TPT January 2024

TUBE BENDING, END FORMING & SWAGING

Sharpe Products buys bending machine FABTECH 2023 Chicago proved to be a success for Unison Ltd, the UK-based inventor of all-electric tube manipulation, and its North American division, Unison Tube LLC.

Over the course of the four-day event, the tube and pipe bending machinery manufacturer secured a significant number of high-quality enquiries. Paul Krickeberg, CEO of Sharpe Products, one of North America’s leading specialists in custom tube and pipe bending and tube laser cutting, also visited Unison’s show booth to view the all-electric Unison Breeze CNC tube bender that would soon be on its way to his company. The machine purchased by Sharpe Products – a 100mm (4") single-stack Breeze model – formed the centrepiece of Unison’s FABTECH display. It is the 9th Unison Breeze to be bought by Sharpe Products since 2003, and will be used to provide additional capacity for bending tubular components for the business’s extensive customer base. “We’re absolutely delighted that Sharpe Products has chosen to purchase yet another Unison Breeze all-electric tube bending machine,” said Stuart Singleton, VP of Unison Tube LLC. “As you can imagine, such impressive repeat orders are an incredible testimony to the faith a customer places in our machine tool technologies, operating software and product support.” The Breeze 100mm (maximum tube diameter) machine is one of its flagship models. Just like all Unison Breeze tube bending machines, the 100mm Breeze

(From left to right): Stuart Singleton, VP – Unison Tube LLC, John Nimmons, plant manager – Sharpe Products, Paul Krickeberg – CEO, Sharpe Products and Alan Pickering – joint managing director, Unison Ltd

volume, high-accuracy production and prototyping, Unison EvBend machines provide accurate multi-plane bending at a much lower cost than many CNC benders. Two models are currently available – the EvBend 1000 for bending tube of up to 16mm in diameter, and the EvBend 2000, a machine featuring power-assisted operation and capable of bending tube of up to 50mm in diameter. Unison EvBend machines are widely used across the aerospace and motorsport sectors for bending precision components.

offers rapid setup, fast tooling changes, exceptional power, rigid mechanical design and all-electric control for right first-time repeat sub-contract work, or immediately after producing a single trial part. These are all attributes that Unison Ltd believes make its Breeze models the ultimate tube manipulation machines for businesses specialising in frequently changing, small-to-medium batch production runs. Other highlights for Unison Ltd during FABTECH 2023 included the considerable interest shown in its EvBend range of manually operated, CNC-controlled 3-axis tube bending machines. Typically used for low

Unison Ltd www.unisonltd.com

Tube bending innovation and research on display at open house event

“Vision. Solution.” These three concepts represent the technological development path that BLM Group aims for. The event occupied a total exhibition area of more than 10,000m 2 divided into four main tech hubs, where attendees had the opportunity to get hands-on with the latest innovations on the group’s various technologies (laser tube, sheet laser, 3D laser cutting cells, tube benders, wire benders, sawing Technology.

machines and tube shapers) and all the software solutions of the BLMelements suite. At Innova, attendees were also find specific areas dedicated to research and development and the wide range of services offered by the group: maintenance, technical assistance, training and BLMportal.

AT its headquarters in Levico Terme, Italy, BLM Group has offered customers the opportunity to attend the latest edition of its open house event. The group, which produces tube and sheet metal processing machines, opened the plant doors for two weeks recently to welcome its customers. The open house event is called Innova, which places a strong focus on the company’s devotion to technological innovation. This year’s theme is:

BLM Group www.blmgroup.com

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JANUARY 2024