Industry 4.0. A widespread view often reduces Industry 4.0 to the mere integration of the ERP system and the receipt of machine feedback, when in fact this is a minimum requirement, the first step to be tackled, which must then become an enabling factor for solving real problems, simplifying everyday work and helping companies to grow.
Salvagnini has been concretely tackling this issue since 1993, when it launched the first OPS, the modular software for managing production. OPS receives the production list from the factory information management system in real-time and delivers an updated version to the programmer. It provides support for the programmer’s activities by defining the priorities, automatically generating the machine programs, and sending them to the workshop. It checks the availability of raw materials or semi-finished parts and generates feedback to the factory information management system, updating it in real time, part by part. It can make autonomous decisions according to production logic – or according to a multiple mix of production logics – designed to meet the needs of the customer and transformed into an algorithm. It integrates labelling, traceability, and store management upstream and downstream of the cutting, punching, and bending activities. It therefore increases the efficiency of the whole production process, extending its effects beyond the factory boundaries and throughout the whole supply chain.
For Salvagnini, that’s what digitalization is all about: making available solutions that are easy to use, in order to focus on control, production process optimization and the elimination of all those often invisible downtimes that undermine the efficiency and competitive performance of companies.
A vision of the future
There is no point in focusing on extremely high-performing technologies without managing the bottlenecks upstream and downstream of production. Investing to reduce the cycle times of an individual production phase by a few seconds offers no real advantage if the re-tooling times of these technologies cancel out the efficiency regained by the performance of the new system, if this regained efficiency is lost in the intermediate phases between the individual workstations, or if it is cancelled out by a burdensome process filled with redundancy, delay, and inefficiency.
Salvagnini proposes to replace this purely quantitative approach that focuses only on productivity with another that combines both quantity and quality, shifting from the idea of production capacity to that of production control, where efficiency – and therefore productivity – can be regained. To fully exploit the benefits assured by flexible automation.
For more information, contact PIM Machine Tools – Tel: 011 022 4648.
Ermaksan is taking firm steps into the future by continuing to develop innovative technologies. The company has introduced the new Faster Bends Safety System to speed up the bending process and improve productivity.
Ermaksan’s new Faster Bends Safety System is ideal for small parts bending much faster and safer without using the foot pedal. Operators don’t need to press the foot pedal, except at the beginning, while the machine will move down automatically. This enables users to increase productivity and safety by bending all day without pressing the foot pedal repeatedly.
Various modes have been developed to suit customer’s needs, including the Single Break Mode, which allows the operator to initiate down movement by briefly obstructing the light guard protective field once, then taking the part, while putting in the new part at the same time. The Double Break Mode allows the operator to initiate down movement by briefly obstructing the light guard protective field twice, taking the part and thereafter placing the new one consecutively.
While safety is at maximum level and all protection devices are in line with CE regulations, press brake productivity is significantly increased.
For More information, contact WD Hearn – Tel: 021 534 5351
An integrated shuttle table maximizes productivity and minimizes material handling times. The shuttle table and pallet change system allows convenient loading of new sheets or unloading of finished parts, while the machine is cutting another sheet inside the working area.
The available shuttle table is fully electric and maintenance free; there are no hydraulic oils to handle and table changes are fast, smooth and energy-efficient.
An optional lateral automatic scrap conveyor allows the removal of scrap pieces from the working area without the need to interrupt the cutting process. The sideways operation of the short conveyors allow for easy maintenance and trouble-free running.
The Durma HDF/HDFL 3015 fiber machine achieves highest dynamics and fastest laser processing cycle times thanks to the combination of rigid mechanics and a state-of-the-art numerical control and drive system. Programmes can be loaded easily into the machine with a USB stick or over a fast Ethernet connection with the company network.
In the high-pressure auto-focus cutting head for the fiber laser the cutting lens is shielded from the laser process by an exchangeable low-cost protection window. The 1μm wavelength light is very sensitive to dust or other contamination produced in the cutting or piercing process, therefore the cutting head is being well protected in an additional cover to ensure that all critical parts remain as clean as possible.
The integrated capacitive distance sensor is capable of having the head follow height differences in the sheet even at the extreme high cutting speeds that can be achieved with the fiber laser technology, while state-of-the-art linear motors promote accuracy and increase productivity.
The CAD/CAM software provided has all the tools to import or draw parts, prepare and optimize automatically different geometries for the laser cutting process and make efficient nests.
The all-solid-state fiber laser technology reduces maintenance requirements, and offers the lowest possible running cost with a wall-plug efficiency of 30% and without the need of any laser gas. When the application requires a broader spectrum of material types to be cut and the maximum thickness range is limited, the fiber laser is the ideal solution and it will cut faster at lower cost than any CO2 laser at the same laser power.
For more information, please contact Spectrum Machine Tools – Tel: 011 865-4090
DURMA shortened process time by improving centering with the newly added laser sensor centering option added to the HDTC machines. It is possible to control the size and irregular structure of the profile during cutting or before cutting with the help of sensors to ensure that the internal contours to be cut are at the right point.
In existing HD-TC machines, the centering measurement is achieved by scanning the profile surface through capacitive sensors. The advantage of the laser sensor system is that it gives more precise results in a shorter time. The user can take measurements at the distance determined by the user, and precise results are obtained in a shorter period of time as the process of measuring by the sensor is shortened for parts requiring precise measurement with internal contours.
The advantage being fast set-up time, less problems during cutting, best solution in a short time and measurement frequency is dependent on operator request.
For more information, please contact Spectrum Machine Tools – Tel: 011 865-4090
With its easy to use control unit, rigid body frame, perfect design, high efficiency, multiple tool usage solutions, top level CE safety standards and economical price range, AD-R is a world leader in its category. The machine is perfectly equipped for sensitive bending, energy efficient solutions.
AD-R series press brakes are built in accordance with CE-Norms to ensure safety with hydraulic, electric, appropriate height covers and laser light curtains, while CE safety in tandem machines are also provided with light barriers and designed with high technology to increase efficiency on precise part bending.
With an easy to use control unit, stable body structure, perfect design, low operating cost, different tool usage options, maximum safety standards, Durma press brakes are amongst the best in the world. Bending performance is increased by using a high quality European clamping system to improve productivity.
Most important feature to achieve perfect bending is the stability and the design of the back gauge, which allows an impeccable and correct product to be produced.
The high speed ballscrew back gauge system movement is supported with linear guides, which helps the back gauge achieve long life and greater sensitivity, while strengthening against any collisions.
AD-R 30135
Capacity (Length x Ton) 3050×135
X=650mm X,R (AL)
CNC Controlled Motorized Crowning
Control Unit Sky 22 (Colour Graphic 22’ Screen)
DBEND 3D CAD/CAM Importing & Simulation Program
Non CE with Manual F.AKAS FPBS
Top Tool European P97.75.R08
Bottom Tool European M.46R.85
Quick Release clamping
60mm Die Holder (For European Dies only)
Throat Depth 450mm
Back Gauge: Motorised & Linear Guide & Ballscrew System
Back Gauge Fingers Height Adjustable
Back Gauge Motor: Servo
Sliding Front Arms with Full Length Linear Guide
Safety Covers (Side)
Specially designed finger blocks with steps to achieve maximum stability can be supplied for every kind of bending solution.
With an impressive variety of tool options and types available, Durma is the ideal solution partner, while providing the best level of service and readily available spare parts.
For more information, please contact Spectrum Machine Tools – Tel: 011 865-4090.
Following on the great success and longevity of the Amada range of in-house developed fibre laser engines, Amada has developed and released the revolutionary VENTIS fibre laser machine.
What sets this machine far apart from other fibre lasers is the incorporation of the Amada patented LBC technology (Locus Beam Control) and what makes this technology revolutionary is the innovative beam shaping system that allows for precise control of the laser beam motion.
This in-house developed single diode module 4kW fibre engine provides outstanding beam quality which allows the VENTIS 4kW-AJ to compete with other 6 – 8kW machines with less power requirements and unrivalled cutting quality.
LBC is a built-in automatic feature, allowing for the oscillation or vibration of the laser beam within the nozzle while cutting. The oscillation pattern differs according to the specific material type and thickness being processed. The LBC reduces the drag of the laser beam, while cutting and efficiently removes the material on the cutting front of the beam faster than standard fibre laser beams. LBC provides and ensures high beam energy density and produces high melting temperatures. In order for LBC technology to work at its optimum, a very high laser beam quality is required – Beam Parameter Product = 1 (BPP = 1). While Amada’s AJ4000S high power oscillator ensures this beam quality permanently under all cutting conditions, the VENTIS offers three different cutting modes for steel processing, namely Productivity mode for maximum cutting speed, especially on thinner materials, Quality mode for burr free cutting on thicker materials like stainless steel and Kerf control mode for increased cutting kerf width for easy thick part removal.
The VENTIS is equipped with all the operation friendly functions of automatic nozzle cleaning, automatic nozzle changing, shuttle table system with free roller bearings for easy sheet loading, user friendly 3i control, water assisted cutting, filtered air – air purge system, full side and front access, oil shot, tipped part avoidance as well as “intelligent head control” as an additional feature that also saves both time and money.
With a combined speed of 170 m/min and an accuracy of +-0,01mm, the VENTIS is a machine that has proven its capabilities with over 100 units sold in Europe alone within two years. This number of sold units is evidence of the markets looking for better, faster and more reliable laser cutting solutions at a drastically reduced operation cost.
All equipment is fully retro-fittable with the full range of Amada automation options, making uninterrupted and unmanned production possible 24/7.
HRB-ATC PRESS BRAKE WITH ADDITIONAL BENDING CAPACITY
Once the blanking of a product is done to the finest of detail and tolerance, the bending becomes the next process in most production runs.
With the outstanding success of the Amada HG-ATC range, the market realized how much downtime is spent on tool setting in the bending process. Most shops’ production will require approximately three or four tool changes per shift. These tool change processes can take anything up to around 20 to 30 minutes each, which means around two hours of production is lost each day only to tool changing.
The new HRB-ATC press brake is a 100 ton x 3 meter or 220 ton x 4 meter – 7 axis CNC bender which loads and unloads the tooling as required for the specific job on hand. Production planning, programming, tool fitting and sequencing is done in the drawing office before all information is sent to the machine via network; the transfer takes place by scanning of a bar code.
Once downloaded, the operator can view the 3D model as well as a 2D flat layout of the part with or without dimensions. The press brake will automatically begin to set up its own tooling from the tool magazine situated to the right of the machine, while human hands do not touch the tooling. The machine picks and locates each tool as required along the top and bottom beams. Once positioning is completed, the operator takes over with the bending process according to pre-determined sequencing that was done in the planning stages. The interactive control shows the bend sequence in 3D throughout the process. An added advantage is that trial bending is no longer required as the full process has already been checked during the planning stages when it was programmed.
The HRB-ATC press brake is supplied with either the Bi-S mechanical or Bi-L laser angle measurement systems. These systems measure each bend angle according to the desired and programmed requirement, allowing the machine to make automatic angle adjustments where necessary on each bend. This process ensures superior accuracy as well as high quality repetition.
Tooling in the ATC system is of the standard AFH (Amada Fixed Height) design with a very small modification for the tool picker to locate. Standard Amada tooling can be loaded into the machine manually if the ATC does not have the required tool available in the magazine.
The advantage of the ATC system is that the downtime caused by tool changes is drastically reduced. The tool layout is always 100% as per requirements of the bends to be performed and tooling life is drastically extended as tools are stored correctly and not dropped or banged together during handling.
While a component is blanked 100% but not bent 100%, the finished product is automatically inferior and therefore, Amada will see to it that blanking and bending needs are fully taken care of and downtime eliminated.
For more information, please contact Amada – Tel: 011 453-5459.
For ultra-fast speeds and extended cutting spectrum, the ByStar Fiber now cuts with 20 kilowatts of laser power.
The flagship of Bystronic’s laser cutting systems is available with 20 kilowatts of laser power and optimized cutting process. Its latest-generation cutting head was developed to achieve consistently high quality with the highest laser outputs and for demanding cutting applications. This enables sheet metal processing companies to further optimize their production.
Enhanced cutting quality and productivity thanks to the new, even higher laser power
In order to offer sheet metal processing companies even more effective support in an increasingly competitive environment, Bystronic recently advanced into a new dimension of fiber laser cutting, the 20 kilowatt ByStar Fiber. The high-end fiber laser represents high-precision Bystronic technology, a reliable cutting process even with the highest laser outputs and a wide range of applications. This enables sheet metal processing companies to take another major step forward in terms of productivity and efficiency. The technological leap from the previously available 3 to 15 kilowatt laser output levels to the latest 20 kilowatt level is considerable and opens up new possibilities for Bystronic’s customers to optimize their production and thus remain one step ahead of the increasingly fierce competition.
Increased productivity thanks to outstanding laser technology for a broad spectrum of sheet metal processing applications.
Speed for an extended cutting spectrum
Compared to 15 kilowatts, the productivity of the 20 kilowatt ByStar Fiber are on average 40% in mild steel and stainless steel 4 mm to 20 mm. This means that sheet metal processing companies can benefit from higher productivity at low unit costs, because thanks to its 20 kilowatts, the ByStar Fiber cuts steel, aluminium and stainless steel precisely and reliably. The 20 kilowatts of laser power thus enable maximum flexibility for both large series and urgent customer orders. Regardless of whether cutting aluminium, non-ferrous metals or steel, the high-performance Bystronic cutting head excels with maximum precision in both, thin and thick sheets and profiles. In addition, the 20 kilowatts open up extended applications in steel and aluminium of up to 50 mm.
The optional «Parameter Wizard» ensures that the correct quality of cut parts is always selected by obtaining the perfect parameter within minutes.
The new power level is available for the ByStar 3015, 4020, 6225 and 8025.
Bystronic’s high-performance flagship is controlled using the ByVision Cutting software via a 21.5-inch touch screen. Operating the machine is as simple as using a smartphone.
Bystronic automation solutions optimize the material flow
Automation optimizes the material flow: Matching automation solutions increase machine utilization and process reliability.
A wide range of automation solutions guarantees maximum machine utilization and process reliability even during unmanned operation. In order to ensure an optimal material flow that makes full use of the high laser cutting speeds, Bystronic offers a wide range of automation solutions for the ByStar Fiber. These include loading and unloading systems, sorting solutions, and individually customizable storage systems. This makes it possible to create an automated laser cutting process that is seamlessly integrated and adapted to the existing production environment and available space.
For more information on the please see www.bystronic.co.za or contact Bystronic on 010 410 0200.
